…Or I’ll pee on your tree! Here is Kiya with her holiday t-shirt and one of her new toys, Rudolph. She doesn’t look happy, but she really likes wearing her shirt and she LOVES playing with Rudolph! 
Merry Christmas everyone, and best wishes for a Happy 2009!
Christmas cards have been arriving in the mailbox, it’s super cold outside (for me, at least), and there’s only five more days of school until winter break! Hooray!
We spent the weekend doing some Christmas shopping, researching the item that we’re thinking about buying as our gift to each other, and decorating our Christmas tree and hanging up our stockings. Even Kiya has one shaped like a bone!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Can’t wait for our first ‘married’ Christmas!
Though I’m still sick, we celebrated the day with my favorite cuisine (Japanese) and Frank even treated me to my favorite–a pearlie drink–on the condition that I got a hot one, not an iced one since I’m coughing. You know what? Hot pearlie drinks are pretty darn good!
4 months ago, after our first kiss as hubby and wifey
In the vineyard
As the sun set
Enjoying our first dance
Ahhh, memories! What a beautiful day to relive!
I am lucky enough to work for a school district that gives us the whole week of Thanksgiving off. We finish parent-teacher conferences the week before, and then we get 9 glorious days off! Hooray!
This year, Frank and I decided to spend the first few days of my break in the ‘happiest place on earth.’ However, on the first day of vacation, I had a full-blown cold. Of course, the timing was ridiculous! Anyway, here’s a recap of our 9 days of Thanksgiving vacation:
Day 1 (Saturday, Nov. 22): I woke up feeling yucky and spent the whole day sleeping on the couch. I tried watching the Big Game (Cal/Stanford) on t.v., but my body needed sleep and I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Frank worked a session at the store, came home for about an hour or so, then headed over to Katie and Alan’s for their pre-Thanksgiving dinner. I bowed out due to my cold–didn’t want to pass it on to anyone, especially baby Ava or mommy-to-be Theresa–and continued to rest. I was determined to make it to Disneyland the next day. The battle was on. Thanks to Katie and Alan for feeding Frank and giving him much needed non-ill company!
Day 2 (Sunday, Nov. 23): I woke up feeling pretty good and figured I won the battle with all my sleep from the day before. We packed up the car, loaded Kiya, and hit the road for Turlock. We arrived in time to drop Kiya off at grandma and grandpa’s, had some lunch with them, then hit the road again–this time for L.A. Frank started the drive, but whimped out on me before we hit Fresno, so I took over until just after the Grapevine. I don’t like driving in the L.A. area, so we stopped for a bathroom break and switched drivers again. We got to our hotel, which was right across the street from Disneyland, checked-in, and then wandered around looking for someplace to eat dinner. We ended up eating at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney. Pretty good Cajun cuisine–Frank really liked the shrimp. On our way back to the hotel, we bought two yummy sweet snacks–a caramel apple (my favorite) and some kettle corn–that we were able to enjoy over the next few days.
Day 3 (Monday, Nov. 24): We spent the entire day exploring California Adventure and Disneyland. We hit California Adventure first and planned to go on just a few rides since we had visited there before a few years ago. The only new ride they had there for us was the Twilight Zone’s Tower of Terror, so we headed there first. The ride zooms you up and down, up and down, and boy, did we feel old! Both of us used to be able to handle these kinds of rides with no problems, but ended up totally dizzy. We went on “It’s Tough to be a Bug” and “California Screamin” and then had lunch at one of their restaurants. We had surprisingly good ribs and a chicken sandwich. We spent the rest of the day at Disneyland and hit all the big rides (Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, etc.), along with some small ones like Peter Pan. The only big ride we weren’t able to go on was the Matterhorn because it broke down on us twice! We were about to reach the front of the line the first time it broke down and then when we tried it again later, it broke down right before the park closed when we were actually sitting in the car, buckled in, about to head into the mountain. Figured we were out of luck on this ride and didn’t even try it the next day.
In front of Sleeping Beauty’s castle, all decked out for the holidays. Looks beautiful at night.
In line for Pirates of the Caribbean
I had to get a picture with the bride and groom Mickey ears. Frank was really embarrassed. Can you tell?
Scoping out Club 33 for our lunch the next day
Day 4 (Tuesday, Nov. 25): This was probably our favorite Disneyland day because we got to eat at the exclusive Club 33. Club 33 is Disneyland’s 5 star restaurant and the restaurant itself is pretty hidden. You need to be a restaurant member or a guest of a member to eat there. My dad hooked us up with a noon lunch reservation, so we went on a few rides in the late morning and headed over to the non-descript Club 33 entrance door (see photo above). We pushed the button, told them our names, and were buzzed in. Needless to say, lunch was fabulous! Frank ordered the lamb sirloin and I had the pasta 3 by 3 (three little bowls of pasta with different sauces). According to Frank, it was the BEST lamb he’s ever had. He couldn’t even speak while eating it. He just ate and ate, with his eyes closed, as if to savor the flavor even more. When he was done with his lamb, he did say “Holy cow. Holy Cow. Holy Sheep!” It was hilarious! Along with our entrees, lunch included a buffet–salads, seafood stuff, fruit, a dessert bar, and the most yummy cream of broccoli soup I’ve ever had. Mmmm. I hope we make it back there again sometime…Thanks Daddy for the hook up!
Frank reacting to the lamb sirloin on the menu
Frank eating his lamb sirloin. He looked like this the entire time. He was in heaven.
All done and very happy!
On one of the balconies of Club 33
Outside, in front of the restaurant’s balconies. Frank’s holding our Disneyland candy stash. We also bought a second caramel apple. Yum.
On our way out…can’t wait for next time!
We had planned to head home to Turlock after lunch to avoid any holiday traffic, but decided to visit a fellow Dream Dinners owner that we met at training last year. We met up with her at her store and chatted for a bit and then met up with a family friend for dinner. This was a surprise–my mom had mentioned to her that we were in the area and she wanted to see us, so we ended up having a very nice dinner with the whole family! Thanks to the Wong family for your hospitality!
After dinner we hit the road, and of course got stuck in crazy L.A. traffic. An hour and a half later, we made it out of the L.A. area and were cruising home. It rained the whole way back to Turlock and we got home at about 1:30am. Yuck!
Day 5 (Wednesday, Nov. 26): Totally slept in due to arriving home so late. And then guess who made a visit? The cold bug! Frank felt yucky and my cough picked up again. We spent the day resting and hanging out. We did visit good ol’ Dairy Queen for a yummy chicken strip basket (my favorite), chili dogs, and onion rings. Oh, and of course a blizzard, which isn’t the smartest idea when you’re coughing, but they’re so good I couldn’t resist.
Day 6 (Thursday, Nov. 27): Happy Thanksgiving! We had much to be thankful for this year. We had a low-key Thanksgiving day at home, with us both feeling under the weather. We played some Wii games, watched some football, and ate a yummy Thanksgiving dinner prepared by my mom. Thanks Mommy for the great meal!
Day 7 (Friday, Nov. 28): Frank woke up feeling better, but my cough and asthma were in full swing. We decided to avoid Black Friday shopping, as it gets pretty crazy in Turlock. We had lunch with my parents at Chipotle (they make the burritos smaller in Turlock compared to Fremont. Boo.) and then Frank and I went to Turlock Subaru to check out cars. We headed back to my parents’ house, packed up the car, got Kiya ready, said goodbye to my family, and then hit the road for Fremont.
Day 8 (Saturday, Nov. 29): Spent the day coughing, doing laundry, cleaning the house a bit, and watching Disney’s Bolt. Oh my gosh! What a cute movie, especially if you’re a dog lover! We laughed, I got teary…I was thinking about Kiya the whole time. Dogs really do devote themselves to their ‘people’ and they truly are so loyal. The movie made me appreciate Kiya even more. Momma loves her puppa!
We went to Pet Food Express to pick up more dog food, and because we had just watched the movie, we ended up buying Kiya another toy. This one is a huge Loofa-type toy that we’ve named Monkey. It’s almost as big as her, so we weren’t sure she’d be able to play with it as well as her others, but boy, were we wrong! She LOVES jumping on it, biting it, and shaking it all around. And of course, she knows it by name already!
Day 9 (Sunday, Nov. 30): The cold officially wins. I concede defeat. We battled for a week, and I won a few, but in the end it broke me down. I headed to Kaiser this morning to get my lungs checked out. I’ve had asthma since I was a kid, so anytime I get a cold, I end up with a nasty cough that lasts for a week or two after all other cold symptoms have disappeared. My cough has been so bad that it’s been keeping me up at night so I can’t sleep, which of course isn’t helping me get better. I now have some cough syrup with codeine, which is supposed to knock me out at night so I can get some rest. That, along with my 2 inhalers…I’m pretty drugged up right about now. Frank’s been making me hot tea with honey and making sure I’m nice and warm. What a good hubby!
It’s back to work tomorrow. Double boo! This vacation was fun and we had a great time! Too bad we had colds to contend with pretty much the whole time. Let’s hope Christmas vacation is cold-free!
Frank and I have so much to be thankful for this year! This year has been very busy, but full of wonderful times with family and friends. 2008 has been a very memorable one for us!
*Our Dream Dinners store opening in March 2008
*All things wedding! My shower, our bachelor/bachelorette parties, our ceremony and reception…everything was absolutely wonderful and we have beautiful memories to last a lifetime.
*Our honeymoon in Italy! What an amazing country to spend our first few weeks as husband and wife.
*The love and support of our families
*Our furry baby, Kiya. We love you, puppa!
*Our friends, and their growing families. We have loved being auntie and uncle to all the babies!
We are so grateful for everything, and we are spending the day relaxing and giving thanks for all that we have been blessed with this year!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy the great food and family time, and good luck to those who are braving the Black Friday crowds!
Speaking for myself, I am extremely grateful for my wonderful husband. I love you baby!
I am officially addicted to the Shiba Inu puppy cam! If you haven’t seen these 6 adorable puppies, check them out here: http://cdn1.ustream.tv/swf/4/viewer.45.swf?cid=317016The puppies are in San Francisco. There are 3 girls and 3 boys, and they are almost 6 weeks old now. I wish I could have one, but apparently they all have homes waiting for them already. They’re so cute and watching them is addicting!Kiya is part Shiba Inu, and ever since adopting her, I’ve wanted our next furry addition to be a Shiba. They’re just so cute! But I’m having a hard time with the idea of buying one with so many doggies out there needing to be adopted or coming from inhumane puppy mills. I guess when the time comes, we’re going to have to look at Shiba Inu rescues!
We celebrated 3 months of marriage today by returning to Wente for Sunday brunch. Yummy! Well, Wente sent us a gift certificate shortly after our wedding, and it was going to expire in 2 weeks so we figured we’d better use it. Without the gift certificate, we probably wouldn’t have gone back just yet.
We invited my parents along as well, just to say “thanks” for hosting such a wonderful wedding for us. It also made for a good time to catch up, because my parents had been visiting Hong Kong for much of September and October.
For starters, we ordered smoked salmon, lamb sausage, and caesar salad. And for our entrees…ok, so out of the 4 of us, can you guess how many ordered Wente’s double cut pork chop? (See answer below.)
Me and Frank with our caesar salad and his lamb sausage with polenta. I LOVE Wente’s caesar! And Frank really liked the sausage!
Frank holding what was left of his pork chop. Check out how clean his plate is! And no, he didn’t lick it clean! Although, if he could have…
Daddy, Mommy, me, and Hubby
There were wild turkeys roaming the grounds today, right where we were married!
While driving home, Frank said that he didn’t think the double cut was enough for him. I asked him if a triple cut would be enough, and he said he didn’t think so. He said he thinks it needs to be a quadruple cut! Good gracious! My husband loves to eat!
How many of us ordered the double cut pork chop? Three. I was the only one who didn’t. But my farm fresh organic omelet was darn good!
We haven’t blogged in a long time! We just celebrated our 2 month anniversary a few days ago and we marked the occasion by picking up our wedding photo proofs! Looking through all the pictures has been a great way to relive the day!
Here’s a quick recap of some of our September activities:
Frank and I went to the 49ers opening day game against the Arizona Cardinals with my parents. Had a great time even though our Niners lost. 
Our Dream Dinners store had a booth at Newark Days. We got a lot of good exposure for the store and signed people up for sessions. Plus, I saw a LOT of Milani students, past and present, wandering around. They thought it was pretty weird seeing me outside of “being a teacher.” Some would say hi, and others would just walk by and stare. Funny!
Frank and best man Alan played in a badminton tournament and won 3rd place. Frank paid for it the next few days though. He was so sore and looked hilarious walking up and down stairs!
We’ve spent most of our weekends cheering on the Cal and 49er football teams (at least one of our teams is doing pretty well! GO BEARS!), putting wedding things away, and making room for our new kitchen items.
My goal of trying to keep to an earlier bedtime schedule so I’m not as tired as I was all of last school year has yet to be reached. I’m getting closer to my target though, so I’m seeing this whole process as one of baby steps. I’m working with a husband who is VERY much a night owl. He always says he’s tired, but then he miraculously gets his “second wind.” But he’s getting up much earlier in the morning than his pre-Dream Dinners days, so I think he’ll be on board with me sooner or later!
At 49er’s Opening Day, 9-7-08
Mom, Dad, and me at the “Bud Zone”–free food and drinks!
Frank and Dad, enjoying more food, even though we had just had dim sum in Millbrae
Just before kick-off
Our booth at Newark Days September 20-21, 2008
Our wedding photo proofs. It was a great ‘present’ to open!
Our box of photos…LOVE the brown!
Today marks one month of newlywedness! Since returning from our honeymoon in Italy, we’ve gone straight back to work–the store for Frank and the classroom for me. Fun fun.
Frank’s gearing up for what we hope will be a busy September, while I spent the last two weeks putting my classroom back together after it’s summer renovation. After having to unpack almost 30 boxes of my school stuff and having to re-fabric all my walls b/c of the new bulletin boards they installed over the summer, I’ve spent every night sleeping with the aid of my heat pack. I love that heat pack. Frank doesn’t so much, but I love it! It works wonders!
We had a chance to take a small break and go the the Cal/MSU game this past Saturday. It was an exciting game (we won!) and we both had scratchy voices afterward. We had some good ol’ Berkeley food–Top Dog and Steve’s Korean BBQ in the food court! Yum! And I FINALLY was able to find a Cal visor that I liked (and it was on sale too!) and an embroidered Cal sweatshirt to replace the one I’ve had since high school! I’ve been looking for the perfect visor and sweatshirt for 2 years…I’m picky I guess.
I started my 7th year of teaching 2nd grade today, and boy, was it an eventful day! It was exciting to meet my new students and fun to catch up with my past students. So many of them asked if the wedding happened yet or how the wedding went, so it was really sweet. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping for a great school year! I still can’t believe I’ve been teaching for 7 years. Where does the time go?
At the Cal game…GO Bears! Thanks for the great tickets Mom and Dad!
Frank came home with roses to celebrate our one month anniversary! How sweet!
Here are some pictures from Venice, Honeymoon Destination #3 (our last stop, sniffle sniffle):
Getting ready to board our first vaparetto (waterbus)
The Campanile at Piazza San Marco (Cal modeled our Campanile after this one)
The Basilica di San Marco–it’s really sparkly
Gondolas passing by
On a small foot bridge
A cool lion statue and me
Our 2nd day in Venice was cool and rainy. I finally got to leave my hair down! We are on a vaparetto, going down the Grand Canal.
A typical sight in Venice: bridges and gondolas
A foot bridge being built
Frank (pretending to be) sad in the rain. We were actually quite happy with the cooler temperatures. We were probably the only ones sitting in the rain, but it was kind of romantic. See the dry spot to the right of Frank? That’s where I was sitting. We sat there so long that by the time we left, our ‘dry spots’ were really dry compared to everything else.
See? We’re happy with the rain!
On the plane from Venice to Frankfurt, Germany, where we had a quick lay-over
It was only an hour flight, but they feed you in business class on Lufthansa
Not bad, huh?
Heading home on the plane from Frankfurt to San Francisco. Honeymoon over. Boo hoo. We had a fabulous trip!
Side note: Business class is definitely worth it for international flights. You can actually recline and they feed you so often that even Frank didn’t get hungry. Really! He didn’t get hungry. Ever. And the food is actually good. I usually don’t eat airplane food–it smells bad to me–but kudos to United business. Food was yum and service was fantastic. The flight crew even gave us a bottle of wine and a bottle of champagne to take with us when they found out we were newlyweds!