A New Year Begins ...

It's been a while since my last post. Just a small update on what's been up since my last post.

Christmas in Edmonton
Jeff and I have spent Christmas every year in Edmonton since we got married - Chinese New Year is spent with my family since it's the equivalent of Christmas to us. More on that later ...

Due to the new house and work commitments, I haven't taken time off for a real vacation. My last real vacation was our honeymoon, way back in 2006. So I was looking forward to going to Edmonton and getting out of Ottawa. We had a great time there this year. I finally got to meet a few of Jeff's university friends and they were all very nice and welcoming. Mark and Asil were in town and they came through for us this year ... true Russian caviar all the way from Kyrgyzstan! This may be the last caviar we have as Mark is returning to Edmonton for good.

Christmas was a classic. It was a family affair and that's the way I like it. Turkey, stuffing, and Sharon's fabulous baking. It doesn't get any better than that.

The shopping in Edmonton is always great - with one less tax, it's much better to shop there than in Ontario. I held off on shopping for most of the year and saved my real shopping until I was in Edmonton. Jeff and I stocked up on jeans and I bought slacks/pants for work. Being the shorty that I am, I have to get every pair of pants hemmed so they are still sitting in the closet as we speak. Sigh.

I need to point out that if you are ever in Alberta, you have to try the beef. It is truly the best I've ever tasted. I've had steak in Ottawa and nothing compares to Alberta AAA.

The Big Thaw
Shortly after our return, we had some nice mild temperatures. It was much needed. Our 7' high drifts are now knee high. I hope it stays this way until the end of winter. Oh who am I kidding? I'm in Ottawa and it's only January .. what are the odds? :)

Chinese New Year
Our next trip to Toronto will be in early February. I'll be happy to be with my family for Chinese New Years. The last time I was in Toronto, was for Ka and Corrie's wedding. Haven't been back since. I miss Toronto ... sniff sniff ..

Kudos
My buddy Damien recently told me that he was engaged! Congratulations D & A! I've known Damien for many years .. he's always been a great friend and I'm so happy for him.

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Winter Wonderland?

Unlike everyone else in Southern Ontario, we didn't get hit with that much snow. Jeff and I didn't see what the big deal was. We woke up and looked outside our backyard this morning and it was so pretty. :) This is our back neighbour. He had a fancy stone deck built over the summer. Can you see it in this picture? It's completely covered in snow!!

As mentioned in my previous post, Jeff and I laugh every time we look outside the front of our house and see the walls of snow separating us from our neighbours. No, we aren't anti-social but there is no where to put all of this white stuff. We shovelled our driveway again today and when we walked out, we were knee deep in snow. I hate to say this but I think it's time to get myself some real winter boots. Yeah, I don't have boots .. nor do I have proper winter gloves. Jeff keeps nagging me to get boots and gloves but I never look for them when I'm at the mall. Come to think of it, I haven't been to the mall in a while. I'm waiting for West Edmonton Mall .. the Mall of all Malls. :) Just a few more days and I'll be in shopping heaven.

BTW, we got 40 cms of snow .. shovelled twice .. and the walls of snow are minimum 7 feet high. Did I mention that we are running of places to put this stuff??

Toodles,
Pudgy and Puffy.

P.S. This is a view down the street from our house. It's a little dark but it hasn't been plowed yet.

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Christmas is coming .. the goose is getting fat.

Christmas is a few weeks away but we have been preparing for it since November. :) Finally I've had time to give everyone an update on what we've been up to. Let's see ..

Decorating our Home
We were at Costco when we found this wreath. Jeff really liked it and wanted to buy it. He was hesitant because we both had to agree on it before we made the purchase. I'm not a big Christmas person .. but even I have to admit, this wreath was cute. There were two to choose from and I kinda like the other one better because it was Santa and Mrs Claus sitting in the hoop. But Jeff picked the one with the reindeer instead .. ok, does this make *me* the reindeer?? :P I definitely don't want to be the guy with the beard. :) Nevertheless, it was only the beginning of our holiday decorations.
Next was the tree. Our hunt for a tree took a while. The one we originally wanted was sold out at Costco but we found a nicer one at Canadian Tire. This 7.5 ft tree almost didn't fit in my SUV but luckily, the Canadian Tire wasn't far from our home. Once we got it home, we couldn't wait to put it up. Jeff picked out the tree and I picked out the colours to decorate it. It took us less than 3 hours to get it all ready to go. It looks so cool .. very Christmas-y. In case you can't see it from the photo, the colours are silver and purple. Our house is very neutral and I wanted the tree to stand out .. so I picked purple as the punch of colour. It's too bad that we are unable to share our tree with family and friends .. who wants to drive out to Ottawa? Anybody?? <sound of crickets>

Snow, snow, and more snow
Okay you Toronto folks .. 10 cms is not a lot of snow. We got 40 cms once and we still shovelled it off our driveway and made the trek into work. In fact, we've been getting 5 to 10 cms every day. I'm gonna have take a picture of the walls of snow outside our home .. I'm sure you'd get a laugh out of it. We laugh every time we look outside.

Ka and Corrie's Wedding
Last weekend was the big day for Ka and Corrie. Congratulations guys!! The wedding was a blast. I was the "dai kum" for their tea ceremony. While I was getting ready at the hotel, the nervousness started to set in. I was soooooooo nervous. The last time I conducted a tea ceremony, it was last October for Jonas and Sharon's wedding. I was super nervous at the start .. I didn't want to mess up in front of the parents. But after handing out a few cups of tea, the nervousness subsided. I found that the key was to not look at the audience - just focus on getting the job done. In the end, I felt I could have done a better job. I don't know why .. but I think I could have done better.

Nevertheless, we had a lot of fun. I was happy to be a part of the big day. BTW, I love taking pics of FUI - friends under the influence. Hehehe ..

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Week in Review

What a week it has been. Let's recap the events of November 5th to today, shall we?

Tuesday, November 6th.
For Jeff's birthday this year, we started early and made it a near week long event. Since I knew we were headed to Toronto for my nephew's 1-month birthday dinner, I figure we should get Jeff a cake for his birthday and eat it over the next few days. We didn't get a big cake but we got Jeff's favorite - vanilla cake with thick, thick colourful frosting. It was very fresh and blue. He requests for this kind of cake every year. And it always has to be vanilla .. no chocolate. (Babe, can we please try the chocolate cake next year??)

Wednesday, November 7th.
Badminton night is the night that we don't make a regular meal. We play from 8-10pm with the Nortel Badminton Club. I must say, my net play is getting better every week. I get some good practice with some of the folks at the club. It's never good to eat a full meal before badminton. Jeff and I made the mistake of sneaking in a bit of cake before heading to badminton. We figure that we were going to burn off the calories anyway, right? Oh man .. the thick thick icing that I mentioned above? Sat in our stomaches like wax. We both looked at each other while warming up and said .. "are you feeling as nauseous as I am?" Lesson to everybody .. no cake before rigorous cardio! :)

Saturday, November 10th.
We met up with the Wongs and decided to celebrate Michael and Jeff's birthday. Michael picked a really good restaurant called Matignon. The food was really good - at least my dish was. The seafood pasta is the best I've had. I've tried the seafood pasta at the Filet of Sole and this one is waaay better. The night did not end so pleasantly though. I got a parking ticket .. sigh. :(

Sunday, November 11th.
Remembrance Day? Yes. I must have gone through 2 or 3 poppies this year. It is not easy keeping those things on! My dad is the environmentally conscious war veteran supporter - his poppy was kept from the last few years. It still has a green center! It's a collector's item. ;)

But also Anson's 1-month birthday. We got together for a big dinner at Golden Court. He was definitely the star of the night. He was cute as ever. He has gained some weight since we last saw him. I got to hold him a few times and he didn't cry. He started dozing off with a smile on his face. It was so cute. Too bad he kept demanding to be fed throughout the dinner. Joyce didn't get to eat with us for much of the night. Luckily, Jeff and I saved her a supersize piece of cherry cheesecake. After a month of being on a strict diet, she finally got to have a yummy piece of cheesecake.

Monday, November 12th.
This brings us to today. It was a rainy day .. but I will leave you with this cute image. I went to visit little Anson before I left. Rain or shine, can't keep me away from this little tot.

We will visit again in December when we are in town for Ka and Corrie's wedding. Sigh .. it means shopping for Christmas presents. Better start now.

Toodles,
Pudgy

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Meeting Anson Chan

We were in Toronto over the weekend to visit our nephew - Anson Chan. Just 8 days old and he was just the cutest thing. He cried a bit because he soiled his diaper but after his dad cleaned him up, he was ready for a short nap. So far, he's been a dream child. Doesn't cry much and just looks around, wondering who we are and what the big deal is. :)

I wasn't brave enough to hold him. He was a lot smaller than I had imagined. Our visit was too short but Joyce and Samuel looked very tired. Ah, the look of new parents. The next time we're in town, he will be 1 month old.

We also got to see my brother Sam, his wife Steph, and their son Hong. I haven't seen them since Jeff and I got married. Too bad the stay was short .. I would have liked to stay a little longer but we just couldn't. Can't wait for the next reunion. Miss you all.


Pudgy

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Nephew #2

He finally arrived. My new nephew .. baby boy Chan - I don't know what his name is yet but I'll mention it in my next blog post. He is the cutie that belongs to my sister Joyce and her husband Samuel. Don't be fooled by the calm, sleeping image of this child. The boy has a set of powerful lungs. :) I haven't seen him in person yet. We should be heading out to Toronto next weekend to visit. I figure the new parents need a week or so to adjust to their new sleeping pattern. I'd rather they get some much needed rest before we drop by.

I'm a little anxious about holding baby boy Chan. I get always nervous holding a baby that is less than 6 months old. I haven't mastered the art of holding a newborn yet. With their sensitive neck and soft bones, I just don't know what's comfortable for them. I hope it will come naturally when I have children. (To Readers: no, the stork hasn't come by for a visit yet .. when it happens, you'll be the first to know. :))

Toodles,

Pudgy

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Home Away from Home

Puffy bought me a beautiful orchid a few weeks ago. I love it when it buys me presents out of the blue. :) It's fully bloomed and the flowers are huge! I think that's a good sign.

I took these pics this morning with the morning glow through our shades.

It's growing quite nicely and is a great accent to our home. Sometimes I find our house is too mono-toned. It needs some colour .. some je ne sais quoi. Flowers are a great addition to the house. I can't get enough of them. Next to diamonds, flowers are my favorite things.

We've also added a new kitchen table to our house. It also gives the house a more homey feel. We looked around for the longest time and finally found this set. Puff put it together himeself. (Very proud of you, baby!)

We also have a healthy group of herbs growing by our window sill. Our first attempt at growing herbs was a disaster. They all turned to dust after 2.5 weeks of care. We decided to take a second stab at it .. this time, only growing rosemary and basil. The chilli peppers were so cute .. so we decided to buy them. I don't think we'll eat them .. they are too cute to prune. My brother-in-law gave us some mint to grow .. and boy, did it grow! It has taken over the window! The stuff grows like weed. It's all over the place .. good thing it smells good. :)

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