I'm Back!

Well it's been a long time since I put anything on here. It was great to see everyone over the Thanksgiving Holiday and we certainly had a good time. Aside from that we basically get up in the morning, go to work, come home from work, go pick up Crysta from basketball practice, eat and go to bed. Her team did play in a Tournament last weekend in San Mateo and won it over 7 other teams involved. They have another tournament this weekend which her team is putting on. The King and I will be working the concession's for that on Saturday. I can hardly wait. On Thursday of this week, my company will be having their Holiday Party. For the second year I am responsible for buying about 100 raffle prizes for the event. So needless to say I have been busy trying to guess what 400 people might find interesting for prizes. It looks a little chilly there in T-Town with all the ice. Sure don't miss that much. Well hope you all have power now and are staying warm. Later!

Napa in October

This weekend was very nice around West Coast Peavine. On Saturday The King and I went to the Flower Market where you can buy any type of flowers at really great prices. Then it was home to watch the Red River Rivalry, suffice it to say it ended well. That evening Elisa went with some of her friends to a benefit concert by Hong Kong Pop artist Hacken Lee while the kids and I stayed home. On Sunday Elisa and I went up to Napa for the day as we had not been there for a little while. It's always nice to go this time of year when they are harvesting and doing the stomping of the grapes. Sadly I did not get to do any stomping. We tried a new place to eat that we had seen on the show "Diners, Dives and Drive-Ins". We had seared Ahi Tuna burgers with Sweet Potato French Fries and Green Tea Milkshakes, it was yummy. We then proceeded to enjoy the day in the Valley while visiting a few of our favorite wineries. Today the kids are out of school and just hanging around the house. Hope you all had a nice weekend!

Fleet Week

Well it is once again Fleet Week and another reminder of how happy I am that they are on our side. We have the Blue Angels in town and it is amazing to watch these things fly around so fast and so low. You hear them about 3 minutes before you ever see them. They are practicing over the Bay these last few days for their shows on Saturday and Sunday. I would surely need a change of shorts if I were their intended target. The ships will have their parade tomorrow as they enter the Bay under the Golden Gate Bridge. Yesterday was the King's Birthday so the kids and I took her out to dinner. We took her to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and feasted on steaks. They were so good but I think the kids enjoyed the bread more. Hope you all have a great weekend!

12 Girls Band

The King and I went to see the 12 Girls Band perform Wednesday night at the Paramount Theater in Oakland. It was a beautiful old theater that was worth the price alone to see. I was curious what the makeup of the crowd would be and was surprised that there were a lot of non Asian people in attendance. They started playing a little after 8:00 and played for a little over an hour and a half with a few costume changes thrown in. They didn't have with them their male drummers who appeared on the Shanghai DVD but instead played over a tape of the drums. It was pretty cool to watch and listen too and when they were finished they bowed and they were gone. No encore, nada. I was holding up my lighter but no one came back. It was good to see them though.

Happy Birthday King!

We want to wish a very Happy Birthday to the King! 25 and still looking great!

International Dragon Boat Festival

Well this past weekend was a busy one. On Saturday we went to the Autumn Moon Festival in Chinatown and hung out with all of our friends. On Sunday was the Dragon Boat Festival at Treasure Island. We delivered our paddlers at the crack of dawn and settled in for a 12 hour day of racing. The kids are on separate boats as Elijah is on the Gold Team or "A" team and Crysta being new is on the Red or "B" team. Crysta's team was the first to go and won their seeding race. Elijah's team was next and they also won their seeding race. From there they went to the Quarter Finals which determine which Class Final you go into A, B or C class. Crysta's team came in second in their race which meant that they were one of the top 6 teams and would be in the Class A Final. Elijah's team won their race which meant they were also in the A Final. The Final was a very close race with the 1st place team winning by .35 seconds, unfortunately it was neither of our boats. Elijah's team finished in second and received the Silver medal. Crysta's team did not place in the medals. There is some strategy here where that if Crysta's boat had finished 3rd in their previous race they would have been in the B Class Finals and would have easily won that one. They also had High School Boy's and Girl's race's. Crysta was on the girls team which had not won the Girl's Division before, it had always gone to their biggest rival. Today was different, they won by more than a boat length and were so excited and happy. The boy's team which had won last year was not able to duplicate their win, they were beaten by less than .40 seconds in this one. We felt so bad for them because they really tried their best and were so devastated by it. Crysta ended up with a Gold medal and Elijah ended up with a Silver and a Bronze medal. We were very proud of all of them and look forward to the next season which begins in the Spring.

Week of Caring

Last week was the Week of Caring that Chevron does annually with the United Way. Over 2800 people within Chevron here in the Bay Area volunteer to help out at a non profit organization for a day during this week. Last year I worked at Habitat For Humanity putting a roof on a house in Livermore. This year I worked at the Markham Arboretum Nature Park. I worked there a few years ago planting an area with plants native to South America. This year I worked on building some paths throughout an area. Mom knows how much fun it is to dig through some of this dirt. Again it was very hard work, but it was nice to get out of the office and do something for groups that can not always afford to have it done.

Been Awhile

Looks like it has been awhile since I last wrote. I have been staying very busy at work as my boss has been in Germany for the last month. He will be back next week and life can get back to normal. The kids have been busy with school and Dragon Boat practice. Wednesday was Crysta's 15th birthday. Seems like yesterday she was riding on my shoulders, those days are gone. We will have a busy weekend ahead of us, Saturday is the Autumn Moon Festival in Chinatown. We will go in for the Street Fair and the pageantry. On Saturday night the kids will have a dinner for their Dragon Boat team. Sunday will be the International Dragon Boat Festival at Treasure Island. The kids will be competing in the High School Division. Lat year Elijah's team won a gold medal in their class. He and Crysta are on different teams for Lincoln High School so will compete against each other as well as the other teams. We hope they do well and have fun. We will let you all know how they did later. Everyone have a good weekend!

Happy Birthday Jeanne

We all want to wish Jeanne a very Happy Birthday. Hope you have a great day!

Happy Birthday Nate!

We want to wish Nate a very Happy 16th Birthday tomorrow. If you do get your license, I'm glad we are out here. Just kidding! Have a great day!

Busted

I think I was really making some progress with this girl until Elisa and the kids caught me. I didn't even get her name.

Southern Cal

We went down to Southern California this past weekend before the kids went back to school. We first went to Knott's Berry Farm on Friday. We were there very briefly about 7 years ago and decided to spend some more time there. I had people telling me it was a little to kiddy but it was just the opposite. They had added in several new extreme rides that we enjoyed. They also had several cool shops to explore. We ended the evening at Mrs. Knott's Famous Fried Chicken place, she was famous for her chicken. I actually had the Chicken and Dumplings which were pretty good. We then loaded up on Knott's preserves for ourselves and others. Saturday we got up and headed to Venice Beach. We had breakfast at a nice place there on the boardwalk and then explored the funky shops and all of the interesting people along the boardwalk. We went by the Muscle Beach there and saw all of the guys flexing their muscles. Spent a little time playing in the water before heading up the coast to Malibu. Some nice little houses there. We finished up Saturday night by waiting in line for 1 1/2 hours at Pink's where they are famous for their hot dogs. I was determined to actually eat there and the dogs were very good. Not sure anything is worth that long a wait, but they were very good and I don't really care for hot dogs. Sunday we got up and headed to Roscoe's, one of our favorite places. They serve chicken and waffles for breakfast and it is very good. We then headed over to Universal Studios to hang out before heading home. All in all it was a nice trip and we had fun.

Silver Oak Release Party

Once again this year, Elisa and I made our way up to the Alexander Valley for the Silver Oak Release party. Silver Oak only makes Cabernet and is one of my favorites. They pour the new release as well as some old ones throughout the day. Plus they have a lot of amazing food as well. It was another fun day. Does it look like we were having any fun?

We Be Tours

Well another weekend and another tour. As soon as Greg left town my friend Bret came into town. He is teaching at the University of Nevada now and was in town for a Conference. We picked him up at his hotel and were off to show him our standard Saturday tour. Greg should remember that one. We went over the Golden Gate to Sausilito and then to the Palace of Fine Art followed by a drive down the coast before dinner at our Malaysian & Thai restaurant. It was really good to see him and fun to talk about our early years. The kids enjoyed his stories of things we had done. We will go up and see his family as soon as the kids finish their Dragon Boat season. This weekend we will be heading down to Southern California to hit Knott's Berry Farm and then go to Venice Beach as well as our usual hangouts. On another note the kids were sure ragging on Greg his last day in the city. They couldn't believe he would rather hang out with his "Computer" friends instead of hanging out with them. It was fun to have him here.

Greg at Big Trees

Notice the homage to Mike?

Greg and Kids at Treasure Island

Greg and Dean at Golden Gate Bridge

Greg on Twin Peaks

Greg and Elisa at The Palace of Fine Arts

D'oh!

Well this past weekend was very busy for us. On Friday Ethan graduated from High School and Elisa and the kids were able to go to his Commencement. We are very proud of him and the hard work he put into it to make it happen. On Saturday we went to see the new "Simpson's Movie", I will have to give it a thumbs up. It was a very funny movie which had me laughing throughout. I highly recommend it to you all to see. On Sunday we went to see the Giants play, hoping to see Barry Bonds hit the tying and hopefully record breaking home run. But alas, it was not to be. Later that night we had a dinner for Ethan to celebrate his graduation. Last week we also had dinner with our first tour group to China and will be going out to dinner again this Thursday. It's always good to see them. Glad to hear the cruise was so much fun and that you all were able to find something to eat while you were gone.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday?

Yesterday it actually rained here in the Bay Area. It was the very first recorded rainfall ever for this date, which explains the title of my blog. Mom will probably be the only one that gets it though. On another note, we received an e-mail reply from our tour guide Jackie that we had in Guillin. He was not completely sure if we were the same ones in Guillin so we sent him some photo's we had taken together. Look forward to hearing back from him. Aside from that not much else is going on. Later!

25 Year Anniversary

The beginning of this year I completed my 25th year of working for Chevron. With every 5 years of service that you have, you are entitled to a luncheon on Chevron. The number of years you have also determines how many people you can invite as well as the gift you can choose from. Being that I had reached 25 I was allowed to have a dinner instead of a lunch which I chose to do. I chose to go to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. I had tried to have this while Mom was in town, but I couldn't get everybody together during that time. I invited 3 of my friends along with Elisa and my boss. I chose Ruth's because in my opinion it is the best steak I have ever had. When you order the steak you get nothing with it except the steak, the rib eye I had was $43 for the steak alone. You then order the side dishes which are just as good. Elisa ordered a lobster and the smallest they had was a 3 1/2 pounder. It was a good size puppy. I enjoyed a couple bottles of wine that were about $80 per bottle. I was presented with my gift which was a very nice Movado watch that I had ordered. I certainly didn't need another watch, but I didn't want a belt buckle or pocket knife. It was a very nice time with some old friends and some amazing food. Wonder if I will make it another 25 years?

Memorial Day Weekend

Hope you all had a very enjoyable long weekend. Except for Mom, where they are all long weekends. The King and I went to Carnaval on Saturday, which is the Latin version of Mardi Gras. There were lots of great food and many booths full of Hispanic themed items. Sunday we got up early and went to Walnut Creek to Heather Farms for a picnic with some of the King's friends and co-workers. Did I mention that prior to leaving the house, "Houston" we have a problem. We had fully loaded up the Mercedes and were pulling out of the driveway when something didn't feel right. The left rear tire was flat. So we unloaded everything in the car so that we could change the flat. Unfortunately, the King did not get all of the manuals for her car and it took us a while to figure out how to get to the spare and what we had was in German. After a while we were able to get the little doughnut tire on the car and back into the garage and load the Lexus for the trip across the bay. The picnic was held at Heather Farms which is a real nice Park over in Walnut Creek. They had a large playground for the kids as well as an Olympic sized swimming pool. The kids went swimming later in the afternoon and had a good time. Then on Monday we arose once again early for another trip across the Bay, this time to pick cherries. We went to Brentwood with some friends and their parents to pick cherries. You can basically go to Brentwood and pick anything you desire. The have apricots, strawberries and cherries in season now with peaches coming soon. After a few hours of picking and eating cherries we went back to their house and went out for Sushi. It was a very busy weekend, which was fun, but I felt like it was gone too fast. On another note, we were awful glad to hear that the exploits of the Passport turned out well. We were glued to our computers in anticipation of what was going to happen. I hope the girls are enjoying their trip, because I know Greg was stressing about it.

Redwood Shores Regatta

Well last weekend the kids Dragon boat team was invited to participate in the Redwood Shores Regatta. This event is located south of San Francisco near Redwood City. The event is for adult and college teams to participate in. The kids team was invited since they had won the High School Championships. There were several races during the day which determine your class ranking. The kids once again messed up and did well enough to place in the "A" Division Finals, which is the best one. They were up against 4 adult teams and a team from UCLA. They ended up coming in last but were with a half a boat length of the winner. They did manage to do better and beat teams like Stanford, UC Berkeley and UC Davis. It was funny to listen to the other teams once they realized they were just high school kids. They may not have won any awards but they certainly held their own and made us very proud of them.

Congratulations Auna!

Congratulations to Auna today on her graduation from High School. We are very proud of you and wish we could be there for your special day. Try not to trip on your way across the stage. Just kidding! Love you!

Happy Birthday Pops!

We Love You!

Happy Birthday Greg!

We would all like to wish Greg a very Happy 41st Birthday! Please be careful today as you are not getting any younger. Perhaps a day of drooling at the Bass Pro Shop is in order? We love you and hope you have a great day.

Happy Birthday April!

The West Coast Crew would like to wish April a very Happy Birthday! We hope you have a wonderful day. Love You!

Traffic Nightmare

As you all probably heard we had a little accident out here this past weekend. A tanker wrecked, blew up and destroyed a major intersection that allows me to get to San Ramon every day. Fortunately for us, the fact that we leave so early in the morning helps us. We took the detours they have set up and it added between 5-7 minutes this morning by going through the surface streets of Oakland. There should not be any problems for us when we go home. But it will be a "Nightmare" for anyone that works in San Francisco and has to go home that way this evening. I think it will add an extra hour to their commute. We are lucky because we have the reverse commute. Aside from that, it was Elijah's 16th birthday yesterday. He chose to spend the day hanging out with his friends in San Francisco and then we took him out to dinner when he got home. I had spent the day painting his room with a "little" help from Crysta. The King and I were going to get the Visa's for China today but the Consulate is closed for two days and after reading UK blog, I now know why.We will get them this Thursday instead. Aside from that it was pretty quiet around here. We are sure that Mike is very happy about the draft and figure he already has his Peterson jersey. Later!

China Trip

Since I am not sure if UK sees the e-mail I send him, I am trying the blog as another source of info. We will be arriving on June 13th at 5:25 pm at Pudong Airport on United flight 857. There will be 6 of us this time as the King's mother will be joining us. We will be in Shanghai until a Monday morning flight at 8:10 am out of Pudong Airport to Xian. This should give you a little time to figure what might be the best way to get us to the airport on that Monday morning. Would a ride on the Maglev train be a possibility? Look forward to seeing you!

Stockholder's Meeting

Today was Chevron's Annual Stockholder's meeting in San Ramon. I was asked to volunteer and help out at the event, which I agreed to do. They didn't tell me when I volunteered that I would have to wear a suit. But thankfully with the weight I have lost, I must admit it actually fit me pretty good. I was assigned to the Security part of it which required me to search everyone's bags and to confiscate any electronic devices that they might have. It was actually pretty interesting and all of the people were pretty easy going about it. A few didn't like having to leave their phones with us, but these were the same people that missed the 10 signs leading from the parking lot saying they were not allowed. I most enjoyed the more mature ladies asking me when the gas prices were going to come down. They said they had gotten no answers from the Board of Directors so I told them that they were going down tomorrow. All in all it was a pretty interesting day and will certainly help out again next year if asked.

The Race Is On!

Here the two are in one of their qualifying races for the mixed teams. You can see them circled on the photo. It was a very cold and windy day on the lake and it started to rain prior to the Championship races.

Crysta Banging Her Drum

Crysta is banging the drum to keep them in rhythm. Elijah is the one right in front of her. We were hoping she wouldn't drop the drum stick and thought about taping it to her hand. Not really, they both did very well!

Dragon Boat Races

Well this past Saturday was the High School Dragon Boat Championships. We arose early to have our two contestants there by 7:00 AM on an overcast and rainy day. The kids first race was not until 10:15 so we had some time to stand around. Elijah and Crysta were on the same boat this year, while Elijah paddled on the all boys team as well. Crysta was the drummer for the boys team also. They did not win any medals this year but it's not because they did bad. They actually did better than they did at the meet in September of last year. You have qualifying races throughout the morning to determine your Division, which consist of "A - D" Last year they surprised everyone and won the "B" Division. Well this year they messed up (not really) and qualified for the "A" Division finals. It was the first time that one school had 3 of the 6 teams in the "A" Division finals. So suffice it to say that they were going up against the very best and held their own. The Gold Team from their school Lincoln which is mainly Seniors won the event. They may not have won any medals but they certainly improved over what they did last year.

Happy Birthday Edge!

The King and I as well as Crysta and Eli would like to wish Edge a very happy birthday. We hope you have a great time today and wish we could be there for your party. We love you buddy!

Easter Weekend

We awoke Saturday morning to the sound of someone and their jack hammer making a lot of noise. The King asked what is was and after I told her she got dressed and was out the door. About 10 minutes later she was back and had arranged for the guys that were making all of the noise to come to our house and widen our driveway. By the time she had finished with them she had gotten them to reduce the price by $250. She's good at that. After that the King and I went to see the Giants and Dodgers play on Saturday, unfortunately we lost, but it was nice to get out and watch a game. We then cooked some chicken out on the grill later that evening. On Sunday her and I went into Chinatown for a little shopping and then got home in time to take Elijah to an event he was having at the school. After picking him up I planted a bunch of flowers in some pots that we had bought to spruce up the back yard some more. The kids then went out to dinner with their Paternal Grandparents. Hope you all had a great Easter and it was really nice to be able to see you all and talk to you.

Ching Ming

The kids are on Spring Break this week so the King and I took yesterday off with them. We got up and went to Chinatown for supplies and then took off to the Chinese Cemetery for Ching Ming. It is a Chinese tradition of visiting the ancestors. We took rice wine, fruit, dim sum and incense and candles. You burn the candles, light the incense and then burn paper money and such so that they have money and gold in the after life. You pour the wine on the ground for them and leave food. Then you eat the rest of the food for yourself while you are there. Most people went on the weekend but we went on Monday, there was no one there which was very nice.It's always been very busy. Sunday night was the Tam Family Association dinner which is the King's mother's clan. The King's uncle is one of the leaders of the group. There was the typical 10 course dinner and the ever popular Karaoke singing. NOT!! The rest of the weekend was either spent at Home Debit as I continue to work on the back yard or shopping for new clothes to take to China.

Weekend Update

Well, not a whole lot to report for this past weekend. I started walking in the Park again now that the weather is nicer. It's a lot more scenic than walking through the neighborhood. The King and I took the kids to practice on Saturday and then went shopping at Home Debit. We picked up a nice "Money Tree" for her Dad. After we picked the kids up from practice, we picked up Estella who is Francy's daughter. Francy is the King's best friend in Hong Kong who played our tour guide for the first few days we were in Hong Kong last year. We were taking Estella out for her birthday. We went and had Sushi at our favorite place and then went to the Mall. Elijah took off once we got there and I was left with the girls. All three of them were in their shopping mode. I found myself enjoying having two girls but do not think I could afford it. Estella spent the night and played video games with Elijah most of the evening. On Sunday we took Estella home and the kids to their paternal grandparents which left the King and I a chance to go to Costco. We picked up a few trees to plant out back and then went to Ross. It was a pretty quite weekend. Later!

Happy Birthday Auna

We all want to wish Auna a very happy 18th birthday! Hope you have a wonderful day and can not believe you are already 18. Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Clean Up

Well I woke up on Saturday morning and for some reason I decided to clean out the back yard junk. All of the stuff that has been collected over the years sitting on the lower level of the yard. I just started loading it all in a van that I had and took off to the dump. After the first load I was just ready to go back and get some more. Eventually I had completely emptied out all of the junk and now have a spotless backyard. Now all I need to do is get the portable building I want to put down there. After that I finished Crysta's room by putting up her mini blinds and doing a little touch up painting. After that I went outside and pulled weeds from the back yard. Yesterday I came into the office and set all of the clocks. After that is was back home to see what the gang was up to. Not much, we then went to the grocery store picked up a few steaks and grilled the steaks and some lamb chops for dinner with the King's parents. I will go home today and clean out the aquarium. Fun!!!

Catching Up

Last night we went out to dinner with two of the families that we were on the tour to China last year with. The family with the twin girls and everyone's favorite little boy. The King's parents went along with us as well and everyone had a great time. Everyone looked well and the kids picked right back up where they left off. The talk was to go back to China as a group in 2009. They all said to tell Momlls hello! There was a lot of good food but I am trying to eat less. I was very inspired by the news of Greg and Jeanne new slim physiques that I am trying to lose some weight as well. Kudos to both of you! I have been walking as much as I can and I climb the 5 flights of stairs at work 10 times a day. I have lost about 10 pounds in the last month and look to lose a lot more. If nothing else I feel better.

The Celebration has Ended

This past weekend officially ended the New Year's Festivities for another year. The Chinese New Years parade was held on Saturday night with the Street Fair on both Saturday and Sunday. We went out to dinner with some friends on Saturday night for another dinner. We went to a new place fr us and had a very "special" version of the Monk Dinner. It was mostly pretty tasty. We then went to Chinatown for Dim Sum on Sunday morning and then checked out the Street Fair. I was a little disappointed. I had money to buy things, but just didn't see anything that I could live without. We then went out for dinner last night with the King's parents as well as her brother Wing and Ethan and Stephanie. It was fun to hang out with them all. It was a very nice weekend here after it had been raining for a while. I was able to work out back in the yard and wash some cars while the kids were at Dragon Boat practice.

Mother Nature or the King

Last night Crysta and I were in our bedroom watching TV when I noticed a big thud and some rumbling. I said to Crysta that we just had an earthquake. She looked around and said no that was just Mom coming up the stairs. Sure enough about 3 seconds later the King walked into the room and I just thought to myself someones putting on a little weight. But fortunately about 10 minutes later they came out with a news report that we had just had a 4.2 quake or a "Light Quake" This sure made me feel better about the King. Yesterday we also had some snow atop Mount Diablo which is always pretty cool to see, we don't see it very much unless you go to the Sierra's. This weekend will be the Chinese New Year parade and the Street Festival. Not sure we will do the parade, but will probably do the street fair. Hopefully there won't be too much rumblings today from the ground.

Lakers in Town

Well this weekend started off really well. After watching a cooking show, I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Po-Boy sandwiches. So the King and I went to our local Asian Market and bought the biggest shrimp we could find. We then proceeded to make some very tasty Po-Boys. The on Saturday it was everyone's birthday in the Chinese Culture. We went for Dim Sum and then took the kids to their first Dragon Boat practice of the year. We then took the King parents with us to Home Debit so we could get some paint for Elijah's room. We then picked up the kids and they went to their paternal grandparents for dinner while the King and I went to dinner with her parents. We then took them to the mall after dinner to walk a little of it off. On Sunday we had tickets to see the Golden State Warriors play the Lakers in basketball. We had all of the kids with us and most of us were wearing our Lakers jerseys. The King was actually pretty good. She had the binoculars attached to her eyes the whole day watching Kobe Bryant. The only time I got worried was when she anted us to wait out by the Lakers bus to see Kobe leave. I told her he would not be out for a while and she reluctantly agreed and we left. We then picked her Dad up and went to dinner. The kids have practice again today. I'm not sure they have gotten over the aches and pains that they acquired on Saturday. It's pretty funny.

Year of the Pig

Gung Hay Fat Choy to everyone! Well it's officially that time of year again. We rose early Saturday to do some last minute shopping in ChinaTown for the festivities. Getting our fresh chicken and other items. The rest of Saturday was spent feverishly cleaning the house prior to midnight, with a rush of showers and hair washing prior to midnight as well. You are not allowed to clean house or wash your hair on New Year's Day as you might wash away any good luck. We arose on Sunday to join every other Asian for Dim Sum. We were all wearing our new clothes that you save for New Year's day preferably red, which you know I was sporting. After that the kids spent the rest of the day with their paternal grandparents. The King and I spent some time running errands before we met her parents and every other Asian again for dinner. The night was spent watching all of the New Year's celebrations that were on the Chinese channels that we get. Events from Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Monday was spent visiting her parents house for some New Years rituals, nothing bizarre. And then we followed it up with the Monk's dinner which has to be one of my favorites? It consist of dried mushrooms, dried oysters and black hair moss. And the really fresh chicken, all of him. This weekend we will be celebrating again in the morning and the evening with our very close friends the Asian community. On Saturday it is everyone's birthday in the Chinese community. I guess it's mine as well, so we will be celebrating those as well. And then on Sunday we will all be going to see the Lakers play the Golden State Warriors in a basketball game.

Happy Birthday G-Man

All of us at West Coast Peavine want to wish G-Man a very Happy Birthday. Hope you have a great day and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Rainy Weekend

Well it has finally been raining around here which is something we could use. A lot of people are starting to get nervous. I remember it did the same thing last year, and then it rained for 35 straight days starting at the end of February. Crysta and I finally got around to painting her room on Saturday. I really hate to paint and had been putting it off until it was a rainy weekend with nothing else to do. It really made it so much easier having her help me. She was able to paint in the corners and the lower parts of the walls leaving me to do the higher parts. We really did a god job together and her room looks really nice. She picked out a really nice shade of blue. Next we will have Elijah pick out some paint and do his room. While her and I were doing that, The King and Elijah took her mother into Chinatown to buy food and such for Chinese New Year. It will be on February 18th this year and we had our first New Years dinner last night at one of their favorite restaurants. That means that this Saturday they will all be busy cleaning the house before New Years and then I can look forward to one of my favorite dishes. The black hair moss. Yum!

Queen Mary 2

We didn't do much of anything this weekend. Did a little around the house on Saturday then got up Sunday morning to go for a walk and then clean out the aquarium. After that it was time to watch the Super Bowl and the part I look forward to the commercials. Sadly the commercials this year were pretty lame. The game was actually much better than the commercials. Also on Sunday the Queen Mary 2 came into San Francisco on her trip around the world. It's a pretty big boat! Everyone was crowded on the beaches the Golden Gate Bridge was packed and traffic stopped when she came through. She will be here until tonight before she heads off to Hawaii.

Nuttin Much

Not a whole lot going on out here. Crysta has had a few basketball games this week in which her team won both of them. Today is Stephanie's (Ethan's Girlfriend) birthday. We will take her out to dinner tomorrow to help her celebrate. We are closing in on the Chinese New Year which is on February 18th this year. It will be the year of the Pig - let me know if you need anything from it Auna. I recently had my 25th anniversary with Chevron and have now started on my 26th year. I get to have a dinner or lunch with friends of my choosing and the place of my choosing. I am looking to find a place that is VERY nice but not real stuffy. I want the best but I want to have a good time. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Happy Birthday UK!

All of us at West Coast Peavine would like to wish UK a very Happy Birthday! We hope you have a great day and look forward to seeing you soon!

Greetings from Icy West Coast Peavine

Well I know it doesn't compare to what those of you in East Peavine are experiencing, but for out here it's a bit nippy. We have had temps in the 20's in the evening which is pretty cold for out here. I hear that the citrus crops were basically wiped out so prepare to pay for your fruit. I have actually had ice on my windshield a few mornings and had to wait for them to thaw because I don't think anyone has an ice scraper out here. Aside from just trying to stay warm inside and outside we have not done a whole lot. The King and I took all of the kids the other night to see Golden State and Miami play in basketball. It was a pretty good game even though Golden State lost. We are going to see them play the Lakers in a few weeks which should be fun. Some will have more problems at that game without mentioning any names. I did actually take one of my days off yesterday. Everyone else in the house were off so they decided I should as well. We ended up going downtown for lunch at one of our favorite little dives for Vietnamese food, Tu Lan's. We then went to the new Bloomingdales that they built on Market street. It is a brand new shopping center that is anchored by a Bloomingdales. We are still awaiting to hear what tours will be offered in the summer for China before we make any official plans. We did look at several books at a Borders yesterday to try and get ideas of places to see in the areas we want to go to. As soon as we find out something Kev we will let you know. Maybe you could join us on the tour if we go to Xian and Guilin. Hope you all are staying warm and safe in the weather that you are having out there. Later!