Trina's page of Blogginess

This evening, we went to The House of Prime Rib to celebrate my Mom and Dad's Birthdays!

My parents were born in the same month (July) of the same year! My Mom's birthday was on the first, and my Dad's is on the 28th. They will be away on vacation during my Dad's birthday, so we decided to do a joint birthday dinner for them before they leave.

HoPR never fails - always an amazing meal, and good fun!

Happy Birthday, Mom & Dad!!!

Labels: family

I've mentioned before that all of my cousins are hyper-overachievers, but this one takes the cake!


Last Saturday, my cousin, Bruce, was elected The Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). This is the highest elected post in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The San Francisco Chronicle (and consequently, sfgate.com) ran this really great article about him today:

New moderator seeks to unite Presbyterians

I cannot begin to express how very proud I am of Bruce, and how impressed I am of the work that he does. I have no doubt that he will do incredible things in his new position.

Congratulations, Bruce!

Labels: family

House of Genji in San Jose!!


At least the day ended on a high note. :)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Labels: family

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

I'm taking the day off today so that I can spend the day with her.
We're going to have lunch with my Dad at his new office, and dinner later tonight with my sister.

Should be a really nice day.

Happy Birthday, Mommo!
I love you!

Labels: family

Congratulations to my Cousin, Bruce!!

Tonight, he was elected the Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Labels: family

Tiffie & Graham

Today, Graham graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Psychology! We celebrated with both families at Roy's this evening.

Congratulations, Paco!!!

Labels: family

This afternoon, my cousin, Kenneth, graduated from The University of
California, San Francisco's School of Medicine.

Congratulations, Dr. Kenneth!!
We're all so proud of you!

Labels: family

My cousin is on the road for work this week, so I pitched in to help
by taking one of his daughters to her hip hop class today.

Labels: family

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms out there!

A very special "Happy Mother's Day" to my Mom - one of the most amazing people I've ever known. Her capacity to love unconditionally, to give selflessly, her positive spirit, and her abundant amount of energy have always set a great example for me, and anyone who knows her.

I couldn't imagine having a better Mom.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.

I love you!


Barb with her girls at Disneyland, 1972, Disneyland, 2007, and with her family at ILM in 2007

Labels: family

First there was Cousins Dinner - a tradition I have withe my sister and 3 cousins (and an occasional spouse, significant other, or gay boyfriend) where we get together every few months (or at least once a year) for dinner.

Today, was the first of (hopefully) many "Cousins Golf" days. Well, not all of the cousins play golf, and Kenneth was out of town, but since it was my cousin, Bruce, and I who organized it, I'm just going to call it "Cousins Golf"!

Dick and Graham (My sister's boyfriend) joined Bruce and me for a rousing 9-hole game of golf this morning. I personally didn't have a very good game, but that's okay - it was a really, really fun time.

Bruce used to play regularly, but hasn't played in the last 3 years. Graham hasn't played at all this year, so it was a really great way for everyone to get back into it, and to spend some quality time with each other.

I'm hoping we can make this a semi-regular thing!
(and maybe, just maybe we can get Tiffie and Cheri to join us, too!)

PS: I seem to be golfing a lot lately, and I've started to blog about it more. I'm officially starting the "golf" label for my blog, now. I think that means I may be addicted. It's probably a healthier addiction than Vegas. ;)

Labels: family, golf

Waiting along the Olympic Torch Route on the Embarcadero

Today was a fun-filled day of unusual events for the Chow Family.

I met my parents and my sister at the Embarcadero at 1:00 to wait and watch for the Olympic Torch to run by. As expected, there were thousands of people lined up waiting to get a glimpse of the torch, and protesting along the route. Christopher actually saw my last blog post right after I had posted it, and came out from his office to join us.

I had my iPhone with me, so I regularly checked the internet to see what the latest news was on the torch. It came as no surprise when we found out that the route had been rerouted, and that the torch was being brought to another part of the city.

Oh well. Not a surprise at all, and it was kind of interesting just being there, and watching all of the hoopla anyway.

After we left the Embarcadero, we made our way towards Chinatown. My parents had a gift certificate that they had bid on at an auction last year for a tea tasting at a tea shop on Grant Ave.

Along the way, we decided to make a detour to North Beach. My sister was raving about an Italian bakery that she had found there, and she claimed that they had the best éclairs she had ever had. Never one to turn down a snack, we all decided to make an Eclair-Detour. (It was very good).

We finally made our way to Vital Tea Leaf on Grant Ave for a tea tasting. They actually regularly offer free tea tastings which we really enjoyed and that I would highly recommend. We tasted 9 different teas, and learned a lot along the way. The gentleman who gave us our tea tasting was very knowledgeable and friendly, and honored our gift certificate with whichever tea we wished to purchase.

After tea, we decided to have an early dinner and walked to my old neighborhood of Nob Hill to our favorite Chinese restaurant in San Francisco, U-Lee. Potstickers, fried Chicken Wings, Tomato-Beef Curry Chow Mein, and Green Beans. It doesn't get better then that!

After dinner, we decided to walk a bit longer - a good idea considering how much we ate and drank all day! We walked down to Union Square and went to visit Graham at the Post Street Theater. After a quick visit, we all walked back down to Powell Street @ Market to BART/MUNI.

A lot of Chow Fun, and a lot of Chinese. All wrapped into one fun day. :)

I just plugged our walking route into Gmaps Pedometer. Looks like we walked about 3.5 miles. Not Bad!

Labels: family, san francisco

Auntie Tiffie, Evie, and Uncle Dick

This afternoon, I picked my niece, Evelyn, up from school for an "Auntie Afternoon" with me and my sister.

It started with a walk down to Bi-Rite Creamery, where we had decadent sundaes with 2 scoops of ice cream, brownie bits, hot fudge and whipped cream. YUM!

Then, we walked down Church Street to Market, and went shopping at Crystal Way, a store which I had brought Evie to before, and she just loved. Dick and I had given her a gift certificate to the store for her birthday, so she was able to have fun shopping with that yesterday. (incense, cone incense, holders for each style, and a rose quartz crystal in the shape of a skull!)

On our way home, we also stopped by The Castro Theater (Aliens is playing tomorrow night at 9:15!), Cliff's Variety Store, Chocolate on Castro (another favorite spot of my niece with a sweet tooth), and finally, the grocery store.

The highlight of the day was when the four of us played Rock Band on the Xbox later in the evening.

I've been meaning to blog about Rock Band for a while now.

A few weeks ago, we went to Jud & Melissa's to celebrate Jud's 40th Birthday (He's a leap year baby, so technically, it was his 10th Birthday). They had Rock Band set up, which Dick played a lot. He was addicted.

He was so addicted that he ran out to buy it the next evening (while I was away!) and even more addicted after the first evening, that he went out to buy a Guitar Hero Guitar the next day so we could have a bass guitar as well as a regular guitar. Oy.

It has been a ton of fun, and Evie was especially excited when she learned that we had it.

So, we formed a 4-piece band: Tiffie on bass, me on guitar, Dick on drums, and Evie on vocals. (We switched it around a bit throughout the evening - Dick and I switched, and Evie also tried her hand at guitar and drums.)

It was quite hysterical to hear Evelyn sing rocks songs from way before her era. Let me tell you, it was a bit disconcerting hearing my 11 year old niece sing "I think I'm Paranoid" by Garbage:

Bend me, break me
Anyway you need me
All I want is you
Bend me, break me
Breaking down is easy
All I want is you

I'm not sure what her parents are going to think when they see her walking around the house tomorrow singing these lyrics! They probably won't let me have Evie over anymore. :)

Labels: A day in the life, family, life in the castro, xbox

Now, that's just WRONG!

This morning, I attended Easter Sunday Church service with Dick and his family.

Most of you probably know that I'm not a Church-goer. I wasn't raised with any kind of religion in my life, and have hardly ever attended church services. I do respect everyone's right to their own beliefs, just as I have some spiritual beliefs of my own.

That being said, I've never been to Church on Easter Sunday. Going to Church has always made me a little uncomfortable, to say the least. I just try to do my best to keep my my mind open, and mouth shut (I don't sing or recite prayers). I always saw Church as a very "serious" matter - out of respect that this is something very important to so many people, and that it is something that I simply don't know much about.

This morning's service was very nice - It's a lovely Church, nice sermon, and a great organ, accompanied by a choir. Since it was Easter Sunday, most people in the congregation went up for communion. I stayed in the pew while the rest of the family went up.

As they were coming back into our pew, Dick's sister, Meg, passed by me, and whispered, (just loud enough for me to hear):

"Bones of the father, unwillingly given....."

OMG. Once it set in what she had said, I had to try really, really hard not to bust out laughing!!

For those of you who don't know, that's a line from the Harry Potter series. Actually, it's part of the spell that was cast in Book 4 to resurrect the Dark Lord. Again, wrong, but oh-so-funny!

Meg had sent me a message a few months ago that she had been one of the people chosen to hand out communion, during which you say "The body of Christ, given for you" (when offering the bread) then "The blood of Christ, shed for you" (when offering the wine). Anyhow, she told me later that in the middle of being up there handing out the bread, or offering the wine, suddenly, that line from Harry Potter popped into her mind. She told me had to concentrate really hard to make sure she was reciting the appropriate line when offering communion, rather than accidentally slipping into Harry Potter mode. It was all she could do not to laugh during the rest of communion.

Oh, I just love my sister-in-law. (both of them, actually, but Meg gets credit for this morning's chuckle.)

So, that's my Easter Sunday Morning Story.
Apologies if I've offended anyone. Certainly didn't intend to. :)

Labels: family, funny ha-ha

I've decided that Franklin Street in Chapel Hill is the Main Street
USA in Disneyland for Carolina Fans.

Labels: basketball, family

Mocha for Mom, Hot Chocolate for me. Yum.

Happy Mom

My Mom spent the night at our house last night. She's working at the gallery for a few days this week, helping them prepare for the big move.

She hadn't had a chance to have a Morning Bun from Tartine Bakery until today. Every time she had come up before, we'd get to the bakery too late - they'd already be sold out.

Since she spent the night, we were able to get to the bakery by 9:00 - plenty of Morning Buns available! We sat outside at the cafe tables, and enjoyed our urban breakfast experience together. :)

Labels: family, just trina, san francisco

Labels: family

I've been a Facebook user for about 6 months now. I'm actually quite the avid user - I'm surprised how much I enjoy spending time on it. (read: time suck)

One of my favorite little dittys of Facebook is the Status Updates. Essentially, as a user, you share your current "status" (what you're doing, what's on your mind, random thoughts, etc.,) with your other Facebook friends. I update mine regularly, just for fun, and I really enjoy "watching" what my friends are up do at any given moment. (I know, it's all pretty Big Brother-ish.)

This afternoon, I refreshed my Facebook home page, and saw a status update for my cousin, Bruce.

Bruce is hanging at Queen Malika Cafe, a new discovery! 8m ago

Queen Malika Cafe is a fab little crepe/coffee shop less than 2 blocks from my house.

Now, of course, I still can't do the simple thing of picking up a phone.

Instead, I open iChat (which I know Bruce uses) and find him online to ask, "Are you at the Queen Malika on 18th St. in my neighborhood?"

and he replies, "Yes, come on down!"

So, I grabbed my purse, and headed down for a nice, quick visit with my cuz. It was great. I always enjoy having the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with anyone in my family, since our usual family gatherings are always so large, and it's hard to have a substantial one-on-one conversation with anyone.

Anyhow, this whole story cracked me up. Bruce surpassed me years ago as far as techno-geekiness goes, so it only seems appropriate that this is how we communicate to have a spontaneous hook up.

Labels: family, life in the castro

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year! It's the year of the Rat - the first animal in the 12 year cycle.

We have a lot of rats in my family - both my Mom and Dad, my cousin, Cheri, and my niece, (my cousin's daughter) Evelyn!


3 generations of Rats - Evelyn, Barb, and Cheri

The Sign of the Rat

Being born under this sign determines many talents, as well as other characteristics that may not be so commendable. Rats are very lively and need a lot of mental and physical stimulation. They can be calm and perceptive, but sometimes their brains can cause a mental restlessness, tempting them to take on too much, only to discover they are unable to meet their commitments. Rats are blessed with one of the best intellects going. Add to their intelligence a curiosity and a bright imagination, and they seem as sharp as a needle.

My family got together for our annual Chinese New Year celebration this past Sunday. For the first time in the last few years, we held it in Stockton at my Grandparent's house. It was really nice having it back there again.

I got a refresher course on Mahjong - it's been several years since I've played, and I really wanted to pick it up again. Now, if we could only find the Mahjong set that everyone *claims* belongs to me! :)


Mahjong!

Grandma had been preparing for the Chinese New Year feast for several days - cooking for 20 people! We all did what we could to help, but really, Grandma had it all under control. Unfortunately, poor Auntie Lani was sick this year, and couldn't join us, so we were down to 19.


A whole lotta Chow
(photo courtesy of my cuz, Bruce. Thanks, Boo!)

It was a really nice day, and, for whatever reason, one of my favorite "Chinese New Year" celebrations in memory.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Labels: family

Happy Birthday to my sister, Tiffini!



Just look at how young my parents were!

Labels: family

Tomorrow (January 30th) is my sister's birthday! Happy Birthday, Sis!

Mondays are her days off from the theater, so we went out for a celebratory dinner last night. We went to one of our favorite restaurants (and a usual birthday dinner spot for our family): Roys. (Mmmmm... Butterfish!)

Labels: family

First of all, I want to thank all of you who have sent emails, comments, and cards to me and my family in regards to my Grandpa's passing. I can't express how much your notes of love and support have meant to us.

In my 37 years, this is the first time that I've lost a close family member. That fact still amazes me, and I do not take it for granted. With this in mind, I've always been one of the people writing cards of sympathy to friends, offering them my condolences, wanting to do whatever I could to help in any small way. It never felt like enough.

Now I know that these emails and cards that I've received, phone calls, and hugs that I've received are SO much. I want you all to know how much strength and support you've given to me. I've always known how fortunate I am to have so many wonderful friends and family members: the best support system I could imagine.

I haven't had a chance yet to respond to any of your emails - I hope to start doing that tomorrow. Please know that I've received them, and loved reading every single one of them. They warm my heart.

Yesterday, my Mom, my Grandma and I went shopping for an urn in which to keep my Grandpa's ashes. None of us had ever been through this before, so we didn't really know what to expect. My sister had called my Mom earlier that day to remind her that Costco.com sells funeral items: coffins, urns, etc., (I'm sure I've blogged about that before!) So my Mom and I checked out Costco.com, printed out the urn selection, and brought it with us for comparison.

We went to a place in Downtown San Jose which (apparently) has a large selection of urns in stock. This gave us a chance to get a feel for what's available, what the sizes are, shapes, colors, etc.,

To make a long story short, we all agreed to go with one of the urns on costco.com. Now I realize that this may sound odd, but really, it's perfect.

My Grandpa would have gotten a kick out of knowing that we could buy this from Costco. I can hear him chuckling now. :)

Labels: family, just trina

January 22, 1917 - December 7, 2007

I realized fairly early on that blogging was a therapeutic resource for me. There were times when it really helped me to be able to put my thoughts "out there" to share with others (whom ever that may be). I'm counting on this to be one of those times.

My Grandfather, Choo Chan, passed away this morning.

Although I am extraordinarily sad about this, I'm finding great comfort in thinking about all of the great memories I have of him.

Simply put, he was one of the best people I've ever known: he was kind, generous, loving and had a great sense of humor. He had an even temper, and always had a smile on his face.

He lived for over 90 years. He was married to his wife for 60 years. He loved his wife, he loved his daughter, and he loved his family.

He loved hot dogs and custard donuts.
He made the world's best Egg Foo Young.

He owned and operated his own Shoe Repair Shop in Downtown Stockton. He ran it for 50 years.

He was kind and generous: he would give money to the local "hobos", but only after he had figured out a way that they could work it off somehow. These same hobos referred to my Mom as "the shoe repairman's Daughter" and would watch after her as she walked to and from elementary school.

My Grandpa had a great sense of humor. He was always laughing, and always teasing. When I was young, he used to tease me by saying he was going to take some of my Raggedy Ann dolls. I believed him, and bought him a Raggedy Andy of his very own.

He used to call me "Chili Bean"
He used to carve the turkey for Thanksgiving, and would always sneak a few pieces to me.
He would give my sister and me $1 for every "A" that we showed him on our report cards.

He used to pick up these little plastic banks from McDonalds that were shaped like garbage cans (a McDonaldland character, at the time). He would save all of the pennies that he could save from his store, and he would present these banks to us, full of pennies when he saw us.

He loved animals, and all things small and cute.
He and my Grandma have a small brown teddy bear named "Half Pint". Grandpa would bring him to sit on their bedside table every night when they went to bed.
He would call anyone or anything small "Big Shot".

He used to walk me to the 7-11 by his house to buy me a Slurpee.

He couldn't pass up a deal. If he found a really good sale, not only would be buy one or two - he would usually buy something like 10!

He enjoyed shopping at Costco.

He liked gadgets.

One of my most recent favorite memories was when I showed him my iPhone. He was very impressed with everything it could do. He asked me how much it cost. I was embarrassed to tell him, because he was so frugal, and I was afraid he would think that I spent too much money. After I told him it was $600, he turned to my Mom and said, "That's not bad. I thought it would be $1,000! Barbara! You should get one, too!"

My Grandpa was one of the best men I've ever known. Everyone who knew him loved him.

I can't express how lucky I feel to have had 37 years with him.
He had a great life, and he knew how to be happy.

Goodbye, Grandpa. I will miss you, always.

Labels: family

I just returned from bringing my father-in-law, and one of my sister-in-laws to the airport.

This concludes the 3-week visit with my father-in-law, Richard. My two sister-in-laws also came last week (Meg from Thursday through Sunday, and Kathy from Friday 'til this morning) and our niece, Adrianne, who came from (last) Monday through Sunday.

It was certainly a busy few weeks. Richard and I really had a nice time doing day-to-day things together: finding new places for breakfast and lunch (usually soup & salad, running errands together (my personal favorite was the day we went to Costco!) and taking nice walks around the neighborhood.

The last three weeks were not without their fair share of unplanned surprises: both Kathy and Meg were sick before coming out and had to reschedule their flights out. The bathroom remodel still had some work to be completed (really, it's almost done now). We ended up getting a room for everyone at the Palace Hotel for a few nights to ease the congestion of the craziness over at our house.

Adrianne and Dick managed to get out to play a few rounds of golf at Golden Gate Park last week. Meg made it in just in time to join all of us, along with the whole Chow Clan for Thanksgiving at my parent's house. Kathy came in on Friday morning, and we all spent the day in Chinatown and Union Square, and I even had the chance to take them all to my favorite Chinese Restaurant, U-Lee!

There was a lot of walking around the City, great food, and lots of cocktails! (my new joke is that the bathroom remodel has driven me to drink!)

I really enjoyed the visit with Dick's (and now my!) family. We've been really fortunate to have had a chance to spend so much time with each of them this year.

As I write this, I realize that my house is very quiet, and it is one of the first times in the last 3 months that I've been in the house alone - no contractors, and no house guests. It's a bit surreal.

Labels: family

Labels: A day in the life, dick, family

It's Happy Anniversary Day!

Today, Dick and I celebrate our 2nd Wedding Anniversary.
Amazing, isn't it? Those two years went by so quickly.
Happy Anniversary, Dick! I love you!

Now, as happy as I am to say that Dick and I have been married for two years, that seems to pale in comparison to the fact that today is also my parent's 40th Anniversary!

That's right, we share our anniversary date with my Mom and Dad!
Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! Thanks for being such a wonderful inspiration!



disclaimer: I'm kind of cheating here. My parents were married on October 9th, but they had their Chinese Banquet a few days/weeks later. The photo is from their banquet, and not taken on their actual wedding day.

Labels: dick, family

Labels: family

May and Choo Chan, 1947

Today is my maternal Grandparent's 60th Wedding Anniversary!

60 years! That's so incredible to me.

This year also marked the 60th Wedding Anniversary of my other Grandparents, as well as my parent's 40th (next week).

It's a big year for anniversaries in my family.
(Dick and I will be celebrating our 2nd next week :) )

Happy Anniversary, Grandma & Grandpa!

Labels: family

Labels: family

Labels: family, travel

Labels: dick, family, travel

...and an even better photo!
(and I can't stop blogging from my phone!)

Labels: family, travel

Labels: dick, family, travel

Dinner at "Prime" at the Bellagio.
After dinner, the waited took us to a reserved table on the patio -
just in time for the water show.

All time. Epic.

Labels: dick, family, travel

Labels: family, travel

We're going to Vegas! (again!)

Yep - three times in one year. This is certainly a record for us. :)
I repeat: We're not addicted!

Dick's Birthday is tomorrow (Happy Birthday to my Hubby!).

We're meeting his sisters (neither of whom have ever been) in Vegas tonight. It should be a blast! We'll be seeing the town, going to the Hoover Dam, having some huge meals, and seeing a show. Oh yeah, there may be some gambling, too. :)

Uncle Graham will be staying here to watch the house and take care of the kitties while we're away. Thanks, Graham!

Labels: family, travel

After several lovely, family-filled days in North Carolina, Dick and I are packing our things, and getting ready to head back to SF. We've had a really nice visit with the whole family - including an afternoon with Dick's Uncle, Cousin, and his family as well.

We fly out of the Raleigh/Durham airport this afternoon, with a layover in Chicago. Apparently, Chicago is experiencing some delays in and out of the O'Hare. Our first flight has already been delayed, so we called UAL, and arranged for a back-up flight, in case we miss our connection. One way or the other, we should still make it home sometime late tonight.

Here's a nice photo that I took during our visit with Dick's extended family. We had a lovely lunch at Dick's Mother's 2nd cousin's house, along with his Uncle Gilbert, and Gilbert's son & family.


...and just for kicks, here's a photos of Kathy's adorable little kittens, Dusty & Jack :)

Labels: family, travel

Greetings from North Carolina - where the temperature is 100+ degrees, but the humidity level is surprisingly low. Dick and I are here visiting his family in the beautiful Chapel Hill area.

We took a red-eye flight last night, which left SFO at 11:15. We had an hour lay-over in Chicago, then another flight from Chicago to Raleigh. Through the modern miracle known as Tylenol PM, we both managed to sleep almost the entire flight! Dick slept about 6 hours - from take off to landing on both flights. I read for less than an hour on the first flight, and slept the rest of the way.

When we arrived in RDU at 9:15am this morning, we both felt relatively rested, considering we had just flown all night.

We even had a great rental car experience! Dick is a preferred member with Avis - this means that the shuttle dropped us off directly at our car, and (even better) the key was in the ignition, with the engine started and the air conditioning on!

After we picked up our rental car (an enormous Chevrolet SUV!) our first stop was Bojangles for a biscuit and sweet tea. (when in Rome...)

We came to Dick's sister's house, took a quick nap, then met both of his sisters at Mama Dip's for lunch!

We're getting ready to go visit Dick's father at his new apartment now, then an evening with the entire family. Should be a lot of fun.

More later!

Labels: family, travel

It's been a busy week-plus. I keep meaning to blog about certain events, but hadn't had a chance to get to it. In an attempt to get caught up, I present to you the recent events of the past week (or so...)

Fourth of July
Baseball, luxury box seats, hamburgers, hot dogs, and Texas Hold-em


the view from our box

We spent the Fourth of July with the Chow clan. We all met at 10:30 for dim sum in Chinatown, Oakland. After lunch we all made our way to the Oakland A's game. My Dad and my Uncle Bill had purchased the 18 tickets in a luxery box for our entire family. They had "won" an auction at my niece's school's annual fund raiser. The game turned out to the a bit of a bust, with the A's losing by 8 run. We had a great time watching from our box, though!

After the game, we went to Uncle Bill & Junie's home for a Fourth of July BBQ - hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, corn on the cob... what more could you want?

...how 'bout a few games of Texas hold 'em?


Bond, James Bond


3-007's on 07/07/07

Saturday night was Shan's semi-annual Bond Party. It's always great fun - dress as your favorite character from any Bond or Austin Powers film. Martinis, great food, and a lot of men dressed in tuxes - it's all good!


Craddock. Dick Craddock. (and some random 60s go-go dancer chic)

Noe's really bad week
Poor little kitten...


sad Noe

Our poor little kitten. Poor Noe had (and continues to have) a really bad week.
We noticed that she had a wound on her tush on Sunday afternoon, and planned to watch it over the next couple of days. By Monday night, it wasn't any better, so we made an appointment with my vet down in Milpitas.

Poor Noe had an abscess on her rump. She had to go in for surgery to drain it, cut out the bad tissue, had a tube inserted (for additional drainage) and 2 sets of stitches. To make matters worse, she has to wear the dreaded cone around her head for the next two weeks. Poor little thing. She's just miserable.

The good news is that her wound is healing quite nicely. She has to go back in on Monday morning to have the tube removed. I think she'll have to keep the stitches (and the cone) for at least another week.


a slightly less sad Noe

We've been able to take the cone off so that she can eat, drink, use her litter box, clean herself (but not around the wound) and rest with us while we supervise her. That makes her very happy.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
best. theater. experience. ever.



My Sister, Mom and I have a tradition of seeing each of the new Harry Potter films on opening day at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland.

Unfortunately, we had to break tradition a bit this year: my sister is in Florida for the week, so she wasn't able to join us. My Mom had to work on Wednesday (opening day) but took Thursday off so we could go together.

It was really the best movie experience ever. I love the Grand Lake Theater. It's an old-school theater - huge and gorgeous inside. Plus, they installed new seats a couple of years ago. They show all the first-run films, but when we go on weekday matinée showings ($6.50 movie!) they never have lines.

We got there at 10:45am yesterday for a 12:00 noon showing. The doors opened at 10:45 (literally, as soon as we got there) and we were the first, and only people in the theater for the first 30 minutes of waiting. (yep - got the best seats in the house!) The size of the screen and the sound system are both wonderful - a great theater experience! Bonus: 4-hours free parking nearby, and FREE Popcorn!

I really liked the movie. It could be one of my favorites in the series. I actually really loved it on the whole, but was a bit disturbed that they made so many changes/alterations to the story - especially at the end. Overall: big thumbs up!

Here's a cool article on MSNBC to catch you up on all the Harry Potter characters!

That pretty much catches me up to today.

I still need to write my review of the iPhone (still love it!) but that will have to wait...

Labels: A day in the life, family, friends, just trina

My beautiful cousin, Cheri, has had quite the week.

She graduated yesterday, with a Master of Science with a major in Biological Sciences. (She graduated last year with a Bachelor of Arts and Science with majors in Biological Sciences and Psychology.)

As if that weren't enough, Cheri started her week in Minneapolis. She attended the Associated Professional Sleep Societies' annual meeting, where a paper that she submitted was selected as one of the conference's press releases.

Here is a link to the LA Times article about her research on the benefits of sleep for athletes.

Here's a small excerpt from the article.

Athletes understand how important training is, and nutrition, but there's a third component that makes a big difference in how they perform — sleep," says Cheri Mah, lead author of the study presented last week at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies' meeting in Minneapolis.

I'm unbelievably proud of Cheri. She has achieved so much already in her young life.

Did I mention that she's a gifted and talented dancer, too?

Brains, beauty, talent, and a great personality to boot.
The girl's got it all!!

Labels: family

Evelyn

Ah. What a nice afternoon I just had with my niece, Evelyn.

She came over for a visit today. We sat around, ate grapes, took a fun Harry Potter Quiz, went out for gelato (she got four flavors!), did some window shopping in the neighborhood, stopped at the new chocolate store to buy some goodies to bring home to her family, then came back to the house and hung out some more.

Christopher dropped by, and we chatted some more, petted Marcel, and played with the Roomba.

It was a nice day.

Labels: A day in the life, family

Yesterday was my Grandma Chow's 76th Birthday!

The Chow clan went to Stockton tonight to celebrate.


Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Labels: family

Our trip to Disneyland was so much fun!

We arrived early Friday afternoon, checked into our hotel, ate a little lunch, then walked over to the park. The crowds on Friday weren't bad at all. We waited in line for a maximum of 25 minutes for 2 or 3 rides, but other than that, we usually made it on in 10 minutes of less. We were able to hit most of the big rides (Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours) within that first day.

Saturday was a bit more crowded, but still not bad. We started the day by having a "Character Breakfast" in the park. My Mom really wanted a picture with Chip (of Chip and Dale). We were walking around Critter Country, when we realized that Splash Mountain was up and running (it was supposed to be closed) so we made it on without too much of a wait. Later in the afternoon, we went over to Disney's California Adventure. We enjoyed the sites and rides there - most of which we hadn't seen before. The ride for Monsters Inc. was really cute, and I especially LOVED the California Screamin' Roller Coaster! (my Dad and I rode it twice!)

We all managed to stay at the park until 11:45pm Saturday night. A whole lotta Disney fun!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend:


Group shot at the entrance to the park


I love this picture. It's the shot that the park takes as you're plummeting down Splash Mountain. I took a picture of the screen with my camera.


Dad, and Mom with Chip - my Mom's nickname for my Dad is "Chip"


My Dad and Mom on the Roger Rabbit ride in Toon Town!


Me and my Dad - about to be jettisoned off at the beginning of the California Screamin' Roller Coaster!


in front of the Castle at night

Labels: family, travel

geek heaven

My Dad and Mom won an auction item at my niece's (my cousin's daughters) school auction a few weeks ago.

The auction item was for a tour for of the (relatively) new Industrial Light & Magic complex in the Presidio here in San Francisco.

The tour was given by one of ILM's employee's, who also happens to be a Mom of one of the kids who attends the same school as our nieces. She's a layout artist who has been with the company for about 14 years. She's done work on a long list of movies including the Star Wars franchise, Harry Potter films and the Pirates of the Carribean.

The tour was very cool. We saw the new facilities, along with lots and lots of the original costumes and props. We ate in the cafeteria, and were also allowed to shop at the company store! (um, yep, bought some goodies...)

We were only allowed to take photos in the main lobby, but there were still some pretty cool photo ops:

My parents took my sister, her boyfriend (Graham) and me on the tour with them. Poor Dick was supposed to come, but he couldn't get out of work today.


In front of the ILM building


One of the actual original Boba Fett costumes from The Empire Strikes Back


Dad and Darth (an original costume from the Episode IV)


Dad and Graham duke it out - Jedi-style!

Thanks, Mom & Dad! What a cool treat!

funny tidbit...

When I came home, I received an email from my sister-in-law (and fellow Star Wars lover), Meg.

The subject title was: Why is today (5/4) Yoda's favorite day?

answer: May the Fourth.......

Be with you!

To celebrate the day, Meg and Grace (my 6 year old niece) watched Episode IV together! :)

I definitely married into the right family!

Labels: family, Star Wars

When my parents were in Vegas, they got free tickets to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. My Mom shared their pictures with us yesterday.

This picture cracks me up!


Henry Chow gives Tiger Woods some golf pointers

I think I've only been to a wax museum once, and I can't even remember which one it was. I do remember that they were all scenes from movies, or from notable times in history. Since they were complete scenes, they were blocked off so that you could not actually touch the figures, or take part in the scene.

That's why I was so surprised to see these photos from my parents. Dick said, "Of course! That's what you do at wax museums!"

I never knew!

Labels: family, funny ha-ha

Here are some of my favorite photos from our trip to Vegas with the Chow Family.


Happy 60th Anniversary


The Happy Couple


Grandma & Tiffie


Another Happy Couple! Bruce & Robin


Cheri & Kenneth


Fun at the Paigow Poker Table!


Chowing Down on Dim Sum


Annie with her doll without a name
I think she later named her Nancy Pelosi


The Star Trek Experience


Trina & Dick meet a Klingon
(I was standing on my toes in this picture!)


Grandpa & Grandma bobble heads in the back of their car

Labels: family, travel

Just got home from Vegas. We had such a wonderful time!

It turns out that traveling/making plans with 20 people is quite a challenge!

Dick equated it to "herding cats".

Just when you think everyone is "on board" and ready to leave...

"meow" (one of the cats strays...)

Then that cat is wrestled back into the herd, and...

"mew" (another cat gets distracted...)

Round up that kitty, and everyone starts moving along again, and...

"meep!" (yet another kitty falls behind...)

It was pretty funny, and all things considered, went really, really well!

I'm not saying that I was a "herder". I'm sure that I was just as much as a "cat" as anyone else! 20 is simply a lot of people to organize and keep together!

Now that I'm home, I'll offer a few closing remarks:

1. Happy 60th Anniversary, Grandma & Grandpa!
2. I LOVE my family.
3. Gambling at a poker table filled with family members is really fun.
4. Gambling with my family members in Vegas is a surreal experience.
5. What would we do without cell phones?
6. I think I'm addicted to Paigow. (thanks, Bruce.)
7. (and speaking of...) My cousin, the gambling pastor. enough said :)

An amazing trip that turned out to be even better that I ever imagined.

I'm so glad that we were all able to make it, and to celebrate the entire weekend as a family.

Labels: family, travel

Another fun day in Vegas!

This morning, the 20 of us made our way to the New China Town in Vegas. My Grandparents had been about 8 years ago, and incredibly, my Grandpa was able to remember where it was, and how to get there.

Now, here's the thing. There are 20 of us, and we were going to Chinatown for dim sum at Noon. At any given time or place, we would have had to wait for at least an hour to be seated. We, however, have Grandma Chow! Anytime we go anywhere in Stockton, she always seems to know everyone, and is always able to "get us in" to where ever we're trying to go. Come to think of it, she was able to do the same thing for us when we all traveled to China together in 1992.

Anyhow, we arrive at the restaurant, and she tells them that we'll need two tables of 10. Miraculously, they offer us a private room, which just happens to have two tables! They were also able to seat us immediately! None of us knows just how Grandma manages to pull off such tasks. We just watch in awe and amazement. Like I said, it was Noon on a Sunday, and the restaurant was plenty busy.

The dim sum was delicious, and so much fun to do with the whole family.

In case you don't know, one of our favorite dishes is a (wide) noodle dish called Chow Fun. I've joked now for many years that when you're with our family, we always have Chow Fun. Now, here we were in Vegas. All twenty of us, having Chow Fun - in both senses! Great fun.


Chow Fun

I have some really great photos that I'll post once we get back home.

After lunch, my Mom, Dad, Sis, Graham, Dick and I made our way to the Hilton to checked out the Star Trek Experience. The four of us had come to this attraction about 8 years ago, but they have a whole new addition of a Borg 4-D movie, as well as other updated things. Graham and Dick have never been before.

We all had a blast! The two atractions: the Klingon Enounter and Borg Invasion 4-D were both really fun and enjoyable. It was especially fun to do all of this with my Mom again, since she is a long-term Trekkie.

After we finished with both attractionsk, we stopped for drinks and snacks at Quarks. That was fun, too.

Graham wanted to get in a few hands of poker, so we made our way out to the casino. Dick and I found a $5 Mini-Paigow table, and hung out there for about 45 minutes. (we came out $35 up!)

We meeting my immediate family for dinner again tonight at 9:00, while the rest of the family is out at a couple of shows. We're all hooking up again later tonight for some more Chow Fun in the casinos.

I can't get over how much fun this trip has been for the entire family. Who knew that we'd all have so much fun in Vegas! It's really neat to be here with everyone, and to spend time with each other in a whole new place. (Not to mention how much fun it is to gamble with all of them!)


Chow Fun!

Tomorrow we're going to check out the Hoover Dam before catching our flight home in the afternoon.

Labels: family, travel

Oh, boy. Last night was a lot of fun.

We had a really nice dinner with the entire family at Panevino Restaurant. My sister had previously arranged this dinner with a friend of a friend who works there. It was a perfect way for all of us to celebrate Grandma & Grandpa's 60th Anniversary together.

After dinner, 8 of us went back to the MGM to see Ka which I really loved. The visuals and staging were stunning. I've never seen anything quite like it.

While we were at the show, the rest of the family (minus the 3 little girls) were out and about on the stip! We hooked up with them after the show at the new Planet Hollywood Hotel (formerly the Aladdan). They had spent a large part of the evening playing Paigow Poker. I'd never played before, but decided to jump into the table to join in. It was a lot of fun. We took up the entire table.

Let me tell you, it's a bit surreal to find oneself playing poker in Vegas with one's Aunts, Uncles and cousins! We've never vacationed together as an entire family before, let alone played poker together in Vegas!

Dick and I left the party around 2:00am, which I thought was pretty good for us!

We're hooking up with the family again later this morning to experience Dim Sum in Vegas! Yes, Dim Sum. We're all going to drive over to Las Vegas' Chinatown. (who knew)

After lunch, I think we may go our seperate ways for a while. Dick and I are planning to hit the Star Trek Experience with my parents! (this time, we'll plan to go before they close!)

Labels: family, travel

Can you believe I just got home from the Mid-West on Wednesday evening, and I'm already taking off again tomorrow morning?

Where are we going to this time?

Vegas, Baby. VEGAS!

Ah, yes. Las Vegas.
Sin City.
The City of Lights.
The Entertainment Capitol of the World.

..and why are we going to Vegas?

Why, to celebrate my Paternal Grandparent's 60th Wedding Anniversary!

Yes, you read it right: 60 years! Pretty amazing, huh?


Chuck and May Chow
April, 1947

In honor of their 60th Wedding Anniversary, Grandma and Grandpa wanted the whole clan to go to Vegas together.

Just how many people are in our family?

count 'em: 20.

That's 4-Generations of Chow.

20 people

How many Chows can fit in Vegas?

20.

That's a whole lotta Chow.

It should be a really great time. We've never ALL traveled together as a family before. The ages in our family ranges from 3 (my cousin's youngest daughter) all the way up to 85! (Grandpa)

I'm sure we'll have many-a-tale to tell.

My cousin Bruce has already begun the battle of the blogs!
Bring it on, cuz. Bring it on.

We're lucky to have Uncle Christopher here to stay with the kitties while we're away. Thanks, Bro!

Labels: family, travel

Yesterday, I mentioned how huge college basketball is here in the Research Triangle of North Carolina. There's no escaping it - it's everywhere!

Tonight was the first time I've ever had the experience of watching a UNC game (let alone an NCAA tournament game) with Dick and his entire family. (sisters, father, brother-in-law, nieces, nephew, uncles, cousins, and even an old friend from Dick's UNC Graduate days)

Dick's sister hosted a dinner for the entire family to come over to watch the game and visit while Dick and I are in town.

Watching an important UNC game with Dick, just the two of us at our home, is an intense experience in and of itself.

Watching a UNC NCAA game with the entire clan is all that, but to the nth degree.

Even before the UNC game started, we watched back-to-back games all day. They were all pretty close (at least two going into overtime) and exciting.

But when the UNC vs. MSU game came on, that was a whole other thing. Lots of yelling, clapping, knocking on wood, ooohs, ahhs, etc., This game had it all.

In the end, the Tar Heels pulled it out, and were victorious. (Thank goodness!)

I feel like I just survived some kind of crazy initiation into the family!

I took this photo towards the end of the game. It doesn't do the evening justice. The photo makes it look like everyone is just relaxing, watching TV. The truth is, everyone was tense and stressed, holding their breath, anticipating what would happen next!


March Madness with the Craddock/Cohen family.

Labels: basketball, family

Greetings from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I do believe that this may be center of College Basketball Haven: We are mere miles away from UNC, Duke and NC State.

We flew in Wednesday evening, just in time to meet Dick's family for dinner at Squids.

I've come to North Carolina several times now, but it occurs to me that I've never come during the month of March. March Madness, Baby.

I thought that I've done a pretty good job over the past few years of getting more hip to College Basketball. I'm familiar with the teams now, I'm hip to the lingo, I can follow a game pretty well.

None of this prepared me for being in North Carolina during the month of March. Yesterday, as we were driving around town, Dick flipped on the radio station, and the only thing that anyone was talking about was the NCAA Tournament.

As one of the radio DJs said, "It's like Christmas, for Basketball Fans". This is true, of course, but I had no idea how all consuming it is for anyone who lives here! Anywhere we went to had TVs tuned into the first day of the NCAA tournament. We went to "Four Corners" on Franklin Street - a popular sports bar located across the street from UNC. There were easily a couple of dozen TVs tuned into 3 different games. The place was packed at 2:00pm. That's when I learned that most people actually take days off from work during the tournaments, and at the least, most people will watch it from TVs (or computers) at work (or school!)

I'm telling you, it's a whole different world over here. Having grown up in Northern California, I never even knew what "March Madness" was until I met Dick 8 years ago. He has told me how weird it was for him to move to the Bay Area from North Carolina in 1986: no one knew or cared anything about College Basketball, and it was nearly impossible to watch any of the games on TV.

Now that I'm here, I finally fully understand just how huge this whole March Madness thing really is. In order to get into the spirit of things, I bought a North Carolina t-shirt yesterday from a store on Franklin Street. Now, I'm ready!

We watched basketball all afternoon. We took a break in the evening to go to a Carolina Hurricanes Hockey Game! (it's a big sports week for me!) The hockey game experience was exceptional. We went to see the game with my friend, Kristi, and her two little girls. Kristi's husband is on the team. We watched the game from their private box, which was the coolest way to watch a game. Unfortunately, the Hurricanes lost, 2-3, but we had a lot of fun, anyway. Our box had a couple of televisions in it, so we were able to keep up with the basketball games, even while we were watching the hockey game.


The Cohen family with Dick and Trina at the Carolina Hurricanes game

We came back to Dick's sister's house around 11:00, and continued to watch Basketball. The UNC game ended around midnight, then Dick watched a recorded game that he had missed earlier in the evening.

Right now, I'm sitting here in Dick's sister's living room with Dick, his two sisters, and his Dad. It's raining outside, and we plan to spend the day inside watching basketball all day. I'm pretty sure we'll be doing this all weekend long!

Go Heels!

Labels: basketball, family

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today is the first day of the Year of the Boar! (or Pig, whichever you prefer.)


Gung Hay Fat Choy! We had to have Grandma translate the writing on the cake for us to make sure that the bakery gave us the right one! (we certainly didn't want to have a cake that had "Happy Birthday, Steve!" on it..)

We celebrated with our family early this year. We had our annual Chinese New Year dinner and celebration last Saturday, February 10th at my parent's house. The entire family was there, plus, Dick's sister, Meg, came out from North Carolina to join in the festivities.


Dick and Meg

There was a lot of great food, and great fun, as usual. We had an enormous spread of delicious food, which we all chipped in to help Grandma prepare.


The Chinese New Year Dinner Spread

May you all have a healthy and prosperous Year of the Boar!

Labels: family

Today, my maternal Grandfather celebrates his 90th Birthday! Isn't that amazing?!

We took him out to dinner Saturday night, then we all went to my parent's house for cake. (Black Forest Chinese Cake - Yum!)

I think the recent move has been very good for both of my Grandparents. They have been very active and social in their new community. I'm also really enjoying being able to visit with them more often, since they live so close to my parents now. I feel so fortunate to be able to celebrate my Grandpa's 90th Birthday with him and our family.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa! May you have many, many more!


Grandpa and Grandma

Labels: family

This is so cute!

This is a video that I took on Christmas night of two of our nieces. (My cousin Bruce's two youngest daughters)

Dick and Graham (my sister's S.O.) played piano and bass, and sang Christmas Songs. When they played "Jingle Bell Rock" my nieces joined in with a song and dance. (they had recently learned the song and choreography for a Church show)



It just doesn't get cuter than this!

Labels: family

Dick and I had ordered a magazine subscription to "The Week" for both of our Dads. We placed the orders over the phone, because they had a special that was not available on their website.

We ordered the subscriptions a few weeks ago, and were awaiting the "gift card announcements" that they promised to send us in the mail. They did not arrive before Christmas, so we made our own gift cards to present to our Dads.

Today's mail had a envelope from "The Week". In it, it had the gift-subscription information and cards that we had requested.

Dick's first reaction when he opened it: "Uh-oh..."

I thought, "What could be wrong? How hard could it have been?"

He showed me the gift subscription names:

Richard Craddock
Henry Cow

Cow?! Henry Cow?!

Let me get this right: they got "Craddock" right, but misspelled "Chow"?

So, my Dad will be getting a magazine each week for a year addressed to "Henry Cow".

Sorry, Dad! :)

Labels: family, funny ha-ha

Thanks to the power of Barbara Chow unpacking boxes at super human speed, we managed to get my Grandparents all moved into their new place today! (I really don't know how she does it!)

The movers came around 9:15am, and had finished unloading by 1:00. My Mom stayed with them, figuring out where everything should go, while I kept my Grandparents occupied by taking them the town, running errands, and showing them where different stores/banks/etc are.

We left them at 6:30 tonight with a fully unpacked apartment, except for about 5 stray boxes of misc items that they can put away at their leisure.

We're all pretty tired, but happy to have most of this big move done.

We'll all sleep well tonight :)

Labels: family

Today, we began day 1 of moving my Maternal Grandparents from their duplex in Stockton to the Bay Area. My Mom is their only child, and they've talked for years of the idea of moving to the Bay Area to be closer to all of us. My Mom has done an amazing amount of work this year to make it happen, and they signed their lease for their new apartment earlier this month!

My Grandparents have lived in one half of a duplex for the past 35 years. It is the only home that I can remember them living in. When they first bought the duplex in 1971, they rented out the other side to my parents, and we lived for the first couple of years of my life.

So far, the move has gone quite smoothly, due mostly to the amount of work and organization that my parent's have done so far. The movers came this morning, and packed all of the things that they'll be bringing with them to the new apartment. They are moving from a 2-bedroom/1 bath duplex with a full two-car garage to a 1 bedroom/1 bath apartment with no garage. There is a reasonable amount of stuff that had to be left behind, that we'll be digging through over the next few weeks/months.

We'll be meeting the movers at the new apartment tomorrow morning, and will be unpacking and organizing all day.

I really hope that the move proves to be a good thing for my Grandparents. As much as they wanted to move to the Bay Area, I also realize how difficult emotionally this must be for them. They lived in their duplex for 35 years, and have lived in Stockton for almost 60. The apartment complex that they're moving to is really a fantastic place. It's a city-subsidized senior apartment complex. The rent is amazing (for Bay Area standards) the apartments are nice, and well taken care of, and from what we've seen so far, the residents are very friendly. They also offer many activities - Bingo, Line Dancing, Cooking Classes, Ballroom Dancing, Mah-Jong, etc., (Hey - with all of those fun activities, I may want to move there!) They also offer a free shuttle service to and from the Senior Community Center and the Mall.

Here's hoping that tomorrow will go as smoothly as today did....

Labels: family

We just returned from having Thanksgiving Dinner at Uncle Bill's house.

It was a smaller crowd than usual (since all of my cousins are away), but we still had 13 people - my Grandma and Grandpa, my parents, Aunties, Uncles, Dick, Dick's Father, Christopher and me.

There were still too many people to fit at one table, so we split into two. Traditionally, the "secondary" table would be called "The Kids Table" where I would usually sit with my cousins. This year, however, Grandma and Grandpa insisted that they wanted to sit at the second table with Dick, Christopher, Uncle Wes and me.

Dick told Grandma, "But Grandma, this is the Kid's Table".

to which Grandma replied, "So, I can be a kid, too!"

(I love my Grandma)

We had the BEST time at our table tonight. Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Wes and I told stories about our past trips to China. We're all hoping to go together again in 2008. Grandma and Grandpa told Dick and Christopher about the villages where they grew up, and how they had changed over the years. They told us about their arranged marriage back in 1947. Grandpa was 25, and Grandma was only 15! Dick and I shared stories of our recent trip to Shanghai, and even told them about when I was mistaken as a Chinese Hooker! As I started to tell the story, I could see the look on Dick & Christopher faces: "I can't believe she's going to tell the Chinese Hooker story to her Grandparents!" Sure enough, I did. I figured, we were all having a good time, and laughing.... why not tell them this story! Well, they thought it was hysterical as well! I can't remember laughing so much with my Grandparents!

Later, after dinner, Grandpa enthralled us with stories of his time in World War II. In my lifetime, I can only remember him talking about the war one other time. I had managed to capture just a small bit of it when I did my Family Tree project years ago, but tonight, I heard stories I'd never heard him tell before.

Imagine this: You're a young Chinese man, who just came to the US at the age of 15, having left his small farming village in Southern China. Then, you're drafted to serve in the US Army. He told us a story of how his Commander reminded him to stick close to him during battle so that no one in his own squad would accidentally shoot him, thinking that he was the enemy. (remember, this is World War II, and my Grandpa is Chinese) Fascinating stories. He told so many.

I have so much to be thankful for in my life. This Thanksgiving, I'm especially thankful that I was able to sit down to a Thanksgiving meal with my Grandparents and listen to them share the stories of their extraordinary lives.

Happy Thanksgiving.

PS: Did anyone else see my friend Mykail dancing in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?!

Labels: family

Once upon a time, there were 5 cousins.

These five cousins were very close, and always enjoyed spending time with each other.

The five cousins especially enjoyed family holidays, where they were always sure that they would be able to hang out with the other 4 cousins. There were games of pool to be played, tournaments of Mah-Jong, and general teasing sessions to be had. They would laugh, and talk, and catch up in the latest happenings of each of their lives. It was a good tradition.

This tradition was upheld for many years.
Even if one or two cousins couldn’t make it (gasp!), there were always at least 3 cousins left to hang out with.

And then it came to be that Cousin #2 got married to the lovely and wonderful Mrs. Cousin #2, and they started their own Thanksgiving Celebration at their own home. They graciously and generously hosted Thanksgiving day for their many friends and church family. The remaining four cousins always understood, but secretly still missed seeing Cousin #2 and Mrs. Cousin #2.

And at times, Cousin #1 was away, trotting around the country with her very cool, albeit far-from-home job. Again, the remaining cousins missed Cool Cousin #1, but always understood.

On rare occasion, Cousin #4 and Cousin #5 would miss a family gathering due to school activities, studying, etc., Again, they were missed, but there were always other cousins to keep the remaining cousins company.

And, it should be acknowledged that Cousin #3 has missed one or two family holidays because she met and married Geeky Guy, and occasionally travels to the fair state of North Carolina to spend time with his family.

But the truth remains: it could always be assumed that 2 or 3 cousins would always be around.

...until this year...

Cousin #1 will be away at aforementioned cool job, and will be spending Thanksgiving in the lovely city of Detroit.

Cousin #2 and Mrs. Cousin #2 will be hosting aforementioned Thanksgiving Dinner at their lovely home.

Cousin #4 and Cousin #5 will be away, having the time of their lives together in exotic Costa Rica.

...leaving Cousin #3 (and her husband, Geeky Guy) to fend for themselves, cousin-less at Thanksgiving this year. (not that the rest of the company won’t be utterly fantastic, but still..... where’s the cousin love?)

You know what this means: more dark meat for me.

Happy (early) Thanksgiving to my fabulous cousins.

Labels: family