Tired...

Birthday Extravaganza Day 2 was a blast!!!  Dinner was absolutely hilarious (my apologies to the sweet newlywed couple that had to spend their date night with us, although we did provide priceless entertainment for the evening!) and then we went to dance and listen to an awesome cover band at another local hot spot.  I haven't partied that hard in a long time.  I am realizing that I don't bounce back that quickly from a crazy night out.  My alarm went off this morning and I woke up in a huge state of confusion.  Of course, only I would plan a morning workout and an eye doctor appointment for my birthday.  

Tonight the festivities continue with dinner with my family at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants.  I'm thinking a short nap is in order before that.  In any case, I'll post pics of all of the birthday antics later.

Party Time!

Tonight the girls are taking me out to celebrate my birthday in true girlfriend style.  We're going to dinner at Kobe Steakhouse of Japan and then out for a night on the town.

The last time I dined at Kobe, I caught a shrimp in my mouth and was spit on by the owner of the company I work.  I thought that was pretty crazy but I can only imagine what the night will bring when I have dinner with my 5 favorite girls who have been given the aliases of Mi Mi, Di Di, Si Si, Wi Wi and Pi Pi for the night.  (Per the email invitation/instructions we were given this morning.)  I laughed my tail off from that alone.  One can only expect us to be a bit out of control at dinner.....but who knows for sure.

Oh and in case you're wondering, I'm Li Li for the night.

Have a great Friday!

What was I thinking?

In a mere 24 hours, I go from not wanting even one birthday celebration to now having a 4 day birthday extravaganza.  It's not the fact that I didn't want to recognize it because I look at each birthday as a milestone measurer and a stepping stone to bigger and better times in my life.  But, this year has been crazy since the drop of the ball and I just didn't feel like I had much energy left to plan a party/dinner/night out/etc.  Today, in spite of being pulled in many different directions, I gave my blessing to whatever ideas were mentioned and when the day ended, I realized my no birthday celebration turned into something else.  From a quiet, fancy schmancy dinner at home to a girls night out to dinner with my parents to a date night -- I think I'm in for a memorable 28th birthday.

Yet, somehow I think I'm going to regret that Monday is January 31st and I have month-end, a 401k census due and 1099s to get mailed.  Oh well, you only live once, right?!?

New Challenge

For Christmas I received Rachael Ray's new cookbook Look + Cook. 

I'm a huge Rachael Ray fan and when I was going to the gym after work during the week, I always made sure I was on the elliptical to catch the evening episode of 30 Minute Meals.  I've decided to take on a few of her new recipes and impress anyone and everyone with my version of her dishes.

First recipe I decided to try was the Bocconcini Stuffed Meatballs with Tomato-Pesto Sauce. 

I didn't get a picture of my masterpiece but I was happy with how much my version looked like the awesome photo in the book.  I made a few minor changes, using ground turkey and regular mozzarella cubes (do you know how hard it is to find bocconcini in my part of St. Louis?!?!?  Nearly impossible!) and dried herbs, but overall, the meatballs were delicious.  Broccoli gave it a thumbs up as well and we'll probably add this to the list of dinners I will make again.

Being extremely ambitious, I also decided while I was grocery shopping today to pick up ingredients to make a few more dishes next week.  Nothing too outrageous, but some items out of my normal range. 

Seems like this is going to be a fun project, one that will hopefully cure these winter blues!

Best Weekend Ever.

Ever have a span of 3 days that you have experienced so much fun and it was far greater than anything you could ever possibly have imagined it to be?

Yeah, that's what this weekend has been for me. 

I'm a bit bummed to be home but by request and for my own piece of mind, I'm currently working on a future plan to top it.  It's gonna take a lot of research and planning, but I'm definitely up for the challenge and it gives me something more to look forward to so I don't bawl the rest of the evening.

This really was the best weekend ever.

Just sayin'

Snow days are no fun when you're forced to get up and go to work anyway.  It stinks even more when you have to go clean inches of snow off of your car before you can even make the trek to work.

Of course, you're telling me I could call in and take a PTO day -- no can do, it's a double payroll day, if I don't go in, no one gets paid on Friday (including me!). 

Yeah, I'll find a way to make it in.

Exciting first day back to work

These are pictures from the lake behind the building I work in.  Focus on that little dot in the lake in this first picture.  The second picture is a closer shot.

Can't make out what that is in the water?  It's a car. 
The last picture is of two of my co-workers checking it.  We joked with them all morning saying these are the two guys that ran the car into the lake.  (I can assure you, they were not.)

Here's the story from KMOV.com: 

Two men safe after car crashes into water in Earth City

(KMOV) -- A car crashed into the water near the Earth City Expressway and Lakefront Drive.
This happened just before 7 a.m. Monday in Earth City.
Authorities said two men in a Honda approached slow moving traffic. The driver swerved off the road and into the pond.  Both men were able to get out the car safely.

What a way to start off a morning.

By the way, if you're prone to road rage, be sure you know what's around you before you try to swerve around slower drivers, you never know when you may end up in a lake.

Miss You Grandma

As promised,

Grandma -- the musician

Enjoying a St. Louis Cardinals Game with my Mom

Stopping by for a visit

Celebrating her 79th birthday

Visiting with the Grand kids

My Grandma came to this country from Bermuda in the late 1940s and raised a family while learning American culture and tradition.  Always one to love and care for her children and grand-children, there was never a day that went by that she wasn't excited to see us.  She loved going anywhere and experiencing all life had to offer -- from going to sporting events to para-sailing on a cruise last year to random road trips, she inspired us all to try new things.  She was a caring and giving lady and until her last day never complained about not feeling well or life being unfair.  After all of the treatment and hospitalization she struggled through, she still smiled and told us she was ok, even when we knew she just didn't want us to worry about her.  She was a true matriarch and the glue that kept us together.

Relaxing in our hotel room in Hawaii

Spoiling the Grand kids

Showing me a few things in the kitchen

Grandma, you will be truly missed, but your spirit will remain within me.  You taught me so much over the years and I hope I can someday pass on all of your knowledge and wisdom.  But for now, I'll just keep my promise to you.  Love you always!

Bring on 2011!

As a way to relax and enjoy a bit of downtime, my Mom and I spent a good part of the afternoon shopping.  Nothing says Happy 2011!!  like 6 new pairs of shoes, a new purse and some fun costume jewelry and that's just what I bought for myself.  Mom had a really successful shopping trip also.  Guess this is why we don't shop together all that often

I'm hoping the new stuff brings on the positive energy for the New Year.  If not, we'll at least I'll look fashionable while trying to take on the world. 

Hope you have a happy and prosperous New Year.  And be careful if you're going out to celebrate tonight.

One More Angel

I'm suffering from pure exhaustion from the last two days and while my brain is not thinking clearly at the moment, I just wanted to post this pic.  It's from my Grandma's birthday back on November 3rd.  It's one of the last pictures I have of just her and I.  Today at 3:06 pm, she lost her battle with cancer. 

I know she is looking down over me and everyone else and will continue to protect us as she's done over the last 79 years of her life.  It has been a horribly painful 48 hours.  Once I gain back some composure, I will dedicate another longer post to her.  Until then, I will just continue to remind myself that she is at peace.

Naughty or nice?!?!

I guess I was really good this year....

What's really funny is that out of all of these things on my wish list, I had only really asked for the knives and spice rack.  But, I have such an amazing family, that they all knew how excited and grateful I would be for the other gifts. 

I had been scoping out Kitchenaid Stand Mixers online for nearly a month but thought it was something too extraordinary for me and my cooking and baking abilities.  My mom, on the other hand, thought it would be fun to surprise me with such a gift.  I was definitely surprised and very thankful for her generosity.  I plan on baking many desserts and whipping up plenty of dinners to show off.

My dad gave me the Cuisinart Food Processor and thought that I could use it along with my spice rack to create my culinary masterpieces.  (Very good thinking Dad!)

Perhaps the craziest thing has to do with part of the gift I received from Broccoli.  While I was out at Bed, Bath and Beyond last Wednesday night picking up a few last minute gifts for my Mom, I happened to see a chef's jacket on sale.  I contemplated buying it for a few minutes, but figured I would wait until after Christmas to come back and pick it up.  There was no real reason I waited to buy it besides the fact that I just didn't want to carry more stuff upstairs to my apartment that evening. 
For the last few weeks, anytime I was stressing out or putting too much pressure on myself, Broccoli would joke with me about what I was getting for Christmas and without letting on to what I was getting would put me back into a better mood.
Thursday night, Broccoli and I exchanged our gifts and with mine was this awesome chef's jacket.  I was completely shocked and elated.  I told him the story about the night before and I think that relieved any uncertainty he had about whether or not I would like it.  (By the way, I love it!)

The entire weekend was fabulous.  I'm so glad I was able to spend 3 days with extremely exceptional people.   Today, I'm sitting at home playing with my new toys.  Who says Christmas is just for the kids!

Hope you had a fantastic Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

From my family,

to yours...

We wish you peace, love and happiness this holiday season.

May you have a blessed Christmas wherever you may be.

3 Days...

...3 Christmases.
While I may not have any Christmas decorations out or a Christmas tree up, I have shopped or made all of my Christmas presents and even wrapped them and ultimately, I'm ready for what's next.

Tonight is Christmas with my main squeeze.  Since we both have family functions on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we're celebrating our Christmas a tad early.  I'm making a semi-fancy dinner (only because I'm using wine in my roast beef entree) and we're going to exchange our gifts.  We aimed for the hand-made, thought-provoking aspect this year.  Hopefully he'll find my gift to be a clever one.  :)  He hasn't given me any clues as to what he put together for me but I do know he's searched high and low for materials.  I'm sure it will be perfect.

Christmas Eve, I'm heading to spend the evening with my Mom's side of the family.  A bit of good news came Tuesday night as my Grandma was released from the hospital.  While she is still struggling, it is comforting to know that she will be spending the holiday at home with her family.

That leaves Christmas Day and as long as the weather cooperates, my Bro and I will be driving out to my Dad's and spending the afternoon with him, my aunt and uncle and cousins.  We're playing it by ear until the system comes through the region but we're all hoping that its nothing major and that our plans hold up.  Otherwise, we'll move our celebration around to combat the snow.

It will be a fun-filled weekend for sure and the best part is that its not all lumped into one day.  I wish holidays worked this well every year.

Very grateful

Yes, I'm gonna gloat a bit.  Right now, I'm sitting here enjoying a wonderful lunch prepared by the most awesome Broccoli.  Realizing that I've pretty much run myself ragged this week, he was nice enough to drop by a delicious, home-made meal while I'm trying to wrap Christmas presents and clean up some loose ends here at home.

This has been one of the hardest weeks I've ever faced.  My Grandma went back into the hospital after getting extremely sick from this last bout of chemo late Sunday night.  Luckily, I was able to work obscure hours in order to be able to spend time with her and help out as necessary.  My Bro came to spend the first part of the week with me so that he could also visit my Grandma and was met with an apartment with less than plentiful resources.  My plan was to grocery shop last Sunday when we had snow and I decided not to venture out since I knew the stores would be nuts.   Being the clever guy that he is, he was able to piece together a few meals from my cabinets when he was hungry and we were able to enjoy a great dinner with my Grandma and Mom at the hospital on Tuesday night.

To top it off, it was the busiest week of the year at work for me with preparing for our Christmas party, handling our employee appreciation for 5+ year employees (this is our first major milestone as a company since we were only formed in late 2004), completing the retro increases we were promised and then explaining the calculation to every employee that called for clarification and then dealing with other miscellaneous issues that popped up.  I was completely exhausted when I finally was able to make my way home at night.
In the back of my mind, I was also bothered the fact that I hadn't really started Christmas shopping and knew that this weekend was probably going to fill up fast with other priorities, so by Thursday, I was in full freak out/overload mode.  Somehow, Broccoli pulled me out of it and got my head straight so that I could "schedule" and plan for nearly everything that needed to get done.
Amazingly enough, I was able to run around like crazy yesterday and not only finish my Christmas shopping but also my Mom's (she's been at the hospital pretty much non-stop since Sunday night), re-stock my pantry and fridge and then spend the rest of the evening with my Grandma.  It didn't take long for me to fall asleep when I finally decided to go to bed.

Through all of this, I'm realizing how very grateful I am for the little things.  The idea that someone (or a few someones) is thinking about me and trying to lighten my load and ease my mind a bit is amazing.  In spite of how busy others are, it's nice to know that I have surrounded myself with people that do look out for me and are willing to do what they can to help out.  While the circumstances stink, this Christmas season is a special one.

Who called for snow?

All week, the meteorologists had been saying that the snow was gonna bypass us completely and we'd only be dealing with extremely cold temperatures.  Not sure what it would look like here if they had actually forecasted snow --

This is what I woke up this morning.  Perfect for a day when I'm supposed to be finishing up my Christmas shopping.  Most people would say, "oh that isn't too bad."  Yeah, here in STL, when it rains, we're in for great fun on the interstates, when it snows, you just better plan to stay put for most of the day.  It also doesn't help that the wind is blowing 20-45 mph.  Brrrrrrrrr!  I'm definitely not ready for winter.

Guess it's the perfect day to stay in and work on my homemade Christmas gifts.

Doesn't get much better than this

 
Nothing says Merry Christmas like an acoustic Shinedown show and tonight I'm headed out to see them perform live.  WOOO HOOO!!!  I've warned Broccoli that he just may have to save me from my heart exploding from all of the excitement tonight.  I believe he's prepared for just about anything with me.

To make this early Christmas gift to myself even better --
I have tomorrow off from work!
DOUBLE BONUS!!!

Photos of the Day

These pictures sum up my Thanksgiving.

It was a hard day, given the fact that my grandma was stuck in the hospital when we were able to get the rest of the family together for the first time in 23 years, but my brother and I were able to pull through and realize what was important.  Given the circumstances and knowing that Grandma would want us to enjoy our day, we decided to be silly and have some fun.  It sure gave her a much needed laugh too when we visited the hospital this evening.  I would call this a pretty awesome day and a semi-successful celebration.

Happy Thanksgiving!

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” – Albert Schweitzer

May your day be spent sharing laughs and love with those who mean the most to you.

7 Day Forecast

Can someone tell me what's wrong with this picture?

This is our 7 day forecast for this week.

Umm yeah, from 70 degrees to 39 degrees highs in 5 days???  That's St. Louis for ya.
I start with a light jacket for today and end with my winter coat and probably still freeze my tush off on Friday. 

The Next Iron Chef

Tonight it is on -- after 7 competitions and a double elimination last week, the final 2 chefs compete!!
Who will become the newest Iron Chef? 

Chef Marco "Where's the Parchment Paper?" Canora or Chef Marc "the Forge" Forgione?

It will be an exciting battle in Kitchen Stadium for sure and you can bet I'll be tuned in. 
Also, I'm waiting to see what Canora will whine about this week.  I joked about the parchment paper incident all day on Monday -- even when everyone else looked at me like I had 3 heads.