Thanksgiving with the Wongs

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Thanksgiving with the Smiths

Odd but kinda cute ...

I hate "the ONION"

When Rob and I were at Barnes & Noble last night, he motioned towards this book and said with a big ole grin, "now THIS is what you can get me for Christmas!!!" As my usual XMAS grinch was practically peeing his pants as he flipped from page to page, I made a mental note to add the book title to my shopping list. I had every intent to go back and secretly buy the book ... until they wronged me.

On the outside cover the book, it clearly reads "FREE GLOBE INSIDE". I like free stuff. Rob likes globes. This should be a win-win for the Smong family right? The Onion says no.

As he flipped through the pages, I asked Rob, "where's the globe?" Rob looks up, shakes his head in disgust and says "there is no globe." He looks down and continues to read. I poke him in the shoulder and say, "why isn't there a globe, the cover says free globe inside!" Rob smiles and continues to read. I slowly recall my first experience with the Onion and curse my own gullible nature.

----Chrissi's first experience with the Onion ---- as we were waiting in line for a burrito at my all-time favorite taqueria in SF (Gordos) ... I spied the front page article about jeans that came with an acid wash camel toe. I said to Rob, "jeans like that would be hideous" ... Rob laughed for the duration of our meal.

Why would anyone read (let alone publish) a fake newspaper??

The ONION bites. Stupid ONION.

The difference between me and my husband ...

Every couple of months I gather all of our super big blankets & comforters and take them down to the laundromat for a spin in the gargantuan triple load washer. Rob saves all of the change from his "daily" (scratch that ... "HOURLY" coffee runs) so I asked him to gather a bunch for me to take on my trip.

This picture is a visual of just how different my hubby and I are.

I'm not sure how long it must have taken for him to make all of those neat little piles and rows but I know ... if he had asked me for quarters, I surely would have handed him a Ziploc baggie filled with with dimes, nickels and pennies mixed in.

If you look closely, one of the piles is starting to lean. Looks like Mr. Pile-ie is losing his touch. Happy hump day.

I love my dad ...

He's such a good sport : ) He posed for this picture while wearing his "rain" hat ... a fiesta sombrero from Chevys. During the winter months, he wears the hat to keep him dry while he takes the trash cans out on garbage day. Love you Daddy.

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Our 2006 Christmas Tree

Uncle Scrooge (aka Rob) made me toss our Christmas tree in February last year. I say we could have eeked out another month. February is just too soon for Christmas to end. The tree was only a tad bit brown. The grass gives me a bad rap. Bad grass.

Christmas is coming !!! Christmas is coming !!!

All of our southbay family and friends should be familiar with downtown San Jose's annual "Christmas In The Park" display. I am happy to report that construction on this year's 25th annual display is in full gear and downtown is looking mighty Christmas-y right about now : )

"It's the mooost wonderful time, of the year..."

Crochet Pizza

Cooking Class

This week in Teacher Christine's cooking class we are learning how to make butter. For all the moms out there, making butter is both fun and easy for kids of all ages.

To make butter ... Obtain a large spaghetti sauce or mayonnaise jar and run it through the dishwasher to sterilize. Place 1 cup of room temperature, heavy whipping cream in the bottle and secure the lid. Shake the bottle vigorously until the liquid turns to the consistency of whipped butter. Continue shaking the whipped butter for another minute (or so) and the butter solids will separate from the butter milk. Drain off the buttermilk (the butter will stick to the sides of the jar) and add water to the jar to "rinse" the butter. The goal of the "rinsing" process is to separate the majority of the buttermilk from of the butter solids. Add a pinch or two of salt to the butter and spread on your favorite bread. Yum !!!!

** The larger your jar, the faster the butter will "whip" and separate from the buttermilk. You can use a tupperware container, just be sure that the seal is tight.

If I had a hamster ...

His cage would look juuust like this.

I think I want a hamster.

I think I neeeed a hamster. Must go home and talk to Rob.

They name boats after women ...

I think we'll have to give this car, the Smong's first family vehicle a girly name as well. Stay tuned for more info as we learn to love our new baby. Sorry the picture is one off of the Honda website but it's dark right now and I don't think the nighttime picture off my phone will do it justice. Happy day. Oh happy day. I love new cars.

Note, you may be like Rob and loooove the "new car smell" but it makes me feel light headed. I think I'll sneak in an air freshener as I'll be the car's primary driver.

Toad in a Hole, Grilled Cheese

Our friends from Visalia, Erica and Steve, are staying with us for a couple of days. This morning I made your standard ... scrambled eggs and sausage breakfast. While the coffee and chit-chat were great, I was hoping to wow my foodie friend with something a little more special for Saturday morning breakfast. I surfed the web for recipes and found this winner.

Toad in a Hole Grilled Cheese !!!

The concept is simple, combine a grilled cheese sandwich with an "egg in hole" sandwich and you have a Toad in a Hole, Grilled Cheese Sandwich. I have plans to see my friend Marissa for breakfast tomorrow but I'm making this for my guests before I leave.

Note, I really like this recipe as it is so adaptable for my family's health and dietary concerns. The "egg" can be replaced by Egg Beaters, the "cheese" can be replaced by lactose free cheese from Traders, AND ... (saving the best for last) .... the slices of "real" bread can be replaced by low carb bread. I plan to use Smart Balance (a healthy margarine spread) to cut back on the fat content in the dish. I see this recipe as more of a food concept that I can adapt for whomever I'm cooking for. Can't wait for tomorrow !!!!

Today at SJSU

It was bring your monkey to school day. As I was walking from the education building over to the coffee shop I saw a guy carrying the body of a large paper mache monkey. The girl walking alongside him was carrying the monkey's corresponding head. The girl walked casually with the head tucked under her armpit ... like she was strolling on the beach with a volleyball. Not too long after I saw the decapitated monkey, I saw a different girl who had sewn pink cat ears onto the hoodie of her black sweatshirt. (I am secretly jealous of this crafty idea). I wonder if students in the dorms can keep small pets. I haven't seen any puppies riding in purses on campus but I know it's only a matter of time.

Happy Monday to ya ... (only 1 more midterm to go, yippee !!)



More monkey pictures from my friend Michelle

Message from my friend Lica ...

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D.
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

• the car isn't washed
• the bills aren't paid
• the flowers don't have enough water,
• there is still only 1 check in my check book,
• I can't find the remote,
• I can't find my glasses,
• and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.
• Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day, and I'm really tired.
• I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!

This is the fish that tried to eat me

He is the resident pet and guard dog at Seascapes on Castro Street in Mountain View. Fishy's body is the size of Rob's head. The owner of the pet store told me to go check him out because quote, "he's got a great personality".

Liar liar pants on fire !!

I'm a sucker for any animal who's known for having a "good personality" but c'mon.

Upon the advice of the store owner, I walk over to the tank to meet fishpants mcpersonality. I introduce myself. I smile at him ... AND I refrain from tapping his tank (as per the sign posted next to his name). No joke, 15 seconds into our "conversation", the friggin' fish tried to eat me. He opened his mouth like the shark from Jaws. He fixed his eyes on my head and shook his body from side to side as if he was taunting me "I'm gonna eat you, I'm gonna eat you !!!" The only thing that saved my life (no it was not my husband who stood by laughing) was the glass wall that kept the water in crazie mcpersonality's tank. I honestly believe that this was a piranha posing as some kind of gold fish.

Do not go to Seascapes if you have a heart condition.

In my dreams, my house is filled with bunnies that look just like this ...

Happy Sunday

Kickin' it at the Wong House - Jenni, Chrissi, Rob, Danny & Carolyn

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Why we love the Bay Area

No offense to our family and friends out in the hot-dessert-like-lands we call Visalia and Lincoln but it's presently 60 degrees in temperature and we just received the first few raindrops of the season. Sure we could buy a house for $200k where you live ... but think of all the money we'll save by NOT buying anti-persprant by the truckload. I think I'll go put my booties on. My feets are coooold.

P.S. Katia: Keep the air mattress pumped. I'm still coming back for more of your splenda cocktails !!!

San Diego Vacation

Here's a pic of Chrissi and the human Monchhichi at the San Diego zoo

"Monchhichi, Monchhichi! Oh so soft and cud-a-ly! With his thumb in his mouth he's really sweet! It's fun to play with their little feet! La la la! La la la! Happy, happy Monchhichi! I love you Monchhichi!"




Highlights from our trip down to San Diego:

** Yummy tapas in the Gas Lamp ~ the food at Cafe Sevilla makes your mouth water

** The panda exhibit at the San Diego zoo, clue in here for an online panda cam

** Buffalo wings at HOOTERS. The wings are coated and deep fried, like southern fried chicken and then basted in a tangy hot sauce. I have 3rd degree burns from eating wings fresh out of the fryers. I guess we could have let them cool before eating them but who could resist. Side note, the HOOTER girl outfits aren't as skanky/vampy as one would imagine.

** The bike taxi ride from one of the local college's foreign exchange students. Our 98 pound friend was from Turkey. Rob thinks I'm crazy because I took pictures of his butt and legs but I had to have proof that someone who was literally the size of my left thigh could haul me around town.






** Yes ... that is a dog. A dog wearing a pink dress.

Millbrae

I love Millbrae. Millbrae was the first home Rob and I ever shared. Our place was great. Our view was great. Ohh how I miss this city.

I am back today, picking up Rob after work so that we can hightail it down to San Diego for our 1 year anniversary vacation. Can't believe it's been 1 year already. Stay tuned for pictures

Sigh ... a girl moves away from the big city and how quickly she forgets how friggin windy this place is. Thank goodness I'm not so light that I'll fly away.

Ciao ...

P.S. I have just come from visiting Rob's new office. I approve. There is an adequate amount of pictures of me scattered around his desk. Thank you ... bye bye !!!

Bento Art

Sooo cute, it's like the two loves of my life (cooking and crafts) have merged !!

Message to all my chefy friends ...

If you're looking to attend a one day cooking class, I would recommend taking a look at Sur La Table's program. They have demonstration and hands-on classes. On Friday I took the hands-on, Tuscan cooking class. It was an absolute blast. There were two chefs, two assistants and six students (class max is 12). The chefs introduce the ingredients, demo how to use the kitchen tools, and then set you free to work with the food. I liken the experience to being live in the America's Test Kitchen. As you cook and play with the kitchen gadgets, the food experts walk around engaging you technical discussions and giving valuable advice on the menu's ingredients and steps.

The equipment in the Sur La Table kitchen is amazing. As a participant you can try out whatever tools they sell in the store. The kitchen is stocked with both fancy and standard pantry ingredients. A lot of specialty ingredients can be found at your local Trader Joes so I felt like the recipes were accessible to a home chef. Sur La Table is kitchen gadget heaven. I've been looking for a good garlic press so this was the perfect opportunity for me to play around and pick my favorite one.

Students cook together and then share all of the dishes that are prepared. On Friday we dined on:

• Caesar Salad with Bleu Cheese and Homemade Caesar Dressing
  
• Grilled Steak with Balsamic Onions
• Spinach and Ricotta Timbales (Quiches)
• Steamed Broccoli and Cambozola Cheese and Cream Sauce
• Fresh Strawberry Gelato

(Special thanks to Katia for asking me to sub for her in this class!!!)

O-M-G this super cute guinea pig is named TOE JAM! I'm not sure what I love more ... cutie's name or the bunny he breaks bread with. Note the one ear up, one ear down action on the bun.

Oh what a week ...

Monday: Woke up tired and grumpy. Left the house in such a hurry that I forgot to wish Mr. Smong an official "happy birthday" ... Thank god the dry cleaning lady reminded me of the date !!! OOPS

Tuesday: Sent my classroom assistant to the office to cut tissue paper squares for a collage project planned for Wed. Mike had a mishap with the paper cutter and a sliced a chunk off of his thumb. 911 is called. Mike requests a joyride in the ambulance, but is politely declined. His mom takes him to urgent care ... CRUD

Wednesday: Stabbed the palm of my hand and sliced the tip of my index finger with scissors ... CRAP, who knew crafts were so dangerous??

**Good news from my assistant Mike !!! He is doing fine, sans a couple of stitches. -- We wish you a speedy recovery Mike, the kids asked about you all day long. Everyone, misses you !!!

Thursday: Much, much better today. The little kids made pirate flags and the older kids made home-made stamps. Grilled chicken and bean burritos for dinner tonight. Yum !!!

Friday: (update) ... I miss my kids already. Special thanks to Jen and Raquel for giving me the opportunity to teach this program. Viva la crafts! (stay tuned for pics of my students craft creations).

Happy Birthday Rob !!!

Two more days and my hubby finally turns the big 33. (I have been anxiously awaiting this day as I have been 33 for 4 months and I secretly hate the fact that I'm robbing the cradle and am married to a younger man.)

Tonight we will celebrate with Ravioli from Fiorellos and Carrot Cake from Peter's Bakery. Stay tuned for pictures of the birthday boy and his homemade party hat. Man he's lucky to be married to a crafts teacher.

Happy Saturday

Message from the craft teacher to all of my parental friends ...

Comcast: Save big bucks.

Stop spending your hard earned dollars on video games, barbie dolls, DVDs, etc. The following list details the items that the kids from my craft class go absolutely APE over:

• Pipe cleaners
• Popsicle sticks
• Masking tape (ohhhhh they could play with a 99 cent roll of masking tape all day long)
• Sponges (cut them into inch sized cubes, call them "Sponge Bobs" and they jump up and down with utter glee when you tell them that the sponge is just for them and they can keep it for-ever)
• Felt
• Pom pom balls

As odd and cheapy-cheapy as all this seems ... I have found that the most basic art/office supplies are really the ones that the kids love best. Empower your kids to channel their "inner artist" and everyone wins. Ping me personally if you want lesson plans for Paper Bag Puppets (think Fandango), Pipe Cleaner People, Popsicle Stick Puzzles, etc : )

.

Aha moment ...

You know you're tired and shouldn't fight sleep when you approach your husband who is in the kitchen making a sandwich and you shout out ... "don't eat my bread !!!!!"

: ) I'm not sure when the food in our fridge started receiving labels like "mine", "also mine" and "mine as well" but lets just say that it's been rough couple of weeks since I started working again. I haven't had a chance to do much grocery shopping so the Smong house is running low on our favorite foods ... including low carb bread. I guess when that happens ... Mrs. Smong gets a little territorial about (quote un quote) ... "the consumption of **her** bread".

As it turns out (sigh) ... Mr. Smong was making Mrs. Smong's lunch for the next day. Man I'm lucky that my husband loves me unconditionally : )

I sure hope this isn't a sign of what's in store for me and Uncle Rob

I started teaching my second session of kiddie craft classes on Monday. What are the odds that out of a group of 23, myself included-- that the group would have 3 groups of multiples births !!! I have a set of triplets (cute little blondies) and a set of twins (a sweet brother sister duo who are a mix of Hispanic and Chinese heritage). Being the nosy lani I am ... I always watch other multiples to see ... how they compare to me and my twinnie.

In the case of the Wallace triplets, the Alexandria is the spokesperson and "task assigner" for the group. Olivia always sits in the middle (between her brother and sister) and is very easy going. Logan is cool following Alexandria's lead for the most part but he's not afraid of telling her no. I haven't seen Olivia tell Alexandria "no" yet but it's early in the session : ) Surprisingly ... the triplets don't look like brothers and sisters. Their hair color is blonde but it's 3 different shades of blonde. Alexandria's hair is frizzy curly and is so blonde it's almost white. Olivia has yellow blonde hair and it's stick straight. Logan's hair is pretty straight as well, color wise it's a shade darker than the whitish blonde hair sister who has the frizzy curly hair. All three have different body shapes (Logan is a head taller than his two tiny sisters) and their facial features are all distinct.

On the flip side, the Teh twins (a brother sister duo) look amazingly similar to each other, same height and facial features. If the twins were the same gender I would bet that they were identical twins not fraternal. Strong family genes. The little girl, Jocelyn is the spokesperson for her and her brother. After we had the class discussion about the Wallace triplets, being triplets, she raised her hand to say that she and her brother Justin were twins.

I don't think I like being a twin when I was growing up but I guess it does make for interesting conversation. Our groups of multiples are very popular in the class as of now : )

Stay tuned for pictures of the crafts we're making.

Don't throw away your bottles of vinegar !!!

When my chefy friend Terrina moved to Bangladesh last year, I inherited all of the goodies from her pantry. Being the gourmet chefy person that she is, I acquired numerous bottles of specialty vinegars, flavored oils and such. As it has been almost 6 months since she left, and I don't use specialty vinegars all that often I have found that some of the vinegar bottles have formed a sedimentary rock layer on the bottom. (Note: The sediment isn't really "rock-like" but I've always loooved the phrase "sedimentary rock" so I'm going with this description today.) Long story short, Rob's inclination was to toss the vinegar but I decided to Google words "vinegar and sediment" and I found this interesting tidbit.

"Research shows that because of its acidic nature, vinegar is self-preserving and has an indefinite shelf life. It does not need refrigeration. White distilled vinegar will remain almost unchanged over a long period of time. Some vinegar may show change such as developing sediment or becoming hazy, but this does not affect the usefulness of the vinegar."

P.S. Thank god for spell check. If I hadn't run the spell check on this post you would have read "When my chefy friend Terrina moved to Bangladesh last year, I inheireted all of the goodies in her panty." Thong, bikini brief, pick your poison.

Vader, we hardly knew ye

This use to be my lunchbox. I took with me everyday to work at my old job. It was the best lunchbox ever. The handle had a clasp that you could hook onto a bag. It rocked.

But now that I'm all grown up and have a real job, I finally had to give it up for a more "professional" lunchbox. It's your standard, run-of-the-mill lunchbox. The new lunchbox is boring and average, just like my job.

I will be holding a tradional Jedi funeral pyre for the Vader lunchbox soon.

Goodbye, Lord Vader. May the Force be with you.

Always.

Teaching crafts to six year olds ...

Cleaning up after 20 six year old kids bites big time. I have 5 minutes of prep time in between class sessions so I like to keep messes to a minimum or at least come up with an easy way for the kids to help with clean up. Today I was literally patting myself on the back for coming up with the brilliant idea to do a paper cut out project on the grass.

Instead of doing the project in my carpeted classroom, the kids could spread out and do the craft in peace ... letting all of the little baby paper cut outs fall between the blades of grass. As I explained to the kids ...

Paper comes from trees ...
and the blades of grass are like little mini trees.
The paper pieces (all ten million of them) will become a natural fertilizer for the mini trees.
We are being eco-friendly !!!
What a good class we are !!!
Everything was perfect ...


UNTIL ...


The sprinklers came on.

Santa Clara Public Library

Ok ... I have officially decided that the Santa Clara public library on Homestead is my NEW FAVORITE place to study. While I loooove the vibe and barista at Mission City Coffee Roasting, the facility is not air conditioned and I melt when the heat rises above 70. Public libraries have come a long way since I was a kid. Books can be checked out in piles then renewed online. Wireless is free and there are always big tables for me to study at. Most libraries (the big ones) have internal coffee shops that sell both drinks and yummy snacks. I think I'll save Mission City trips for date nights with Rob.

German squirrel on a rampage injures 3 people

OK ... not only do I find the subject of this article utterly fascinating but the journalist writes with such flair it cracks me up.

"a 72-year-old pensioner dispatched the rampaging animal with his crutch" = HE GOT DEAD
"The squirrel first ran into a house ... leapt from behind" = HE PLANNED HIS ATTACK
"sank its teeth into her hand" = HE BIT HER
"massively attacked him on the arms, hand and thigh" = I IMAGINE THE SQUIRREL TO BE ALL OVER HIM AT THIS POINT

(FULL ARTICLE) = An aggressive squirrel attacked and injured three people in a German town before a 72-year-old pensioner dispatched the rampaging animal with his crutch. The squirrel first ran into a house in the southern town of Passau, leapt from behind on a 70-year-old woman, and sank its teeth into her hand, a local police spokesman said on Thursday. With the squirrel still hanging from her hand, the woman ran onto the street in panic, where she managed to shake it off. The animal then entered a building site and jumped on a construction worker, injuring him on the hand and arm, before he managed to fight it off with a measuring pole. "After that, the squirrel went into the 72-year-old man's garden and massively attacked him on the arms, hand and thigh," the spokesman said. "Then he killed it with his crutch." The spokesman said experts thought the attack may have been linked to the mating season or because the squirrel was ill.

Best investment EVER !!!

Costco's sells an portable AC unit for about $250. It's the BEST investment ever. Our living room and kitchen is about 400 -500 square feet in size. Our unit cools down both rooms in about 15 minutes. The unit is portable and moves with ease. You just have to set it up near a window so that you can vent out the hot air. I highly recommend this buy.

(Special thanks to Renee & Dave for the recommendation.)

Factoid of the day

The average American woman weighs 163 lbs and is 5' 3" tall
The average American man weighs 190 lbs and is 5' 9" tall

Wikipedia Info Here

When worlds collide

Happy Anniversary Star Wars fans.

The dustbuster has made it's comeback !!

I remember my dad bringing home a dustbuster in the mid 80's. He mounted it to a wall in the garage and it was perpetually plugged in, longing to be used. My dad's dustbuster had practically no suction power and it was as noisy as all get out but it did make cleaning the car somewhat fun. Long story short, I got Rob a new set of power tools for his "early" birthday and the set came with fancy navy blue dustbuster. We keep it charged and use it around the house for picking up everything that hits the floor. The new model has great suction power and a hepa filter that keeps everything you suck up, inside of it's plastic "see through" dust catcher. THE BEST THING about this contraption, (drumroll please !!!) you can use it catch spiders !!! The neck of my dustbuster comes with a long nose attachment that we keep on the machine at all times. It's suction power is so great that the spider doesn't have time to run away when you get near it. My dust catcher is see through so I can see the buggies once they are caught. (lets you know that you really got um!!)

This picture cracks me up. The bunny looks pissed and quite bloated but his friend the guinea pig looks as happy as a clam. Carolina would name him "Carl". I got the pic from a website called the Daily Bunny. The bunny lover who owns the site, updates it daily (ohh yes, and I am there **E V E R Y** day) with comments and pictures about rabbits, bunnies and other furry friends. I love love love this site. I liken it to crack for junkies who are addicted to rabbits.

My lovely lovely wedding bouquet ... made personally for me by my super sweet super nice friend Terrina. Would you like to use her services for your upcoming wedding or party?? How do you feel about international travel? Tea is currently doing a year long work assignment in Bangladesh. From what I hear, they have very exotic flowers there but it's doubtful that you'll get customs to approve their import into the U.S. sorry ...

Greetings from Chrissi's ART Class

It's a paper mache catepillar !!!