Wedding on the Brain

So we've been doing a lot of wedding stuff lately and I haven't been very good at updating. Edwin has picked out his groomsmens' tuxes, I have purchased my wedding jewelry, we have hired a chair cover vendor (this took a lot longer and was harder than you think,) had my hair and make-up trial, drafted the reception timeline, created the flower list, finalized the ceremony music, drafted the programs, wrote tea ceremony instructions for Edwin's family, purchased wedding materials (unity candle, cake cutting set, etc.) and lined up babysitters for the reception. We have 27 children who will be attending the wedding, so we thought that we should help make the wedding fun for them too so that they will be happy and so that parents can stay to celebrate. Wow- when you list it out like that, it looks like we have done a lot. However, it always feels like there is so much left to do.

Next on the To Do list, we're trying to get additional chairs for the rehearsal dinner, line up the caterers for the rehearsal dinner, ordering favors, purchasing gifts for the wedding party, and getting my reception dress altered (again!)

Example of bad customer service we experienced this week: we were in Macy's and noticed that there is a rebate for our china placesettings. You get a free soup bowl for every placesetting purchase. We have already received 2 placesettings, so I went to the cashier to ask about the offer. I asked her if the soup bowls would be sent automatically or if there was some kind of form I would need to complete since these were purchased off of our registry. At first she implied that we would only receive the rebate if we purchased them in store. So I asked if we could return the ones that we have and "re-purchase" them so that we could receive the rebate. She says, "You could, but it is kind of unethical." Unethical? I nearly lost it, but I replied, "Unethical? If we're talking about ethics here, Macy's would have sent that soup bowl to me without me even having to ask about it." She goes on to say that the reason is that sales from the Internet are not the same as ones made in store. That's when I really went off, "I don't care if your sales are from the Internet or the store. I am the customer- it should be seamless." She said something about having to get manager approval for a transaction like this and I told her that I had no issues with it because it seems pretty straight forward to me. What is really dumb about her insult to me is that she knew that we had a registry there- why would you want to piss someone off like that who is bringing in customers? Crazy. She needs to get some training in customer service.

Example of good customer service: Edwin wrote in to LeCreuset asking them how he could obtain a replacement whistle. They wrote back saying that they will send him a replacement for free- no questions asked.

Chronic (What!)cles of Narnia from SNL

Here's funny skit I saw recently from SNL.
Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious!

Alterations Part Deux

Is 5/9 considered good? So between me and Nikki, we had 9 articles of clothing that we had dropped off at this seamstress in Chinatown. We should know that we get what we pay for. At $2 per pair of pants hemmed, we shouldn't expect much. I had 2 dresses altered- one for the rehearsal dinner which needed only the shoulder straps shortened and my reception dress (cheung sam.) The rehearsal dinner dress came out fine- no complaints. However, my reception dress was not to my liking. They altered the waist down fine, but then they also altered the bust which did not need alterations, so now it's tighter than it needs to be. They did not mark it as needing alterations and she even remarked that it did not need to be altered when I brought the dress in and tried it on. So now, I am considering buying the dress again and having someone else do the alterations. I can still sell the old dress on ebay, but it's more of a hassle factor at this point because I will still need to get it altered. Since the cost of the alterations was $5 for this dress, I blame myself because I should have known better. Lesson learned. As for my pants, I got 2 pair of pants hemmed which came out fine and one pair needed repair because the belt loop broke. The pants with the broken belt loop got returned in the same condition that I gave it to them which means that nothing was done.

Nikki, on the other hand, her bridesmaids dress did not look altered to me. It still had the chalk marks along the zipper. However, they assured me that they did alter the dress, just not in the zipper like they thought they would. If that was the case, they should have at least removed the chalk marks!!! So now I have to wait until Nikki returns from her vacation in Hawaii and hope that it fits. As for Nikki's pants, she received one pair hemmed as specified and the other 2 were supposed to have a double stitched hem (which they charged her an extra $1 for) and they only had a single stitch. Since they don't write anything down, I guess that we shouldn't be surprised that they got it wrong.

Moral of the story- you get what you pay for. A place like this is fine if you really only need a $2 pair of pants hemmed and you better not need it right the first time. So, the seamstress comes with mixed reviews. Dresses, not so good. Pants fine as long as it's not too complex and you don't mind making multiple trips.

White and Nerdy

You guys gotta check this out. It's hilarious! Remember Weird Al Yankovic from the 80's? Same guy. Looks like he's still got it. I think I know a few guys who fit this description....

America's Next Top Model

OK- I have to admit that I never thought I would watch this show. But they had a marathon on VH-1 and I got hooked. It is very entertaining to watch. It's interesting to see how a look or expression can affect so much. I never really paid attention to how I look, but I it's made me think that I should be more cognizant of what I may be conveying to others. It's really easy for people to read something that you don't intend. I never put much effort into thinking about that, but this show has made me more aware of it. So, yes, it's a guilty pleasure, but it's actually been educating for me too.

Pirates Unite!

So today was International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Did you know that? I didn't know that. However, when I got to work, my boss was wearing pirate hat and sent us this link for further pirate booty. Ha ha! It's just so fun! http://www.talklikeapirateday.com/wordpress/

Top Ten Pickup lines for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day
10 . Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
9. Have ya ever met a man with a real yardarm?
8. Come on up and see me urchins.
7. Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.
6. I'd love to drop anchor in your lagoon.
5. Pardon me, but would ya mind if fired me cannon through your porthole?
4. How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?
3. Ya know, darlin', I'm 97 percent chum free.
2. Well blow me down?
And the number one pickup line for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day is ...
1. Prepare to be boarded.

Bonus pickup lines (when the ones above don't work, as they often won't)
They don't call me Long John because my head is so big.
You're drinking a Salty Dog? How'd you like to try the real thing?
Wanna shiver me timbers?
I've sailed the seven seas, and you're the sleekest schooner I've ever sighted.
Brwaack! Polly want a cracker? ... Oh, wait. That's for Talk Like a PARROT Day.
That's the finest pirate booty I've ever laid eyes on.
Let's get together and haul some keel.
That's some treasure chest you've got there.

Top Ten Pickup Lines for the Lady Pirates
By popular demand ...
10. What are YOU doing here?
9. Is that a belayin' pin in yer britches, or are ye ... (this one is never completed)
8. Come show me how ye bury yer treasure, lad!
7. So, tell me, why do they call ye, "Cap'n Feathersword?"
6. That's quite a cutlass ye got thar, what ye need is a good scabbard!
5. Aye, I guarantee ye, I've had a twenty percent decrease in me "lice ratio!"
4. I've crushed seventeen men's skulls between me thighs!
3. C'mon, lad, shiver me timbers!
2. RAMMING SPEED!
...and the number one Female Pirate Pick-up Line:
1. You. Pants Off. Now!

Since we are getting married on Treasure Island, we have to celebrate this international holiday. That's right, this is not just a US holiday, it's celebrated around the world. Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

Find or fiasco?

So is there something to the question- how cheap is too cheap? Or in other words, you get what you pay for. We went to dim sum with Nikki and Ed this afternoon. Afterwards, Nikki brought me to this place that does alterations in Chinatown that she had heard about from a friend. $2 for hemming a pair of pants. What??? Sign me up! Now, I also need to alter a dress that I have for the rehearsal dinner (the straps are a little long) and my cheung sam for the reception. This is in addition to the 2 pairs of pants I bought months ago that I planned to hem myself when I could borrow Show's sewing machine. (For $2, why would I bother?) I also had a pair of pants that had a small rip on the side. How much do you think it would cost for all these alterations? $50? $30? How about $15!!!! How crazy is that? Nikki had her bridesmaids dress altered for $10 and 3 pairs of pants for a total of $21. I know that all of our friends are using us as guinea pigs to see how it all comes out before they bring in their bags of cloths.

So that brings me to my next point. How is the quality going to come out? For a pair of pants, I don't think that you can screw it up unless you take off too much. The dresses, on the other hand, are bigger investments. So here's the setup. You walk into this basement that has bags and clothes all over the place. Inside, there are 3 older Chinese ladies sitting around and talking and you don't know who you should talk to. I did have to break out the Cantonese, so I don't know if this option is going to work as well for anyone that doesn't speak Cantonese. There a little closet that has a fabric "door" with no light to try on the clothes. I did not see one pin the whole time we were there. All they did was chalk each piece. Here's the real kicker though. How do they keep up with all the inventory since I told you that they had all these plastic bags and clothes all over? A sophisticated ticketing and inventory system? Oh no! She pulls out a used business card and puts a white sticker (over 3 other stickers) to cover up the old information from previous "receipts" and hand writes in Chinese 3 pants, 2 dresses, and $15. Classic.

That's my receipt. On the bag which I brought in to carry the clothes, she writes down the same information and asks for my name Fong. That's it. How many Fongs do you think live in the Bay Area? I hope I get my clothes back. I may end up with some other Fong's clothes. Stay tuned next week when I pick it up on Saturday.

Tomorrow will be another day of wedding preparations. We have an appointment to meet with the chair cover person tomorrow. I'm pretty sure we'll go with them. They were reasonable priced and they have already done events at the Empress of China. After that, we have an appointment with the organist to go over the music during the ceremony. On Monday, we will be picking up our marriage license and I have a check-up with the hand surgeon. Last night, we spent the night doing "fun" wedding preparations. Edwin prepared another batch of wedding beer and I started embossing the Thank You cards. This is less laborious than the invitation-making and something I haven't tried before. Basically, you have to stamp an image using pigment ink (doesn't dry as fast) and then pour embossing powder over the stamp. Shake off the excess like you would with glitter and then heat it with the embossing gun (which I bought off of ebay for about $15.) I think most people would think I was insane for doing this, but I'm having fun. I also may have found a hair person- hooray! That's been something that has taken me a lot longer than I expected as well. We also are almost finished with the kiddie bags. A couple of things that we are still working on- the programs, transportation (though I think that we will probably just caravan unless Greg's contact makes us an offer we can't refuse,) and the flower list. I'm feeling really good with all that we've done. We still have a month. That's what I keep telling myself and then I go "Oh my gosh- we only have a month!"

Blink

So I started reading this book called Blink. It's pretty interesting. I don't normally read non-fiction books, but I'm enjoying this one because it kind of talks about the first impressions and how we process things instantaneously. I do believe in intuition and gut feelings. I believe my instincts are pretty good when I first meet people. The book cited a study in which students were asked to assess their opinion of a new professor in 10 sec, 5 sec, and 2 sec. All the results were consistent with those that gave assessments at the end of the year. How weird is that?

It also talks about what happens to us when we don't trust that inner voice. This usually happens when you don't want to believe it. I'm looking forward to reading more on during my commute on the F- Market. That brings me to my next topic. I just discovered the coolest thing called Next Bus. It shows you where the bus is and how long until the next one. I just wish that they had this for all the bus lines!

Camping in Pinecrest

This past weekend, we went camping with Maika, Kaori, Jamie, Debbie, and Tom. We left Friday after work and got their around midnight. On Saturday, we went for a short hike and then rented a party boat. It was a pretty pleasant ride around the lake and the boys went for a short dip. It was a little too cold for the ladies. There was also a little fishing. Maika caught the most fish with her little Barbie fishing pole. Edwin was second with a little 10-inch fish.

It was quite cold in the evenings, but the days were nice and warm. We had fun around the campfire and ate lots of sausage.

Wedding RSVPs- we have 100 people attending the wedding so far. There are about 200 outstanding invitations, so if you're one of those people, please RSVP! I think we have a chair cover vendor, but I'm still looking for a hair person. Just got my altered wedding dress back. I can't try it on yet because I can't put it on by myself. We also have an appointment for getting our marriage license. So many little details, but time is going by fast. We only have about 40 days left! Next on my list- alterations!

Happy Labor Day!

This Labor Day we took a short trip to San Luis Obispo and Hearst Castle.
It was a pretty spontaneous trip because we didn't decide to go until Friday morning when the Banerjees invited us. We left on Saturday morning without reservations and headed down Highway 1. It was a fun trip filled with adventures.

We ended up being able to find a hotel/motel which was good, but it ended being burglarized which was bad. While we were sleeping, I heard someone jiggle the doorknob, but thought it was someone who was drunk that was at the wrong door. I remembered hearing people talk and it sounded like people were moving luggage outside. Edwin had gotten up and then came back to bed. I discovered in the morning that the police had been outside knocking on people's doors because there was a burglary.
(Edwin's note: I don't think an actual burglary occurred, but there seemed to be a loud and sloppy attempt(s). The screen was off of the window of the room below us, a car door was open and there was a lot of banging around out there. Still not a pleasant experience.

As a side note, I did get to eat my favorite carrot cake that night. It is at a cafe I would sometimes study at. Nice and chunky with walnuts, carrot shreds and some non-standard ingredients like pineapple. Nice cream cheesy frosting too.)

What was interesting to me is that there were at least 3 other hotels next to ours, and Edwin had just told us the night before that San Luis Obispo was very safe. The hotel itself seemed nice on the outside and it was not in a bad part of town, so I guess you always have to be careful. While it was a bit unnerving, we did not let this incident dampen our weekend.

We continued on to Hearst castle- summer home of media mogul William Randolph Hearst. There are 4 tours and many of them were sold out, so we ended up taking Tour 3 which does not take you to the main castle, but tours the guest houses and pools. What I remembered about half way through the tour is that we did Tour 3 the last time we went to Hearst Castle. Must remember for the next time I visit because these tours are rather pricey at $24 per tour. Another interesting tidbit is that the architect that designed the castle was Julia Morgan. Michelle and Mike are going to be getting married in January in the Julia Morgan ballroom here in SF. She was a pioneer among women as the first woman to graduate from Berkeley in architecture. She was also the first with a architecture license in San Francisco. She opened her own firm when she was 32. Not bad, huh? It's funny, in all the references to her, they called her Miss Morgan so I wonder if she ever married. Even back in the early 1900's, there seemed to be a struggle between a career woman and personal life. Anyway, it was a fun tour and obviously, I would go back and even take the same tour twice!

We came back through Milpitas and stopped for dinner at a Muslim Chinese restaurant called Darda. It was really tasty. We had a crab and corn soup, tendon in brown sauce, sesame onion cake, homemade noodles, and a spicy shrimp. The only thing that I wouldn't order again was the spicy shrimp. It didn't taste bad, but it wasn't worth the value compared to the other things we ordered. Will definitely be going back.

Today, we went and picked up supplies for our tea ceremony. We also went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2. I thought it was good, but Edwin was disappointed by the ending which basically ended abruptly because Disney wants you to go to Pirates of the Caribbean 3. I still enjoyed it and will probably go see 3. As my Labor Day ends, I wish that I didn't have to go back to work tomorrow, but at least it's a shorter work week!

What Happens in Tahoe, Stays in Tahoe

As I mentioned in my last post, we went to Tahoe this past weekend to celebrate the end of my singlehood. I had a great time. On Friday, we drove up and started the weekend off with one of my favorites- Popeye's fried chicken in Vacaville. We didn't arrive until 1AM and then got lost thanks to Yahoo Maps. When we finally found the house, we couldn't find the key that was supposed to be under the mat. To our surprise, there were people already inside the house. How mortified we were when we were told that there were different unit numbers- we just assumed that the address we were looking for was the only one. He was in A and we were in C. After profusely apologizing, we arrived at a quaint cabin in South Lake Tahoe at around 2AM.

We slept in on Saturday because we ended up talking until 3:30AM. We had brunch at the Beacon overlooking Emerald Bay. For the afternoon festivities, we went golfing. This was my first outing and most likely will be my last. I had fun, but golfing is not my cup of tea and I think that I'll stick to the miniature golfing since Michelle Wie and Tiger Woods will definitely not be threatened by my skills. It was a 9 hole par 3 course. (Not even sure if I said that right, but you get the drift- less than 18 holes.) Here are some of the quotables:

Matilde: We're going golfing this afternoon.
Michelle: You mean
like miniature golfing?
Matilde: No, I mean, golfing.
Michelle: Don't
you have to do that early in the morning? Do we at least get different colored
balls?

Matilde: Do you guys need a putter?
Michelle: I have a club
that says P.
Corinne: Aren't they all putters?

Man: Do you mind if
we start ahead of you?
Michelle: Not at all. Please do.
Man: We're
pretty decent golfers, so we should be able to stay ahead of you. (Man walks
away.)
Nikki: Then what are you doing playing at a municipal course?

Matilde: So what's the final score? (after 7 holes-Matilde, Michelle,
and Jinn vs. Nikki, Show, and Corinne)
Nikki: Oh! We got 28! Wow!
Show: Um, we only have 6 scores written. I think we're missing one...

The laughs alone were worth it. Later that evening, we went to the casinos. I'm going to leave it at that. What happens in Tahoe, stays in Tahoe. :) More conversations until the wee hours of the morning. That's basically all I wanted- a weekend sleepover with my girls for some eating, reminiscing, and lots of laughing.

Lots of things to do, but we're taking our time!

So I went wedding dress shopping again last night. No, nothing happened to my dress, but I am a bridesmaid in Michelle and Mike's wedding and so I went with Michelle. It seems like I just went to find my own dress. A lot less stressful for me now. It also reminded how quickly this all goes. We have less than 2 months before the wedding. I think that there are some brides who are pretty stressed at this point, but I'm really enjoying it now. I feel like I am at a stage where if everything else doesn't happen, it's not a big deal. I think that once we got those invitations out it was like a big milestone. It seems to make it more real. We actually have people coming for this! So far, we have 32 people who have RSVP'd. Thanks guys!

So Michelle and I went to a San Francisco wedding dress design boutique called Amy Kuschel. I kind of wish that I had gone there when I was shopping because it was such a great experience. But all of these dresses are custom made and would have been way out of my budget and I just would have been tempted to spend too much. Besides, I still feel lucky to have my dress and I don't know that I would have chosen any of those dresses. It was just cool because we got to meet Amy herself as she was helping Michelle. I told her about my dress experience and she agreed that sometimes you just have to jump on an opportunity. I was pleasantly surprised that she wasn't pushy or pretentious. The studio was in Union Square with lots of light and wood floors. Compared to any of the bridal shops I went to, this was by far the most pleasant and most attentive. I would highly recommend it to any future brides. It's also where Wendy got her dress.

Good news! You remember how I asked you all to take my surveys? Well, I won! I won an Ipod nano from work because I was one of 3 people that had the most completes. Thanks to everyone who took my survey and a special thanks to Santiney who took my survey 30 times during a conference call. I haven't received it yet, but I'll let you know when I do.

On the wedding front, we have started the schedule for the reception, drafted the programs, sent out an evite for the rehearsal dinner, and bought supplies to start the Thank You cards. Yes, I'll be trying my hand at using embossing powder and stamps. You would think that after all those invitations that I wouldn't want to do any more crafting with paper, but I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment. I'll be using the same color cards and envelopes to match. Who knows- I may start and go- "what was I thinking" and just go out and buy those pre-made Thank You cards that most sane people would use. I don't feel that I'm the most creative person, so when I can experiment and try something new like this, I like to try. I still need to alter my reception dress and thanks to Kian's suggestion, I think I have a seamstress. Still on the To-Do list: transportation, lists (flowers, music, tea ceremony participants, photo must haves), hair and make-up trials, wedding jewelry, and chair covers. This weekend is my shower/bachelorette in Tahoe. I'm looking forward to some relaxation and to spending quality time with my girls- Show, Jinn, Matilde, Nikki, and Corinne.

Congrats Vicki and Will!

So we were in Chicago this past weekend for Vicki and Will's wedding. We had a great time, but we wish that there was more time. My girl Vicki looked totally gorgeous in her dress. The whole thing seemed to fly by. Her bridesmaids dresses look a lot like mine but a little lighter and different material. Edwin was able to fly from LA JIT so that even with a delayed flight that landed at 2:30, we were able to make it on time for the 4PM wedding.

I also got to spend some time with the family too since we stayed at my parents and the niece and nephew were in tow. It was great to hang out with Hannah. She even volunteered to come with me to pick up Edwin without her parents. We spent most of the drive singing Old MacDonald and Wheels on the Bus. Those kids just LOVE to sing these songs over and over again. I have a fun picture of her in my sunglasses.

Timothy is SO big now. He's so cute. He's at that age where I can give him as many kisses as I want and he loves it. He never cries and is just content to observe. Loves it when his big sis tackles him on the floor. He just laughs and laughs. He rarely cries and even when he does, it is not that ear-piercing baby cry.

So we got back this morning and it was definitely painful to wake up at 3:50AM CST for our 6:30AM flight from Chicago. Though I was able to sleep almost the entire way, it was not the most comfortable ride on my tush.

We have our first RSVP!

Dave and Ashley were the first to RSVP. Thanks guys! I'm going to give props to Ashley since she is most likely the one that did it. Make sure that you go up to them to congratulate them for being the first. Dave will be the one carrying the green parasol. JK! At Kian and Wendy's wedding, we were in a very sunny spot and they had parasols for us. Dave was one of the guys who was comfortable enough with his manhood to carry one.

Coming to Seattle has given me a lot more time to do wedding stuff. Yesterday, I went to Michaels, Joanne Fabrics, Ross, and Paper Source. I'm thinking about placecards and Thank You cards. Then today, I worked on the registry. There's a Crate and Barrel and Macy's in Bellevue. I could get used to this suburbia. At Macy's, they had the softest towels that I have ever felt. So nice. They were from Calvin Klein. I have never purchased any Calvin Klein products before, but I do like the quality. I liked the purplish color (of course) and the blue towels. I think that I want our bathroom scheme to change slightly. It's always been fish/ocean. I'm going to go for more of a beachy summer house feel. We'll see if Edwin agrees.

I also spent more than I ever have on make-up today. Beauty is expensive. I purchased a foundation that was recommended by the make-up person on Saturday. She also recommended a pore minimizer at Sephora. The name cracks me up "Picture Porefect." Part of me is skeptical that this stuff is going to do anything, but I guess that I should try since you only have one wedding day. This is how you go over your wedding budget. Items that you don't anticipate buying like make-up. I guess that if I wore make-up this would not be an additional expense. I think that I may have found a new lipstick too. I'm pretty excited about that because I have been looking for a new lipstick for years now. I am a very loyal lipstick buyer. The sad thing is that they keep discontinuing my colors.

Wedding Milestone- Invitations Sent!

After countless hours of cutting, scoring, gluing, printing, and stuffing, we have sent out our invitations! There are still a couple of exceptions for people missing addresses and printing mishaps, but our guests should be receiving their invitations within the next few days. Thanks to my girls Matilde, Show, Michelle, Corinne, and Nikki who attended my 4 invitation-making parties. Edwin also stepped up and did quite a lot of stuffing, gluing, and printing. He and Sujay can now discuss the war stories of wax seals, embossing, stuffing, and the differences between ecru and Stardream Quartz.

If you can't wait for snail mail, you can actually begin to RSVP online now at the wedding website using the link to the right. Don't forget the password is "sanfrancisco." All you have to do is select "RSVP Here" and then put in the first and last name of the person on the front of the envelope. If you're married, we most likely used the husband's name as the key. We're trying to do all the RSVPs online since we have been known to forget to RSVP (we actually thought we had already sent it in!) and we have heard of others losing the RSVP or worse yet- the post office never delivered the invite/reply card. I'll let you guys know later if we recommend this method or if we end up with a mess!

Happy birthday to Edwin's mom today. Edwin and Jeannette are going to be with her tomorrow in LA, so I'm sure they will have fun celebrating.

Mishap of the week- I rode my bike to work on Monday and I was rushing home to get to the dry cleaners and return something I had bought. The stores closed at 7PM and I got home at 6:30PM. Good news, right? Well, it would have been except that I left my wallet, cell phone, and keys at work. Edwin was not home and I had to wait outside my garage door for over an hour until he got home. The good news was that I had my computer and was close enough to get internet access from our wireless network.

Airport update- so I am in Seattle today until Friday. I showed up to the airport at 7:45AM for a 9AM flight. It took slightly longer, but the lines were not as bad as I anticipated. I did have to check my bag but I was able to carry on my computer. You are also allowed lipstick and deodorant as carry-ons. (I heard that you couldn't.) Toothpaste is not allowed and neither are drinks allowed on the plane. (even the drinks you buy in the airport) The funny thing was that I was on such autopilot that I walked all the way to the car rental kiosk when I realized that I forgot to pick up my bag at baggage claim. (I normally just walk off the plane and go my merry way.)

Congrats Kian and Wendy!

We went to Kian and Wendy's wedding on Saturday. It was very lovely in a country garden in Sonoma. We had a great time. The paella was awesome and the crab cakes are always welcome! Had a great time dancing the night away.

Wilson also came to SF for a visit this weekend. We went out to dinner at Zuppa's on Friday, then for some dessert at Osha's, and hung out at Matrix. Haven't gone out like that in a while.

Today, we went to Stern Grove again. They had the SF ballet and the SF symphony orchestra playing. It was very relaxing, but also very annoying because they had these potted plants which obstructed our view. There were a lot of complaints from the audience and they moved one pot during intermission. I wonder who had the bright idea to put the plants on the stage. Then we went to play some pool at Sweeties. Had some Mexican and Taqueria San Jose and then some dessert at Naia.

Survey Says...

Well, thanks to everyone who took my survey. Unfortunately someone at work put their survey on My Space and got 3000 completes. I created another survey and put it on craigslist, but I only got about 60 completes from that. Special kudos to Santiney for taking the surveys multiple times during her conference calls.

Tonight, we went wedding dress shopping with Michelle. It seems like a long time ago since I went shopping for my dress. However, it did make me want to get my dress back. Not that I could put in on myself. I have to give her a lot of credit, she's moving very quickly on her wedding plans for January.

This week, we have been trying to finish the invitations. Only 40 invitations left. We have printed the return addresses, but we still need to print some more, stuff, and stamp. We might be able to mail as early as next week! We also got a permit for the picnic on Saturday, October 21st in Golden Gate park in Lindley Meadow. Hopefully, people will stop by so that we can spend more time with them. We want people to feel free to bring any guests and stop by casually. We'll have a BBQ so that if people didn't overeat at the reception, they are sure to overeat here!

This weekend, we are going Kian and Wendy's wedding in Napa. It should be beautiful. I am also planning on having my makeup trial and hair trial on Saturday. Why waste good hair and makeup? :) At least this way, I have a use for it! I have the make-up appointment, but I have not had time to make the hair appointment. I hope that I can find someone tomorrow who will take me on Saturday.

Tomorrow night, we are having dinner with our friend Wilson who is visiting from HK. Haven't seen him in almost a year. Next week is going to be really busy. I have to go to Seattle on Wednesday and Thursday and then Chicago on Friday for Vicki's wedding. 2 weekends in a row with weddings. Chicago is going to be pretty busy because I don't arrive until Friday after midnight. Laura, Alex, Hannah, and Timothy will also be there, so at least I'll get to see them again. I haven't seen Timothy since he was born in February. He looks so different now. And there's all these people to see and essentially one day to cram it all in and it just happens to be Laura's birthday. Well, it should be fun no matter what we do.

I want an Ipod Nano- take my survey!

So they're having a contest at work. The person that has the most survey completes wins an Ipod Nano. Please complete my 3 question survey about wedding favors. I need to have at least 125 completes to win and need responses by August 11. You can even take it multiple times if you want! Thanks!

http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB225K8ZRUX2H

See survey results

Feel free to forward this link to your friends! I won't know who completes and who doesn't.

Happy Bday to Me!

Sorry for the radio silence, folks! It's been a pretty busy week. Hm... let's recap the camping in Tahoe. We went to Emerald Bay with Tom and Debbie. It was a really nice weekend to go. The weather was absolutely perfect, we got to eat a lot of smores, and saw lots of stars. On Saturday, we went on a hike that was very nice. I think that I need to get some hiking boots. (Not that I do a lot of hiking...) But I really don't like using my cross trainers to go. I like them clean. I know- they are for working out. That tells you how often they get used... Anyway, they got very dusty and dirty.

The campsite was very nice with showers and bathrooms. I thought that was pretty luxurious for camping. I was pretty annoyed though when I had to wait 20 minutes for the bathrooms because someone was drying their hair with a hairdryer in the bathroom. (hello- we're camping!) However, that was not the worst offense. The worst offense I heard was that these teenagers were using flat irons. ??? Does that sound absurd to anyone else? I am not really complaining- it's just more amusing than anything else. Otherwise, we had a great time.

Last week, we spent a LOT of time working on the invitations. I've been having invitation making parties with some of the ladies and made a discovery this week. The optimal number of people working on invitations is 3. We had 5 people and someone was always waiting for someone else to finish something. Michelle and Corinne had to leave early, so Nikki, Edwin, and I worked for a few hours and were able to crank out at least 50 complete invites! I'm just happy to see some finished product. We still have to address them and put stamps on them, but they are ready to go! Edwin and I spent most of the week trying to prepare for this invitation making party by creating and printing out the inserts and invites. I was up to until 2 or 3AM all week. Not fun. But I'm just happy that part is over. I expect that we'll start sending out invites in the next 2 weeks. At least, that's my goal.

This weekend was also my birthday. 31- according to nikki, that means that I am officially a thirty-something. I thought that that I got that classification when I turned 30 last year. Remember that TV show in the 80s called thirtysomething? You know, the one with Michael and Hope? I always thought that they were so old. It doesn't really feel so old anymore... According to Steve, this is the second anniversary of my 29th birthday. It's funny, I think that I felt older last year than I do now. So I guess that old adage may be true, you are only as old as you feel. To celebrate, Edwin took me to a French restaurant called Clementine. The service was very good and my favorite was the duck. I had the scallops with lobster risotto which was also good, but the scallops were a little chewy and I couldn't taste any lobster in the risotto. They also gave us little meringue cookies which were very tasty. Edwin liked the dessert which was like french toast on crack with hazelnut ice cream. Way too sweet for me, but for a sweet tooth like Edwin, he loved it. I would definitely go back. We also went to karaoke last night. As usual, a lot of fun.

I also got my reception dress on Saturday. In Cantonese, it's called a cheung sam and in Mandarin I believe it's qi pao. I've tried on a lot of these dresses and I found this dress about a month ago with Matilde, but went back and got it because I felt like I had done enough research to decide. It's going to need some alterations. Most of these dresses are now made in Vietnam and it seems that they have some pretty different body proportions over there. The smaller one I tried on fit me perfectly in the hips, but the bust was way too tight. So I ended up having to get a bigger size so I am totally swimming in the bodice, but at least the bust fits. I'm told that it's better to get a size too big and take it in than trying to let things out. So, I have to have it taken in. Anyone know a good seamstress in the Bay Area? Shoot- it's 2AM again. Gotta get to bed. Good night!

Congrats Michelle and Mike!

So I've been trying to keep this on the down low for at least a week, but I just can't contain my excitement any longer! Mike just proposed to my friend Michelle in London this past weekend. I thought I would give them some time to share the news before I broke the news. Michelle had a business trip and he surprised her there. How sweet is that? They've had a very short but intense courtship of 6 months. Some people take 6 years, others take 6 months. So it seems very likely that they will get married soon as well. We've been taking some bets on when. I'm guessing Feb since her bday is in Feb, but so far, the farthest guess out is May. What will these 2 lovebirds do?

Wedding planning has slowed a little bit, but it's been a nice little break. We have plane reservations for Australia now. If you have any recommendations on hotels, food, things to do, or must-see places, please let us know!

This weekend, we're going out camping in Tahoe near Emerald Bay. I'm sure most of you are like, "Michelle, camping, are you kidding?" However, I have gone camping before. And I would like to stress that we are car camping and not backpacking. BIG difference. Backpacking means you have to schlep all of your gear on your back as you hike for miles. Car camping means that you can leave your junk in the car and go hiking without carrying 50+ pounds of gear! If I wanted to be a sherpa, I would move to Peru, Nepal, or Tibet! Anyway, looking forward to hanging out with friends, SMORES (now that's what I'm talking about!) and seeing some pretty scenery. If I get inspired, maybe I'll take some pics on my phone so you all can see.

Just some quick shout-outs:
Happy bday, Dad on July 19
Happy 1st bday, Max on July 19
Happy anniversary, Mom & Dad on July 22
Happy bday, Ellen on July 25
Happy bday, Maika on July 25

Geez, did I miss anyone? Last week was a busy one. My bday is next week- woo hoo!