The Great Chili Cook-off!

Last month, Z's mom helped organize a little event for their neighborhood with beer tasting and a chili cook-off competition for Oktoberfest.  Even though I am not sure how chili fits in with Oktoberfest, Z decided to enter the competition competing against some of his family's friends and even against Z's own father. Z basically threw everything but the kitchen sink into his chili and then fretted about it being too spicy for his audience, whose idea of a good bowl of chili comes from a can prepared via the microwave. (Just kidding, but sadly this might be the American standard) Tasters were able to vote for their favorite chili, but halfway through the competition Z ran out of food. Rookie status! Z received a couple of votes though during his short time serving, so all was not lost. While Z was busy serving chili, I was busy drinking free beer from Das Brew (a local microbrewery from the area) and making Finnegan take ridiculous photos with all the hay bales and scarecrows in the vicinity. This probably was not a good idea considering how I talked about giving my liver a vacation in my last post, but apparently I forgot about this. After Oktoberfest beer, Z and I later joined some friends in Oakland at our favorite Tiki Bar for more drinks. It was a great weekend overall! Below are photos of an apathetic pig dog and a day-drunk Z. Cheers!

Z & S Go To Sacramento

Since I'm still catching up with blog posts of the past, this set of pictures are from a past trip that Z and I took up to Sacramento for a quick get-away for our joint birthday celebration. I've mentioned it in the past here and here, but Z and I try to plan for a trip to celebrate our birthdays since we were born on the same day! For this birthday, we decided to visit Sacramento. The last time that I went to Sacramento was when I was a freshman in high school. My mom's cousin was getting married and it was a whirlwind of a trip because I barely remember getting to do anything else. I do remember driving past the capital and thinking about how beautiful the buildings in the surrounding area were...and the trees! So many trees in Sacramento! Without the trees, Sacramento ground temperature would just be too unbearable!

Upon our arrival, we walked around Midtown and Mansion flats visiting various antique / thrift shops, followed by a stop at a local coffee shop. It was nice to visit shops that weren't bombarded by hoards of people compared to the city. I found a nice 100% cotton denim dress and a linen top that I made into a crop top with a frayed bottom.  Later that evening, Z and I had dinner at a BBQ place with a couple of microbrews from the area. The next morning, we headed over to old town and toured the old buildings and saloons in the area. In retrospect, we probably should have done something else because everything in the area was a tourist trap and I would have preferred to check out other areas of Sacramento. Overall, this trip was pretty low-key but I'm getting old and turning into a Grandma. Gone are the days that I used to come thisclose to blacking out over too much alcohol consumption and dancing to indie hits in smokey, dirty, dive bars. Okay, who am I kidding...I still long for those days, but after getting my appendix surgery and finding out that my liver needs a vacation, I should probably take much better care of myself. Here are some photos of my Grandma Golden Age trip. Enjoy and sorry for such a late post!

Grandpa's 90th Birthday!

Back in August, I organized a family event to celebrate my Grandpa's 90th birthday! Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins flew from various states across America in honor of my Grandpa's celebration. It was so satisfying to see the huge smile on his face when he realized that this party was for him and to see all this children (He has a total of 8!) together again under one roof! He was constantly smiling and laughing all day, which definitely meant the world to my mom, who primarily takes care of him daily. It is a tough job, but my mom is a very strong woman (cancer survivor!) and she seems to be the only one that can truly care for my Grandpa. He's the kind of man to sneak in a mini bottle or two of Johnny Walker to any event and will readily share his party favors with you! I am so lucky to have this man in my life, at a time when my own father disappeared from my life. Happiest of birthdays to my amazing Grandpa and hope you have a happy, healthy year with many more to come!

Lake Life

I've fallen behind again at blogging again...big surprise! I've had this post in a draft, but I just never pushed that publish button. It's taken a surgery to remove my appendix, a new job back in the psychology field, and a new laptop to finally sit down and organize some thoughts and photos to reflect on. More on this later! I promise!

Back in June,  Z's sister graduated from UCSF Dental school and their family decided to celebrate by packing up and heading up to the Northern / Nevada side of Lake Tahoe for a bit of a vacation. Below are are snaps from my time there. Lake Tahoe is one of my favorite places to visit because it is always incredibly beautiful to visit; it does not matter what time of the year it is. From the lush green trees to the sparkling blue lake and its endless activities, Tahoe is definitely going to be a great time for all. When the time comes and I've saved fifty billion dollars instead of blowing it on dresses, shoes, and things for my spoiled pug--maybe I can buy a vacation home up here to escape from the busyness of the city every once and a while. Hope you all had a great weekend!