Farewell to Gina!

Gina left for Rome yesterday at 3:30 AM (PST) and we couldn’t be more excited for her to start a new, big adventure.  I set up a Skype account yesterday so I can video chat with her while she’s there.  I’ve been hesitant to set up that web cam but this was the push I needed to hook it up!  Although Gina’s phone will be in airplane mode the entire time she’s abroad, we found an App where she can send/receive text messages over an available WiFi signal.  It’s called WhatsApp and allows folks to exchange messages with friends and contacts who have also downloaded the app without having to pay for SMS…if Gina were to use normal text message capabilities in Rome, my parents would have received quiet a hefty phone bill!  Here's a photo she sent today, looking outside from her balcony....

 She texted Richard today and said she’s having a lot of fun, going to bars with other abroad students.  It’s so funny to think she’s of drinking age in Rome.  She’ll celebrate her 21^st birthday while in Rome, but will have been drinking legally for the last three months!  I’m going to Paris next week for a Microsoft video shoot and am staying an extra day on my own dime to meet up and play with Gina, she’s catching a cheap flight from Rome to Paris for the weekend so I will have many photos to post of us together in France, I’m really looking forward to that even if it is a short duration of time.  Because we knew Gina would be gone until May, we had her come out to visit us the week before Christmas – here’s a cute photo we took in Blackhawk Plaza. 

Last weekend was a productive one in terms of household items checked off the list.  We received our king sized headboard, finally after 2 months and had a couple guys come out from a local audio company to mount our TV.  The place is starting to come together, next up is bedroom furniture…it’s still sort of a mix of what we had when we combined stuff.  I’m excited to put my sights on non-Ikea items that actually hold up and have some element of quality.  You wouldn’t believe (or maybe you would) how many times our Ikea bedroom dresser drawers have just given out or had to be reassembled…form is okay, totally lacks functionality.  I do still love Ikea for some stuff but bedroom furniture is not one of them! 

New king sized headboard for the Heavenly Bed!  We bought the Westin Heavenly bed as soon as we moved, have slept so well ever since – really is like sleeping on a cloud!

I’m also having so much fun with my Glassybabies!  It’s the little things that remind me of home, although I guess Glassybaby has a store in NYC now so it’s not just specific to Seattle however the business was started in Seattle and continues to produce all product out of Madrona neighborhood store and studio.  I came home with a few of these from Christmas and they’ve been fun to arrange with each other.   

Dinner time!

Richard and I like to try new recipes a couple times a week and since we still have so much fish from our Alaskan fishing trip last summer, we’re always on the lookout for a good salmon or halibut recipe.  Richard found this one today on a great site called Epicurious, a site listing many recipes from places like Bon Appetite and Gourmet magazine.  Richard found Halibut with Sambal Vinaigrette and Wasabi Cream (used non-fat Greek Yogert for the cream base) and it was delicious!  He went off the recipe by sataying spinach with lemon and fresh ginger.  We also had brown rice as a starch and found it handy to drizzle some of the extra sauce on top.  I would use the same Wasabi cream sauce with Ahi Tuna and mash potatoes…maybe that will be dinner tomorrow when it’s my turn! 

Home for the Holidays

“Oh there's no place like home
For the holidays, 'cause no matter
How far away you roam
If you want to be happy in a million ways
For the holidays, you can't beat
Home, sweet home…”

Christmas this year was wonderful.  We flew home early in the week, I was able to go into my office and work from Seattle and Richard was able to get into see Dr. Chu (ENT Dr.) at the Polyclinic in Seattle for a much needed sinus surgery to correct a deviated septum and remove a polyp that had him 90% blocked on one side.  Although he spent the majority of the holiday break recovering, he was a great sport and we were able to see all the friends and family we could.  It’s now been almost two weeks since his surgery and he’ll do the post-op here in California as Dr. Chu actually had a practice in Walnut Creek before moving to Seattle so he was able to recommend a great Dr. here to remove Richard’s stiches and splint sometime within the next week. 

We spent Christmas eve with Richard’s Dad, Tracy and sisters Christmas eve day, Christmas eve relaxing (we typically partake in Grandma Emily’s Christmas eve crab feed however due to Richard’s recovery, we had to opt out this year).  Christmas morning at my parent’s house in Bellevue, Christmas day at Grandma Emily’s with Sheryl, Auntie Di and Adam and finally Christmas dinner at Grandma Polly’s with my mom’s side of the family + our dear friends Jennie and Mark.  The day after we met my Dad and Lynn at our favorite restaurant, Daniel’s Broiler on Lake Union for a special dinner.  We ended up flying back to California on December 30^th so we could spend New Year’s here.  Our good friends Jay and Cathy were in town as Jay’s sister lives in Pleasanton, we spent NYE together and met up on New Year’s day for lunch and a drink at our favorite bar, Norm’s Place in Danville.  We were so blessed this year to be surrounded by so many wonderful friends and our loving family, it sure makes us appreciate it even more so now that we’re living in another state. We are so excited for 2011 – the best is yet to come!      

 Gina is all set for Rome!! She leaves January 9th!!

                                                                                                                      

Benny Bear sporting Grandma Emily's earrings ;)

 Circa 1970 something - ha!

 Snapped a photo of the 1st course since is was so pretty!