The beginning of this year’s garden….

It was in the mid-70s today and as such, it was time to plant this year’s seeds for the garden. I planted 8 green bells, 8 red bells, and 8 tomatoes. I think my garden could sustain 4 good tomato plants and 4 pepper plants and I think I will try to find some other places on the property for other vegetables to grow. The peppers did really well last year, so I figured I would attempt them again. The beans, onions, and squash really didn’t do too well, so I don’t think I’ll try them again. The squash actually grew enormous, encompassing a good portion of the garden, and then produced one giagantic squash before dying. The romaine did really well last year, so that’s always an option as well. The problem with vegetables like lettuce is that they don’t produce the same quantity as a vegetable like beans, tomatoes or peppers.

I planted some tulips in a pot today too and they look really nice. Matt and Dana are coming over this evening for carne asada and to plan some sort of excursion for May. It should be a good night for cigars on the back patio!

Posted in garden | Leave a comment

US Dominates Mexico in Soccer!

Yunuen and I and her father and brother went to Phoenix last night to watch the US vs. Mexico soccer match at the incredible new stadium in Glendale. I think I might have seen 4 or 5 other non-Mexicans in the stadium, but for the most, it was a mass of people in green shirts. It’s an odd thing to go to a game where 99% of the crowd are cheering for the visitors. It was quite the treat to see the USA win, especially in light of all the beer wagers I made with Yunuen’s family.

Posted in family, special events | Leave a comment

back to the dentist

I had to go back to the dentist today to get a crown for the tooth that had the root canal a few weeks back. The procedure wasn’t as unpleasant as the previous, but the injections and smell of burnt teeth (from the drill) are never pleasant. Saddly, when one gets a crown, the first is only a temporary while the permanent is being made and thus I have to return in a couple more weeks.

Yunuen and I purchased tickets to go to Panama for March 17th-21st last night. We have yet to decide what we are going to do when we are there, but are excited nonetheless.

 

Posted in travels | Leave a comment

back from the NW

Yunuen and I returned from the Northwest late last night. We flew into Seattle on Sunday and had some fun downtown at the fish market and aquarium before heading to my sisters house in Woodinville. We had fun visiting my sister and her husband Chris and my four nephews Reilly, Noah, Owen and Finn. Chris has a new game called ‘Supreme Commander‘ which is about to be released, so these are exciting times for them.

From Seattle we headed North into British Columbia. We stayed at the Lonsdale Quay Hotel on Monday night in their suite which has a beautiful view of the city. We had dinner that night at the Observatory Restaurant on Grouse Mountain. My Uncle lives on a yacht that was less than a 5 minute drive from our hotel, so we visited him later that evening.

The next day Yunuen and I took the Seabus into the city and spent some time on Robson Street. When we returned to the North Shore later that day we had the opportunity to visit Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge despite the heavy rain. My mother had arranged a really nice family dinner that evening where Yunuen got to meet 25-30 members of my family, some of which I had never met myself.

This was a very enjoyable trip and we hope to return this summer, particularly to stay in a cabin on Mayne Island for a few days.

Posted in travels | Leave a comment

root canal

I just got home from having a root canal. It was not an enjoyable experience to say the least. The aneasethesia is starting to wear off.

 

Posted in special events | Leave a comment

Macaroni and Cheese for dinner

I made macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight. It is such a beautiful thing. Yunuen and I leave for Seattle and British Columbia this weekend and we’re really looking forward to it, though perhaps not so much the weather. We’re not going to have much time there, but hope to be able to return this summer.

Below is a recent picture of our friend Liam in a C130 flying over Iraq….

Posted in food, friends | Leave a comment

thanksgiving 2006

Today is Thanksgiving Day and Yunuen made an awesome dinner. There was plenty of turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, corn, stuffing, and green bean caserole. I’m not sure our Mexican constituents were thrilled with the menu, but I loved it. Our friend Liam joined us for the festivities. We played dominos and rumikub after dinner accompanied by numerous delicacies, including pumpkin pie.

I finally installed the baseboard trim in the house today. That was quite the task, but much less as I had a friend’s mitre saw which was very helpful. The trim looks great. I recently painted one of the walls in the living room red which looks surprisingly nice. I hope to do the crown molding this weekend.

As it is Abraham’s birthday this Saturday, we will spend the day in Mexico and hopefully consume some carne asada and coronas. My mom will be visiting from British Columbia for the weekend of December 1st. It has been in the 80s for weeks now and I hope the weather will remain the same for her visit as it will provide a lot of opportunity for outdoor activities.

Posted in food, friends, holidays | Leave a comment

First Day in Bangkok

Yunuen and I arrived in Bangkok yesterday after 22 hours. The city is amazing and as exotic as we had imagined. We are staying at a hotel called Chaophaya Park which is very nice. Prices here are insanely cheap and the food is absolutely incredible. We connected through Taipei so we had the opportunity to try some Taiwanese food and beer. Taiwanese beer is pretty horrid, but Thai beer is excellent!

It’s time for breakfast!

 

Posted in travels | Leave a comment

Yunuen gets her green card!

We had a meeting this morning with immigration as part of the final step in Yunuen’s acquisition of residency (ie, a green card). We  prepared everything we were told to bring, including a lot of documents, photos, etc. and we were quite concerned we would forget something and consequentially not get approval. We arrived shortly before 9am, were seen right at 9am and were approved 7 minutes later. The process was painless and they really didn’t ask us anything. Needless to say, we are quite pleased. We will have to apply for permanent residency in 2 years and when approved, will then be able to apply for citizenship.

We leave for Thailand in a few days. I think we are prepared. We are very excited. We fly through LA to Taipei in Taiwan and then on to Bangkok. The trip will take about 22 hours, which is long, but then, less than the 26 hour drive to Michoacan.

I found a black widow in the garage today, so I took a photo. I’m really hoping it doesnt have babies running around. We should probably have someone come out and spray soon.

Not long ago when we were in San Carlos we stumbled across a really pretty tree, small, somewhat like a Mesquite with really nice flowers. There were pods, so I grabbed one to bring home and took out the seeds. I planted the seeds and now they are growing quite nicely. I think I may put one on the backyard. I gave Yunuen’s parents one to grow in their yard as well. Not sure if they will grow well here in the desert, but it’s worth a try.

Last week my sister gave me her digital SLR (canon) which I still get excited at everytime I look at it. It is absolutely awesome and will be an excellent item to take on our trip. I am hoping to obtain a 75-300mm lens prior to departure.

y1ptlaqccy7kaqvjiet1wljx-ms3smvwf6myohgn5gtbdx6p0dl_ogmldi9zynuq3cpomcnro5lrzg.jpg  y1ptlaqccy7kascwgtlfacn1blsyhp8sar1utdmre_ddidanuv-mqfqzy13v1ntua5updjlebecbvw.jpg

Posted in casa, special events | Leave a comment

labor day weekend in San Carlos

We had a nice weekend in San Carlos this holiday weekend. We went down after work on Friday with Dana, Matt, Christina, Aaron, and Liam. Yunuen’s brother Abraham and his girlfriend Khuy joined us on Saturday. The weather was pretty overcast most likely due to Hurricane John which was making it’s way up the Pacific coast. Fortunately it never entered the Sea of Cortez. Even so, we had huge waves to body surf and we did that a lot. The water temperature was incredibly warm, so it felt great being out in the water even when it was pouring. Liam and I had hoped to do some scuba diving this weekend, but the visibility was horrible due to the weather. We did see a lot of black dolphins in the bay. Saturday night we had carne asada and coronas and Sunday night we had some tasty pasta. It was a great weekend with the only disappointment being the 3.5 hour wait at the border upon our return!

y1ptlaqccy7kaquulndoze1vpz8raykmksfiq8pw7f-zn1a6neuvlsredxs0vohzjcim9m5gcsyzq0.jpg

y1ptlaqccy7kas6-1f7tcw4pwamavddvg-1e4lkjbgwbxy0j6scdshkz6jqoq7s2obgh0fiu0cy1bq.jpg

 

 

 

 

Posted in friends, holidays, travels | Leave a comment