2009

Archive for the year 2009

Black Friday 2009

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Ching under Family, Things to Do.

Black Friday was a ton of fun. We had to wake up at 5 AM to pick up Brian’s parents by 6 AM and make it to Legends by 9 AM, but it was all worth it. I think we wore David and Donna out. LOL.

Brian and I got a $250 gift card from our credit card rewards points a few weeks ago so that is what we used. We figured that it would go a longer ways with the Black Friday discounts. We had a couple of things going for us: outlet store prices and huge Black Friday discounts.

As soon as we got there, I was in serious shopping mode. I had to slow down for the old folks. LOL. We didn’t get to hit all the stores I wanted to hit, but we got to shop at all the important ones.

I only have 2 pairs of jeans left that fit me so I was determined to get some jeans out of the trip. I got 2 pairs of jeans at the Levi’s Outlet for $40. Not bad. I also got some work clothes from the Ann Taylor Outlet, my favorite store at Legends. They were doing 50% off everything in the store, including clearance items.

Brian and I are proudest of our Nike Outlet loot: a pair of running shoes for him (he wanted some new ones because his Shox are worn out and don’t provide good support any more), two pairs of workout pants for him, a pair of workout pants for me and a workout top for me. We got all of that for about $100. Can you believe it? Usually $100 only gets you a pair of shoes.

There was a bag at the Wilsons Leather Outlet that I wanted, but Brian talked me out of it. I also wanted to get some sweaters from the GAP Outlet, but we skipped that store altogether. I could have kept going, but my companions were getting tired and Brian was starving.

Lunch was at Dave & Buster’s. That place is so much fun. Donna had never been to one and it had been several years for Brian’s dad. The food there is so-so, but you don’t really go for the food. You go for the arcade games.

The machine gun thing was my favorite; this time around anyway. Time flies when you’re at D&B. Two and a half hours later it was time to go. Brian wanted to make it home in time for a short nap before we went to The Alley for Becca’s birthday party.

So that’s our Black Friday adventure for 2009. How about you? How did you spend Black Friday this year?

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Thanksgiving 2009

Posted on November 28, 2009 by Ching under Family.

Mom decided that she was going to host Thanksgiving this year so Brian and I ended up with two Thanksgiving dinners the other day. Our first one was at 2 PM at Brian’s parent’s house. It’s our traditional Brubaker Thanksgiving, complete with Phase 10 post-grubbing.

I have no idea why my father-in-law is making that face. Don’t ask. LOL.

Thanksgiving at the Brubakers’ consisted of grandma and grandpa Brubaker, Brian’s parents, Chad, Brian and me. We held Chad hostage that day (sorry Cory and April — that is why he didn’t make it to you guys’ place) and took him to my mom’s turkey-less Thanksgiving so he could try some Filipino food, which he said he never had before.

Jenni, Jen and Armando were there. A couple of mom’s friends joined us also. Sadly, the Cannadys couldn’t make it because they were already stuffed from multiple Thanksgiving feasts themselves. Apple and Andrew were in Louisiana, and David and Donna opted not to come because Donna had a headache.

Oh, and we didn’t end up being turkey-less at mom and dad’s after all because Armando brought Cajun turkey from Louisiana. That’s how it looked above after it was carved and ravaged. LOL.

This is supposed to be humba, but the picture is too dark.

Chad didn’t mind the pancit. He actually likes vermicelli noodles.

Dinuguan is pictured above. Yum! Made Chad eat it without telling him what it’s made of; I’m mean, I know. He didn’t like it too much, I think.

Lumpia is a popular favorite. No Filipino feast is complete without it. I had a picture of the sisig too, but I guess it didn’t make it to Flickr. Bummer. I personally don’t like sisig. I managed to talk chad into trying it. He didn’t mind the flavor as much as the texture. It is a bit weird.

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving last year. We played Phase 10 then too, as we do every year.

How about you? How did you spend Thanksgiving Day?

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Things I Didn’t Know I Wanted Until This Week [Greed]

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Ching under Wishlist.

Brian mentioned to me the other day that one of his coworkers (Alicia) has replaced her cubicle chair with a balance ball. She sits on it all day while she works. It’s supposed to be really good for you. Not only does it help you maintain the proper posture while you work, but it also helps you work your core muscles without even thinking about it.

So I decided I wanted a BalanceBall Chair. Incidentally, Gaiam is currently offering $20 off its best-selling BalanceBall Chair. Now would be the time to get one.

Also, have you seen the Reebok EasyTone commercial lately? I didn’t really pay much attention to it until I read Gina’s review on Facebook. It sure made me want to buy one. Just goes to show the power of word of mouth.

Brian was like, “Haven’t you seen that commercial?” I had seen it, but I wasn’t really interested. I guess I don’t really believe commercials, but if a real life person told me to check something out then I would be more inclined to do so.

Oh, and we were at the gym last night and I was watching this turbokick class. Yeah, I was only watching. I’m not crazy enough to do that class. At least, I’m not ready for it yet. I noticed that some of the people in the class had on wrist weights. That’s a really good idea. I think I can get a pair from Wal-Mart for like $10 or so. I want one of those now too.

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Pre-Black Friday Round Up

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Ching under Tips.

Are you ready to rumble? LOL. Are you ready for the mayhem that is Black Friday? If you don’t like the crowds and would rather shop online than fight other Black Friday shoppers elbow-to-elbow, I’ve got some great news for you. Many online stores are starting their Black Friday specials early.

Here are some of my favorites:

Nintendo DSi Bundle – Metallic Blue [Amazon] – pre-order for $154.91
TomTom XL 340 4.3″ GPS Navigation System with Map Share Technology [NewEgg] – $97 with free shipping
Acer Timeline Ultra-Portable Laptop with 13.3″ LED Screen and 8-Hour Battery Life [NewEgg] – $550 shipped
Gateway Netbook with Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB Hard-Drive, 10.1″ Screen, Windows XP SP3, and 6-Cell Battery that lasts up to 7.5 hours [Best Buy] – $229.99
KOHL’S – Save an additional 20% with coupon code SHOPEARLY.

For those of you who don’t mind standing in line, some doorbusters:

PlayStation 3 (120 GB) with Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time and LittleBigPlanet [Best Buy] – $299.99, normally $349.99
Garmin Nuvi 205W Portable GPS [Best Buy] – $99.99, normally $199.99

Help us out… What other sales have you heard about?

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Viega Holiday Party

Posted on November 21, 2009 by Ching under Life.

We had a blast at the Viega holiday party last night. It was held at the Wichita Marriott Hotel, where the annual Filipino galas are held. Reminds me of the days when Brian and I regularly attended. We haven’t been in years, though.

This is Brian’s good friend Chris with his wife Cheryl.