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.
A group photo of the four of us.
JP and his wife.
Ilya and Amber.
I had no idea how much they love to dance.
They were on the dance floor all night.
Melissa.
Val, Eddie, and Brian couldn’t remember the third person’s name. He thinks she might be a friend of Val’s.
Another photo of Chris and Cheryl.
Brian and Melissa.
Roberta gettin’ her groove on.
The Viego folks sure love to dance.
Alicia.
Eric and Brian.
Me with Amber and Alicia.
Click here for more photos.
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Pacquiao Squashes Cotto
Posted on November 15, 2009 by Ching under Family, Life, News.
Jen and Armando invited Brian and I to watch the Pacquaio vs. Cotto boxing match at their place, a huge HBO pay-per-view event that I’m sure all Filipinos watched all over the world. I’d never been a huge boxing fan until now. Actually, I don’t consider myself a boxing fan. I’d never watched boxing before. This was the first boxing match that I’d watched from start to finish. And I wouldn’t have watched it if not for Manny Pacquiao. I guess I am a Pacman fan, not so much a boxing fan. LOL.
Mom and Dad were already there when we arrived. Brian and I felt bad because we had dinner at Red Lobster before hand. I guess I misunderstood. When Jen said she had food, I thought she meant snacks. I didn’t realize that she actually cooked!
Of course, the first thing that Brian does when we get there is check his farm. I can’t pick on him, though, because I had to check my farm too. LOL.
Mom and dad left early, even before the match began. I think this might have been so that Jenni and her boyfriend could come and not feel the pressure of meeting the parents. LOL. Jenni never showed, though.
Apple and Andrew came. They arrived just in time for the Pacquiao-Cotto boxing match. None of us were really interested in the pre-fights.
We were all there to cheer for the Pacman.
I have to post Armando’s “Team Pacquiao” shirt because it is awesome.
I was worried about Pacquiao at first because he is much smaller than Cotto. Pacquiao actually had to gain weight in order to fight in this weight class. After the fourth round, though, I knew I had nothing to worry about. Pacquiao is amazing!
I’d never been excited about boxing before. He had all of us screaming and cheering. It was super exciting. We were so loud (specially Jen, Apple and I) that Brian was worried Jen’s neighbors would call the cops on us. “I should have brought ear plugs,” Brian exclaimed at one point during the evening. LOL.
Thank you to Jen and Armando for inviting us over. It was the first boxing watch party I’d ever attended. Thank you for making this first a truly memorable one.
Thank you to Manny Pacquiao for another amazing victory. He did not disappoint at all. He delivered an exciting match and another boxing title that all Filipinos can be proud of… He is a true national hero!
If you missed it, here is a round by round recap on the LA Times. I’m sure there are video clips on YouTube also. I will try to find those for you guys. Enjoy!
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