this christmas...will be...a very special christmas...

since it's NYE, what everyone wants to know is: "what are you doing tonight?" and just the whole process of it, along w/this holiday itself, is making me feel tired. and it hasn't even started yet. so instead of focusing on that, i'm gonna think of mellower times: christmas w/the fam in jersey.

had such an adorable and relaxing time home w/the fam over the holidays. since i barely hung out w/anyone in order to recharge my batteries i just goofed off and was extremely immature w/my younger cousins and little sister. got some good presents that i can actually use and would wear this year, always a plus.

even tho this whole time home was for recharging my batteries, i did manage to see Bear and Whoa. Bear and i did the whole super jersey experience by going to Chili's for dinner and then heading over to Cleveland's for drinks after. Cleveland's is like going to a mini high school reunion for me b/c all the kids who ended up never leaving my hometown end up there for the night. Bear and i got there at a little after 10 pm and the place seemed mellow, like a local bar. as soon as we sat down i ended up seeing a boy i had a crush on from high school. we did our nods of acknowledgement and moved on. then i noticed the table he was sitting w/were all from my high school. this sparked a lengthy convo w/Bear about what we would've been like if we had stayed in our hometowns: would we be going to Cleveland's every night? would we take a date here? would we come here if we were single and were looking to hook up? it was an endless convo of "what-ifs" and i'm not sure i'm too curious to find out the answers.

around 11 pm the place really started to fill up and then it was a flood of ppl i went to high school w/. and that was our cue to leave. it's not that i don't like those ppl. they're nice enough. the issue is that i don't have anything to say to them nor do i really care what's happened to them. i only care in a gossipy-did-they-get-fat-where-are-they-now way. so why bother?

right before i left i met w/Whoa at this cofffee shop which i never knew of but am going to be a regular at from now on called Fine Grind. it's adorable and the menu is ginormous. love it. i opted for a Diana's Decadence (vanilla hazelnut latter w/whipped cream topped w/a nilla wafer and peanuts) while Whoa got a Mint FroHo (frozen hot chocolate w/mint). we haven't had much time to chat w/her starting her 1st year of med school so we spent a lot of time catching up on what's been going on. even w/the trials and tribulations of med school Whoa still managed to get a boyfriend who sounds very promising right now. lucky biatch. so happy for her tho b/c she deserves to be w/someone good. she's too much of a hottie and way too smart to be single.

of course a trip to jersey wouldn't be complete w/o gorging myself at Minado so the family had a mini-reunion for the holidays at Minado my last night there. so much seafood. so gluttonous.

happy birthday to mini-me

Thanks to Debs i got an opportunity to go to another of the Glenlivet City Links for free scotch and indoor golfing. i was so impressed w/myself for drinking scotch, which i haven't really done before. i felt so adult and "007" of it all. the event was fun, and i like going w/Egg b/c i can convince him to chase down hors'doerves for me. YEA!

afterwards, Gohm and i went to dinner in Brooklyn at Cubana Cafe, since he was craving cuban/peruvian food. Overall i thought the food was good, the appetizers were really good (Gohm got shrimp i believe and he had ordered me corn on the cob smothered w/melted cheese and butter. so good but so bad for me). the only teeny tiny complaint i have is that the space is so small. otherwise, loved it and it's very affordable. o, but 1 suggestion is to stay away from the sangria. i wasn't a big fan.

so on the 11th i went home for my little sister's birthday. she turned the big 1-4 so i decided to take her to her first mani-pedi. it was so cute and we had fun, having a little heart to heart while we had our feet done. for dinner, we went to Minado, her favorite japanese buffet. i love going there every once in a while, but after i go i always feel very bad. i guess that's what you get w/buffets.

my cousin patty seemed to be suffering the most. you could see it on her face when she started on the desserts. somehow she just couldn't stop herself and she ate the last piece of green tea cake on her plate but it just pushed her over the edge and she ended up getting sick right after. we all went home and got out cake, w/no intention of eating it since we were so stuffed-just to take pictures, but then patty just couldn't stop looking at it and asked for a piece! i was just about rolling on the floor from the irony of it all.

Ew yuck

I was stuck on the 5 train this morning between 2 people who both reeked of onions. o god it was unbearable. i mean so bad that i was involuntarily coughing and tearing. and of course since i was so physically uncomfortable the train seemed to take forever to get from Union Square to Grand Central.

aside from that, it's raining today. usually rain really bums me out, but ever since i got my Totes umbrella, i relish every opportunity to use it. i've never owned an umbrella in my life but when Ahjima & i were planning our Asia trip i decided to get one b/c weather reports were saying it would rain just about every day we would be there and i knew i wouldn't be able to get away w/ wearing a hooded sweatshirt in that muggy weather/torrential downpour.

if you're going to own any kind of umbrella, the Totes umbrella is the way to go. it's got a lifetime warranty and (this is the best feature) it retracts by itself. so you press the button on the handle to open the umbrella up and then you press the button again and the umbrella closes by itself. now tell me that's not one of the best things ever invented. right up there w/ the lightbulb & television.

this weekend was Mother's Day, so went home to hang w/the fam. Debs' dad was here visiting from Taiwan so there was a lot of eating out this weekend. Of course we went to Hunan Cottage on Route 46 in Fairfield (love coming here for brunch on the weekends). The highlight was going to Minado on Route 10 in Morris Plains. as i've gotten older i've opted away from buffet eating b/c all it does is make me feel sick about 3 hours later. Minado is my exception to that rule. the sushi buffet there is outstanding.

now it's back to cereal & salad until ASW's wedding in Vegas this weekend. can't wait for her reception at the Ritz Carlton.