new year's eve

even though this blog stresses me out a lot of the time, i've decided to continue blogging in 2012 'cause it forces me to be positive everyday. i also love being able to read back on everything i did throughout the year. 2011 was pretty big for us. although i suffered two extremely difficult losses (my kitty and one of my dearest friends), i also enjoyed many blessings. we bought a house that i absolutely love, took a lot of fun trips with family and friends, welcomed baby russell into our lives, and finally decided that we are ready for a baby of our own. we are looking forward to another good year!

so anyway, we had a good new year's eve. we started the celebration with the mejia side of the family. we had dinner with the fam out in encino.




around 9:30, we rushed out the door and sped over to carson because i wanted to catch the minnesotans on skype for their countdown (which is two hours earlier than ours). we made it JUST in time.



in carson, my dad bought a bunch of wings from wingstop, so we ate again! we hung out with the family for a bit. rianne even curled my hair!





and thennnnn, for the first time ever, we left before midnight!! we usually spend the countdown at home in carson, but i wanted to spend it at our own home since it's our first year in the new house. we spent it pretty much the same way we would if we were in carson. we put money in our pockets, shook containers full of coins, and jumped up and down laughing when the clock struck 12. haha. super lame. my mom even made us a fruit bowl to take home. i hope our cheesy traditions bring us good luck! (=

west co

since anthony has been wanting boba from half and half for months now, we asked carla and geof if they wanted to join us since we were heading out to their hood. we had dinner at pondahan, finally got some of anthony's favorite boba (though he was not as crazy about it this time as he was the first time), and then even went to 85c to pick up some goodies for the road. so much good stuff out in west co, especially my sweet carla! haha.

just my baby daddy

i almost forgot to take a picture today, but anthony reminded me! wow! it's rare for him to be on this blog because he hates posing for pictures. i think that's funny, though, 'cause i spend most of my time with him! we just hung out at home after work today. it was nice to relax since the last few weeks have been so hectic. i was happy to have a nice, quiet night at home. sometimes i get a little sad when i realize that our time together is going to change. we are both excited for baby, but i'm just trying to enjoy these last few months of just us two. ya know?

anyway, on a less melancholy note, anthony saw the baby move for the first time today! i've felt bad because he always tries to feel the baby, but until today has been unsuccessful. baby started kicking me two weeks ago, and i always try to figure out a way for anthony to feel/see it, too. now when i'm at home and i feel baby kick, i put my phone on my belly and watch it move. but whenever anthony is around, the baby gets shy! well today while we were watching burn notice on tv, the baby kicked really hard during a gunshot scene! i told anthony to pause it so he could come see. but since it was suddenly all quiet, the baby got all shy again. so anthony made a loud noise and my phone jumped! hahaha.. how cute!!

korean bbq

we had our belated Christmas dinner with all the homies tonight. we ended up eating at cham soot gol in garden grove, where we had all-you-can-eat korean bbq and ice cream! the food was really good. i stupidly banged myself in the head really hard right before i left work, so i was kind of out-of-it the whole night, but i still had fun. haha. after dinner, we exchanged gifts. so many goodies!!! thanks, friends!

invitations

we met up at gen & alex's house after work today to work on eva & jeric's wedding invitations. we actually got a lot done, but realized we could've done things a lot more efficiently after we were already finished. haha. oh well. still good times with the girlies.

leftovers party

my parents and rianne came over this afternoon to help me eat some leftovers! we have a fridge full of food from yesterday's party. they also helped me clean up the rest of the kitchen. thanks!

Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone! today we hosted our very first Christmas at our own house! even though it was super crazy planning and getting ready, it was all worth it because we really enjoyed being the hosts. we started off the holiday by attending midnight mass, and then went back home to prepare some more. i only ended up getting about three hours of sleep, but it's okay. we had fun. hope you all had a great day celebrating Jesus' birthday, too!!!

Christmas eve

we celebrated Christmas with my side of the family today at the Way Residence in cerritos. they had sooooooooo much food! it was pretty chill. we mostly just sat around and chit chatted. it was fun. sebastian looks like he had a great time, too!

busyness

it's been a very busy week for us. to prevent having a complete meltdown by sunday, i've created a whole spreadsheet where i've broken down all the tasks we need to get done, day by day. haha. anyway, today i had to go to walmart to pick up a few items. i really hate that store, and apparently my baby does, too, because i seriously felt like i was going to pass out while i was waiting in the super long check-out line. i'm pooped!!!! but i am also glad to cross out more items off our to-do list!

Christmas cards

i love getting Christmas cards in the mail! i get so excited to check the mail box as soon as i get home from work. (= hopefully everyone has received ours by now.

company Christmas party

we had my company Christmas party at south coast plaza's seasons 52 today after work. i was in charge of planning this year so i felt so much pressure the whole time, like it would be my fault if the food tasted bad. haha. luckily, everything turned out good and we all had a good time. we took a bunch of pictures on my coworker's camera, but since i don't have access to them yet, here's a shot of the "mini indulgences" we got for dessert. yum!

beef

this baby's got me doing some crazy things. in the beginning of my pregnancy, i would order boring brown rice instead of white. what the heck? and today, i took three bites out of anthony's double double. lately, i've been less afraid of the idea of eating beef. i only ate around the edge where the meat was nice and brown. the inner patty was freaking me out. i admit that it was quite good, but the beefy aftertaste freaked me out, too. i don't think i'm quite ready to eat a full burger.. and a steak still sounds disgusting to me. but who knows what will happen in the next 5 months. yikes!

Christmas service

kevin and nina invited us to the Christmas service at their church. nina sang in the choir while kevin narrated. it was a lovely program. and then after the service, the whole congregation walked to the building next door where a full feast awaited us. wow! thanks for inviting us, guys!

emma's first birthday

we went to emma's first birthday party today. the theme was "the very hungry catterpillar" and anna did such a cute job with all the details and decorations! i didn't get a picture with thecutie patootie birthday girl because she was too popular, being passed around the whole time. (=

red velvet ice blended

since i am not drinking caffeine, i was really excited to try the "red velvet ice blended" from coffee bean. we stopped by after doing some Christmas shopping only to find that they had just closed! doh! anthony called up krispy kreme to see if they could make it for us since they serve CBTL drinks. the guy told him it wasn't on their menu, but they could make it for us. but he warned that there wasn't going to be any coffee in it. uhh, i HOPE not. well, we drove all the way there, got the drink, but after the first sip i was like, "there's totally coffee in here!" i kept thinking that maybe it just tasted like that 'cause they used the same blender to make the coffee drinks, too, but the more i drank the more i realized that i was in fact filling my belly with caffeine. oh well. it's actually allowed (in moderation), i'm just a prude who likes to be cautious about everything.

p.s. this is an awful picture. i can't find the charger for my regular camera, so i've been using my phone to take all the pics recently. it's either that, or i lug around anthony's huge slr everywhere we go. anthony had to retake this picture three times because he didn't like the way the sign looked in the background in the first two. i was already blinded by my phone's flash. very flattering angle, too. haha.

p.s.s. the drink was not that good. i didn't finish it. if i'm going to drink caffeine, i'd much rather enjoy a coke or a mocha frappe. what a waste. haha!!!

p.s.s.s. wow, i must really miss caffeine if i dedicated such a long post to talking about it. coke, i miss you!!!!!!

the standing room

anthony's been wanting to try this place in redondo beach since he read about it on yelp. it's kind of a random spot, located inside a liquor store actually. as the name suggests, there's nowhere to sit. we ate in my car with the heater on full blast. haha. anthony enjoyed his food, but mine was just meh. i really wanted to try their soft shell crab sandwich, but got the pulled pork sandwich instead 'cause i have to limit the amount of seafood i eat. such a bummer because i loves me some fish! oh well, next time!

ramen

ryan, rianne, anthony, and i went out for some ramen at yamadaya. ramen is always good when it's cold out, but it was actually pretty hot inside the restaurant. haha. oh well.. still delicious!

candy cane nails

silla decorated my nails for Christmas! haha. aren't they cute? you did a good job, silla!

cinnabon

while anthony and i were walking around at the mall last week, i mentioned that i've never eaten a cinnabon. i didn't know that was a big deal, but anthony was like, "WHAT?!?!" they were already closed at that time, so today anthony bought me some cinnamon rolls.. 15 cinnamon rolls to be exact! haha geez. the guy who helped him at cinnabon convinced him to buy a whole box 'cause it's cheaper that way. so, we have a bunch of cinnamon rolls sitting in our freezer in case anyone wants one! they are pretty good.

the singson family

today was our last day in minnesota. it was a really short trip.. too short in fact. we were so sad to leave. we just spent the day hanging out at the house again. we had chinese takeout for lunch and fried chicken for dinner. thanks for feeding us, letting us stay over, and being so lovely. we miss you guys already. =(

winter wonderland

we spent most of the day hanging out at the house, but we did go out for just a bit 'cause i knew silla was itchin' to go somewhere. we went to the mall to walk around, and then picked up our dinner from culver's, which is just one of their fast food restaurants. while we were driving around at night, everything looked so pretty!! even just their plazas with typical stores looked so cute because they all had Christmas lights up and everything was surrounded by snow. THIS is what a white Christmas feels like!

minnesota

hello from minnesota!! anthony and i got here a little after 3:00 this afternoon. the weather is quite cold, but aside from getting in and out of the car, we weren't bothered by it. we've just been hanging out inside the house. it's so nice and cozy! we are happy to be here!

decorating for Christmas

it's finally starting to feel Christmassy in our house. well, maybe "wintery" is a better word, 'cause most of my decorations are silver & blue instead of red & green. anywho.. instead of packing for minnesota, i spent most of the night decorating. there's still so much i want to do!

hot chocolate

it's been sooooo cooooooold lately! i know i'm gonna eat my own words when we fly to minnesota on friday and experience some REAL cold. but yeah, i guess we're just spoiled as southern californians. anthony and i went to norm's tonight where i enjoyed three cups of hot chocolate. so nice and toasty!

vampire girls

the girls and i met up after work today for some girly goodness. we had dinner at chick fil a and then went to the theaters to watch twilight. haha!!! we all actually really liked the movie! i'm excited for the next one. (=

funny beanies

anthony had a coupon for macy's that expired today, so we went after work to see what we could find. he's been wanting to buy serena one of these beanies for Christmas. he picked one that he liked, but then when we went to pay they told us that the coupon worked on everything BUT those beanies (they were considered an "everyday deal" which can't be combined with any other offers). haha oh well. he bought it anyway.

nico's birthday

nico's birthday is not 'til tomorrow, but we celebrated it a day early. we all had lunch at dave & buster's in the afternoon. now... earlier this year, nico mentioned that he's always wondered what it felt like to "have a pie smashed in his face." i told him that i'd buy him his own pie for his birthday so he could find out. so, after church grace and i went to the store to make his wish come true!! hahaha. when we brought it home to him, we kept asking if he remembered what he requested for his birthday. he kept looking at the pie saying he didn't remember. we kept trying to figure out if he really forgot, or just changed his mind. but then he took his glasses off, so grace grabbed the pie and smashed away. hahahaha!! the way she did it was just so hilarious. he laughed, too. then he told us that he DID remember, but he knew we misunderstood. that's why he wasn't saying anything. he wanted his own CAKE, and he wanted to be able to smash his own face in it after blowing out the candles. he meant that he's always wondered how it felt to be able to eat a whole cake by himself, without having to share with anyone. either way, it was funny and he was a really good sport. he even told us it tasted good and thanked us for the effort. so funny.

happy 21st birthday, little brother!

thanksgiving potluck

we all met up at kevin and nina's place in claremont tonight for a belated thanksgiving potluck. there was so much food! the girls wanted to dress up in a theme, and we decided on "modern day disney princesses." haha. can you tell who we're all supposed to be? anyway, we had a fun night eating, hanging out, and playing dance central.

ramen yamadaya

anthony wanted ramen for dinner so we went to ramen yamadaya which is just a few miles away. aside from the pork they use, i think their ramen is just as good as daikokuya. that place is still #1 in my book, but yamadaya is a good substitute for when we don't feel like driving to little tokyo.

yoga booty ballet

i asked anthony to order this video from his work. i've been wanting to work out, but have held back because i wasn't sure what kind of exercises were safe. this one, called yoga booty ballet: baby on the way was made specifically for preggos. haha. i tried it tonight (while anthony slept on the couch behind me) and it was pretty easy. i'm a satisfied customer. plus, with anthony's employee discount it only came out to $5! woo woo!

maternity clothes

my dad just got back from minnesota tonight. jennifer told me that she was going to send her maternity clothes home with him, but i wasn't expecting a whole box!! haha.. whoa!! i have a whole new wardrobe. thanks, sissy girl!

chocolate snow bubble

denise and i met up at blenders tonight for some boba. she treated me to a chocolate snow bubble and it was honestly the best one i've ever had! haha. or maybe it was just extra good this time 'cause i've been missing my mocha frappes from mc donalds. i haven't had a sip of caffeine (although i started eating chocolate again a few weeks ago) since september 10.. the day we found out i was prego. anyway, we laughed after i took this picture because we look so green. denise said we look like elphaba from wicked.

santa claus

every year on the monday after thanksgiving, santa claus comes to our neighborhood! all the neighbors meet up on the sidewalk and then santa passes out candy to all the kids. we weren't sure if he would stop on our street this year because it's much more traffic-heavy than the street we lived on last year (which is just 3 streets away). but he stopped right in front of our house! haha. good thing we put the lights up yesterday!

Christmas lights

we put our Christmas lights up today! well, anthony did all the work while i stood by and directed him. haha. after installing the first set of icicles, we plugged it in and were surprised to find that the LED lights looked blue. it created this weird color cast over the whole house, and we weren't sure we liked it. it also caused a problem because the rest of the lights we bought were regular, warm white, so they probably wouldn't look too good together. after church, we decided to stop by target to buy some non-LED icicles. and then after switching them out and putting up the rest of the lights, we were both happy with the result. much better! tadah!!

black friday

anthony and i have never been serious black friday shoppers who go out really early in the morning. instead, i slept in 'til past noon!! haha. now THAT is my idea of a good time. we were still able to get a couple black friday deals, but nothing too exciting. later in the evening, we went to the galleria to have dinner at chick fil a and just walk around a bit. i didn't buy anything there but thought this cupcake beanie was kind of cute! haha. ryan met up with us and then the three of us watched hugo over at del amo. the movie was a little slow, but i still enjoyed it.

thanksgiving

happy thanksgiving, everyone! as usual, we had a full day. just like last year, we started off the celebration with the mejia side at the gilbertsons' house in sylmar. we enjoyed uncle paul's delicious traditional thanksgiving feast. ninang also made us a fresh batch of brownies right before we left.


after sylmar, we ventured off to anaheim hills for dinner with the rivera family. there was a ridiculous amount of food there, too, so we ate some more even though we were still full from the first party. we spent the rest of the night playing a game and teasing poor sebastian. haha.

we had a great day. i hope your thanksgiving was just as fun!

stacked

jenn treated me to a tasty dinner at stacked tonight! we went to the new cerritos location, and that place was really poppin! wow. after eating, we did a little shopping at forever 21. they stayed open later than usual. i love when stores start extending their hours for the holidays!

belly bump

i'm not thrilled at the fact that i can hardly button up my jeans anymore. i'm only 14 weeks. but on the other hand, we're very excited that baby is getting bigger!!

pizza party

today is auntie fely's birthday, so we had ourselves a pizza party! haha. happy birthday, auntie!!

my nephew

look who decided to show up to the party early!! jennifer gave birth to russell charlie singson this afternoon. he came out over a week early, just like his older sisters. jennifer and ryan decided to wait to find out the baby's gender, but we were all hoping for a boy. what a happy surprise to find that their wish came true! woohoo! i can't believe i have a nephew! we can't wait to meet him in a few weeks. (=

silla's nail art

since silla loves painting nails, we got her a nail art set for her birthday. she finally received it in the mail yesterday and then came up with this cute creation today! what a pro! i can't wait 'til we go to minnesota in a couple weeks so i can get my own mani/pedi!

jeric's birthday

today we celebrated jeric's birthday at honda ya in tustin. we had fun hanging out and eating lots of different types of yakitori. jeric even got some katsu-tori from eva! haha that was funny.