toast life

my bff's birthday is on monday, so my SIL and i (tripod!) took her out for some pre-birthday sushi and then decided to take a stroll down south street.  it was a bit chilly, but we braved the cold for an hour or so to walk off our feast of a meal and do some window shopping.  none of us had been down in that area for several years, and the consensus between us was that we had grown out of it.  south street had always been a lively, festive place to go in high school and college, but i suppose we are well past that now.  still, it wasn't a bad way to end the night.

my bff claimed her upcoming birthday isn't a milestone so we didn't have to go out of our way to celebrate.  i told her that every birthday should be special.. none of that "another year, another birthday" crap!  i feel that we should always find something to commemorate or get together for.  my mom taught me well.

and since i love finding things with my name on it, there should always be a place for some silly posing in my book, too.

it's electric

my sister-in-law recently bought a house, so we spent this afternoon helping her move and set up her furniture and get her appliances in working order.  it required alot of energy, even to do a simple task like put her couch together.  after we were done and relaxing, i was trying to recall who had helped my husband and i move into our place, especially with the big items i couldn't have carried, and remembered my old roommate had come out to give us a hand.  i felt ashamed that i had so easily forgotten, especially since we couldn't have done it without him.

after the move-in, we went out to dinner to celebrate.  my SIL was giddy, displaying that same excitement anyone would have for owning their first home.  i was reminded of one of my favorite memories when my husband and i had bought our house, after closing.  since the house was 40-50 miles from each of us, we decided to pack up the smaller items in our cars and drive over every evening after work for a week to unload.  on the first night after we had unpacked, not yet possessing any furniture, we lay on the floor in the dark holding hands, in disbelief that this place would now be our home.  we were ridiculously happy.  our cheeks were sore from smiling.  everything on our faces screamed, this is ours!  this is really ours!  and although the rooms were bare, we knew it would only be a matter of time before we filled them.  and nearly 5 years later, we have.

that "first homeowner" feeling is electric.

november 2006, our first night in our new house

match up

i am highly competitive.  i don't think you'd see evidence of this until you choose to play a game with me.  and the intensity increases when you pair me up with someone who is just as competitive (ahem, insert 'husband' here).

several years ago, hubbie taught me the card game, 500 rummy.  i got the hang of it fairly quickly and realized that i had a knack for playing.  soon, we were battling it out nearly every night, sometimes on weekends staying up late to crown a winner.

then one day, i lost my winning streak.  sure, i had lost some here and there, but i'm talking about not being able to recover after a dozen, maybe 2-dozen losses.  it was bad.  and to make matters worse, i'm a sore loser.  as a result of this, i imposed a ban on the game for over a year.  i defiantly refused to play, at risk of losing yet another game.

we've only recently picked it up again, but i don't play with the same passion i did before the 500 rummy curse.

here's another example: the nose game.  my husband invented a game when he was little that he would play with his sister.  the rules are simple: the game starts when either party touches the other person's nose with his/her finger.  then the players go back and forth, trying to be the "last" person to touch the other's nose.  there is no time limit, so the game never ends.  the only way to pause the game is to not retaliate for 7 years.  yes, 7 years!  so you can see why the game is instantly addictive and ultimately annoying.

over the years, i saw my husband and sis-in-law playing the game, but felt relieved that i was never pulled into it.  but then a couple days ago, i made a grand mistake: i tapped my husband's nose.  i did it as a playful gesture and for no reason at all, but according to him, this started the dreaded game.

so over the past 2 days, i've been struggling with trying to stop playing, but the thought of 7 years of not tapping his nose is hard to bear.  i've already resigned to covering my nose with my hands or shirt, shielding my face with a pillow before bed, and being ready to escape whenever he's in close proximity to me.  it's alittle (or alot) insane, i know.  but i just can't help it!

and it's so not fun.  really.  wanna bet?

vertically challenged

the rain didn't stop us from our run tonight.  my calf, however, was being a real jerk.  midway through our workout, i had to slow down my pace so told hubbie to pass me (allowing him to continue at a faster speed).  after we both finished, he walked back to get me and thankfully, he acknowledged that he has much longer legs, which naturally, produces longer strides.  you think?  it takes me about 1-1/2 to almost 2 strides to catch up to his one.  so no matter how hard i try, even when both my legs are working properly, i'm always chasing after him.

marrying into his family has thrown me into the land of tall people.  (now, my parents are tall for asian people, but i'm talking TALL).  my SIL has an inch over my husband, so walking with her consists of me doing a brisk-walk-turned-light-jog while she is merely strolling along.  after family parties, i wonder why my neck is aching, until i realize that it's because i'd been looking up the entire time.

i often wonder whether tall people remember how much more it takes for short people to keep up.  to be fair, it probably would be similar to short people remembering how hard it can be for tall people to find clothes and shoes (as my SIL tells me).  so, probably not.  but i was glad my husband recognized this little fact today about the differences in our strides.  it kind of let me off the hook alittle for not being able to stick to his side.

and hopefully, our future kids will get his genes, so they don't have to be running after anyone.

deposits

my sis-in-law (SIL) is one of the most warm-hearted, giving people i know.  she often expresses how much she cares about her brother and me through her actions.  she will make us a quiche or bake us a valentine's day cake shaped like a heart, just because.  she will convince me to take an 8-mile walk so we can chat and exercise at the same time (and end up at dinner at a delicious thai restaurant).  she will call just to say hello or text/IM to plan our next movie date or sushi dinner or shopping trip.  she will spend hours over the house transforming an abundance of bananas into muffins and pies and puffs.  she will stay up all night to accompany my crazy self to a midnight showing of a flick i can not wait to see.  she will help me take my best friend to vegas for her 30th.  she will spend nearly an entire day making my birthday cake.  she will stand up for me when i don't expect it, make me laugh when i'm bummed, and we can count on her to be there, whether it's picking us up from the airport or to be a listening ear.

i don't have enough fingers (and toes) to check off the number of times i've told my husband how lucky i am to have her as a sister.  she has shown me what it means to invest in relationships, banking on each other by making installments of love and trust.

so today, i am making my own deposit: wishing the happiest of birthdays to a fabulous sister who deserves the very best.