Peg’s Journal

Saturday~

Stacey, Ashlyn, Sarah, Rich, Millie, and Parkin

I had the pleasure of spending the day with some friends….friends whom I bonded closely with during our ’98 Taiwan Trip.
We had lunch at Sonoma Chicken Coop in downtown San Jose (which I found to be an awesome place and can’t stop raving about). We ate out on the patio and enjoyed the surprisingly warm weather.

Rich and Millie brought along the newest member of their family – Mochi (a gorgeous Shiba), to play with Ashlyn. My silly girl was simultaneously scared and intrigued by the cute pup. Anytime he would approach her, she would cautiously back off, but when he soon tired of her, she wouldn’t leave him alone. HAHAHAHA!

We walked around downtown, grabbed coffee at Starbucks, then went to a park and plaza close to my parents’ house. When the weather got chilly, we spent the rest of the afternoon at my parents’. I worked on my knitting as we sat around catching up. Almost everyone left around dinner time.

Ashlyn and I had a good time…it was great seeing everyone (we missed you, Liz!) , and I really appreciate those who drove from such far distances. *HUGS!*

Sarah and Parkin stayed, had dinner with my family, and hung out with me till past midnight! Thanks…you guys rock!

I didn’t get to drive the entire day…didn’t take full advantage of having Wil’s car. hehehe Oh, well…at least it looked cool in the driveway.

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Sunday~

My entire family was invited to a lavish birthday bash for our friend, Linda. Her husband rented out the Elk’s Club in Palo Alto, had people recite love letters and poetry, and hired a 45-piece orchestra to play for us while we had a delicious buffet lunch. The party was very elaborate and the birthday gal beamed with infinite happiness. It was very touching. *sigh* The party ran till late afternoon.

The evening was spent relaxing with family. We had a yummy dinner at home and watched the 76th Annual Academy Awards . Yes, Charlize Theron’s acceptance speech made me cry. *dab eyes*

Then we capped off the evening by having a pre-birthday celebration for my nieces, Christel and Amanda. Much to our delight, they totally LOVED the birthday gift Wil and I got them -No Doubt concert tickets. *pat self on back*

I had a very nice weekend…hope you did too!

Look at today’s date…it’s Leap Year.

I normally wouldn’t think much of it…except I discovered that it had jacked up all the events in my datebook on my Palm Desktop! SOUR!
For me, relying heavily on technology is like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute.
I’m glad I continued to jot down important dates, numbers, and information in my complimentary Hallmark pocket calendar. hehehe
Good ol’ fashion pen and paper still works for me. =D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Tab!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Toshi!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Lil’ Eryn!
Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Lil’ Matthew!

wow…popular day! hehehe

For most of the day and evening, I worked on my mom’s scarf. Having the propensity to be an anal perfectionist, I took it apart over half a dozen times and started over. I’m just lucky this yarn allows me to do that…some are less complaisant. And it would truly be a shame to waste this lovely yarn. At one point (and 5 inches into the scarf), I discovered that I had 23 stitches when I had originally casted on 15 stitches!!!
*Argh!* I’m definitely learning a lot.

Tonight for dinner, I met up with Wing, Emily, Wil, and Tony at Hukilau. I’ve heard such great things about this place and couldn’t wait to try it. Sadly, I found it disappointing. The food was mediocre and the service was slow and less than impressive. Perhaps I happened in on an off-night? *shrug* I dunno. In the restaurant’s defense, everyone said that it’s usually not like that.

After dinner, Wil and I swapped cars for tomorrow. They’re taking my SUV up to Tahoe to snowboard. Hmmm…*scratching chin*…where should I go with her BMW? MUAH-HAHA!
I wish swapping cars were as simple as exchanging keys. I had a car-seat, stroller, diaper-bag, snack bag, jackets, random toys and books, an old sippy cup, a handful of broken pretzels, a stale gummy bear, and trash. Wil had her gym bag, golf clubs, CDs, shopping bags, and shoes. Damn…what a difference.

Wil and I spent the rest of the night watching TV and knitting. I hope to finish my mom’s scarf by the end of tomorrow. I’m eager to show you guys. I tried describing the scarf to Aric, but I didn’t really do it justice. It’s something you have to see (and feel).

Have a great weekend everyone!

Many of you have noticed and even contacted me regarding the Dreambook post from someone at Nickelodeon Magazine.

Both Aric and I have been in contact with Tom. What an awesome surprise! We are completely and utterly delighted to have been approached. Especially me…I secretly and selfishly bask in the recognition of being the one who took the picture. HAHAHA!
We actually sent Tom a recent “wrinkly feet” picture…so be on the look out, the issue (May 2004) will be available this April.

This isn’t the first time Ashlyn’s been approached for something like this. When she was 8 months old, we were approached by a someone who was looking to shoot a chubby baby for a formula ad (in China). Other times, random people just come up and say that she should be in ads or commercials. And whenever Gap has a casting call, my friends flood my inbox with requests. So I wonder….is she THAT cute? Of course we think so…she’s our daughter. But in all honesty, I’ve seen much cuter babies.

I was talking to Wil last night about how “lucky” Ashlyn is. She always seems to have a bubble of happiness and good fortune surrounding her. It’s almost unrealistic.
And now I’m having another lil’ girl! I’m excited and anxious. I wonder if the new baby will be similar to Ashlyn or the complete opposite? I’m curious…will the new baby pop Ashlyn’s bubble and be equally hungry for attention?…or will she be the type to happily live in her sister’s shadow? Hmmm, we’ll see, huh?

Ashlyn’s pics of the day