More Holiday Gatherings

People keep telling me to post more photos and to not talk so much. Ok.

These were taken after we woke up from Wednesday's hotpot party: Thursday (Christmas with each side of the family), Friday (dinner with the other other other Fongs) and Saturday (Red Egg/Birthday party) at the Great Wall Buffet.

Three types of meat, three types of starch, countless desserts
and only one vegetable. My kind of meal!

Can you guess why she's smiling? She will soon be a part of our family.

Hands down the greasiest Chinese food ever.

Claypot rice cooker and steamed turkey. Correction: charcoal-smoked turkey.

I know Lil, I told you I wasn't going to post this pic, but you look way too good!

My boys are the mild ones.

Justine LOVES "Ashee."

Ahh, how sweet! How can you NOT let them jump on the bed?

Future rehab patients.

Oli had a red egg party the same time last year! We're already looking forward to next year!

My favorite Scrabble opponent (because I usually beat her).

If it weren't for the DS, these kids would've been running all over the restaurant
and knocking people over and causing injuries and breaking dishes.
See, the DS already paid for itself!

I locked my keys in my car and somehow we ended up at the Mormon Temple.
Strange day indeed.

Happy New Year to you all!!

Hot Pot Party!

Like last year, and the many years prior to that, the Tangs graciously hosted the annual hotpot party on Christmas Eve. I think this is the 6th year we've done this (I lost count), but I'm pretty sure us, along with Chris, Oliver, Steve and Mary have all had perfect attendance! We look forward to this every year!

For all you non-Chinese folks that are wondering what the heck we're eating... we had thinly sliced beef and pork, shrimp, clams, crab, tripe, fun-see noodles, mushrooms (brown, enoki), meatballs, tofu and green leafy veggies. Throw everything into the water and boil it to death. We all share the same two pots so if anyone is sick, everyone gets sick (although all the germs should get killed by the temperature...). Also my mom fried two pans of eggrolls and shrimp chips, and we had all kinds of dessert.

Earlier that day I saw Grace and Owen during lunch and offered to sneak them in to hotpot like I did last year. But she blew me off saying they had better things to do, like preaching at church (Note: they are both pastors).

Anyway, as always, the food, fellowship and fun were all top-notch and we never get tired of seeing the same ole people every year :0

Below are the photos in chronological order. Thanks Ray and Mrs. Tang! Can't wait til the next time we eat and party together... Oh wait, that's tomorrow!

6:25 p.m.

Fend for yourself. Everyone was trying to eat as much as they could before the
other Fongs showed up. This was taken right before the fight broke out.

6:45 p.m.
Like in the old days, the women and children wait while the men go fishing for dinner.

7:56 p.m.
Almost everyone is done eating.
Chris was eating real good all night – except at the MJ table :o

8:56 p.m.
Group photo time before the responsible parents take their children home.

Can you guess which one is Patty's kid?

10:09 p.m.
The sons vs. the moms. The sons lost.

10:45 p.m.
Justine normally won't let any strangers hold her.
But Patty smelled like cookies.

11:35 p.m.
I got tired of losing at MJ so I had to beat up the Scrabble players instead.
WREAKERS, 68 points!

12:42 a.m.
Someone is finally starting to get sleepy.

2:53 a.m.
Colby is starting to get tired. But nobody else wants to leave.
Little do they know, Chris is about to explode and then we would all have to leave.

Last second Christmas card

If you're like us. You order your Christmas cards from Costco. Then you realize you don't have any good family photos as a group. So you just throw up individual photos of the kids because you're too lazy to shoot a group photo. You upload, pickup, and barely get them off in time for delivery before Christmas and breathe a sigh of relief. Then two nights before your family gatherings you realize you don't have enough cards to pass out to your relatives. Doh!

In comes HP with their printable templates for any occasion. Woohoo!

So after dinner we dress up the kids and park them in front of the tree for a portrait session (which is what we should've done in the first place). The only incentive for them to sit still is the promise of super rich junk food afterwards (fudge). But still we had to resort to a constant flurry of yelling at the boys while trying to get Justine to smile. Hard work indeed. (This is how my kids can be the reason for me to both pursue and give up photography all at the same time!)

Then after some creative Photoshop cutting and pasting, we upload and design our card. Download the final file and print out on the color printer. Now doesn't that sound simple and easy??

LINK to HP Printable Cards

Merry Christmas from the Fongs

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Hurry and watch it now. Video expires on January 15. Hmm, should I buy it?

Free Christmas Entertainment

I blogged about this last year. And this Sunday we plan to go again. Those who have gone before will agree that it's a spectacular show, bordering Broadway quality. And it's FREE!

We'll be there for the 2:30 showing on Sunday. Hope to see you there!

LINK for MORE INFORMATION and SHOW TIMES

Friday Freebies

Free Christmas MP3 downloads at Amazon.com. LINK
And more music here too (690 songs). LINK
You have to install the Amazon Downloader software. Automatically transfers in iTunes.

Free Christmas MP3 downloads from Oprah Winfrey. LINK
Selections from Josh Groban, Amy Grant, Faith Hill, etc. Only available for 48 hours.

Free Annual Credit Report. LINK
According to Clever Dude, every year you can get your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and Transunion) for free thanks to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act). If you're like me with a history of multiple credit cards. This credit report will let you know the status of each of your cards, past and present, as well as your mortgage and other loans. Just be sure to decline (No Thanks) all the other offers for your credit score and monitoring.

Friends

With the exception of the cold weather, December is my favorite month. It's the month where all the parties, celebrations, and reunions begin. Through the years (if not decade), we've been extremely blessed with the closest and most loving friendships that continue to grow as the years go by.

Many people have friends that number into the hundreds on Facebook. But if you were to survey your collection of friends, how many of them would take time off to get together with you? Or invite you over to their home? And feed your entire family? I would suspect maybe 5-10%.

In our busy lives and limited accommodations, it's really hard to make time and space for everyone. So whenever a party comes up, we consider it a privilege and try our best not to miss it. It's like I told Dave a few weeks ago, "Dude, you better go. It's not often she gets down to the C-List!"

I'm also grateful for the friends that show up at these gatherings. Because they, like me, also cherish the opportunity to catch up in person. To get a hug, see the sparkle in their eyes, interact with the kids... things you can't get by just being an online virtual friend.

To most people, going to a party is a no-brainer. But believe it or not, I know several people who aren't quite as social as the rest of us. I almost have to beg them to get out of the house. And they'll always be the first to leave and blame the kids saying that they're tired (when they're whooping and hollering). To those people let me ask, "Is it really that bad to spend the evening with me? Once you get past the sarcasm, insults and bad jokes, I think I'm quite tolerable." Or maybe you just need some thicker skin. Haha.

So thanks for letting me be a part of your life. I look forward to seeing many more of you in the weeks to come. Below are some captured moments from the previous weeks.

They only invited one Fong family, but three showed up. They didn't realize that
us Fongs are a package deal :) We didn't stay long because there was no food
and we weren't allowed to use the bathrooms. Haha.
Note: They just got the keys and were still unpacking, and the toilets weren't installed yet.
(Yes, Toto, by my recommendation. I even went shopping with them!)

This is what happens when your kids don't fight on the Wii. They fight for real.

What a great looking bunch of guys. They look even better than real life!

Libby says, "Look, you can see my eyes!"

A life-long insufferable Giants fan.

Someone that understands the package deal.

Don't let her looks fool you (I'm talking about the mom).

I added Kandice on FB, just so I can tag her on this picture
(so her 400 friends can see my pics).

He's in Group 5. He has no idea I even blog.

Shot this without a flash. I guess it's hard for everyone to stay still a half second.

From Whole Foods.

What a day! My head is still spinning!

Free Entertainment Book (after rebate)

Update, Monday 12/15: You can still get this deal today! Get it before it gets pulled again.

Follow these steps:

1. Click on the CASHBAQ logo below and go to cashbaq.com

2. Create account. You automatically get $5 into your account

3. Click on Entertainment Book icon "Buy Now" on upper right of page.

4. At the Entertainment Book website, enter your zip code and find your book.
(The East Bay book is $20.)

5. During checkout, select "Send me this book every year" to save another $5.

From the website: Each year, we'll send you a notification approximately one month prior to shipping your new edition ("New Edition Notification"). You'll get a New Edition Notification from us in July or August that contains the approximate ship date, the date your credit card or debit check card* will be charged, and instructions for canceling the order, should you choose to do so.

From testimonials I've read, everyone has said there was no charge for canceling. Or you can just use a credit card that you plan to cancel anyway.

6. You pay $15 and get free shipping.

7. Cashbaq will pay you $10 rebate for the book, plus you get the original free $5 at signup, netting you $0.



Reading their fine print, it looks like it will take 45 days to get your cash back, which is faster than live.com, which takes 60 days.

Friday Fun

LINK

Kidvantage – Better than Black Friday

So did you go out on Black Friday? I did because I just HAD to ensure getting my Lego Imperial Star Destroyer! Once I got that, it was just leisurely browsing afterwards. I dragged Wayland with me – and boy did he luck out – because I chauffeured him around the stores to help him tackle his huge list. His wife now recommends we do this together every year (so that she can stay home and prepare us a warm hearty lunch upon our return – Not!). But as great as the deals were on Black Friday, none of them could beat the year-round Kidvantage free exchange!

After the morning rush, we returned to Sears in the afternoon to exchange the boys' shoes. If you remember, back in June I blogged about exchanging Dustin's shoes for the first time. Now six months later, his shoes are thrashed and we need another pair. This will be his third pair! Colby's shoes also developed a hole and were in need of exchange.

The identical $39.99 Reeboks were still available, but his size was not. So they just let us grab any shoe. Dustin picked a $44.99 Skechers because he wanted "Airators" (remember his first pair was $34.99 Reeboks - heehee). Colby's Skechers were discontinued so they just let us grab any other Skechers. His size 10's were really hard to find, so we got lucky finding a 10.5 priced at $34.99. Note: we originally bought Colby's shoes on clearance for $9.99!

The lady at the register asked for a receipt, so Chrissy had to do the Jedi Mind Trick on her, "You don't need to see a receipt." The cashier complied and we were on our way in five minutes with brand new shoes! What a great program! Better than free food! This is clearly the best deal of the day! And better yet, it can be any day!

We know the next time we do an exchange, the boys will have outgrown their size. So in the meantime we're always keeping an eye out for sale/clearance shoes in the next size up. Buy them cheap now and trade them up for free later. If you have kids (boys especially) and you haven't signed up for Kidvantage, you're missing out. If you think about how expensive shoes are, and how fast they go through them... That's a lot of money! In these hard economic times, you could use that money toward more important stuff, like Legos!

From the Sears website:

Our KidVantage® Wearout Warranty is simple:

• it covers all children's apparel and footwear as long as the child for whom you bought the item continues to wear the size
• if the item wears out, Sears will, at its option, either repair or replace it with the identical item in the same size, or if it's unavailable, a similar item of equal value in the same size
• it covers children's sizes from infants' up to 18 in apparel, and up to senior kids' size 6 in footwear, with proof of purchase

Also, once you spend $100 (accumulated), you'll get a 15% coupon.
Note: It is good to keep the original box because they will need to scan the barcode.