2008 Chen Family BBQ

I know I have been delinquent in updating my blog, so sorry, it's been crazy busy these days. My annoying friend who wants to be referred to in my blog asked 'what's up with your lack of blog updates'? I don't know why he cares if I update my blog or not, I already tell him what's going on in my life. But anyway, here I am, updating.

Work has been good, I've been there for about a month now, crazy how the time flies! I love the people that I work with, I've gotten to spend some quality time with the girl who started with me. When we're not too busy, we'd take our lunches outside and sit in the sun while we eat and chat. The commute is still a bit tiring but I've gotten used to it and it's not so bad. I started going to the gym 3 times a week, including twice during the weekdays. So I'd buy a pretzel at Auntie Anne's at Port Authority and eat it while I wait for the bus, so I have some food to hold me over at the gym. By the time I get home from the gym, it's about 9:30 and I shower, eat a little bit and go to bed. I like that I never have to cook, and can bring lunches to work to save money :) On the days that I don't go to the gym, I can have dinner with my dad or meet up with friends, which is nice.

This past Saturday I went food shopping with my mom for the annual BBQ at my parents' house the next day. Then we spent over 5 hours chopping, cooking, marinating and preparing. It was tiring but I learned a lot from my mom! And what do you know, it rained pretty much the entire day on Sunday, ack! But my parents are so awesome at improvising that they rearranged our furniture at the last minute so that we had tables and chairs set up inside and they moved the grill into the garage! I don't know what I would have done without them in the house! So with that, the food fest and mingling of nearly 40 of our guests began. I had SO much fun! Here are some of the highlights!

People hanging out in the basement




















































People hanging out in the family room

















Stella with her beautiful blue eyes

















What are you doing, Colin?!

















My favorite natural mingling picture, didn't realize how many people could fit in one room


















































































































































I love this picture

















We ran out of gas towards the end, they're trying to start a fire, hahaha






















After the rain stopped, we were able to sit outside and hang out













































































































































So it was a fun filled weekend but very exhausting. I still haven't fully recovered yet because it's Restaurant Week in NYC and I've been eating out a lot :) This weekend is pretty packed with events too. We got a family beach day planned for Saturday, and I am helping my parents host a baby shower for a couple at church on Sunday! I will write more soon!

Dark Knight on IMAX

Last weekend, we went to see Dark Knight on IMAX. I think the last IMAX movie I saw the previous Batman movie. We got awesome seats. Center, second to last row. But we waited on line for over an hour. The anticipation and excitement was a lot of fun!

We played cards while we waited on line, but we weren't allowed to sit, so one person had to be the 'table' and hold the cards that we discard. It was pretty funny.


















Our feet in a circle, I'm such a dork

















Christina being the moving 'table'

















I figured there hadn't been any occasions for pictures in awhile, so I needed some to post, hence pictures taken in the theater, hahaha

Dinner Party at Chef Whiddon's

No text is really necessary for this post. The pictures will speak for themselves. Colin and Damien cooked for us on Sunday night. Everything was so delicious. Us girls had a great time drinking wine and chatting while the chefs were hard at work in the kitchen. It was awesome :)























LOL, looks like the chickens laid eggs .....







































Damien laboring over the fried vegetables one by one, 'with love' as Madelina put it

















I loved these veggies! Zucchini, graffiti and whitey eggplant?!


































My sister distracting the chef






















Almond cake ..... sooooo gooooood

















Peach something dessert .... with vanilla ice cream ....

















Cherry something dessert (think this one is French). Yes Colin made us 3 desserts, yeah!!!

















Potatoes and more veggies

















CHICKEN!

















Madelina starting us off on the buffet line

















Hanging out in the kitchen

















Thanks Colin and Damien for such a wonderful meal and gathering!

Bronx Zoo and Ponchos

My family went to the Bronx Zoo on Saturday to celebrate my mom's birthday. What an interesting day to go to the zoo. It started raining almost as soon as we arrived. We bought these really cheap ponchos, the material was similar to what you'd find on sandwich bags (the cheapest, generic brands). If you're not careful putting it on, you'd tear it. But it was so much fun, although it was kind of gross walking around in the dirt and rain, especially since I wore flip flops. Yes, it was not the smartest thing I've ever done. We saw a lot of awesome animals, my favorite was the polar bear, he (or she) was totally putting on a show for us! This is the first time I'd been to the zoo with family, definitely a good family outing spot. I think my mom really enjoyed the experience.

I told them to make a funny face, and this was the result.


















We saw so many interesting patterned frogs!


















Aren't these toads funny looking? They probably thought that about me too.


















Awww.... it's a mini frog

















These are snakes! Weird huh?! They blend in with branches, and they're in water!

















Us with our ponchos


































Polar bear playing in the water, he (or she) is sooooo cute!

















Flamingos' legs look like they're plastic


















Sleeping bird's butt

















Another cool looking bird

















One of the cutest things I've ever seen!!

















Doesn't he look happy, like he's smiling?