first 11 of '11: 1.7.11

we slept in this morning and it was great.  we got up about 11am and the house was crazy quiet since our friends left last night.  it was almost freaky.  we went to fatboy subs again for lunch.  it was fantastic and yes, i had the same thing---filly cheese steak sandwich.  paul walked me home and then went off to work at gloria jean's.

i washed up some dishes, tried to work on our ant problem (seems futile), had some ice cream with fanta soda (flavor not sure b/c i cannot read khmer, but it tastes like root beer) and caught up on all my blogs that i read in google reader.  i also was able to check one item off the weekend to do list too which is always nice--skype with my close friend K in seoul.  we have not caught up at all this break, so it was fabulous to do so today.  i miss her and her family dreadfully and always love that we can connect via technology.  i attempted to clean/organize our desk, but that did not get too far.  it does look better, but not great.  we are in desperate need of some sort of drawers/shelves for that space for all the paperwork/extra office like stuff one has.

i read a blog today that has me thinking about our "stuff".  the author mentions a book that i quickly added to my eBook wish list at barnes & noble.  it's called the 100 thing challenge: how i got rid of almost everything, remade my life, and regained my soul by dave bruno.  the idea intrigues me.  i might download soon and give it a browse to see what it is about.  although i am thinking we might not be able to do it since we have collectibles from our travels.  who knows?  anyone read it?

the book i am currently reading i am still unsure about.  i picked it up based on a colleague's suggestion and found it in the free pile in the staff room, so i figured why not.  i am just over half way and cannot decide if i like it, want to keep reading it, or just abandon it.  part of me keeps hoping that it will change and get better, but i am not so sure.  i have never read a book that bothers me in a way that i cannot really put words to.  it's the oddest feeling.  it's called a fine balance by rohinton mistry.

a short afternoon nap once paul got home, then we were off to dinner.  we decided to give magnolia (vietnamese) a try again because many people keep saying how much they like it and such.  so off we went....it has a nice ambiance for sure.  we chose to sit outside and unfortunately were disappointed to learn that they only serve pho at breakfast.  what?!?!  come on.  strike #1.  we finally decided what to order--spring rolls with steamed crab (off a specials menu), i ordered the grilled beef with garlic and paul ordered a beef salad cambodian style.  the spring rolls were not so wonderful.  strike #2.  my beef was ordinary, but not mind blowing or anything.  then paul's meal arrived and he began to check it out and discovered onions after ordering specifically no onions.  strike #3.  we were done.  it took us a while to track down a server who spoke english well enough to communicate he ordered no onions and indeed there were onions in the salad.  ugh.  we asked them to remake and off they went.  shortly we thought we would just be done, so again i attempted to wave down an english speaking server to explain that we wanted to cancel the salad remake and would like the bill.  confused he walked away, but brought the bill later.  magnolia is not on the nnot so great list of our food choices here in PP.  we don't get it b/c many people we know have raved over it, but we just cannot make the magic happen here.  the great thing is that there are a million other choices that we enjoy and want to try, so it's not a big loss.

we walked across the street to a place called fortune pho or pho fortune.  we are not sure to be honest.  it's a small, simple pho shop.  no frills, but has all the good pho.  the menu has mostly pho choices so paul was thrilled.  the staff is friendly and tries there best to make the most of communication with us.  a nice change from magnolia.  paul ordered beef pho and i ordered fried spring rolls.  both were quite good and we will go back.  simple and right on.  this place gets two thumbs up from us.

after dinner, we made one more stop at fresco on the riverfront for a dessert.  i got a scoop of hokey pokey ice cream (butterscotch flavor with small bits of butterscotch) and paul got some special banana, coconut smoothie.  got home and watched more episodes of big bang theory.  the current tv choice since many of our shows have been on a break for the holidays.  i think many of them start back up this week.

first 11 of '11: 1.3.11

today i slept in until 11am which was glorious.  india has been quite the snuggly cat since the beginning of the holidays.  when i woke up this morning she was sitting near my head, curled up and asleep.  so nice!  got up, gathered my clothes and took a shower.  then sheree and i made our way out the door for another trip to russian market.  i was armed with a list--lamp lady, silk lady, and mirror lady.  i bought some orange silk for cushion covers and a runner for our bedroom.  i also some to cover the new lamps.  i am so excited about the new look for our bedroom.  after the silk lady, we went to the lamp lady to give her the orange silk to cover the new lamps and give her my sketch of the korean lamp that is still in need of a lamp shade six months later.  :)  thrilled about this too.  last stop was to purchase the big mirror i had found a few days ago.  we bargained her down and i was thrilled with the final price.  i had asked her for the measurements so i could come home and make sure it would fit and look proportionate.  she wrapped it up and added hangers while sheree did some clothes shopping here and there.

the last stop before coming home was at the frame shop, but again they were closed.  not sure where they are or what the deal is, but they possibly might be on holiday.  who knows?!?!  we will try again tomorrow.  i bought some beautiful indigo blue fabric in laos that we cut into 5 one meter strips to be framed separately.  then i also have a piece of art made for us by our favorite cafe owner in seoul, jenny.

now back at home, we had lunch of cheese toasty sandwiches, fresh mango and bananas, and some leftover roasted veg from last night's dinner.  so good.  i think it might be time for a nap and some reading.  i love the holidays.

paul and i had dinner out together at tell restaurant.  we chose the cheese fondue and beef fondue.  it was quite tasty and we were happy with our selection.  it was nice to have dinner with him and be able to catch up and just be together.  we ordered vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce for dessert.  yum!

made a short stop at bayon for beverages and other needs before coming home to watch some tv.  we chose to watch some more big bang theory which is hilarious.  we have decided that season 2 episode 11 is the BEST show to date.  we laughed until we were crying.......great fun!

first 11 of '11: 1.1.11

paul and i went to lunch at java cafe.  it was nice.  we sat upstairs outside on the balcony.  the weather was perfect and there was a gentle breeze that made sitting there heavenly.  i ordered a christmas coffee sans the orange peel and iced with a breakfast sandwich.  yum!  paul had a beef fajita wrap.  after we went to gloria jean's where we spent much of the afternoon hanging out.  i read some, attempted to start a new crochet project, and people watched.  paul worked and plugged away at learning new action script.

later i went to russian market with sheree to hunt for things for the house.  she had a list too.  i found some new fabric that i am going to use in our guest room, a mirror for our room, ordered a lamp shade, and eyed some new lamps for our room too.  it was a fun trip and i am feeling much more confident shopping in russian market.

we made our way home via the frame shop, but she was closed for the holiday.  for another day it seems!

we had dinner out with all four of the adults and left the littles at home with ming.  we went to ocean for dinner and it was fantastic per usual.  i chose the beef fillet a la ocean.  yum!  we had some great conversation over amazing food.  so nice to connect with friends and talk about all sorts of things.