Update

Ok, I figured I'd better do it here since rumors are still going around this city about the status of our move. Really, they can't wait to get rid of me (they mostly like the husband but sorry to disappoint you guys, we come as a package lol)!

Again, there is no 'for sale' sign in our front yard. We have not put the house on sale (yet) and are not in a hurry to. We have NOT bought a house. Yes, we are probably moving to Seattle but the house we put an offer in for hasn't been successful - we just found out late last night. The owners have decided to play hard to get (full price or nothing) and will take it off the market in a week (they claim) and no, we're not about to go chasing after it. So it's back to the drawing board. Yes, of course I'm annoyed! That was ALMOST the perfect house for us... but this isn't my first time dealing with people like that... after all, it's a buyer's market and if you don't want the big lump sum of cash we're offering, I'm sure someone else is willing to take it from us lol.

Right now, I'm thinking of Japan... spending a few months there and learning a little more of the language wouldn't be a bad idea... I don't know... just anything to get me outta' here... yesterday!!

We're Home!

Yes, I'm alive... and yes, I had a nice time in Paris. I got to meet Bruce's pal from high school, James (yes, big kahuna James from my last post), his wife Chantana, an awesome lady whom I grew to like very much in the short span of time I spent with her (even my sister-in-law who'd only met her over lunch grew a quick liking to her... there's just something and everything about her that ignites warmth and friendliness), their children, beautiful 7 yr old Anita-Louise and adorable three year old Benjamin. We even got to meet Chantana's parents; attended her dad's 60th surprise birthday bash and met a bunch of their friends and extended family in Breux-Jouy, a suburb about 45km outside Paris - for those not so bright Americans, that's about 30 miles :D ... so that was a nice change from the few not so nice people I encountered in the city. But that's another few stories we can reserve for when some of us see each other again (maybe) :)

I don't know if you'd find me hurrying back to Paris too soon... or Europe for that matter - though I can't believe it but the husband just asked if I'd like to go to Rome and Naples for a short trip. I don't know... the vibe's just all different. Plus I've done it all before... Europe to me is like a novel; read it once, put it away and put a check next to it. I don't need to go to the Louvre a gazillion times. Seeing the Mona Lisa once was the same as when I saw it the third time this trip. Yup, there it is... same smile... same look... just like in my text book! Things like that just doesn't excite me that much! The food, the people, the culture... I'm just not that into them! :D

Call me narrow minded (maybe I've been in Memphis far too long lol - hey you know if I'm going to blame anyone, it's my time here I'm going to pick on lol)... but the last time I went to Paris, I didn't want to leave! I wanted to stay, learn the language and live there for at least a few years! No, no man involved in this story lol. This was merely 8(?) years ago! So why was this trip so different? Yes, I'm older... more set in my obstinate ways. More anal then ever before... and maybe the Parisians were just nicer to me then since I was traveling on my own and I looked like a lost child lol... I don't know... but this trip made me aware of how I judge people in my warped sense of normalcy... how much more I cannot deal with idiots - and really, they are just as many there as there are here (LOL)... and how I enjoy my ginormous space, big new modern clean buildings as oppose to tight old dirty looking ones... even with great stories behind them. I just don't care! It's even more painful on top of all that, the dollar is so weak (no thanks to your 'competent' leader) against the Euro and how getting only one bag and wallet just rubs me the wrong way. If I can't go to France and buy all my Chanel and LV stuff I want, then why go right?! :D Yes, I will survive... that or I'd better strike the mega million in a hurry if the king is ready to hit Europe again.

We also met up with my brother and his wife. I had a really really nice time with them! They love food and shopping as much as we do (no, they can out shop me any day!), so it's always fun to hang out with them. It's always so nice to be with family and I do miss that privilege. Sometimes I do dream of living closer to all of them but I know when I make that move, I'm going to regret it lol - especially since I know I'm going to hate the weather that makes me grumpy constantly. Yes, I will be even less tolerable to deal with there - hard to imagine eh lol. Yes, absense makes the heart grow fonder... I have been away from home most of my adult life... why mess with it?! :) I'll just continue being a great aunt to my two nieces back home, a good daughter by calling mom every day and talk to dad whenever he has time to chat with me. I can't complain.

If you're interested, click here for more pics from this trip.

Trip #10 (Last Trip) Of Summer '07

Summer is finally coming to an end. It's only 7:37pm here and it's already dark outside... no more crazy cicadas buzzing... the temperature however isn't quite as cooperating; it's soaring back to the 90s this week. Yuk! Glad I'm going to be away to miss it.

We're headed to Paris, France in a couple of days. My third time and the first, for the king - hard to imagine huh? ...that he's actually not been somewhere I've been lol. We're going to visit his good friend James from high school who has become - what my business professor used to call - a big kahuna lol! I don't know James... but I've seen pics of his family and they're beautiful! I'm looking forward to meeting all of them. We're also having a mini family reunion with my brother (who will be on a side business trip to Zurich) and his wife; so I'm super excited. In the last year, I have seen my brother the most out of all the family members since he travels so much for work. It's nice that he actually wants to hang out with us lol! Actually, maybe he's just playing spy for my parents lol!

So all you travel folks out there who have been to Paris lately, any tips? Any restaurants we can't leave without trying? I know about the macaroons and the eclairs already :) I should have had them when I saw them in Tokyo Midtown last week but I guess I'd just have to get them straight from the original source...

Giant Pandas @ Memphis Zoo

Le Le and Ya Ya are the pandas from China at the Memphis Zoo. I have no idea which one this is but it's adorable :) Go see them if you haven't!

Zoo Rendezvous 2007

We'd barely been home for 48 hours from Tokyo and where do we head out for dinner? Yes, sushi, of course! :)

Well, luck was with us this Friday evening at Sekisui Collierville. While dining, Dr Dewane (a regular customer like us) came up to us and asked if we were going to the zoo the next evening. Being the "blur like ika" (sotong aka squid) person that I am, replied without thinking, 'what zoo?!'. He rolled his eyes and said 'Zoo Rendezvous! ...it's only the biggest party of the year!'. It then clicked... the poster on the wall! 'Ohhhhh, no one asked me!'. Steve, another regular customer sitting next to me at the sushi bar exclaimed, 'that's not the right thing to say!'. So I tried again, 'nobody got me tickets!' Honestly, I wasn't trying to get anything out of Dr Dewane lol. I didn't even know he was in any way tied to this event! Plus, who in their right mind gives away tickets that went for a couple of hundred bucks per person to two people you don't know other then seeing them around at the sushi bar?! Well, the generous doctor pulled out two tickets from his pocket and said 'make sure I see you guys there'. The rest, as they say, is history :D

Zoo Rendezvous was the highlight of our weekend - well after the highlight of being handed those tickets lol. Looks like we're doing everything we need to before we leave this town, aren't we?! First Graceland on Elvis's 30th anniversary and now Zoo Rendezvous! Having lived in the Memphis area for more than six years and never gotten around to the local zoo (though we've heard so much about it) we were nicely impressed! We did plan on seeing the pandas before we leave but with all the travels this summer, it's been hard to manage a trip out to, of all places for a couple with no kids, the zoo lol. But this was definitely a spectacular reason to go!

There were 95 local restaurants that set up booths giving out 'free' food and drinks. Well, free for us since we didn't pay for the tickets... speaking of which, Dr Dewane wasn't only generous to us; he also gave tickets to other regular patrons at Sekisui and also a sponsor to the huge jungle lounge theme that housed restaurant booths such as Paulette's, PF Chang's, Half Shell, Sekisui (of course!)... he rocks! :D I don't know how we managed in the crazy crowd, but we met up with Joelle and David as planned - also Sekisui Collieville regulars :) The place was packed with all the food you can imagine, all the booze you can drink (yes, also 'free'!), all the people you can meet in one evening and countless sets of bands boogieing the night away. Yes, it was, well, a zoo! :D We even spotted Mayor AC Wharton in the crowd coming a little later in the evening.

My two favorite booths of the evening was that of River Oaks with chef Benjamin Vaughn behind making his version of fresh duck spring rolls that were absolutely delicious! We chatted for a little before going off to my other favorite counter.












Here, I had the most awesome strawberry cake I'd ever had by 'That Takes The Cake' who also had a bunch of cool looking cakes on display. Who would have thunk it?! Lol! You can get cakes here that look like they'd just come out of Charm City Cakes lol - well, almost. But I was impressed.














The weather was perfect, great live music every corner you turn, great food (some not so great but you can't have 'em all :D) and the alcohol topped it off and made it a great night for me (the king was responsible and had only one beer early in the evening since he was the designated driver). Too bad it's our last... but you never know with the Ryans... have ticket will fly :D

My Sashimi Is Alive!

Yup, the fish 'sat' there for a good 30 mins starring us down while we ate it piece by piece before it just... well, stopped :) Mighty delicious but yes, creepy! Didn't stop me from eating, of course.

Natto For Breakfast - It's Good For You LOL

I met natto this morning - decided to give it a try after hearing so much about how nasty it is from the king... ok it doesn't smell as bad as he claims..., but it is pretty bad tasting in an eeiky texture kind of way lol. I will try it at least two more time to give it my final verdict. But for now, I won't go craving for natto. At least I can say I have tried it :)

Sweeeeet!

How cool is this!?! Special edition Elvis' 30th Anniversary Reese's Peanut Butter and Banana Creme Cups. YUM! The hint of banana creme in addition to the regular Reese's peanut butter cup is delicious! I wonder how long they're going to keep this around. It's September and they're still around...

We couldn't find any in Seattle - wow we actually have something other people outside of this area doesn't have; but of course, it's Elvis-related lol. We got a whole box for friends who requested for them there... :)

Notice there are both young and old Elvis Reese's?! Funny huh?!

Home For A Day... Then Trip #9 Of Summer '07

We arrived home yesterday; two hours earlier then planned when we got lucky and caught the earlier flight back from DFW (with an upgrade tee hee). I suppose American Airlines doesn't ALWAYS let us down :)

It's been a full day of laundry... I have yet to start cleaning but my nails are screaming for some attention so it's off to a manicure in a bit. We have to repack - I can't say we have fully unpacked lol - and head off to Tokyo first thing tomorrow morning. It's been five months since we last went to Tokyo. Feels kind of weird... kind of ummm, unnatural for us lol. We're both excited to see friends we missed, new ones to make, and of course, food glorious food hee hee.

I have so much to update from our trip to Seattle but my nails are of more importance right now :) The only excitement right now that you guys might be interested is... we found a house!! Don't know if we'll get it but that's exciting as far as I'm concerned :)

Stay tuned!