Fondue fun...

Luck be it... I came down with a fever on Thursday the 28th - the last 4 days till the end of 2007. Well.. if it was meant to be... I'll take it head on and pray for a healthier year in 2008. The Tan family with Amelia in tow left for Montreal for the new year's weekend. It was a trio of a kind new year with Pete and Sharon. They took me out to a late lunch and early dinner at the Melting Pot for some fondue treats :)

End of Year Gathering

The Milizia & Tan family at home with friends Chee Ming, Wojtek & Mike over at the house on the last Friday of 2007. As you can see... we had a lot of people in our little townhouse. Yours truly was sick in bed... pictures taken courtesy of husband :)

We're gonna miss our drinking mascot - Eugene!!

Christmas 2007

Our Christmas...

Created with flickrSLiDR.

Happy Holidays!

We wish you Merry Christmas and a happy holiday with your family and friends.
Here's to an exciting new year ahead!

Happy Birthday Jerry!

DSCN5600
Originally uploaded by Sherene

Many happy returns of the day and a happy birthday Jerry! Hope all is well on your side. Big hugs to mom and dad and Andrea from us! Miss you lots and can't wait to see you next year!

lotsa love,
XoXoX
Sher & Pete

Viv & Ivan - Wedding #2

mosaic1874148
Originally uploaded by Vivian CC Ooi

This evening of the 22nd on Malaysian time, Vivian and Ivan are hosting their Penang wedding reception - round two. Pete and I wish we could be there with you two among family and friends celebrating once again your blissful union. Fear not, we are there with you in spirit!!

I cannot wait to see pictures from this evening. Talk to you guys soon in 2008! Have a happy wedding celebration, Christmas and New Year!!

With love,
Sher & Pete

Happy Birthday Mum!

Many happy returns of the day
and a
Happy Birthday Mummy!!
lotsa love,
XoXoX
Sharon, Sherene & Pete

Letter from Santa

It's one week 'till Christmas... have you written to Santa telling him what you want? I tried thinking hard of what I really, really need.... and I cannot think of one thing. That's because the most important thing or person that I want badly is here with me already... together forever. Aaaww.... mushy-ness alert! And yes, it's you I'm talking about Pete! :D

I guess I can still ask Santa for some toys.... say an iPod touch?! So I wrote to Santa... and this is his reply:

Happy Birthday Dad!

Many happy returns of they day

and a

Happy Birthday Dad!!

lotsa love,

XoXoX

Sharon, Sherene & Peter

December weekend snow

We were in Scarborough on Saturday for Dim Sum with our Canadian family (Jeff, Sylvia, Binthany, Jonathen & Anna). Chele, Amelia, Chin Khee and Jaclyn headed up further north to the Blue Mountain Ski Resort for their winter vacation after lunch. Pete and I made a short stop at Pacific Mall for some chinese movie dvds and to get my watch batteries changed. The uncle there charges me $5 canadian for each battery replacement! Beats what they charge me here in NY! :P

We reached home safely before the anticipated snow storm were to hit our area. Good timing too since there was about 3-4 inches accumulation before midnight. Sunday morning... freezing rain which turned to more snow and add a couple more inches of snow.. you get Sher & Pete staying indoors under their warm covers! Pete went out periodically to shovel... here are some pictures taken yesterday and this morning!

Snowed in...

Ready for snow clearing!

27 Dresses

How many times have you been a bridesmaid?! Me? Two and a half! Being the half of a bridesmaid part.... talk to Vivian about it! :P Never been much of a Katherine Heigl fan... but I cannot wait to see her upcoming movie co-staring the ever prince charming James Marsden - 27 Dresses. Heigl's character Jane has been a bridesmaid for a whopping 27 times... thus her accumulation of bridesmaid dresses. In the spirit of my wedding planning madness... this is quite a treat!

**Don't forget to turn off the music on the blog first!

Synopsis - Jane is idealistic, romantic and completely selfless - a perennial bridesmaid whose own happy ending is nowhere in sight. But when younger sister Tess captures the heart of Jane’s boss — with whom she is secretly in love - Jane begins to reexamine her “always-a-bridesmaid....” lifestyle.

Out in theatres: January 11th, 2008
Starring: Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Edward Burns, Malin Akerman

Snow...

Snow is here to stay... here are some pictures taken as I left the office to get home yesterday.

Animal tracks?!

As I was heading out the door this morning for work... I saw animal tracks on the lightly snow covered ground. Deer prints? Doesn't look like it. And where would they have come from? The little forest-y area down the road some 2-3 miles away? What attracted them to my humble abode? Could the old pumpkins we got from Halloween be the culprit in luring Bambi and family to our townhouse community? Or was it the multi-colored Christmas lights I left turned on overnight? Dog prints?? It could be canine. I don't know... it's a winter mystery!

Footprints Tracks from the front of our house....

Animal tracks from our main entrance.

hugs & kisses post from Viv

What a beautiful and true to the heart posting from Vivian! I so agree with you on the best friends in high school bit! Friends either get it right from the start or not. The ones that get it right... get OCD (obsessive compulsive) and crazy, wedding plans making together!! :P Even if you were not requesting Hershey kisses for favors in the Penang wedding.... you deserve a billion of them hugs and kisses from me!

XoXoXoXoX

Read Viv's post below....

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Shere xoxo
Originally uploaded by Vivian CC Ooi

Monday, December 10, 2007
Hugs & kisses from a dear friend

Check this out! My Christmas-themed favours-cum-decor, all the way fr the States! I cannot wait to get my hands on them next week and start packing. I love doing these things, it reminds me of the good ol' high school days when we DIY-ed everything and sold them to raise money. I'm going to have my girls with me this time around, too (the 'Georgian guides/rangers').

Actually, it's really true what they say, you find your best friends in high school. You may lose touch with some, drift apart from others, but you will get closer to those you were already close with and form a stronger bond with those who weren't that super-close in the first place. But in any case, you know you can rely on your high school girlfriends in a way that you can't with anyone else. These girls are kindred spirits and friends for life, friends you know will be there for the rest of your life :)

I'm all sentimental not just because of a couple of bags of chocolates from Sherene (though I'm super thankful!), but it's just that weddings make you see a lot of things, some of which aren't even things you want to see. There will be heartache, disappointment, hurt and even anger, but at the end of the day, there's no better time or place for you to re-evaluate your friendships a little and really see whom your true friends are- those who'd do everything and anything to help in any way they can, wherever they may be.

Weddings also make you appreciate your family more for all things they do (even though you know they don't really have a choice :P). It's the little little things, like how your fashion-ignorant dad gets multiple shirts in assorted colours to get THAT perfect combo and your mum who's not normally very fashion-conscious obsessing about getting the perfect pair of shoes to match her dress etc. It's just really heart-warming and brings a smile to your face just thinking about it... :)

Lori's night...

The girls and a few gentlemen helped celebrate Lori's birthday last night. We took the birthday girl out for an italian dinner at La Scala Ristorante. After dinner, we headed home for cake and presents!!

Hope you had a great birthday Lori!

Happy Birthday Lori!

Many happy returns of the day
and a
Happy Birthday Lori!!
We're gonna be celebrating tonight!!
lotsa love,
XoXoX
Pete & Sher

Cup-a-Cakes Wonders!

Christmas 2007 could not have been any brighter in Penang, thanks to the generous sweet treats which my dearest baker extraordinaire friend, Ween has made for children at the Bukit Tengah Home. This generosity is made possible from 30% of cup-a-cakes(TM) sales in the month of December from orders placed or will be placed from loyal customers such as you and me (I played my part, one way or another :P).

Holiday sweet treats from cup-a-cakes(TM)!!

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Speaking of cupcakes.... I recently surfed by a website which claimed that cupcakes are now available in Penang. Has it not been made available? Why then, let me share with you the amazing wonders of cup-a-cakes(TM) creations from WeenNee. Since you haven't been on-board with us lot here who are just mesmerized with Ween's creations, you simply must place an order yourself and do the needful (30% of all December sales goes to charity)!!

Adding to that, this particular website also claimed that Christmas designed cupcakes were its newest creation. If so, what were the not so new creation(s)?? A little perplexed here... where's the comparison?! Why call something new when there isn't a something old or less than new to contrast the claim? Did I forget to mention that I simply adore the candycanes and snowmen on cup-a-cakes(TM) Christmas cupcakes?

How did I come to learn of this website? The cupcake website link was erroneously posted on my blog's tagboard. After a little sleuthing around, it appears that the website owner was trying to promote her new business on my blog after checking out her competition cup-a-cakes(TM). Her first attempt in trying to post her link was unsuccessful, she inserted the competitor's website instead. Genius!! She did manage to post the correct website link of hers later on to which I had just gladly removed.

My bone to pick with this particular website owner... no way are you "advertising" in any means on my blog. That is not what this blog is for! Healthy competition or not... I simply do not allow unknown person(s) to utilize my blog is such a sneaky manner. If your creations are so wonderful, people will take notice or even try to help you spread the word. On a final note, there's no cupcake business like cup-a-cakes(TM)!!

Matrimonio all’italiana (Italian Wedding)

Pete and I are having a Sunday wedding... this was largely driven by the fact that the place we wanted to have the ceremony and reception was fully booked on Saturdays for the 2008 summer/fall wedding season. So was many other places - but we were glad we at least have the place we wanted the very same weekend. As I was browsing for wedding ideas... this article came up. Lucky me us that Pete's Italian!

In Italy, Sunday marriages are considered to be the luckiest. Another superstition concerning Italian weddings is that the bride should not wear any gold on the day she is married, until wedding rings are exchanged.

According to the traditional Italian wedding custom, the bride will carry a satin bag (la borsa), in which guests place money to defer the expenses of customarily lavish weddings in Italy. Sometimes during the festivities the bag is guarded by the bride’s grandmother, or the bride might wear it and allow the male guests to put money in exchange for a dance with her.

An Italian wedding is a festival for all the invited guests. The wedding day begins with a Mass in the morning. The couple leaves the church and rides back to their families’ neighborhoods, then, the newlyweds spend some time together, while the guests are preparing the reception site for the festivities.

Before the banquet begins, sweet liquors are served to women, and strong drinks are served to men. The menu at an Italian wedding is nearly as important as the wedding itself. Guests may be served as many as 14 different courses with wine and other beverages. After dinner the customary multi-layered Italian wedding cake is served with espresso.

A cookie dance is started, where the bride and groom lead the guests dancing around the reception area, and then over the cake, where each person takes a piece. The non-dancers then can welcome themselves too. A traditional wedding circle dance, called the Tarantella, will be joined by all. Before the reception is over, the bride and groom usually break a glass. The number of pieces of shattered glass symbolize the number of years the couple will share.

At some weddings in Italy, a pair of white doves is released into the air, symbolizing the couple’s love and happiness. In Veneto, it is customary for the couple getting married to walk to the wedding chapel together. The townsfolk place obstacles in the bride’s path to see what kind of a housewife she will be. If she picked up a broom, for example, she would keep a clean house. If a child is in her way and she stopped to talk with him, she would be a good mother. Also, the bride and groom must cut a log in half with a double handled saw, before they reach the wedding site. This demonstrates the solidity of their relations.

Another popular wedding tradition is a ribbon, tied in front of the wedding chapel, symbolizing the bond between the couple being married. The actual wedding ceremony (sposalizio) is officiated by a priest or a civil authority. Old church traditions warn against marrying during Lent and Advent, and also in May and August. The celebration begins with a mass in the morning; dancing and feasting that follows may continue till early morning.

Happy Birthday "mama" Mindi

Many happy returns of the day
and a
Happy Birthday
to Alyssa's loving mommy dearest, Mindi
lotsa love...
XoXoX
Sherene & Peter

Vivian & Ivan's Wedding - Studio Pictures

Viv & Ivan.... you two look amazing!! Love the pictures! Thanks for sharing!
Are you running a workshop for Posing for Wedding Pictures 101 anytime soon?!
Pete and I sure need all the help we can get before it's our turn! :P

One wedding (07/07/07) down and one more (12/22/07) to go for you two...
Good luck with the final wedding plans for the Penang wedding!

iFlops - Xmas prezzies!

Santa came early this year for Vivian & Ivan!!

Mr. Penguin & Miss Froggie iFlops wishes an early Merry Christmas to Vivian & Ivan.
Don't fight over Mr. Penguin... Miss Froggie feels left out!!
'Tis the season to be be sharing! :P

Happy Birthday Mel

Happy Birthday to you...
Happy Birthday to you...
Happy Birthday dear Melissa
Happy Birthday to you!!
Miss you lots...
XoXoX
Sher

Sinatra's Cadillac

Pete and I were out early this afternoon to do some shopping. As we were trying to locate a parking spot, this car pulled in front of us - a Cadillac DeVille. And it was not just any other Cadillac... it was Sinatra's!!! The Chairman of the Board! :P

Heya Ol' Blue Eyes... doing some Christmas shopping too?!

1st snowfall

Peter felt he wanted a Wegmans (giant) muffin - early Saturday morning. It was 8.35a.m!! Craving or not... my dearest husband woke me up a little to let me know he was going to head out to Wegmans to grab a couple of fresh muffins for breakfast. As for me... I whined a little... okay a lot more than little :P so that he would come back to bed and snuggle under the covers for two more minutes. I got want a wanted and this two minutes stretched to about 15 minutes or so. Then, I got up and got ready to head out with Peter to Wegmans.

We opened the front door and it was all white.....

there was about 3 inches of snow. The date was December 1st and it was our first official snowfall of the season! A clean slate of snow covered the ground, my pumpkins (they are still very much well in tact!), car, the parking lots, etc. You know what that means... head out to make shoes prints, snow angels, snow-art, the lot!!

Snow 101 - if the snow does not stay on the ground and accumulate - it does not really count as snowfall. Well... to me at least!!