A little bit o' catch up...

As usual, life has taken on its frenzied pace. Very normal for this time of year.

The Lea Salonga concert last Sunday night was amazing! We were in the 14th row in a theater that had a very intimate setup. I didn't realize this when I purchased the tickets, but the concert was part of a charity event being hosted by an organization called "A 3M", which stands for Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches. Bone marrow matches and transplants.

In the theater's lobby there was a silent auction going on that had everything from Avon products, to fine jewelry, to Lakers seats right next to Jack Nicholson at the Staples Center. You can only imagine where all the men were gathered!

The concert was beautiful, Lea Salonga's voice was heavenly, and she sang songs from Broadway, oldies, and some Disney. Outside in the lobby I decided to register as a bone marrow donor and I even won the silent auction for a beautiful set of white gold/pearl and diamond earrings/ring/charm. They aren't super high-quality, but they're real, and they will go with lots of outfits.

The rest of the week took on its normal intensity at school, except that it seems like certain kids chose those few days to really push the limits. Lots of kids getting in trouble for various reasons, one is even suspended tomorrow for stealing. Stealing--in 4th grade. Oy.

Yesterday morning I woke up obscenely early and got my backyard ready so that my painter could sand and repaint my deck. It was really mangled after 4 1/2 years of pet claws and weed wackers from the gardeners. And now it is all done and looks great.

In the middle of the day I ran to the nursery and bought a few new winter flowers to replace some of the scraggly ones in my planters around my brick patio. Some safari plum, white snapdragon, and hot pink dianthus (those little flowers have really proved themselves to me lately!) Replanting took very little time because I had already cleaned things out and prepped the planters. They look great and nice with the newly painted deck.

Last night my mom and I went to a Vietnamese wedding reception for my sister-in-law's sister. There were about 300 people there, and my mom, brother, and I were the ONLY non-Vietnamese people there. I felt really TALL...LOL!

I didn't know what to expect, because I hardly knew anyone, but I actually had a really nice time! It was fun to see my nephew, Alexander, in his little tuxedo. (The shoulders were too big, and my brother said the outfit reminded him of Peter Boyle in Young Frankenstein singing Puttin' on the Ritz. Funny!) My sister-in-law, Quyen, is the oldest of 7 kids, and her family is really nice. They really make an effort to make us feel welcome and included. I like her dad a lot. He reminds me of my grandpa who passed away last year--quiet, but with a certain strength and nobility about him.

The meal was amazing--a 10 course dinner that included scallops, lobster, prawns, sharkfin soup with crab...the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, the dinner wasn't served until late and ran past 11pm. I was so tired and asked my mom if she wouldn't mind if we left before the cake was served.

A funny and unexpected turn of events happened during the reception. There was live music with 3 different singers. One of them sang 2 songs in Vietnamese and then started singing A Kind of Hush by The Carpenters. I was lip-synching along and she noticed and brought me a mike and we finished the song together! That was fun! I couldn't hear myself at all, but I was told it sounded pretty good!

Today my tired body actually slept in until 8:30am! It never does that! Dressed by 10am, I ran some errands and came back and immersed myself into a new novel, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles, by Dominick Dunne. If you read my blog you probably remember me raving about a documentary I watched on him a couple of months ago. I've been on a Dominick Dunne kick ever since and the novel (his first of 5) is fun, juicy, and captivating. High society murder and all that goes with it.

It's been a good 2 days and the weather has been gorgeous. And now I'm revitalized and ready to take on the week and all it has to throw at me. Bring it on!