Girls' Day 2011 to welcome a new year!

Let's be brief.  Dentist appointment.  Chinatown for lunch afterwards.  A restaurant called Little Taipei.

Tomato and Beef for Dad

Egg and Beef for me

Mediocre dishes.  Good for lunch, but not very flavorful!   Moving on!

But first.  While eating, I looked down at my spoon and saw a birdie! :)

Little Taipei

9126 Bellaire BlvdHouston, TX 77036

~*~

Next day, my parents drag me out of the house (I can't stop sleeping!) and took me to a little fish market in Seabrook!  When I woke up from my nap in the car, I found myself on a little dry street lined with fish markets.

And here we are!

My parents said that they went to Rose's Seafood since they started a long, long time ago.  Before, they occupied just a tiny space in the basement area, but now they moved upstairs and work in a larger room.

Mom and Dad selected one whole salmon, and it cost $48.  @_@  Wow, expensive!  But we can eat it for a long time!

Lotsa, lotsa fishies!

One of these salmons is going home with me >:3

Ocean!

They sell "sushi grade" fresh fish too ^^  See the tuna?

Cleaning up the fish and chopping it into steaks

Rose's Seafood

501 Waterfront Drive

Seabrook, TX 77586

We divided the steaks into two piles and gave half to a family friend ^^  Then my mom started prepping for dinner, and I went out into the backyard to play!  ... and sleep.  haha :P

We always tease Bacardi for stinky breath, but who knew she would take up flossing?  She walked up to us with a little blue thing in her mouth, and it turned out to be a box of floss!  

Tee hee~

Balto looking mischievous as usual :)

After walking around in the back with them for a while and making barking noises with them, I plopped myself on the ground and looked up into the sky.  Soooo sunnyyyyyy!  I closed my eyes and felt at home.. but then the sun disappeared.  When I opened my eyes, I saw a giant Balto!  Ahhhhh~  What a cutie ^^  Then it started to rain.. and it turned out he was drooling on me D:

So big!

*pant pant*

My mom ran out after she was done with setting up the salmon and took up my camera.  She took so many photos of us @_@  Haha, look at these pictures in sequence!

To the left,

To the front, (don't we look alike? :P)

To the -- Blehhh! *slobbery!*

Yuuush, that's a good boyyy

Kiss kiss

*chomp!*  Anyone ever watch Snow Dogs? ;)

If not, biting a husky's ear is supposed to make you dominant.  I've done it too many times to count, and Balto still thinks I'm a silly girl.  When I was laying on my stomach, he even jumped and stood on me with his paws on my butt!  I'm definitely not his alpha-male...

Zzzz..  *both of us drooling*

~*~

Tracy was leaving the day after New Years, so the girls planned a day of hanging out!  We've never played with just us and not the guys, so this would be a first.

Why does this feel like a prom picture ? :P  (I look really tall, because I'm on higher ground!)

I was driving all six of us in the CRV, so when I pulled out of the garage and saw them lined up, I grabbed my camera, rolled down the windows, and snapped away!  All my friends have modeling potential!~~

^_^

Dimsum for lunch!  We got there before 12 noon, and Dim Sum King was totally filled, so we drove to Ocean Palace, which was also packed, but with a few tables left!

Irene and Cathy are only two diners out of 2328392 here!

There are carts full of cages of dim sum, but for some foods, you have to go up to an area to pick up yourself.  Like the rare vegetable in dimsum- gai lan / jie lan / Chinese broccoli!

Diakon and Taro cakes

Pick up!

My childhood favorite (河粉 he fen, rice noodles with beef inside) :D

Irene loves her BBQ buns! ^^  "So goooood..."

Dim sum cart!

Afterwards, we went to Juicebox for dessert.  Four of them shared shaved ice with fruit and ice cream, and Tracy got Jujube Tea. :)

Ting, Irene, Lindsey, and Cathy :3

Cathy and Tracy :)

Tracy being a model, har har :P

We decided to go Downtown to check out Discovery Green.  It was my first time in the area, so I was really excited!  Finding parking was challenging, and I had to parallel park.  The funny thing was that it was the last spot before the intersection, so it was actually an easy spot to park into.  But the other five girls had to coach me how to back up into the spot, hahaha!  >w<  So fun!~

We got out and walked to the park, and found the smallest ice skating rink ever :P  It looks bigger in the picture ;)  But still extremely awesome how they can have an outdoor skating rink in 71F weather!

Horse ride anyone?  This horsie looks very sad :(

There was a little pond in the middle of the park, and the six of us hogged the dock for a good half hour or so! :D

:D

Model #1 - Tracy!

Model #2 - Lindsey! 

Accidental Model #3 - Cathy (she didn't know, but still so natural!)

Tracy and Ting

Irene and Ting proposing... at the same time?  Ha ha~

Tracy being a man!

Buildings all around

"Awkward poses, go!"

Jumping photo!  Haha, I think Irene wins on this one!  XD

We walked to the field nearby and started entertaining ourselves.  Tracy, Irene, and I tried doing cartwheels at the same time, but we failed :P  I think Irene and I are pretty close, right?

Tracy, me, and Irene

Irene is wearing pants underneath her dress, just f.y.i. ;)

Looks like Tracy's break dancing or doing the splits!

Trying to do hand stands :)

We hopped back into the car and drove to the Galleria.  Thank goodness for GPSs and iPhones.  Tracy and Ting guided me around the highways!  There was a huge Christmas tree in the middle of the ice skating rink.  I wonder how they got it there..  After visiting two stores and walking around, we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, because the stores were closing early for New Years.  It was Lindsey's and Cathy's first time! ^^

:o

Why won't you look at me, Cathy?!

Bread, nom nom

Goldfish?

The Cheesecake Factory has too many menu choices-- I got ordering anxiety >_<''''  but then I picked Shepherd's Pie, and it was pretty good, especially the meager vegetables beneath the mashed potatoes <3  I was so proud of myself that I didn't finish the whole thing :D  I took the leftovers to go for home!  New healthy eating for 2012?

First time to use flash for a picture in a while!

We got back home at around 9pm, and we all went back to our own homes to take a break for a bit before heading over to James' house for the New Year's party.  The past 10 hours with the girls made me so happy :')  I really hope we do this in the future some more, and maybe the other girls who couldn't make it this time will be able to!  I also made the girls promise me that if I don't get married in the future, they would have to go travelling / hang out with me ;)

The New Year's party was really joyful too!  There were lots of kiddos, and we chit chatted :)  Ting and Cathy made sangria, and it was pretty!  At midnight, we gathered around the table and rang glasses (and styrofoam cups).  When I downed my sparkling apple cider, the bubbly feeling going down my throat was just a reminder of my effervescent happiness ^^  Another year since I met all these great people, some from elementary, several from middle school, and a few from high school, and I really enjoy my time with them!~

Happy New Years, 2012, everyone!  I hope this year will be the greatest one yet!~  ^__^