The Year-Ender yet again.

Okay, I have to write this one all over again. Last year deserves more than a puny little post.

FAMILY
Dad(actually D's dad) retired on January. We think he's enjoying retirement and is now becoming a stock expert. Although he is one of the most well-respected people in his field, Dad still cleans up Mom's koi pond for her. Now that's amore!

We welcomed little JellyBean on May 9. He decided not to wait for his June 11 C-section appointment. So May 9 it was, all 4 pounds 3 ounces of pure happiness delivered at Stanford's LPCH in Palo Alto. His daddy wonders if it feels weird to be Filipino-Japanese-American.

We also welcomed Troy's new wife, Milka to our family in July. She's a top dermatologist from Brazil and we like getting free services. Hehe. Even better, she's a really nice sweet person and she cooks to-die-for stroganoff.

We bid Papa Boy farewell in December. Papa is my greatest hero, teacher, friend, taskmaster(!) and father(actually my grandfather. long story here). I am extremely blessed and lucky to have been raised by him. I love my grandfather.

FRIENDS
I have lots of them! My Filipina friends here in San Francisco are a fun crazy bunch. Remember Judeeta's lingerie party? That was one of the fun-est things ever. I love a good belly-aching laugh. Let's have another girls only party this year. For Winnie's baby shower, eh?

My friends from work are enjoying their lives up in the snowy sections of the Reno/Tahoe area. They finally get to snowboard everyday just like they wanted.

I'm fortunate to have great friends everywhere. Thanks for all the laughter, the shoulders to cry on, the ears to whine on, the computers you use to chat with me online and read my blog. Although I have been told that this is not a girl thing to say, I still will say: YOU ROCK!

HAVE NOTHING. WILL TRAVEL.
So last year, I went to Denver, Reno, Spokane to support D's volleyball tournaments. His team made it all the way to Junior Olympics. On the personal side, we went to Hawaii in September for his Uncle Richard's funeral. Then in December, I went back to the Philippines for my Papa's funeral.

OOPS!
The past year, one of the biggest events was that a truck rear-ended my two-month-old shiny(read: dustless) brand new BMW while I was five months pregnant. Good thing JellyBean turned out okay. I would have gone ballistic otherwise.

OOH!
Oh, did I mention I got lots of cool toys last year? Well, I have to tell you, my hubby spoils me BIG TIME! Last year, he got me a MacBook Pro for my birthday, iphone just 'coz (yes, I bought Apple stocks. ticker's AAPL) and a dSLR for christmas!

SO...
Last year was the best and the worst of my life. JellyBean was born but Papa died. I hope in 2008, the bell curve doesn't have two peaks at opposite ends. Maybe just one peak on the happiness side. :D