It's almost that time of year now... Halloween!

I've never been one to really get into the Halloween spirit and get dressed up... but there HAS been a few times that I can recall. In chronological order, here are all the times I dressed up for Halloween...

1) "Strawberry Shortcake" (age 8?) - (Does anyone remember this cartoon from way back?) I got into costume along with all my classmates in the 3rd(?) grade and we joined the "Costume Walk" as our entire elementary school paraded around the school grounds showing off our costumes.

2) "Witch" (age 13?) - I went trick-or-treating with my sisters around the neighborhood dressed as a witch. All I remember was that the pointy black hat was a pain to keep on!

3) "Farmer Girl" (10 years ago) - I decided to get into the spirit of things that year so I went to work dressed up as a farm girl in my overalls, flannel shirt, hair in pigtails, and even had a small pig stuffed animal hanging out of my overall pocket. For someone who hadn't dressed up in costume for at least a decade, this was a big deal for me. But what did I see when I walked into the office that morning? I was the only one in costume... *hrmph* Well that pretty much crushed my Halloween spirit for a long time since.

4) "Candy Girl" (5 years ago) - I didn't know what we were trying to dress up as, but 6 girls all wearing hot-pink wigs, pink tops, mini skirts and boots walking around town together after the Halloween parade equals MAD FUN! Check out the blog and photo that I put up 2 years ago.

5) "German Beer Girl" (last year) - Last year's AnD Halloween Party made costumes mandatory (plus everyone I knew was secretly plotting elaborate costumes for it), I decided to crawl out of my "crushed Halloween spirit" shell and join in on the fun. At the last minute, I found a "beer girl" dress, a long blond wig, and wore a beer can around my neck. The result? A lot of people thought I was Heidi of the Swiss Alps. Haha... If you missed my photo last year, check out the blog here.

There you have it... yes, in my entire life, I've only dressed up for Halloween FIVE times so far! I'm sure I'll have more opportunities to get into the spirit (especially if AnD continues throwing their annual costume parties). Sadly I'll be missing this year's event since I'll be spending Halloween in London this year, and so far without any costume party plans there. But never fear, there's always next year....

What are some of your most memorable costumes?



In the meantime, pumpkins are popping up everywhere around the Bay Area... out on front porches, decorating stores, for sale at the local pumpkin patches around town... The other weekend my family took the kids (my niece and nephew) out to a pumpkin patch in Fremont where we (especially the kids) got in on some "pumpkin-picking" fun!


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

While being back in San Francisco, I'm enjoying the cooler but comfortable and (most importantly) non-humid weather here. I especially love walking or jogging along the Embarcadero on a beautiful day, after the morning fog burns off, leaving an afternoon of clear blue skies and a fantastic view of the Bay Bridge!






Inside the Ferry Building, there's a nice indoor gourmet marketplace with eateries and shops that sell fresh organic produce, wine and cheese, gelato, teas, mushrooms, and more. I love how easy it is to find fresh organic fruits and vegetables here in the Bay Area.


I'll try to take more photos of SF as I explore different neighborhoods of the city while I'm still here. More to come...

This content is only viewable by site members. In order to view, please first login or sign up for FREE.

Recently I did a photoshoot with AnD artist, actor/model Darren E. Scott on the back streets of Hong Kong with several different looks. First there was a "tough guy"/"bad boy" look which we found a cool alley with graffiti-covered walls to shoot in. Then we went for a professional look, after which I found a dark construction alleyway to shoot in to get a bit of a moody, mysterious "CSI" feel. Finally we shot a casual jeans look.

I liked how a lot of the photos turned out in black & white, so here are some of my favorite shots from the photoshoot. (Darren already posted up his selection on his blog.) Enjoy!

One of the things I miss about not living in California is the weekend ski/snowboarding trips that my friends and I used to take out to Lake Tahoe in Nevada (a 3-hour drive away) every winter. Unfortunately, the last time that I ever went skiing or snowboarding was about 7 years ago. Since moving away from California, I simply haven't had the opportunity to go again... until now.

Last month I joined some friends for a week-long ski/snowboard trip to Niseko in Hokkaido, Japan. I was starting to feel the itch to go skiing and snowboarding again after all these years, so when Janelle and Dan invited us on this trip, I jumped at the chance. And I'm glad I did...

The snow was fantastic during the first half of the trip, freshly fallen soft powder snow... I skied the first 2 days and switched to snowboarding for the following 3 days. Since this was only my third time snowboarding since first taking lessons about 9 years ago, I was still beginner's level and haven't picked up on the toe-edge yet, so I've just been cruising down using the heel-edge to steer and slow down. This was a lot more tiring than carving so I had to stop and rest constantly. But I had some big improvements over the few days of snowboarding and got to be fairly comfortable going down even the steeper portions of the slopes.

I gotta say that between skiing and snowboarding, I love snowboarding more... I find it to be a lot more fun and exciting, and I feel like I can slow down and stop myself more easily than on skis so I'm able to go down the steeper parts of the slopes more comfortably. Not to mention it just looks cool (well, when you're not falling on your @ss, that is) and the boots are much lighter and less painful to walk in than ski boots.

P.S. Thanks to Patrick, Vicky and Janelle for loaning us some of your snow clothes!

Can't wait until the next snowboarding trip! I'm determined to learn toe-edge next time!

Here are some photos from the trip...

The view from the top of a long run, about two-thirds of the way up Mt. Niseko.



Posing with hubby and our friend Thomas.


Time for snowboarding! Yeahhhhhh~ =D (Although the sun had just set at this moment so I was freezing in this photo. Brrrr)


Janelle and Dan tearing down the slopes like pros.


The food in Niseko was absolutely delicious! We ate a different style of Japanese food for each meal. We had some delicious yakitori, tempura, sukiyaki, ramen, izakaya, and soba noodles (pic below). Plus, the crabs in Hokkaido are hands-down some of the sweetest crabmeat that I've ever tasted! =9