Growing old together... with Wii?

The Wii was supposedly one of the most gifted items this past holiday season. That was certainly the case in the Hwang/Hsiao household. Mark's parents and my parents BOTH ended up getting us a set of Wii (+ extra games) and Mark had gotten me the Wii Fit game as part of my present as well (hinting that I should work out more...). So, of course, Mark and I have been pretty obsessed with this ingenious entertainment for the last couple of weeks (it's a great distraction from wedding planning). Sometimes we stay up till the wee (no pun intended) hours of the night playing ping pong (Wii Sports game) against each other; other times we race each other collecting coins in race cars (Mario Super Kart game - I suck at this game).

The most addictive one to-date, though, has been the Wii Fit game. First and foremost, it pronounces my Wii Fit age as an impressive 48, thanks to my lack of coordination and balance. Apparently, Mark is my junior at age 41. Sadness. With ages comparable to those a generation above us, we decided it was time to get fit, via Wii Fit. So, we battle it out in balance games like soccer (I recently passed the 300 pt mark!!), table tilting (you have to see it to get it), and exercises like the yoga tree pose.

Is this what Mark and I are going to be doing up until we get very very old? As a marketer, the beauty of the Wii is the amazing number of new "category" users the game has brought, from the traditional young kids to old seniors who host Wii Tennis tournaments in senior homes! And yes, I can see Mark and I continuing to compete against each other in Wii games (I continue to kick his a*s in boxing while he slaughters me in tennis) until we are in our 80s.

That's the thing about marriage. With the engagement, the future between us seemed to have extended to the far, far distant. It was no longer a 6-month or 1-year view forward; we started looking at our plans in the next 3-5 years, 10 years, 20 years. Most of it are, of course, unknowns, but there is something comforting in knowing that there is someone you love so much that you will grow grey hair with. Maybe I will continue to kick his a*s in boxing and he with me in tennis when we are 85. Or maybe not.

Thankful for the 4 Fs

Mark here. We are thankful for so much this year. Family (now including AMY!), friends (our friends and any random people reading this), food (lots of it in our tummies), and Pho (we really like pho and there will be more details to come on that). Amy is making a monster chilean seabass with miso glaze. It's been marinating really hard. Her parents are cooking a turkey and chinese sticky rice. Also there will be a pumkin cheesecake (made by Amy as well) to feast on. We are bringing over an early xmas present for Amy's parents in the form of a Nintendo Wii! We are looking forward to burning off the 4000 consumed calories by playing Wii golf and bowling. I'll be using the Wii for periodic exercise to work off my man boobs for the big day! Passing the baton to Amy now!

Hello! Yeah - it's Thanksgiving - one of my favorite holidays! Mark and I took some break from wedding planning the last few days to catch up with our lives. I must say, it was quite refreshing to not have to think about it for a few days!! :) Did I mention I've bought my dress already? Yes - very excited about that. And yes, we don't have a site or date picked out yet, but as it turned out, the dress has been purchased. :) If I may say so myself, it's a beautiful dress by Monique Lhuillier that I am in love with. Apparently, when a dress starts haunting you, it means it's THE dress. Having tried it on 3 separate times, the dress is tried and true and meant to be THE dress for me. We are down to a couple of options for the wedding site - Berkeley faculty club vs. San Francisco gallery Terra (with a ceremony site TBD). We'll have to do some spreadsheet work this weekend to nail down the place and move on with wedding planning! Alright, gonna rest up before the big meal. This is Mark's first Thanksgiving with me and my family. The Wii battle should be a fun addition to this family gathering!! Hope you are enjoying this turkey/tofurkey/toducken day!

PS. Did anyone notice how Mark spelled "marinade"? How is it possible that "marinaTe" is a correct spelling of "marinade" when the spelling reminds one of "urinaTe"??? Alas, according to the WWW, both are acceptable. So, I didn't win or lose that bet.

xoxo,
m&a