Back from the ruins ... and happy new year!!

Ok so I've been back from Cambodia a week now, and I know I owe tonnes of pictures from my amazing trip there, so here's a little bit of what's been going on lately in the Challenger home :p
Came back just in time for Christmas which was followed by much eating and partying!! Popped by Chris' place on Christmas Eve for some excellent food - the baking goddess texted me a tonne of strange directions but conveniently left out her actual address so we spent a good hour walking in the rain and was contemplating giving up when we suddenly chanced upon her car!! Talk abt divine leading! Made up for the exercise by polishing off most of her yummy sushi and prawn veggies heh.

Christmas morning was spent in bed opening pressies fr each other before it was time to head out for Christmas service. Guess what I got?? A koala plushie Matt commissioned fr makisquarepatch!! With his name on it heh! Which was quite funny cos I got him a flat dolly fr them too! Got him a monkey makiki cos he kept fighting with me for my teddy dolly so I got him his own as a pressie ~ now we're both happy!!

The hubster wanted to do things the way he did back home so I pretty much had to go along with everything he asked. Except when the turkey took longer than usual to prepare, I became a teeny weeny bit grouchy cos I was starving and just whined abt why we decided to cook our own meat in the first place. Not my most wifely moment. Naturally the hubster got upset cos he'd taken all this time to prepare the home for Christmas and I didn't seem the least bit appreciative so blah blah... several sour moments later we made up and had a most wonderful homey dinner of turkey and roast! :)
The 26th saw another Chris' Pantry gathering at Chel's place ~ Chris and Chel whipped up a fabulous feast of Shark's fin Melon Pork rib soup, Watercress Wasabi mayonnaise beef salad, Braised duck with caramelized Onion jam, Garlic mash & blanched Asparagus with Aoli and Basil Panna cotta with Black sesame lace cookies & sauteed apples. Not to mention lotsa lotsa wine!!! (that explains the hangover)

The Cambodian gang dropped by on the 27th where we pigged out on black pepper crabs!! Yummy!! We'd been hallucinating this crustacean delight since Phnom Penh and just had to satisfy this urge ~ Although poor Eddie did suffer some nagging for getting the crabs fr the wrong place haha... and you wonder how Jeremy survived 2 weeks with 3 obnoxious girls :p More angkor wat stories and pictures later!! We had the most fantastic time even though I didn't know Jeremy and Lorraine very well till this trip - our team dynamics was surprisingly great! Looking forward to our next trip already!

Matt's cousin Ann is visiting en route to Sydney so we've been busy showing her the sights around this Little Red Dot ~ unfortunately some Thai food and many beers later (Reading was playing Man U last night), both of them are now feeling not too good in the tummy. Tsk tsk! Need to go play nanny now and plan the tapas menu for 2 more dinner parties at our place over the new year so yup, busy busy still! Had my first bridal fitting on Sat, and I'm so impressed with Margaret! My white and evening gowns look absolutely divine! And totally glammed out! Feels so red carpet haha. Managed to get Val's bridesmaid dress made too so yay, more things ticked off the list! Hmm...maybe it's time to finish those guest lists... :p I'm driving Val nuts with my procrastination heh ~ Work-wise, I've been working on a few pieces wherever I can and I'm just so excited about Oriental Rose' 2007 plans! Ooh can't wait for 2007 already!!