Pozadzides Chronicles

The Pozadzides

2011 Spring Vacation – Touring Key West’s Old Town & Shops

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IMG_5061We spent the day exploring Key West. Jenny, Kate and I visited the Old Town, had Key Lime pie from Key West Key Lime Shoppe, toured the Shipwreck Treasures Museum, visited the Key West Aquarium and then found our way back to South Beach and Southernmost Beach Cafe & Bar for fun in the sand and food in the bellies.

Kate had such a find time today. As we walked through the Old Town, she got to touch sponges from the ocean, we bought her a very bohemian dress, and her little mind experienced new sites, sounds and American Capitalism at is best. She has always loved fish and the aquarium was probably her favorite spot. She touched her first star fish, nurse shark and silver dollar. Also, she loved meeting the rock crabs, shrimp and lobster, turtle, jelly fish, Clownfish (“hey, there’s Nemo), the various anemone, lots of shellfish, seeing the big shark.

Oh, and most importantly, Kate rode her first surf board. While it was on sand, she “hung 10” better than any other almost 1.5 year old.

Here are some pictures from our day: [Read more…]

2011 Spring Vacation – Fort Lauderdale & The Keys

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IMG_4862Jenny, Kate and I escaped the daily grind in Houston and headed for Southern Florida… We all agreed (especially Kate) that it was time for a family vacation and a post-birthday celebration for Jenny. Over the last fifteen months, we’ve taken Kate to Los Angeles, Austin, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Orlando, Chicago, and Tahoe. So for a change, we decided to head east (and south) to Key West.

Our trip started in Fort Lauderdale as we decided to break up the long travel days into bite size pieces. So, we booked a room at The Westin Beach Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale for our first night. We arrived around 1PM and made our way to the hotel. After some refreshing we hit the beach and Kate got to put her toes in the Atlantic for the first time. Note: Kate did not like bare feet on sand. After our beach trip, we ate an early dinner at Shula’s on the Beach. Kate is a Mac-N-Cheese nut, so she was in heaven when her Lobster Mac & Cheese arrived. Jenny and I enjoyed a few glasses of wine and fish. We retired early to get rest for our leisurely drive to Key West.

IMG_4902The next day, we loaded up and hit the road. We stopped for lunch and play in Key Largo at The Island Grill. This is such a cool restaurant, overlooking the water with beach access. After eating Mac-N-Cheese, seaweed salad and a tuni steak, we hit their beach and just relaxed. This trip has no time tables and is simply a “play it by ear” vacation. After a while, we hit the highway and arrived in Key West in the early afternoon. [Read more…]

Fall 2011 Photoshoot

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Fall 2011 Photoshoot-27While the summers are painful in Houston, the winters are so mild to kinda makes up for the other blistering months. Jenny, Kate, little Sophie (still kicking and punching inside Mommy) and I headed out to the Japanese Gardens in Houston to memorialize this time in our life. Sophie should be joining us in just two month, and Jenny is amazingly mobile all things considered. Kate is coming up on her second birthday and eagerly awaits her new sister. Recently, we gave Kate a little doll to start practicing how to carefully touch, hold, and play with a baby. She is so excited to be a big sister and frequently talks to her sister through mommy’s belly.

We hope you enjoy this snapshot of our lives: [Read more…]

2010 Christmas Dinner Party

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2010 Xmas-27This year, we celebrated Christmas Dinner ’10 with family and friends at our house. After our two Thanksgiving dinners, we were pretty tired of Turkey, Ham and Brisket, so we opted for Steak, Scallops, Shrimp and Fish. It was good and we have plenty of left overs to munch on for the next few days.

Joining us this year, was our grandmother (Ba Noi), Anthony, Marie and Mary (Jenny’s parents and sister), John Sr. and Tilda (my father and step-mother), Co Hong and Tam (our aunt and cousin) and Michael and Henry (our good friends). We had a great time and I’ve not received any calls alerting me of food poisoning (thank goodness). [Read more…]

Jenny Throws Kirk A Birthday Vacation To Austin

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2010 Austin Trip-27I’ve got the best wife… Every year for my birthday, Jenny plans a big gathering. This year, Jenny invited some of our closest friends to Lake Travis in Austin where we rented a large house for several days. We never left the house and used the time to catch up with each other. Everyone cooked their share of fantastic meals, we played board games for the first time since I was 16, found some new music (thanks Michael A.) and much more.

A big thanks to my wonderful wife for once again outdoing yourself. Also, thanks to Theresa, Mike & Amber; Michael & Henry; Lisa & Adrian, Annie & Tom; Michael & Melanie. Also, big thanks to Kate for being such a big girl and Max for your good behavior.

Here’s a few pictures from our weekend. [Read more…]

Austin Day Trip w/ Friends

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Lake Travis Trip-11What a great weekend… Yesterday, Jenny and I made a day trip to Austin to hang out with our close friends (Theresa, Mike & Amber, Lisa, Michael and Michael & Henry) and celebrate:

  • Lisa’s completion of residency and her new job as an anesthesiologist
  • Michael & Henry’s new home purchase in Rice Village, a dream location
  • Michael Alvares’s acceptance into UT Southwestern’s Allergy and Immunology Fellowship
  • Jenny’s completion of Internal Medicine and her new job as a Hematology & Oncology Fellow at MD Anderson
  • Theresa’s completion of Internal Medicine and her new job as a Renal Fellow at UT Houston
  • …and, of course, our pregnancy!

Here are a few pictures of our day: [Read more…]

Port O’Conner Fishing

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Port OConner-23Justin, Kevin, Shawn and I spent the weekend fishing in Port O’Connor, TX;just two hours from Houston. This is a small coastal town between Galveston and Corpus Christi.

We had a blast and caught some fish. Unfortunately, you won’t hear any BIG fish stories… We were fishing for speckled trout over 15 inches… much smaller than Marlins we’ve caught in the past! According to the locals, the fish don’t seem to be biting well this year. However, Bo (our guide from MS Guide Service found us the right spot to catch eleven. Sadly enough, the Department of Fishing and Wildlife allows for 10 fish per person/day.

For lunch, we took half our fish to Josie’s Mexican Restaurant. They grilled up our fish for fajitas. For dinner, we took the remaining fish to Clark’s Shrimp House for some fried fish. Good eats!

Below you’ll find some pictures and video proof that the boys caught fish. [Read more…]

2009 Greece Trip w/ Jenny, Tom, Annie & Me

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Our Adventures Through Greece

Exploring Paros-41Here’s a quick summary of our adventures through the mainland and islands. Jenny, Tom, Annie and I enjoyed fresh seafood, watched amazing sunsets, explored ancient ruins, jumped into the Aegean Sea, tore up the roads on ATVs, imbibed Greek wine and relaxed in the Mediterranean.

Here are our guides to Athens, Rhodes, Santorini, Paros and Aegina. Within you’ll find pictures, a few recommended hotels, definite places to visit and more. [Read more…]

Greece – Tough Economy For Locals, But Relaxing For Tourists

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spendicusJenny and I both agree there is never a good time for vacation… These days our demanding work load, personal and professional commitments and challenging economy make it tough to “get away!’ We had a fantastic Greek adventure with great sights, tastes and memories. As always, we would wish for more time together in such a beautiful country.

Most importantly, Jenny and I feel fortunate! Greece is struggling! It’s easy to focus on Greece’s natural beauty and forget its third world status. [Read more…]

Greece – Tasty, Fresh Greek Cuisine

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Greek Food_405To say we ate well is an understatement. Throughout our trip, we ate fresh fish, tried new exotic foods, and sampled different interpretations of classic dishes.

All food is expensive in Greece. The Euro has distorted prices in Greece and created export demand for many of Greece’s staple products like fish, meat, even produce. Fresh fish is typically sold at 30-60E/kilo in Athens and the islands. Convert that to US Dollars and we pay dramatically less for much higher quality fish. [Read more…]