2020
a year in review
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In 2020...
In 2020...
We kicked off the new year with a delicious breakfast at Jeff's parents' house and when we got home we saw that our new mattress has just been delivered.
Breakfast by Jeff's Mom
Nina was so excited to set up the new mattress that she jumped right in!
Who's killing it?
Who's killing it?
February is ~still~ the epic birthday month for our family, which also touts Valentine's Day. This year it was Nina's turn to show off her culinary prowess. Jeff started the evening with some flowers and a bottle of Piper-heidsieck Rose Sauvage.
Nina and her Valentine's Day Flowers
For dinner, Nina tripled down on our love for seafood with a chawanmushi topped with sea urchin and salmon roe, sautéed scallops over pea and mint purée with sesame salt and seaweed caviar and a lobster angel hair pasta.
Valentines Day Dinner by Nina
There was a moment Jeff saw Nina staring into the sink of live lobsters, which left him scouring the internet for the most humane ways to handle the situation. The internet has instructions for everything!
After the seafood courses, Nina presented roasted lamb with mashed turnip and hen-of-the-woods drizzled with balsamic reduction--pairing nicely with a Sonoma Pinot Noir. To end the meal, Nina dusted the plate with a heart of raspberry dust next to a matcha streusel tart.
Save your self! Run for the hills—with all the toilet paper you can carry!
Save your self! Run for the hills—with all the toilet paper you can carry!
March started out with Covid-19 as the new topic of conversation. By the time mid-month rolled around, Jeff was being told to take things home from work as if he wouldn't be coming back for a while. On his way back, Jeff found himself on both BART and Caltrain teeming with a post-apocalyptic tenor. Our offices pivoted quickly and we started working from home.
Nina Working From Home
Empty BART During the Evening Commute
Picked-over shelfs at Trader Joe's -- No TP anywhere!
Family Facetime Happy Hour Session
Hunker down
Hunker down
The next four months were a blur. Jeff grew out his pandemic stubble into a full beard—the fullest he had ever grown. Nina took up gardening on our balcony with herbs, succulents and flowers. We added a regiment of diet and exercise and Jeff was the healthiest since his days backpacking. We also got busy with home renovations such as repainting kitchen cabinets, updating the hardware and wiring up Siri to everything (Nina rolls eyes). And of course, we tried new recipes. In one particular case, in response to Jeff's claim on the box of Cheez-Its, Nina decided to make here own!
Jeff's Grizzly Growth
Nina's Patio Garden
Nina's Homemade Cheez-Its
Repainted Cabinets
Box VR workout on Oculus
One year later...
One year later...
We couldn't believe it was only a year since our wedding. Thankful to be heading down to Carmel-by-the-Sea for celebrating our first anniversary, which was our first trip since the shelter-in-place order, We were happy that we had some safe options like outdoor dining, hiking and sitting on the beach.
Panoramic Selfie of Bixby Bridge, Big Sur
Enjoying Room Service from Jeff's Parents
In August, we also welcomed (virtually) a new addition to our family in Thailand—Nina's nephew, Chun!
Kynn and his new baby brother, Chun!
Ain't nothing but orange skies do I see.
Ain't nothing but orange skies do I see.
In September, we were hit with a heat wave and wild fires. Everything was covered in ashes and the sky turned blood orange.
Our place was not equipped with central air and with the fires causing "purple" pollution levels, we only had a choice of opening the windows or baking in the heat. This prompted us to buy a not-so-portable air conditioner and a crap-load of weatherstripping.
Blood Orange Sky #nofilter
Jeff carrying the not-so-portable air conditioner
Showing a Deep Purple 304 Air Quality Index
Coolest we could get on a hot day
Proud to be an American
Proud to be an American
After a long and complex process, Nina received her citizenship this year through her work. Jeff learned a little bit about US history, quizzing Nina as she prepared for the interview. The citizenship ceremony was canceled because of the pandemic. While that may seem like a negative, instead of waiting for the next ceremony date, Nina was able to safely get officiated that day with a very small group of people. We were excited to come home with her citizenship in time for the election!
Congratulations and welcome aboard, Nina!
Jeff Gave Nina a Passport Ornament
Normally, Jeff attends his company's annual conference called VMworld in person. This year he had to make it work virtually by recording multiple presentations over Zoom.
Green-screen Recording with Microsoft (final video link)
The Great Northwest
The Great Northwest
In October, we decided that they had a narrow window of the relaxed shelter-in-place orders, work-from-home opportunities and weather that would allow them to drag Nina's second monitor across the Northwestern states. With one week of vacation and two long weekends we were able to alternate travel and work remotely from hotels and vacation rentals. We stuck to hiking trails and ordered food in—and of course, cooked a bunch, too!
Counter Clockwise Travel Loop: 4500+ miles, 30 days, 8 states, and 5 national parks
Eating responsibly—at least for social distancing
Nina working from an Airbnb in Salt Lake City, UT.
Jeff with his laptop and open space in Bozeman, MT.
Bonneville Salt Flats, UT
Ruby Beach, WA
Kootenai Falls, ID
Grand Teton National Park, WY
Yellowstone, WY
Mount Rainier, WA
The Holidays
The Holidays
Jeff's Brussels Sprouts Stalk for Thanksgiving
Late Package for Nina's Virtual Holiday Party
Epic Fail Gingerbread House attacked by Apocalyptic Gummies
Nina and Cole Decorating the Pavlova Tree
Anything for a Stable Shot
As a Christmas gift for Jeff's dad, he made a youtube video walking through through the national forests and parks of Wyoming, Montana and Washington with the a bit the Oregon coast. The video was crafted in the style of Apple TV's screensaver videos as his father often plays them in background.
All clips were recorded using an iPhone XS by hand and iMovie to combine them.
Which brings us to the end of 2020, a year of social distancing and making the best of it. We are very fortunate for our health, our family bubble, and our jobs.
We've seen our families and friends impacted by the challenges that the pandemic has brought about and have recognized there are people who put their lives at risk every day. We are extremely thankful for everyone doing what is needed to continue making things work.
We truly wish we could have spent more time with family and friends this year and look forward to being able to do it again.
Thank you for being a part of our lives! Keep safe and healthy!
Nina + Jeff
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