The fire that's closest to our home is the Santiago Fire. We saw it on Sunday on our way back from Tamecula wine country and it's still burning. We are also close to the fire near San Clemente. Air quality is very poor so the kids had been kept in door from Monday through Wednesday. Today, the whole school district is closed and we will know more about school situation for Friday later tonight.
It's so sad to learn that this disaster is caused by an arson. Many homes destroyed and fire fighters injured.
I'm praying for rain. Lots and lots of rain to distinguish all the fires we have in Southern California.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Good for another year
I went for my follow up mammogram yesterday and hubby went with me. I was nervous all morning and finally we face the music together. I felt stronger when he's besides me.
I had a different mammogram technician this time and she warned me that it's going to hurt more because the area where they saw a change in density in the area near my chest and it's not an easy area to squash. Next year, I'm taking some Advils before the torture process.
Tech: "We want to capture a really flat area and hopefully you don't need to do the ultrasound"
Once the Xrays were taken, I went back to my little dressing room, still wearing my little gown and waited for the Dr.'s interpretation of the Xray. I flipped through the travel magazine for a long time and decided that I want to visit Europe and Japan before I leave this earth. I came across a page about San Antonio Tx. It showed a happy couple enjoying the River walk. I've been to San Antonio in August and it was hot, humid, nothing as serene as the picture. Could the pictures about Europe and Japan be misleading also? hm...
After a long ass wait, the mammogram technician told me that the ultrasound technician will come and get me when she's ready.
"Holly crap, that's not a good sign."
After more waiting, the ultrasound technician came, took me to the examining room and started the examination. She said that everything looked normal to her but she took some pictures and let the doctor make the final call.
After more excruciating waiting pain in the room she said that everything is normal and nothing to worry about. I'm good for another year.
When I shared the good news with hubby, I felt the weight came off his shoulder too. He was puzzled why it took me so long where as other ladies came in and out quickly. It's because I had to wait for the Dr to interpret my result on the spot.
I'm so.. thankful that my twins are good for another year. After the test, we celebrated the good news at the South Coast Winery Restaurant in Costa Mesa. I had the seafood pasta and it was creamy and tasty. Plenty of muscles, baby scallops, shrimp and fish. Hubby had a steak sandwich and he said it was OK.
I had a different mammogram technician this time and she warned me that it's going to hurt more because the area where they saw a change in density in the area near my chest and it's not an easy area to squash. Next year, I'm taking some Advils before the torture process.
Tech: "We want to capture a really flat area and hopefully you don't need to do the ultrasound"
Once the Xrays were taken, I went back to my little dressing room, still wearing my little gown and waited for the Dr.'s interpretation of the Xray. I flipped through the travel magazine for a long time and decided that I want to visit Europe and Japan before I leave this earth. I came across a page about San Antonio Tx. It showed a happy couple enjoying the River walk. I've been to San Antonio in August and it was hot, humid, nothing as serene as the picture. Could the pictures about Europe and Japan be misleading also? hm...
After a long ass wait, the mammogram technician told me that the ultrasound technician will come and get me when she's ready.
"Holly crap, that's not a good sign."
After more waiting, the ultrasound technician came, took me to the examining room and started the examination. She said that everything looked normal to her but she took some pictures and let the doctor make the final call.
After more excruciating waiting pain in the room she said that everything is normal and nothing to worry about. I'm good for another year.
When I shared the good news with hubby, I felt the weight came off his shoulder too. He was puzzled why it took me so long where as other ladies came in and out quickly. It's because I had to wait for the Dr to interpret my result on the spot.
I'm so.. thankful that my twins are good for another year. After the test, we celebrated the good news at the South Coast Winery Restaurant in Costa Mesa. I had the seafood pasta and it was creamy and tasty. Plenty of muscles, baby scallops, shrimp and fish. Hubby had a steak sandwich and he said it was OK.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
5 grains of Sand
On Saturday, I got the unwanted letter from the imaging center asking me to make a follow up appointment for further testing on my right breast (mammogram and ultrasound). Even though the technician had prepared me for this possibility, getting it still made me worry. Logically, I know worrying isn't going to help the situation so I tried to distract my self by keeping busy with the kids and reading.
The fact that October is breast cancer awareness month, I'm reminded of the test, when I'm at the store, in the gym, and can't escape from reality.
On Sunday, I was picking up some milk and as I was checking out, the cashier asked if I want to make a donation for breast cancer research.
Me: “ Sure. I just had my mammogram done last week and I’m hope these scientists find a cure soon.”
Checker: “ I’m going in every 6 months. They found calcium build up in my breasts and @#$!%^&$$ tumor @#%*%$%. Early detection is the key.”
Me: “Definetely!”
After she mentioned "calcium built up", I felt like Charlie brown and stopped registering what she came out of her mouth . My mind wondered off to my own uncertainty, what would be come of me? Will I be in her shoes?
I shared this calcium built up conversation with hubby and he tried to keep things in perspective and reminded me that we are lucky to have the imaging center that has the high-resolution digital X-ray system. It's better to know now than later.
On Monday, I talked to one lady to make sure our insurance covers the cost of 2nd mammogram and she shared her breast cancer experience with me. I'm share with you my dear reader because it’s important for us to understand the significance of mammogram.
A while a go, S went in for her annual mammogram and they found five tiny cancer cells the size of a grain of sand. She had the option
After I got the letter, I did some more research on the subject and found this informative website that shows the differences in Xray between calcification and cancer cells. The Xrays are toward the bottom of the page.
Let's hope this episode of my life is much ado about nothing.
The fact that October is breast cancer awareness month, I'm reminded of the test, when I'm at the store, in the gym, and can't escape from reality.
On Sunday, I was picking up some milk and as I was checking out, the cashier asked if I want to make a donation for breast cancer research.
Me: “ Sure. I just had my mammogram done last week and I’m hope these scientists find a cure soon.”
Checker: “ I’m going in every 6 months. They found calcium build up in my breasts and @#$!%^&$$ tumor @#%*%$%. Early detection is the key.”
Me: “Definetely!”
After she mentioned "calcium built up", I felt like Charlie brown and stopped registering what she came out of her mouth . My mind wondered off to my own uncertainty, what would be come of me? Will I be in her shoes?
I shared this calcium built up conversation with hubby and he tried to keep things in perspective and reminded me that we are lucky to have the imaging center that has the high-resolution digital X-ray system. It's better to know now than later.
On Monday, I talked to one lady to make sure our insurance covers the cost of 2nd mammogram and she shared her breast cancer experience with me. I'm share with you my dear reader because it’s important for us to understand the significance of mammogram.
A while a go, S went in for her annual mammogram and they found five tiny cancer cells the size of a grain of sand. She had the option
- Get a lumpectomy to remove areas where these cells were found but there’s still 30% chance that the cancer will return.
- Remove the whole breast and 0% chance that cancer will return.
After I got the letter, I did some more research on the subject and found this informative website that shows the differences in Xray between calcification and cancer cells. The Xrays are toward the bottom of the page.
Let's hope this episode of my life is much ado about nothing.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Time test part II
Danielle's teacher emailed me and her reply wasn't so helpful. Her solution to my inquiry is this one summary page in her homework binder that shows hints on how to help our kids with math for the whole year. As far as time test 1 & 2, she said the concept is counting on. So for counting on we get a line liner explanation on that paper, not enough details so I know what I'm suppose to do at home. She also mentioned that the time test should not be a high pressure and I should not worry and assure her she will eventually pass. I guess she could take the same test 10 times, statistically, you will eventually.
My goal is to pin point the concept she's not learning so we're more efficient with time instead of going over the things she already know.
I emailed her back confirming what she was referring to as far as counting on.
Me: " You mean addition of X+1 or +2 or +3 where X can be any number from 0 to 21?"
Teach: " I don't have the binder in front of me so ask Danielle to bring her binder to me tomorrow and I'll go over it with her"
That was a surprising reply when I was expecting "counting on" is being taught in class at the moment and she would give me several ideas off the top of her head on how to review the same concepts at home.
That same night, I forgot to give Danielle instructions to bring the binder to her teacher so as expected, the teacher did not initiate to show Danielle the page she was referring to in her email.
Last night, I was preparing dinner in the kitchen and I asked Danielle
Me: "How was school today?"
D: "Good."
Me: "Did anything exciting happened in class?"
D: "Not really.."
Me: "Was there any tests going on?"
D: " YES, we had our math time test and I think I know what I did wrong. I made the mistake of 7+? =.... Hmm. I can't remember it now.."
I was all excited about her revelation which could be a false alarm
Me: "Did you pass?"
D: "I don't know, we didn't get our test back yet."
Me: "Ms. B didn't have time to grade them?"
D: "No. Parent volunteers grade them, not Ms. B"
That's one of the missing puzzle piece to solve my riddle. It explains the vague reply I got when I asked her for the specifics. She didn't grade the tests so she has no idea what concept my child is or isn't learning. We're going to have lots to talk about during our next parent teacher conference. It's not easy being a teacher so I'll help as much as I can.
My goal is to pin point the concept she's not learning so we're more efficient with time instead of going over the things she already know.
I emailed her back confirming what she was referring to as far as counting on.
Me: " You mean addition of X+1 or +2 or +3 where X can be any number from 0 to 21?"
Teach: " I don't have the binder in front of me so ask Danielle to bring her binder to me tomorrow and I'll go over it with her"
That was a surprising reply when I was expecting "counting on" is being taught in class at the moment and she would give me several ideas off the top of her head on how to review the same concepts at home.
That same night, I forgot to give Danielle instructions to bring the binder to her teacher so as expected, the teacher did not initiate to show Danielle the page she was referring to in her email.
Last night, I was preparing dinner in the kitchen and I asked Danielle
Me: "How was school today?"
D: "Good."
Me: "Did anything exciting happened in class?"
D: "Not really.."
Me: "Was there any tests going on?"
D: " YES, we had our math time test and I think I know what I did wrong. I made the mistake of 7+? =.... Hmm. I can't remember it now.."
I was all excited about her revelation which could be a false alarm
Me: "Did you pass?"
D: "I don't know, we didn't get our test back yet."
Me: "Ms. B didn't have time to grade them?"
D: "No. Parent volunteers grade them, not Ms. B"
That's one of the missing puzzle piece to solve my riddle. It explains the vague reply I got when I asked her for the specifics. She didn't grade the tests so she has no idea what concept my child is or isn't learning. We're going to have lots to talk about during our next parent teacher conference. It's not easy being a teacher so I'll help as much as I can.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Frustration
Danielle gets math time tests twice a week. In theory, reviewing her addition flash cards should help her with passing these tests. Last week, she passed the 1st test on her 1st try and that helped built her confidence. On 2nd test, she got 35 out of 36 so I wasn't too concerned. When I asked her if the teacher reviewed the test with her and she said no. The test got thrown out so the kids can't memorize it and she's not aware of the mistake she made. During our homework time, I make up a mock test with random numbers that adds up to be 21 and gave her 3 min to finish the test. With my test, she had 10 questions left after 3 min was up and she got frustrated and cried because she could not finish the test in time. I told her that my test may be harder because I knew she's able to solve the easy ones. As long as she did her best, I don't care how many times it takes her to pass the test.
Yesterday, she took the 2nd test again and also scored 35 out of 36.
Me: "Was it hard or easy?"
D: " It was easy."
Me: "Did you have extra time at the end to check your work?"
D: "I did check my work and it's all right."
Me: "It's hard for me to guess what we need to work on not knowing what you missed."
D: " May be it's my hand writing because I had to go really fast and I usually take my time to write neatly but not during time test."
Me: "You may be right. Can you write a little neater next time?"
D: "Yeah. I know I can pass test 3 because all the numbers add up to ten"
Me: "I'm sure you will pass this one too once we figure out what concept you've forgotten from 1st grade. "
Me: " Remember you did time test at 1st grade and you went all the way to 19?"
I emailed her teacher to asked for some recommendation on how to help her from home. I know she can do the math; however under pressure, mistakes happens.
Why can't the kids move on when they get 97% correct? The principle may know the answer.
Yesterday, she took the 2nd test again and also scored 35 out of 36.
Me: "Was it hard or easy?"
D: " It was easy."
Me: "Did you have extra time at the end to check your work?"
D: "I did check my work and it's all right."
Me: "It's hard for me to guess what we need to work on not knowing what you missed."
D: " May be it's my hand writing because I had to go really fast and I usually take my time to write neatly but not during time test."
Me: "You may be right. Can you write a little neater next time?"
D: "Yeah. I know I can pass test 3 because all the numbers add up to ten"
Me: "I'm sure you will pass this one too once we figure out what concept you've forgotten from 1st grade. "
Me: " Remember you did time test at 1st grade and you went all the way to 19?"
I emailed her teacher to asked for some recommendation on how to help her from home. I know she can do the math; however under pressure, mistakes happens.
Why can't the kids move on when they get 97% correct? The principle may know the answer.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Mammo techonology
I got my mammogram done today and the technician was very proud of the latest and greatest digital imaging system they have instead of the film type mammogram system they had 6 months ago. I asked the technician what were the advantages of the digital vs. film version. Instead of saying the machine was able to generate higher resolution images, she said " It's like regular camera vs. digital camera or better yet regular TV vs. HDTV".
Digital or not, the intensity of crushing of the boobs are the same. I was hoping that the machine doesn't require boobs to become pancake before taking images but that ain't going to come true any time soon. She also warned me that I might get a call from the radiologist because of the higher resolution images so I should not be alarmed because they rather error on the safe side than vice versa. I pray that my twins are happy and in good health
October is breast cancer awareness month so I'm wearing the pink bracelet and got the pink bow pin that I'll put on my jacket.
I'm in the middle of reading Kafka on the shore and I'm more into the book now than before. Unexplainable weird things are starting to happen and two stories starts to merge together. Listening to this book opens up my desire to read more about Greek tragedies, really think about metaphors and irony of real life vs. fiction.
Note to self:
1st appointment is better than last appointment of the day. Shorter wait and staff members are still fresh= more friendly, less grouchy. Arriving earlier than appointment time also help since there will be surveys to fill out. NO Deodorant please.
Digital or not, the intensity of crushing of the boobs are the same. I was hoping that the machine doesn't require boobs to become pancake before taking images but that ain't going to come true any time soon. She also warned me that I might get a call from the radiologist because of the higher resolution images so I should not be alarmed because they rather error on the safe side than vice versa. I pray that my twins are happy and in good health
October is breast cancer awareness month so I'm wearing the pink bracelet and got the pink bow pin that I'll put on my jacket.
I'm in the middle of reading Kafka on the shore and I'm more into the book now than before. Unexplainable weird things are starting to happen and two stories starts to merge together. Listening to this book opens up my desire to read more about Greek tragedies, really think about metaphors and irony of real life vs. fiction.
Note to self:
1st appointment is better than last appointment of the day. Shorter wait and staff members are still fresh= more friendly, less grouchy. Arriving earlier than appointment time also help since there will be surveys to fill out. NO Deodorant please.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Going to bed early
On Saturday, around 5PM, we went over to Secondo’s friend JJ’s house to play and I had to give them 15 minute going home warning around 6:00 PM because JJ goes down at 7PM. Both girls love going to JJ house because Danielle likes his dogs and Secondo likes his toys. Danielle was protesting
D: “ Why do we have to go home so early? It’s one hour before 7PM.”
Me: “ Well JJ has to get ready for bed at 6:30”
D: “ So we have 30 min to play instead of 15 min?”
Me: “We have 15 min so JJ’s dad has 15 min to get ready to put JJ to bed.”
We ordered Pizza for diner so I was able to use Pizza as the incentive for them to leave JJ’s house.
We took the kids to the park on Sunday afternoon and met up with her friends from school for a play date. When we got home, hubby gave the girls their baths and Danielle announced that she’s going to sleep at 7 PM so I asked her why.
D: “ This way I can get up at 5 AM and have more time to get ready for school.”
Me: “ That’s fine with me.”
She actually got in bed around 7:30 and she said that it took her a while to fall asleep but when I woke up Monday morning at 5:30, she was already up and was reading in her room.
Hubby and I were hoping Secondo would go to sleep early but she went to bed at her normal time.
When she got home from school Monday afternoon, I asked if she's tired and she said no but she'll go to bed early still. After a quick dinner, we went to her piano lesson and she fell asleep during the short drive to her teacher's house. I think she was tired and didn't play as well as she could have if she was fully awake.
D: “ Why do we have to go home so early? It’s one hour before 7PM.”
Me: “ Well JJ has to get ready for bed at 6:30”
D: “ So we have 30 min to play instead of 15 min?”
Me: “We have 15 min so JJ’s dad has 15 min to get ready to put JJ to bed.”
We ordered Pizza for diner so I was able to use Pizza as the incentive for them to leave JJ’s house.
We took the kids to the park on Sunday afternoon and met up with her friends from school for a play date. When we got home, hubby gave the girls their baths and Danielle announced that she’s going to sleep at 7 PM so I asked her why.
D: “ This way I can get up at 5 AM and have more time to get ready for school.”
Me: “ That’s fine with me.”
She actually got in bed around 7:30 and she said that it took her a while to fall asleep but when I woke up Monday morning at 5:30, she was already up and was reading in her room.
Hubby and I were hoping Secondo would go to sleep early but she went to bed at her normal time.
When she got home from school Monday afternoon, I asked if she's tired and she said no but she'll go to bed early still. After a quick dinner, we went to her piano lesson and she fell asleep during the short drive to her teacher's house. I think she was tired and didn't play as well as she could have if she was fully awake.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Back to school night : 2nd Grade
Talk about feeling heavy, I certainly felt the bricks coming down on my shoulders after being informed on what my child will be learning as 2nd grader, daily, weekly and for the whole school year.
SERENITY NOW….
Changing to more lighter and funny subject
Last night, for a brief moment, I turned on the TV and Dolly Parton was singing 9-5 while the professionals were dancing on the floor. I noticed how skinny she’s getting and how her small frame accentuate her large breast even more than before. We all went to bed before knowing who got kicked off the show and I had the dream that I had a boob job gone wrong. They were shaped like pyramids and there’s nothing the doctor could do to fix it. I blame Dolly for this wicked dream of mine. I'm happy with what I have and will not get an augmentation even though most of my neighbors have one.
- Reading: 20-30 min, every day through out the whole year. As parents, we are encourage to ask open ended questions about the plot, compare and contrast characters in the book vs. people we know and also asked our child to prediction of how the ending is going to be.
- Writing: All 2nd graders are expected to write grammatically correct sentences with punctuation, and capitalization etc. They also have a journal that they keep to write down their free flowing thoughts, and ideas.
- Spelling: The school has cut down the number of words the kids need to learn on the weekly basis so I’m SO happy about it.
- Math:
- Number sense
- Place value of whole numbers to 1000
- Addition and subtraction of 2 and 3 digit numbers with regrouping ( not sure what regrouping means)
- Algebra and functions
- Measurement ( metric vs. English units of measure for length, volume, area and perimeter)
- Geometry
- Statistics
- Data analysis
- Probability
- Problem solving
- Science
- Earth Science: Rocks, soils, fossils
- Physical Science: Learning about motion, sound energy and magnetic energy
- Life Science: Life cycle
- Social Science
- Government
- Exploring Family Roots
- People who supply our needs
- Cultural difference etc..
- PE: My favorite subject in school but not Danielle’s. School’s expectation are basic: participation and sportsmanship so that to me is the easiest subject out of all. Shows up, give it your best and don’t feel bad if you loose. I plan to work with Danielle on jogging and softball to build some self-confidence out in the field.
SERENITY NOW….
Changing to more lighter and funny subject
Last night, for a brief moment, I turned on the TV and Dolly Parton was singing 9-5 while the professionals were dancing on the floor. I noticed how skinny she’s getting and how her small frame accentuate her large breast even more than before. We all went to bed before knowing who got kicked off the show and I had the dream that I had a boob job gone wrong. They were shaped like pyramids and there’s nothing the doctor could do to fix it. I blame Dolly for this wicked dream of mine. I'm happy with what I have and will not get an augmentation even though most of my neighbors have one.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Feeling heavy
For the pass few days, I've been having this heaviness feeling on my chest which required me to purposely taking deep breaths to get rid of this feeling. Have I forgotten how to breath properly?
I recently found a Shiatsu place by work and decided give it a try. My regular Tui-na lady broke her arm so it'll be a while before she's able to work with her hands. I was expecting a Japanese lady for the Shiatsu but she turned out to be Chinese. I told her areas of my aches and pains and she asked if I wanted traditional Shiatsu or Chinese ba-guan mixed with massage. Ba-guan is a technique using suction cups on are of pain and promote circulations. I decided to go with ba-guan because I've had success with that before. She told me that her technique is really call fei-guan (flying cups) because she used light levels of vacuum and flies over the back quickly. Fei-guan felt pretty good. On the lower back area where I felt sore, she left the cups there a little longer. During the massage sessions, she asked me to practice deep breathing. She'll pushes harder on my back as I exhale and she asked me to extend my exhalation as long as possible. It felt as if I was practicing yoga breathing while she's working on my muscles. When I forgot to breath, she'll breath loudly as a reminder so I worked hard breathing while she worked on my back.
She felt too much tension on my shoulder and her advice was to relax and rest.
I recently found a Shiatsu place by work and decided give it a try. My regular Tui-na lady broke her arm so it'll be a while before she's able to work with her hands. I was expecting a Japanese lady for the Shiatsu but she turned out to be Chinese. I told her areas of my aches and pains and she asked if I wanted traditional Shiatsu or Chinese ba-guan mixed with massage. Ba-guan is a technique using suction cups on are of pain and promote circulations. I decided to go with ba-guan because I've had success with that before. She told me that her technique is really call fei-guan (flying cups) because she used light levels of vacuum and flies over the back quickly. Fei-guan felt pretty good. On the lower back area where I felt sore, she left the cups there a little longer. During the massage sessions, she asked me to practice deep breathing. She'll pushes harder on my back as I exhale and she asked me to extend my exhalation as long as possible. It felt as if I was practicing yoga breathing while she's working on my muscles. When I forgot to breath, she'll breath loudly as a reminder so I worked hard breathing while she worked on my back.
She felt too much tension on my shoulder and her advice was to relax and rest.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Workout, Reading & Food
Hubby took the day off today so I was able to take the 5:30 AM cycling class which I normally couldn't because of the kids. I like the class because it's not crowded and it kicked up my metabolism to face the day. In class I noticed this lady who shrunk so I congratulated her and of course asked her how she lost so much weight. She told me that she went on weight watchers, continued with working out and lost 30 pounds.
Workout log:
Time: 1:08 min. (I kept the monitor on while driving home)
Cal: 496
Ave heart rate: 147 b/min
During class, the instructor announced that she'll be teaching a 3 hour ride next Saturday to raise money for MS. Can I ride for 3 hours? Hypothetically it'll take off 1500 calories from my body but then I'll be dead tired and non-functional for the rest of the day.
I just started reading/listening Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami on my drive in to work. So far I barely know Kafka who time traveled and the story jumped to Mr. Nakata who's taking advice from a cat that speaks a "common language to human". It may be one of those stories where I have to go back and re-read the first couple of chapters to complete the circle.
On with my favorite topic, food
I've been meaning to post this Vietnamese shrimp egg roll that mother in law orders when we have get togethers or birthday parties. It tasted like typical egg roll except the exterior has more crunchy bits and there's a shrimp wrapped in the middle of the fillings.
Above is my version of Pad ke Mow, which I learned to make from my Thai friend #2. It wasn't a big hit at the party because I didn't add any Thai chili. There were lots of left over so I had this dish for a week, got tired of it and have yet give it a 2nd chance. Very similar to Chinese chow-fun plus basil and chili.
This is virgin Mojitos, contribution of Angie. It is tangy and sweet, perfect drink for the hot summer days we've been getting lately. The downer is that I saw how much sugar she added so I had one small glass with lots of ice.
Main ingredients are
Workout log:
Time: 1:08 min. (I kept the monitor on while driving home)
Cal: 496
Ave heart rate: 147 b/min
During class, the instructor announced that she'll be teaching a 3 hour ride next Saturday to raise money for MS. Can I ride for 3 hours? Hypothetically it'll take off 1500 calories from my body but then I'll be dead tired and non-functional for the rest of the day.
I just started reading/listening Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami on my drive in to work. So far I barely know Kafka who time traveled and the story jumped to Mr. Nakata who's taking advice from a cat that speaks a "common language to human". It may be one of those stories where I have to go back and re-read the first couple of chapters to complete the circle.
On with my favorite topic, food
I've been meaning to post this Vietnamese shrimp egg roll that mother in law orders when we have get togethers or birthday parties. It tasted like typical egg roll except the exterior has more crunchy bits and there's a shrimp wrapped in the middle of the fillings.
Above is my version of Pad ke Mow, which I learned to make from my Thai friend #2. It wasn't a big hit at the party because I didn't add any Thai chili. There were lots of left over so I had this dish for a week, got tired of it and have yet give it a 2nd chance. Very similar to Chinese chow-fun plus basil and chili.
This is virgin Mojitos, contribution of Angie. It is tangy and sweet, perfect drink for the hot summer days we've been getting lately. The downer is that I saw how much sugar she added so I had one small glass with lots of ice.
Main ingredients are
- Lime juice
- Carbonated water
- Sugar, lots of sugar.
- Slices of mint leaves
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Nothing particular
I read other people's blog and they acknowledge and celebrate the birthday of their blog where as I, can't remember when I started blogging. When I looked back, I can't believe I've been blogging for over 3 years. I recalled the day when I emailed Mir and told her how uncomfortable I was sharing my thoughts on cyberspace. I'm too vulnerable! Writing is not my strength and who wants to be judged for creativity, writing style, grammar,& content? Right around that time is when my grandmother from my mom side passed away. Mom and dad went back but I wasn't there for the funeral which made feel guilty. I felt that my time on this earth is quite limited and I wasn't really connecting with my brother who lives up north, my aunt in Indonesia nor my old friends as much as I liked. Back then, I enjoyed reading Bulleye's entries about poker tournaments, Fresno's hot's entries about his gripes on certain products but as time goes by, they stopped blogging yet I continued. I still keep their sites on my favorites hoping one day when I click the link and I'll be surprised by a new entry.
Look back, I've lost some blog sites but met some really cool friends over the years. Some days blogging does feel like a chore when I have other more pressing things on my plate and I'm not sure if anyone out there still interested in reading my stuff.
Look back, I've lost some blog sites but met some really cool friends over the years. Some days blogging does feel like a chore when I have other more pressing things on my plate and I'm not sure if anyone out there still interested in reading my stuff.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Last month of swim lessons
Danielle had a short break and she started up with private swim lesson last Saturday. She did really well with back stroke and her teacher said that Danielle took instructions well and we, the parents should continue to bring her to the pool to practice so that does not regress too much by next summer. She also said that it's good to mix up private lessons and group lessons so the kids can encourage each other and see what they are capable of learning.
I also signed Secondo up for swim lesson for toddlers. She did not like being dunk in the water but she loved playing in the pool. The lesson is more for me on how to encouraged her to kick, moved her arms and blow bubbles in the water.
After swim lessons, we went to my company picnic. They served BBQ chicken, BBQ steak, hotdogs, burgers, & fruit salads. They had raffles with the main prize being Wii and other stuff (toys, gift cards, pillows, etc) that we could put our tickets into if we are interested. Like last year, we did not win anything. The picnic is very much the same as the year before so I'm planning to participate in the planning meeting to change it up a bit for the coming year.
We went to Barnes & Noble after the picnic to check out the new Magic Tree House book "Monday Mad Genius" for Danielle. Danielle read all the other Merlin mission so she was really excited with book # 38 and finished reading the whole book. I didn't get to read much because I was busy putting things on the shelf after Secondo took toys off the shelf. She's not the type that will sit still for 5 minutes on her own to read a book. She would rather explore the book store, play with toys or have me read with her.
I also signed Secondo up for swim lesson for toddlers. She did not like being dunk in the water but she loved playing in the pool. The lesson is more for me on how to encouraged her to kick, moved her arms and blow bubbles in the water.
After swim lessons, we went to my company picnic. They served BBQ chicken, BBQ steak, hotdogs, burgers, & fruit salads. They had raffles with the main prize being Wii and other stuff (toys, gift cards, pillows, etc) that we could put our tickets into if we are interested. Like last year, we did not win anything. The picnic is very much the same as the year before so I'm planning to participate in the planning meeting to change it up a bit for the coming year.
We went to Barnes & Noble after the picnic to check out the new Magic Tree House book "Monday Mad Genius" for Danielle. Danielle read all the other Merlin mission so she was really excited with book # 38 and finished reading the whole book. I didn't get to read much because I was busy putting things on the shelf after Secondo took toys off the shelf. She's not the type that will sit still for 5 minutes on her own to read a book. She would rather explore the book store, play with toys or have me read with her.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Back to School
Today is Danielle's 1st day of school as a 2nd grader. It's exciting for her, new clothes, lunch box, back pack, and school supplies. It was nice to see some familiar faces in her new class and everyone appeared taller and have more front teeth than 3 months ago. Her teacher seemed kind and caring so I hope she doesn't get shuffle around because the principal does re-shuffle students to combination classes based on true attendance. One minor issue I dislike is that her class room is a pre-fab, portables or trailer. It's not that big of a deal, just something she'll get used to. I was there at 7:30 AM and the heat was unbearably hot. The principle provided option for the kids watch cartoon during recess instead of playing outdoor.
I recall that 2nd graders get tested so I'm going to look into it on parent's night next week.
I recall that 2nd graders get tested so I'm going to look into it on parent's night next week.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
this i believe
One of the CD that was on the shelf of the library was this I believe. I've heard this segment on NPR once in a while and am glad that they've decided to compile the essays into a book so had to borrow and listened.
So far I liked Be cool to the pizza dude essay.
So far I liked Be cool to the pizza dude essay.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Kids & Reading
This past weekend was nice and low key which is what I've been longing for a while. No commitment to anyone other than Danielle's play date.
Saturday started with my usual upper body weight lifting & boot camp workout followed by Danielle's friends who are sisters, coming over for a play date. Let's call the two girls N who is 7 years old and B who is 8 years old. They've been wanting to come to our house ever since we have our hamster. When they saw the hamster they got excited about man handling our hamster which made me nervous. We don't normally let the hamster run around the house freely unless it's in a rigid plastic ball. After they got bored watching the hamster inside the ball, the girls ran up stairs with the hamster and I thought they were going to put it back in her little cage. While playing with Secondo, downstairs, I started to hear loud thumbs on the ceiling. When I checked on them moments later, they had the hamster running around on Danielle's bed.
Me: "Please keep the hamster in the ball because it poops frequently"
B: "We know, look at how many poops are in the ball!"
N:"He did poop on Danielle's bed so I picked it up and put it in the ball."
Me: "That's it girls, put the hamster back in the cage and go wash your hands. It's time for lunch"
They pointed out to me that they've put pillows on the foot of Danielle's bed to prevent the hamster from hiding under the bed in case the hamster ran away from them.
It was interesting to see that even at the age of 2, Secondo wanted to tag along and be accepted as part of the older girls group. She wanted to tag along in Danielle's room and her older sister didn't want any part of that. She'll say: "Hey guys, come back here!" but girls went on with and left her out. Her friends however,were a little more attentive to Secondo and didn't completely shut her out. During lunch, B sat next to Secondo and when Secondo mentioned that her chicken nugget was hot, B would wrap it with a tissue paper and asked Secondo to hold the tissue instead of direct contact to the nugget. When Secondo ate all her nugget and wanted more, N offered to share half of hers with Secondo. Danielle on the other hand didn't want anything to do with her little sister. I know deep down she loves her little sister but she's not generous with sharing her things with Secondo. She would only give Secondo things that she doesn't really care for.
In Mandarin Chinese there's a word called "rang" which translate to yield in English. As an older sibling, one of the phrase I heard all the time growing up is "Jie-jie rang di-di" which means, Older sister should yield to younger brother in many situations let it be toys, food, or TV shows. Older child has the responsibility to let younger child have his or her ways because little ones can't understand the meaning of yielding. I know Danielle felt resentment towards me because I asked her to rang mie-mei (little sister) often when Secondo acts up and I can't get her to snap out of it.
While they were watching Disney Channel, I went to the library alone to return and borrowed some more books. I was so happy that I found 1001 books you must read before you die at our local library. It's a thick and heavy book with little excerpts of what the book is about. After reading "Never Let me go", I do agree that it's one of the must read book even though the first several chapters seemed boring and irrelevant. It's one of those book that I'm re-reading again to tie the links together to better understand the story. The first set of books that I'm reading will the the ones that are on CD so it's going to be ones written after the year 2000. Within that bracket,there are 69 books to choose from so I'm going to rotate authors between different nationalities. Has anyone read the book "Life of Pi"? I've read mixed reviews about this book and I'm curious about how good it really is. Please let me know your take of the book if you've read it already.
When I got home the girls were getting ready to go swimming and again Secondo felt left out staying home with mom & dad.
After dinner, Danielle and I played Mario party 8 on Wii and we had fun teaming up battling computer characters Yoshi and Toad.
Saturday started with my usual upper body weight lifting & boot camp workout followed by Danielle's friends who are sisters, coming over for a play date. Let's call the two girls N who is 7 years old and B who is 8 years old. They've been wanting to come to our house ever since we have our hamster. When they saw the hamster they got excited about man handling our hamster which made me nervous. We don't normally let the hamster run around the house freely unless it's in a rigid plastic ball. After they got bored watching the hamster inside the ball, the girls ran up stairs with the hamster and I thought they were going to put it back in her little cage. While playing with Secondo, downstairs, I started to hear loud thumbs on the ceiling. When I checked on them moments later, they had the hamster running around on Danielle's bed.
Me: "Please keep the hamster in the ball because it poops frequently"
B: "We know, look at how many poops are in the ball!"
N:"He did poop on Danielle's bed so I picked it up and put it in the ball."
Me: "That's it girls, put the hamster back in the cage and go wash your hands. It's time for lunch"
They pointed out to me that they've put pillows on the foot of Danielle's bed to prevent the hamster from hiding under the bed in case the hamster ran away from them.
It was interesting to see that even at the age of 2, Secondo wanted to tag along and be accepted as part of the older girls group. She wanted to tag along in Danielle's room and her older sister didn't want any part of that. She'll say: "Hey guys, come back here!" but girls went on with and left her out. Her friends however,were a little more attentive to Secondo and didn't completely shut her out. During lunch, B sat next to Secondo and when Secondo mentioned that her chicken nugget was hot, B would wrap it with a tissue paper and asked Secondo to hold the tissue instead of direct contact to the nugget. When Secondo ate all her nugget and wanted more, N offered to share half of hers with Secondo. Danielle on the other hand didn't want anything to do with her little sister. I know deep down she loves her little sister but she's not generous with sharing her things with Secondo. She would only give Secondo things that she doesn't really care for.
In Mandarin Chinese there's a word called "rang" which translate to yield in English. As an older sibling, one of the phrase I heard all the time growing up is "Jie-jie rang di-di" which means, Older sister should yield to younger brother in many situations let it be toys, food, or TV shows. Older child has the responsibility to let younger child have his or her ways because little ones can't understand the meaning of yielding. I know Danielle felt resentment towards me because I asked her to rang mie-mei (little sister) often when Secondo acts up and I can't get her to snap out of it.
While they were watching Disney Channel, I went to the library alone to return and borrowed some more books. I was so happy that I found 1001 books you must read before you die at our local library. It's a thick and heavy book with little excerpts of what the book is about. After reading "Never Let me go", I do agree that it's one of the must read book even though the first several chapters seemed boring and irrelevant. It's one of those book that I'm re-reading again to tie the links together to better understand the story. The first set of books that I'm reading will the the ones that are on CD so it's going to be ones written after the year 2000. Within that bracket,there are 69 books to choose from so I'm going to rotate authors between different nationalities. Has anyone read the book "Life of Pi"? I've read mixed reviews about this book and I'm curious about how good it really is. Please let me know your take of the book if you've read it already.
When I got home the girls were getting ready to go swimming and again Secondo felt left out staying home with mom & dad.
After dinner, Danielle and I played Mario party 8 on Wii and we had fun teaming up battling computer characters Yoshi and Toad.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
I'm gonna love you.....
Check out this cool video made by my friends Patricia, Greg and her crew . Aren't they creative?
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Change in life style
I recently had a physical where they did the routine blood work that showed my blood cholesterol was borderline on the high side. When I discussed the result with hubby and some friends their natural advice were to minimize shrimps and other seafood that have high cholesterol content. I also recalled a conversation with my friend Patricia who’s husband is also working on reducing his blood cholesterol.
Me:"Does it mean that G can’t eat shrimps and crabs anymore?"
P: "Not really. He has to reduce his saturated fat intake."
After researching on the subject of blood cholesterol vs. cholesterol content, I’m happy to report that my friend Patricia was 100 % right. I don’t have to give up eating my favorite food in the world, seafood but I do have to reduce intake of trans fat and saturated fat which if found in food such as coconut milk, butter, cheese, ice cream, red meat. Even though shrimp has high cholesterol content, it doesn't increase blood cholesterol. Such a relief to know that shrimp is not bad for me because I still can eat Tom Yum Kung as long as I don’t add coconut milk in it anymore. I used to cook curry with coconut milk, eat dessert with coconut milk but now I'm going to take it out of my recipes and replace it with skim milk when possible.
I've also started to eat oatmeals for breakfast and that is suppose to lower the LDL/bad cholesterol. Researches showed that oatmeals only lowers it by 2-5% after 2 month so all the advertising on the oatmeals being the sponge for cholesterol is not 100% true.
Me:"Does it mean that G can’t eat shrimps and crabs anymore?"
P: "Not really. He has to reduce his saturated fat intake."
After researching on the subject of blood cholesterol vs. cholesterol content, I’m happy to report that my friend Patricia was 100 % right. I don’t have to give up eating my favorite food in the world, seafood but I do have to reduce intake of trans fat and saturated fat which if found in food such as coconut milk, butter, cheese, ice cream, red meat. Even though shrimp has high cholesterol content, it doesn't increase blood cholesterol. Such a relief to know that shrimp is not bad for me because I still can eat Tom Yum Kung as long as I don’t add coconut milk in it anymore. I used to cook curry with coconut milk, eat dessert with coconut milk but now I'm going to take it out of my recipes and replace it with skim milk when possible.
I've also started to eat oatmeals for breakfast and that is suppose to lower the LDL/bad cholesterol. Researches showed that oatmeals only lowers it by 2-5% after 2 month so all the advertising on the oatmeals being the sponge for cholesterol is not 100% true.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Food I like to eat
I don't really know what to write today so I'm going to share pictures of food we ate last June to celebrate our My wedding anniversary.
We used our good China for the occasion and it adds mouth watering feature to the Tom Yum Kung which I'm salivating over as I'm writing this post. The difference between this version versus your standard on is that we added coconut milk which gave it a richer taste. My mom likes this version but personally I prefer the traditional version without the coconut milk.
This appetizer shrimp kebob is also my favorite. It's really easy to make and tasty. Marinate the shrimp in chopped up garlic, chili powder, tiny bit of salt and olive oil for 30 min. When you are ready to grill, add a little lime juice give it a little tangy flavor. I apologize for the picture being a bit blurry.
The rice dish is Indonesian Fried Rice/Nasi Goreng. It's very easy to make especially if you have a jar of the Kokita Nasi Goreng Sambal in your pantry. You can find it at 99 Ranch Supermarket off of Jeffery, Irvine. I throw in eggs, mixed veggies, ham and shrimp. The flash is too strong for this picture so may be natural lighting would have been a better.
Here is Pad Thai made by my friend P. It's a low fat version made with egg substitute and if anyone is interested, I'll ask her for the recipe.
This is my mom's creation of soy sauce marinated short ribs with tofu and eggs. Every one loves this dish from adults to kids. I'll post the recipe at another time.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Random Thoughts
- I'm craving salty food so I've been eating potato chips today.
- It's that time of the year for the annual OB/GYN check up so I called up my Dr's office for an appt. and the earliest appointment available is in Nov. I hope the mammogram office can give me an appt sooner than Nov. Sigh..
- I'm starting a new book titled "Never Let Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro and not really into the story after listening for 3 chapters. Everything so far is vague and difficult to relate to so I'm going to give it a break for now or I'll fall asleep driving home. With the Author's name being Kazuo Ishiguro, I thought the story would take place in Japan. It came highly recommended so I'll give it another chance when I'm more alert. I may start listening to "The world is flat" and see how interesting that book is.
- My folks are leaving for Taipei, Taiwan because my friend Jo's Father has colon cancer. The Doctor told her family that he doesn't have much time left. Sigh... He's over 80 and lived an interesting life in China and Taiwan.
- This week is Danielle's last week of swim lessons for August. I hope she'll remember all her stokes for September.
- The rebuilt transmission of our Odyssey broke last week and we had to get it fixed again. I hope the newly rebuilt transmission will last at least 3 years.
- We attended 3 birthday parties last weekend and that was exhausting. First was a Pokemon theme at a park for a 7 year old, 2nd was Cinderella theme for a 2 year old and 3rd was Surfer dude theme for a 2 year old by the pool. I'm glad that next birthday get together is in Sept.
- Secondo has a tendency to poop at public places.
- We were at the Library on Sunday to borrow some books and she pooped there. 4:30PM
- We were at Target last Saturday, shopping for gifts and she pooped. 11:45AM
- We were at the waterpark and she pooped there too. 6:30 PM
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Working out, a love hate relationship.
I usually arrives to my Sunday cycling class 1 hour before the class starts in order to a) to ensure I get a bike and b) upper body weight training. I noticed that other folks who take the same cycling class are doing the same but one person that grabbed my attention is a gray hair older gentlemen who took the class every single week even though he lives far from this gym. He seemed to be older than my dad and he's in really good shape. He usually kept up with what the instructors asked of us and made me realize that there's no racial and age boundaries in sports and I am my one true competitor.
In my working life, there are seniorities or connections people may have with certain individuals that can get them further in their career even if their performance is average or less than average. I rarely observed or experienced occasions where hard work and dedication alone were able to get one self promoted at the reasonable rate.
In cycling, that man can easily beat me or anyone else because his hard work and diligent training. Only if I train harder and smarter, I'll be able to beat him in a race. There's no glass ceilings for women to overcome.
I've ended my 4 am workout after doing it for 2 weeks. Waking up that early was taxing on me and effected my performance as a wife, a mom and a human being in general. I was cranky, resentful, forgetful, wore my gym shorts backward one day and basically functioned as a zombie. It's amazing how hubby is able to continue with his AM workout and he does show fatigue when 8PM rolls around every night.
I still kept up with my lunch time walking and spent more time in the pool to reinforce Danielle's swimming skills. I'm still formulating a better plan that works with the needed beauty sleep I so need.
Last Tuesday, one of the Kickboxing instructor declared that she has been cancer free for 2 years and reminded us how lucky we are that we were healthy enough to workout.
I do appreciate that I'm healthy and able to workout regularly with some minor aches and pains here and there. I'm also proud of hubby who still workout even when his toe hurts like hell due inflammation.
In my working life, there are seniorities or connections people may have with certain individuals that can get them further in their career even if their performance is average or less than average. I rarely observed or experienced occasions where hard work and dedication alone were able to get one self promoted at the reasonable rate.
In cycling, that man can easily beat me or anyone else because his hard work and diligent training. Only if I train harder and smarter, I'll be able to beat him in a race. There's no glass ceilings for women to overcome.
I've ended my 4 am workout after doing it for 2 weeks. Waking up that early was taxing on me and effected my performance as a wife, a mom and a human being in general. I was cranky, resentful, forgetful, wore my gym shorts backward one day and basically functioned as a zombie. It's amazing how hubby is able to continue with his AM workout and he does show fatigue when 8PM rolls around every night.
I still kept up with my lunch time walking and spent more time in the pool to reinforce Danielle's swimming skills. I'm still formulating a better plan that works with the needed beauty sleep I so need.
Last Tuesday, one of the Kickboxing instructor declared that she has been cancer free for 2 years and reminded us how lucky we are that we were healthy enough to workout.
I do appreciate that I'm healthy and able to workout regularly with some minor aches and pains here and there. I'm also proud of hubby who still workout even when his toe hurts like hell due inflammation.