Happy New Year!

As I sit here reminiscing over events in the past year, I am reminded of how gracious and wonderful God has been. Earlier this year, I was able to see two close friends tie the knot with their significant others, and even had the honor of being in the wedding party for one of them. Soon after that, I found out we were going to have a baby, and God blessed me with a fairly smooth pregnancy throughout the nine months. Six weeks ago, I gave birth to an adorable baby girl, and shortly after that, two friends of mine announced the arrival of their beautiful baby boys - one even born on Christmas day! Despite all the economic troubles this country has been in (which unfortunately, none of us are immuned to), I can't help but think that there's more to life than worrying about our finances. I mean, the celebration of two people joined in holy matrimony and the miracle of life! What can be more precious than that? Indeed, 2008 has been a year of great joy for me on a personal level.

Merry Christmas!

We spent baby's first Christmas in Chinatown -- her second trip out to New York since she's been born (first one being her one-month dinner this past Saturday). We woke up a bit later than expected, and I thought we were going to be late for Christmas service, but surprisingly, we got to church right when it started. I had to feed baby K though, so we still ended up missing the first half hour of service. Afterwards, we went over to my mother-in-law's place since it was too cold to roam the streets of Chinatown. She was cooking up a storm so it felt like a sauna in the apartment, the dogs were barking, the bird was screeching - all factors not conducive to getting a baby to go to sleep. We eventually got baby K to quiet down and were confined to spending the whole afternoon in my mother-in-law's bedroom, being that it was too noisy anywhere else, especially with the dogs running around. That evening, we went to M's brother's place for Christmas dinner. As always, there was too much food left over and everyone had to doggy bag some home. At least now, our lunch and dinner for today is provided for.

Baby K was so good all day long yesterday, except at my mother-in-law's place when all the animals were making a racket and when the fire alarm went off (I wasn't kidding when I said my M-I-L was cooking up a storm), which is more than what I can say for her now -- crying like there's no tomorrow. It's as if she knows when she's in the company of strangers (or other family members) and she purposely acts all good and innocent, but when it's just mom and dad around, that's when her true colors come out.

There are some babies where it's hard to tell what their gender is, but I never thought my little one was one of them. I always thought her features were feminine enough that it's pretty obvious she's a girl... or maybe I'm just biased b/c I'm her mother. However, I've had strangers come up to me and question whether she's a boy or a girl. I don't get offended, but I just find it funny b/c baby K is dressed all in pink. Would anyone actually put a baby boy in that color, fully equipped with a pink hat?? I would hope not...

Here's our Christmas cutie giving everyone a little wave:

We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas, and much love, peace, and joy in the New Year!

Nicknames

Here are some nicknames we have for baby K so far:

• Baby-cakes
• Cutie Pie
• Little One
• Chiquita Banana
• Little Egg Roll
• Fussy Baby
• Munchkin

Oddly enough, I don't think we've ever called her by her actual first name. And I have no doubt this list will grow longer as time goes on. It's hard to believe this time last month, we weren't even parents yet! That day at the delivery room seems so long ago now. Time flies. People say babies grow up fast and to enjoy them while we can, but easier said than done, especially when all I hear is her nonstop screaming and crying. All part of the joys of parenthood, I suppose. In any case, happy one-month old, baby K!

Turbulent Weather Week

It was close to 70 degrees on Monday, then it dropped down to about half of that the next day, accompanied by snow, sleet, and rain, and today it mellowed out in the 40s. What a roller coaster week in terms of temperature changes! It was so warm on Monday that we even took baby K out for a walk around the block. Too bad she slept the whole way through, but at least it was nice for mom and dad to get some fresh air. We also paid a visit to our next door neighbor's house to drop off their Christmas gift and to thank them for the little outfit they got baby K. It's interesting to see the types of noise that bother our little one -- she can sleep through the loud, high-pitch barking from our neighbor's dog standing a mere three feet away, but yet the slightest whisper across the room can startle her and cause the beginnings of her incessant crying. Hopefully, the weather will hold up on Saturday, when we have to make the drive out to Chinatown for baby K's one-month dinner.

A Family Of Three

I now realize what people mean when they say having a baby changes your life forever. It has just recently hit me that we are now a family of three, and with a newborn in our hands, the worries and restraints have multiplied exponentially. No longer are we able to take trips to places like Argentina and go trekking on the glaciers (good thing we've been there and done that already). Instead, our days are now filled with dirty diapers and waking up all hours of the night for feedings. This new lifestyle called parenthood is definitely an adjustment, which is nothing we could have prepared for. But despite all the gripes I can make, being a mother is not something I would give up or change for the world.

Baby K is three weeks old today. Life has been a blur to me since I've been home from the hospital. I follow the same routine each day, the majority of it spent in front of the television while tending to baby K. Sadly enough, I can tell you the TV line-up I follow each day from morning to evening. While the media provides some form of mild entertainment, one can only stand so much of Rachael Ray, Drew Carey in The Price is Right, Judge Judy, and the Game Show Network. Maybe one of these days I'll finally muster up the energy to start working on that baby book I got as a gift... not to mention the scrapbook I've been meaning to finish up during the pregnancy. Of course, I'm being idealistic here since it all depends on baby K's cooperation, and one thing I've learned as a new mother - babies tend to do what they want, not what you want. Here's a more recent picture of our little cutie pie:

Happy 1 Week Old, Kayla!

We are proud parents of a beautiful baby girl... part of me still finds it unbelievable. Of course, I am brought back to reality every time I hear the sudden burst of loud crying, which unfortunately, is quite often during the night times. M and I are still trying to nail down a routine for the graveyard shift (and naturally, baby K is not making it easy for us), but we're managing. I'm still recuperating from the aftermath of childbirth, and to be honest, this recovery period is a lot more painful than the actual labor and delivery. It's all worth it though.

Here are some cute pictures of baby K yawning and sleeping. Isn't she adorable?? I've been taking snapshots of her every now and then, but haven't had a chance to download them all yet, so these were taken earlier on from her first day home.

Top 10 List

These are my personal thoughts. Everyone's experience is different. Feel free to share yours by adding a comment.

Top 10 perks of being pregnant:

1. The realization that there is a baby growing inside you.
2. Seeing the baby when you get an ultrasound and hearing the baby's heartbeat at the doctor's.
3. The awesome feeling you get when the baby first moves.
4. The anticipation (and reality) of going (and being) on maternity leave.
5. People holding the door for you.
6. Well-wishes, words of congrats, and compliments about how great you look (even if they're lying) from people, especially strangers.
7. Baby showers.
8. Having the dear hubby wait on you hand and foot. No cooking, no cleaning -- take full advantage while you can!
9. Decorating the baby's nursery.
10. The miracle of LIFE!

Top 10 problems of being pregnant:

1. Abstinence from sushi, coffee, and soda... in general, the need to watch what you eat.
2. Drinking milk and eating yogurt. Ughh... dairy.
3. Bodily aches and pains.
4. The inability to sleep and the constant tiredness.
5. The urge to pee all the time.
6. Forgetfulness, clumsiness, making more mistakes at work.
7. The lack of grace in movement; succumbing to waddling.
8. The constant worrying about the baby... although this is just the beginning!
9. The lack of clothes that fit, especially towards the end of the pregnancy when you've gotten so big to the point that even maternity shirts are a tight stretch across your abdomen.
10. The endless waiting and the unknown of when the baby's going to come.

First Week On Leave

My first week being on maternity leave (or more formally referred to as Short Term Disability, even though I don't feel like I am disabled) was fairly uneventful, but productive. I finally got around to washing all the baby clothes, blankets, towels, sheets, accessories, etc. Despite all the items being so small, there were so many of them that I still ended up doing three full loads of laundry, and I still have clothes beyond 3-6 months that I haven't even touched yet. I also cleaned all the bottles, organized everything in the nursery, ran some errands that I've been putting off, and even attended a Baby & Me class offered for free at our library (focused on sleep and young children... it felt weird being the only pregnant woman there, surrounded by mothers with newborns and young toddlers running around). Mid-week, M and I took a trip to Rutgers University in Piscataway to have our car seat inspected (no thanks to the East Brunswick Police Dept who never called me back!). Good thing we did too, b/c the way we installed it was way off! We also went to the lawyer's office and provided them with all the information needed to draw up a will, but we still need to wait until after the baby's born before filing all the paperwork. At this point, I think we're as ready for the baby's arrival as we can ever be (at least I am). Unfortunately, I don't think the little one feels the same way, since she shows no signs of being ready to come out (despite her running out of room to move around inside of me). One more week to go before her due date! Let's see when she decides to grace the world with her presence!

Here's a picture of what the nursery partially looks like:

Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! The daycare at work had a Halloween parade, where all the kids got dressed up in costumes and walked around the courtyard. I didn't go outside to watch, but a bunch of people brought their kids back to the office, so I hear them running around and yelling every so often. Hard to believe in a year's time, my child could potentially be one of these kiddies participating in this overly commercialized holiday.

Today is my last day of work! WOOHOO!! I finally got in touch with the doctor's office yesterday, after playing phone tag with them for the past three days, and they faxed me a letter indicating I will be unable to work as of November 3, 2008. I was so happy they didn't give me any problems about it b/c I was talking to my other coworker (who's due a week after me), and she said that her doctor wouldn't sign her out unless there was a medical reason why she could no longer go to work (my justification: of course there's a medical reason... you're about to give birth!!).

Yesterday, my coworkers threw a surprise birthday shower for me and two other pregnant ladies due within three weeks of me. I was happy they combined it so that I wasn't the only one in the spotlight. They kept it pretty small though (I think just whoever was on our team) b/c a lot of people didn't know about it. In any case, it was nice of them to organize it... making this my fourth baby shower! I got a lot more clothes for the little one, some bottles, socks, crib sheets, and a wearable sleep blanket. And now that today is my last day of work, I don't have an excuse anymore not to finish preparing for the baby's arrival, like packing my hospital bag, getting the car seat inspected (not for my lack of trying... I left at least three messages for the Police Dept, and not once have they called me back to schedule an appointment), washing all her clothes, and disinfecting her room.

Last night, M and I attended a four-hour long CPR course and got certified - good for two years. We were originally interested in taking a course specifically teaching child and infant CPR, but we called up a bunch of places and none of them were offering it before my due date. We ended up registering for a class geared towards health care providers, covering adult, child, and infant CPR, as well as use of an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) and how to perform the Heimlich Maneuver. I found it useful, but don't know how comfortable I'd be to actually perform CPR or the Heimlich on an actual person if the need arose. The thought of breaking someone's rib cage while giving them chest compressions is a little disconcerting... but then again, with my strength (or lack of), I probably wouldn't be pressing down hard enough for the compressions to be effective. And who knows? All this knowledge will probably go out the door in a panic situation. Well, if anyone is interested, they mailed us two extra booklets and CDs covering the course materials... I can pass that on to whoever wants it.

Too Many Sweets

M arranged for some friends to come over this past Saturday to celebrate my birthday (belated), so on Friday night, he went into a baking frenzy, resulting in an extremely tall birthday cake and many many cupcakes. There were some cancellations at the last minute, so we didn't have as many people show up as originally expected. I'm not a big dessert person (except for cheesecake or creme brulee), but since there was so much of it (and M slaved over the kitchen making everything), I had more cake over the weekend than I normally would. We still ended up taking half the cake and a bunch of cupcakes to church on Sunday. Here are some pictures of M's masterpieces:

(The M&Ms on top of the cake are suppose to spell "H, B, E" for "Happy Birthday Eva.")

(The white on top of the strawberry-flavored cupcakes is really icing, not mayonnaise, despite much teasing from our friends.)

Yesterday, I went for my weekly checkup at the doctor's, and much to my dismay, I had gained four pounds from the week before! FOUR LBS!! In just ONE WEEK! I couldn't believe it! I didn't know that was even possible! I am absolutely convinced it was from the excess of sugar intake over the weekend, since my eating habit didn't change much during the week. I'm really bummed about it, considering I was doing so well up until this point (aside from the first trimester), but it's not like I can start dieting now. But at a minimum, I've told myself no more desserts or candy until after the baby's born. Unfortunately, I like my fruits too much to give that up, even though they are loaded with sugar.

Some other disappointments this week (and it's only Tuesday)...

• I mentioned to M this past weekend that I was interested in donating our baby's cord blood to a public cord blood bank (we had decided months ago that we would not invest in saving it for our own private use). He agreed, so yesterday I started doing some research on it. I called up the New Jersey Cord Blood Bank to find out what the process is, but was told it was too late b/c they require at least a month to process all the paperwork and get the approvals needed. Bummer...
• I just called up my company's short-term disability line to confirm that my claim has been approved and I can start my leave next week. I was told that the claim is still pending and that I am not automatically guaranteed two weeks off prior to my due date. Instead, I need a doctor to sign me out of work (which is contrary to what I was told over a month ago when I first filed the claim). Dealing with HR and the like has been so frustrating, to say the least. I find it ridiculous how I am told something different every time I call them up. I asked the supervisor on the phone what would have happened if I didn't call, since no one ever informed me I needed a doctor's note. She said that they would have contacted my doctor directly, and if the doctor doesn't sign me out, my claim would have been denied. I left a message for my doctor's office... hopefully they will be kind enough to write me the note.

I am not a happy camper right now, but M is right, it's not the end of the world. I need to take a step back and not let things affect me as much as they do. And prayer... lots and lots of prayer!

Why I Don't Like Politics

I am not a big fan of politics, and while I stay abreast (at a high-level) of what's going on with the presidential election, I am not one to be well-versed enough in all the issues that I can speak intelligently about them. However, an article on the NYTimes.com about the presidential candidates' health care plans this morning caught my eye, reaffirming my belief that politicians are all liars: "As Senators Barack Obama and John McCain battle over how best to control spending and cover the uninsured, they are both filling their speeches, advertisements and debating points with authoritative-sounding statistics about the money they would save and the millions of Americans they would cover. But the figures they cite are invariably the roughest of estimates, often derived by health economists with ideological leanings or financial conflicts. Over time, these forecasts have become so disparate and contradictory as to be almost meaningless." Meaningless... that word pretty much sums up how I feel about politics and this entire election. It's become more of a popularity contest than anything else, to be won by whoever is the more eloquent speaker and able to convince voters that his lies are the truth.

Working at a pharmaceutical company, I must admit that I have been brainwashed to a certain extent, defending this industry (and my company specifically) in retaliation to most people's insistence that drug companies are evil due to the high costs charged for brand-name drugs. That's why seeing any article or excerpt on health care reform, health plans, or prescription medicine would naturally draw my attention. The bottom line is, no one can predict how well these candidates' health care plans would work. "Even the economists behind the forecasts say it makes them uncomfortable to hear candidates assert their numbers as indisputable fact... What they are modeling, they emphasize, is ultimately unknowable. And the transformational nature of both candidates’ health care plans means that they can only guess at the future behavior of consumers, employers and insurers." It is best to just understand what each candidate's plans are, the feasibility of implementing it, and whether we think it will help the country. We ought to apply our own judgment and not simply rely on what the candidates are telling us as fact.

Despite my cynicism towards politics, I am still planning to vote on November 4, 2008. Neither candidate has done much to "wow" me, so it would just be a matter of choosing the lesser of the two evils. I have my own opinion on who that is, but since I'm not prepared to enter into a debate with anyone, I'll just keep that little tidbit to myself.

Banana Diet

There's an interesting article on Yahoo News about a new diet fad in Japan that has resulted in a shortage of bananas throughout the country. Supply for this fruit cannot keep up with the increase in demand, even with an increase in imports by upward of 25%. "The Morning Banana Diet regime is simple: A banana (or as many as you want) and room temperature water for breakfast; eat anything you like for lunch and dinner (by 8 p.m.). A three o'clock snack is okay, but no desserts after meals, and you have to go to bed before midnight." Apparently, this has proven to work for some people in Japan, but there are so many other variables to consider. If you're already eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, chances are limiting your breakfast intake to only bananas won't have much of an effect.

In any case, this diet seems harmless enough, but when I read about a 21-year old university student weighing less than 100 pounds ("[she] is so slim that her waist is swimming in Zara's smallest size XS skirt") trying to get into this diet, I just get disgusted. I'm sure the girl already looks anorexic, and yet she is trying to slim herself down even more. If she lost any more weight, there'd be nothing left! I don't understand it... I just don't. But then again, I suppose self-esteem is all about how we view ourselves, not about how others view us. The article goes on the say that this is a fad that will probably go away in a month or so, similar to the many other diets that have come and gone.

Sunday Happenings

After Sunday School yesterday, we headed over to WC's baby shower in Confucious Plaza. It was like deja vu, b/c some of the food was exactly the same as what we had the day before at church (consisting of Singapore mei fun, beef chow fun, fried rice). M stayed away from the Chinese take-out since he said he'd had enough of it already (and we still have half a tray of beef chow fun sitting in the refrigerator at home). It was good b/c they also varied the menu with pasta, salad, what looked like a 10-foot long sub, cookies, jello, and candy.

One of the games played was where NW (WC's hubby) had to compete with another guest to see who would be able to change a baby's diaper (using a doll, not a real baby), dress the baby, feed it, swaddle it, and return it to the stroller faster. It seems that NW is ready for fatherhood, as he was able to beat MU (KF's soon-to-be-hubby) in the competition. My M also got suckered into the game, but he failed miserably, neglecting to feed the baby and swaddle it before putting it back into the stroller. I hope this is not a sign of how his parenting skills will be!

After WC's baby shower, we contemplated on driving up to my brother's place for AM, AL, and GC's birthday party, but it was already late in the afternoon and we still had to stop by my in-law's place beforehand, so we decided against it. I had made M promise he wouldn't get me any flowers this year for my birthday (we have to save up for the little one now!), so as a compromise, I agreed that we'd go out for dinner. After the pit stop to see the mother-in-law, we took a stroll up to Balthazar on Spring Street. I had a feeling it was going to be crowded, but M was confident they wouldn't be too busy on a Sunday night, so we went there w/o any reservations. Naturally, I was right, and we were told the wait would be an hour and a half; we said thanks, but no thanks. Plan B was to head towards Lombardi's for some good old fashion brick oven pizza. It was already a bad sign as we were approaching the restaurant and saw loads of people loitering at the corner of Mott and Spring Street, but when we got there, the entrance was so crowded we couldn't even get into the door to ask about the wait, so scrap that idea! Finally, I suggested Cafe Habana, this tiny diner-type place on the corner of Elizabeth and Prince Street... it wasn't anything fancy, but it's always populated and seemed to serve good authentic Cuban food. We used to pass by it all the time on Sunday mornings when we parked around Elizabeth Street, and M always mentioned wanting to try it, but we never got a chance to. As luck would have it, they had a vacant table for two near the door, so that's where we ended up having my birthday dinner. The place itself was a bit too cramped and the music too loud for my taste, but the food was decent and not over-priced - that's enough for me to go back there again.

My Third Baby Shower

After choir practice today, I was ready to head downstairs to the basement at church for lunch, but M tells me that lunch for the English choir was upstairs on the second floor. Not thinking anything of it, I proceeded up the steps. Once I opened the door, everything was pitch black and I was about to tell M lunch was in the basement when I hear "SURPRISE!" and all the lights came on. Apparently, my surprise baby shower has been in the works for about a month now, much to my oblivion. I couldn't believe M succeeded in keeping this from me all this time, not to mention everyone at church! Or maybe I am just so completely out of it that they could've been talking about it in front of my face and I wouldn't know. Either way, it was a wonderful surprise, and once again, I am reminded of how blessed I am to have so many friends in my life to share in the joy and love of our upcoming baby.

Like my first shower, this one was limited to just the ladies (with the exception of M). All the husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons were sent down the basement (they really were serving lunch down there). Again, everyone was overly generous with the gifts. Between family and friends, this baby now has more clothes than I possibly know what to do with! I'm afraid she won't even get a chance to wear half the stuff she got. Instead of a diaper cake, I got a onesie cake this time (which I've never seen before), made with tons of onesies for our little one, some trial size baby shampoo, baby body wash, baby oil, baby powder, a bib, a binky, and a wrist rattle. Her closet is so full now that M and I are talking about going to Ikea next week to pick up a dresser for her. That way, we can also stop by Babies 'R Us to buy the remaining necessities for her and save a little on tax (3.5% tax in Elizabeth as oppose to 7% everywhere else in NJ). We'll have to see how late it gets after our church's 120th anniversary celebration next Saturday.

Sleep Deprivation

Many people have warned us that we will not be able to get any sleep once the baby is born (as expected). What they really should have warned me about is that sleep deprivation starts weeks before the baby is out (at least it did for me). I can't remember the last time I've had a good night's rest. Nowadays, I wake up in the middle of the night either b/c I can't get into a comfortable position, or I have to pee, or there are just too many random thoughts running through my mind. Regardless of the cause, I am exhausted by the time morning rolls around. It's all by God's grace that I am able to function at all during the day. I suppose one can look at this as good practice for when we'll need to be up at all hours of the night for the baby's feeding... but then again, it's not like you really need any practice for insomnia.

Almost five weeks left! That's 38 more days to go! If only they instituted nap time at work, my day would be made, but alas, no such luck! In the meantime, I shall look forward to my last day of work, October 31st... only another three weeks to go! After that, I'll have the liberty of sleeping in as late as I want (at least until the baby is born). It'll be nice to finally get rid of this lethargy that's consuming me right now.

A Busy Month

I hadn't realized how packed our schedule is for the month of October until now. It started off on a not-so-positive note, being that M got sick all of a sudden last Thursday. He went to the doctor on Friday and they diagnosed him with labyrinthitis, a condition in his inner ear that causes imbalance of the body, often accompanied by nausea and dizziness. M was prescribed some motion sickness medicine to treat the symptoms, but otherwise, this condition is suppose to go away on its own. It's only been a couple of days, but he seems to be doing much better now. I still wouldn't put him behind the wheel for at least another week though, just in case.

On Saturday, the family came over for my second baby shower (which meant we were busy cleaning the house and preparing the food on Friday night). Since M wasn't feeling well, I helped out more than I probably should've, scrubbing the bathroom sink, cleaning the dishes, making dessert (I didn't even get to try any of my brownies!), etc. Fortunately, M's mom and brother bought over most of the meat to barbecue, so at least we didn't have to prepare that portion of it. My side of the family also came over (except my mom, who had to work). It's nice to gather everyone together once in a while, but it sure is tiring work.

For the next two weekends in a row, M and I will have to make a trip out to Chinatown on both Saturday and Sunday (we're still contemplating whether or not to stay over at my parent's place on Saturday). We'll need to come out on the 11th for choir practice to prepare for the song we're singing the following Saturday, October 18, which is our church's 120th anniversary celebration. On October 12, we have WC's baby shower to attend (which I'm already planning to skip choir practice in order to make it there at a decent hour). And after WC's baby shower, we'll be heading up to my brother's place for AM, AL, and GC's birthday celebration (all three toddlers born within a week of each other)... if the party's still going on. On the 19th, we have our church election, which means we'll be staying late at church until all the votes are counted since M is one of ballot counters. Fortunately, October 25th looks free as of now. Hopefully we can keep it that way.

In the meantime, some things we still need to do in preparation for the arrival of Baby Y (in no particular order):

• prepare hospital bag
• install infant car seats and get them inspected
• wash all baby clothes, sheets, blankets, etc.
• clean baby's room (disinfect crib, bassinet, etc.)
• do test drives to the hospital at various times of the day
• come up with baby's first name
• read up on breastfeeding

And I'm sure there are other things I'm missing. Hopefully this baby will cooperate and be born +/- 2 days of her due date so we have some time to get all this stuff done.

Baby Shower

It's quarter-end, and I have a ton of deadlines to meet, but my 2pm meeting got pushed to 4pm today, so I finally have some time to blog about the baby shower SW hosted for me this past Saturday...

The event was kept pretty small. We only had about a dozen girls (some with their kids) gathered on the 2nd floor of the Pio Pio Restaurant in Queens. SW had a couple of games planned, one where each guest had to guess the flavor of baby food just by looking at the container, and gift Bingo, played towards the end while I was opening up presents. My favorite was the diaper game, where people got into groups of three and had to dress someone up in a diaper made out of toilet tissue. We took pictures of the three victims... umm, I mean models, but those pictures shall be saved and shown only for a worthy cause.

This baby is so lucky to have so many aunties and uncles loving her already, showering her with many great gifts and books! Saturday was a great reminder on how blessed I am to have so many wonderful friends around me! I also walked away from the shower with two diaper cakes, both beautifully made as can be seen below.

Hopefully everyone had as good of a time as I did at the shower. Thanks again to SW for organizing and planning this event!

So Darn Cute

My nephew, AM, has reverted back to calling me Doo Doo once again. Even though he is able to say Goo Goo, and as much as we try to correct him, I am still known as Doo Doo. Sigh... the child is so darn cute he can call me whatever he wants.

Maybe it's the start of a new school that has attributed to his development, but I've noticed AM is a lot more independent and talkative now, running around on his own, not afraid to interact with other people. One of his favorite phrases is "You funny," except instead of funny, the word "bunny" comes out. So he'd tell my sister-in-law, "Mom, you bunny," or "Doo Doo bunny" when we're laughing... or sometimes he'd say it even when we're not.

The competitive side of AM has also started coming out. We'd be walking to the parked car, and all of a sudden, he'd run ahead to get there first, telling the rest of us when we caught up to him, "I beat you." What I found funny was when we were eating dinner together, everyone had finished eating before him, so he says "Mom beat me" and "Dad beat me." My brother commented that it could sound pretty bad if he said it in school and it was taken out of context; the next thing you know, social services would be knocking on their door.

Our Babymoon

The rest of our trip to Baltimore and the Outer Banks was okay... nothing too exciting, but it was nice to get away for a couple of days. Now it's back to the grind (at least for me). M is off this week as well, and right now out apple-picking with his mom (she's staying with us for a couple of days). Lucky them.

We visited the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Manteo in hopes of seeing some animals, but had no such luck. The first time we took the drive there, it was in the mid-morning. We didn't have any maps with us and didn't know where to go, but eventually we found some park rangers to ask, and they told us that the best time to go would be in the early morning or at dusk, since that's when the animals tend to come out. The next day, we decided to make another trip there before sundown (and it's not exactly a quick drive, being about 40 minutes away from Kitty Hawk, the town we were staying at). We drove about 20 miles on a bumpy, unpaved, rock-filled road going at 15 miles an hour, only to be disappointed once again. No bears and no alligators (despite the name of the refuge). The only thing we took away with us was a dirty car. But at least we gave it a try. We'll have to save our wildlife sighting for a trip to Kruger National Park in South Africa one of these years.

No trip is complete without a game of miniature golf, so M and I had our friendly competition at the Mutiny Bay Adventure Golf in Nags Head (only it was way overpriced and didn't have too much adventure in it). As expected, the better player won - despite being seven months pregnant with all sorts of body aches; I was in a kind mood so I did not take full advantage of my bragging rights :). Afterwards, we stopped by the Dairy Queen for some ice cream and challenged each other to an arcade game of Ms. Pac Man (surprisingly, it was still only 25 cents a game!). Again, the better player won... hehehe. And I usually suck at stuff like this too! Maybe it's the baby giving me luck.

We made the long drive home Thursday morning. It took us about 7.5 hours in total, not to mention close to $20 in tolls. I'd probably be more inclined to go again if I was more of a beach person, but since I'm not, this one trip during the non-peak season was enough. At least it's one more location to check off on my list of domestic travels.

Baltimore, MD

The first day of our babymoon... M and I are in Baltimore. It took us about three hours to get here, which wasn't bad considering we took all non-toll roads (thanks to google maps, we didn't get lost... I am never going back to mapquest again!). We checked into the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor At Camden Yards and spent the rest of the day walking around, going to the Lexington Market, the Walters Art Museum, and exploring the Inner Harbor. Some parts of town were pretty shady, especially around Lexington Market. I definitely wouldn't want to be wandering around there at night!

While walking towards the Inner Harbor, we saw signs to the National Aquarium (which we were planning to visit tomorrow), and it was only then that I realized I forgot to bring the tickets we had pre-purchased. Eghh... that means another $40 down the drain. I can't believe I forgot the tickets! I am usually pretty good at remembering stuff like that. I'll have to see if I can get a refund for those tickets when we get back. Man! In addition to clumsiness, I must add losing brain cells as a symptom of pregnancy. It then also occurred to me that I forgot to bring the camera charger, which means now we have to conserve our battery power and hope it doesn't die until the end of the vacation.

The agenda for tomorrow... visit the National Aquarium, maybe go see Babe Ruth's Birthplace, the Sports Legends Museum, and the B&O Railroad Museum, and walk around Fell's Point. The weather is supposed to be 95 degrees and humid, so hope we can survive the heat.

Finding a Pediatrician

As I am down to the final months of pregnancy, I've come to the realization that I need to find a pediatrician for my baby (required information in the pile of paperwork I need to fill out and mail back to the hospital). I started doing some research on how to go about choosing a pediatrician. Here are some tidbits in case any of you readers are wondering (this list is by no means all-inclusive):

• Ask around for a recommendation (though in our case, that's a bit difficult seeing how most of our friends with kids are still in NY).
• Somewhat obvious, but make sure the doctor accepts your insurance plan.
• The doctor should have admitting privileges to the hospital you're delivering at (not mandatory, but would make life easier). That way, they can evaluate the baby at the hospital once you've given birth.
• Do a background check on the doctor (i.e., credentials, certifications, medical school, years of medical practice, etc), including any disciplinary actions or malpractice settlements.
• Make sure the doctor's office is conveniently located close to home with flexible office hours (which is why I am leaning towards a practice with a network of doctors rather than one pediatrician working alone).
• Visit the office. Things to look for: Is it clean? Is there a separate waiting area for sick vs. healthy kids? Is the staff friendly, accommodating, and competent? Do you feel comfortable in the office?
• Interview the doctor (have a list of questions ready). Is the doctor warm and patient? Does he/she listen to your concerns? What is his/her position on vaccinations and prescribing antibiotics? Do you feel rushed by the doctor?
• Find out how after-hour calls and/or emergencies are dealt with.

I made an appointment for an office tour with one of the places I called up. Hopefully this one will work out so I can cross this item off my list of to dos (although I don't like not having anything to compare it against). But then again, my criteria for a pediatrician with admitting privileges at the hospital I'm delivering at, who accepts my insurance, belongs to a group practice, and is close to home are somewhat limited. The other practice that meets my requirements charges $77 for a consult with the doctor (not covered by insurance), so I passed on that one for now. I feel like this overall process is so complicated... so many worries and concerns to consider. Or am I making this a bigger deal than it ought to be? I suppose I can always change doctors if I don't like the one we choose. I'd just rather get it right the first time.

Tube Time

Now that the Olympics and the US Open are over (and it's too depressing watching the Yankees play b/c they suck and they're not going to be able to make it to the playoffs this year), it's been a struggle finding something good to watch on TV, especially since the primetime shows haven't started yet. I can't wait until September 25, when Grey's Anatomy will air its 2-hour season premiere. I caught bits and pieces of the promo last night, and just that 30-second clip alone captured my undivided attention.

In the meantime, I've been keeping myself partially entertained by watching reruns of chick flicks on FX and TBS, or "Family Feud" and "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" on the game show network. I also catch "Wipeout" every now and then, a silly reality show on ABC where contestants of all ages and sizes go through various obstacle courses involving a lot of water and mud to win $50,000.

One thing I find odd is my sudden loss of interest in "Law and Order" (used to be one of my favorites), which is unfortunate b/c the show is always on. Maybe it's the maternal instinct in me wanting to shield my baby from all the violence in the world, but I have no desire to watch that show (whether it's the original, Special Victims Unit, or Criminal Intent) anymore. But despite being a TV junkie, I do attempt to stay productive when I'm in front of the tube, like reading up on all those child care books I borrowed from the library (operative word here being attempt...).

Preparing For Our Little One

M and I attended a lamaze/ childbirth class this past Saturday at Saint Peter's University Hospital. I found it pretty helpful (the problem is retaining all that information in my brain for the next two months). It's always good to have an instructor who's engaging, experienced, and knowledgeable. Granted, we started late and ended early, so part of me feels like we didn't quite get our money's worth, but in all honesty, how much more information would I have been able to digest had we stayed the extra hour?

Part of the class included a tour to the maternity unit, so we'd know where to go and what to expect when we go into labor. We saw a newborn (the baby was literally just born!) being brought into the newborn nursery for a check-up and measurements. I can't believe that's going to be us in a mere few months! I got emotional just being there, envisioning my child being placed under the heat lamp while M holds a clipboard and takes down random pieces of information from the nurse. Pray that everything will go smoothly when it's my turn...

We've made some progress on the baby's nursery, and although it still looks bare, it isn't quite as empty as it had been a few weeks ago. The bookshelf we got from Ikea is now in there, serving temporarily as a storage location for some baby gifts we'd gotten from friends. The bassinet and bouncer have also been placed in the nursery. It'll look more full once we get the crib in there, which we just picked up from M's sister yesterday. Unfortunately, we didn't get home until late last night, so it remains unassembled in the car right now. Hopefully M will get around to putting it together tonight.

On a happy note, I called up the doctor this morning to ask about my glucose tolerance test. The nurse informed me that I passed with flying colors! WOOHOO! What a relief!

Djokovic vs. Roddick

I've been following the US Open on and off, catching some of the good matches on USA (or CBS, if it's over the weekend). Last night's match between Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick was one I am glad I did not miss. First, let me just say that I am not a fan of Roddick. I find him extremely conceited, just from what I've seen on the court and how he comes across in interviews. Prior to the game, he made some jokes about Djokovic's many injuries that were uncalled for; I wanted him to lose despite my normal tendency to root for the American. And as it turns out, he did. Djokovic finished him off in four sets (6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6), and during the on-court interview afterwards, commented on Roddick's digs at him about having 16 injuries. The audience booed at him, but his response was "they're already against me b/c they think I'm faking everything." Throughout the match, it was obvious that Roddick had more fans in the crowd than Djokovic did. I felt bad for Djokovic, but maybe that's what gave him the ammunition to fight even harder for the victory. In any event, I'm happy he triumphed at the end. Hopefully he can have a repeat performance against Roger Federer in the semi-finals. That'll be another good game to watch. Federer is an excellent player, but he's no longer invincible as he had been a couple of years ago.

Sugar!

Last week, I got a call from the doctor's office informing me that I failed my initial glucose screening test, and would have to spend three hours at Quest Diagnostics to do it over. So I made the appointment and went this morning. Eghh... it was nasty chugging down those 10 ounces of sugar water. The lemon-lime flavor wasn't any better than the orange I got last time... I still felt nauseous afterwards, but fortunately it subsided in time. The empty stomach didn't help either (had to fast for this test), so the little one inside me was doing somersaults the full three hours I was there. At least the phlebotomist was competent and able to find my veins fairly easily each time, except during the final blood draw when she had to move the needle around (yes, ouch! but I've had worse). Now I have four dried blood spots on my arm that remain as evidence. Hopefully the results will indicate that I do not have gestational diabetes. I'm just a little concerned b/c I failed the initial test by more than a few points... not sure if that's any indication of how this one will come out. I had such a candy craving this past weekend too, but resisted getting anything. I could live without candy for the next few months (contrary to popular belief), but if I have to start monitoring what I eat and cut down on the fruit intake, that's going to be difficult.

With The Flick Of A Switch

Our AC unit broke down about a month ago, in the midst of the July heat wave. M and I called around and got a number of different price quotes, and we finally decided on a vendor and had it replaced two weeks ago. Of course, the heat wave had ended by then and we haven't had the need to turn it on since.

When we got home Sunday night, the air inside the house felt more humid than usual, so we thought we'd try out the new AC. However, when we turned on the unit and brought down the temperature on our newly installed thermostat, nothing came on. We heard the click from the thermostat that should have triggered the furnace and the AC unit, but they both remained motionless. M went to the basement to check the breakers, but they appeared to be fine. Frustrated, I was convinced that we were sold a lemon. M gave the installation folks a call yesterday, and they came this morning to check it out. The guy opens the basement door and immediately sees that the red-plated furnace switch has been turned off. He flicks it on, and voila! Everything is running smoothly again! Boy did I feel like a fool. The funny thing is, that switch is always on! M and I know better than to toy with it; it's just puzzling as to how it got to the off position. I guess that will remain a mystery, but at least our AC unit is working... not that we would need it this week with the beautiful weather we've been having.

NYC Waterfalls

M and I took a Circle Line cruise around the lower east side of Manhattan yesterday to see the NYC waterfalls set up by artist Olafur Eliasson (thanks KF - for the heads-up about the free tickets). I had ordered four complimentary tickets online a couple of months ago, with the expectation of bringing M's mom and my dad along. However, I called up my dad yesterday morning and he didn't want to go (says he sees them every day during his morning strolls along the FDR Drive). Then, in the early afternoon, M gets a frantic phone call from his mom while we were eating lunch at church, and apparently, one of the bird cages at his mom's place had fallen down, breaking the bird's leg. M's mom was very upset about it, and took the bird to the vet in the afternoon.

We ended up venturing off to Pier 16 by ourselves, and got there a little earlier to pick up the tickets, then loitered around the will call booth, trying to scout out two people to give the remaining tickets to. We eventually saw a couple that looked promising, so M went over to ask if they were on line to purchase tickets for the waterfall cruise. They said yes, and M ended up giving them the tickets. The guy wanted to give us money back (Circle Line charged $10/adult ticket), and was going to give us $10 for the two, but we refused to take it... didn't seem fair since I had only paid $1 service fee for the four tickets. He then offered us free Mets tickets for tonight's game that he wouldn't be able to use, but again we declined the offer... I told him we were Yankees fans.

The cruise itself was a little uneventful, especially towards the end when we were at a standstill just killing time, all the while breathing in toxic fumes from the boat. It definitely would not have been worth the $10 had we paid for it at full price, but I could live with the $1 service fee. We did get a good view of the falls, but with our new camera, we could have zoomed in on them just as well from the pier. At least it was a different experience and we got to take advantage of this summer event NYC is offering. Below are some pictures (one of each of the falls).

Underneath the Brooklyn Bridge:
By Pier 35 (or better known as the sanitation dump):

At the Brooklyn Piers (which we noticed they are finally renovating):
By Governors Island, where we just paid a visit to a few weeks ago:

And in case any of you are wondering, the bird with the broken leg is back home taking antibiotics, but may still be unstable. The vet said that if the bird stops eating or is acting abnormal in any way, there probably isn't much more they can do for it. At least M's mom seemed to be in better spirits after taking it to the vet yesterday.

A Fortunate Event

Earlier this week, I lost a screw on my Movado watch. I hadn't even noticed it was missing until I grabbed the watch from my dresser one morning, and saw it coming apart between the links and the face of the watch. I searched all over the dresser and carpeted floor for the missing piece, but had no success. M told me we'd eventually come across it somewhere at home, but with my own carelessness and absentminded head these days, I was convinced I had lost it outside the house and would never be able to find it.

On Friday, M took my watch to Tourneau to get an estimate of how much it would cost to replace the screw. They quoted him $55 plus tax and shipping, and it would take at least a month to get back since they'd have to order the part. Talk about highway robbery! Good thing M didn't leave the watch with them; being the cost-conscious person he is, he was going to pay a visit to Macy's to see if they still service Movado watches and if it would be cheaper there. Then last night, we finished dinner and as I was walking towards the couch in our family room, my foot landed on something hard. I looked down and saw a tiny silvery object. Much to my surprise and amazement, it was the missing screw from my watch! I can't believe it was found just like that! Talk about one of God's little miracles!

Some more good news... this morning, my sister-in-law called me up and put my nephew on the phone. The first words out of his mouth was "Goo Goo" (which means aunt in Chinese... for the past year and a half, he's been calling me "Doo Doo" instead). I was so excited that he said it! I have finally been upgraded from poop in the eyes (or at least the mouth) of this adorable almost 4-year old! That just totally made my day. Sometimes it's these little things in life that we have to cherish and be thankful for. He's growing up so fast. Hopefully we will be able to see more of him when his little cousin is born.

Eating For Two

It is a common belief that when you're pregnant, you ought to be eating for two. However, in reality, you only really need to take in 300 more calories in a day, which can easily be obtained just by having a cup of yogurt and an apple. I more than exceeded that amount during my first trimester, when I found myself constantly hungry. I still recall stepping onto the scale at the doctor's office when I was at 12 weeks, shocked at how much weight I had gained. Of course, it didn't help that the scale we had at home was flawed, convincing me I was still an unperturbed 105 lbs all that time. Well, reality hit during the doctor's visit, and I managed to curb my eating habits after that... although it wasn't very difficult since my first trimester was practically over at that point and the hunger pains had subsided. I have been gaining about one pound a week consistently since then (which is what the "experts" recommend), so I should be right on track.

Now what prompted me to bring all this up is what I got for lunch today. I had to attend a training session from 11:30am-1:30pm, so I went and grabbed a slice of pizza at 11:30am, thinking that would last me for the next few hours... only 15 minutes after wolfing it down, I found myself hungry again. The only thing I could think of throughout the training was what else I could get to eat, and whether or not this class would end early so I could make a trip to the cafeteria before it closes. Fortunately, it did, and I managed to get my second lunch for the day before the doors shut on me promptly at 1:30pm... this time I got a veggie wrap with chips. The chips were gone in about a minute's time, as was half the veggie wrap. I am finally full, with only half a veggie wrap left to show for it (which will no doubt be gone in another two hours). I can't believe I had two lunches today... I really am eating for two! So much for curbing my eating habits! Maybe all it takes is another doctor's visit and stepping onto that scale to stun me into eating normal again. My appointment is coming up quick next week, so we shall see then.

Garage Sale

I would say our garage sale this past weekend was pretty successful. Granted, we still have a lot of stuff piled up in front of our house (waiting to be picked up by the Salvation Army on Thursday), but the turnout was good. A bunch of people came to help out and sell their own junk. GC and family got here at about 9am and started setting up their stuff, then M's sister and the triplets came, and as expected, my brother and family were the last to arrive. M and I got up at 6am that morning to set things up and put some signs up around the corner. We had some early birds come at 7:30am (even though the advertised start time was 9am), and we were still in the process of setting up. I'm not complaining though... one guy actually bought a lot of things, including my keyboard from ~18 years ago with the plug that no longer works (battery-operated only). In retrospect, maybe I should've gotten more than $3 from him since I included the four D batteries that it requires (by itself worth more than $3), but oh well.

We started packing up a little after 1pm, even though people still came and browsed through the stuff, as if oblivious that the garage sale was over. GC and family and my brother and family went peach-picking afterwards. M and I were too exhausted, so we stayed home, chatted with M's mom and sister while the triplets kept themselves entertained on the computer and watching cartoons. After M's sister and the kids left, we went back to work and cleaned up a bit.

On Sunday, we didn't go over to the parent's for dinner, as is our usual routine, since we had leftovers remaining from the night before. Instead, we left Chinatown at a decent hour and paid a visit to Babies 'R Us to add some items to our registry, then made a trip to Ikea to pick up a bookshelf for the nursery. So much for getting home early!

I feel like I am still recuperating from this past weekend. Every night I come home, I am exhausted by 8pm and ready to go to sleep. I struggle to stay awake in an effort to maintain a normal sleeping pattern, but just end up dozing off in front of the TV, waking up two hours later, then going to bed (I haven't even managed to stay up to watch the Olympics in women's gymnastics!). We still need to sort out all the things to donate to the Salvation Army, since they informed me that they do not accept toys. Everything they do not take will require a separate trip to Goodwill. We also need to set aside all the books since we plan to donate those to the local library. Still more work to be done... and unfortunately, the back pain has kicked in once again (for both M and me).

More Chick Lits

My co-worker introduced me to a new author named Jennifer Crusie. She lent me a few of her books, and I've read four so far:

• Anyone But You: A 40-year old divorcee adopts a depressed dog she names Fred, and Fred somehow manages to bring her together with an ER doctor, her 30-year old neighbor from downstairs.
• Crazy For You: A high school art teacher is bored with her life, ends up adopting a stray mutt, and breaks up with her boyfriend. She suddenly finds herself attracted to a long-time friend, who also happens to be her sister's ex-husband. The plot thickens when her ex-boyfriend turns psycho over the break-up and starts stalking her.
• Bet Me: A woman gets dumped three weeks before her sister's wedding, and overhears her ex-boyfriend making a bet with a gorgeous hunk that he wouldn't be able to seduce her. Out of contempt, she agrees to go out to dinner with this handsome guy, planning to string him along and dump him right after her sister's wedding. They both end up falling in love with each other, but not before battling a series of mishaps caused by their respective exes trying to keep them apart.
• Strange Bedpersons: A free-spirited teacher raised in a commune recently gets laid off. She agrees to pose as the fiancee of her lawyer friend so that he can land a huge account and make partner in the law firm he works at. It's obvious that the two are in love with each other, but she refuses to get involved with him b/c all he's concerned with is getting ahead in his career. The plot itself doesn't sound very interesting, but the author has a way of getting you engrossed in the book and attached to the characters.

And I just started another one called Charlie All Night, about a radio producer who gets dumped by her boyfriend, resulting in her demotion at the radio station she works at (since he was also her boss). She is asked to work with a new DJ on the late night shift, and decides to make him famous... only fame and popularity is not something he wants.

I find Jennifer Crusie's books quite humorous. She's able to give personalities to all her characters that make them witty (not like some heroines that just annoy me). Apparently, Jennifer Crusie has been around for a while, so I have plenty more of her books to go through that'll keep me busy for the rest of the summer. In the meantime, I'm on hold at the library for some new releases by my usual authors: The Beach House by Jane Green, Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham, Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner, and This Charming Man by Marian Keyes.

Governors Island

M and I took the free (yes, free!) ferry across to Governors Island yesterday (thanks for the info weeks ago, KF!), and had a really nice time. Governors Island was finally made open to the public this summer, with ferries running from the Battery Maritime Building in lower Manhattan every hour on the hour during the weekends. This piece of land used to be a military base from the 1700s until the 1960s, when it was transferred to the Coast Guard as a self-contained residential community and a base of operations for the Atlantic Area Command and Maintenance and Logistics Command. The Coast Guard closed its facilities in Governors Island in 1996, and in 2003, it was sold to the people of New York at a nominal cost to be used for public benefit.

Governors Island is a nice place to go if you feel like biking, setting up a picnic, and I think they even have special events like concerts at times. M and I didn't do any of that; we just walked around the island, grabbed an Italian sausage from one of the vendors (which surprisingly, was reasonably priced), and checked out the Sculptors Guild exhibit (available until October 1). I guess I just don't know how to appreciate "art," b/c a lot of the pieces looked pretty freaky to me.

Most of the buildings on the island appeared to be abandoned, padlocked with warning signs posted around them. If everything didn't look so worn out, this place could've easily passed as a college campus (or could be converted to one, but at this point, renovation costs probably wouldn't be worth the investment). If you're bored one of these weekends before October 12 (when it'll be closed to the public once again), I'd recommend making the trip there. Bring a nice picnic basket, a good book, comfortable walking shoes (or a bike -- you can also rent one there), and you'll be all set. Just don't expect tons to do there, otherwise you'll walk away disappointed.

Beijing 2008 Olympics

The Olympic opening ceremony officially starts tomorrow... which is kind of weird, b/c the soccor (or football, to the rest of the world) matches have already started yesterday. See here for the full schedule: http://en.beijing2008.cn/schedule/.

So much drama has gone on with the Olympics being held in Beijing (i.e., human rights violations, banning of the Internet, smog and pollution, etc) that I wonder if it would have been better for the Olympic games to be held elsewhere. Yesterday, I read an article where Joey Cheek, former Olympic gold-medalist, had his visa revoked hours before his flight to Beijing. Authorities told him they were denying him entrance into the country and were "not required to give a reason." That's the typical Chinese government for you. Cheek is the president and co-founder of Team Darfur, a coalition of athletes dedicated to raise awareness and end the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. That would have been the only reason why he was denied entry to China. But his visit there this time around would have been to support his friends competing in the Olympics, not to hold any Team Darfur demonstrations. Then today, I read another article that alleged the Chinese falsified the age of three of its gymnasts in order to allow them to compete in the Olympics. Apparently, some online documents were found that revealed the gymnasts' age to be younger than what was reported to the International Olympic Committee. The Chinese government denied any wrongdoing, but it would be so easy for them to falsify one's legal document -- I definitely wouldn't put it past them. I can't wait to hear what other news will come out tomorrow.

8-8-08

August 8, 2008 will be a big date for many. Not only is it the start of the Olympic ceremonies in Beijing (the date chosen obviously for its auspicious meaning to the Chinese, since the pronunciation of the number "8" in Chinese sounds like great fortune), but many couples have chosen to share their wedding nuptials on this date. In an article on Yahoo, "a reported record 9,000 Chinese couples plan to tie the knot that day... In the United States, the wedding and gift registry site WeddingChannel.com has seen a 213 percent increase in weddings for Aug. 8, 2008, compared with the same Friday last year on Aug. 10... Many marrying couples are carrying eight even further with eight-course dinners, eight bridesmaids, 8:08 p.m. first dances..." Heaven forbid! What if things run late and the first dance doesn't start until 8:09!? What is the world going to come to??

Okay, I shall refrain from further sarcasm. But seriously, other than having an easy anniversary date to remember, I personally do not see what the big deal is. Eight is just a number... one more than seven, two less than ten. There's no guarantee that having your wedding on 8/8/08 will result in a lifetime of marital bliss. I just don't understand what the hype is all about. To me, this Friday will be a day like any other, except I'll be playing hooky from work and hanging out with SW. What are your plans for 8/8/08?

Remember Me?

I am SO tired and sleepy right now, but I have only myself to blame for it. I stayed up late last night finishing up my latest chick lit, "Remember Me?" by Sophie Kinsella, the same author who wrote the Shopaholic series.

I enjoyed this book much more than "Love the One You're With" that I blogged about last week. It's about this girl who wakes up in the hospital from a car accident, thinking it's the year 2004 and she had just missed her father's funeral... only to find out that it is three years later, she's married to a handsome and rich husband, has climbed up the Corporate ladder at record speed, and looks gorgeous. She has no recollection of what had happened in the last three years; her new life seemed to be perfect and too good to be true. But as she lives this new life, she realizes that things are not quite as wonderful as they appeared to be on the surface. She struggles to find a happy medium between her old self and the new life she doesn't remember.

Take a gander at it if you happen to be at the library and are looking for a quick read. I highly recommend this book (as well as anything else by Sophie Kinsella). Happy reading!

Dumpling Disappointment

While shopping at the Hong Kong Supermarket in our town early Saturday morning, I somehow came up with the bright idea to make dumplings... well, the decision to make the dumplings wasn't bad, but our choice of meat (turkey, of all things - for the mere fact that we had ground turkey at home already) was less than desirable. I should have known better since I've never seen any turkey dumplings being sold.

We minced some napa and mushrooms and put it in with the turkey, adding a little soy sauce and Mrs. Dash for flavor. We weren't sure what went well with turkey. In retrospect, I guess we should've marinated it some more... maybe add some oyster sauce in there... after all, oyster sauce goes with everything. =)

This picture was taken right before we got ready to assemble the dumplings. We had our meat, dumpling wrappers, and beaten egg all ready to go.



And here are the final products:














We assembled them in two different ways. The ones on the left are mine, and the ones on the right are M's. Although after we boiled them, everything turned into mush and one couldn't tell the difference anyways:















Some lessons learned:

• Do not use ground turkey. Stick with chicken or pork.
• Marinate the meat well.
• Use shitake mushrooms (not baby bella mushrooms)... might be more flavorful.
• Use chives or cabbage instead of napa if available (in our case, it wasn't).
• Do not over-boil, as that will cause the dumplings to fall apart.

Of course, the other option is to buy the already-made dumplings. But where's the fun in that?

What's In A Name?

Interesting article I found on Yahoo News... a judge takes custody over a 9-year old girl in order to allow for her name to be changed from Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii. Were her parents drunk or something? Why would you name your child something like that? The article says "The girl had been so embarrassed at the name that she had never told her closest friends what it was. She told people to call her "K" instead." I don't blame her! It's mind-boggling what people come up with. Do parents not understand the ridicule and embarrassment they'd put their child through, or do they simply not care? The article goes on to say that "registration officials blocked some names, including Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit... but others were allowed, including Number 16 Bus Shelter and tragically, Violence." I find that disturbing... the fact that such names were suggested (and it must have been done so multiple times) for registration officials to ban them.

Choosing a name for your child is a very important task - that's the one thing that will stay with the child for the rest of his/her life. Granted, it can always be changed, but why go through all that unnecessary trouble? Why not just get it right the first time? A person's name is associated with his/her personality, demeanor, and character all the time, even though if you think about it, it's just a name; something that should have no baring whatsoever on what the person is like in the inside. Regardless, I recall having a conversation with an expectant mother who had a name all picked out for her unborn child. Her husband worked as a principal of a school, and would frequently come home and vent about the problem childs. There were a few kids being sent to his office all the time, and they happened to have the same name this expectant mother wanted to use. After hearing about the trouble they caused in grade school, she went back to the drawing board and started her quest for a new name. I'm still not sure I understand the reasoning behind that. But then again, I suppose you can form a similar analogy with the name Katrina. After all, who would want to name their daughter after the hurricane that destroyed so many homes and lives?

With that said, M and I are still in search for a name for our baby girl. We have less than four months to go, and as mentioned earlier, any and all suggestions are welcomed. Our criteria so far: nothing that ends in an "eee" sound (like Tracy, Maggie, Lori, Cindy, Mary, Daphne, etc), no numbers, flowers, fruits, vegetables, cities, states, countries, or continents, no days of the week or months of the year, no actual word of the English language (like Destiny, Faith, Hope, Grace, Sunshine, Dawn, Charity, etc), and preferably, something that is two (or three) syllables and no longer than seven letters. If someone thinks of an original name (i.e., something we haven't already thought of or are considering), and we end up using it, we'll give a prize to that person.

Garage Sales

M and I have gotten into the habit of scouting out garage sales in our town. We'd look in the weekly local newspaper, on craigslist, and at random signs that people post up in the neighborhood. My sole purpose for going is to expand on my Precious Moments collection, while M goes to search for anything that looks like it might be valuable (maybe one of these days, he'll actually find something worth displaying at The Antique Roadshow).

There appeared to have been a lot more garage sales last year. My theory is that people typically have them when they are ready to move out, and with the real estate industry plummeting, there just hasn't been as many home sales as there normally are, hence people probably aren't in as much of a hurry to get rid of their junk. In any case, we did manage to hit two garage sales last weekend - and surprisingly, we made purchases at both places. At the first location, we found a small Precious Moments figurine and two other tiny Precious Moments jewelry cases for a bargain price of 50 cents each. My collection has now grown to close to 50 figurines. At the second location, we bought a set of three Winnie the Pooh frames and two little Pooh trinkets that were being sold as a whole set. The frames have been hung in our dining room, and are a perfect match to our curtains. I love getting good deals on things!

On a related note, M and I are planning to have a garage sale of our own later this summer (exact date yet to be determined). We cleaned out the basement a couple of weeks ago and inventoried everything to be sold, and have also been getting a steady flow of items from M's mom on a weekly basis to add to our pile of "stuff." Things we plan to get rid of? All kinds of miscellaneous junk: lamp shades, board games, cups, stationery, George Foreman grill, waffle maker, CD racks, clothes, stuffed animals, old cordless telephones, beach bags, frisbees, key chains, roller blades, jewelry boxes, frames, and much much more!

Love The One You're With

My latest chick lit read is called "Love The One You're With," by Emily Giffin. I've read a few other books by her which I very much enjoyed, but I must admit, this newest novel is a bit of a disappointment. Granted, I've had fair warning from other friends who've read it and provided me with their not-so-positive feedback, but everyone has their own opinion and you just never know until you read it for yourself.

The first couple of chapters into the book, I wanted to abandon it already, but I felt compelled to finish it since I've been waiting (on hold at the library) for almost two months to borrow it. I'm more than halfway done, but last night, I skipped to the last two pages of the book just to see if I would like the ending. If not, I was going to give up on it completely. It sounded like a happy ending (which is usually the case in chick lits), so I will attempt to read on to the finale.

The premise of the story is as follows: this woman has the perfect marriage with the perfect husband and is pretty much living the perfect life. Then one day, she randomly bumps into her ex-boyfriend from years ago, and starts second-guessing her life and wondering if this ex-boyfriend is really her true love. I find it hard to relate to (and therefore empathize with) the protagonist. I mean, she has a wonderful husband whom she loves - why would anyone in their right mind consider infidelity? I feel like screaming out to her "Get over it... he's ancient history!"

We make decisions every day of our lives - sometimes they're as simple as deciding what to eat for dinner that night, or sometimes they have a more permanent impact, like changing jobs or moving to a new city. But whatever the decision is, we need to be happy with it and move on. Life is too short to constantly be looking back and wondering "what if."