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!
Monday, July 28, 2008
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:
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.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
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!
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!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
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."
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."
Monday, July 14, 2008
Peach Picking
Another nice relaxing weekend... M and I went peach-picking Saturday morning at the Battleview Orchards in Freehold, NJ. We originally had plans to go with my brother and family (who were suppose to spend the weekend with us), but something came up last minute and they ended up not making the trip to the burbs. I was a bit disappointed since that meant I wouldn't be able to see my little nephew, not to mention have my brother help M move some furniture from the soon-to-be nursery into the newly painted guest bedroom. I even took the day off on Friday to clean the house for them, but I shouldn't complain that it was done in vain, since we really shouldn't be leaving the house a mess as we have been.
In any case, I digress. Back to our peach-picking adventure. It was a little early for picking since the season had just started (we were confined to three rows of trees), but it was a good experience... very much like apple-picking, except the trees are shorter. The yellow peaches were a bit too soft and tasted sour when we bit into them, so we ended up only getting white ones. If PM and family decide to stay over next month, we'll try peach-picking again (have to take advantage of the 2008 season pass we paid $1 for!). Maybe by then, the fruit will be sweeter, and it'll be nectarine season as well, so we'll have a little more variety.
After peach-picking, I felt very itchy on my legs (not sure if it's b/c of bugs or the sun), so we stopped by the Freehold Raceway Mall to cool off and enjoy some air conditioning. We didn't want to leave our 6.5 lbs of peaches in the car to boil, so M carried it with us the whole time we were in the mall. When we got home, we separated them into different bags to give to each of our parents... only Sunday morning, we forgot to take them with us (just another example of how my memory's going). Hopefully they'll last until next weekend so we can bring them out then.
In any case, I digress. Back to our peach-picking adventure. It was a little early for picking since the season had just started (we were confined to three rows of trees), but it was a good experience... very much like apple-picking, except the trees are shorter. The yellow peaches were a bit too soft and tasted sour when we bit into them, so we ended up only getting white ones. If PM and family decide to stay over next month, we'll try peach-picking again (have to take advantage of the 2008 season pass we paid $1 for!). Maybe by then, the fruit will be sweeter, and it'll be nectarine season as well, so we'll have a little more variety.
After peach-picking, I felt very itchy on my legs (not sure if it's b/c of bugs or the sun), so we stopped by the Freehold Raceway Mall to cool off and enjoy some air conditioning. We didn't want to leave our 6.5 lbs of peaches in the car to boil, so M carried it with us the whole time we were in the mall. When we got home, we separated them into different bags to give to each of our parents... only Sunday morning, we forgot to take them with us (just another example of how my memory's going). Hopefully they'll last until next weekend so we can bring them out then.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
High School Memories
Over the weekend, M and I were cleaning up some things in the basement. Included in the pile of junk was a large shopping bag full of letters my friends and I used to write to each other in high school. I skimmed through some of them and had to laugh - the worries we had back then seem so trivial now, like having a crush on a boy, worrying about passing a test, cutting class to go shoot pool, etc. Ahh, what it's like to be young again! I found it interesting how 15 years later, we really haven't changed all that much. Thinking about those friends now, it's safe to say they still have the same attitude and behaviors (for the most part) as they did a decade and a half ago. As many experiences as we've gone through post-high school, I suppose it is really our earlier childhood years that develop our underlying personalities.
In the midst of all the letters, I came across an article that someone wrote for the school newspaper when one of our friends (JC) passed away in a tragic car accident at the end of our senior year. Since then, TY and I have made it an annual tradition to visit his grave in Long Island (I think there's only been one time we missed it out of the past 13 years). In many ways, this annual tradition was established so that TY and I would have an excuse to stay in touch (not that we should need one, but this was probably the only time we got together during the college years) - to the point that I think I've lost sight of the real reason why we bother driving the 2+ hours to Pinelawn Cemetery every summer. Reading the article was such a great reminder of what JC meant to all of us. Hopefully TY and I can continue this tradition for many years to come.
In the midst of all the letters, I came across an article that someone wrote for the school newspaper when one of our friends (JC) passed away in a tragic car accident at the end of our senior year. Since then, TY and I have made it an annual tradition to visit his grave in Long Island (I think there's only been one time we missed it out of the past 13 years). In many ways, this annual tradition was established so that TY and I would have an excuse to stay in touch (not that we should need one, but this was probably the only time we got together during the college years) - to the point that I think I've lost sight of the real reason why we bother driving the 2+ hours to Pinelawn Cemetery every summer. Reading the article was such a great reminder of what JC meant to all of us. Hopefully TY and I can continue this tradition for many years to come.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
We're Having a Girl!
We finally found out the gender of our baby last week. Much to our surprise, it's a girl! I was so convinced we were having a boy (as was M) that I wasn't quite sure how to react to this news. I wouldn't call it disappointment, since we didn't have a strong preference either way... I guess shock would be a more appropriate word. But nevertheless, we're still excited to welcome our bundle of joy into this world in a couple of months. As long as the baby's healthy, that's all that matters.
So now that the mystery to the gender has come to an end, we can finally start thinking of names and ideas to decorate the nursery, which is painted lavender and currently the guest bedroom. We'll need to move everything from there into the newly painted blue room (yes, M finally got around to painting it two weekends ago). There's still much work to be done, but it's all good. Now that I've had about a week to digest the fact that we're having a girl, I've grown accustomed to the idea and feel even more attached to this fetus inside me than I had the past four months. It's great to be able to refer to her as a "she" instead of an "it" or "he/she..." like she's finally taken shape as a real being. Also, I started feeling her movements more. She's quite an active little one... no doubt we'll have our hands full when she's born.
Crazy as it sounds, I love this little baby so much already, and she's not even born yet! I can't imagine how much more I will love her when she does come out, but yet, I know it only grows from here. It's amazing -- the love a parent has for his/her child. It's this love that allows a parent to endure endless nights of sleeplessness and fatigue... the same love that enables a parent to make self-sacrifices for the well-being of the child throughout their lifetime. If I can love my own child this much, I can't even fathom how much more it is that God loves us.
BTW, we're taking suggestions on baby names (although no guarantee we'll use any of them), so please feel free to leave a comment with any ideas you may have!
So now that the mystery to the gender has come to an end, we can finally start thinking of names and ideas to decorate the nursery, which is painted lavender and currently the guest bedroom. We'll need to move everything from there into the newly painted blue room (yes, M finally got around to painting it two weekends ago). There's still much work to be done, but it's all good. Now that I've had about a week to digest the fact that we're having a girl, I've grown accustomed to the idea and feel even more attached to this fetus inside me than I had the past four months. It's great to be able to refer to her as a "she" instead of an "it" or "he/she..." like she's finally taken shape as a real being. Also, I started feeling her movements more. She's quite an active little one... no doubt we'll have our hands full when she's born.
Crazy as it sounds, I love this little baby so much already, and she's not even born yet! I can't imagine how much more I will love her when she does come out, but yet, I know it only grows from here. It's amazing -- the love a parent has for his/her child. It's this love that allows a parent to endure endless nights of sleeplessness and fatigue... the same love that enables a parent to make self-sacrifices for the well-being of the child throughout their lifetime. If I can love my own child this much, I can't even fathom how much more it is that God loves us.
BTW, we're taking suggestions on baby names (although no guarantee we'll use any of them), so please feel free to leave a comment with any ideas you may have!
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