Jan
27
Blackened Salmon Sandwich
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Outside of my favorite Japanese restaurants, I tend to be cautious when ordering salmon at other places. That’s because they tend to be pretty dried out and not cooked well, from my experience. Le Peeps in Evanston, however, makes a pretty darn good blackened salmon sandwich. I treat myself to it when I go there. It’s not even on the menu anymore, but they still serve it when I ask for it, weird. I’m surprised they make it so well too (juicy, nice crust, goes well with the mayo) because all of their other items are just ok.
Jan
9
Well said…
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I couldn’t agree with this any more, nicely said… This is from a blog I frequent for inspiration (not just because her work is so pleasing, but mainly because I can really tell when someone loves what they do, pretty rare combo). Her other site always makes me want to either eat, shoot, or travel.
“Most people come back from their trips with handfuls of snapshots of friends and family, strategically posed in front of some monument or view of significance. My family, on the other hand, look through the photos that I take on our trips and wonder, how come there are never any pictures of us? My daughter, who jumps at any chance to model, looks at me in dismay when flipping through the shots, all she finds are pictures of slices of pie, signs of restaurants and, if she’s lucky, her hands offering up some local seasonal fruit. My work tends to bleed over into my personal life more than a little.
I find that I just want to bring home all the little details of the places that visit. I want a memento to remind me of the silky smoothness of the goat cheese ice cream we had in the century old farmhouse in the Loire Valley or of the bright crisp redness of the sweetheart cherries from a Yakima farm stand. My photos aren’t proof of a visit… they are portals that transport me back whenever I need a little escape.”
Jan
9
So the other day, we googled “ma po tofu recipe”, clicked into the very first link in the search results, printed out that recipe and had my father pick us up an essential ingredient from chinatown. Here’s our result in the picture.
Damn was it tasty! Joanne and I kept looking at each other in amazement as we ate, wondering how come our parents never cooked us this dish when we were growing up, as its super cheap and easy, yet oozing with oily deliciousness. Weird. The chinese restaurant versions don’t taste nearly as good either. But anyhow, I can see why many Japanese dig this dish so much.
Jan
7
Hair Style Choices
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Just like my body weight I don’t like how my hair looks, so in an attempt for a change I cut my own bangs two nights ago. I think I messed up, so I’m going to a stylist to get them fixed Friday. Along with getting my bangs fixed, I also want to get my hair colored. Although coloring is high maintenance, I find that my hair is more controllable after it’s damaged a little. My natural hair is so stubborn that it’s hard to style anything. So I’ve picked out 3 styles that I like. I can’t decide which i like better. I think the last two requires a perm to get that wavy look.
Jan
6
I guess I am not one of those women who magically get their figure back after pregnancy. I still have so much more weight to lose. *sigh* I have lost weight and have gone down two sizes, but I saw myself in the mirror at the salon the other day and I’m shocked to see how big I look. My tummy is huge! That’s when i realized the mental image I have of myself is not really how I look.
I thought breastfeeding encourages weight loss, but I don’t think it’s working fast enough for me. Of course all the holiday candies and sweats doesn’t help either. I need to get back to my normal weight. I have so little clothes to wear these days and i hate the way I look in pictures. Too bad I don’t have membership to the gym anymore and it’s too cold for me to jog outside, so I rented pilates DVDs to work out at home. I tried it the other day and it proves how out of shape I am. The moves that I used to be able to do are now difficult for me. I guess I need to keep trying to get back in shape. My plan is to do pilates every other day and do cardio in between (if weather permits).
Dec
31
Not going back
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Today is New Year’s Eve and that means the end of the year. If I hadn’t quit my job two weeks ago I am suppose to return to work this Friday. Yikes! I would be so unprepared if I had to go into work. I don’t have any breast milk stored for Samantha and even if I have she wouldn’t take the bottle. I think we will have to get her started on solid food soon. Not only am I not prepare to return to work physically but mentally I don’t think I am ready either. I have become so comfortable with Samantha at home that it’s hard for me to think of doing anything else. Of course, this means we lack one income so that’s not a comfortable thought but I don’t regret quitting. I am starting teaching again next Monday. 3 hours a week of lecture and x number of hours to prepare. Last quarter I spent at least 20 hours a week preparing, so I’m hoping I can spend less this quarter. Maybe this 3 hours a week of teaching will ease me back into the working world. I am looking for a job but a contract job so I won’t be committed to one company. I hope to find a six – nine months contract so I can take the summer/fall off and enjoy it with Samantha or maybe take a long family trip. I miss traveling. We normally travel out of the country at least once a year but we haven’t travel at all in 2008. So… if I do have a New Year’s resolution that would be to travel for 2009 and probably to save money. LOL.. I guess the two resolutions I have contradicts each other. LOL…. I guess save money but still have fun.
Happy New Year!!!
Dec
8
No Pink
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Christmas is coming soon. Samantha is not expecting gifts from anyone other than Santa. However, if there happens to be a very kind and gracious individual planning to find her some clothes or something this year and are reading this, please… NO MORE PINK! I know she’s a girl and all, but just don’t…don’t do it..
She looks so nice in black and brown too… or what about gray? Tan?
Dec
7
Samantha Update 12/08
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With the economy in shambles and winter hibernation upon us, I guess you could say I’ve been keeping busy. In addition to caring for Sam, I’ve been trying to make good use of any down time by self teaching myself some new marketable skills sets for the coming new year (something I’ve been wanting to do the entire year but procrastinated).
Samantha has generally been making good progress. Having been a “textbook baby” all this time (according to the author of one baby book I’ve read) she’s been mostly predictable in her ways. Peak fussiness did take over around 6-8 weeks then started to decline, and becoming more socially aware and smiling around this time as well. We keep her on a strict schedule for the most part, feeding every 3 hours, not letting her stay awake for more than 1-2 hours at a time (feeding the brain), and giving her daily activities like tummy time/massage/music. She hasn’t fed from a bottle since around 5 weeks and in fact, outright rejects it when I try to give it to her (tip for soon-to-be parents: try not to skip any days of giving a relief bottle while breastfeeding.. some babies do not take change very well at all and will become too comfortable on mom’s breast). So it’ll be interesting how I handle the days when Joanne is out for more than a few hours. Its quite a vulnerable feeling for a baby to stare at you and know that you have no food options that they’ll accept. She currently seems to have transitioned from a “textbook baby” to somewhat what of a “touchy baby” hybrid, as she is quite sensitive noises while sleeping and the slightest changes in routine sometimes. Maybe we need to get her out more, which we plan.
Coming up on 3 months soon, and I’m looking forward to playing with her as she’ll be much more socially active during her wakeful periods. Learning toys, reading, massage and music come to mind initially. Looking forward to spring time too when we’ll be able to spend more stimulation time outside. I can start wearing her backpack style too with my Ergo carrier (as opposed to on my chest) while she checks out all the trees and birds. All in all, we’ve been very happy with her progress, and we’ll continue to wing it and pretend we know what we’re doing, as most new parents are I’m sure 
By the way, apparently Joanne’s parents have settled on a chinese name for Sam. Its “Wong Yik Fay” in cantonese (sounds a little like saying “flying chicken wing”), and we have to clarify the exact meaning of it with them. We requested to stay away from any meanings based on superficial qualities like cuteness or being stunningly pretty or adorable. Way too cliche and without substance in my opinion, this world already has enough of that. I was hoping more along the lines of “adaptability”. I’d like her to be creative and mold her way though any situations encountered. After all, wasn’t it the wisest philosopher of all time who said to be adaptable, like water, my friend..
I hope you all don’t let the economic blues get you down this season, and find the time to be productive and creative without the need to spend a lot of dough. Happy holidays everyone.
Dec
7
Like Father Like Daughter, Part 2
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What do you think?
Nov
26
Perks
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I recently finished a Holiday video project for Affy Tapple/Mrs. Prindable’s. Nice group to work with. But that’s not even the good part. After wrapping up the shoot, sure enough, they insisted I take home whatever taffy apple assortments/gift baskets I wanted! I knew Joanne was going to be super happy seeing me come home with these. She loves taffy apples. So I grabbed the Classic Gift Tower, and the Ultimate Basket. I managed to take some snapshots of these beauties before we munched on ‘em (see below). I’m not the biggest fan of sweets in general, but I must admit these gourmet taffy apples sure are tasty. We of course can’t (and shouldn’t!) finish them all (Joanne is all taffy’d out).. let’s see…who has been kind to us lately that we can share some with.. hmm…
