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- Town Talk Diner: I liked this place. They gave us free food just because my pancakes were taking a little long. Some yummy seared scallops, and a cheese & cracker appetizer platter. Our waiter was really nice too. Only thing I didn’t really like was that it was kind of loud.
- Ngon Bistro: This place is really cute & the food was actually decent. The decor was nice–creamy yellow walls, beautiful lighting, and local artwork hanging throughout the dining area. I had the ribeye & meatball pho, and Mike had the fish special. He didn’t care much for his dish, but I liked mine. I especially liked the homemade beef meatballs. They were so tender & flavorful compared to the frozen meatball that every other place uses. I would definitely go back.
- Obento-Ya: (pictured above) I really wanted to like this place, but the food just wasn’t all that. I had the shrimp tempura bento box, and Mike had the beef. We shared a spider roll. The spider roll was bland and didn’t have much else to it. My food was just, eh… The hubby only got 2 pieces of good meat, so he was disappointed with that. The decor is modern & nice, and service was good, but food is nothing to write home about.
+ Max has been so picky with his food lately. Won’t even eat his eggs. I hid some pureed cauliflower in his eggs one time, but he wouldn’t touch them. You could hardly tell there was cauliflower in it. Man, I am just running out of ideas. Help…
+ Today is our 13 year anniversary. Happy Anniversary Honey!
+ We traded our Accord for a 2008 Mercedes C300 Sport 4Matic. In black, just like the pic. I let the hubby pick it out, but I get to drive it. We like it a lot & the heated seats are really useful right now. So cold!
+ First day of class this week. I kind of regret taking a night class, but oh well. What’s done is done. The professor seems pretty cool & laid back. I feel bad for her because her mom just passed away last week. I’m sure the last thing she wants to do is come to work. I would be a wreck.
+ Nancy & Hong are in town this weekend. Love having them over.
+ Since Max is getting bigger, we no longer need a big stroller, so I’ve been looking around for a smaller, lightweight stroller. So far, this one is the only I like. Not only is it stylish, it’s the perfect size & it has a small compartment under to store things, unlike a lot of umbrella strollers.
+ I have been sick these last several days. Cough, runny nose & achy body. And my chest hurts a little too. Sucks… But I think the worst is over. Poor Max got sick too. Hope he gets over it soon.
+ I finally enrolled Max in tumbling classes. First day of class is Monday, so I hope he likes it.
+ Watching Project Runway right now. My faves are Christian & Romi. Christian is such a hoot.
Have a great weekend folks and stay warm!
I like:
+ this picture of Max
+ this cover of Cannonball by Vienna
+ these prints
+ these necklaces
+ this conversation with my son:
Me: “Max, did you go poo poo?”
Max: (quiet)
Me: “What do you say?”
Max: “May… I… Have….. Poo Poo!”We have been teaching him to ask for things in the form of: “May I have ______, please?” And it’s worked wonderfully when he wants something. He knows to insert whatever he wants into the sentence. We’ve also been working on answering “yes” or “no” questions too, so that’s what I was expecting from him when I asked him if he went #2. So funny.
+ this cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld’s wife), and even though it has some good recipes, I still don’t know if Max would eat a lot of it. The idea of pureeing veggies & mixing it into food is nothing new, but I do like the tips & advice the book gives.
Other Stuff:
+ I’m a bit sad… Somehow, my laptop mysteriously broke at the hinge. It looks like someone probably jumped down & body slammed it. Ok, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it doesn’t close right & there’s a chunk missing, and it is really bothering me how it could happen without me or Mike not noticing. It’s possible Max stepped on it, but he’d have to step on it at the right spot & also step on it pretty aggressively, so I couldn’t imagine him doing it. I really do not want to buy a new one because the guts of the laptop is perfectly fine. Of course, the hubby’s probably glad to have a reason to buy a new computer, like this one, which coincidently was revealed today.
+ Hubby’s attending his annual nerd (I say that with great affection) conference in San Jose next month, and I thought about tagging along again, but he might go to Tokyo for another conference later this year, and of course I’d rather go there, so I’m going save for that trip instead.
+ Yesterday was Max’s first day of class. He’s so funny. At first he was a little scared & apprehensive walking in the hallway to his classroom, and wanted me to carry him. But once we got into the room, and he saw all the toys and the play kitchen, he practically leaped from my arms. We tried to get him to hang up his coat & backpack, but he was gone. There was nothing I could say or do to get him to listen to me. I stayed for about 5 minutes, and then said goodbye to him. Thought he would at least be worried that I was leaving, but nope, he was fine. I came back about an hour later, and Max & his teacher were waiting for me at the front door. When Max saw me, he gave me a small smile & a big kiss & hug. His teacher said he was really good, no tears & even spoke a little bit. So, it was a good first day for Max. I’m so glad we decided to do this because he really needs to be socializing with other kiddies his age & be in a different environment.
+ Happy Birthday Maysee! We met up with Maysee & her hubby Jerry at Wolfgang Puck’s 20.21 for dinner last night. Mike’s parents helped watch Max while we were out. Thanks again! 20.21 was a bit of a disappointment. We had spring rolls, lettuce cups, Korean short ribs, roast duck, NY sirloin strip, and deep fried red snapper. A few of the dishes were decent, like the duck & short ribs , but our steak was a bit overcooked & the snapper was a little dry. The spring rolls, which were actually just regular eggrolls, weren’t great at all. The flavor combinations just were not good. We mentioned to our waitress that our steak was a little overcooked & she said, “Oh, I’m sorry about that. Is there something I do to fix that?” We just stared at her & didn’t really answer her because she shouldn’t even need to ask. Dining at a restaurant of that caliber, I expected her to say, “We’ll get you out another steak that’s cooked correctly, right away.” Overall, I would not go back to this place because it’s overpriced. Their eggrolls were definitely not worth $11, that’s for sure. One thing though, we did get a big window table (I specifically asked for this when I made reservations), so the view was nice. Anyway, I had fun though & wished we could have hung out a little longer.
+ School starts next week. My first day will be on Friday, the 18th. Only taking one class again this semester. An English class to help with my essays. As much as I hate writing essays, I need to take this class to improve my writing skills. Not looking forward to it, but I have to suck it up & just deal with it.
+ Did anyone notice my favicon? I finally decided to make one when I was bored the other day. I think it’s kind of cute.
Weekend Recap:
Saturday: Sara & her husband Sia, and their adorable baby, Cameron along with Debra & her little girl Sienna, who had the cutest little outfit on, and also Sandy & her little girl Tiffany came over on Saturday to hang out. We’ve been planning this get together since forever. We always had scheduling conflicts, so it’s nice to finally be able to find a day that worked for all of us. Sara wanted to learn how to make stuffed chicken wings, so I made that. I think I am done for the year with those stuffed wings. They are so yummy, but so time consuming. I swear, I think it took me about 3 hours just to make 12 wings.Thanks again for coming over gals, and bringing good food too. We had so much fun & lots of laughs, and hope we can do it again soon.
Later that night, my sister May & I went to our friend Amy’s annual Holiday party. I didn’t have time to make anything, so stopped by Kowalski’s & picked up a strawberry chocolate ganache torte. So good. Amy lives in the next town from us, so she & her husband might stop by for dinner sometime soon. They are such a cute couple, and expecting their first baby.
Sunday: We slept in, and ate a lunch of leftovers. Then Mike’s brother Adam came over to take Max sledding. Max was so excited & had lots of fun. Went downtown to return my bag, and wait for LV to call me when they get more bags. I also bought twelve ornaments for $40, but saved $80. Had dinner at Blue Sky Creamery.
+ I know I promised pictures, but I just realized last night that I didn’t know where my camera was. After several phone calls, and worrying & fretting, I figured out where I left it. So no pictures for a couple more days until my sister drops off my camera. Whew… Was dreading the thought of having to buy a new camera, let alone the pictures that will be lost.
+ We saw Atonement last week, and I must say I was a bit disappointed. It got such good reviews, but I just found it a little slow & the story really didn’t get to me. It was beautifully shot though.
+ The hubby is so sweet, he let me pick out a late Xmas gift & our anniversary gift (edit: which actually isn’t til the end of the month). I got a pair of bead earrings from Tiffany’s, and a new bag, which I’m going to go back to exchange because I’m a bit picky if the pattern isn’t symmetrical. A lot of people have the Speedy 30, but I’ve always wanted one, plus it’s a perfect size to hold my stuff in addition to Max’s diapers, wipes, toys & blankie.
+ Ok, I was supposed to start the New Year on a diet with Maysee, but I kind of forgot about it & already ate unhealthy stuff. I’m so bad. Sorry Maysee. I’m really going to try again. Really…
+ I’m a little late on posting reviews on restaurants we’ve been to recently, so here goes.
Highlights of 2007
+ I became closer to my family, especially my Mom. Since becoming a mother myself, we have grown closer & understand each other better. I feel more inclined to confide in her than I did previously. I always wanted a relationship like that with my Mom, but it never happened until recently.
+ A long time friend & I reestablished our relationship after some misunderstandings, so it’s nice to have her back in my life. It’s not easy to find friends like her. We have a long history together, and have always been close even though we lived far away from each other for several years.
+ Max started speech therapy in the summer, and is progressing nicely. He is speaking a lot more, and really making an effort. He will be starting the new year with a weekly toddler speech therapy class, so it will be interesting to see how he does in this new adventure. Max really makes me happy & proud to be his mommy. Each day with him is a treat, and I cherish all the time I get to spend with him.
+ I went back to school after a 9 year hiatus. It was a little intimidating at first, but overall, I think it went well (I got an A), and I am planning on attending Spring semester.
+ The hubby got a really nice raise. It was a long time coming, and he really deserves it because he works super hard & is really good at what he does. (The last part is what he told me. Hehe.)
There were some events that occurred in 2007 that impacted my loved ones in a negative way. I am saddened by this change & wish it were like it used to be, but I am learning to just accept life as it comes. This person may never come through, but I will always hold on to the hope that one day she will.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year from all of us. Happy 2008!
Our living room is such a mess. There are wrapping paper, empty shirt boxes & ribbon on the floor. Also some of Max’s presents sitting around. He’s currently taking turns with each gift. Half of his gifts are stored away. He got a good load of toys, so thanks everyone for the gifts. I bought Mike a pair of Prada sneakers (like these, only with blue stripes), but when I brought them home, one of the shoes wasn’t even the correct size, but they don’t have anymore in stock, so we returned them today. Mike bought me a cashmere Burberry sweater, which I really liked, but it’s a bit tight on me, so I returned it too. How embarrassing that even though he bought the largest size, it still didn’t fit. : P I think we’re just going to end up buying a flat screen tv for our bedroom instead. I’ve never been much of a electronic gadget person, but over the past few years, the hubby’s influence has been rubbing off on me.
This year, Max understands what presents are & how to open them, so it was really fun watching him open his gifts. He’ll get all excited & once he sees what it is, he’ll “ooh” & “aah” over it. A couple of the gifts we bought him, we let him have awhile ago. Just couldn’t resist giving them to him early. We bought a new Max & Ruby dvd, and a dvd set of Harold & the Purple Crayon.
This past Saturday, we had our annual holiday party, but this year, we invited more people. We had so much fun. Been a long time since I laughed that much & not because I had a little to drink. Thanks to everyone who made it. Played lots of fun games, and ate good food, with exception to my dish. I made stuffed mushrooms, but they weren’t all that even though 700+ people rated it 5 stars on allrecipes.com. Oh well. Maybe I didn’t read the directions correctly, but it’s not a hard recipe to mess up since there was less than 6 ingredients. Maybe I’m the stupid one. Btw, Happy Birthday to Miss Shanna!
On a different subject, this is for my Hmong readers, and/or those who are familiar with Hmong history: do you agree that Hmong people never had our own original style of dancing? And that as far as we know, Hmong dancing has always been influenced by another culture? For example, what most people know as Hmong dancing today, is strongly influenced by Lao & Thai style of dancing. The reason I ask is because I’ve been having arguments with people on Youtube about my videos that I posted last year. I posted some dance routines from the New Year of those girl groups who do all those flips & acrobatic tumbling to Chinese music. Many viewers are saying that since we are Hmong, we should only dance Hmong. I say that Hmong people do not have their own style of dancing, and that we’ve always adapted to whatever culture we’re exposed to. I mean, what is Hmong dancing to a lot of people? Right now, it’s “la vong” set to Hmong music right? What about 50 years from now? It might be something else. It’s really frustrating & kind of sad that these people do not take the time to learn about their history. I mean, all they have to do is ask their parents. Anyway, just wondering what some of you guys think. Please correct me if I am misinformed.
I might put up some pictures tomorrow, so be back later.
