M&M's Soap Box Life

Big Upper Arms

Tue, 07 May 2013 23:19:19 -0700

Every time my parents come over, I have to remind myself to pray ahead of time. Yes, I know it’s sad. Most people are excited to see their parents, but me….sigh! Every week before I go pick up my parents, it feels like I am gearing up to get on a roller coaster ride or crossing a mine field. I don’t ever expect it to be a happy encounter. I simply pray and hope that there will be no drama and no incidence.

That’s why I get unusually stressed out the night before and the morning of the day they come over to do their “thing.” My mom complains about everything, so I have to try my best to make the house look spotless so that she can’t find something to complain about. I also have to make sure that I hide everything that I don’t want my parents to see, to touch….or to put it bluntly, to destroy. That means when I drop them off at the house, I also have to make sure I open all the windows and blinds that I know they would want open. Otherwise, these things are bound to be damaged.

The biggest challenge by far is dealing with my mom’s “rough edges.” Ironically, my mom actually thinks she is the best smooth talker in the world. But to me, for the most part, listening to her words equates to having thorns going into my ears. My mom pushes my button on practically everything. If there is nothing wrong with the house, there is something wrong with the color of my skin, the freckles on my face, the muffin top on my tummy….and there is certainly always something wrong with my husband and my two children.

Well, today my mom found something new to criticize about: my arm. She asked, “Why is your upper arm so unproportionately big?” Good thing I was able to keep my mouth shut this afternoon, but in my head I was thinking to myself, “Huh, funny! You gave birth to me….how would I know?”

So my mom suggested and even demonstrated how I should constantly lift my arms to stretch them out so that I can try to balance my “shape” and make myself look more proportionate! Seriously I could not wait to drop my parents off at their apartment so that I didn’t have to continue to listen to the “lecture.” But my two kids are so sweet. My daughter said to me, “Mom, you look just fine.” And even my 6 year old chimed in, “Mom, that was just mean.” My kids sure know how to make me smile!

Basketball

Mon, 06 May 2013 23:29:18 -0700

My son has been bugging me about playing basketball for months. He wanted to join the after school sport, but unfortunately nothing worked with our schedules. Then he wanted to sign up for basketball at the Chinese school for next year’s activity class, but we were told he is too young to play on the team.

This kid has never played basketball or watched a basketball game, so I really don’t think he has any idea what basketball is about. But on April 30, 2013, I finally took my 6 year old boy to the city gym to sign him up for the summer basketball league. He was beyond ecstatic!

He said, “Now I am going to be a Laker, and I will be famous!” My daughter, the big sister, of course, had to burst his bubbles and tried to explain to my son that he is not signed up to play professional basketball. And my son refuted, “No, my friend in class plays for the Lakers, and he makes millions of dollars a year.” Big sister scoffed, “Ok, if you friend is so rich, then why is he still going to kindergarten? Huh? Huh? Huh?”

It was actually funny to see the two argue about basketball. I tried to explain to my son that there will be girls on the team as this is a coed team, but I don’t think he got that either. In fact, I think he was simply too excited to care about what other people say. It would be interesting to see his reaction on the first day when he finds out that he will have to practice and to play basketball with girls.

Hubby's Birthday vs In-Laws

Fri, 03 May 2013 10:01:41 -0700

Today is my hubby’s birthday. Normally my parents come over on Fridays to cook their concoction and to do their laundry at our place. So earlier this week on Monday my husband and I actually went on our little lunch date to claim one of his free birthday meal offer in advance as that was the only day we thought we would both be free to eat lunch together.

Yesterday (Thursday) my parents called to cancel. They said that something had come up, and so they didn’t want me to go pick them up on Friday as scheduled. My parents’ cancellation actually turned out better for my schedules. Today we are closing the April general ledger at work, so things are chaotic, and I might even have to stay later at work. Besides, we already have a dinner reservation tonight with my mother-in-law, so I actually like the fact that I don’t have to worry about taking my parents home after work and meeting up with the rest of the family at the restaurant. And if I am lucky enough, my husband and I may even be able to squeeze in another quick birthday lunch in between our separate meetings—even if it has to be a quick fast food drive-thru.

But what gets me is my parents’ attitude. I know I have to learn to not let it bother me, but it does. I had hoped that my parents’ attitude toward my husband would improve at least slightly after we changed title and gave them complete ownership of the senior apartment, but apparently not.

I know for a fact that a few days ago my dad had mentioned it to my brother that today is my husband’s birthday. So it’s not like my parents could have forgotten about my husband’s birthday. May be I am just too skeptical, but I am convinced that my parents have cancelled coming over today to avoid seeing my husband on his birthday. This way they don’t have to feel awkward not saying “happy birthday” and such.

Oh well, it is what it is. As much as I am saddened by my parents’ animosity toward my husband, I just need to learn to not let my parents push my button and focus on being thankful to God that He has given me such a wonderful man!

Sister-in-Law?

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:54:00 -0700

While my family was on our spring break vacation, I got a Facebook message from the girl who is supposed to be my brother’s girlfriend—or if I can even call her a girlfriend at all. Honestly, I don’t know what to call them. They are seeing each other, but I cannot read their relationship. They definitely do not share the same level of transparency as I would expect from a couple who considers each other a prospective spouse candidate. After all, this girl and my brother are not even Facebook friends. To me, their relationship is more like a casual date, but she says it over and over again that she loves my brother very much and wants to make him the happiest man on earth.

So this girl sent me a message asking me if my parents like her and how I feel about her being my future sister-in-law. Of course my first reaction was “wow, this girl is really ahead of herself.” And truthfully, I was not sure how to respond. Given that my parents resent my husband so much, I cannot imagine my parents ever accepting a daughter-in-law who is not Taiwanese and of her background.

After all, my parents are still grieving over the fact that they had allowed me to make my own decision on my marriage—which in their mind was a terrible, terrible decision. Not only did I not marry up, my parents felt that I had picked the worst possible human being possible among all the candidates I could have picked. To this day, I still don’t understand what is so bad about my husband. And it certainly does not sit well with me that my parents think I have made such a bad decision on my marriage. True, I did not marry a millionaire, nor did I marry someone rich enough to allow me to be a stay-at-home wife or a stay-at-home mom…..but I live a very happy life…..what is wrong with my happy, simple life?

My dad’s words to my brother were, “We thought that your sister was so smart. So we trusted that she could manage everything. But after we came to the U.S., we realized that we were wrong. We had made a big mistake, which made our hearts broken. So we don’t want you to become our second mistake….” In other words, due to my fallout with my parents, my parents now feel that they have to maintain 100% control over my brother’s life—what he does, where he lives, whom she marries….etc. My dad told my brother that he has to be the “hunter,” not the “hunted.”

But the reality is that my parents have always been very controlling people, even though they always deny it and refuse to acknowledge it. The difference between my brother and me is that I have never been a compliant child. I may have given my parents the wrong impression that I was this quiet, innocent, compliant daughter, but the reality has always been that if I want something done, nothing can stop me. I will always find a way around the situation to get to it, with God’s help.

So in order for this girl to ever become my sister-in-law, I think it will require a great deal of efforts on my brother’s part. Is he willing to break his silence and his compliant personality for this girl? Does he love and want her enough to go against my parents? Of course, ultimately, is she really God’s will for my brother and therefore our Almighty God will make it happen?

Today is my 42nd birthday. I’ve never had...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:38:00 -0700

Today is my 42nd birthday. I’ve never had any”problems” with birthdays. In fact, I love birthdays. I don’t have any issue with my age going up. To me, 42 is just a number.

This year my birthday is unique in the sense that this year my birthday wish is for one person—yes, all 42 candles on this one person. I don’t know when or if I will get to see my birthday wish come true, but I have faith that God hears my prayers and will answer mine.

I was born and raised in a religious environment all my life, but I have always credited my time in Paraguay as the beginning of my real, personal walk with the Lord—particularly through a couple pivotal people. H was one of them; in fact, she was the first person at my fork path for my major spiritual turning point.

Almost 29 years ago I met H when I was 13. She was the “big sister” I looked up to, and she was the one who took me to church and introduced me to teachers and people whom later really shaped my spiritual life. Even though the time I got to spend with H was short, it was a very important and meaningful time. H was smart, beautiful, kind….even if I were to use up all the positive adjectives found in the dictionary, it would not be enough to describe how great H was. She was simply a beautiful flower that spread the Lord’s fragrance. She was the rainbow in any person’s storm. H started college at the young age of 16 with full scholarship, and her story was printed on the local Chinese newspaper. Yes, H was the pride and joy of the Taiwanese immigrants in Paraguay.

Almost 4 years ago, I found H on Facebook. H had no recollection of me but friended me anyway. Ironically, a while later, H actually found photos from the “good, old days” with me in the photos. So while H could not remember a thing about me, she could not deny that our paths had crossed “once upon a time.” So over the last few years we have kept in touch through Facebook and e-mails.

I have known from the day I found H on Facebook that spiritually she is not where she was “once upon a time.” In fact, she hasn’t stepped foot in a church for a long time. But to me, H is still the same old H that I knew when I was little. However, she is now in a very bad place. In fact, she is in a very deep, deep hole. Yesterday she posted the above satire cartoon on her Facebook wall. I felt so sad for the person who had “created” this humor, and I felt sorry for the people who could find this picture and caption funny. A person has to be in such a miserably dark hole and to be so far away from God’s grace to even be able to find this funny. 9,067 liked this satire. 2,636 shared it. 711 commented on it. It is shocking for me to see how when a person is blinded by evil that the person can build up so much anger, resentment, and hatred toward God—the Supreme Being out there who does absolutely nothing and allows all these bad things to happen in life…..it is really sad.

So this year my birthday wish is that H can find God again and be filled with His love, comfort, and peace. I know that if H can just find that foundational rock again, that she can find herself believing one more time that Jesus had died on the cross for her that she can rebuild a new life with God again. Easter is coming up in 20 days. I don’t know if she will or if she will not, but I sure hope that this Easter will mean something to H. I hope that somehow the Easter love story will once again melt her heart.

Kindergarten College Essay

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:51:00 -0800

This week is College Week, and our kids have to turn in an essay describing where they want to go to college, what they want to learn, and what they want to do when they grow up. Below is the essay my 6 year old wants to write:

I want to go to B University because it is a good school. When I grow up, I want to become a firefighter. I want to study fire drills in college. I want to help other people and help wash out fire if they don’t know how to wash out fire.

Lost and Found

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:00:00 -0800

Today was my boy’s very first kindergarten field trip. As the kids were getting ready for school, my husband and I started giving our son the instructions: reminding our son to stay with the group during the field trip, to not go anywhere alone….

My son even added, “To go to the bathroom with someone too?”

Parents: Yes

Son: What if I get lost?

Me: Then I will be very sad. I will worry that you won’t come home. I don’t want to lose you.

Son: But I will just be at the Lost & Found.

It so funny how kids think….

Cashier Drama

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 23:04:00 -0800

Today is only the third day that our cashier has been gone for her vacation, and honestly, I am not confident that we will survive the two weeks that she is scheduled to be out of the office. With the rate we are going, I may die of a heart attack before our cashier returns.

First day—within 15 minutes after the student workers opened the cashier window, one of them came to me in a panic to report that the cash drawer key had broken off, and that the cash drawer had been disabled with the piece of the key stuck in the keyhole. On top of that, they had no idea where the other part of the key went—must have bounced off somewhere when the key broke.

I borrowed every tool I could find on the floor; even a couple colleagues from other areas came to help. But noop, simply could not get the cash drawer to open or the key to come out. Finally everyone gave up. I called for the locksmith. Meanwhile, another student worker kept on trying to yank out that piece of broken key with paper clips and a tweezer. Fortunately, after like 90 minutes, the student worker actually got the key out. Then the locksmith arrived….of course.

Next, when I came back from lunch, I noticed some fake money—the monopoly money—sitting in the cash box. I was shocked. I was puzzled. What was the green paper money doing inside the cash tray. It turned out that my student workers had “traded” real cash for paper cash. I was like, “Are you kidding me?!?”

“But the counselors said it was ok,” they explained. “It was for a game.” I was ready to go through the roof.

“No, it’s not ok. I don’t care if the President had come here to trade paper money for real money. You don’t just hand out cash to someone without asking me first. And no one should ever make any decision for the cashier area without me or the cashier. If you are not sure what to do, you do NOTHING.” Blah, blah, blah, blah…..the girls got an earful from me. So the cash box was short $40, but eventually I had the problem taken care of. In a few days I will get my cash back for the cash box.

To top it off, the student workers had somehow left the cashier entry keys at the front desk counter. I don’t even know how it had happened, but it did. Fortunately, no thief or burglar came around. Or else it would have been free and easy entry to all!

Then today, my student workers were short $1,000 in the cash box at the end of the day. Yes, a whole $1,000. We re-counted everything. Every transaction was re-verified. Then it dawned on me that a coach had come to cash an unusually large cash advance check when I was out for lunch. I asked, “Did you count out the cash when the coach came to cash that cash advance check?”

“No, the coach refused. He was in a hurry and didn’t want us to count out the cash.”

At that point, I was ready to blow. I tried to maintain my composure, but I was practically an erupting volcano. I was simply short of screaming, “Which idiot would give out $4,000 cash without counting???” Yes, I was mad, and everyone could tell. The cashier floor was shaking. I was BOILING. It was a good thing I remembered exactly how many big bills were in the cash box.

I called the coach, but he had already left his office. Since the cash was never counted, my cashiers must have handed out $5,000 for a $4,000 check. So my task now is to find the coach at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning, hoping that I would get the cash back before the team leaves town for the tournaments…..now I pray that the $1,000 is truly with the coach…..to be continued.

The Reptile Zoo My kids’ school and daycare were closed...

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:17:30 -0800

Giant Tortoises Wrestling

Two-Headed Snake

350 lbs boa

The Reptile Zoo

My kids’ school and daycare were closed for President’s Day, so I took the day off work to stay home with the kids. But given my personality, we hardly ever “stay home” whenever I get the kids. So it was another outing, another “mommy and kids” day out.

I hate snakes. I don’t even like seeing snakes on TV, so it is really not my thing to see snakes up close and personal. But I happen to have two children who are fascinated by reptiles. My son, in particular, loves snakes. Every time he goes to Chuck E Cheese, he wants to get a rubber snake from the prize station to add to his “collection.”

Months ago I saw it on my Facebook friend’s wall about this Reptile Zoo. I knew immediately that it would be a place that my kids would enjoy. And sure enough, my kids couldn’t spend enough time at the Reptile Zoo. In fact, my son said he would love to go back there everyday! The Reptile Zoo is actually more of a giant pet store than a “zoo.” But it’s quite overwhelming how many different kinds of snakes this little store houses. The number one favorite for my kids was the two headed snake. The Reptile Zoo is also home to a 350 lbs giant boa. The only creatures I liked at the Reptile Zoo were the turtles and the tortoises, and watching my kids feed the turtles and the tortoises was actually quite fun—even though the live worms were quite gross. Yuck!

There is a section at the Reptile Zoo where kids get to “pet” the reptiles and snakes . Of course watching my son wearing the snake like a scarf around his neck sent chills down my spine. But I was actually amazed at my daughter’s ability to handle the snakes. She could hold the snakes in so many different ways: like a “fur ball,” like a bracelet…..she was practically waltzing with the snake!

I was really surprised how comfortable my two kids were with these snakes and reptiles. They both said that they would love to get a job at the Reptile Zoo one day. My kids kept trying to convince to hold the “pets,” but I was only able to go as far as “touching” their skins with my two fingers for 2 seconds. So for now, I can only say that I like snakes in the cooked soup format! There is just no way I can look at a snake and call it a household pet!

Braised Pork Belly Japanese Style

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 21:14:00 -0800

Braised Pork Belly Japanese Style:

Buta no kakuni (Japanese braised pork belly)

About 450g / 1 lb pork belly
2 Tbs sugar
1 piece of leek (about 6 inches / 15 cm long or so. You can use the green part too.)
1 large piece of fresh ginger
1 star anise
3 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. sake
2 cups water

Attempted Burglary

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 20:07:00 -0800

Today I arrived home with a sheriff’s car on our street. People gathered around in front of my neighbor’s house, talking to a sheriff. At first I thought my neighbor had gotten into an accident or something. I was even thinking to myself, “After I park the car in the garage, I should go over to see if everything is ok with my neighbor.”

Just as I was getting out of my car, I saw a police walking out of our backyard. That was when my heart sank and realized that something was going on with my household—not my neighbor’s. My neighbors were simply being interviewed by the police.

My first fear was concerning my daughter because she has been sick since last Wednesday. I was afraid something had happened to her. Fortunately, my two kids were on the computer doing their homework.

It turned out that someone had attempted to break into our house this afternoon. “They” practically cut through the window screens on the side and in the back of our house, and fortunately, “they” were not able to crack through our dual pane windows. So thank God He protected our home and provided us safety.

Our neighbor behind our house, however, got a big scare. She was actually at home when it happened. Fortunately, because she saw them, she was able to tell the police that it was two Hispanic males with a silver compact car. I was shocked to find out that the surveillance cameras of our next door neighbor and the neighbor across the street were also cut.

But five homes on the same street just half a mile from us were burglarized, although the police didn’t think it was done by the same people because witnesses said they were three Black males.

Our little city has always been such a quiet and calm neighborhood. In fact, it’s supposed to be one of the safetest cities. All these years I have taken God’s protection and our safety for granted!

Just as my husband was finishing up the police report with the sheriff, I realized that my son was running a fever. Sigh! No matter how hard we try, it’s so hard not to share the same virus between the kids. Now I just hope my son can get rid of this viral infection faster than his sister.

How to Make Lemon Curd

Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:06:45 -0800

Thanks to FineCooking’s YouTube video on How to Make Lemon Curd, I was able to make the tastiest and easiest homemade lemon curd ever. It’s so easy, smooth, and delicious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPj5WNZfV94

Ingredients Needed:

1 cup of sugar

6 tablespoon of softened butter

2 whole eggs

2 yolks

2/3 cup of lemon juice

1 teaspoon of lemon zest

You can use a standing mixer, just make sure to start with the sugar and softened butter first. Then add only one egg at a time. Once the sugar, butter, eggs, yolks, and lemon juice are all mixed in, transfer the mixture to cook on the stovetop.

Start with low heat for about 10 minutes, keeps stirring the mixture with a balloon whisk, then slowly turn the heat up to medium. When the mixture starts to thicken, add in the lemon zest and use a spatula to stir and to test if the sauce is thick enough. When the lemon curd is ready, transfer it to a bowl and over with plastic wrap with the wrap directly on the curd.

Temecula Vineyards I don’t really drink wine, and...

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 22:19:49 -0800

Temecula Vineyards

I don’t really drink wine, and don’t know anything about wine. But I have always wanted to go visit the Temecula vineyards for the scenery. December is really not the best time as the vines are all dried up, but still, it was a very fun day driving and seeing the wineries on Rancho California Road. There are so many wineries on that one street that it would be impossible to visit every single vineyard on one day, but of the few that we got to see today, Wilson Creek came out the definite winner!

Wilson Creek’s ground and landscape are just absolutely gorgeous, and there is a little playset and bocce ball where the kids can play. Ponte is also very beautiful with the little pond, and Ponte’s restroom is the nicest of all. South Coast is the biggest in terms of facility, but there is really not much to see. You can drive by the villas, but you can only see the outside. South Coast has a whole wall of award winning medals, so their wine must be pretty good. Next time if we ever go back, I would like to go visit Europa. A local had recommended it, but we could not find it on the map. It turned out Europa is tucked on the inside after Callaway and across Thornton. So we didn’t see it until we were on the way back. If we ever have time, I would just love to drive by each vineyard one by one and visit each one row by row!

Ugly Sweater Competition Today my department hosted the annual...

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:24:00 -0800

Ugly Sweater Competition

Today my department hosted the annual office Christmas lunch party, and one of the activities was the ugly sweater competition. I misread the instruction when the announcement first came out and thought that I just had to find the ugliest sweater. So I went to the goodwill store and found this hideous giraffe print sweater. It must had been someone’s giraffe costume of some sort—may be for a play or something. There was also this ugly olive green dead tree looking jacket at the goodwill store, and I even solicited a stranger’s opinion to finally decide on the giraffe print sweater.

But then later on I was told that it could not be just any sweater. The competition was for the ugliest Christmas sweater. Not wanting to spend any more money on another ugly sweater that I would never ever wear again, I went to the 99 Cents and Dollar Tree and picked out some ornaments and Christmas decorations to sew onto the giraffe print sweater. After I sewed the gingerbread man in the middle on the sweater, my daughter commented that I was making the sweater “cuter.” So I had to redo it and found a really awkward spot for it. Finally, my labor paid off because today I am the proud 1st place winner of the ugly sweater contest. I will be displaying my “Ugliest Sweater” winner button in my office for a long time!

Cars Land at Disney California Adventure My husband attended a...

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 22:27:00 -0800

Cars Land at Disney California Adventure

My husband attended a work conference in Anaheim, and each conference attendee received a Disney twilight ticket for the Sunday dinner program. We were very blessed that a few fellow conference attendees gave their twilight tickets to my husband. Since we could only go to one park, and we could only go after my husband’s Sunday conference session concluded at 4:30 p.m., we opted to go to California Adventure so that we could go to Cars Land for the very first time.

The whole Radiator Springs scene at Cars Land is very impressive and very well built. Every detail is created and constructed with Disney’s level of perfection. Even though there are only 3 rides at Cars Land, we spent our entire time in Cars Land because the wait for Radiator Springs Racers alone was well over 2 hours. The ride actually offers fast passes, but the fast passes practically always run out during the first hour after the park opens. That’s how popular Cars Land is right now. It’s a very nice ride, but it’s a scary ride. Surprisingly, I actually handled the fast speed and the sideway motion pretty well. It was the multiple dips that really got me. So unless I have to go on the ride again, one time on Radiator Springs Racers is more than enough for me. I am so glad I did not die of a heart attack during the ride!

Then we went on the Luigi’s Flying Tires, which is such a fun and innovative ride. It’s like a bumper car ride, but you can’t control your “tire” with the stick. Instead, the tires float on “air,” and you have to control your “driving direction” with your weight. So if you want to go left, you and your companion have to lean to the left. If you want to go forward, you and your companion have to lean forward. So it’s a great Yoga exercise. It was so funny because it was so hard to control your tire with your weight and motion, and you are just bound to bump into the wall or into someone else’s tire. It would be very hard to get off that ride without much giggles.

Then onto the Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, and I screamed and squeezed my 5 year old’s hand tightly during the entire ride—which was less than 2 minutes. Even though it was similar to a spinning teacup ride, it was scary to me because I had no control to the spinning and the whirling to Mater’s crazy driving. My neck and my lower back were so sore after I got off that ride, and my 5 year old laughed at me, “See mommy, it’s not that bad.”

There is really nothing much special to Flo’s V8 Cafe, but because it’s a novelty, the wait is minimum one hour just to get inside to order. It’s basically a fast food sit down dining for home cooking style roast beef. Since the park closed at 10 p.m., we were able order one plate to share minutes before the kitchen shut down. The food is yummy, and they actually give you real flatware to use, but the price is steep. One roast beef plate is over $11. Even though the food prices at Cars Land are very expensive, the $7 chili cone queso is a must try. It’s very cute and very delicious—but then again, it could be because we were so hungry!

Christmas Program

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:51:00 -0800

I am a very proud mom today. Today I watched my daughter perform in drama and both my kids in choir at school. I had no idea that my daughter was going to sing a solo, and I almost cried when I heard her sing. It was just absolutely beautiful! She has certainly come a long way as this was the same child who always had to put up a fight with us in ballet class 7 years ago because she hated being the center of attention.

I had no idea that my two kids would be singing solo, duet, and trio, so it was a very proud moment for me. I am not surprised that my son would volunteer and would do well on stage. I have always known that my son has more of my DNA, but this is his very first time joining the school choir—not to mention that he is only 5 and a kindergardener.

Tonight I also had a chance to meet my daughter’s “secret admirer.” Actually it’s not so secret as the whole world seems to know that he has a crush on my daughter. I had actually heard about “him” before, but I had always listened to the gossip and the rumor half-heartedly because it was just “kids’ talk” to me. But then recently my co-worker approached me and asked me if I knew N. Apparently, the rumor had gotten to the grown up circle. So tonight I was particularly interested in spotting N and even took pictures of him on stage and off stage.

I thought it was cute, but my husband is not amused at all. I think it’s harmless and actually funny, but my husband does not like the fact that some boy out there is fantasizing about our daughter at this age. Fortunately, our daughter is not into boys yet—or so I think?!?

Today I got to cross off a few items from my bucket list. I have...

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 22:26:16 -0800

Today I got to cross off a few items from my bucket list. I have always been mesmerized by ice sculptures and have always been a big fan of the British Royal Family. So even though I usually do not do well in cold temperatures, I found myself not wanting to leave the big dome freezer this afternoon. I looked at the same ice sculptures again and again. In fact, one of the attendants asked me if I was lost as I circulated the ice kingdom multiple times.

Unexpectedly, today I also got to see the Princess Diana’s Legacy at Queen Mary because of the promotion offered by the Chill’s Ice Kingdom tickets. It’s one thing to see Princess Diana’s dresses on TV, and it’s another thing to see the gown’s details up close. And as added bonuses, there were quite a few Royal Family’s and personal additions to the exhibit—things that you don’t normally get to see. Princess Kate’s dresses were also on display. We were not allowed to videotape or to take pictures inside exhibit, but I managed to take a couple snaps before we entered the exhibit of the pink cancer awareness gown and the sheer dress that Princess Kate wore at a charity fashion show when she captured Prince William’s attention.

Today has been a very happy day for me!

The Hot Pink, the Zebra Stripes, and the Ugly Drama My daughter...

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 22:15:00 -0800

The Hot Pink, the Zebra Stripes, and the Ugly Drama

My daughter had a hot pink zebra stripe theme birthday party yesterday. It was a very labor intensive birthday party because almost everything had to be “homemade.” I found the hot pink zebra stripe duck tape and duck taped the bottled water. I made a fondant pink zebra cake, hand dipped pretzel rods, chocolate lollipops…the easiest thing was buying the pink zebra balloons from Party City. Ironically, despite all my efforts and hard work, the most popular menu item was s’mores—that the girls had to “cook” for themselves. But the girls had so much fun roasting the giant marshmallows over chafing fuel. Good thing they didn’t burn down the house!

Toward the end of the party, a girl asked me if she could take a cupcake home. I responded, “Sure, take as many cupcakes as you want. In fact, let me give you a box so you can pack any food you want.”

She was shocked at my response and asked with her eyes wide open, “Really? I can take anything I want?”

As soon as the other girls heard the exclamation, they started to raid the food table. Then one girl came up, and she stood in front of the table admiring the hot pink zebra stripe cake and mumbled to herself, “I wish I can take this cake home for my mom’s birthday.”

This particular girl has been in the same class with my daughter from kindergarten through 3rd grade. I don’t know her family well, but I know that the girl’s mom is a single parent and apparently has financial struggles. This girl is always like an “underdog” and a “cry baby” at school. So I have always felt bad for her because I know that the girl got upset at school quite often, and a lot of it had to do with money issues—her mom could not afford or be at school functions due to financial reasons, the girl had to be pulled out of after school daycare because it got too expensive….

I admit I probably should have asked my daughter first, but being the practical and triple A personality me, I acted hastily. As soon as I heard the girl said that, I told her, “Let me Saran wrap it so that you can take the cake home to celebrate with your mom.” The girl, of course, was ecstatic and dashed out of our house with that cake fast like lightening. My daughter, on the other hand, shocked at what she had just seen, dashed into her room screaming and crying, “She took my cake! She took my whole cake!”

My husband, of course, gave me that dirty look “what have you done???” Honestly, my first reaction was “I was confused.” I was confused because I knew my daughter hates the taste of fondant.

I explained to my husband, “She took a bite of the last practice cake that I made, declared that she hated fondant, and the majority of the cake went into the trash can. I could not finish the cake myself, and neither you nor our son wanted to eat fondant either.”

“I know, but it’s still her birthday cake,” my husband replied.

“Yes, and it’s a birthday cake that will be going into the trash can again because no one in our household will eat it. Why would I choose to throw away the cake when someone really wants it? Our daughter wanted a hot pink zebra stripe cake for her party, and I made it for the “look.” None of us will eat that cake.” I protested.

Anyway, long story short, I will be making a third hot pink zebra stripe cake again. In order to console my daughter, I had agreed that on her actual birthday, we will make yet another fondant cake—together!

Election 2012

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:05:00 -0800

It’s interesting to see how a person changes as he/she ages. When my husband was younger, he would always refuse to vote because he did not want to get the jury summon. He felt that his vote would not matter anyway because we live in a very blue state, so the outcome of our state’s election results would always be the same. The one year I finally convinced him to vote, sure enough, my husband received his very first jury summon notice. So my husband remained to be very adamant for a very long time about casting his vote on an “outcome” that is pretty much certain in our state.

This year, however, my husband is more enthusiastic about the U.S. election than I am. In fact, he went to the polling place first thing in the morning when it opened. My husband and I have different opinions on different issues, but overall we are both very non-partisan. I was pretty hesitant to cast my vote on either of the “mainstream” presidential candidates, but my husband was very set on one of them. I even jokingly said that I would just put my own name on the ballot and vote for myself as the next U.S. President. My husband and I could not even agree on all the state propositions or the county measures. Fortunately, both of us are ok with each of us holding a different position. We talked about our differences and explained why we take the positions on the issues, but we felt no need to convince the other person to be on the same page. We simply stated our viewpoints and let the other person be.

The funny thing was after we voted, I actually ended up voting for my husband’s “presidential candidate,” and he actually changed his mind on the state propositions. So in the end, there was only one measure on which we voted differently: Proposition 32 concerning the labor unions. My husband was excited and came to my office to show his grin as he watched his presidential candidate’s poll number going higher and higher. But I made it very clear to my husband that I am still not excited about his “presidential candidate”. I simply voted for the “lesser of the two evils,” knowing that aside from the Republican and the Democratic presidential candidates, no one else stands a chance to be the next U.S. President. Now I am anxious to have this day over so that I can see who will be the next President of the United States. One thing is sure: my husband will be staying up tonight watching the election results.

My Very First Fondant Cake For her upcoming 10th birthday, my...

Sat, 03 Nov 2012 14:45:00 -0700

My Very First Fondant Cake

For her upcoming 10th birthday, my daughter has requested a hot pink with zebra stripe and quilted cake. I went to the bakery and was quoted $70 just for an one tier 6 inch hot pink zebra stripe cake. Not wanting to disappoint my princess, I was determined to make my daughter’s cake for her, even though I have absolutely no baking skills and have never worked with fondant.

I watched every YouTube video there is to watch, and I went to one cake supplies store after another….my husband laughed at me and scoffed, “Just order a cake for her.” Today while my kids and my husband were out watching “Wreck It Ralph,” I made my very first fondant cake. I have to say, making and rolling fondant is truly a lot of work. No wonder a fondant cake is so expensive!!! I was so excited when I finished that I actually dropped the cake! Yes, I actually dropped the cake face down and had to “repair” it. Fortunately, this is just a practice cake and a trial run. But I am sure excited to show my daughter her “dream cake”!!!

Ok, now to washing the dishes and cleaning the mess I’ve made in the kitchen!