10-min Recipe: Grilled Basil, Tomato, Mozzarella Sandwich

I am not very fond of cold sandwiches because I think hot or grilled sandwiches are just so much better.

When I was in Italy last year, besides pasta and pizza, I fell in love with fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese - apparently made from buffalo's milk rather than cow's.  I was impressed that the AutoGrill chain off of the A1 highway was selling these really yummy grill-to-order sandwiches...buffalo mozzarella with prosciutto was my favorite.  If only the US would have chains like these!

If you buy fresh mozzarella cheese, they are so good as a snack or as an appetizer when served with thinly sliced prosciutto (another newly found love in the food department for me!).  Let me digress for a second about prosciutto...If you don't like prosciutto, chances are you haven't had good prosciutto because there is a large number of counterfeiters out there :-)  My favorite brands are Prosciutto "di San Daniele" and "di Parma", which apparently are the areas that make really good prosciutto per wiki.

The recipe below is borrowed from the hostess of one of my bookclubs.  I also love the basil taste.  Add prosciutto or salami if you want some meat.  This dish is definitely great for any big get-together because it is simple and quick.  

Grilled Basil, Tomato, Mozzarella Sandwich Recipe   

Pictures:  On the left is the pre-grilled sandwich and on the right is the post-grilled version.

Ingredients: Serves 1

2 large slices of light/airy Italian or French white bread
2 basil leaves
1 fresh mozzarella cheese ball, cut in round slices
1 tomato, cut in round slices
1 garlic clove (crushed and diced) or garlic powder (powder might taste better but I haven't tried it).
2-3 teaspoons of olive oil
Salt to taste


Preparation:

1. If using fresh garlic, combine the garlic with 1 tsp of olive oil and brush one side of the bread with the oil+garlic mixture.  Brush the other side of the bread with some of the olive oil.  If using garlic powder, brush both sides of the bread and then sprinkle the garlic powder on one of the sides. 
2. Assemble your sandwich by placing 2 slices of mozzarella cheese, 2 slices of tomatoes, and then then the basil leaves on the garlic side of one of the pieces of bread.  If you are using fresh garlic, you may want to sprinkle some salt to suit your taste.  Note that some garlic powder already has salt if you are using the powder form.  Put the other piece of bread on top.  
3. Add some olive oil on a pan and turn the heat to medium or medium high.  Place the assembled sandwich on the pan.  I find that putting something heavy on the sandwich (like a bowl) will help melt the filling.  
4. Flip the sandwich after 1-2 minutes or until it starts having that golden brown grilled look.
5. Serve while still warm and with a mixed salad if you need to meet your veggie quotient.  Enjoy!

Thoughts on Cooking...and 30-min Shaking Beef Recipe

About 6 months ago, I found myself eating out almost every meal.  Although I love trying a new restaurant/cuisine/dish, at least half if not more of the meals weren't really up-to-par, and yet I am paying good money for them.  Some of the meals even made me wonder how the restaurant owner had the gumption to open for business with food like that.  I know I am sounding like a snob, but I am "serious" about my food!!!

Since I often found myself thinking "I could make this dish better than this restaurant", I started wondering why I didn't just walk the walk and start cooking more at home?

*I think* I am a good cook because my discerning palette knows how to season food well and what good food tastes like.  I used to dislike cooking because I would not be in the mood to eat my own food if it took me longer than 30 minutes to prepare.  It didn't help that my mother is a phenomenal cook, and so I grew up liking eating more than cooking :-).  Also, for at least 10 years (not anymore though), my mom would do this epic all-day cooking of preparing a gizillion meals to stock up the freezer whenever I came home from college or when she came to visit me.  Of course, I would have to be on my feet all day helping!

I knew from previous relapses that I would need to be realistic and keep my dishes to 30 minutes in order to stick with cooking.  I am proud to say that have been cooking at home a lot and even amped up to 5 nights a week (except Friday and Saturday) for the last 2 months.  

Moving forward, I will start blogging about my favorite dishes to share good recipes with friends and motivate myself with my cooking effort -- kind of like the "Julie and Julia" food blog.  

My cooking philosophy:  Although I will list quantity of ingredients in recipes, I follow the golden rule of tasting my food and then tweak the seasoning as needed.  If it's my first time trying a new recipe, I often mull over what could be changed next time.   So I encourage you to do the same.  

RECIPE 1:  VIETNAMESE SHAKING BEEF

Foreword:  I didn't really care for shaking beef before living in SF because I am a confessed picky beef eater.  However, when I had shaking beef at Slanted Door several years ago, I just absolutely loved how tender and tasty it was. Then it dawned on me that what I loved was the tender filet mignon!!!  

Source:  This recipe is from Chef Luke Nguyen on the Cooking Channel. I tinkered with it a bit to fit my own taste.

Picture:  I added extra sauce today and so the beef looks very saucy in the picture.  Don't do this.  I think the dish is better with less sauce.  

Ingredients for Shaking Beef: 

• 1 lb of filet mignon or filet mignon tail, cut into cubes.  Note: Luke's recipe uses sirloin.

• 2 tablespoon of oyster sauce 
• 1 tablespoon of hot water
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil (Side note:  This oil adds a lot of taste to wonton filings)  
• 1 teaspoon of sugar or Splenda
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/2 small onion, in long slices
• 1 tablespoon of butter or cholesterol-free butter substitute
• pinch of salt
• pinch of course cracked black pepper 

Ingredients for Side Dishes:  

1. Dipping sauce:  A mixture of soy sauce and chili (fresh or from an Asian chili bottle).  I also add a bit of vinegar.  The Shaking Beef is very good without the dipping sauce.  So try it both ways.  
2. Salad:  Mixed spring salad with grape tomatoes, olive oil + balsamic vinegar dressing. 
3. "Optional" baguette or  brown/white rice:  I typically skip the carbs.  If you want rice, I would recommend cooking it in advance or use the low-maintenance 90-sec brown rice.  

Preparation and cooking instructions:

1. In a bowl, create the marinade by combining oyster sauce, hot water, sesame oil, sugar, black pepper, and salt (season to taste).                
2. Add the beef and marinate for 10 minutes.                                                           Cooking Tip #1:  While waiting, prepare your side dishes (including dipping sauce) above.  
3. Heat the wok or pan to medium high heat, add butter, garlic, and onions.  Brow the onion/garlic mixture for 2 minutes or longer depending on how well you like your onions cooked.  Scoop the onion mixture out to a separate bowl and set aside.
4. Clean the pan with a wet piece of paper or cloth.  Turn the pan on high heat until smoking hot. 
5. Add the tablespoon of vegetable oil.  Add the beef and seal on each side for 1 minute.  The beef should be charred on both sides.  Cook the beef for another 1-2 minutes but don't overcook.  The beef tastes the best at medium rare.                                                                                                    Cooking Tip #2: Taste the beef and add more salt/pepper or seasoning if needed.  
6. Remove the beef from pan and plate it.  Leave some of the sauce in the pan OR create a little extra sauce with 1/4 tsp of sugar and 1/2 tbs each of oyster sauce + sesame oil + hot water.                    Cooking Tip #3:  Unless you need the extra sauce, I wouldn't recommend using it b/c this dish is supposed to be on the dryer side so that it is less like a wet chinese stir-fry :-)  
7. Put the onion/garlic mixture back in the pan with left-over sauce.  Twirl the mixture around for a minute or so and then plate it on the side next to the beef. 
8. Serve the Shaking Beef with the dipping sauce, salad, and/or bread/rice.  

Book Review: The Giver by Lois Lowry

One of my local meetup.com bookclubs chose The Giver as our reading for this month.  The book turned out to be one of the most memorable and thought-provoking read I have had in a while.  It is also a short 1-day read.

It's a science fiction book for young adults that has received lots of awards.  It is on the banned list for some states but is on the school reading list for others (like Wisconsin).  I generally don't like the idea of books being banned.  With that said, this book is probably more meaningful to adults anyway and might cover topics that are not suitable for young adults.

Now about the book...Jonas, the main character, is a 12 year-old boy who has grown up in a utopia society called Sameness where there is no pain or suffering because everyone's life has been arranged by a committee to achieve harmony.  For example, husbands and wives are selected by the committee so that their temperament balance each other out, one boy and one girl are assigned to each family, and so on...To maintain this harmony, rules against things like boasting, lying, etc. are also in place.

Every child in this Sameness society goes through a coming-of-age ceremony when they turn 12, and they receive their life-long career assignments during this ceremony.  For example, if the assignment is to be a Nurturer, then the child will start receiving training that then evolves into their long-term career of taking care of newborns.  Each child has been observed by the committee from childhood until right before they turn 12 so that the assignment is supposed to match their intellectual capacity and temperament.  During this ceremony of the twelves, Jonas ended up receiving one of the rarest and most important assignment, and the training that followed set up of a chain of events that forever changed Jonas' life and his perspectives.  

This book might be a slow read starting out, but the eerie feeling that something was off with this perfect society kept me engaged...and it's an important stage-setting part for the book.  I liked the part after Jonas received his assignment the most because that was where the action picked up and Jonas' discoveries started.

I think this is one of those books where different people will pull from it different meaningful life messages depending on your own life experiences.  The book resonated with me and hit close to home because I had lived in a culture where there were more rules and less choices.  I also walked away with 2 meaningful messages...First of, to me, it seemed to be a cautionary tale against the lack of diversity.  As someone who likes living in places where there is diversity in people, experiences, and food (the most important factor for me!), I could not imagine not having those options.  The second message seems to be that both joys and sorrows need to co-exist in order for our lives to be fulfilled.  Sorrows give us more appreciation for joyous events.  While not experiencing pain or not having to make tough choices seems tempting, is living without choices and emotions still a LIFE?

A new lunch spot

Yesterday I found a new restaurant and I am very excited about going back. The fact that it opens all-day from lunch through dinner rather than stopping lunch service at 2:30pm is a find in my book b/c that means I can come here for a late "linner" sometimes. This place also has outdoors seating where I can chill, enjoy the cool air, and people-watch or read a book. Last but not least, I really dig their food...and it's European (mostly Italian) cuisine, which is one of my favorites.

So I splurged yesterday because I was having linner and I figured I had double the money to spend :-) I ordered a little bit of everything and was pleasantly surprised that I liked everything I got. Here is a breakdown of what I got and how yummy everything was:

• Mixed Salad: For most meals, I try to meet my vegetable quotient for the day by starting with a salad. Wasn't expecting much since sometimes restaurants tend to not focus on the salad and just give you some unexciting dressing and greens. Though simple, I really liked the flavorful house vinegarette dressing. Olives and gorgonzola cheese also helped to give the salad more umph.
• Risotto with chicken and spanish chorizo: Generally, I like risotto but it isn't something that jumps out at me when there are other more exciting options. Yesterday, for some reasons, all I could think about was how yummy the texture of the risotto would be and everything else on the menu paled in comparison. Who knew that slightly crispy spanish chorizo (like the kind in a paella) would be so good in a creamy risotto. Hmm...I can still taste the chorizo now :-)
• Mango Panna Cotta (spelling?): I loveeeee panna cotta ever since my first Vietnamese coffee (similar to a strong milky French latte) panna cotta. This one was soooo good. It's much softer than a creme brulee (also one of my favorites) and it's so creamy...and it was huge...I really did not need a portion that big but unfortunately I think I licked the plate clean.

Obviously, I can't eat here everyday but it's definitely a great find for when I want to treat myself to a nice lunch or dinner. I want to try their paella next!

It is a matter of perspective

Ok, I know I have been MIA for a while with my blogs. Part of it is because I haven't been able to find time to write. The other part is that my weekdays lately have been too hectic and less active, and so by the weekend I cannot wait to be out and about rather than being indoors. Anyway, hopefully my first blog back from the 8-month absence won't be the last.

Sometimes when multiple things or changes happen at the same time, even if some of those things are minor or out of your control, they tend to accumulate and end up making you feeling like "when it rains it pours". This is how I have been feeling for the last 2 weeks. I have been reading a book ("Feeling Good" by David Burns) that explains how your feelings are not always the reality because you might have thought distortions that create those unnecessary pessimistic feelings and anxieties. So I know that I need to put things in perspective rather than letting my pessimistic thoughts roam wild :-).

Below are the people in my life and things I enjoy that at the end of the day help to provide me with a more balanced perspective that my life is very good after all and that I have a lot to be thankful for:

1) My Friends: I have an introverted side to me that tends to keep my circle of friends small and that enjoys 1-1 company. So my close female friends and their support are important to me. These past 2 weeks, it has been helpful for me to just chat with my friends from Indy and Salt Lake City. Most of my friends have a great sense of humor, and so even random funny chit chats have been very diverting. The serious chats also help a lot and it makes me very thankful to have friends who are kind and empathetic.

2) My Family: I am also thankful for my husband and my dog. To cheer me up, my husband has been taking me out more often on the weekend to go hiking, the movies, and just to be out-and-about. I think it was cute that he brought take-home food one day and said that he had specifically picked out certain food to surprise me - ribs and chicken. I am also very thankful for my dog whose affection and neediness make you feel very loved. I have always wanted a big dog and a golden retriever is the best cuddling kind.

3) Brookstone Snuggies: I did get the idea of the Snuggies from the informercial but the one that I got is from Brookstone (which is not called a snuggie). Even though the Brookstone one is more than twice the Snuggies cost-wise, it is worth every penny because they are made of more quality materials than the fleece materials that Snuggies are from. This is probably our most favorite recent purchase because it warms you up instantly and you can use it anywhere (on the couch, at night as a blanket, etc). We love our snuggies so much that it seems to be a defining moment for us. My husband jokingly said that our life can be defined as pre-Snuggie and post-Snuggie.

4) Good movies: I am a huge movie buff and good movies always do the trick of providing just the right diversion. The movies I watched recently that I really like are: Changeling, Easy Virtue, A Serious Man, and Lost in Austen (the BBC short series) . A Serious Man is not my favorite movie from the Cohen brothers but it was an engaging movie and I did like how they were able to capture the realism of daily life. Last year the Cohen brothers won an Oscar for No Country for Old Men, which was an interesting movie, but my most favorite movies of theirs (in order of preference) are O Brother Where Art Thou, Burn After Reading, and possibly Fargo (I can't remember the movie very well).

5) Buying or receiving new and cool stuff: I love buying new things. However, the thrifty side of me does help to keep my shopping in check and also gives me an appreciation every time I get something new. My husband needed some more winter clothes recently and I really liked having an excuse to get him new clothes :-) I love getting our quarterly wine club shipments because I never know which type of wine I will get and it saves me time from having to go wine shopping at the store. I am really looking forward to the new iFrogz luxe iphone cases we just ordered to replace my husband's worn-out case because we will get 3 cases for the price of the same one that we paid for at the Apple store. This also means that I will get one of the cases in a combo bright green/black color, which I can't wait to use. Of course, I love the fact that our snuggies have worked out so well. Finally, I love that Christmas is coming so that I have an excuse to get my husband, our parents and relatives, and myself gifts.

The Asian Art Museum

Years ago when I was in San Francisco attending a conference, my company actually rented out the entire Asian Art Museum and held an appreciation gala for their customers. So of course I got to attend it. It was one of the most memorable part of the conference. First of, I had never seen such an extensive collection of Asian artifacts. Secondly, because San Fran is known for its Chinese food, we actually had authentic Chinese food catered -- roast pigs, roast duck, dim sum appertizers...you name it. I have to give kudos to the event planners for giving such an authentic feel to the whole event. Finally, being able to browse some of the museum exhibits while munching on such delicious food was just the coolest thing ever.

Anyway, it was so packed that night that I never really got a chance to see the museum in full but I always knew that I wanted to go back and visit it some day. So a couple weekends ago, I suggested to my husband that we tried out the Asian Art Museum. The special exhibit this month and for the next couple months is from Bhutan. Who knew that people in Bhutan were so religious - most of their art work were very influenced by Buddhism. There were actually a couple monks from Bhutan painting their special religious art work (I forgot the name) the day we were there. One thing that really impressed me was these pictures of temples on the side of the mountains in Bhutan. One of these temples is very famous and was even in a Travel magazines a couple months back. Apparently, traveling in Bhutan requires a lot of hiking up these mountains and it's very still costly to travel to there.

In addition to the special Bhutan collection, the museum also has a huge permanent collection of other Asian countries that spans 3 other floors. So it's literally the biggest collection of Asian artifacts and arts I have seen or heard of. I didn't realize how big it was and only alloted 3 and 1/2 hours for the museum. So even though we walked around pretty much non-stop for 3 and 1/2 hours, we only saw part of the China and India collection. Then we had to speed browse the rest of the countries - Japan, Korea, South East Asia, the remaining China, etc.

What I like about this museum is that it has such a variety of things from stoneware to robes to bedframes to scuptures/art work to Chinese carved jade collection, etc.

So needless to say we really do need to go back again some other time this year and spend a whole day next time. Coming up this summer is the Sumarai (sp?) special exhibit -- which should be very interesting!

Oscar-nominated movies

The Oscar this Sunday inspires this post. Below are a list of nominated movies or movies where the nominated actors came from that I either liked a lot (2 thumbs up), like a little but not crazy about (half a thumb), or didn't like too much (where my thumbs couldn't be found) :-)

Nominated movies that were 2 thumbs up for me:
1) Slumdog Millionaire: very original storyline and authentic scenery from Mumbai
2) Frost/Nixon: really good performance by the nominated actor who played Nixon. It makes me want to buy the original 70-something Frost-Nixon interviews from Amazon.
3) Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Breathtaking sceneries. Fast paced. Good acting. It's quirky but the storyline was kind of original and so it's very entertaining. It is still not my favorite movie though.

Nominated movies that were half a thumb up:
1) The Visitor: Most people would probably love this movie and so I might be an exception for not completely loving it. I liked the actor and the storyline idea (a change in the monotony of life, diversity, etc) but there were parts of the movie that were boring for me.
2) In Bruges: I love the dreamy quality of Bruges and the scenery. Liked the acting too. However, the storyline can be a little looney but this is probably because it's a comedy.

Nominated movies where my thumbs couldn't be found:
1) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: At 3 hours, it was too long and it made me wonder if the Editing team went on strike. Sure, I was impressed with the movie's central idea and the technology. But in the end, both my neighbors and I thought it dragged.
2) Frozen River: I liked how the lives (and poverty) in the movie were depicted very realistically. The ending wasn't expected which was good. Overall, it was just too much chasing around and a bit of stretched storyline.
3) The Duchess: I completely do NOT like this movie. It has well-known actors in it but it's too predictable. I have seen these types of movies a gizzillion times over and it's just not new.
4) Man on Wire: My husband loves this movie. I think it's a guy movie and there must be something in the adventurous nature of crossing a wire that appeals to guys. I didn't like it because I find the whole process a bit tedious. However, it was put together well.

Movies that were not nominated that I really liked (at least 1 or 2 thumbs up):
1) Burn After Reading: I love the Cohen brothers ever since O Brother Where Art Thou (they also make No Country for Old Men last year). It has a huge star-studded cast. It's very fast-paced and unpredictable. Brad Pitt is kind of funny in it.
2) Miss Pettigrew for the Day: Great actresses (McDormand from Fargo and Amy Adams). Fast paced. Just a lovely chick flick with a Victorian feel even though it wasn't during Victorian time.
3) Mamma Mia: Love the sceneries. Much better than the stage version...and how can you go wrong with any Abba songs?
4) Wanted: OK, I am not going to say that this is my favorite movie because it is not but it's an entertaining action-packed movie. What I liked most was that I didn't see the twist coming until it was there.

Nominated or non-nominated movies I have yet to see and I am dying to see in the next couple weeks:
1) The Wrestler
2) Milk
3) Gran Torino

My Dog Oscar

I am a huge dog lover. Now that I have our dog, Oscar, every time I see a dog while I am out walking or going to places, I have to stop and fawn over the dog. There is a vitamin store in our downtown area with a beautiful white Siberian husky with pale blue eyes (Max) -- the eyes are a bit intimidating but such a sweet dog otherwise. But at the end of the day, I always think that none of the other dogs are as precious as my Oscar :-)

What I love about Oscar is that he is so quirky and interesting. Right now, Oscar is passed out sleeping next to my chair with all 4 legs pointed toward the ceiling. In fact, I don't think I realize how much dogs sleep until we had Oscar. He probably sleeps anywhere betweeen 16-20 hours per day. Must be a nice life being able to nap all the time! When Oscar dreams, he makes this hiccup sound or a low growling sound -- it makes me laugh every time -- but then I am easily amused!

I find it fascinating that dogs always know who the pack leader is and how they act differently with different people. Oscar has different cuddling habits that he does with each of us that he doesn't do it with the other person. He also knows who to listen to and who he can ignore. Apparently, I am the alpha dog and my husband is just another dog friend :-)

Another thing Oscar does that I think is so funny is that he knows how to open doors. Since some of the doors inside our home don't all stay snapped in the lock, they can be easily opened with a gentle push. So if we try to leave Oscar in the front part of the house at night so that he doesn't roam the hardwood floor and keep us up with his walking "clogs", he'll push open the hallway door and come waltzing in anyway :-)

Oscar is 5 now and I find myself sometimes realizing that the 5 years have passed by too quickly. Once in a while it makes me momentarily sad that he is getting older and that I might have only X number of years with him. I know it's silly since he still has close to 2/3 more of his life to live, but the thought does sometimes cross my mind. Watching Maley and Me at the theater recently about the life of another dog really didn't help. It got me a bit sensitive about Oscar's mortality for a couple days :-) When Oscar was a pup, he was just this cute little teddy bear. One of my fondest memories of Oscar as a pup was about me having to carry him up the stairs in our previous him when he was too young to climb...and then slowing teaching him to climb the stairs because he got too heavy for me to cary. Another fond memory captured in photos was when a friend of mine managed to get Oscar to sit still as a slightly ADHD pup and took this beautifully chorographed picture of Oscar against a red blanket background.

It is true what they say in literature about how your pets are a good way to de-stress. I always find after a long day of work that it is soothing to hang out with Oscar watching TV or playing fetch with him. As someone who doesn't really care to be home alone when my husband occasionally goes on business trips, Oscar gives me this peace that makes being home alone not so bad.

Speaking of which, I am going to go and hang out with Oscar now. Up for a movie tonight might be Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I am sure Oscar will enjoy the international sceneries :-)

End of year vacation

So I had a great time off at the end of last year. My husband and I decided to take a road trip down the coast of California, to San Diego, and then Vegas.

On the way to San Diego, we stopped by San Simeon and toured Hearst Castle - the mansion of the media mogul, William Hurst. The Castle is grand and opulent with 100+ rooms, an on-site safari-like zoo, huge indoor and outdoor Roman bath pools, movie theaters, etc. The movie stars used to flock here and this used to be the place to be.

While in the area, we stopped by the Central Coast wine country in Paso Robles. The Central Coast area has about 100+ wineries in compared so the 400-500 wineries in Napa/Sonoma. We found this wonderful winery, the Justin Winnery, that makes exceptionally great carbs and red Bordeaux blends at the quality of a very expensive Napa Valley wine but for about half of the price. After tasting about 10 of their wines including the more high-end ones, my favorite is still their low-end $21 carb because it is really best carb I have ever had and it tastes like it should be a $50 bottle. Their top-of-the line, the Isosceles (which we didn't get to taste), has been on the list of top 100 wines in the world even beating some Chateauneuf du Papes (which are also my favorite). Justin Winery seems to put a lot of care into their wine making and I like their unique unfiltered wine technique. Anyway, we couldn't resist and had to join their wine club and have since also ordered more wine from them.

After Paso Robles, we stopped by Malibu, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, and Laguna Beach. We had a great dinner in downtown Santa Barbara and a great lunch in Santa Monica downtown. I have been in the Malibu/Santa Monica area before but my husband has never been. So we had to stop by and check out the Santa Monica pier - the one with the Ferris Wheel and is featured in lots of movies.

In San Diego, we stayed at Mission Beach. I got a bit sick the first day there because we wore ourselves out running down the beach without getting breakfast first. Then we went to Coronado Island and saw the famous Cornado Hotel. We also went to La Jolla Shores to check their beach and had a great lunch there. Finally, we stopped by the touristy Old Town and had a really big Mexican meal that made me wish I would never eat Mexican food again.

Vegas was of course a lot of fun. We went to see the Cirque du Soleil Love show - the one with all the Beatles songs. I was singing Beatles songs for a couple days. As usual, my favorite thing to do is to try a bunch of new restaurants, including Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill with the best cornbread and cornmeal chille rellenos and a new Hong Kong restaurant with excellent 2-way Peking duck. This time, we didn't play any poker-room poker, which is usually our winning or breaking-even game. Instead we played a bunch of table games: blackjack, roulette, paigow, world-tour poker games (not the same as the poker-room poker games because here you are playing against the house rather than other players). We also played some video poker and very little slot machines. Obviously, since the house has an edge in all of these games, we budgeted and lost what we set out as entertainment money.

After Vegas, we were supposed to stop by Joshua Tree National Park for 2 days, but my husband was then under the weather and I was still a bit tired recovering from mine. So we cancelled the Joshua Tree trip and headed home early. Maybe Death Valley and Joshua Tree next time instead.

It was very hard to come back home after such a fun filled trip. It was even harder coming back to work after 2-3 weeks off.

Life's Indulgences

What is life worth if we can't indulge in things that we enjoy (whether it's good or bad) now and then? Like having popcorn at the theater even though it isn't good for one's high cholesterol :-) Like seeing memorable movies that last with you. My most recent must-see movie is Slumdog Millionaire. It was about a guy in India who won 20 million rupees and the show producers thought he was cheating. So he had to retell the story of his life and how he learned the answer to each question. It's a very tight plot and it has a lot of buzz as a best picture contender. There are a lot of great movies this Christmas that I can't wait to see such as Frost/Nixon, Revolutionary Road, Milk, Valkerie, the Reader, Confession of a Shoppaholic (OK, I like the actor and actress in it even if it might be a slightly ditzy movie), etc.

Another indulgence that I enjoy is trying out new restaurants. It's always exciting for me to try out a new restaurant, cuisine, or dish. My absolute favorite restaurant is in my own town and it serves fusion southern food that is California cuisine crossed with Lousiana southern food. Since the chef used to be obese, he uses healthier cooking methods to make his fried chicken and cornmeal catfish. So somehow the food isn't very greasy and all the greens are super fresh. So how can you beat yummy southern food with much less guilt! Although I have only managed to find time to go to their Sunday brunch once, this restaurant's whole wheat waffles and fried chicken still swim in my head every Sunday morning.

Another indulgence is finding a good bottle of wine. I have always liked bold red wines and I am a softie for any Rhone or red blends. The best bottle of wine I have tried had somehow always been from my Yosemite picnics. I don't know if I just pick better bottles for Yosemite or it's the hiking or the scenery. My most memorable bottle of merlot was a half-bottle Clos du Val, which was small enough and light enough for a hike. Another great bottle of red was a Rhone blend that I accidentally chilled. Because it was slightly warm in Yosemite in September, the accidental chilled red was really refreshing - who would have thought that of red wine :-) This last month I have really gotten to like Riesling and the occasional Chardonay even though previously I really didn't stock much white wines at home.

Going to the bookstore to buy new books and read at their cafe is another of my favorite indulgences. For some reason, I go through phases where I stop going to the bookstores and then I pick up and start going all the time for a long stretch. I am on one of those stretches right now. The same thing with reading. I go on stretches where I read a bunch and then I can't seem to want to read. I once had to wait in line at a foreign airport for at least an hour and a half and got so into Middlemarch that I didn't realize how thick the book was. After that, George Eliot became one of my favorite authors.

Speaking of foreign airports. OK, I don't love foreign airports but I do love traveling. I love seeing new sights and visiting new places. I have always wanted to visit Italy or other parts of Europe outside of France/Belgium/the Netherlands. I had some "close" opportunities to go to the UK this year with my husband's business travel but that didn't pan out. My husband and I are plotting and planning for a possible trip to Italy next year. Let's just hope that our frequently flier mileage will all work out and that this trip will be possible next year.

Finally, surprised and complimentary services are always so nice to have because it makes the indulgence guilt-free. I had a choice of a complimentary massage or facial as part of my gym membership promotion. Since facial was the one spa treatment I had never had, I picked that to try. The facial was wonderful. The steam and the different treatments done were all very relaxing. My skin felt so light and glowy for at least a couple days - may be it was all psychological but hey at least something else worked if not my skin :-) Now I know why the Hollywood stars always get facial treatments. I don't think I am hollywood enough to spend that kind of money but it was great while it lasted.

Couldn't the break just last a bit longer?

I don't understand why a week off from work would go by so fast. I had thought that it would last and feel very long -- like a month worth...but then it came and went and I felt like I only had 3 days off. How did that happen? It was slightly depressing when Friday and Saturday rolled around because the inevitable Monday was around the corner. By Sunday, I had finally come to term with it and so it wasn't as devastating :-) Now I just can't wait for Christmas to be here.

Part of the reason why my break felt so short was because I spent Monday dealing with the plumber who tried to fix our leaking faucet. It didn't get fixed by the way because apparently we now need a brand new faucet - oh, the joy of dealing with plumbers (even though this one was actually very good). Speaking of plumbers, I now have a fear of cablemen. I didn't used to but my 2-out-of-3 California experience with cablemen left me slightly scarred. When I was recently asked whether I would like a cableman to come by and install a DVR or pick it up and install it myself, I was adamant to install it myself. It's like a crapshoot with the cableman that you get. I have had 2 really scary ones. So when a nice one came recently, I found myself telling him how much I appreciated his helpfulness and knowledge. I asked how I could request him next time. Come to find out, my cable line was really messed up that day and he was a specialist and that was why he was so good. So I am only calling cablemen for "serious" and "specialty" problems from now on.

Another reason why my week off was so short was because Tuesday was spent on going to the dentist for a deep teeth cleaning and some fillings. The dentist had to give me numbing shots to do the cleaning because I was too sensitive to pain. I couldn't speak or eat for 4-5 hours afterwards. I made the mistake of dropping by the grocery store to pick up some food. Not a great idea when your mouth is all numbed because you wouldn't be able to feel the drooling or your face to wipe it off. It was kind of funny actually. I also wasn't smart enough to have a big meal before going to the dentist and couldn't have dinner until 9:30pm when the numbing wore off. Then my jaw ached, my tongue was still numb, and my teeth were too sensitive to enjoy dinner. I remembered that the dentist paperwork actually asked if one was afraid of being at the dentist. I think I will mark yes next time.

The rest of the week was much more relaxing. I am a huge believer in keeping Thanksgiving and cooking in general simple and easy. So of course I ordered a pre-cooked turkey meal. Trust me, it's still very good but with none of the stress and mess.

I also got to see tons of movies last week. Australia for starters and then 2 black-and-white Humphrey Bogart movies (the Maltese Falcon and To Have or Have Not). Australia was not great and not bad either...but definitely cheesy...and it was 3-hour long. The black-and-white movies were great and they were at this beautiful old theater that was very well ornated. There is always a man that plays the organ before the show starts. Feels very old timey and posh.

My husband and I also managed to sneak in a hike at Mount Diablo on Saturday. It was only supposed to be a 5-mile hike but more than half of it was uphill and on the side of the mountain. It really wasn't fun trying to not slip and hurt oneself. At one point we thought we were lost and couldn't find the loop that was described in our printed internet info. We kept going because turning around seemed worse. It was one of the harder hikes that I have had recently.

I also managed to try out a new class at the gym last week and I don't plan to take it again. I don't get why people like spinning classes so much. It's hellish! The seat is extremely uncomfortable and who can ride a bike for an hour with resistance being increased throughout the hour. I started to check the clock after the first 5 minutes and was out of gas by the 30-minute mark. I hanged in for the remaining 30 but barely and couldn't really increase the resistance the way the instructor wanted. It's a great workout but I don't have the endurance. I also need to practice getting used to a bike seat first because I could still feel the seat days later.

I also spent time re-reading some of my old novels. I made the mistake of tivo'ing Bridget Jones's Diary and so I have been re-reading the book and the sequel (the Edge of Reason). I kind of like the sequel better because the first novel barely talked about Bridget and Darcy's relationship and hence their romance was not very believable. Anyhow, I kind of enjoy how Bridget is very expressive and slighly neurotic --- kind of relatable somehow.

I just wish that there was more time in the day or week, especially while one is on vacation. I had had high hopes of being able to make Christmas cards this year. Well, let's hope the Christmas break will feel longer somehow.

A Fun Week and V-Day

So I had a pretty fun week last week because I took Monday off. I got to do some shopping in San Francisco and had some good finds with jeans and exercising pants. Since I am wearing more jeans and going to the gym more these days, these 2 clothing items seem to be all that I need. My husband and I also got to try out a popular Chinese restaurant in the city and visited the Ferry building for some shopping.

For Halloween, we stayed in to watch rented scary movies and gave out candies. I missed Halloween last year and also the earthquake that came with it because I was traveling for work. So it was great hanging out at home watching TV. The kids who stopped by really love seeing our dog and getting to pet him. We had a decent turn-out with about 10 groups of trick-or-treaters, but I wished there were more because I am still left with too much candies.

This weekend, we went to see a new play in the city called Quality of Life. The cast of 4 included actors that have been in many movies, sitcoms, and TV series. One of the cast members was that the lady who played Rosanne's sister on Rosanne. It was a pretty good play about 2 different couples from the the midwest and California and their different perspectives on life, death, and religion. It was kind of depressing though since it dealt with death.

So I am looking forward to Voting Day (V-Day) tomorrow. California has about 15 Propositions to vote on this time. It seems that anyone who can collect enough signatures want to burden the rest of us with their proposition. For example, I don't need to vote on a proposition that would allow the gov't to give Californians incentive money to buy a fuel-efficient car. How about No on that proposition since California already has a huge budget deficit and this is just not a priority! People can buy their own fuel-efficient cars or just carpool! These propositions are super confusing because both sides of the issues try to be all biased and often lie about their points. I have finally managed to read up on all propositions this past Sunday and now I am all informed and ready to vote.

Prop 8, the ban on gay marriage, is a hot button issue in the Bay area. A couple weekends ago, both of our main streets were covered with people with the Yes (a ban on gay marriage) and No (in support of gay marriage) signs. The cars that drove by carried and waved their No signs at the Yes people. It was kind of funny to see how heated people are in the Bay area about this issue. The polls have been flip-flopping several times this year. Part of it is because it is very even split. Earlier in the year, it was 50-something percent in favor of Yes (i.e. a ban on gay marriage). The September poll was 44%-49% in favor of No. Today's poll has shifted in the opposite direction again in favor of Yes. So this could go either way and it's a bit scarry. With the margin of error being around 5%, I guess we won't know how this will turn out until after Tuesday.

Point Reyes Hiking and Pumpkin Festival

Last weekend was a fun weekend for me because I took off from work on Friday and as a result had an extended weekend. I really should take off more often. I certainly still have lots of vacation days left.

So on Friday, my husband and I decided to go hiking in Marin County at Point Reyes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Reyes). We were on this Coastal Trail that was along the cost for the first mile and the coastline was very pretty.

Saturday we decided to go and visit a pumkin farm in Half Moon Bay. Normally, that would have been a very pleasant experience but last Saturday was also the Pumpkin Festival. So the traffic was horrible on the way there. We had to see the festival, which was kind of lame but then again may be we are just not festival people. It was just a very typical festival with kiosks selling trinkets and some artsy stuff - none of which were exciting enough to buy. The food was as usual a lot of deep fried stuff. We managed to limit ourselves to some pumpkin beer (which was good), pumpkin mac-n-cheese (which has no pumpkin taste in it), and pumpkin pie. I was sorely tempted by the corn dogs but thanks goodness I prevail and didn't have any.

We also managed to see a couple movies this week: W and Religulous. With all the hype about W, I would have expected it to be better since there is so much good material with George Bush to work with :-) It is not a bad movie by any means but it wasn't a great movie. It might have been the storytelling or filming style that bugged me. Josh Brolin did a very good job with W's mannerism though.

Religulous was kind of interesting - still not best movie or my most recommended movie. Although Bill Maher can be funny sometimes, most of the time I tend to be a bit skeptical of his view since I know that he is so skewed on one side. Anyhow, my neighbors who are normally Bill Maher fans didn't think the movie was very good. So perhaps because I went in with such low expectation that I came out of the movie thinking that it was actually an OK movie and was worth seeing. Bill Maher raised some interesting points and I definitely learned a few new things from the movie. There were other points that I wished he had raised to balance out his one-sided view, but then that would not been the Bill Maher that we know :-) I think it's the science/math side of me that would like to see the pros and cons or both sides of an issue and I have to remember that most documentaries are not made that way...Most people have a definite opinion about something and that's the point-of-view that they attempt to prove in a documentary.

My Vegan Food Adventure Continues...

So my vegan food adventure continued this weekend and I am feeling that this deserves another post. This weekend, my husband and I decided to try out a new vegan place in the city. So we googled and found Cafe Gratitude: http://www.cafegratitude.com/

Cafe Gratitude is a cool vegan restaurant with a bunch of locations all over the bay area. One of the cool features about the restaurant is the communal tables that sit about 6 people per table. So it's a great place to strike up a conversation with friendly strangers, which was exactly what we did. The folks that we met were all regulars at the cafe and so they had great tips to share about what to order. It was also very cool to hear their experiences with vegan food. We even found out that one of the girls we talked to lived a couple miles from us.

We had some split pea soup, a warm Thai quinoa bowl and a sampler plater with a little bit of everything. While everything in the sampler plater was good, I realized that I am less of a crunchy crackers and dip kind of person and more of a soft grain and warm food person. So naturally I like the "warm" Thai quinoa bowl the most and I was very impressed with how authentically Thai (not that I really know what this is) the taste was. This cafe also has so many dessert items in their glass case that it was hard to decide from the Rasberry creme pie, German chocolate cake, tiramisu, chocolate mouse and creme pie, etc. We settled on a chocolate creme pie, which was probably the best part of the meal. Ever since we discovered vegan desserts, my husband and I are convinced that vegan desserts are the best. They are even better than the best desserts that I have had at my favorite pastry shops. The frequenters at the cafe all raved that vegan desserts are the best. I think we are now sufficiently sworn off non-vegan desserts.

While eating at Cafe Gratitude, it occurred to me that the food from the vegan cafe in my gym is also very phenominal and yet slightly cheaper than Cafe Gratitude. It's also more accessible since it's inside my gym. Located at the entrance of our gym, our local vegan cafe is actually a cafe that is open to the public and not just to our gym members and so it does stock itself with a variety of vegan dishes. While I do enjoy the food and the experience at Cafe Gratitude, I am not sure that I would be back simply because I am going to go to the vegan cafe in my gym more often instead.
One great thing about a vegan meal is that we both felt lighter and brighter after the meals, which isn't always the case with non-vegan food. So because of our positive experience with Cafe Gratitude and with vegan food so far, today my husband and I decided to "join the program" and created a prepaid tab at our gym vegan cafe. The prepaid tab there is a reasonable small amount, and we can now take out food from there without having to bring a wallet with us. Also, a minor benefit to the tab is that the cafe gave us more spending dollars than what we prepaid as incentives. I am really excited about being able to take out vegan food from time to time to complement or substitute for my non-vegan cooking.

So guess what our first purchase on the prepaid tab was? I swear this was why my husband was so enthusiastic about the prepaid tab. A whole chocolate creme pie of course! I know that it is not the best thing to get given that there are other healthier options but I am just going to have to rely on my "great" self-control and not eat too much. I think this chocolate creme pie is even better than the one from Cafe Gratitude. I am not the only one who find their pies delicious -- apparently so does Whole Foods. I found out today that Whole Foods will start carrying their pies. I don't know if this means only the Whole Foods in my area or everywhere but I am guessing that it's probably just the ones in my area.

Vegan Food

I have always been very willing to try any new cuisine or dishes because I don't want to stick with the same old cuisine when there is so much diversity. So although I am not a vegan, I have always liked vegan food because the ones that I have had are so yummy.

One of my favorite vegan food is this Indian dish (I can't remember the name) at Whole Foods with tofu as a substitute for meat. Adding a little hot sauce to it and I could eat this dish all day. My only issue with this dish now is that I would like brown rice instead of white rice.

My gym has this fantastic vegan cafe. Everything there is super healthy and vegan. They give huge portion for the meals and the prices are reasonable and so their meals make for great take-out. Their desserts, like the chocolate mouse pie and chocolate clusters, are also very good but they are pricey and so as a result I am not as tempted to eat their desserts that often.

Last night was our gym night and since my husband and I both had early gym appointments with our trainers, I decided to not cook. So we had some take-out meals from this cafe. My husband ordered the Kale Quinoa Toss and I had the Fiesta Quinoa Toss. While they were both extremely yummy, I liked mine much better because you can't go wrong with anything fiesta related. I have never had quinoa before. So I had to ask the chef about it and googled it afterwards. Apparently, quinoa is a very healthy grain that is high in protein. The good thing is we still had quite a bit of left-over quinoa for another meal later tonight.

If I can have a full-time chef like Oprah and my chef can cook vegan meals like these, then sign me up to be a vegan...in fact, I'll be anything my chef wants me to be as long as I am fed with good meals that I don't have to prepare :-)

Sizing Down and Sushi Boats

I am trying to fit 2 separate topics into 1 post today. So the 2 topics in the title really don't have anything to do with each other.

First, the sizing down part...I have had to lose weight recently due to my high cholesterol. The nice thing about losing weight is I am dropping a size or two as a result. The bad thing is none of my pants fit anymore and so I need to go pants/jeans shopping and I really hate shopping for them. Because I am short enough to need petite sizes, finding pants or jeans with short enough length so that I don't have to alter is painful...and because I hate taking things to the alteration shop to alter, I refuse to buy any pants that won't fit me length-wise to begin with. Tops are a lot easier to buy because it doesn't have to fit perfectly. The only place that I used to be able to buy dressy pants and jeans was The Limited. I don't like shopping at The Limited for a couple reasons: First, their pants are never on sale when I need them and I always feel like I am paying an arm and a leg for the pants. Secondly, if you are not a size 0, the Limited tends to give you a complex when you go there because everything there seems to be a size 0 -- all the clothes that look so good on the manequins are size 0 and the manequins are 6 feet all and so the clothes don't look so hot on you when you try them on. Since Ann Taylor Loft does carry a very nice assortment of petite jeans that fit me well and since I don't have to buy pants for work anymore, I don't have to mess with The Limited for a while.

Another bad thing about losing weight is that now I am all confused about what my new size is. So it requires some returns when I order things online. For example, I had scoured the Bay area Ann Taylor Loft store for a larger size with my Pumpkin Spice jacket, it arrived today, and it was too big. So then I had to go back to the store (though only 5-10 minutes away) to switch to the smaller size at the store which I had tried on previously and thought it was too small. All of tops also seem to be down a size now and since this is my first or second time shopping since I have lost weight, I am still trying to figure out what my current size is. So it's really annoying to have to grab 3 sizes of each -- the size that I used to be in, the smaller size that I am in now and I am still learning that this is now my new size, and the one size smaller than my current size that I "wishfully" hope I can be one day (although I think I finally figure out today that this last size is still in the "wishful thinking" category).

Finally, another bad thing about losing weight is that if you still have say 5 more lbs to go, it's very frustrating trying to get the last 5 lbs off. You are also at a quandry as to whether you should buy pants for the size that you are now or the next size down which does fit you but is a bit snug and will definitely fit you when you are 5 more lbs lighter. See my dilema? I know, it is not really a dilema but it does make shopping tricker. Now I feel like a Seinfeld episode with all the neurotic explanation about the different sizes -- Seinfeld or George would definitely have gone into depth about all these possiblities :-)

Now the second topic...Sushi Boat. I am liking sushi a lot more now that I am in the Bay area. My favorite sushi places is all close to my house, which makes it very addictive and costly. Today when I went to exchange my Pumpkin Spice jacket, I saw a sushi boat restaurant where
boats full of sushi move around in front of you and you can just grab the plate that you want. The plates are color coded so that the waiter/waitress can tally your bill based on the color. I decided to stop by this sushi boat restaurant and try it out. In truth, sushi boat restaurants don't make the best sushi because to me sushi is better when it's freshly made and the rice is still warm. Today, I chose some sushi from the floating boats as well as ordering some fresh ones and the fresh ones were noticeably better than the floating ones that have been sitting out. Although it is not the best sushi, I do like sushi boat restaurants because it's a lot of fun seeing the boats float to you and choosing from the variety of sushi available. My sushi dinner today was surprisingly cheap. I will probably go back to this restaurant again even though it's driving distance (still just 5-10 mins) since there is only one other sushi boat restaurant near my house and it is not a very good one.

Pumpkin Spice is always nice

I recently received a gift card to Ann Taylor Loft. ATL is one of my favorite stores because I can always find something that I like in this store. In fact, my dilema most of the time is that I can't buy more than my budget allows. Ever since I found ATL and the regular Ann Taylor, I can't believe that I used to put up with shopping at department stores. It used to take me hours to find something stylish and classy among the tons of teenager-looking clothes. Another great thing about ATL is that I often receive a lot of 20-30% coupons via email and ATL always have these big 40-60% off sales.

So armed with my gift card, I went shopping at ATL this weekend. I haven't been shopping there since early summer and so I was surprised by all the new clothes. Their fall collection is out now and there are so many great pieces that I wanted. The deal this weekend was 20% off your entire purchase for both days, which ended up making me spend more money. But it was all for a good cause because I now have a new pair of jeans, a shirt that is 2 shirts in one (a redish blouse inside and a thin jersey material outside), and a make-my-day find of a Pumpkin Spice curdoroy jacket. Unfortunately, I have to have the jacket shipped to me from another store in CA because of course my size is always out! Here is what the jacket looks like: http://www.anntaylorloft.com/catalog/outfit.jsp?ensembleId=3417&N=1200212&pCategoryId=199&categoryId=2219&Ns=CATEGORY_SEQ_2219
I don't have any orange in my wardrobe because it is typically too bright of a color for me. So for me to pass up on a beige color for an orange color is a huge deal and it means that this jacket is very special...and it is also 20% off too...so how can I pass up on that? :-) I can't wait to wear it this weekend! Let's just hope that DHL shipping won't take more than 3-4 days.

It is really a good thing that my taste in color for clothing has changed over the last 3-4 years to include more diversed color than the basic/classic colors (black, white, blue, cream/beige, and some warm earthly brown) that I used to wear more exclusively. The classic colors are always so safe and when you see someone with great style they are usually wearing something elegantly simple in one of the classic colors. OK, since I am going to go on and on about colors and style here, let me own up to the fact that may be I am a bit style-conscious :-). So the style-conscious part of me does keep me "conscious and careful" on going too wild with the brighter colors because I don't want blind everyone with my loud overbearing arrays of color. I don't want to be a walking rainbow or a pumpkin just because I am wearing pumpkin spice :-)

While we are on the color topic, let's talk about colors that I do like these days. These would include any pastel colors (even purple) and especially mossy green and light yellow. I love pastel color clothing for the spring and early summer and I love my mossy green sweaters for the winter. I still can't handle dark green and dark purple. I am liking red more these days but typically more burgandy red. Of course, any shades of black, gray, and creme/beige are still my favorite color choices because the best clothes still seem to come in these colors.

Season premieres are finally here!

This week and next week are the fall season premieres for many of my favorite TV shows.

Grey's Anatomy 2-hour season premiere was on last night and boy was it good. The last 3-4 months have been hard not being able to watch Grey's every Thursday. I realized as I was watching the show last night why I like this show so much. The dialogues are really funny, which helps to make the show not so serious like ER. The characters are goofy and full of flaws and because of that it's just fun watching how much they mess up at work and in life. This is one of those shows like Seinfeld where the ensemble is what makes the show works well whereas each actor separately might not be that interesting to watch. Last night show was packed with celebrity guest stars - Bernadette Peters, Mariette Hartley, Kathy Baker, and Kevin McKidd. I hope Kevin McKidd will stick around for a while because he was such a good actor in Rome (as Lucius Vorenus - one of the major charcters). It doesn't hurt that Kevin McKidd is kind of hot even though he doesn't have the "perfect" good looks :-)

Brothers and Sisters (Sally Field, Callista Flockhart, Rob Lowe, etc) is on next week. And then there is Desperate Housewives. I feel kind of bad watching DH because the storyline is very cheesy and it is really not a great show. But again, it's kind of fun and I really like all of the actresses (Terri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, etc) and they are the reason for watching the show.

Now if only some of my favorite shows on Bravo would come back for a new season, then my TV watching experience would be complete -- but then I wouldn't have enough time in the day to watch them all. I love how every show on Bravo is either about human behavior or team work. The next Top Chef should be very interesting. I love watching Top Chef because it reminds me of team work or lack-there-of in the workplace. Then there is Flipping Out where this "perfectionist" real estate guy, Jeff Lewis, renovates and flips homes. Jeff has such a great artistic sense that his after-renovation flips are places that you would love to own. Jeff is also so OCD that it is so funny to watch his interaction with his friends and the people who work for him. Finally, there is this Millionaire Matchmaker show where some people were so ecentric in dating situations that I rolled on the floor laughing in pain in most episodes. It's a great show for observing human behavior and for single people to take notes on what not to do in a dating situation.

As I was watching ads for brand new shows this season, I realized that all of the movie actors are going into TV shows now. If they are not doing TV shows full-time, then they are guest-starring. With TV being the most viewed medium, I guess it makes sense that TV is where the actors would flock to.

Vernal and Nevada Falls

We went hiking in the Yosemite this weekend. We chose the Mist Trail to Vernal and Nevada Falls because it was about an 8-mile hike with enough uphill for a decent workout and because we love waterfalls. It was a good thing that we went in late September when the waterfalls are smaller because the rocks on the trail would be very slippery during the early summer.

The first leg of the trail was uphill with steps that were carved into the side of the mountain. As we went up higher, the steps were no longer carved in and we were just climbing on rocks with slippery sand. It was tougher for the people who went down on that trail because it was easier to slip and slide down. Good thing I listened to the bus driver and took this trail up instead of down.

Both of the falls were smaller due to the end of the season but they were still quite breathtaking. Along the way up, there were a couple huge pools of water created by the waterfalls. We stopped here and there to rest quickly but moved on because we really wanted to make it to the top. At the top where Nevada falls was, we stopped and had a huge spread of lunch. I am a bit of a packer when it comes to packing food or just things in general. So of course, I have my half bottle of really good merlot, a spread of deli meat (turkey, ham, salami) and cheeses, crackers, and bread. Even though it was a lot of food, I was only bringing a little of everything and so it wasn't heavy to carry.

Terrain-wise, the way down was a lot easier. However, when you are full with food and have hiked for 3 hours up a mountain, going down is not a picnic at all. I had to use my knees to break during the way down and so my knees were achy for 2 days afterwards. The trouble with hiking is that the way back is always hellish. You just can't wait for the damn hike to end but it just drags on and on and it can be a very boring hike down.

Dinner at the Wawona hotel was wonderful. This is our favorite breakfast buffet. It was not the most healthy dinner since I figured that I must have burned at least a 1000 calories hiking and could afford to eat up. I had a great mushroom soup, which is one of the few creamy soups that I love. Then followed it with a fried trout fillet breaded in corn meal. Finally, dessert was bread pudding, which wasn't really worth the calories since I have had better bread pudding elsewhere.


We saw a lot deer and squirrels in Yosemite. We also saw some sequoias. On the way to Yosemite, we saw a casino on an Indian reservation and stopped by. We had a lot of fun playing table games and didn't lose much. On the way home, there were plenty of farmer's fruit stands to visit. We bought some huge peaches and an apple pie. I realized by the taste of this apple pie that not all apple pies are made equally -- This one really sucked! Perhaps, I only like apple pies because they are so good from the pastry shop at my local grocery store. Also, it's probably apple tartes that I like more since the tartness makes it better. This would explain why I used to dislike pies when I lived in North Carolina -- some of the pies I had there were just yucky. Apple pies that are full of sugar and has a yucky crust is just not worth the calories!

These are a few of my favorite things

I unexpectedly received a new ipod shuffle from my husband who got it as a give-away from his company. I love it! I love how it's super compact and light and clips to your clothes so well for my gym workout and walking my dog. I also like the fact that both the itunes website and the ipod make downloading so easy. I have a phone that has mp3 capability and it was a pain to download songs to the phone from rhapsody. Finally, I love the fact that itunes allows me to get all of the old songs that I used to like and then new stuff too. I now have in my ipod everthing from rock to pop to raggae to rap to alternatives etc.

My husband and I recently bought a cuckoo clock. Now it's cuckooing every hour. I like it but I am worried about keeping our guests up with all the cuckooing. So I will need to make sure to remove the batteries when I have guests. We bought this clock from a clock store near our house. It's a lovely clock store with all kinds of grandfather clocks. I have always wanted to own a big grandfather clock. I would have one today if it wasn't so expensive to own one. So because we couldn't get a granfather clock, we settled for the cuckoo clock which we have always wanted to have too.

Another thing that I have always wanted to get and I am finally getting it as a special gift is cast iron teapots and tea cups. And since I am in a "green" phase these days, I love mossy green teapots. I also want a teapot that is flatter and winder versus round because I think the former is more dramatic. Here is the one I am getting: http://www.amazon.com/Old-Dutch-38-Ounce-Cast-Iron-Nobility/dp/B000FAKZ5K/ref=cm_lmf_tit_1_rsrsrs0

I don't know if this next one is considered a "thing" but I am going to my first opera out here soon. I can't wait for this since the Opera House here is supposed to be one of the best in the country. I have never lived anywhere where the opera production is big enough to have 2 different operas every month.