Family Friend Food & Fun

Scracthing head

2008-04-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

When it comes the time for my Mother-in-law's birthday or Mother's day, I have to scratch my head really hard to find a good gift for her. I scout a lot of online stores trying to find the 'perfect' gift for her from her daughter-in-law. I better start looking for Mother's day gifts now since the big day is exactly one month away. But I think I know what to get her this time around.

When my son was born, I used to print his pictures I took every week in 4x6 for her. But since he turned 1, I seldom do that anymore because lack of time. Now that he has turned two, I have many pictures of him which I can put together and produce a collage for her on canvas. Does this sound like a good idea for Mother's Day gift?

Moms night out

2008-04-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight a few of us, moms from the toddler's class at Torrance Adult School are planning to meet up after dinner at Coffee Bean by Del Amo Mall for a night out with out the kids. This will be my first time going out with them without Brandon tagging along. We went to several playgroups together but never without the kids you know? It will be fun to just chit chat among us moms and find out more about us instead of the kids. Will update after this outing of mine.

Online games for kid

2008-04-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

I love computer games when I was young. Now that I have a young little boy, I will definitely introduce computer to him when he start to understand how to use the keyboard and mouse.

Of course, there are many sites that promote learning experience and those are the sites I would like him to go to. One of them is Dizzywood, an activity oriented virtual world online game for kids age 8-12. There is no application to download. It is a web based game. I better go sign up and try the game, may be I will like it for my own entertainment.

Been away for a long time

2008-04-07T10:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long silent in this blog. I've been too busy attending to my son as well as doing a real estate transaction in short sale. This transaction is new to me and is my first time attempting this type of transaction. I am working with another more experience realtor from our office for this. We have offer and now is waiting for the lender to approve of it. Hope to close it soon then I can relax a bit.

Happy Birthday Brandon!

2008-03-03T10:25:00.000-08:00

My son turns 2 today! Time really passes too quickly. One moment I was pregnant and then he was here .... now he is turning 2. Cherish the moments!!!

Happy Birthday Brandon. Fai Goh Cheung Dai!!!!

Mommy and Daddy love you very much. Even though at times you give us a hard time and you get the scolding from me ... but inside I still love you so much. *hugs* *kisses* XOXO

My Typing Speed

2008-03-03T10:14:00.000-08:00

I love to type and I love to type fast! When I saw Judy's post on her typing speed, I know I have to try this out.

I find this test not as accurate because the sentence doesn't make up a sentence, but instead fragment of words that doesn't make sense in the sentence. What I did while typing is to recite the words along so I can type the words from my mouth and not by looking at them on the screen since they sentence doesn't make any sense.

The result:

82 words

You reached 343 points, so you achieved position 64314 of 870767 on the ranking list

You type 430 characters per minute
You have 82 correct words and
you have 0 wrong words

Fri 2/8/2008

2008-02-09T22:42:00.000-08:00

What we did this weekend?

Friday 2/8/2008

My appointment with a client at 10am was cancelled earlier in the day. I woke up at 8am and got her message. Then I prepared Chicken with Apple porridge for Brandon's lunch. Typed up some opps and posts while the porridge was cooking. Wash a load of my own laundry and line dry them. It was a good warm weather so my cloth dried up very fast.

After the porrdige was done, we packed up and went to Disneyland. On the way there, we stopped by Lee's Sandwich to get our lunch - Vietnamese baguette sandwich. It's only $2.20 for each sandwich and if we have lunch in the park, it can easily cost between $8-$15 per person. We bought two - a grilled pork and a BBQ pork. I also got some egg rolls and a long baguette with my order. The baguette was freshly baked so while in the car, I tore up small pieces to give to Brandon. He loves it! I had a few bite myself too as I was already hungry.

By the time we arrived at the park, it was probably noon already. We went to the Baby Center to let Brandon do his potty. Then we headed to the eating area, bought a drink and I fed him his porridge whiel Hubby was munching down his BBQ pork sandwich and some egg rolls. We should be eating at the picnic area outside the park but to make things easier for us, we bought a cup of soda from the fast food restaurant inside to go with our lunch so we could eat inside the park.

After lunch, we took Brandon for his first ride in the Pirate of the Caribbean attraction. It was dark inside and I was worried that he might cry. Everything seemed to be OK. He said he likes it. Our last stop was at the Critter Country and had a few pictures taken with Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore.

On the way back, Brandon fell asleep in the car. He actually napped the moment we lef the parking structure. He continued sleeping when we got home and had a 2 hour afternoon nap that afternoon. As for dinner, we ate whatever we found at home while Brandon had his Apple and Chicken Porridge.

Sat 2/2 - Sun 2/3

2008-02-09T22:35:00.000-08:00

What did we do this weekend?

Saturday 2/2 and Sunday 2/3

Oops ... I forgot what we did this two days. But we had a lot of rain so I don't think we did much that two days.

Saturday, we went to the Torrance Farmers Market, JJ Bakery and Sam's Club to buy milk.

And for Sunday, I remember we went to Manhattan Village Mall and I visited the Apple store. After that we stopped by The Right Start, a specialty store for baby and children products to find the Dwink Holder but they only have PINK color in stock. We would prefer the orange one than pink for our son.

That's all I remember, unless if I check our credit cards transactions, probably I will find out where we had our lunch/dinner for that weekend.

Fri 1/22 - Sat 1/23

2008-01-31T16:14:00.000-08:00

What did we do today?

Friday 1/22/2008

This morning I went to see a Chinese doctor at Monterey Park, and she told me to keep trying and when I really want to get pregnant, I should go again and she will perform acupuncture to trigger the release of egg/eggs. She said she didn't want to let me drink any chinese herbs as you know those concoction is very dark in color hence will give a dark color skin baby. So I told her I will try a few more months and if still no result, I will go back to see her. I may need to be travelling in the next few months so I will take it slowly.

Then we asked Brandon where he wanted to go, and his reply, "NEN!" which means Disneyland. So we went. Although the weather forecast said that it may be raining but we were prepared. We brought umbrella and also caps just incase. But while we were there, there was no rain at all. We didn't take any ride except for the Merry-Go-Around at Disney California Adventure. We had lunch and ice-cream at the park. We left the part around 2:30pm and on the way back home, Brandon fell asleep in the car.

As for dinner, we tried the new Thai restaurant - Three Spice Kitchen in Gardena. We ordered Pad See Eew, Grill BBQ Chicken and Chicken Satay for appetizer. Food wasn't great but average. We spent a little over $20 for this dinner to-go. Ya, it is better for us to have it at home because Brandon would not co-operate if we eat out somewhere there's no ceiling fan.

After dinner, we went to the Del Amo Mall for a walk.

Saturday 1/21/2008

This morning, we went to Walmat, Torrance Farmers Market, to my real estate office (TRG) to drop off the check for business license fee, Korean Market and then to Sam's club. Came back home around 11:45am. Fed Brandon his lunch while waiting for a friend to return my call. We were supposed to have lunch together that day. I called him several times, and I couldn't get the hold of him. He returned my called later in the evening and told me he left his cell at his work. No wonder I couldn't get to him.

So we ate lunch ourselves at Big Island near Walmart.. We weren't really hungry so we ordered a plate of their combination bbq and shared between the two of us. After lunch, we went to Marukai to shop a little bit. We planned to have steam boat for dinner so we got some meat and vege from there too.

Sunday 1/20/2008

2008-01-27T08:36:00.000-08:00

What did we do this past Sunday?

Sunday 1/20/2008

We visited Michales to look for more tools for my cake decorating class. Next to this plaza where was a Party City store, so we dropped by to check out the themes available to prepare for my son's 2nd birthday bash. Afterwards, we went by Whole Food Market in El Segundo but didn't buy any grocery.

We had lunch at Lee's Tofu, because there's ceiling fans around the restuarant. The price of the food went up about $1 a dish. It is about $9 a bowl of tofu and rice now. This may be the last time we dine here for a long while. It is not really worth to get lunch outside for $9. Their hot stone tofu bowl is very delicious but I don't think is worth $9 for lunch menu.

Before we went home, I went in to Smart and Final and bought a tub of Butter Flavor Crisco to make the buttercream icing we needed for the cake decorating class on Tuesday. Then later at home, I made a batch of buttercream icing and tried hands on with some cake decorating tips. It was fun, but I realize the counter I was working on was a bit too high. Next time I should do it at the dining table.

I should have written up this post sooner. Now I tried to think what we had for dinner but I can't remember.

Saturday 1/19/2008

2008-01-20T22:12:00.000-08:00

What did we do this weekend?

I need to start writing down what we've been doing over the weekend because when I tried to remember what we've done the last weekend, I just can't recall.

On Saturday (1/19/2008)

Last night, I made a list of things to do today and we accomplished everything on the list.

Brandon woke up very early this morning at 7am. I wasn't expecting him until 8am. We got things together and left the home for Torrance Farmers Market by 9am. It was nice to be there early as there were still many parking spaces available. We bought some food and I also got a parsley plant to grow from home for cooking.

Next we dropped by Del Amo Mall to pick up some stuff from Joann. We did it quickly and then we went to Sam's club to get milk, and some other grocery items. At check out I suggested for us to get the 2 hotdogs and drinks ($1.50 per set) from Sam's club for lunch at Zoo later.

Left Sam's club before 11am and went home to drop off the grocery. Brandon was asleep in the car during the trip back home. We didn't want to wake him up so we let the engine runs while we moved the stuff into the house.

The traffic was good on the way to the Los Angeles Zoo and we arrived before 12pm. Brandon was still sleeping and we found a good parking spot. We ate our hotdogs in the car. Woke him up after we were done and headed inside the Zoo. We saw the new Gorillas' exhibit.

Brandon wanted to walk but he wasn't looking where he was walking and kept stumbling on other visitors. Or he would hop goin down the slope. For the very first, ge didn't want to hold me hands while walking which made me really mad. When I tried to hold his hand, he threw tantrum, arched his back backward. I carried him and it was tough as he was still squirming and arching. Hubby was pushing the stroller. We left the park.

During the car ride, he didn't nap but I did for a short 5 mins. When we got home, Hubby took him out for a walk while I vacuumed and mopped the dining plus kitchen area. After that, we went out again to Trader Joe's. Bought some stuff and we headed to our favorite Pho place for early dinner. After dinner, it was around 5:30pm, Brandon slept in the car on the way back.

Grilled Chicken for tonite!

2008-01-18T09:11:00.000-08:00

As a stay at home mom taking care of an almost 2 years old, I hardly able to find time to cook when he is so clingy to me. Luckily we don't mind eating take outs. I heard about the Mexican chicken at El Pollo Loco recently. I would love to enjoy this citrus-marinated flame-grilled chicken with some salsa on a warm flour tortilla. May be if I am able to find the time, I may cook some Asian rice to go with this delicious chicken. I love citrus marinated meat!

Toddler's Time at Torrance Library

2008-01-14T21:03:00.000-08:00

This morning I brought Brandon to Torrance Civic Center Library for its Toddler's Time. This class/activity was recommended by two other moms I've met in Parenting the Toddler's Class at the Torrance Adult School. This activity is a short 30 minutes class with storybooks telling, singing and musical instrument play along. We weren't able to sign up for the 10:30am class (where the other two kids were registered) as it was already full. But we were able to register for the 11:15am class.

We waited about 20 minutes then we went into the class. Brandon was a little upset when we first entered, but he was alright after just 3 minutes. I basically had to dragged and carried him into the class.

There were about 15 parent-kids pairs. The class started with a few songs. Then a storybook reading. After that, a few more songs, then another storybook reading and it ends with a fun song with egg shakers given to each kid. It was short but good enough for us.

Next Monday is Martin Luther King's Holiday so there will be no class for that week.

A week into 2008

2008-01-07T08:24:00.000-08:00

This is too fast, we are now a week into the new year 2008. I can't believe it. My boy will soon be turning 2 in less than 2 months and I have yet to come up with the theme for his birthday. I am not even sure if I plan to have a birthday bash like last year for him. My MIL helped prepare most of the dishes for the last party. I made a few, and we had so much leftover that we had to ask every guest to take doggy bags with them when they left.

It is a lot of work, but it is fun to meet up with all the relatives. I don't really have any relatives here, though I have a few good friends. Although they are all my husband's side, and we don't meet up too often. Unlike me, they don't get together for no reason. When I was back in KL, I would go out for mamak session or a coffee bean evening with my cousins. It was fun to hang out and gossip around. I do miss those moments.

Before you go on a date ...

2008-01-07T08:12:00.000-08:00

Internet dating has become so popular now. To tell the truth, I met my husband online and we hooked up immediately. Luckily he was a fine man. This was about than 10 years ago when I met him. I believe then the web was yet to be filled by 'bad' men. But today if you do plan to go on an internet date, do visit Date Screening Website first.

This is one of the largest website where you will be able to read and find out rating about abusive and cheating men. Names were entered by women to promote safe dating, not just for America but worldwide. There are also other interesting topics to help woman in their relationship including free medical advice by volunteer doctor. And if you like curious, you can get a free tarot card reading too.

Happy New Year!!!

2008-01-01T08:09:00.000-08:00

Here we are, the new year 2008. I wish all my readers a Happy New 2008. Have you listed down your new year's resolution yet? No I haven't. I am taking a day at a time. If I have to, I will add a new resolution when it comes along. But at this time, my list is empty.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

We are on the last day of the year

2007-12-30T20:14:00.001-08:00

In less than 4 hours, we will be on Dec 31st, 2007. It means that we are on the last day of the year 2007. That's quick to go by.

Ths whole week hubby's company was shutdown. But he will be at work tomorrow (Monday) for a little bit. After our short vacation to Las Vegas, we didn't do much except for visiting the mall and Target. We know that they would be having year end sales pretty soon but up till today, yet to see it. Could be after New Year.

But today at Target Manhattan Beach, we were able to grab some Christmas/Hoiday items for 75% off the original price. We filled up our shopping cart and at checkout, our final total came to over $100! Beside the Christmas items, there were many toys on sales too. I couldn't resist by all these good prices so I got some toys for Brandon as well as another diaper bag for myself. I love shopping, as long as I don't have to see the credit card statement. HA HA!

A not so smooth Thursday

2007-12-20T15:34:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up at 7:30am, thinking my boy probably would sleep in till later. He woke up at 7:35am demanding for his milk. He was crying and crying, and couldn't wait for the milk to be warmed. I know immediately today is not going to be a good day for me.

While having my breakfast, my boy came to me with his doodle board and requested me to draw CLOCK for him. I told him nicely to let me eat my breakfast. He was upset and kept asing for 'DOK DOK!'. Can't I have my breakfast in peace?

Then I had to head out to Target and stop at Ikea to return the comforter. While at Target, my boy wanted some crackers/cookies. I gave him the mini teddy cinnamon grahams. He took a few but while we were at the toys department, he kept screaming to come down from the stroller. I let him. After a while, I told him to get back on the stroller so we could go pay for the toy he picked from the shelf. He listened and on the stroller he went.

He was holding his toy and then he started sreaming again, pointing to his mouth. I wasn't sure what was wrong. Gave him water but he didn't calm down. I quickly went to the cashier and paid for the stuff I got and we left. He was fine after that.

We went back to the car and left the bags in the trunk, took out the comforter and walked to Ikea which was just next to Target. The return process took me about less than 5 minutes but the waiting took me more than 15 minutes. Then something really fumed me up happened while I was browsing through their showroom ... if you want to know, you got to read here.

Catching up with my sister

2007-12-18T18:16:00.000-08:00

My sister and I are very close. Although we are not anywhere close in age, but we are very well together. Can you imagine that we even have babies on the same day? It is true. Our boys were born practically only an hour and half hours apart.

Anyway, we chatted a lot using MSN Messenger since we are located across the world from each other, one in LA and the other in Australia. But lately, since her IM was infected with virus, we no longer talk online anymore. It has been weeks since we last chatted and I really miss her.

This afternoon while my son was sleeping, it came to me that it’s time to make a phone call to her. I went online to find out how much it would cost me if I call her using my Cingular cellphone and let me tell you I was SHOCKED when I saw the rate to call Australia is $3.49 per minute. I was hesitated to call her due to the expensive rate because I know when I start talking to her, it will not stop since we have a lot catching up to do. This may rack up my cellphone bill to hundreds of dollar.

Then I found out about MobileTalk by Packet8, the cheaper way to call international countries using your cellphone. It will help you save up to 90% from the regular international calling rates your cellphone company charges you.

And since it will only cost me 3 cents a minute for a call made to Australia, I can afford talking to my sister for hours!

Packet8 Mobiletalk offers:

High quality digital calls
No calling card or pin number to remember
No data plan needed
No "connection fees"
No hot spot required

Keeping in touch with family don't have to put a hole in your wallet anymore. So sign up with MobileTalk, pick up your cellphone and call your family and friends all around the globe this holiday season!

Christmas Party

2007-12-18T14:11:00.000-08:00

Brandon and I were supposed to join a Christmas party today at noon at Wilson Park, Torrance, organized by SAHM in the neighborhood. This party was planned a month ago by LB Jenn, the organizer of this group. We were supposed to bring some types of food and if we chose to, our kids would be inlcuded in the gift exchange.

Yesterday, I received a mass email from LB Jenn. Due to the rain in the forecast for today, the location has been changed and the party would be held at her house in Long Beach. I called her to let her know we wouldn't be going since my son is not going to behave well when visiting people's house and on top of that, there'll be too many strangers for him. And with the rain, we would prefer to stay home.

Luckily, we decided not to go as Brandon woke up too early this morning and was napping by 1pm. We wouldn't able to make it to her house anyway. May be next time. ;)

Craving for Ice Cream

2007-12-18T13:01:00.000-08:00

Whenever I visit Disneyland with my family (we have the annual passports), I always have the craving for their waffle cone with two scoops of ice-cream and toppings. They are very tasty and the aroma of the freshly made waffle carries all the way on the Main Street Disney. I can't describe the flow of aroma but it sure brings in a lot of customer to the ice cream shop.

And everytime I am there, I sure pay a visit to the ice-cream shop. I stand there and look at their menu and my teeth start tingling and having one of those sensitive teeth moments.

I remember I had problem eating frozen ice-cream on stick because I couldn't bite on it as it made my teeth painful. But then I've started using the Biotene sensitive toothpaste and it helped with my problem and I no longer have sensitive teeth now.

Biotene helps to protect the sensitivity of the teeth and with the natural Enzyme LP3 Complex™ that heals bleeding gums as well as act as a soothing treament for dry mouth. Biotene is also sodium-laurly sulfate- free. Although you may not see much bubbles with Biotene but my mouth does feel clean after brushing.

So during next trip to Disneyland, I will be sure to order myself a waffle cone ice-cream cup with chocolate fudge and peanut toppings. No, I am not sharing it with my Hubby, if he wants; he has to get his own cup.

It is raining

2007-12-18T12:21:00.000-08:00

It is raining outside now. It is going to rain these two days. It started raining very early this morning and when I woke up the ground was wet and there was still drizzling. I love the rain. The clouds help to trap in the heat and it is not as cold early in the morning as when no cloud. Hopefully we will get more rain because LA is really REALLY dry the last two years and we need all the rain we can get.

I want a new bathroom

2007-12-16T21:39:00.000-08:00

Our old home has two bathrooms - a full bath and a 3/4 bath (with shower). Our master bedroom has the 3/4 bath attached to it. It is very small compare to the newer bathrooms where they are almost as huge as a bedroom.

I really want an attached master bathroom that complete with a full bath or jacuzzi, a shower, two sinks (a her and a him), walk-in closet, enclosed toilet and a sky light, with optional LCD TV. I don't think I can have such a bathroom in our home at this time unless we consider expanding the current layout of the house. Our house is small, only 1300sqft at the current layout. If we are remodeling part of the house, I can also add another bedroom to it.

It will be a lot of work and a big project, but we can have it done when we decided to cover up the swimming pool at the backyard. If the city allows us to extend our home to the front, it may work too. Or we can build a second storey up and add more bedrooms.

When that time comes for this BIG project, we will be looking carefully for estimates on these works from Roofing Contractors to general contractors through a network of carefully pre-screened, licensed and insured home remodeling contractors from Signature Contractors Website. From this website, you can request 3 estimate appointments for free. After each contractor has presented their estimate, it is up to you to decide whom the best to hire for the job.

Our home improvement may sound tedious but may still be cheaper than for us to get a new home in this neighborhood.

Picture credit: Copyright © signaturecontractors.com

Switched from queen to twin

2007-12-16T08:29:00.000-08:00

Ahh ... big news! I am now sharing a twin size bed with my very tossy son. We officially moved from my bedroom to his and from a queen size bed to a twin size bed beginning of November. Wow, if I am not writing this, I don't even know that I've been sleeping there for more than a month!

I have to sleep with him because my son is very tossy, restless, 'lan fun'. When I put him to sleep, he will be cozy under the comforter. However, the next moment I go inside, he would be on top of the comforter like this.

Since it is winter now, I don't want him to fall sick so I have to sleep with him to ensure he is always warm and under the blanket. Also in the middle of the night, he gets thirsty (because he opens his mouth and breath through it making his throat dry). I am really like a 24hrs servant to him. *shake head*

A wonderful pre-Christmas gift for Mommy

2007-12-14T11:57:00.000-08:00

Dear Baby,

Mommy just want you to remember this. Here you are posing happily with mommy’s pre-Christmas gift, a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer, from the nice and wonderful people at Hamilton Beach®.

Mommy was one of the lucky winners when she submitted her video post earlier last month with you starring in it. Although you were crying and didn’t show much enthusiasm by being Mommy’s little helper/mixer in our little baking adventure, our video post was selected to win a beautiful All-Metal Pineapple Hamilton Beach® Mixer. Thank you so much for being a sport in Mommy’s previous video.

Now with this new Hamilton Beach® Eclectrics® Mixer, Mommy can make cookies for snack in the morning even in her PJs. Most importantly, she doesn't have to make you 'cry' anymore during her baking session. And while the mixer is working on the cookie dough, Mommy can play 'Little Piggy' with you. You can have all the time you want from her now.

This extremely quiet Hamilton Beach® Eclectrics® All-Metal Stand Mixer is a great addition to any family. Mommy's next project would be to try different recipes for cupcakes and hopefully she is able to find a delicious cupcake recipe for your 2nd birthday bash early March 2008.

Love,
Mommy xoxo

My gift is here!

2007-12-13T14:23:00.000-08:00

I won another contest online and the gift has just arrived this morning. The UPS guy left it by the garage door as we were out and about but was home around 11:20am. Usually the UPS guy comes between 11:30am to 2:00pm. I guessed he might have been a little early today.

Now I need to whip up some cupcakes with this new toy and then take another video to post. So stay tune for the next video post and see what I've won.

3 moms 10 babies in 2 days

2007-12-07T15:09:00.000-08:00

Just saw it at Yahoo! News - A hospital in New Orlean welcomed 10 babies by 3 moms in 2 days. There were 2 sets of triplets and a set of quadruplets delivered by 3 mommies. Woo ... that's many babies there. We do see more multiple births in the recent years as many mothers are going for fertility help when they were trying to get pregnants.

I always fancy twins and triplets. But not sure if I can handle them by myself. But I guess if you will be able to handle it when the time comes. Just our of sudden, I had this feeling of missing my twin boys very much.

Boston Red Sox Spring Training Tickets

2007-12-06T14:48:00.000-08:00

The spring training for baseball is coming up in a few more months. Most of the time these training sessions will be held in Arizona or Florida. I haven't been to one yet but I know my hubby would love to attend one of the spring training if we can.

But for any of you that may be looking to attend, you can check out the Spring Training Tickets for the Red Sox at Team One Tickets. They are now available for purchase from their website. You may want to buy the tickets as early as possible if you want to get good seats.

Logo credit: Copyright © teamonetickets.com

500 posts!

2007-12-04T16:34:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it. It has been 8 months since I took the plunge into doing paid postings and now I have done 500 Izea posts! I still remember I was happily posting about my 101th post here back in June. So far, I am still enjoying coming up with paid postingsa nd will continue on doing it for as long as I can. If you have yet to take part in paid posting, you may want to check it out. Scroll down my side bar to the bottom and there is a bagde for PayPerPost. Click there to sign up.

This is not a paid posting.

Skiing vacation

2007-12-04T13:48:00.000-08:00

If you are planning for an out of country ski vacation this winter, you can fly to Europe and spend your vacation at the luxury chalets in Courchevel, France. Courchevel is one of the French's premier winter resorts. You can find perfectly groomed pistes in this area and their daily piste map is prepared the night before for the your convenient. If you are interested, you can read more about the town and checking the chalet rates at Supertravel UK.

Tag: Cane or not to cane

2007-12-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

Sweetpea wanted to know what's the disciplinary method I am cultivating in my family. Like her, I couldn't find any cane/rotan for sale in LA area so I don't have the 'equipment'. It is better this way because if I can find one, I will definitely use it. But I prefer to spare someone's behind/palm by not having to own one of the cane.

I also grew up with eating 'tang tiu' most of my younger years. Our mom was very strict. But now there are other disciplinary way to teach the child, I may want to try the new ways, and hope that will work too.

Tagging no one.

Instruction:

**Start Copying Here**

Tag 5 bloggers
1st - You leave their blog and post link and add to the list below.
2nd - Let the blogger know that they have been tagged by leaving comment in their blog.

1. Miche does not spare the rod.
2. Chinnee still spares the rod at this moment.
3. Slavemom does not spare the rod.
4. Rachel does not spare the rod.
5. Shoppingmum spares the rod.
6. Lovely Mummy does not spares the rod
7. Sweetpea spares the rod
8. wHOisBaBy spares the rod

Rain rain rain

2007-12-02T00:04:00.001-08:00

Wow ... we had rain yesterday! It started raining since 5am on Friday morning. It was about time for us to have rain, but it was kind of dangerous for a lot of the communities that was affected during the forest fire as they were worry about mud slides. '

We needed the rain so much as this year, we hardly had any drops. This was a heavy rain which only stopped after the evening time. Our plan to visit Disneyland after dinner had to be postponed to another day.

The sky looked so much clearer this afternoon after the long rain. The freeway looked much cleaner too after the rain washed all the dirt away.

Bring your binoculars to the baseball games

2007-11-29T19:49:00.000-08:00

My husband and I love to go to baseball games. It is the perfect way to spend the summer evenings at the ballpark. But we cannot always get good seats. A lot of the premium seats are taken by season ticket holders. So I always make sure to bring my binoculars to the game, that way I can catch the action of the field too. I had purchased a smaller pair, so they easily fit in my purse. The last thing I want to do is to lug around a heavy pair of binoculars while cheering for my favorite team, the Los Angeles Angels.

My gift arrived!

2007-11-28T22:56:00.000-08:00

My gifts have arrived! Do you still remember my winning post? I was picked to be the winner for a new set of Clean Rest Encasements by Elina.

The package arrived this afternoon by UPS. I don't remember having anything to be delivered or ordering anything online lately. When I opened the package then only I remembered. Many thanks again to Clean Rest and BDMM Community!

PageRank dropped again

2007-11-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

This morning after reading my Hubby's blog about his PR drop, I quickly went over to my PPP to check, thinking my blogs would be OK. But like his, both my blogspot blogs PR went down to big fat ZERO! Both had PR 2 just yesterday and now is KOSONG! I really don't understand why is so. Number of hits remained the same, not much different from previously. I guess it is all depending on how much Google loves your blog or not.

You will probably see less of me blogging here now. If you want to see picture and read my story, hop on to here.

I love noodles

2007-11-27T15:19:00.000-08:00

I just love to eat noodles, soup or dry, doesn't matter. Usually when we go out for restaurant hunting, and when Hubby what I want for lunch/dinner, I will usually suggest noodles. I love it and the second reason is that my son can eat it easily. We haven't been to any local steak house since a long time back (except the time we went up to SF when we stopped at Harris Ranch). My son can't take a lot of meat. I guess he still need to develop more teeth for chewing this. So the best food for all of us either noodles or rice. I would go out for noodles any chance I have, as rice I can make at home.

A new plan for Christmas week

2007-11-27T15:06:00.000-08:00

We have a change in plan. Instead of going up North to Oregon, we may be going south to San Diego during the week of Christmas and New Year holiday. We discussed about the trip up North and found it not necessary doable for a 3-4 days trip. The drive along may take 2 days to go up since we have a little toddler with us, it is not easy to have a straight non stop drive. We have to have frequent stop so the toddler won't feel so stiff inside the car. We also need to fill up gas and eat.

So instead we are planning a new trip. This time we are going south to San Diego. The drive is not that far from Los Angeles. It takes the most 2 to 2.5 hours drive with no traffic. One time when I went down to San Diego with a group of friends on Thanksgiving Day and took us 4 hours to get to Sea World, and by that time we arrived, it was almost closing.

This time we are planning to get discounted tickets to the local attractions through Trusted Tours and Attractions. Readers, if you sign up now for their newsletters and you will automatically entered into their 4 free tickets drawing of any attractions and tours found on their website in 21 cities. Besides San Diego, they also cater to Key West, Savannah and more.

Now I need to check out the hotel rate and start making our reservation.

Vietnamese Noddle for dinner

2007-11-22T14:53:00.000-08:00

We love Vietnamese noodles. My first experience with this dish was in Rowland Heights when I was still in college. An ex-college mate (I don't know where she is now), her name is Nina, had introduced me to Vietnamese noodles. I love it since then.

Luckily, we no longer need to travel to Rowland Heights (travel time between 30-35mins from home) for Vietnamese noodles as we found one that is even better in their soup base located in Lawndale. It is also very near to my Hubby's work place. So at times when I don't prepare dinner, we will get this to-go.

They pack the noodles, onion/cilantro and cooked meat in 1 box, the soup in another box (we don't use plastic bag here), and the 'taugeh' (bean sprout)/basil/lime in a plastic bag. This is such a comfort food for us, especially on a cold winter day.

Ugly garage floors

2007-11-22T14:33:00.000-08:00

Our home is old, built in the 1950s. Well, many homes in LA are old homes anyway, not that I am complaining. We have a 2 cars garage which is good as some other homes built in the 50s have only 1 car garage.

If we get the chance, we want to redo our garage. First thing is to clean out the garage floors.

As you see in the picture above it has a lot of stains - tyres tracks, oil stains, dirt and other unknown stains. Mother-in-law has redone her garage floors by covering the stains with new tiles and the result made the garage looks much cleaner and neat. May be we will consider doing our garage floor that way too.

Worth it all!

2007-11-20T00:20:00.001-08:00

Since we bought our annual Disneyland passports a little over a month ago, we've been there 4 times. The last two times we went in the evening. It is a totally different experience compared to the day time visit. In the evening, we get to take the ride in dark. There are also Chrismas lighting and it looks so wonderful, especially the beautiful icicles decoration on Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Although each time we go, we only spend 2-3 hours top, but it is nice just to walk around. My boy especially enjoys looking at all the ceiling fans found around the park, inside the stores and restaurants. He gets tired after the evening outing and sleeps better at night. hmm ... we may be heading out to Disneyland again coming Wednesday evening, since this Thanksgiving weekend is considered as black out dates for our passes.

Short trip duing Christmas week holiday

2007-11-19T08:07:00.001-08:00

Christmas is coming up in about 1 month. Time really passing fast. This time last year, we went for our first trip oversea to Malaysia spending our 2 weeks vacation with my side of the family. It was fun but too short. I wish we can go back visiting again soon but with an active toddler whom can't sit still for long, I don't think I will be able to survive the 20 plus hours of flight myself alone with him.

So we have to do short trips to nearby cities or states within driving distance. Yes, we have to pack a lot and driving a car is the most convenient as we can pack as much as we wanted into the trunk. Last month we went up to San Francisco for a 3 days trip. It was manageable and we enjoyed the trip very much.

Coming Christmas, my husband and my SIL will have a week holiday through New Years. We are planning now for an Oregon New Years vacation as SIL wanted to go up north visiting Tillamook Cheese Factory. We probably rent a minivan so we can fit everyone in 1 car. As for accommodation, we prefer to rent a vacation condo with 2 rooms at least and located by the beach area. MIL always prefers to cook her own meal so with a condo, is perfect as it comes with a kitchen and we can probably have home cook food even when we are on vacation.

Going to Knotts Berry Farm

2007-11-17T01:42:00.000-08:00

Later this morning we will be heading out to Knotts Berry Farm (it is now 1:45am as I am typing this). SIL's volunteered donating blood every time her company has a blood drive. This time her office honoring these volunteers by inviting them and their family for a day at Knotts Berry Farm. They will even serve lunch at the picnic area.

This can be said the first time we are visiting somewhere as a big family (MIL, FIL, SIL and us). They seldom want to go anywhere when we suggest to go out. Sometimes I would bring up suggestion to go out eat dinner together but MIL almost always reject the offer. They prefer to eat at home, she said. They are kind of boring actually. Initially, FIL has insisted on going for this event but SIL talked him into it. Well, will see how the day go.

Pr down again!

2007-11-09T08:49:00.000-08:00

Ooops ... this blog PR went from PR 4 to PR 3 last week. Today I just noticed that it dropped again from PR 3 to PR 2. No wonder I don't see many opps for me at TigaP. With under PR3, it will be hard to find good paying opportunity anymore. At least give me a break in writing the interim posts. Sometimes I feels very tired to keep writing and writing. A break sounds good.

I hate Ants

2007-11-07T23:26:00.000-08:00

I hate ants. I was lucky that I never have any ants problem here until this summer. May be because now I have a toddler around and with kids you know, they attract ants too. Another thing is I have less time to clean up properly and also maintain the kitchen well enough.

Ants are a problem in my house now. Once they come, they will return no matter how we tried to keep them out. They have the strongest antenna and scent that can find something we wouldn't know that will attract them at the first place.

Whenever there are ants, I use the vacuum cleaner. I tried to follow the trail but I can't go through walls. I don't use insect spray as much because I have a little boy at home. I tried my best to keep the stuff that has history of ant attraction like this so no ants can find them. Yup, a plate with water with all the items in the center. Very tall indeed.

Baking adventure with little one

2007-11-07T20:49:00.001-08:00

If you know me, you would know that I am a dessert enthusiast. I love sweet things so much that i can eat it all day. Before the birth of our son, baking was one of my favorite past time. But since he joined our family 20 months ago, I hardly can find any time to bake at all.

One thing is because my son needs so much of my attention. Yes, I am a stay-at-home-mom. Don't get me wrong, I love playing with my son. But he also love playing with me until I can't leave him playing his toys on his own.

So with this demanding son with me, I can't be holding a handheld mixer as well as playing with him at the same time, well unless I have a hands-free Hamilton Beach® Eclectrics® Mixer. Then I can have my ingredients mixing in it by itself, freeing my hands and me standing there while I can be away somewhere else, may be playing with my son in the next room.

This is a strong mixer with 400 watts and can whip up a huge 9 dozens cookies or a 4 one pound loaves of bread. The mixer I am using (see video) doesn't come with professional 2-way rotating head like the Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer. This mixer has great features like 12 settings, a 4.5qt stainless steel locking bowl with handle, all kind of accessories for versatile mixing and pouring & splatter shield. This is one mixer that comes with a long 3 year limited warranty compared to some of the competitor brands.

I wish I can win a new Apple Hamilton Beach® Mixer in time to bake some cupcakes for my boy's two years old birthday party coming up beginning of March. It would be fun to start baking again and I can't wait.

My Alexa Ranking

2007-11-02T21:16:00.001-07:00

I really don't understand why my Alexa ranking is always so high on all of my blogs. My blogger friends have been having good and low Alexa ranking but mine is way too high to be able to grab any good paying opps from 3Ps.

I've tried many methods suggested by my fellow friend in Sydney but it didn't help boost the number at all. *sigh* I guess my sites just don't have much high traffic that's why the score is staying over the 1 million mark. I have to just bare with it.

Holiday in Venice

2007-11-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to Europe ever. We should have done the Europe vacation when we were still a couple because it would be much easier. Now I guess we will have to wait till our son grows up. May be when Hubby retires from work and we can go for our second honeymoon at Venice.

Why Venice? Well, it is by far one of the most romantic city in the world. We've a glimpse of Venice through the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas but I bet the real one should be much better. We enjoy walking thru The Grand Canal and watching people riding on the gondolas.

When it comes to accommodation at Venice, we'll probably look for some Venice apartments at different cities. It will feels like we really are staying in Venice instead of just be there for vacation.

Met my uncle at Disneyland

2007-10-31T15:06:00.000-07:00

My uncle (ah pek), my father's oldest brother, and his wife came for holiday in LA and SF. They arrived on Oct 11th at LAX. The next day they followed their tour group to Disneyland. I told my Hubby to get off that day so we could go at least meet them at Disneyland. It was going to be difficult to meet up outside their tour iternary as they are jam packed with activities everyday.

So we did! We bought our annual passes to the theme parks and went to Disneyland on Oct 12th. I was a little nervous that we may not be able to find them. Fortunately, we set the place to meet the night before and at 930am they came and we met and went around the rides together.

Sorry to say that they ditched their group while they joined us. But later that day, they rejoined their friends as we had to leave the park early. Brandon was a little tired though he had a nap there, but he didn't want to take the cold milk so we had no choice to leave to go home. If we found out earlier there was a baby center at Disneyland, we could have warm the milk there. Well, next time we know.

Get yourself a 0% credit card

2007-10-31T14:53:00.000-07:00

Credit cards are everywhere now. Especially if you are purchasing online, a credit card is always a must for more merchants. The best credit card is one that offers 0% balance transfer and 0% on purchases up to a certain date. If you need this type of credit card, apply for it at MINT Credit Card UK.

Tropic's Grill

2007-10-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

A cousin-in-law and his wife have just opened a Hawaiian fast food restaurant in Long Beach nearby where SIL works (Boeing). Only recently they had the grand opening. I haven't visited their restaurant yet but will soon. Hubby was reluctant as he is worried that they won't let us pay for our meal. But I insist we go try, and will INSIST that we will pay for our meals.

So if you are in the neighborhood of Long Beach and would like to try some Hawaiian food, drop by Tropic's Grill. I've heard his wife is a very good cook and she is the chef for that restaurant. Here is the address:

Tropic's Grill
2292 E Carson St
Long Beach, CA 90807-3044
Phone: (562) 426-2743

They do catering too if you happened to have a party and too lazy to prepare the food, try ordering from them.

Remember your sunglasses

2007-10-31T14:42:00.000-07:00

The sun is very bright and sunny in California, especially in Los Angeles. You would need sunglasses if you are visiting here for the first time. I remember I had to squint my eyes so badly without the sunglasses until you could see wrinkles forming on my forehead.

If you don't have any sunglasses, you may want to check out EyeglassesContacts dot com. They have over hundreds of designers sunglasses to choose from at great prices.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T00:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween people! I know this is not a celebration for my friends and family in Malaysia but for those in US ... Happy Trick or Treat Night.

Will be bringing Brandon out in the evening to walk around South Torrance residential area to have some fun and of course - free candies! I don't know how he will react fraom wearing the costume to seeing so many weird people in costume on the street. Will hope that we will able to get him walk a bit at least. *cross fingers* It would be a waste if we drive all the way down there and he wants to come home.

Another note, at the Parenting Class yesterday we had a small Halloween Party. I didn't put Brandon in costume because I know he would not like it. Without the costume, he enjoyed the party more. Will update on that later in his blog.

Down go the PR

2007-10-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

This blog of mine used to have PR4 but since the most recent reranking, it has dropped to PR3. I am glad that it is still staying at PR3 because I remembered my LA My Home blog once had dropped from PR3 to PR0. That was an unbelievable drop but was not something in my control. Fortunately, now that blog and my shopping blog, both had also went up to PR2.

There'll be more posts in all my blogs now as I will have to crank them up since I have to write more 'cari makan' and 'wan sek' posts. So stay tune ya! =)

You miss me?

2007-10-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

I used to travel back to Malaysia once a year and stay there at least 1 month. During my stay there, I would send cards to my husband in LA waiting for my return. He in return also sends me cards which always arrive fairly quickly.

One time, I wasn't expecting anyone visiting and someone rang the doorbell. I opened the door and saw a young man with a bouquet for flowers. I thanked him for the delivery. I quickly searched for the card and I saw in it written, "I miss you," at the bottom of the card there printed was my husband's name. Suddenly, I felt so romantic. Never in my mind was I expecting this romantic gesture from him.

Free Shutterfly 5x7 Casual Book

2007-10-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

Amazon.com gave me a free Shutterfly 5x7 Casual Book when I purchased $25 and above in their baby department a few months back. This book is worth $12.99 if I have to pay it myself.

The expire date on the free casual book was end of September. I had to put together all the pictures and layout on the book myself. It took me 1 week to find all the pictures I wanted to include in this book. I managed to get it submitted for printing two days before it expired. All I needed to pay was the shipping plus tax.

The delivery was pretty fast, I received my product in less than a week. But I was a little shocked when I saw the book. It is very thin, I was expecting something thicker like a photobook. Anyway, since this is free, no harm although I have to admit the quality is pretty good. But would I pay $12.99 for this? I don't think so.

Need more shoes?

2007-10-29T15:54:00.000-07:00

I know most women love to collect shoes. Fortunately I am not one of them. I don't need to wear nice heels for work since I am stay-at-home mom and seldom wear them out either as I have to carry a toddler sometimes. So there are only sneakers or other shoes with flat sole for me.

But if you are a woman who loves shopping for shoes, you have to visit Samantá where style meets comfort equals luxury. If you have large fits, here you will find that they also carry large size womens shoes. Check out their collections of boots, sandals, classic shoes for men, sophisticated designs for woman and others. Here is one that I like if I going to buy a new pair of shoes for myself.

Short vacation

2007-10-29T14:40:00.000-07:00

We went for a short vacation up to San Francisco last weekend. Hubby took a day off on Friday and we left around Friday 8:47am. Stopped for lunch at Harris Ranch on FWY5 and then another stop at Gilroy Premium Outlet. Then headed to our hotel at San Carlos to check in and immediately left for San Francisco to meet with relative for dinner.

Next day we attended a birthday party for a 2 years old girl at Pump It Up Jr. Then we left for lunch at a Vietnamese Restaurant. After that we head back to our hotel to pack our stuff again and head off to SF again to meet up with relatives. They weren't at home so we went to Fishermen's Whaft to walk around and later only went back to see them. Had dinner at their home. We left for hotel around 9pm.

Third day morning we woke up early, had our free breakfast at the hotel and left SF around 9am. On the way back, we stopped at Solvang for lunch for about 1.5 hr. While heading back to LA from Solvang, we hit traffic. Normal drive only takes 2 hours but we only arrived home after 3.5 hours.

We enjoyed this short vacation. Looking forward for another one soon. *hint*

Flabby tummy

2007-10-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

Most of us mothers have flabby tummies. This happens with multiple pregnancies. The tummy area was stretch so much during the pregnancy, and after the delivery of the baby, it feels very flabby. Excessive and training exercises can help reduce the flabbiness, but stay-at-home moms like us hardly have time since we are taking care of the kids ourselves. Taking care of kids requires 24/7 of our time.

There's another way to reduce this look on the abs. That's by going for a tummy tuck. At MYA, an UK Tummy Tuck specialist, you can have the surgery done in about 3 hours. One time surgery for a life time look.

Persimmon

2007-10-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

MIL's backyard has a few fruit trees. One of them is a the Nonastringent Fuyu Persimmon Tree. She let them ripe on the tree before taking them down.

I like this variety better because of its crunchiness and sweetness. I eat this like an apple. Cut the stem out by inserting a knife into its core and go in circle around the stem. Then use a peeler to peel off the skin. Walah ... a tasty fruit on hand to bite on. No seeds, no core to remove. Eat it whole. MIL suggested to eat it with its skin on as it provides more fiber. But I prefer the skin off.

Find the right Plastic Surgeon

2007-10-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

I know a lot of Americans gone through different types of Plastic Surgery at least once in their lifetime. It is a trend now to look great and beautiful. As we can see in the magazines today, all the models are trim with nice boobs and have skins that are perfect. There are even TV shows that show the transformation from before, during and after the surgery like the Extreme Makeover by ABC. No doubt people are getting more interested in plastic surgery because it is a way to look good and able to adapt to our society.

When you do look into plastic surgery, find a facility which had surgeons that are experience and done many many surgeries before yours. You don't have to forgo experience for price. Like at MYA you can still choose an affordable package (financing available if needed) and yet work an experience surgeon whom with done over 100,000 surgeries .

MIL made herbal soup for me

2007-10-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

Today I am blogging about how nice my MIL is. She suggested to boil some Chinese herbal soup for me to cure my cough and sore throat. She called her Chinese doctor in Macau to get the needed herbs for the concoction mixture. I don't have the list with me, but next time I will definitely get it from her.

She has a lot of herbs at home as she frequently boil them for herself as well as for FIL. She only needed to buy two items from the herbal shop. She said the doctor friend of hers told her that I only need to drink 2 'jai' (times), once a day. I had one big bowl of darkie soup this afternoon after my lunch.

I felt the immediately effect on my throat. It feels much soother and comfortable. I know, if you are not Chinese, you may think it looks like mud water, and yes, it also taste like mud water too.

May be next time

2007-10-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

We remodeled our kitchen in December 2003. We tore down the old dark wood cabinet and ordered Ikea Stats white kitchen cabinets. We added an island with a second sink in the middle of the kitchen. We love our new kitchen now as it is more bright and open.

Items I regret not using during the remodel were the stainless steel Franke Sinks. I bought ceramic sinks off the shelf from Home Depot and had the contractor installed for me. Even though Franke Sink is more expensive but I realize now that it is easier to maintain than a ceramic sink.

Too late to regret now, may be our next house we will try to get a stainless steel sink for the kitchen.

Who's behind this fort?

2007-10-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

Someone stole all the pillows and bolster. Guess who is behind this toddler-made pillows fort? Some hints for you:

has black hair
loves playing on Mommy's bed
likes to kacau mommy while she is using the laptop to earn extra income or to blog

Above picture was what I saw after I left my bedroom for a little while to check for blogging ad opportunity. I was surprised to see this happened after I returned to my bedroom. Boys are boys.

Plumber with a style

2007-10-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

An ex-client of mine has a brother has his own plumbing business. Since I am a real estate agent, it is always good for me to know handyman like him so I can recommend to my clients if they have plumbing problems.

My ex-client introduced me to him one time and his brother sure knows all about plumbing. He dressed very smart but casual, unlike any plumbers I've seen. He started off telling me why and how he started his business. Then on it went. I suspect he probably took Sales Training Courses in plumbing. I was very impressed with him and definitely will refer him to my clients in future.

Extraordinary Ceiling Fan

2007-10-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

While visiting a model home at 360 South Bay, a new community with condos and townhomes, I saw this piece of art as well as a ceiling fan. My son loves ceiling fan but he was not in the model home with me.

He was getting tired and a bit bashful with the many people in and out the model home. He was outside with Daddy while Mommy was touring fanatically on all the model homes. I wasn't able to finish all of them as it was about time for Brandon's nap. But I thought the above picture is something my son would like to see. Haven't show it to him yet as this picture was all the while in my memory card, yet to download to the computer.

A must have tool for home builders and contractors

2007-10-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

Building a home is not easy but keeping all project teams on schedule is even harder. If you are a builder or contractor, you must get Procore Online Construction Project Management. This web-based application can help team members stay on the same page.

Another advantage with Procure is they charge a flat rate based on per-project monthly fee instead of per-user fee. Builders and Contractors can have as many users for this program as they want. Another benefit is this application is easy to use, there's no training needed.

Where is the blue sky?

2007-10-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

Above picture was taken late afternoon Tuesday. Wild fires has been burning everywhere around Los Angeles, ranging from Malibu to the east as far as San Bernardino Mountains and to the south in Irvine and San Diego. Even though we live no where near the fires but the grey smokes filled our air above. It was announced on the TV that our air is in an unhealthy level. From the picture above you can see the sun is somewhat filtered by the grey smoke.

Need new bed anyone?

2007-10-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

When I was renting a room during my college years, how I wish I had a wooden bed. I love wood as it is so must nicer and steadier than a metal frame bed.

We have a queen size wooden bed frame now and highly recommend wooden bed. If you are looking for Quality Oak Beds, you have to check them out at Time4Sleep. You are able to find many different designs and styles all at one place. And if you prefer non-wooden bed, no problem. At Time4Sleep, they cover a wide range of beds and I am sure you can find one that fit your lifestyle.

cough cough

2007-10-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

I've been having dry throat and cough since the last weekend. If I don't talk is OK, but once I talk and start coughing, it will look like I am going to die. Yes, I cough and cough and cough until my face may turn red. That's how bad it is.

The throat feels very itchy and dry, and I do drink a lot of water which makes me running to the bathroom every 20-30 minutes. This is one reason why I've been boiling a lot of soups last few days and also eating homecooked meal instead of to-go.

What I am worry is that my son is going to catch my virus since he sleeps with me. Well, hopefully I will get better soon.

Buying home in UK

2007-10-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

I have many friends who stayed back after college in UK. Some I still keep in touch with. One of them recently told me she bought a home and has taken out the home loan from UK Mortgages. She told me it was easy for her to get a quote as she submit it online and a few hours later, an independent advisor called her to speak to her about her loan process. It's about time she owns a home. I've told her to get a home as soon as I became a real estate agent. A home will be one's best investment.

Bad wild fires in Los Angeles

2007-10-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

There are so many wild fires in and around Los Angeles. All started on Sunday when the dry and hot Santa Ana wind started coming down from the desert. The wind which comes down from the high desert through the hill and into the valley will increase its temperature as it descends the hill into the valley. This dry and windy condition is what we don't look forward too as it always comes with red flag warning.

There were several wild fires started on Sunday, in Malibu, Castaic, Mission Viejo, San Bernardino Mountain and part of San Diego too. This is one of the worst wild fires we have in years. So many structures were destroyed and many more residents were evacuated from their home. We definitely looking forward for the cooler weather to come to help calm down the fire. Not all of the wild fires have been fully contained. At least not until the weather is better.

Buying your printer cartridges

2007-10-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

If you are shopping for printer cartridges, remember to use Cartridge Finder to check which cartridges you need. There are so many printer models out there now and it is hard to figure out which cartridges may fit your printer.

Best thing at Cartridge Finder, you will be able to see a picture of the printer as well as your printer model which helps to confirm the correct cartridge you would need.

Papa John's 4 meats Italian pizza

2007-10-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

Above is the newest pizza available at Papa John's. It is the 4 meats Italian Pizza. One afternoon, Hubby and I decided to have pizza for lunch. Since there is a new promotion on this new pizza, Hubby wanted to try it out. I asked him, if this pizza has Parmesan cheese on it, he said "Nope!" I hate those sprinkle Parmesan cheese but OK with those freshly shredded Parmesan cheese on salad.

Since he confidently said no Parmesan cheese, I gave the OK sign to order it. He went to place the order while Brandon and I went to Albertson to shop for groceries. The moment we went inside the car, I could smell the Parmesan Cheese. I ask him if he smelled it too but he said "Nope!"

Arrived home and we digged into the pizza. I took my first bite and immediately I had to spit it out because there was Parmesan Cheese in it. Yes, I am very sensitive to the taste. I had to find something else for my lunch. Guess who finish the whole pizza? Hubby did. He ate 4 slices for lunch and another 4 slices he brought to work for his next day lunch.

A good night sleep

2007-10-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

What is better than a good night sleep? I haven't had one since my son joined our family. Now he is taking over our queen size bed whereby my husband has to sleep in the study room. We are looking for a children bed for him to put him in his own room.

We weren't able to find nice children beds here. However, if I am living in UK, my son will probably be sleeping in his new children bed now. At Time 4 Sleep, I was able to view their extensive range of children beds. WOW, I just love all the creative and colorful design beds they have. My son will love this fire engine bed:

At Time 4 Sleep you can find other range of beds including French Beds, Leather Bed, Wooden Bed, Metal Beds, and more. This is one place you must visit before buying your next bed.

Guess what airline

2007-10-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

Probably is hard to tell from this reduced resolution picture what airline is the above plane. The answer is a Singapore Airline arriving around noon time in LA. We were driving south on Sepulveda (our car was moving to your right) passing thru the LAX where planes land.

I was trying to capture a picture of the plane flying above us but didn't get the timing right. Either we were driving too fast, or the plane was too slow.

4 Stars Hotel at Blackpool

2007-10-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

When we decided to visit Pleasure Beach, Blackpool we probably will probably do it ourselves without following tour from Los Angeles. That means we reserve our own flight tickets and hotel accommodation at the destination through online websites.

For accommodation, I would prefer staying near the theme park, may be a 4 stars Hotel in Blackpool. Through online website, I found Big Blue Classic Hotel. There are over 140 reviews on their hotel and services which gives them a 5/6 ranking. Price is reasonable if earning UK Pounds, but may be a little expensive for us as US dollar now is not as strong as before. Hopefully by the time we are ready to make our hotel booking, their rate will be lower than what I see there tonight.

Jujube at Farmer's Market

2007-10-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

Forgot to take the price board. I don't remember how much they were selling these for. There were too many people in the front so I took a picture from the back.

These are jujubes, also knows as red dates - 'hoong jo'. But this is a different variety as they are huge compared to the regular red dates we used to boil soup. They are crunchy and taste like a tarty little green apple. My MIL has a normal jujube plant in her backyard. Every year she dried them up and keep them. She doesn't use much of them. If I boil a lot of soup then I will probably use a lot of these but I seldom cook soup now.

Pleasure Beach, Blackpool

2007-10-23T19:40:00.000-07:00

Being a mom, what I look for inside Theme Parks are family rides so I can take along my son with me. There would not be fun if either my husband or me to go on the ride individually as one has to look after the little one while the other take the ride.

Pleasure Beach, Blackpool is a theme park in UK that offers many exciting rides including family rides which I love. If I live in UK, I will definitely get their annual pass to get our visit worth.

Besides rides they also have shows and other indoor attractions. At Pleasure Beach, you can dine in any of their 35 restaurants and cafes. I love to try all these restaurants if possible. Well, now I need to plan my trip out to UK.

Sapporo Ichiban Ramen

2007-10-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

I love to eat Japanese instant ramen. Above is one of them. This particular instant ramen has THICK noodles than usual ramen. I love the thick texture. It comes with the noodles, a pack of seasoning and a piece of soy curd (is this how they call it?). This is good althought a little salty. Next time remember not to add so much seasoning. I was so hungry that I ate the noodles without taking a picture of it. Next time, I will add some green onions and cilantro if I have in my refrigerator.

Part time real estate agent

2007-10-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

I know a lot of stay at home moms who have some free time available when their kids are in pre-school. I would suggest for them to pick up an expertise which can help to earn some extra income for themselves.

Real estate industry always has job for everyone and if you know how to do it right, you will be very successful. But first, you need to take and pass the real estate exam to obtain a real estate license for your state. This is where CompuCram can help. Their program will help you build your confidence towards taking the state exam. Each program they offer has free trial download which you can test it out before purchasing it.

Hot and Dry weather

2007-10-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

It is the Santa Ana wind blowing that made our weather very dry and hot. There are several wild fires in Southern California that yet to be contained. It is really bad as there is even a red flag warning which is up until tomorrow.

Yesterday we planned to visit Irvine Railroad in Orange for its pumpkin patch festival. Hubby cousin whom left earlier than we did called to let us know it was closed due to the windy condition. We were on 91 freeway heading to the 55 fwy. After passing 5 fwy, we noticed the windy condition but didn't know it was that bad. We detour and went down to Irvine Tanaka Farm for its pumpkin patch but it was also windy there and dust flying everywhere. They were opened but we decided to leave and went back home. It was hot in Gardena but at least no wind.

Today and tomorrow will be good weather to bring out all the laundry to dry. May be planning to wash a load of bedsheets and towels tomorrow.

Modular Home

2007-10-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

Driving around town I've seen many modular homes are popping up around LA area. You may find some of these fast growing homes from Palm Harbor Homes.

These manufactured homes are very affordable especially in the rising property prices around Southern California. This may be the way to go for new first time buyers. Don't fool by the name modular home as these homes are well built and very attractive with upscale designs.

At Palm Harbor Homes, you can even view the available floor plans online and get a free informational DVD to learn more about what modular homes can offer to you.

Boyboy doesn't want milk

2007-10-21T21:58:00.000-07:00

I know probably most babies gone thru this stage whereby they reject their daily milk out of sudden. My son went through that once when he was an infant. We were very concerned when that happened. Luckily, a few days later he was back on the milk drinking.

Last Sunday morning, he woke up like other usual day. I prepared and warmed the milk just like before. Gave to him, he drank for 1 oz and then stopped. We tried many ways to have him drink it - changed to straw and cup, changed the nipple to sipper, use cold milk instead of warm, let him watch tv, and cradle him to drink. The latter one worked but he only finished 3 more oz. So we thought he wanted to go #2 that's why he didn't want to finish the milk first. Let him finished #2 which took forever. We managed to give him the rest of the milk in the car on the way to see a client of mine.

The second feeding for that day was ok. He managed to finish about 7oz. The night feeding is when it happened again. He was so tired that he didn't want to sleep. We gave him milk, he finished about 6oz. His usual intake was a full 9oz bottle. But he didn't want to sleep. And he didn't want the pacifier.

Motherhood is very tiring.

Storage storage storage

2007-10-21T21:40:00.000-07:00

When your house is small as mine, you will need as much storage in the garage as possible. Now with a toddler son in our family, our toys collection has grow so much and not including his baby's stuff. Some of the older strollers, car seats, cribs and other baby items are all sitting in the garage. I hate to have these items cover with dust. That's why I am planning to build some garage cabinets to store all these items neatly away from all the dust.

Cakes for me

2007-10-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

My Hubby likes to make me mad and upset sometimes. And the next day he would get something sweet for me and that put a smile on my face when he presents the gift for me.

Last week, he did it again, and the next day he bought me a box full with sweet goodies from Torrance Bakery (see above picture) . It had a dark chocolate cake, a strawberry cheesecake, a petite four chocolate cake, a lemon bar and a pastry. Took me a few days to finish all of them. I only indulge one per day. These goodies definitely put on some extra pound on my body (particularly the butt!).

What I do during my personal time

2007-10-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I don't have much personal time now that I am so busy with my 19 months old toddler. I tried to use it to the fullest. I set aside a schedule with what I would do during my boy's hour long schedule. Most of the time is devoted to household chores.

But if I have some extra time before he wakes up, I would take a few moment relaxing in front of my laptop doing some fun girl quizzes on Quibblo. Some of the questions are hilarious and they do help me to unstress a bit.

Too hot for Disneyland

2007-10-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

Today Hubby's Friday off. We were planning to either go to San Francisco for the weeken or Disneyland for today. We picked Disneyland. Another main reason was my client who is looking for business opportunity told me that he might be in town this weekend and I would like to be available if he calls me.

Disneyland was fun. Only one complain today - the hot weather. It was probably in the high 80s. Although I was wearing a white teeshirt but I was carrying a dark backpack so my back was all hot too. I forgot to bring a hat and sunglasses so I had to squint my eyes all the time. My head was all hot too. Lines wasn't that bad. We went to both, California Adventure and then stopped at Disneyland for the Small World Ride. Left around 1pm.

Rising Gasoline Price

2007-10-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

You know that I've been keeping track of the gasoline prices around town in my LA My Home Blog. Let me tell you, the prices are going up again. The prices went down quite a bit a month or two back but now is rising again. The regular gasoline now is above $3.00. Imagine all the gasoline consumer has to deal with this increase without much choice since living in Los Angeles is hard to depend on the public transportation. We need to drive to get somewhere.

I am thinking those in the oil and gas investment are probably making lots of money with the gasoline price increase. If you are an amateur and plan to start your own oil and gas investment do check out EnerMaxInc dot com for information on how to invest. They can teach you how to select the right oil and gas company, potential risks of this investment and much more.

Loh Mai Fan

2007-10-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

Another post about food. Ya, I love to eat. I put on 2 pounds since the last time I weighed myself. Gosh ... been eating too much sweet desserts I think. Anyway, Monday evening I didn't cook, no time because Brandon was a handful that day. He didn't want to drink his milk. *sigh*

So I didn't have time to prepare dinner. MIL came over to play with Brandon and offered 'loh mai fun' (glutinous rice) to us. She said she was going to be making plenty and asked if I wanted it for dinner. Of course I said YES. Save me time to think what to eat or buy from outside.

Christmas gift for me

2007-10-18T09:14:00.000-07:00

*hint* *hint* Christmas is coming soon. 'You' want some idea what to get me? You know what I would like? A gift from a fine designer jewelry store probably would surprise me. But I know 'he' is not romantic enough to surprise me with 'this' gift.

I know it sounds a bit crazy, I lost one side of the my diamond earrings beginning of the year. I didn't even know how, where and when I lost it. I came home after an appointment with my client and dinner at Pink's then I found out one side of my earrings went missing. I looked up and down, in the shower and bathroom, but couldn't find it. I assumed that it was lost outside the house where there is not chance I can retrieve it back.

So if 'you' are reading this, you know what to get me for Christmas.

Bye bye pacifier

2007-10-17T22:55:00.000-07:00

My boy stop taking the pacifier since Sunday. It is good in one way but not good in another. Without the pacifier, it is very difficult for him to call asleep. With a pacifier and if he is tired, he can usually doze off very easily. But without a pacifier, even if he is very tired, he will be circling the bed round and round, doesn't want to lay down on the bed.

Last few days afternoon nap took very long. His usual nap time was supposed to be around 1pm to 2pm, if he wakes up around 8am in the morning. I brought him in the room at 2pm, gave him his milk around 230pm (another tough job - will post about it another day). But he only napped at 4pm the last few days. Slept only 40 minutes the most.

This is draining my energy - mentally and physically. Luckily, I was still able to cook a simple meal this evening for dinner. I hate eating out too much because eat until don't know what to eat.

Enjoy dining out

2007-10-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

If you don't feel like cooking you may want to dine out. If you are visiting the East Coast, you may want to check out Restaurants in Timonium MD. From this website you can view menu on the restaurants around that neighborhood. You can check out the menu before visiting the restaurant so you don't waste time driving around.

Peacock at LA Zoo

2007-10-16T22:36:00.000-07:00

Whenever we go to the LA Zoo, we sure get to see the peacock. It roams around the zoo without any leash. Sometimes we see it inside the compound with other animals (not lion or tiger though). I think there are two of them but not 100% sure.

Above pictures were taken one time when it was right in front of the chimpanzee's compound and the peacock spread its fanlike feather. Many people took out their digital camera and start clicking away. Me too. So beautiful, don't you think?

Life is precious

2007-10-16T15:52:00.000-07:00

We often hear in the news that celebrities are admitted to the drug rehabs again and again. Personally, I don't really understand why these individuals who have so much fame and wealth would choose to waste their lives like that.

I believe they should value their lives not for themselves but for their families, friends and fans. They should read more on topics like 'substance abuse self help', a way to learn about getting back on their own without paying so much to the rehab centers that at the end they probably going back there again and spend more money.

Audio books are available for those who are busy moving around. Audio books are available in mp3 format which can be stored in an mp3 player and carry it around easily. They can listen whenever they are driving or working out.

Sushi Lunch

2007-10-15T22:44:00.001-07:00

Many of you might have known that I seldom cook, especially for lunch. I only get homemade lunch if I cooked dinner the night before. So if no dinner, then I get my lunch outside. Preferably, I would go somewhere nearby to get it. Well, everywhere near also need to drive the car. There's no hawker stalls or 'kopitiam' (coffee shop) here, or else I think I can eat the varieties of hawker food 7 days a week.

Anyway, last week I got a sushi lunch set (above picture). It comes with 4 pcs of inside out CA roll, 2 tuna sushi and 2 salmon sushi. This box cost $6.99 from Nijiya. I noticed there was a slight change in the taste after the price increased. The CA roll has no taste at all. The rice seemed to be missing some seasoning. I don't think I will go back for their sushi again after this time. Have to scout for new sushi place nearby my house next time.

Worcester Nursing Home

2007-10-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

I remember visiting my great grandmother at the nursing home when we were in Malaysia. She had her very own private room. It was nothing fancy as the nursing home here in United States but she lived comfortably in her small little room until she passed on. It was fun visiting her as she would find bits of cookies to share with us. How I wished we have digital camera back then, I would have taken a lot of her pictures as well as the nursing home. The nursing home probably has a lot improvement made since I last visited. But one thing I know, there was not air conditioning in her room. She turned on a small table fan whenever she needed some cooling down.

When I am old and need medical assistance, I may want to look into living somewhere like Worcester Nursing Home. I prefer living in a nursing home because it will be so much less maintenance for me to upkeep than living in my own home and having a nursing unit available for any emergency. The main thing I look for when choosing a nursing home probably is cleanliness. Massachusetts Nursing Home offers bright, airy, clean and comfortable semi-private room. If you are interested to find out more about this MA Nursing Home for your relatives, you can call them to schedule a tour of their facilities.

Art work week 1 & 2

2007-10-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

When we attend the parenting class at Torrance Adult School, we also do art after the first rug time. Well, it is more for Mommy to relax therapy actually. Kids this age still don't know much about making art yet. My boy can sit down less than 5 minutes and then he goes off running around the classroom playing with the toys. Just me sitting there in a small little chair trying to cut, glue and paste the papers togethers.

Getting ready for winter sports

2007-10-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

Winter is coming in less than 2 months. Isn't that fast? I feel like last year's winter had just gone by not too long and now is coming again. I know a lot of people are waiting for winter to come around so they can hop on the snowboards and skis.

Living in Los Angeles gives us a chance to surf in the ocean as well as skiing up high at the mountain all in 1 day. We can easily drive up to the Big Bear Mountain in a few hours from the beach.

If you are in need of any skiing gears or Burton Snowboards, remember to check them out at ChristySports.com. They are the largest specialty ski and snowboard retailer in the Rocky Mountain region. If you have any questions regarding any items on their website, they are only 1 toll free phone call away.

Steamboat Dinner

2007-10-15T12:59:00.000-07:00

We had steamboat dinner last Monday. It was nice as Brandon was having his evening nap (he was tired and only had a short 30 minutes nap earlier) while I could enjoy the dinner peacefully. He woke up when we about to finish the steamboat.

We used the portable gas stove and had our dinner in the living room. We had some Japanese fishballs and fish cakes, enoki mushroom, slices of beef and pork, napa and tofu. There are still some leftover fish cakes, may be we will have another steamboat again this week.

Surprise your love on with flowers

2007-10-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

There is nothing better to surprise your love one with a bouquet of flowers as often as you can. Especially if she was upset and unhappy about anything at all. This gift will definitely brightens up her day. I would love to receive flowers but my husband is not that romantic kind of person. The last time I received flowers from him was probably almost 8 or 9 years ago.

But if you are looking to surprise your wife with a rose bouquet and you live in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, remember to place your order online through Sally Ann Tulsa Flower Shop. They are family owned and operated and offers the finest quality of floral arrangement.