False Alarm

It was just one day. I didn't really think much of it. However, when it got to the third, fourth, and fifth day, I couldn't help but wonder, "Am I pregnant?" It ended up being 8 whole days of wondering if Howard and I were about to be parents, but clearly by the title of this post, that didn't happen. 

The fact that my body is fairly scheduled really made me think after just two days that I might be pregnant. Howard and I kind of just joked about it at the beginning because we hadn't planned on having a kid in the near future, so it was kind of something that seemed impossible. But as each day passed by, there was a mix of excitement and fear. I didn't tell anyone about it other than my colleague at work who was my mentor teacher and is now the director of the school because I didn't know if any of these things would interfere with a school trip we had coming up.

Howard and I decided that if I was still late when the weekend rolled around that he would go buy a pregnancy test. I was actually anticipating having to find out for sure that way. Though we're not exactly where we should be to have a kid yet (I know there are so many out there who have told us there's never going to be a "right" time where everything is settled), there was a part of me that was honestly hoping that I would be mainly because if I were pregnant, it was clearly all God. If we were going to be parents, we trusted that God wanted us to be parents. If we tried planning all of this by ourselves, I knew it wasn't going to happen for possibly a few more years. 

As we approached that Saturday, I couldn't shake the thoughts from my mind. Each day as I got up for work, I was a little giddy about the possibility and nervous at the same time. I knew there would be a great deal of change if I were. What would I do about work next year? How and when would we move? Would we be able to afford all of it? But then when Thursday rolled around, all the hopes I had were suddenly dashed. I wasn't pregnant. The logical part of me breathed a big sigh of relief. Phew, no need to stress about money and whether or not we were ready to give up our selfish "it's-just-the-two-of-us" ways. 

But as the reality of it settled in, I was deeply saddened. That night when Howard and I went to bed, I moved in close to him unable to truly explain what I was feeling. It seemed silly to be sad. There was never a baby, so how could I be sad that suddenly there wasn't? There was no real loss. The only way that I could express what I was feeling was through tears. Lots and lots of tears. 

It's only been 3 months since that week, and I don't know that I'm completely recovered. Sometimes the sappiest of commercials on Hulu will set me off again. I think November must have turned on a valve of some sort that makes my tear ducts leak a lot more often than it used to! Howard and I will be watching something completely non-baby related, and I'll have tears in my eyes! 

Just a few months earlier, I knew in my heart that years from now, we'd look back on this false alarm and think about how God's timing was perfect. The amazing thing is that I feel that God has been teaching us so much in these past two months. We didn't have to wait to look back on this with hindsight. I know there's more to this story than what I can see right now, but I'm reassured in knowing that God is so great that He can work in people who are experiencing true pain and even those who are dealing with minor "silly" sadness. 

It's Time to Move

The other day, I posted the following status on Facebook:

Ice: 2, Rae: 0.

Howard, let's move to Florida.

In the past, I used to look forward to some snow with hopes of getting a snow day from work. Working at a private school means that we don't follow the same schedule as the public school system, so we will close even if they don't. Our school is kind of located in a remote area, and the staff and students live all over the island so some of us have to drive greater distances. For example, our school closed today because of the potential icy conditions outside. I don't work on Mondays since I'm part-time this year, so it didn't affect me, but I still breathed a sigh of relief knowing that my mom didn't have to drive and neither did my colleagues. Even so, it doesn't mean we close at all times.

Howard's photo that he took on his phone after work today.

A little less than a month ago on January 9th, I had one of the worst driving experiences of my life. The snow was falling so fast during my morning drive that everyone around me was taking it slow too. I believe I'm a very cautious driver, so when I see everyone else taking their time too, I know that it's really dangerous out. I took my normal route so that I could focus more on taking my time and not having to think about anything new that might occur. Well, something new occurred anyway!

As I was approaching a light, I saw that it turned red, so I stepped on my brake. The brake, however, was just not enough to stop the car. I pushed my foot down as hard as I could, but the car kept moving. It was slow-moving, so I actually had time to panic and think, "What am I supposed to do?!" There was the slightest decline, which probably made the whole situation worse. I knew I was going to keep going into the intersection.

For some reason, I have thought about what I would do if my brakes stopped working. Because it was something that has always been on my mind, I immediately thought to honk my horn to alert others around me of my situation. There was one car that could have started moving but didn't, so I just kept honking my horn until I turned left. I couldn't believe I had made it through without any issues. I breathed a sigh of relief and was so grateful that God was right by my side and that because of the timing, the amount of cars at that intersection was nothing like the regular traffic when I drive in the morning!

Those feelings of relief were soon forgotten because suddenly my eyes started filling with tears and I was sobbing. I drove for a few seconds more just so that I could stop my car at the side of the road safely out of the way. I called my mom right away, and when she picked up, I couldn't even speak. I knew I had to say something because my mom would panic considering I text her right before I start driving to her house. There would be no reason for me to call her thereafter unless something was wrong, so I forced myself to say, "I'm okay, but ..." and then proceeded to tell her what happened.

I was never a fan of driving in the first place. This definitely doesn't make it any easier for me! When I finally arrived at my parents' house, I was emotional again. Then when I arrived at school and one of my colleagues mentioned that I was late, I cried again as I tried to tell her what had happened. Then I went into the director's office because I had texted her to tell her briefly that I'd be late, I cried once more! When I got home that day and Howard came home, I cried again. I don't think I actually cried all of it out because I stopped myself each time, so it was just built up inside me because once I arrived at school, I immediately had to get to teaching.

Clearly, ice was the winner in this situation. It definitely got me. But as you saw in the status, the ice won not once but twice!

This past Thursday, there were no easy spots available by my parents' house. Since it was right after the latest snow storm (Staten Island got about 6 inches in some areas, I think, but it was nothing like the blizzard that was forecast), there was snow everywhere. The people shoveled the snow just so that they could pull their cars out. I already don't like parallel parking to begin with and have to do it very slowly, so when there's snow in the way, it's nearly impossible! I also have a very low car, so the snow kept scraping the bottom as I tried to back into a spot. Eventually I gave up and my mom was pulling out of the driveway so I parked there. That meant I had to leave my key in the house in case my dad needed to use my car or his own car in the garage. Since the door was locked, I had to walk to my mom to get the house key. In the process of doing that, I slipped.

Now I've slipped on ice many times before as I'm sure we all have. But this is one of the few times that the slipping actually caused me to fall. My left knee absorbed most of the fall, so my upper thigh was in pain for the next few days to the point where taking the stairs would take my breath away (haha, and not in a good way!). The worst part of the tumble was that I had my tote bag on my right shoulder. Thankfully, it wasn't as full as it normally is, but it was still heavy enough to make me twist as it fell behind me from my right side to my left side. It hurt so badly that I couldn't even stand up right away. My mom said that when she got out of the car, she didn't know where I was. It was because I was on the ground unfortunately!

I was sore for the rest of the day and the next few days. Even today, I'm still not completely better. I have this spot on my back that is rather painful. I'm not one to take Tylenol unless I really have to even though there are times my mom or Howard suggest I take it for pain. Today was a day I took the full dosage because the back spasms were unbearable. Afterwards I went to lie in bed and read my nook until the Tylenol made me drowsy (yes, all forms of medicine make me drowsy!) and I konked out.

I give up. I surrender. The ice has won, but I am afraid that it's still going to come after me anyway. Tonight the temperatures are dropping into the teens, so the icy mess that was out there and all the slush that was making it difficult for commuters is going to be frozen tomorrow. I still have my fingers crossed for a delay just so that there's no stress in getting up super early and dealing with so many other cars on the road because the ice doesn't seem to want to give up on this battle with me even though my white flag was up right after round one! I think the only way I can escape is if Howard and I move. If it gets me again, it might be a clear sign it's just time to say goodbye to NYC!

Calm Before the Storm

It's so strange looking outside right now and seeing the snow that's on the ground. It's not much really at this point although it is sticking. It seems kind of peaceful as there aren't many cars on the road, but if we really do get as much as the weather people say, it's going to be a totally different view tomorrow!

Just earlier I got an email from CVS that mentioned getting items from the storm in preparation for the storm. I'm guessing that at the point of the email, the CVS by me would have been sold out of essentials already because it's right by a lot of apartments and houses! I said that I should go to the store and get upset with them if they didn't actually have bread and water and say, "You sent this email directly to me!" Then we started joking about how we would recreate a "Jen from Bath & Body Works Appleton" scene. There's a parody of it on YouTube that I won't post here because there's a little bit of foul language in it, but it is something that has made us crack up time and time again. Howard was like, "I went to Stapleton, Westerleigh, Todt Hill, up Grymes Hill and down Grymes Hill ..." Man, we are easily entertained!

Here are some pictures that Howard took on his way home from work today. I'm super glad he got home safely. Public transportation was crowded because a lot of people left earlier than normal. 

This bus one is probably my favorite from all of the pictures. It looks so much like it's a character that needs to wake up and wipe his eyes!

Sometimes we can't tell whether or not it's snowing, and we rely on the parking lot lights to help us figure it out.

It'll be extra quiet tonight what with the travel ban and the fact that all 4 bridges are closed starting at 11pm! I wonder what we'll hear outside since we're right off the highway and normally hear the cars, trucks, and sirens! For most of you NYCers who have a day off tomorrow (or are working from home), have a great snow day tomorrow!

2015 Goals

As I tidy the apartment today, I'm wearing my new bluetooth headphones that Howard got me as part of my Christmas gift! Because the walls in our apartment are really thin, I don't want to bother our neighbors by having YouTube videos or Netflix shows on really loud since I have to turn the volume up if I'm doing something like washing the dishes. I always used Howard's headphones, but they're rather heavy, so hubs bought a lighter pair for me. It means I can actually get more done each day without my head throbbing, haha. 

The videos I've been listening to lately have been about 2015 resolutions. Depending on who it is, I can actually get motivated by the person speaking to get our place clean! I've been mentally compiling a list of things I would like to accomplish this year and didn't intend on writing it down, but I think it'll keep me a bit more accountable to myself if I just jot them down instead of just leaving them float around in my mind.

Goal #1: Do personal devotions on a daily basis, and if a day is missed, go back and catch up.

As a Christian, this is kind of the goal I mentally make for myself every year, but a few months into the year, I always miss a day and kick myself for being a "failure." I think that because I missed a day, God is disappointed in me for not having the dedication to get through an entire year and then I kind of lose hope for being diligent for the remainder of the year. Of course, that's a completely silly thought because I think I am more upset with it than God is. If anything, God's like, "Aww, I missed spending time with you today! Hope I see you tomorrow!" as opposed to the "Pshhh, you skipped our daily meet? Forget you! I don't want to bother with you any longer because you're so flaky!"

Instead of setting a resolution to do my daily personal devotions, my goal will be to do it every day. However, if I miss a day (something that usually happens on the weekend because I don't follow my regular schedule), I will go back and catch up even if it's a day or two later. I know that it would never hurt me to do twice the amount of quiet time in one day or even three times the amount as I had to do at the beginning of last week!

Goal #2: Read 1 book each month.

I'm actually kind of a hypocrite telling my students that they should be reading books instead of spending all their time online or on their phones! I am on my computer more than I need to be because I procrastinate while I'm doing my lesson plans. I tend to work better when I have a TV show on that I know well, which means I don't have to listen to everything or even watch my monitor. But there are still other times when I could be reading instead! I finally went to the library with intentions to renew my library card, but it was so old that I actually had to get a new one!

I posted the picture above on Instagram already. I got that library card when I was 3-years old, and my mom was so wonderful in taking me to the library so often so that I could borrow books and read read read! Even when I was older, I'd borrow Robin Cook books because I liked medical thrillers and then include a bunch of Babysitter's Club Super Series books in my stack. I tell my students and their parents that I think the kids should just read at home whatever they are in the mood to read even if it isn't necessarily on their "grade level/reading level." I mean, I still love BSC, and I'm 30! When I started teaching, I stopped reading a ton. Even when I was in college, I think I read more despite being an English major and having to read a million things for school! So I saw that a lot of people do the book-a-month thing as a resolution, which I think is entirely doable especially now that I have a new library card. I can borrow ebooks again from NYPL to put on my nook. I don't need to buy anything or make trips to the library and borrow germy books, haha. 

Right now I'm in the midst of reading Divergent by Veronica Roth. Howard and I watched the movie recently on HBO Go, so I wanted to read the book. Years ago when I first started getting into Harry Potter, my cousin told me to actually watch the movies first before reading the books because otherwise I'd be disappointed in the movies for leaving out so much of the book! I followed her suggestion and really thought that it was a useful tip. I decided to do the same here and was okay watching the movie first, but since I'm in the middle of the book, I'm kind of thinking I should've read it first because it's not as exciting as I'd like it to be. I guess I'll have to see when I continue reading the series and start Insurgent before I watch the movie. I know I'm not reading it as quickly as I read The Hunger Games or the entire Harry Potter series. 

Goal #3: Drink 2 tumblers worth of water each day after work.

It is bad, but I know I am probably horribly dehydrated. At the beginning of this school year, I kept getting cramps in my toes in the middle of the night and at school! I wasn't drinking enough water for suddenly being on my feet all day long. Being a teacher doesn't really help in staying hydrated because I just don't want to have to leave in the middle of class to go to the bathroom! I go in the morning before the kids arrive then again at lunch. That's it. So that means I can't keep downing water. I don't know how my fellow teachers who drink coffee do it! I don't start drinking water until lunch time, and even then, I don't finish my entire Camelbak water bottle. That is not healthy at all!

When I get home, I know I should be making up for the lack of water during the day, but sometimes water makes me nauseous. Since I started using tumblers at home, I do drink more because I can keep water next to me at all times and never worry about dust falling in or spilling it. Plus, I like drinking through a straw even though people say that it causes wrinkles. Personally, I think staying hydrated is more important in the long run than getting wrinkles! 

I usually have a cup of decaf tea right away if I'm super cold or I'll have one at night after dinner, and even though that's liquid, I still need to up my water intake. So I will try try try to drink 2 tumblers of water after work, so that doesn't include anything I had in the morning with my pill, anything I had during the school day, or any cups of tea.

Goal #4: Write 2 cards per month.

You'd think that with my love for making cards, I'd write them more often for others. The most I do is write thank you notes to my kids and their parents any time they think of me with a gift or when a family treats us to a catered lunch. I always say that I will write more just for the fun of it because it makes me excited to get something special as snail mail!

I actually purchased a Thirty-One Timeless Beauty Bag from the recent flash sale in December. It's regularly priced at $25, but I got one for $6.99. The grand idea I have for it is to put cards, envelopes, addresses, stamps, pens, and all the items I'd need to write cards. I did keep a few cards in a bigger Thirty-One Zipper Pouch during the Christmas season, but I couldn't really trust that they'd stay nice and neat in there. I actually had to keep it in a plastic box too. I think if I keep all the items together, I'll be more inclined to write because I have a tendency to want to write when I'm out and about. I sometimes get the urge to write a quick note when I have a moment of down time at school! I think this'll be a great way to do that.

If anything, I'll use the bag to hold chargers on vacation and a fifty million other ideas I saw when I looked online, but the more important thing is that regardless of how I store cards that are ready to go, I need to WRITE them! And to SEND them! I think keeping people's addresses together and the stamps in one place will make it much easier for me.

Goal #5: Blog at least 3 times a week.

Last year I attempted to blog every day of the year, but that didn't last. Near the end of the year, I gave up with even thinking about it because I was so busy with work and just so tired. I know I don't need that added pressure, but on the other hand, I'm kind of sad I don't have a written record of a lot of what happened! I will probably still go back and recap some of those things, but there's something about getting the memories down in a more timely fashion so as not to forget things worth remembering for years to come (haha, at least things that I may want to remember). Setting a goal of blogging at least 3 times a week seems extremely doable for me! I know the 4 of you or so who read along will be pleased that I do have plans to write, and I didn't just let it die out!

Goal #6: Eat healthier, exercise, and lose weight.

I have never officially had "lose weight" as part of my resolutions or goals. It's not really something that's related to the beginning of the year but something I need to do in general. Since getting married, I have definitely gained some weight. I don't feel that I have to be a certain weight for society's benefit, but some of my clothes are getting tight, haha. Then when the warmer weather comes around, it will be difficult for me to wear my tank tops since I can't suck in my stomach to be flat any longer! As specific as my other goals are, I won't specify a certain number of pounds I'd like to  lose. The goal is to be able to comfortably fit my regular summer clothes without any issues! Of course, it'll be better for me in the long run if I am healthier, but my short term goal is my Old Navy tank tops because I can't go to Disney World without them! And here's hoping that we'll be able to get there for a trip this year!

That's about it that I have on my mind right now. I could have a goal for finishing at least the following Tuesday's lesson plans on the previous Friday night, but I often fall asleep really early and then end up sleeping until Saturday morning. I could also make a goal of making sure dishes are done each night instead of letting them pile up, but sometimes I shower earlier and don't like dealing with dirty dishes when I'm already clean. There's the goal of taking my vitamins daily instead of waiting for Howard to ask me if I've taken them yet as well as getting the laundry done on a more consistent basis, but doing things by hand requires a rather huge surge of energy that I don't always have after work. I could have a goal that we recycle all junk mail right away instead of just putting the stack of mail next to our printer, and I could say something about grading HW assignments and tests faster than I am right now. However, if I take the time to write all of that, I think it would get overwhelming because my list would get rather lengthy! But those items will still be on the back of my mind even though I think the ones I chose above are more doable. Here's to a hopefully wonderful 2015!

Teaching with a Blanket

Today was my first day back at work after the Christmas break. Although I was dreading it because I didn't get as much done as I would have liked, I actually had a decent day. Of course, I was feeling tired this morning, but I wasn't as exhausted as I thought I would be. When I did my devotions in the morning, I was uplifted and also kept repeating Psalm 118:17 in my my mind over and over again. I knew that I just wanted to view the day with a better attitude, and it really did help. I know God gives me each day for a purpose even when it's a bitterly cold day too! I was so arrive at my mom's house to hop in her car because she has the heated seats. My mom cranks that up for me before I even get in because she knows I need it!

I have to say that even though I can start the day off on the right foot, I do get really upset when all my posters have fallen down, haha. I do like my walls not to be busy because I know that if I were a kid, I wouldn't be able to pay attention to the teacher if there were a thousand colors on the wall. I used to sit there and memorize things on the posters when I was bored in class. The fact that everything falls down is the other reason why I don't put too much up either. But I guess I can't complain because the reason for it is the change in temperature in the room, and my room was WARM today. 

I put painter's tape on the wall and then affixed the posters using regular table since other things would pull the paint off the wall.

Thank the Lord for the warmth or the day would've gone by so slowly! I was wearing a tank top, a 3/4 sleeve sweater on top of that, and one of my favorite purchases of 2014. About two months ago, I bought 3 open-front cardigan type sweaters from Old Navy of varying thicknesses because I have turned into an old lady who needs to have an extra layer for school. I used to wear hoodies or fleece zip-ups, but they were definitely a bit messier than the rest of my work clothes, so I needed something a little bit more appropriate. This particular one that I was wearing today made me feel as if I were being wrapped in a blanket, and considering how much I wanted to be under my blanket at home, this was definitely comforting.

Well worth even the full price (even though I got mine on sale with a coupon code too, haha).

Hmm, part of me is even thinking about purchasing the black one in a large since they no longer have medium. I do, however, have a similar top in sweater material so maybe it's not necessary. There's just that part of me that's like ... NON-SNUGGIE WEARABLE BLANKET! I WANTS IT! MY PRECIOUS!

Throughout the day, my students were watching the snow fall down and getting excited probably because they were thinking about snow days. I had a few of them ask if school would close early because it has happened maybe on two occasions in the past when a storm hit harder than expected. I disappointed them in saying that it wouldn't happen because it wasn't even that much snow! The little courtyard can be seen from my classroom window, so as the bell rang for the kids to change classes, the kids would scoot over to the window to check to see if it was sticking. Oh kids, I'd like a snow day too! Just don't get your hopes up just yet!

The snow was light and powdery, so that meant it didn't require a lot of energy to clean off. I had actually parked up the block from my parents' house this morning, so my mom dropped me off so I didn't have to walk up with all my stuff. I had gotten the snow off the driver's side of the car before I stopped to take this picture. Suddenly, a man was standing next to me with a weapon! 

If we aren't getting a snow day, I don't know that I want to see you at all, snow!

I'm kidding. It was my dad with another brush to help me finish getting the snow off my car! What a sweet popsicles to walk up the block to give me a hand! On the way home, I kept thinking that it's so funny that my dad shows his love in his actions and will always continue to take care of me (especially because I'm his only daughter ... although now he also has a daughter-in-law and my parents take care of "in-laws" as if they were their own biological children), but he's a typical Chinese man in that he doesn't say, "I love you." But I've gotten used to it at this point even though it took me years and years to accept that that's the way it is in many Asian families.

Well, I guess I can say there were three things today that warmed me up then!

• the seat warmers in my mom's car
• my blanket-like cocoon top
• my daddy's loving gesture of helping me clean my car

Hope you were able to stay warm today too!

And So It Begins ... Again

It's that time again. It's the night before the return to school after Christmas break. I'm aware that I definitely got a great deal this year considering my vacation was actually over 2 weeks since I don't work Mondays due to being part-time (although from a financial standpoint, it wasn't the greatest since I don't get paid unless I'm at work!). My colleagues had to go back today, and I'm relieved that I had another day to myself especially since I only did work on the last Friday I was at school. Yeah, all my plans to be productive for school purposes during this vacation flew out the window.

It seems to always happen on Christmas break. The first week is filled with activities and plans as we get together with family to celebrate Christmas, so by the time there's a little bit of a break, I need some relaxation days! Going out and about is rather tiring for me especially when my regular schedule is disrupted. My body is so used to my daily ritual that I start to feel sick when it's altered. Of course, I ended up spending a good portion of this vacation feeling under the weather with regard to my stomach. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the different foods that I was eating that wasn't the typical somewhat bland food we eat at home. Suddenly I was eating richer foods or greasier foods, and it took practically a week before I started feeling normal again and getting my appetite back. I'm sure it didn't help that I wasn't waking up at 6 in the morning to take my medicine and eating breakfast at 6:45 every day!

I guess the one good thing about returning to work is that it means being back on schedule, which my body will definitely appreciate. I'm sure part of my body will be very upset when I drag it out of bed when all it will want to do is stay in bed, but I will hopefully make it through.

No, wait. Hold on a second. This past Sunday, the focus of the message was on Psalm 118:17, which says, "I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord." The main point that really stuck with me was the fact that often times we aren't really living so much as surviving. Tonight before dinner, Howard and I prayed that we would face this year with an attitude that we would LIVE through the year instead of just do things that will help us get by to survive. Each day I know I just want to make it through so I can get home and then finally reach the weekend. Then each week, I want to get it over with so I can get to our next day off or week vacation. In reality, that means I'm wasting each day when I could have a much better attitude as I face each minute that God lets me breathe each breath. 

I hope it wasn't just a before dinner prayer but one that will resonate for 2015. Oh, and speaking of dinner, we had pizza. Haha, I know that's a rather strange transition, but I personally enjoy blogs that include pictures so I figured that was a way to fit something in! Dunkin' Donuts has that free iced coffee promotion on Mondays thing again, and my parents were able to get an extra card for me to use since we don't get them in our mail where we are. Hubs went to get it for me when he got back from work and picked up pizza from a local place that I used to frequent during my high school days called Village Maria II. My friends and I would walk there when we were hanging out at one of their houses and then have a slice and then hop over to Carvel if it was a Wednesday to get buy one get one free sundaes! Just recently, I thought that maybe it would be nice to try it again as I wondered whether I just liked it in high school since it was fairly inexpensive. 

These pictures aren't from tonight. They're actually from December 14th, which was the night we went to the live nativity at church, which I'll hopefully write about in another update. I had Howard take a picture of me while sitting in the booth because it brought back memories!

That night we chose 5 slices to split even though we obviously didn't finish them all in one day! The spinach and mushroom one was really good although a little greasy. The eggplant one reminded me of my teenager days. The buffalo chicken slice had quite a kick to it, but I enjoyed it because of the blue cheese (hubs wasn't too big of a fan of that!). Our favorite was definitely the bruschetta square though. Although it's definitely really onion-y, it just seemed tasty because of the crunchiness and freshness. It's not the kind of thing you eat if you don't want bad breath because boy, that onion lasts!

Tonight I decided to go with the spinach slice and the bruschetta one again. Here's hoping that after brushing my teeth tonight and tomorrow morning and eating breakfast, I don't still breathe onion as I go back to teaching during those 7 periods! I'm sure my kids would also wish that I were still on vacation!

Meeting Toby

This past Saturday, Howard and I made it over to his sister's house to meet her new baby, Tobias! I was rather excited to see the tiniest new member of the family who will now make dinners a group of 7 instead of a group of 6. When my younger brother Matt was born, I was 14 years old. I was enamored, so I would sit by his crib in my parents' room or by the bassinet downstairs in the dining room and just watch him. When I saw Toby, I felt the strange desire to just observe once again. I was so content watching him and his little movements and adorable facial expressions while he was sleeping. I didn't realize Howard had his fisheye lens when he was taking this picture, so he caught me at the corner of Toby's pack-and-play.

Sharon and Keith told us that we could pick him up and carry him, but neither of us wanted to disturb him. Plus, it's been so long since I picked up a newborn and Howard has never directly done so that we were a little nervous about it. Despite the fact that he was sleeping, he was picked up and placed in my arms! Oh, that wee little one! So adorable and so surprisingly light! I think it's funny how easy it is to "forget" just how small newborns are and how you really don't need too much energy to hold them. After a bit of carrying him, I passed him off to Howard because he's going to need practice if we intend on having kids too!

In the early afternoon, we all ate lunch together with my in-laws and with Howard's Aunt Grace who flew in from Vancouver to be here when Toby was born. Toby woke up near the end of the meal, but it was because he was hungry. We waited downstairs in the living room for a bit and watched TV. Then Howard's mom and aunt used FaceTime to chat with one of their other sisters in Canada. It was kind of funny to see just how far we've come in terms of technology that they could do that with Toby in view too. I snapped a quick picture of the conversation as Howard held up the iPad. I think that's why Howard and I would make a good photography duo, don't you think? He can take great pictures, but I see the need to take photos of moments like these! Maybe there will be an opportunity in the future ... as long as I can continue shooting on auto, haha.

An hour or so before we left, Sharon said that we could go upstairs to his nursery and take pictures there. Toby was placed in his Boppy, but he then began fussing a lot. His crying was getting louder and louder, and Howard and I couldn't comfort him while he was lying there, so I just picked him up. I bounced a little and started talking to him. What do you talk about with a 4-day old baby? Um, Disney World, of course! I began telling him how one day we would be able to take him on a vacation to Disney World and how there are so many things to see there. I told him about "it's a small world" and all the colors that he could see. I told him about the castle and all the characters he could meet. After a minute or so, he had calmed down and looked at me as if he were listening to every word! Howard took a close-up picture of him with his fist propped up under his chin like it is in the photo below, and we see it and think it's like Toby going, "Hmm, Disney World you say? Tell me more!"

I fell head over heels for him at this point. I mean, I adored watching him when he was sleeping, but this just hooked me on that little man. He began closing his eyes and actually fell asleep in my arms, but for a few minutes, he kept opening them as if he still wanted to listen. Yes, I know he's just an itty-bitty baby, but hey, I can think about the future days of being the fun aunt who takes him him (and maybe our own kids) to Disney World, right? Every day since then I've said to Howard, "I want to hold him!" 

When Howard went downstairs to grab a different lens, Sharon popped these sunglasses on him so I took this picture. Oh man, look at that expression! Absolutely adorable!

I'm sure I will obsessing about this little face for quite some time!

My Day in Pictures

Before I get into the assortment of pictures I took today, I just have to give a big congratulations to my sister-in-law and her husband! Sharon and Keith had their baby today. Welcome to the world, baby Tobias! I'm so excited to finally meet this 3rd member of their family. We'll hopefully get to see Toby this Saturday. 

Okay, so I decided that I'd snap some random photos from my day because I realized I actually stopped taking and posting pictures on Instagram. Clearly, there is no "need" for social media, but it was a way for me to keep track of the seemingly mundane things of my life. I like going back to the photos I took when I first got my iPhone because it documented a ton of what Howard and I did during our first year of marriage. So even though the following pictures might seem pointless to a reader, it's something I wanted to do for myself!

I had a simple breakfast of plain toasted cinnamon bread. These were on sale for buy one get one free at Stop & Shop as you can see by the sticker. Plus, there was a $1 coupon on two. It's a quick morning bite for both of us. The raisin cinnamon one is for Howard. A lot of the times, I'm not in a mood for raisins, so I got both varieties. These swirl breads remind me of my mom though because it was on the rare occasion that we'd have these because they're, of course, more expensive than regular toasted bread with some peanut butter on it!

Since we don't have a dishwasher (haha, when I'm at my parents' house where they have a dishwasher, I always have to be all Upton Sinclair-ish and state, "Oh, how the other half lives~"), we have to air dry our dishes. Yes, we could just use a towel, but we'd still need a place to put them all once they're washed. Before we got married, I imagined that one of us would wash dishes and hand it off to the other who would dry them. Um, yeah. I didn't realize just how unrealistic that picture in my head was. Haha, to think that we'd just purposely carve time out of whatever we're doing so that we're both free to do the dishes is kind of entertaining to me right now. Why take the time to do that when the air can do it for us? The dish drying rack is from IKEA. It's expandable, so it can be made smaller or larger based on the size of your dishes. It was probably one of the best purchases we made as simple as it is! We didn't need an entire drying rack that people have that drains next to the sink; we just needed one for plates and bowls. Anyway, I also have a need to line up all the things by size order, which means if we have bowls, they're always in the front. This picture also makes me happy because I remember how Howard and I initially were going to buy patterned Corelle dishes but then switched to plain white because the Amateur Gourmet said it makes food pictures look better, haha!

Instead of having my usual cup of tea this morning, I had a Nescafe Memento in Caramel Latte. I first tried Memento via free samples. They hooked me into loving this stuff as an occasional treat! That's why I think it's awesome how companies are so willing to give free samples and there are so many free sample sites and programs. This definitely worked on me because otherwise I never would have tried it. I like it because it gives me something different to enjoy. Thankfully, I'm not affected by any potential caffeine in here. When I have regular Tetley tea, I want to jump out of my skin. Even so, I have it in the morning just in case. I just bought two new boxes from Christmas Tree Shop because they were 2 for $3. I remember when I bought a bunch of boxes at CVS when I did all my couponing hauls there. Haha, that picture is on Instagram from a LONG time ago! The other thing I like about this picture is that it showcases my large Pooh cup! I bought this one for myself and the Eeyore one for my mom when I was still living at home. My mom never drinks that much at once though, so I think my dad actually took over "ownership" of the cup!

I wasn't as productive with getting things cleaned and organized in the apartment today as I was yesterday. Instead, I was wanting to craft because my stomach was a little off, and I didn't want to move around too much. My Cricut mats weren't as sticky anymore though, so I opened my new tub of baby wipes from Rite Aid. I bought two of them maybe two years or so, and the first box already dried up. Haha, guess people don't buy wipes that far in advance or leave them open for that long! I still use them, but I wet them a bit. I couldn't find the open box today (it's totally under the paper I have stacked on the couch or something), so I opened the new one, which was scented. It made my hands and my mat have that baby powder scent. I was wondering if it would make the cuts smell like it too, haha. With some quick yet vigorous scrubbing, my two mats were sticky once again. 

I'm back to using my candles! I stopped for a while because the weather wasn't really the right fit in my mind. But candles really made the apartment seem more inviting even when there aren't any strange odors coming in from the hallway outside. I am so glad I am well stocked on candle scents that are appropriate throughout the year because I have read some more rumors that Bath & Body Works might try raising the sale price to 2 for $25 once again. Today I enjoyed the Mahalo Maui candle, which is light and a tiny bit citrus-y without being too sharp. The throw isn't that strong compared to other candles, but since I usually have it lit right next to me, I enjoy the scent a lot.

For the most part, I've never had problems with the wicks as long as I'm good about trimming the mushrooms before I use it again the next time. I took a few pictures of the wicks, and this was the best one to show what is meant by "mushrooms." You can see it fairly clearly in the wick on the right.

Howard went to the hospital after work to visit his sister and see if he could visit baby Toby and take some family pictures for them. When he got back, I was really hungry because I'm so used to eating early. I had gotten the broccoli ready to roast, and then I started the Bubba burgers on the stove. These things are so yummy! We've had the store brand patties before that clearly had cartilage in them. These don't have that, and they taste good too! I like the sweet onion one. Anyway, my in-laws gave us some tomatoes from their garden this past Sunday, and I sliced one up into thick pieces. I love how the tomato is not that much smaller than the burger patty itself!  

Those are all the pictures for today. Hope everyone had a pleasant Tuesday!

Celebrating Mother's Day

This past weekend, Howard and I celebrated Mother's Day with our families. On Saturday, we drove to his parents' house and then we all piled into the minivan to a restaurant in Flushing called Fu Run. Unfortunately, because it was a Saturday night, it did take quite a bit of time to be seated. It was longer than the wait for other patrons because we were a group of 6 and only a few tables would have been to accommodate our group size. We watched as the bigger groups just sat there looking at pictures on their phones even after they were done eating. Seriously? C'mon now! I know that there are some restaurants that don't mind people who linger, but I feel that Chinese restaurants have more of a "order-eat-quickly-move-on-out" especially when there are so many people waiting for tables that the employees are having trouble moving around all of us!

Despite the rather long wait, Howard and I still were able to have some laughs. The restaurant was next to a smaller shop where there were a bunch of men sitting outside on portable stools. One of them brought out this wooden box and opened it for the other men to see. We were making up scenarios as to what was actually going on, and we were entertaining ourselves with our silliness. That is, until a random pigeon decided to fly down from the top of the awning to under an apparently secretive spot under the awning. Then we began giving the pigeon an entire life story, haha. I imagine that we'll do these sorts of things with our kiddies in the future. I truly hope that Luke and Leia will have vivid imaginations and can entertain themselves if we have to wait anywhere (you know, like on line for a ride in Disney World) or sit in the car for a long time (you know, like when driving from NY to Florida for a vacation in Disney World). I'm not against technology, but I don't want it to prevent their thinking and wondering. They should be able to sit in the car and look out the window and have that be enough.

Anyway, we were finally seated around 8:30pm, which was strange since Howard and I are usually thinking about getting ready for bed during the weekdays since he gets up so early for work. The family decided what dishes to order including some of the restaurant specialties like the Muslim lamb chops covered in cumin. I think the funniest one was corn and pine nuts because I had never eaten corn with chopsticks before! They also gave these huge plastic gloves for the pork knuckles although there wasn't much meat on them. The thing I enjoyed the most was the seafood and tofu casserole, which actually came out as a soup. I had been craving tofu for a few weeks, so that satisfied part of the craving. What I hope to get soon is some rice smothered in "mapo tofu" although it is a spicy dish, which is really something I should avoid. Oh well!

After a bunch of us made trips to the solitary restroom, we left when it was already pretty late. I slept going there and returning to their house since I had woken up at 5:45 that morning and actually got out of bed around 6:30am. Once Howard and I actually got back home, we took showers and went straight to bed because we are an old married couple now and can't stay up too late, haha.

Yesterday we went to church and then we celebrated Mother's Day with my mom. After the events at church, Howard and I went with my parents BACK home to actually order food before driving out to my brother and sister-in-law's place. My grandma and Matt were already there because Jon had picked them up from Chinatown. It was nice getting out of church clothes into "home clothes" because it was a lot warmer yesterday than we had anticipated! I also slept in the car on the way to my brother's place. Wearing Sea Bands and closing my eyes to hopefully fall asleep is the best way for me to combat any potential carsickness!

My parents had ordered two specialty pizza pies and 5 entrees along with 2 sides of broccoli rabe from separate Italian eateries near us. I was happy to have some penne alla vodka because I haven't had it in a while along with the broccoli rabe since we don't have leafy greens as often as other veggies. I also devoured a slice of pizza. We had Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on TV, and it just made me so hungry that I was the first to want a slice of pizza to eat while we were watching, and that set everyone into dinner mode, haha. My older brother said he chose that show on purpose.

At one point, my brother popped in The Bible DVD, which originally aired on The History Channel. Last year, many of my 8th grade students would mention what had happened in the previous day's episode when we were in Bible, so it was interesting to watch it for the first time. My mom, sister-in-law, Howard, and I got into a discussion about how they had cast a good looking man to play Jesus, but my mom said that the Bible said that Jesus wasn't good-looking. I was like, "What? It says that in the Bible?" Haha, I was thinking I completely missed a verse that said like, "And thus God spake and said thou shalt not be good-looking" or something like that, haha. But my mom clarified that she was referring to a verse that said Jesus looked common just like everyone else. Today she sent me the verse she was thinking of, and it was the one in the latter part of Isaiah 53:2 that says, "... he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him."

It brought to mind the book The Bronze Bow, which is what the 8th graders always read before they graduate our school. It is an amazing book and probably one of the only books other than the Bible that legitimately changed my life and how I think. It really explains what that verse states, that Jesus didn't draw people to him because of how he looked, but there was still something so special about Him. The way that Elizabeth George Speare wrote these descriptive passages about how Jesus spoke and how intense yet kind His eyes were just wowed me. Definitely worth the read!

Anyway, even though many of the stories were combined in the episodes, I still think it's a pretty awesome representation of what things have been like back then and really makes things more realistic just because we could visually see things. Of course, I personally think that Jesus looked a bit too much like a "pretty boy" to actually be Jesus!

We were all stuffed with food, and we knew we were going to leave early since we had to drive back and people had work today. I did the dishes and gave the plates and utensils a good scrubbing because of how picky my brother is with washing dishes as evidenced in what his best man mentioned in the speech at his wedding! Once that was done and the food was divided (there were a ton of leftovers, and thankfully I changed my mind about taking the rest of the penne home because that was the base of our dinner tonight!), we said goodbye to Jon and Theresa and piled into the car to head home.

It was a lovely way to spend a weekend even though Howard and I don't typically have busy weekends. Now that my older brother and I are both married, it's interesting how we both have two other family obligations whereas in the past, it was a lot easier for plans to be made. I'm glad that it worked out the way it did and that I could spend more time with my own momsicles!

I Really Do Love Sushi!

This past Saturday, we celebrated my Grandaunt Doris's 85th birthday. My dad already had plans for that night, so Howard drive the rest of us and my aunt to Queens to have dinner at The Buffet.

Any type of buffet usually makes me really nervous because I'm afraid I won't be worth the cost. That's why the only ones we have tried in Disney World are 'Ohana and Boma because we really wanted to experience the food. Sometimes I read trip reports on DISboards and think about how the person didn't eat his or her money's worth, but I also understand that most people go to some of them for character interaction too.

However, The Buffet is not one I worry about too much because they offer sushi! Sure, it's not the greatest sushi in the world, but it's actually pretty tasty, in my opinion. They don't overload the rolls with a ton of rice and they also offer sashimi too if you don't want to fill your stomach with carbs. It's no surprise that my plates always have at least two or three (haha, though usually more) pieces on it.

My first plate always seems like the most enticing because there's a variety of colors and tastes. However, the reality is that there's a lot of tasting going on and mental notes of which ones I want to have again. Though the family and friends at my table get an assortment of items, Howard and I always get a sushi-only first plate.

When we went up for the second plate, I knew I would focus on more sashimi so as not to get full on too much rice. The rolls I got were the ones with spicy salmon or spicy tuna because I like having the strong flavors and a little bit of heat in between sashimi since I don't use wasabi. I also for some seaweed salad too because it's probably one of my favorite appetizers at a Japanese restaurant despite how basic it seems.

I did choose to be a little daring with my food adventures though. Howard had gotten pig ears, and I was curious about it because Guy Fieri has had it on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives. Of course, he had a big 'ol floppy ear whole placed between two pieces of bread, so this was a lot easier to stomach. It didn't really taste like much. When I chewed it, I felt that I was just chomping on some cartilage, which is something I don't really like anyway. Well, at least I can mark it off as something I tried!

For my last plate, I told myself I'd get some hot items, but as you can see, some sushi ended up on it anyway. The shrimp was still slightly crispy despite being in the mayo sauce and on a buffet line. The veggies were listed as kale, but it clearly was Chinese broccoli. This was actually quite refreshing too with its very strong vegetable flavor. If I had known, I would have gotten some ok each plate. Howard and I also stood on the line for some Peking duck. Last time, we got two each because that's the maximum listed on the sign. This time we knew one was plenty! I had the piece of meat from the drumstick, so it was very meaty instead of fatty, which made me happy. There's a piece of "duck" in front of the rolls, but it was actually part of fried taro (similar to the fried taro ball you can get from dim sum). I wish I had gotten another piece! Lastly, You can see a spring roll on the plate because I have a weakness for those as well. It might be the remnants of my childhood when I used to enjoy fried food. I actually left a bite of that on my plate because it wasn't spectacular. It was the only thing on all my plates that I did not finish.

I was really satisfied at that point. One more bite probably would have made me feel really full. I would have liked to grab one more piece of sashimi as my "dessert" since I don't like the sweets they have to offer and wasn't really feeling a sweet tooth at that time anyway. I was good though and said no to anymore food because I knew we still had a drive ahead of us with potential stops and waits from traffic.

On the way out, I took two quick pictures of the assortment of rolls and sushi.

When we celebrate birthdays and holidays with my mom's family, I know our stomachs will be happy, but I also know it'll be a great time spent with family and friends. I was especially excited to see my aunt and cousin who we haven't seen in a really long time. We all said our goodbyes and headed home after the meal because most of us would be up early the next morning to see each other at church!

Feel Better, Hubs!

My husband was sick at work this morning, so he had to come home early. I was praying the entire time during his commute because he was worried he'd be sick again. I'm glad he made it home okay. He had some water and some dry toast before he konked out for a few hours on the couch. I'm so used to being the one who he is sick, so when someone else is sick, I feel so useless. I wish there were more that I could do other than the little things like get him more water. I guess that's what he feels when I'm sick! Thank God he is feeling better now although he is completely zapped of energy and needs to recover. 

I just wanted to post a picture of some happier times. We don't know when our next Disney trip will be as we intend on doing a more local vacation this summer, but we do always look back on the memories of being in the happiest place on earth together! Here we are on Toy Story Midway Mania.

Feel better soon, hubs!

He is Risen ... YES!

Today was a great day. How great? SO great that after I got home from church, ate dinner, and took a shower, I went to bed and promptly fell asleep after Howard and I talked about what happened throughout the day. I'm awake now because when Howard climbed in bed and made sure I had enough blanket on me, I figured I should get up to dry my hair so that I could sleep better. With that being said, there's obviously no way I'm going to write a recap of Easter so that'll just have to wait until tomorrow!

The one thing I did want to share though was something that really made an impact on me. Our senior pastor said that one of the Easter traditions was how he would say, "He is risen" and the congregation would reply, "He is risen indeed!" He wanted to update it a little so when he said, "He is risen," he had all of us make a hand motion and say, "YES!!!" As we did it a few times as a big group with a mixture of those from the Chinese and English congregation, I just thought that it was a great reminder that we are to be THRILLED and JOYOUS that Jesus Christ was victorious over the grave and is alive! I know it's not like we forget what Easter means, but I admit that sometimes I forget how AMAZING it is and that we should be jumping up and down in excitement. Pretty awesome!

Springtime for Hitler and Germany

The title of this post has absolutely NOTHING to do with the content, but as I was trying to think of something catchy that had to do with spring, I started singing "Springtime for Hitler" from The Producers in my head (oh, memories of seeing Matthew Broderick on stage)! Now it's stuck in there. The bad thing about it is that I only know that one line ... haha.

Even if I did know the entire song, it wouldn't change the fact that today was clearly NOT a day for spring weather! When I woke up this morning, I saw on Facebook that people were talking about snow. Snow? What? It's April 16! I looked out the window and saw that the branches had a layer of white. I nudged Howard who was still in bed because he wasn't feeling well and took a sick day, and I think I really confused him. He must have thought I was delirious when I said there was snow outside.

I walked out of the apartment to go to work knowing I'd have to clean off the car, but I didn't at all anticipate how long it would take me. I think it took me longer today than it did the many times I've had to do it in the winter! What was left wasn't snow; it was just an icy layer. As you can see in the photo below, our parking spot is not in the sun at all, so there were actually other cars that weren't as bad.

While scraping the ice off, I had to stop a few times to take a break because it was tiring! It didn't help that I was wearing flats and getting a shower of freezing precipitation with every scrape. I knew I might have to drive a different car once I got to my parents' house, so I didn't want to wear boots. However, when I was starting to get extra cold, I was regretting that choice. Thankfully, I had put on my big winter jacket and my gloves were in the pockets.

I was happy to see the brightness of the sun throughout the rest of the day because I knew it would get rid of the residue I didn't completely remove from the car. But the sun we saw wasn't nearly as amazing as what could be seen in Florida! At one point during the day, there was apparently a halo around the sun! I've never seen a rainbow like that even in pictures until today. Though I'm sure the real life experience must have been jaw-dropping, I'm glad that a few of my friends posted their views on social media so I could share in the wonder.

Photography courtesy of Susie Katz (one of my DIS friends who now lives in Florida!)

I do remember that it has snowed in April before so it wasn't entirely uncommon, but let's hope that this really was the last of the snow until winter returns at the end of the year!

Welcome to the World, Baby Simon

This past Friday night, Howard and I went out to dinner in Chinatown to celebrate 100-days for his cousin Felix's new baby, Simon. I have to admit I wasn't very excited about it mainly because I'm so limited in what I can and can't eat when in a Chinese restaurant because I very easily get sick from the greasiness, the high fat content, and the MSG. Part of it, I think, is related to not having a gallbladder, but I'm sure it has to do with the rest of my less than stellar GI system. I remember when I was a kid, I could eat the MSG-laden dim sum items without any issues. I loved anything fried and eagerly devoured anything I wanted without a problem. As I got older, I knew I had to drink hot tea with the food so prevent feeling any ickiness. Then a few years later, even the tea wasn't a cure all. Since then, I try to be careful about what I eat at Chinese restaurants because 98% of the time, I will pay for it for the next day or two. There have even been times when it affected how I felt for the following work week because my body was just thrown off. 

With that being said, although the food really wasn't something to look forward to, the highlight was definitely seeing the baby. All the "I-can't-wait-to-have-my-own-baby" feelings came back, but don't worry because the "we-should-go-to-Disney-without-kids-at-LEAST-one-more-time" took over once we left the restaurant that night, haha. Plus, if my sister-in-law is having a baby, we can enjoy him for the next few years!

Howard snapped pictures of just a few of the dishes because they were presented in this grand masterpiece kind of way. The first course was actually hardboiled eggs that were dyed orange red, which is just one of the traditions for Chinese babies. I didn't eat mine so my hubs and father-in-law split it. I absolutely love eggs, but I must be in a mood for them to enjoy it. Otherwise it reminds me of the many times I was sick and the smell of eggs made me feel worse. 

The next dish was this crab deal. The little spoons held a weird combination of strange tasting, salty ingredients. Howard and I weren't fans of this although it did remind us of Top Chef and how they sometimes make the "cheftestants" create an amuse bouche. I don't know if I'd rather eat this again or Michael Midgeley's Cheeto/Snickers vending machine one, haha. I passed on the crab too because I'm slightly allergic and can get hives with crab and its shell. I did, unfortunately, get a few hives that night, but they passed quickly.

This is the typical "appetizer" plate during Chinese banquets. I'd equate it to the antipasto in an Italian meal as the majority of it is slices of meat. The dish isn't hot, so it feels light and refreshing although it's full of fat in the same way the Italian cured meats have a lot of fat in it too. I had some jellyfish and a few other pieces of meat. Howard and I joked about the cucumber slices though because we had recently watched videos on YouTube on cutting all these veggie garnishes.

One of the other courses was shark fin soup. I have such a fear of choking on shark fin, so I'm always in deep concentration when it's in soup. Of course, the server came around and asked who wanted more to finish up the huge bowl as you can see in the picture below, and I choked a little when I told him no. By the way, banquet soup in a Chinese restaurant is essentially MSG. It can very easily make me sick, but because it's usually one of the first few courses served, I'm usually somewhat okay at that point of the meal.

Howard skipped taking pictures of the other dishes because neither of us were really into it at that point. We were exhausted! He worked an extra long day and was actually extremely busy all week because his boss's wife just had a baby and was at home. I also felt tired from grading at school earlier in the day. He did get one of the abalone, sea cucumber, and "dou miao" (apparently that's how it's spelled in English, but I would've written "dow miew," haha). That's basically pea shoots or pea tips. I absolutely love snap peas and other pea goodness, but this is the best part of the plant. My mom loves it too although I remember how she hated having to prepare it because it is extremely time-consuming when you actually peel off all the little "string" parts. The portion I was served was rather large (maybe about twice Howard's portion in the picture below), so I enjoyed the vegetables even though it too was drenched in the sauce that wasn't really good for me. I gave Howard my sea cucumber because I'm not a fan, but he really enjoys it so win-win. By the way, I thought it was funny how a lot of people around the table put down their chopsticks and picked up the knife and fork to cut the abalone to eat in pieces while I just bit into it and chomped away since I was using a fork all along. I'm an ABC; what can I say?

One of the final dishes was noodles with dumplings. There were more than enough dumplings in the big bowl, so the waiter dished it out and said in Chinese to decide whether we wanted one "gow" (dumpling) or two "gow" and take accordingly. I said to Howard in Chinese, "No 'gow'" for me, and we laughed for quite a bit about it. That's why Howard took the pic this way because it shows how I had none in front of me.

All these pictures of food and no picture of the baby?! Well, here you go! Felix and his wife Miho walked around to each table with baby Simon. We didn't hear him cry at all throughout dinner although when we went to give them the gift and say goodbye at the end of the party, Felix did say he was crying. Maybe it just wasn't audible in the loudness of a typical Chinese restaurant.

At the end of the meal, we were served fruit and sweet soup. The only "dessert" soup I ever REALLY liked in a Chinese restaurant was the one that tasted like peanut butter. There were times I also enjoyed the red bean soup too, but it has to be super hot and not too runny to be tasty, in my opinion. I was done eating many courses before because I was already feeling sick, so I didn't have this either. Unfortunately, I skip out on the fresh fruit as well because of the acid content. Yes, I'm a fun girl to be around, aren't I? When Howard and I have fruit, it's more often before dinner so that I don't feel the acid in my esophagus and stomach at night. 

Last pictures of the night were of this balloon! It was attached to my sister-in-law's chair who was sitting right next to me, so we couldn't see the top of the balloon when it was floating, so I thought it just said "Boy To Love & Hug," which I found rather entertaining thinking it wanted to almost be an Engrish balloon, but as you can see, we just couldn't see the beginning of the phrase.

 

Though it was definitely tiring, I can still enjoy these moments with the hubs because we can find fun almost anywhere. Even so, we were very ecstatic to be back home so that we could go to sleep and let our stomachs recover the next day!

The Non-Instagram Photos of the Week (Part I)

Here are a few of the random photos I took this week. Normally, I use a series of photos in blog posts, but these are the "strays" that didn't really have a place or weren't as "worthy" to be on Instagram. 

This past winter, I finally bought boots! I have a few to choose from when I need to wear one on a cold day. It's funny because even when it was freezing out or raining, I have worn flats without socks when going to work or church. It's just something I was used to doing. The cold finally got to me so I picked up great boots from Payless, which I wore this week as I went to work to help with the proctoring. On the last day, however, I was getting a little tired of the boots so I risked it and wore flats and hoped my feet wouldn't get too cold, which would then make it difficult for the rest of me to be warm for the rest of day. I snapped a picture to send to Howard when I told him I chose to wear flats that day. I do very much love them though! They're from Kohl's, and looking back on it now, I really should have purchased at least another pair because once I find something I like, I pretty much like it for good. Oh well!

Ok, so I lied about the non-Instagram thing with this next picture, but I wanted to post it here too! As many of you know, Howard and I love trading Vinylmation! I make sure that we have some in the glove compartment of the car so that if we just happen to be going to the mall, they're there to pop in my bag. During my last trip, I traded for Emile from Ratatouille even though we already have a few of them. There's a clear trading box in Magic Kingdom's Frontier Trading Post that is Pixar only, so knowing that they have some boxes with strict rules, we don't mind getting extra Emiles to use for this purpose. I ended up leaving him in my bag to bring into the apartment instead of putting him in the glove compartment, but I forgot to take him out. When I was searching in my bag for lotion, I saw a little face peeking out at me and had to take a picture!

Yesterday mom and I didn't have lunch to bring to work, so we made plans to stop by Panera on the way to school to pick up some sandwiches. Mom insisted on treating me, so I I ordered the Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich, which is the one with gouda cheese in it. When I opened it up, I took a few bites and realized they gave me the Roasted Turkey & Avocado BLT! Haha, that's not a problem for me because the avocado was excellent! It was just huge pieces of it. It wasn't slivers or chunks, but like, almost full avocado halves! It made the sandwich kind of messy because it wasn't flat, but it was really tasty. The avocado made me a happy camper before moving on to finish the rest of the day with elementary school lunch duty following my lunch break. Thanks, Mom!

For the past couple of weeks, I have been searching for baby clothes since we had to go to Howard's cousin's baby's 100-day celebration tonight. I kind of vowed not to buy onesies for any babies since I know they will grow out of them so quickly, but this one below was super cute and on clearance at Target. I wanted to get it for my sister-in-law, but I decided not to because I know I can get something more worthwhile with the money. I did snap a picture of it to send to Howard though! Looks super simple. Maybe I really should figure out how to do something like this on my Silhouette!

That's all for tonight. I know Howard and I will be sleeping in late tomorrow after this work week and the dinner. Have a wonderful weekend!