Partied away

Elise's 1st birthday party




Coopers 4th birthday party

Busy week and a busy week ahead

What I've been doing this week:

Working late nights on this data migration process.
And being on "stand-by" waiting to be told when to proceed.

Having the house "touched up" by the builder for our one year warranty. Work still not finished. He may come back next week or the week after, or I may need to make calls to remind them.
House is dusty.

Getting our washer repaired because of leaks. Waiting for replacement part to arrive and they will come back to do the repairs next Friday.

Taking 30-minute walks after dinner.

Watching the flowers bloom.

Gift & gift wrap shopping. Had to go to 3 different stores to find what I was looking for. Maybe I am just picky.

Trying to remember to find time to breathe.

What I'll be doing this weekend and next week :

Staying over at in-law's place tonight to watch the basketball game (but I'll probably have to work late tonight so I'll bring my laptop over)
And leaving the house at 7am on Saturday morning for a drive to Huntersville to buy foam for the ottoman. (Jason's latest project)

Birthday parties this Saturday and next Saturday. Looking forward to that.

Baking the Amish Bread on Saturday.

Attend more trainings on Monday, Tuesday and possibly Wednesday. I am hoping to get exempted on Wednesday.
I'll have to remember to set my alarm clock for 5am next week.

And looking forward to having The Carans over on Friday night and Saturday.

Sore

Can't move. Can't type. Hand hurts.
Read Jason's blog.
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And I have yoga class tomorrow. Great!
The yoga instructor will think I am the worst student in class, yet again.

Irish for a day

I shall be Irish today. I'll wear green, eat Irish food and maybe take a sip of Baileys.
We'll be making some glazed corned beef, potatoes and cabbage.
And I made a Cinnamon Swirl cake. (I know that's not very Irish so Jason and I attempted to decorate it with a shamrock on the white frosting to make it look Irishy)
The conclusion... I simply cannot bake. The cake was kinda lopsided eventho I obeyed all the instructions. Put on low speed mixer 20 seconds, then medium speed for 2 minutes.. bla.. bla.. bla . I had the timer set and everything. And guess what? It was a BC Cake Mix in a box! So how difficult can that be, right?
Remember my disastrous cheesecake last time? Yup, I cannot bake! Period.
The shamrock on the top of the cake may have been my saving grace.

Anyways, Happy St. Patrick's Day y'all!! Be off with ye now!

Amish Friendship Bread

Our neighbor came by today and brought me an Amish Friendship Bread starter and a sheet of the instructions on what to do with the yeast starter. This is more than just a recipe. It is a chain letter in the baking world. When you've made your bread, you can give your friends a sample and the starter that made it! Then your friends can make their own and pass it along to their friends. This is why the bread is called "friendship bread".
Here is what I am supposed to do :Will go and multiply some amish bread now. Anyone care for some bread?

Magic mole

My boss called me a little magic mole in her email yesterday.
Well, I guess it's a compliment.
But a mole? Oookaaaaay.

Achy breaky

Yesterday, while Jason watched the basketball game, I decided to wash my car and clean up the pond. Well, in order to clean up the pond, I had to empty all the water from it. And the water was green. It looked like something even Shrek would not drink from. Green and slimy and icky and God knows what else is living in there. If you are wondering why we let it deteriorate this far, it's because the cover we had used to cover the pond had slipped and yours truly (and the husband) were too lazy to do anything about it.
I was not brave enough to siphon the water out for fear I'd die from algae poisoning. I know algae is healthy stuff and all that, but no thanks. (we do not own a squeeze bulb siphon).
So, it's either I siphon the old fashion way and gag, or use a bucket. I chose the latter. The pond is shaped in such a way that a bucket would not do any good after a certain level. So I had to use an old towel to squeeze out all that icky green slimy algae infected water. Gross.
Then I scrubbed and scrubbed and put lots of bleach and dish detergent, cleaned the pump and now our fountain is in business again!

Well, little did I know that all that bending and squatting and scooping and scrubbing would turn me into an old hag this morning. I had a hard time getting out of bed because my back, thighs, arms and butt ached. Walking down the stairs and putting on a shirt hurts.

Then I checked my calendar and realised I start my yoga classes this evening. Wonderful. How I am going to twist this achy moany body of mine into a human croissant .. I have absolutely no idea. Smart move eh.

Lo Hei

I meant to post this last week... but procrastinated.

To end the Chinese New Year celebrations, we had our in-laws over for dinner and did the "Lou sang". This is a CNY custom for families and friends to gather around the table and, on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying auspicious wishes out loud to mark the start of a prosperous new year.
Yee Sang is a Chinese-style raw fish (usually salmon) salad mixed with shredded vegetables (usually red pepper, ginger, pomelo, carrots, turnips, peanuts and sesame seeds) and a variety of sauces (usually plum sauce) and condiments and fried crackers.
It is believed that Yu Sang originated in Kuala Lumpur as far back as in the early 1950's.


Thanks to Felicia for the box of Yee Sang and to Fiona for bringing the box to us!
After dinner, Trouble and Jason collapses infront of the TV.

Saturday

Went to the UPS store twice.

Went to the airport to fetch my in-laws.

Saw a hawk hovering above our neighborhood.

Did groceries.

Jason sweats it out playing tennis, baseball, boxing, bowling and golf...on the Wii. If he complaints of sore arms tomorrow, I'll know why.

My cousin is legally married today.

Witnessed the Lunar eclipse.

Chocolate mousse cake for dinner... yummm!

I'd like another Saturday, please?

Mystique ? Me ?

Got this test from Jason's blog.
Your results:
You are Mystique

Mystique 69% Poison Ivy 59% Dark Phoenix 55% Venom 55% Catwoman 48% Mr. Freeze 44% The Joker 43% Apocalypse 43% Dr. Doom 43% Magneto 43% Lex Luthor 40% Juggernaut 37% Two-Face 37% Riddler 30% Green Goblin 29% Kingpin 29%

Sometimes motherly, sometimes a beautiful companion, but most of the time a deceiving vixen.

Click here to take the "Which Super Villain are you?" quiz...