I am excited for the weekend! YEAHHHH!! The husband and I are getting new phones. I've been toying between the iPhone versus a Blackberry and I have decided to go with the Blackberry Curve 8330 in PINK!! I can't wait to post my new toy! I don't usually get excited about phones and I don't like to spend money on phones as well as data plans but I am just ecstatic about getting this new phone! I'll be able to text but the best part is being able to go on the web and check on my stock portfolio. OK, I am a nerd to be excited over this but I am so there. :P
The husband is a sweetie! I know deep down he probably wants an iPhone but I don't want AT&T so he is going to try out the LG Dare. If he doesn't like the Dare, he will probably return it and get a Blackberry.
I also want to stop by the farmer's market in Long Beach. I am excited about that as well. Hopefully I will be able to buy something scrumptious to eat!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Cheesecake Factory
I do not like Cheesecake Factory.
I've been to the Cheesecake Factory severals times and I can assure you, I am never the one to recommend this restaurant chain. It amazes me to see how many people like this chain when, in my opinion, it must be geared towards people who want to eat big portions for overpriced mediocre food. I believe in quality over quantity. Do I sound snobby? Yes, I may be a little snobby but to be honest, I have no problems eating at hole in the wall restaurants as long as the food is good and I welcome tasty street food any day.
I remembered the first time I was introduced to this restaurant chain. It was my college years and the husband and I were at this restaurant to celebrate the husband's friend's birthday. I remembered ordering the Orange Chicken. I should have known that I cannot order Chinese food at a chain restaurant but whatever happened to Asian fusion? The husband (boyfriend at the time) ordered some pasta dish. When the dishes arrived, I just remembered watching in amazement how humongous everyone's dishes were! Each portion was enough to serve two if not three people! Needless to say I remembered my order but I can honestly say that my dish was not "yummy" memorable. I did not finish my food, I must have eaten about 3 pieces of chicken and I did not want to take my dish home either. That was the first experience at Cheesecake Factory.
Over the years, I have been back several times for business lunches as my colleagues like this restaurant. I'll admit that there is an abundance of items to choose from on their menu list but when the dishes come out, it's always oversized and mediocre. I remembered one time ordering the strawberry shortcake dessert and the strawberries were not fresh and the shortcake was hard. How can you go wrong with dessert?
As time progressed and when my friends and I had get togethers, sometimes they would want to go the the Cheesecake Factory. The fortunate thing is that there were usually several restaurants to choose from and Cheesecake Factory would be beaten out by other tastier restaurants except last month. I decided to give Cheesecake Factory another try as the time we were going was for Sunday brunch. Since it was for breakfast, I figured, you really can't go wrong with breakfast menu. Can you?!!??! I remembered ordering the Belgium waffle. Luckily, my friends ordered other items so we were able to share and get a taste of everything. Again, oversized portions enough for 2 plus people. My Belgium waffle was o.k. Nothing to note about.
So today, I was craving for breakfast food but I did not research for a restaurant so I ended up deciding on Cheesecake Factory, even though I wanted something more authentic. The husband and I headed over to the restuarant. I ordered the eggs benedict and the husband ordered pizza.
Again oversized portions, my eggs benedict which consisted of spinach, grilled tomato and bacon, was, one word, terrible. When the dish was brought out, it looked messy. The sauce, which I don't think was Hollandish sauce, was this eggy mess that was draped everywhere. (I wished I'd taken a picture.) Why must I torture myself with this restaurant? The food is just awful. I feel like I gain 5 pounds everytime I step into this restaurant. And for those who tell me that they like the cheesecake at this place - are they out of their mind? I've tried the cheesecake here. The filling is not moist, it feels as if you are eating a stick of cream cheese.
I must try to avoid this restaurant at all cost. By the way, I also dislike BJ's and Macroni Grill.
Going to Cheesecake Factory makes me miss Ramos House in San Juan Capistrano. :(
I've been to the Cheesecake Factory severals times and I can assure you, I am never the one to recommend this restaurant chain. It amazes me to see how many people like this chain when, in my opinion, it must be geared towards people who want to eat big portions for overpriced mediocre food. I believe in quality over quantity. Do I sound snobby? Yes, I may be a little snobby but to be honest, I have no problems eating at hole in the wall restaurants as long as the food is good and I welcome tasty street food any day.
I remembered the first time I was introduced to this restaurant chain. It was my college years and the husband and I were at this restaurant to celebrate the husband's friend's birthday. I remembered ordering the Orange Chicken. I should have known that I cannot order Chinese food at a chain restaurant but whatever happened to Asian fusion? The husband (boyfriend at the time) ordered some pasta dish. When the dishes arrived, I just remembered watching in amazement how humongous everyone's dishes were! Each portion was enough to serve two if not three people! Needless to say I remembered my order but I can honestly say that my dish was not "yummy" memorable. I did not finish my food, I must have eaten about 3 pieces of chicken and I did not want to take my dish home either. That was the first experience at Cheesecake Factory.
Over the years, I have been back several times for business lunches as my colleagues like this restaurant. I'll admit that there is an abundance of items to choose from on their menu list but when the dishes come out, it's always oversized and mediocre. I remembered one time ordering the strawberry shortcake dessert and the strawberries were not fresh and the shortcake was hard. How can you go wrong with dessert?
As time progressed and when my friends and I had get togethers, sometimes they would want to go the the Cheesecake Factory. The fortunate thing is that there were usually several restaurants to choose from and Cheesecake Factory would be beaten out by other tastier restaurants except last month. I decided to give Cheesecake Factory another try as the time we were going was for Sunday brunch. Since it was for breakfast, I figured, you really can't go wrong with breakfast menu. Can you?!!??! I remembered ordering the Belgium waffle. Luckily, my friends ordered other items so we were able to share and get a taste of everything. Again, oversized portions enough for 2 plus people. My Belgium waffle was o.k. Nothing to note about.
So today, I was craving for breakfast food but I did not research for a restaurant so I ended up deciding on Cheesecake Factory, even though I wanted something more authentic. The husband and I headed over to the restuarant. I ordered the eggs benedict and the husband ordered pizza.
Again oversized portions, my eggs benedict which consisted of spinach, grilled tomato and bacon, was, one word, terrible. When the dish was brought out, it looked messy. The sauce, which I don't think was Hollandish sauce, was this eggy mess that was draped everywhere. (I wished I'd taken a picture.) Why must I torture myself with this restaurant? The food is just awful. I feel like I gain 5 pounds everytime I step into this restaurant. And for those who tell me that they like the cheesecake at this place - are they out of their mind? I've tried the cheesecake here. The filling is not moist, it feels as if you are eating a stick of cream cheese.
I must try to avoid this restaurant at all cost. By the way, I also dislike BJ's and Macroni Grill.
Going to Cheesecake Factory makes me miss Ramos House in San Juan Capistrano. :(
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Quick Update
One word: Busy.
The husband and I are in the process of a BIG project! I am super excited and, no, it does not involve a baby. If anyone else ask me about kids, I will scream. If my parents or his parents mention kids again, I will scream.
I ran 10.5 miles over the weekend! Yahoo for me!
I still have not finished selecting pictures for our wedding video. Yes, I am lagging. Why am I lagging? It is the process of sitting in front of my computer, going through hundreds of pictures and determining what to include, renaming them for the videographer and selecting the songs that make this project unpleasant. I must, I must, I must get off my butt and do this before month end.
The husband and I are in the process of a BIG project! I am super excited and, no, it does not involve a baby. If anyone else ask me about kids, I will scream. If my parents or his parents mention kids again, I will scream.
I ran 10.5 miles over the weekend! Yahoo for me!
I still have not finished selecting pictures for our wedding video. Yes, I am lagging. Why am I lagging? It is the process of sitting in front of my computer, going through hundreds of pictures and determining what to include, renaming them for the videographer and selecting the songs that make this project unpleasant. I must, I must, I must get off my butt and do this before month end.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Eagle Brand Medicated Oil
If you are Asian, most likely, you or someone you know have used this bottle at one point or another. What is it? For the American folks and those who used it but do not know what it's called - the actual brand is called Eagle Brand medicated oil, commonly referred to the Asian folks as "green oil." It is an Asian remedy for aches and pains of muscles or joints as well as strains and sprains.
Growing up, my parents would use this "green oil" on themselves or us kids when we were sick. They would pour several small lines of this green liquid on our backs and start making marks our backs with a quarter or spoon. Within seconds, these reddish-purple line bruises would appear to mark their territory. The theory is that those markings helped to kill or alleviate the cold or illness that was in our body. I just remembered that it hurt! After the pain, you could feel the coolness of the markings. It was almost welcoming!
Nowadays, I use this bottle to alleviate some tension from a migraine (although I do not think it actually works but I do welcome the warm and cool feeling) as well as bruises and bumps.
(Picture was taken with a Canon Rebel XTI, no flash, focal length 51 mm, f/3.5, 1/80 sec under manual setting.) Don't mind me as you will see this throughout some of my pictures from now on because I am trying to track how my pictures come out. Well, just the ones I take under manual setting.
Randomness
It's been a busy couple of weeks! I've been meaning to blog but haven't really had much of a chance to sit down and relax in front of the computer. By the way, my desktop is quickly dying on me!! I so do not want to change computers because I am not looking forward to installing everything again. (Yes, I am lazy like that.)
I started carpooling two weeks ago and so far it's been going well. The husband drops me off in the morning and my co-worker takes me home in the evening. I do like the fact that I am not driving plus it's one car less on the road. The waking up early requires a bit of getting used to but I love going home earlier. I was able to re-pot my plants in the front yard the first week. Oh - I recently acquired a gardenia plant. I am praying that my lovely gardenia plant that has buds will flower soon and also survive. I love gardenia plants. I love how the plant can give off that sweet floral fragrant on a breezy summer night. I am so looking forward to being able to walk out to my front porch to that scent one of these days!
I started carpooling two weeks ago and so far it's been going well. The husband drops me off in the morning and my co-worker takes me home in the evening. I do like the fact that I am not driving plus it's one car less on the road. The waking up early requires a bit of getting used to but I love going home earlier. I was able to re-pot my plants in the front yard the first week. Oh - I recently acquired a gardenia plant. I am praying that my lovely gardenia plant that has buds will flower soon and also survive. I love gardenia plants. I love how the plant can give off that sweet floral fragrant on a breezy summer night. I am so looking forward to being able to walk out to my front porch to that scent one of these days!
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