Day 48 - Friday Outing

For this past week - I was debating whether to go or not to an art event I signed up many weeks ago. I'd been so busy at work that I felt I would be completely pooped by Friday night. After much debating back and forth, I decided to go anyway.

(Sighed) The art event was a disappointment. It was more of a social mixer for singles to meet, drink and socialize and not much to do with art. Oh well. The husband and I attended a total of 10 minutes and left.

Since it was a Friday night - we decided to head over the Guppy's in Irvine. It's been awhile since the husband and I have had shaved ice! Boy was the place crowded so we ended up at 85C to buy some more bread. I was lucky this Friday! There were a lot more choices tonight than last week.

Day 47 - The Runt - #4

#4 - He's the runt of the pack. He's a brat and a major whiner. He's quite annoying. The good thing about #4 is that he gets along with most dogs.

He doesn't mind being the beta dog. Given that he has to compete with his three sisters for attention, he is an attention whore. He will run to you and look up with those doggie eyes wanting you to pet him or rub his belly. He cries bloody murder if he even thinks he's remotely in trouble! I'm not kidding when I say he cries bloody murder.

He has his moments of cuteness. It's usually when he's sleeping. :P

Day 46 - Snickers

Date of Birth: October 1, 1999
Personality: Loves balls and squeaky toys. Loves chewing on bark. Stubborn. Loves to bark.

Snickers is the original dog! It was difficult to take a picture of him as each time I pointed my camera at him, he would turn the other way. I was lucky to even get a profile shot of this guy!

Anyhoo - I was looking for a puppy in 1999. I'd been reviewing the newspaper and the Pennysaver and one day called one of those listings. The lady on the phone told me there was only one puppy left and if I was seriously considering, I should come out to take a look at the puppy.

So on that faithful day in December 1999, ECA, PJ and I treaded somewhere east to the boonies where I could smell the manure at 6ish in the evening. It was dark. We arrived at the house where the lady was going to meet us. I don't remember anything about the house.

She brought out the mommy and in waddled the little puppy. He was sooo cute!!!!! He stayed close to his mom. He wasn't really shy but he was nervous. He could smell something was in the air. His siblings were gone. He was the last. I was nervous. She brought him over to me and I petted him. He was friendly but he was still nervous. He continued to glance around for his mommy. He slipped out of my hands and waddled back to his mom.

PJ squealed, "HE'S SOOO CUTE! GET HIM!" That was one of the things that I remembered from that night.

I talked to the owner and turned over my money. She gave me his paperwork (my dog is certified) and some dog food. She left the room and came back with a small cardboard box. He was playing with his mom, licking her and maybe saying his silent farewell. The nice lady picked up the little guy and placed him in the box. In the next hour, we drove home. The little guy was in the back and was preoccupied with ECA and PJ. It wasn't until that night that he realized he was alone. His mom was not around. He could not snuggle up to her like he did only hours ago. He started to whimper in his box. He slept with me that night and for the next few days.

Eventually he forgot about his mom and adjusted to his new life.

Day 45 - Are You a Coke or Pepsi Person?

I am a Pepsi person but ever since I changed jobs and this new place has the perk of unlimited Pepsi - I find that when I am not at work, I will grab a Coke.

And of course - since I love reflections, here is another one for Project 365. The can almost looks like it is suspended in air. Pretty cool! :D Too bad I didn't clean the table...you can see the smug to the right side of the can.

The Bachelorette

Every once in awhile I'll turn on the TV and watch whatever show that happens to be on. Today - it happens to be The Bachelorette.

Just. Shoot. Me.

I have to admit - ABC gets pretty innovative as each season ends. This season - they decide to bring back Reid at the finale. Interesting.

Lines that make me want to either roll my eyes or gag.

"I'm crazy about you.....but...."

"This is not easy...at all...."

Day 44 - Succulent Update

I figured it's time to update the progress on my succulents. The original post can be found here. Wow..I just looked at the date of my original post, July 16, 2008. Pretty much a year. Well....I am sad to report back there has been some casualties. I originally started out with six catus plants. I am now down to three. :**(

Day 43 - Lychees

My original weekend plans were put on standby due to being overburied by work but there's always room for some yummy Lychees!

Day 42 - What Summer is All About!

BBQ-ing! Summer is all about firing up the grill, drinking lemonade and staying cool!

Day 41 - Bakeries and Pastries

If it's new - people will flock to it (myself included). Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center is located on Jamboree (doh) and Alton Parkway in Irvine, CA. This shopping center has little in terms of shopping but tons of food choices. It is a gigantic Asian food court with an attached grocery store.

Pros - It's new. It's happening. It's the place to be at on any given day or night of the week. It's clean. Lots of food choices.

Cons - Parking can be a pain during busy hour. Only one entrance for cars (something that has to do with Irvine zoning so they could not have another entrance on the side of Jamboree). Restaurant prices are a bit more expensive. (I must say - I am pretty impressed with this picture. It was taken with my DSLR while I was in the car. It could be sharper but I was holding the camera versus a tripod. :D)

First destination: Bon Epi - Patisserie Cafe. A good friend of mine mentioned this bakery a few times this week so I figured, what the heck. Granted - it's not freakishly busy like 85C but it's new, clean and nice. :D By the way - making a stop at a bakery at 9:30 p.m. isn't all that great of an idea. The baked goods are limited but I'll take what I can get tonight. I think it's more of a Korean bakery since it's on the corner with all the Korean food BUT I may be wrong.

I picked up this chocolate custard pastry. I haven't tried it yet so no review. Are you salivating yet?

My friend also recommended the croissants. There are at least three or four different choices and I ended up with this chocolate croissant. Again, I haven't tried it so no review. I know, I know but I'd just eaten a meal an hour before I stopped by this shopping center. I was just too full.

After I paid for my two pastries - I walked over to 85C. It was packed and the time was 9:45 p.m. Most of the baked goods were gone so people grabbed whatever were available.

I picked up three pork sung rolls. This roll is pretty good but to be honest - I love pork sung rolls from most bakeries so does 85C's pork sung roll stand out? Not really but I'll take it. Most of other bread items were completely gone and I heard one of the workers say that the pastry chef had gone home for the day. (WHAT? But this place is bustling....don't they have someone manning at all hours? :P) I felt obligated to buy something else since I made the extra effort to drive down here so I bought a loaf of bread but no picture.
I also ordered an iced green milk tea with boba. While I was waiting for my drink, a number of thoughts came to my head.

I wondered to myself if 85C is overrated? I guess this question would depend on who you ask. Some people may not understand why this cafe is packed since they're probably thinking to themselves, it's just baked goods and drinks...like anywhere else. BUT the thing is....it's a busy bakery! A busy bakery means the hustling and bustling of customers coming in and out of its store round the clock. This in turn means that the baked goods you get are FRESH! That's really important! Nothing is worst than eating stale pastry or bread.

Here's another thing - this bakery is new to the United States. From my limited understanding of 85C - this is a popular chain in Taiwan and they've just recently entered the US market with the Irvine location being the first US store. Could this be the next PinkBerry? Only time will tell. :D

Oh yes - if you are a coffee drinker or just like to try new things - the sea salt coffee is popular here. I don't drink coffee and have only taken a sip once when I bought a cup for the husband so my review would be invalid. As for the husband's opinion - he thought it was o.k....whatever that means.

Day 40 - Randomness

It's July 23, 2009. There are 161 days left before the year ends. That sounds like a lot of days but really...it's not. A little over four months until 2010! Yikes! I have not worked on the items I wanted to accomplish for this year. It's time for me to sit down and figure out how to spend the next four months productively.

And as part of Project 365 - I leave this image. Today's dinner - pork pad thai. No I didn't make it. I met up with a friend for dinner and Thai was today's dinner choice. I've never had pork in my pad thai. It's o.k. I still prefer chicken or shrimp (even though I don't like shrimp) in my pad thai.

Day 39 - What's She Staring At?

I wanted to snap some shots of the male dogs of the pack but they were not cooperating today. I did manage to snap a shot of #3 staring at something. Probably #1. Aside from reflections, I love strange framing shots. This one was taken at one of those vents that are at the bottom of the walls in my garage. Oh yes...you get to see a peek of my backyard and yes, I was semi-lying on the garage floor to get this shot. ;P

Day 38 - Kumquats

I stopped by my parents today to pick up dinner and decided to sniff around their backyard to see if there was anything interesting. Looks like they are finally putting their kumquat tree to use. In previous years - the kumquats would just drop to the ground and my dogs would either play or eat the little orange fruits.

I am not much of a kumquat fan but I think the husband likes these in his drinks as well as those soured plums, etc.

Kreativ Blogger Award

How cool is this??! I was nominated by Karen from Karen's Cookies, Cakes & More for this award! Thanks Karen! My first blogging award and definitely a pleasant surprise! :)
A part of accepting this award is to share 7 interesting things about me, so here goes:

1. I fear roller coasters.
2. I eat crunchy fruits but will not eat soft fruits...ie...I will not touch a peach if it's gone even slightly soft.
3. I am terrible at remembering the details of movies and shows I've watched. Ask me more than a month after I've watched the movie and most likely my answer will be, "I don't remember."
4. I got a tattoo about 4 months after I turned 18. My parents found out about the tattoo when I was about 23.
5. I have resided in Orange County, CA since I was 2.5 years old.
6. I am allergic to sulfa.
7. I wanted to be in publication or journalism when I was younger.

Now I nominate the following bloggers (blogs I follow regularly but do not comment) for the Kreativ Blogger award:

1. Sassy @ Sassy Spot
2. Happy Homebaker @ Happy Home Baking
3. Kelly Nicole @ The Sunset House
4. Mary @ alpineberry
5. WanderingChopsticks
6. Winnie @ winnietallica
7. Jill @ homemade by jill

The rules for accepting this award are as follows:

• Thank the person who has given you the award
• Copy the logo and place it on your blog
• Link to the person who has nominated you for the award
• Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting
• Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers
• Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate
• Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated

Day 37 - Coca Cola Collection

We collected all four when McDonald's had this glass promotion. The husband and I will collect McDonald's trinkets from time to time. While we were dating - the husband collected all the beanie babies for me. Actually, he collected one set for me and one set for him. We also collected the Hello Kitty ones when those were available. Oh yeah...we also collected the Disney cups.

Day 36 - My New Book

I picked up this book while visiting Portland's Powell bookstore. By the way - the main bookstore is HUGE!!!!!!!! I can probably spend a whole week in there visiting all the levels and tracing my fingers through the rows of books. It's sooooo cool!!!

Day 35 - Just Chillin' at the Farmer's Market

The farmer's markets at any given city of state are usually made up of a collection of street vendors selling food from all over the world as well as those who sell the most useless household items but farmer's markets are super neat to attend just to see the various attendees.

While at Portland's farmer's market, I saw a lot of amusing people and scenes. I also saw those who were there to make a few quick bucks by exploiting what is considered man's "best friend" but I guess whatever works. Although...this little guy below doesn't really look like he's being exploited.... The sign reads, "Out of Work Supermodel, Anything Helps." His owner has a sense of humor. ;P

Day 34 - Self Portrait in Portland, Oregon

There were sooo many images of Portland that I loved and could have chosen from but I decided to choose a semi self-portrait for Project 365.

Day 33 - All Packed & Ready to Go

Destination: Portland, Oregon

Why? Just because…Should there be a reason to travel? I hope not because I’ve never really had a reason to travel. Wait…I take that back. I have had to travel a few times for weddings as well as work but other than that, my traveling has been mostly leisure.

Til then…Bon Voyage to me. ;P

Day 32 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

We went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince today. I was a bit disappointed with this installment. I couldn't feel for the characters like I could in the book. I'll just leave it at that. Anybody know how to shrink this image so that the tickets can be seen clearer? If you click on the image - it will zoom and you'll get a better picture quality but I wondered how I can avoid this....

Day 31 - My Lime Tree

I have a pathetic looking lime tree in the backyard. I've had the tree for almost 3 years now. It's always at the butt of my in-laws' joke. I think it's at the butt of my parents too. They like to give me grief about the way I take care of my lime tree because....sheepishly admitting...I don't.

About a month ago, I saw the tree spout a fruit. Yes, one lime! I was soo excited as I told the husband about it. He just sniggered at me and thought I was crazy. He quickly reminded me that one lime was pretty pathetic for a tree we've had for several years. I giggled while explaining to him that I didn't care if it was only one fruit...at least my plant survived and is bearing fruits this year.

As I was feeding my dogs today, I decided to look around our backyard and trotted over to my lime tree. I'll be darn, I see at least seven little green balls spouting out. How cool is that! :D

Anyhoo - I am on the look-out for an orange tree so my parents will probably pick one up for me in the next few months. Gotta love the parents for stuff like this although my mom thinks I am crazy because she got rid of hers and now I want one. You see....my parents like to plant the exotic fruits like dragon fruit and logan. Lime, lemon and orange trees are boring to them, however, I am a bit boring and tend to like more of what are considered "American" fruits.

Day 30 - Trinkets from Costa Rica

The husband and I went to Costa Rica in May 2009. I never really got a chance to blog about our trip. I probably should. Maybe one of these days I will try to blog about Costa Rica....or maybe not.

Anyhoo....I like to collect trinkets from my travels but I usually limit myself to just a few selected items. During our recent trip to Costa Rica, I managed to pick up these two vases and added them to our travel collection. The vase to the right is of a howler monkey - something that is of abundance in Costa Rica. The vase to the left is of a toucan. Although it is not Costa Rica's national bird, this bird does like to hang out in that country.

Day 29 - Bare Yet Full of History

We have this huge tree in our backyard. At one point, I thought of getting rid of it but I've realized this tree has history. Right now it's completely bare to the bones as we've stripped it of its leaves. Don't worry, by autumn, we'll see new life on those branches.

I don't know the history of this tree, actually, I don't even know what kind of a tree this is, but it whispers to me that it belongs to this house and a part of the land...

Day 28 - Silently Praying

The day started out warm. As I drove to my morning appointment, I peeked at my car's gasoline gauge. The meter read slightly above the line before the light would go on. I figured I had about another 60 to 80 miles left. Just enough to make it to the place and back. Life is good.

Flash forward, I am done with my appointment and as I took my first step to the outside world, I could feel the instant sun blazing on my head. By now - the gas light is reminding me to go fill up. I contemplate about this for a moment. It's so dang hot and I really do not want to step out of my car in this city. I wanted to wait until I am closer to home, where the temperature is definitely 10 degrees cooler, to fill up. I take another look at my gas gauge and think to myself, I'll make it home. Not wanting to waste the last drops of gasoline, I turned off the A/C. I proceed and hell...I AM STUCK IN TRAFFIC before I even make it to the on ramp! Anyway...I continue onwards....luckily the traffic lightens up until.....what should have been the last ten minutes before I arrived at the victory line (gas station). DAMN!!!! I stare at my gas reading...it reads 0.1 gallon with 8 miles left and the traffic is moving at a snail's pace! I panick. There is no way in hell I am pushing my car! I quickly merged right to make my exit.

There is another 7 or 8 miles to get home. I am sweating and silently praying. Praying for the finish line. I don't want to walk there or call the husband. I can just see him rolling his eyes and chastising me for my laziness in not filling up before I left. One mile more to go and I continue glancing down at my gas reading every few seconds to make sure it doesn't reach zero. Ah...I see the gas station....AND....yes, I am there! My prayer has been answered! I stepped out of my car and felt the summer breeze brushing my face. This was the breeze that I waited for and why I did not want to fill up in that blazing city that is 30 miles from my home....

Apparently there is some fluctuation with the gas reading. By the time I arrived at the gas station, below was the current reading.

Day 27 - Do You Believe in a "Soulmate?"

Yesterday I posted a picture of the external hard drive I received but I did not get a chance to open the box since I was addicted to my Asian drama and wanted desperately to finish the series and.....I did. (Now I have that SS501 song, Because I am Stupid, stucked in my head.)

Aside from that song - the drama got me wondering if there is such a thing as a "soulmate." Actually - I have encountered that word a few times this week. Once from the book, Sundays at Tiffany's and then from the K-drama, Boys Before Flowers. I like to believe in the idea of a "soulmate." To me, a soulmate is someone who gets you at a level that is so deep that only the two of you will understand and that there is only one in a lifetime. The person who gets you may not be the person you end up marrying. And although you love the person you married, that person may not be your soulmate. And if you were one of the people I asked the soulmate question, thanks for responding. :)

EDIT: Ahh....this must really be the week for finding soulmates or something. I came upon this word again as I was blog stalking one of my favorite photographers, found here, after just under three hours of this post.

Anyhoo - I finally opened the box today and this item is soooo cool!!! It's a little bigger than the Blackberry and can hold up to 142,000 images! That's a lot of images! I am amazed with modern technology! Unfortunately red is not my color of choice but it's wait 2 more weeks or red and I chose the latter.

Day 26 - Portable Hard Drive

Look what came in the mail today!! I've been waiting for this item for about 2 weeks now as it was on back-order.

Random Thoughts

It's been awhile since I've posted about random thoughts that occur to me on a daily basis so here goes for today...

1. MJ's albums climbed the charts again to #1. He passed away almost two weeks ago. He was an icon. King of Pop. Wacko Jacko. Talented. Gifted. Amazing. Too bad.
2. I went jogging with the husband today. HOLY COW! I haven't jogged in more than 6 months and I'll admit...it sucks! ARGH! And this is coming from a gal who has ran two half marathons. I'm starting to wonder if maybe...somehow...I dreamt that I ran those halves.
3. I got myself a mocha blended today and I was debating with or without whipped cream on my drink. I guess life isn't all that tragic if that's my biggest worry for today.
4. Our place is a freaking mess. I've been GLUED and I mean GLUED to either the TV or my computer screen watching Hong Kong dramas or Korean dramas for the past seven days.
5. I don't think I have anymore slacks to wear to work tomorrow since I haven't hemmed any of the new ones I got. Wondered what I will wear...guess I will worry about it tomorrow morning.
6. This month is going to be hella busy since I have two huge projects due at the end of this month.
7. I am going away next weekend!! YAHOOOOO!!!!
8. OH...I think I am going to go back for a haircut and it's only been a week. Argh....
9. I read a book over the weekend that was an easy read but rather peculiar. Can your imaginery friend become your soulmate? Luckily it was in a book, otherwise, that person might have belonged in the looney bin.
10. Ah....the next installment of Harry Potter comes out next Wednesday! I can't wait!!!

That's all folks!

Day 25 - Kit-Kat

I'd like to introduce Kit-Kat. Who is she? Well, she's mommy doggie. Her three girls can be found here. She also has a son who's rather annoying to me. I've tried to get rid of him numerous times but no takers. J/K to the getting rid of him but not the annoying part. Anyhoo...she's eight years old. That's like...56 years old in dog years!

Kit-Kat arrived at our house when she was about 6 months old. Our gardener at the time had a litter of puppies and apparently wanted to unload her. I vaguely remembered her arrival. The gardener did not take very good care of the poor thing. She stunk! I am not even joking! I had to bathe her TWO TIMES in one sitting! The smell was horrid! That was the one thing I remembered about this gal.

What can I tell you about Kit-Kat? Well, she's got four kids and she shares her sleeping quarter with Snickers (daddy doggie who I have not formally introduced). She's kind of her own dog...an independent dog...does her own thing. While the kids play with Snickers - they don't mess with Kit-Kat. They leave her alone. I must say, it's quite amusing. It's almost as if they fear her....like how you would fear your own mom rather than your dad sometimes. :D She's a bit of an old soul. Sometimes while I am in the backyard, watching the kids play with each other, I can see out of the corner of my eyes that she's there..watching. I wondered to myself what is she watching. Oh...she sucks at walks. Out of all my dogs...I think she would rather sit at home than go jogging with us. :( OH...and I LOVE her button nose!

Double Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies

I took a picture of this item a week ago so I cannot include it with Project 365 but I figured I would blog about it. The baker can be found here and she made double dark chocolate cherry cookies as part of craft week.

Anyhoo....I was one of the fortunate few who received the cookies in less than 10 pieces TOTAL. ;P I have to admit - I kind of had an idea of what this baker was going to make since I occasionally stalk her blog. I was a bit worried about the cherries because something about the sound of cherries and chocolate chip cookies did not jive with me. However, these cookies were definitely more chocolate than cherries. Good thing too! :) Too bad I did not have any milk. Oh well. I believe the husband enjoyed the cookies as he finished most of them since I was too busy blogging and watching my Asian drama shows.

Day 24 - Seashells

As part of craft week - PJ sent this my way. What is it? It's a candle centerpiece. I know the perfect room for this little guy. Each of our bathrooms have a theme and our guest bathroom upstairs' theme is seashells. I think this shall be perfect there. I just need to add the candle. Probably something that would smell like the sea?
Oh and I LOVE reflection images! So if I go overboard with them....well...too bad..it's my blog. ;P

Day 23 - Personalized Shadow Box

This crafter made each particiapant a shadow box that was quite personalized. Mine was a garden theme. How cute is that? I wondered if she's trying to hint to me that I should start gardening more now? ;P

By the way - I hope everyone had a great July 4th. This was a lazy summer weekend for the husband and I where we spent most of our time with our butts glued to the couch.

Day 22 - Sweets for the Crafters

Chocolate Almond Buttercrunch Toffee with Sea Salt. My friend, Sassy, who keeps saying she is not creative made these and packaged them so well too! : ) Plus she included a note wishing us Happy July 4th. How sweet is that? Two layers filled with chewy goodness to keep you smiling for a few days.
I am going to combine this with another craft as baked goods are only good for a number of days before they go bad! This is from a "closet" baker. She made what I think is zuchinni walnut raisin bread in its own individual foil packaging. I wondered where she got this packaging? It's so nifty I might steal this idea for something else.

Day 21 - Red Head Marks Its Place

When I first opened the package and uncovered the red head, I thought I knew what this item was for. Here I was thinking I was really smart and had it all figured out.

I thought this item was a clippie holder to hold my clips.

Until another friend told me to take another guess and then told me what IT WAS REALLY FOR!
Amazing! Works well too! :) The red head marks its place for me so that I can return at a later time to finish my book. Hmm...I guess I COULD still use it as a clippie holder. Such a versatile item!

Day 20 - Pretty Clippies

These clippies were sent to me from another friend for our craft exchange. She made all of them!! Aren't they the cutest? Thank goodness for talented friends. I can't wait to try them out on my "getaway with the girls" weekend! My favorites are the poppy and blue flower ones!

Day 19 - The Red Box

Several weeks ago, my friends and I got together and decided to do a "craft exchange." What is a "craft exchange?" Well, the rules were pretty simple -

To participate in our craft exchange, the participant had to:

1) Make something (could be food like baked goods) or something crafty.
2) The item needed to be sent out through the mail before July 4th 2009.
3) It had to be a surprise!

I had sooo much fun trying to figure out what I was going to make but this post is not about what I made. That will have to be another post.

For the next few days, I will try to post a picture of the gifts I received. Imagine Christmas in July minus all that commercial garbage! Imagine going to work and waiting for the minutes to tick by while aniticipating and wondering if that mailman delivered a package or two or even three. Imagine racing home, opening the mailbox and uncovering the surprises all wrapped up with the USPS logo on them. I felt like I was a child, gleefully clapping my hands, excited as emptied my mailbox and darted to the family room. I dropped the junk mail and gently placed each package to the side. I slowly opened each package, salvaging each moment and then discovering the delights inside each package.

The first package I will talk about is from Metea. As I opened up the Priority box, a red box was peeking out at me. Red happens to be Metea's favorite color. She made and assemble this box! So NEAT!
She also made the treats inside this box. And...she had the wrappings for the treats. So official looking! I almost thought she cheated but she explained to me that while she was in Taiwan one year, she received the mold for these treats as well as the wrappings from her grandma-in-law. How cool is that??!?!?

Day 18 - Cracked Egg

My egg cracked! Two years ago I made this egg for a baby shower favor. Today I accidentally cracked my egg! Boo!