Another nail post!

My nails reflect my schedule the past two months...

When there's time to do something a little more fancy:

When the only time I have is in between the 101 stuff on my list:

It's funny how my hands survived the snow at Mount Rose, but not the dry weather at Yosemite. Felt a little cheated too, since we didn't get to ski at Yosemite due to the freakish warm winter. Humph!

Updates before I snooze

Gosh. This blog has been put on the back burner for a hundred reasons. Some day I'm gonna look back and regret for not being more diligent in blogging about my life in USA.

Anyway, quick updates:

1) A SALE! Yay!

Ever since I took on that part-time job, I haven't been creating anything! I will make a point to get back at it after Chinese New Year. More unique items and original creations. Thanks for the encouragement, buyer from MA!

(Oh, and I bumped into a fellow Etsy seller at the post office. She was doing her first international mail and we chatted a little. It felt great to meet fellow craft lovers.)



(Post-script: Received positive feedback from buyer after shipping off the item. Very touched.... :))

2) WLXH 大驾光临, 又回家了。

I had so much fun this time round, mainly because there was no need to queue up to use the toilet and I had plenty of rest as a result. (Thanks Jo, for offering your house!) I did fall sick though - something that happens a lot when I have visitors. But I recovered quickly because the girls were quite understanding, and they went out to tour the city by themselves so that I could nap.

We also did something different this trip. We cycled at Yosemite and Napa Valley! The former was a leisure ride. It was so awesome because we had the whole valley to ourselves! Winter is apparently a lull period for Yosemite.

The latter tested our stamina and patience the most because it was a 14-mile (22-km) long ride. XH gave me a murderous look at the end of it, because I kept telling her: "Almost there! Almost there!" Whoops... Bad Grace! And I do admit it would be much prettier in spring/summer. In winter the vineyards are rather bare.

We also went to Big Sur for the first time. Love the sea view and the picturesque Bixby Bridge. Quite worth the 30-min drive from Monterey. The road was surprisingly easy to drive, so it's safe to bring my folks there in May.

[Note: Remind me not to commit the mistake of driving to Point Reyes with my parents again. My dad will disown me for driving too fast on the narrow winding roads, and for trying to plunge the car off the cliff. That is, according to him.]

Alright. That's all for now folks! Snooze time. Tomorrow is the eve of Chinese New Year and we have a guest!

Of marriage magic, new tires and 49ers...

Three major things this past week:

We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary!

Time flies and I cannot believe we have been married for 4 years. The good thing is, I still feel that we are dating every day. I don't know how we managed to do that, I just thank God for the magic.

So what did we do? We had a SG time zone celebration at home, where I cooked the usual steak and then tried two new recipes. First, creamy curried cauliflower soup from here. And then a dessert, adapted from what I've tasted at Wendy's for our girls' brunch - baked apple bits + dried apricots + lemon zest with crumbs.  A big thank you to Panda, who is always ready to try whatever I cook.

Oh, and I bought a balcony table and chair set so that we can eat breakfast at the balcony! Alas, it rained the night before so Wendy became my first 'balcony customer' a day later.

For US time zone celebration, we had 小肥羊 at downtown San Mateo. I love steamboat and the spicy soup base was so good, I ate till I was bursting at the seams! Honestly, the quality and quantity of food are well-worth the price. We only paid $65 for two pax!

Speaking of the budget life, Turbo also went for an 'overhaul' this week. After going through his regular servicing, the workshop advised us to change his tires and get a new battery. But it would cost us close to a grand! *horrified* After some research on Panda's part (with me feeling super heart pain over the potential cost), he managed to find a workshop at Redwood City - America's Tire Company - which brought the cost of tire change down to $585.  In the end, all the work caused us around $750. Phew!

(I forgot to take a photo of Turbo having his tires changed. Boy, I felt like an anxious mom looking through the workshop window as he was being worked on.)

And finally... we understood what American football is all about. Thanks to the Leows!

Panda and I stumbled upon St John's Bar and Grill at Sunnyvale, which supposedly served the best burgers in Silicon Valley. I don't know about the burgers (at half-price on Saturdays) but their garlic fries were good, especially with dips like curry ketchup, chipotle ketchup, honey mustard...

Anyway, Kansas City was playing against Indiana on that day, and we were hooked on that sports atmosphere in the pub. When the Leows invited us to watch 49ers vs Green Bay Packers at their place the next day, Panda jumped at the opportunity. It was such a great idea because we had Len explaining the whole mystery to us! No more just men piling on top of one another, with no sight of the ball in place!

I don't know if this sounds bimbotic, but I'm so glad I finally get what the sport is all about. I can now say with conviction, go 49ers!

Now, to do the same with baseball... *gingerly looking at the orange SF Giants visor in one corner of my wardrobe*

Mount Rose ski trip!

 

“玫瑰、玫瑰，我爱你！”

I would like to dedicate this song to Mount Rose, the place where the FC family had an epic ski trip to end year 2013! Ok, I confess that Panda and I totally tagged along for this one - we had no plans to travel in December other than that home trip. But when the FCians said they were driving up to Mount Rose and Reno to ski... how could I resist!!

Since we are on a budget life here, there's no way we could afford too many nights of hotel stay. The gang was planning on a 4D3N trip, which was too much for us. So after much discussion with Panda, the finance director, we decided to attempt the impossible. Drive up to Mount Rose at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning to join the gang, ski the whole day, stay one night at Reno, ski the next day, then leave the gang and drive back before it turns dark. Woah. Pushing our bodies' limits.

In the end, the plan turned out really well because I got too excited the night before and couldn't sleep much. We woke up at 3am, decided to change and have breakfast at McDonald's (except that it was too early for the breakfast menu). Then it was onwards to Mount Rose, stopping only once to buy Starbucks as we got nearer to Lake Tahoe.

If there ever is a thing called 'sleepily excited', this is it:

And then 4.5 hours later, we arrived! We even got there before the rest of the gang! Woohoo!

I, being uber excited, bounced off almost immediately to rent my skis and practised on the bunny slopes before taking the ski lift up to Ponderosa. The thrill of zig-zagging down a run, especially the first time where you don't know how steep it would be, was electrifying. I loved the adrenaline rush!

Then the gang arrived around 11am, after a hearty breakfast. (Apparently, the buffet breakfast at Peppermill Resorts, where we were supposed to be staying, was reallllly good!) After renting their skis, they joined the beginners class with little Z following them. Over the two days, they moved from beginners class to next-step class, and we took the ski lift up to do the green slopes over and over again. They liked it!! I'm so happy to find skiing buddies!!

Although it was only a short 2D1N for us, I was really having the time of my life, skiing two days in a row. Panda, the ever patient husband, said he had a great time napping in the car too while waiting for me. He was awarded "The Best Husband" award by the gang - LOL! Well, thank you for carrying my shoes around, and for helping me get food and water! My feet was blister-less this time because of "The Best Husband".

We started the return journey at 4.30pm, when the slopes closed for the day. It was perfect timing as the sun was setting and we could see how beautiful Lake Tahoe is.

One of the things I'd miss when I go back for good this year, would be the amazing road trip scenery!

(Post-script: I forgot to mention that Mount Rose's package - ski lesson, equipment rentals, lift pass - easily costs half the price of that of NorthStar and Heavenly. That's what made it so awesome! The only thing for parents with kids is, there's no sledding allowed! We did see a small area for kids to play with snow about 5-min drive away. )

What's up?

Am having so much activities (read: fun) that I could barely catch my breath. After a whirlwind 2 weeks back home to see our families, with birthday and Christmas celebrations snuck in between, we are finally back in FC!

Well, I wish we could say we are back to our quiet lives but looking at what we have done the past month, I don't think so...

Those old bones still rock!

The Leows made full use of their freedom (little L was in HK) and organised an epic clubbing night last month! I never imagine Panda and I going to a night club with transgender dancers but I must say the 'girls' at AsiaSF impressed me with their antics!

I especially loved our waitress - I shall call her Big Mama - who got Panda so red in the face with her teasing and flirting. When I told her hey that's my husband you are touching, Big Mama stage whispered in a manly voice: "Don't worry, I won't get pregnant!"

The most spontaneous award has to go to April, who led the pack on the 'blow jobs' - place your hands on their chest and get the shot glass out from their thighs or cleavage. I sent my sister a photo on that and she went "Eeeeeeeeee!" But actually, it was quite hilarious.

Big thanks to the Leows for that fun night out, which by the way, ended off at a KTV where everyone was almost ready to collapse from exhaustion. Old age.

Dainty, dainty! Tea and pastries!

The next day, Jo and I ditched our party clothes, left the boys at home, and headed down to Satori Tea Company to meet the ladies. It's such an exquisite place that I wished I had donned something prettier, lady-er. They had a whole wall lined with tea choices and a small cabinet filled with mismatched teapots and cups. I felt the urge to put on my best behaviour in such a quiet, feminine setting. But it was so hard because HY was about to leave US for good and I just couldn't stop talking. And it didn't help that the place was quite small! Luckily there weren't many customers.

The ambience was great but the menu was a tad too pricy for its quantity - at least for my current state of housewife-ness. Or maybe it was because I woke up late and I was looking for something to fill my poor starving stomach. The sandwiches did give me enough energy to move my toes home...

Did someone say shop and ski?

I was desperate for some action during the Thanksgiving weekend, so Panda and I had a grand plan - shop till we drop for the Black Friday sale, then head right up to Squaw Valley.

Based on our experience, parking would be a nightmare as it gets late into the night, so we got to Livermore REALLY early. And we weren't the first... at 4pm, queues were starting to form. Temperature was freezing and it got colder as the sun sets... but it didn't dampen people's shopping mood. Check out my frozen smile Kate Spade and Swarovski's line, even before they open!

We were quite glad that despite our tired bodies and the lack of sleep, we managed to get our butts to Squaw Valley. The drive was pretty pleasant and since it was the beginning of ski season, there weren't much snow on the ground though it was cold.

We rested for the night and woke up early to check out the place. I had mistakenly thought that ski lessons would be available in the afternoon (no one told me otherwise when I checked at the counter... boo!), so we took the aerial tram to High Camp in the morning. I had a blast ice-skating on the upper mountain. It was only when we got down and I wanted to pay for the ski lessons that we found out they were long over and the slopes were closing at 3pm! That left me with just an hour to try the easy slope.... it was quite depressing but I still went for it! :(

We stayed at Red Wolf Lodge, literally a stone's throw from the main village. Compared to where we've stayed at Northstar, the lodge was much simpler and smaller but the kitchenette was enough to prepare small meals. By now I'm quite good at packing ingredients that can be cooked in different ways - pasta, potatoes, carrots, some kind of meat, broccoli/lettuce, onion and garlic. Salt and pepper are normally provided but bring butter and sugar along. Condiments like ketchup, and herbs like dill or parsley, are good too!

What's for Christmas?

We got back to FC before Christmas eve and the gang had a superb dinner on Christmas day, thanks to Mr and Mrs Tan! Jo and Vic had to be the most hospitable couple I've ever seen - they spent so much effort preparing the sumptuous meal for us! I especially loved the devil eggs and chocolate dipped strawberries, and will try to attempt it one day! There was also an after-dinner song and dance session and we each took turns to jiggle our cellulite for disco music. We witnessed some really uproarious smooth moves but we are keeping those photos for personal consumption!

Next up...

It has been such an exciting year, thanks to our friends, and we are going to end it on high! Where will the gang be heading next? Well, I'm not telling yet, but stay tuned... for another episode of FC adventures is about to be unveiled!