After Christmas Shopping

Yeah! It's the best shopping time of the year! Our toaster oven has been half-broken for months. The toaster function didn't work but it's okay for baking. Yet, it's still dangerous to use it and I kept an eye on it always. I didn't want to burn down our house. Finally, today, we got it at a good price. Even better, we paid for it by using the gift card from accumulating reward points from our credit cards. Hehehe...we usually use credit cards anyway, it's nice to have our 'rewards' for being a loyal card holder.

We tried sushi buffet at the North Gate Mall yesterday. It was okay. I liked the dessert the most. Afterwards, we had our walking 'exercises' at the stores. Found great deals. ^_^ Again, using the gift card from using credit cards... it helped a lot. Tried the new and fragrant shower gels at once... Took a shower more than once in order to 'experiment' the fragrances! It's always pleasurable.

Oh, I love after Christmas sales!!

3-day menu for glowing skin

Eating almost the same things every day for THREE days.

Wake up
- drink 8-12 oz water

Breakfast
-Omelet made of 3 egg whites and 1 yolk and/or a 4-6 oz piece of grilled or broiled salmon
-1/2 cooked oatmeal (not instant)
-3-inch slice cantaloupe and 1/4 cup of fresh berries (blueberries, if possible)
-8-12 oz water (minimum, more if desired)

Lunch
-4-6 oz grilled salmon or low-sodium canned tuna packed in water or sardines packed in olive oil
-2 cups romaine lettuce; dress with 1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste
-3-inch slice cantaloupe and 1$ cup of fresh berries
-8-12 oz water (minimum, more if desired)

Mid-afternoon snack
-2 oz low-salt, sliced chicken breast
-4 raw, unsalted hazelnuts
-1/2 green apple
-8-12 oz water (minimum, more if desired)

Dinner
-4-6 oz grilled salmon
-2 cups romaine lettuce; dress with 1 tablespoon olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste
-1 cup steamed asparagus, broccoli, or spinach dressed with a little olive oil
-3-inch slice cantaloupe and 1/4 cup fresh berries
-8-12 oz water (minimum, more if desired)

Before-bedtime snack
-2 oz low-fat low-salt turkey or chicken breast
-1/2 pear or green apple
-3 or 4 almonds or olives
-8-12 oz water (minimum, more if desired, but bear in mind that this is before bed)

Joyeux Noel

Merry Christmas to everyone!! Feeling peaceful and graceful to celebrate Jesus Christ's birthday. May peace be with you too.

Christmas Cookies!!

Last Tuesday, I was invited to one of our neighbor's house to bake cookies together. It was SO much fun (and messy, of course!) I brought Holly and little Genevieve a loaf of my cinnamon raisin bread. I got to know another neighor, Elizabeth, and her sons, Andy and Alvin. We all had fun and made about 6 dozens of sugar cookies. I took a dozen home. ^_^ And it tasted so good. They were all gone before midnight undoubtedly...

When I walked home, my socks were like they had been dipped in sugar sprinkles... hoho

Great Discovery.

Besides playing the piano, I'm trying to read to kill time. Most of my friends know that I usually DON'T like reading...unless it is about FOOD or HEALTH...(Yeah, I concern about what I eat and ways to live healthily. Last Saturday, we went to the library to find the book I wanted to read again. It's called 'The Perricone Prescription'. Oh!!!! It is SO great to learn the food which helps repairing the skin. The winner is SALMON! Not the farm-raised (a.k.a. Atlantic salmon) ones though. Look for the wild salmon or sockeye salmon next time!!!! Also, ANITOXIDANTS!! Found in berries, avocado, bell peppers, cantaloupe, orange-colored squash and tomatoes, dark green leafy vegetables. At the same time, Dr. Perricone also emphasized that sugar and high-glycemic carbohydrates create inflammation throughout the body... So, it's important to smartly choose food with low G.I. (glycemic index). He included a 3-day menu for nutritional face-lift. I'll type and post it here later. :)

Another book I'm reading is 'The Complete Chronicles of Narnia'. Yes, the book is big and it scares me! However it is actually composed of seven different books of the Narnia. The movie was very fascinating. Everytime it shows on TV, I watch it! Since the second movie of Narnia ( Prince Caspian) is coming out next year, I want to read the story now!

Flu comes and goes...

My flu is still bothering me. -_- A few days ago, I felt better. Then the next day I felt crappy again - swollen throat and little headache. I've been blowing my nose crazily! My head will explode soon. I am afraid that Steve might catch my flu. He's been drinking orange juice and taking supplements, lots of vitamin C! Last night, I made an extra bowl of tomato soup to load the meal with vitamin C. Actually, I found that when I exercised yesterday, I felt good and I could breath again (and sweat too) I should do it again today.

My piano is alive again!!

Finally, I feel better. However, my throat is still sore. Need to keep drinking H2O. We had our 6th Anniversary on Sunday. We didn't dine out. It was rainy and windy. There's nothing better than staying home. Steve cooked steak + roasted red potatoes. It was delicious.

Today, a technician came to tune the piano. The piano was very flat. But not anymore!! After more than an hour's 'surgery', it sounds so much better. When I tried playing it, I couldn't believe it was the same piano I used to play everyday!! And the songs I play sound better, too. Lately, I'm trying to create my own arrangement for 'Canon in D', makes it sound smoother... I wish someday I could play a lot of music and entertain my family or friends during gatherings.

Flu is not fun

I had very bad sore throat and stuffy nose yesterday, all of a suddenly around 4am, I couldn't breathe and so I drank a small cup of airborne. After a few hours, I drank another cup. However, I was still very sick. I slept a lot. Feel a bit better today but still, my nose is so red. I'm so glad that Steve had called somebody to tune my piano next week. ^_^

What to do with leftover soap pieces?

It is been a while I've got many soap pieces sitting on the soap dish. Today, I found a way to reuse them!! I put the soap pieces into an empty neutrogena facial cleanser bottle with a pump, add 1/2 cup of HOT water to dissolve the soap. Then, shake the bottle!! Yes, you can juse use it as if you use the softsoap (liquid)! ^__^ I always try to find ways to produce less waste so that our next generations won't suffer. Every tiny energy-saving trick counts. And from now on, I'll use the laptop more often since it uses less energy than a desktop.

Sick...

I got the flu. Super stuffy nose, sore throat, etc.
Need to rest more... :'(

Winter Wonderland

Yeah!!!!! We're going to the Leavenworth on the weekend for the Christmas lighting festival. Woooooo.... it's going to be SO cold there... 20F!! ^_^

Feeling lucky...

Holly and her daughter stopped by yesterday to invite me to bake cookies with them next Tuesday. :-) That is sooooo nice!! I'm thinking about baking a loaf of bread to bring with me or a poisettia? or scented candles??

I'm glad that I finally got to know some people here. I never had a chance when I was working so long hours everyday.

Monday's pouring and flooding was terrible...I couldn't imagine what if it happened in our house...well, I probably would pick up the new TV and escaped to upstairs... hehe

Back from a SNOWBALL FIGHT..

YEAH! Snow is here finally.. I had a wonderful time with mom visiting me yesterday. I cooked her fresh hot & sour soup and steam my homemade wantons for lunch. I experimented my distance healing reiki on her and yeah~~ she felt it. I know it is WEIRD. hehehe... anyway, we then went shopping at the Costco, got some groceries..and a WARM FLANNEL SHIRT for Steve. ^_^ We had pho at Pho Than Brothers for dinner and walked around at the Half Price book store. Fun.

It's 10pm Saturday night. I'm back from playing in the snow, building snowmen...and helped the neighbor (Ally and Bailey) build the fort... it looks great! Maybe I'll try to take some pics of it tomorrow morning. We had snowball fight at our front yard. SOOOOO much fun since our yard and theirs make a huge front yard. A doggy walked by and tried to lick my face.. #_# I was SO warm playing in the snow.. I was sweating when I came home. I'm glad that I got to know them. They're nice gals.

Pizzas from the heavennnnnn... at California Pizza Kitchen

Carne Asada Pizza

Grilled steak, fire-roasted mild chilies, onions, cilantro pesto, Monterey Jack, and Mozzarella cheeses topped with fresh tomato salsa and cilantro. Served with a side of tomatillo salsa.

v_v When will it snow??

I've been waitingggggg for the snowwwww..... Please snow!!!!! Give me the fun part of the damn cold winter!!

Lucky to see 2 friends today...

Hillary visited me today! Brought me Snoqualmie ice-cream!! Expresso chips!! ^_^ Thanks so much. I cooked her some chicken fried rice and miso soup. We played wii bowling and tennis. That was so much fun. Then, I experimented my reiki on her. It worked! She dropped me off at Bellevue Square and I met Kathy!! Haven't seen her for almost 2 years. We were so busy catching up with each other. Glad that she's doing so much better now. Then, Steve came and we all had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. I finally ordered the food that tastes better than Steve's and I didn't have to keep stealing his food. :-D I'll post the pic of the delicious food later...

FACEBOOK

My recent addiction is the facebook. Seems fun to get to contact old friends again through facebook!! However, most of my friends in HK are online at night while I am sleeping... Anyway, my friends, if you read my blog and haven't added me to your facebook, please add me!!

No crazy shopping!

No no no...we didn't go shopping on the Black Friday! First, we didn't need anything desperately. Second, we didn't like the crowds. Third, it was too chilly to get up early in the morning. Instead, we got up late. Had a big breakfast cooked by mom. Then, I played badminton with Steve for a while. Nice!! I love to move!! I don't really like to sit for too long in front of TV. I don't want to be fat again~ I hated people calling me 'fat girl' instead of my name when I was young! v_v It is nice to have moved here and learnt to cook by myself. I am what I eat. :-P

We had a happy Thanksgiving

Even though it was only four of us, we had a very happy thanksgiving. My favorite is the gravy!! Mom gave us lots of extra food to bring home. I love pouring the gravy over my Jasmine rice...delicious~ I also love the yams very much..tender and sweet with the mashmallows and brown sugar..Last but not least..Turkey is definitely a must! juicy & tasty :-) Plus, we had dutch apple pie and Expresso mocha ice-cream for dessert.. One of the best few meals in a year! hehe

Keep fit without a gym membership

Yes!! You can keep fit without going to the gym! Like me, raking leaves in the yard and trimming trees!! It was so cold this morning. After know that the cold rain and the wind will pick up in the afternoon, I decided to eat a quick brunch and had a cup of hot tea. Then, start doing yardwork. That was a very good exercise!! I felt so warm the whole time!! I don't need to weight I gained during the holidays! The worst part was picking up the cats and dogs' faeces~ Gross! We need fences...with electric wire ones!

Reiki class

I am SO glad that I will be taking reiki level 2 classes tomorrow and Sunday. It is such a wonderful thing that I think everyone should learn it to have good health. I feel so lucky that I have learnt massage, bowenwork and now reiki.

Plus, music is a great tool to lift up my mood too.

I LOVE my piano very much. Once I sit down, I can play for an hour.

And, it's time to practice to play some x'mas music. =-D

A surprising day

Today when I checked the mail as usual, I saw a lady go for a walk and walk toward the mail box too. I said hello to her. She told me her name and where she lived. I wasn't paying much attention. After I walked back home, I thought I could have talked a bit more and got to know her. Honestly, we don't know any neighbors in person. We always waved and smiled at others whenever we walked or drove by though. Later on, I was baking some cookies at home and I thought it might be a good idea to bring her some too and further introduce myself. And I did it. Her name is Holly, a mother of 2 very cute kids. Her daughter tried to grap the cookies and was smiling happily. I'm glad about what I did. hehe.

The cooking factory

After I mentioned about pho here yesterday, I craved for it afterwards. So, I made my version of pho for dinner. hehe... Steve asked me to make it at home again. Okay!!

Becoming a chef..maybe not

I tried looking for culinary art schools... but the good school is too far away. It's in Elliot Bay. I am not going to sit in my cars for 3 hours everyday... Pastry chef? Not really, I don't know why I don't like touching the sugar or flour very much except making muffins/cookies/bread. Not a SUPER fan for sweet. Oh, and I don't like eating lambs. They smell SO gross. Lamb chops look ugly to me. There are so many things I don't like to touch in the kitchen... hahaha... I don't like greasy or fatty food - I feel like killing people I am going to feed... I wanted to vomit after watching 'you are what you eat' how the hot dogs are made from super pig fat and pig nose (with hair on it still..)

Alright, I don't think I want to be a chef.

Hunting for GOOD food

These few weeks, I am SOOOOOO looking forward to the weekends. That means Steve and I can go hunt for good food. I like reading reviews of restaurants and then go there on the weekends. YEAH!! We finally tried the Pho from the Than Brothers in Redmond. SOOOOOOOO good!! I am VERY picky when it comes to the food I know very well. I believe the soup base is the soul of the Pho. After eating there, I kept thinking of having the Pho there again. My favorite is the pho with brisket and flank steak. DDDDelicious... Plus, they served yummy cream puff.

I feel so hungry now. I like eating the basil, bean sprouts and 2 pieces of jalapenos...little spicy, PERFECT.

I come back now

Ohhhhh, I've abandoned my blog for a while. BAD!!! Coz I've been HIBERNATING. I DON'T like fall very much. I absolutely DON'T like winter. The weather made me feel drowsy...I can't believe that I sleep for 12 to 13 hours a day. I am wasting my life. I am scared...the other day I read an article about shortening lifespan if sleeping for more than 9 hours a day. I don't want to die, I want to live. I need more sunlight. Looking forward to the daylight saving again! The only bright side of over-sleeping: I don't eat as much and so I lose weight. hohoho.

My wish

I want to go back to Hong Kong very soon. I want to see my friends. It is too boring for me here...Fortunately, I am living in an internet era. I can't imagine how 'fun' my life would be if I moved here 20 or 30 years ago... However, I learnt taking care of myself and lived a healthy (and boring) life-style since I moved here. These are my biggest gain. Life is fair, you gain something; you lose something too. Or sometimes you can lose more than you expect.

Sat at the park for 2 hours in the afternoon. It was warm in the sun. I enjoyed watching the birds and children playing with their dogs in the lake. I guess that feeling was what I wanted to have about 10 years ago when I was studying the first year in the university - just wanted to sit somewhere and do nothing. But now, 10 years later, I have another set of things need to deal with. How come I can't never have a peaceful mind?

THANK YOU ESTHER (KiKi)

Thank you so much!! I love it!! It is sooooo tiny and cute. You are really my best friend... we have the same taste~~ hohoho... It was a big surprise ^___^ !!!!!

Home Alone

Steve left for Houston for an urgent business trip early Tuesday morning and will be back very late tonight. Today is Thursday... It was lonely to be celebrating birthday by myself yesterday. Oh, well. I survived. But I absolutely lost my interest in cooking when I just cook for myself. I only fed myself super junk food and made myself sick. *sigh* When I am sick, I have bad mood. It is a definite vicious cycle. The only way to cure it is to stop buying them. Then, I can't reach any bad food when I am upset.

I kept myself entertained by watching the animated wizard of Oz, one of my favorite in my childhood. Also, playing the piano. I have been practicing playing 'Canon in D'. Right now, I can play half of the sheet music. I can't wait to play the whole one smoothly. I felt frustrated sometimes. But I told myself that no one plays the piano the day they were born. It is all about practising.

Tomorrow Mom will come over to see us and hopefully help me pick a dress to attend Tim's wedding...Steve still needs to look for a suit too. After 2 weeks, we will go to downtown Seattle for a rehersal. Time flies. :-)

A sudden disappointment

~_~ Steve needs to work in Texas on my birthday... since there are some problems with one of his company's big customers! Oh, well. I will survive. But, it was still very sudden to me. I only hope that he'll have a safe trip since there was a hurricane around TX and LA a few days ago.

Cook him good food to support him...

He has been so busy since he got promoted a couple of months ago. I feel sad when he looks exhausted every day. The best way to cheer him up is to cook him good food. Yesterday, when he got home, I whipped up turkey sandwiches for him. Then, I baked a dozen of blueberry muffins and Chinese pancake (pan-fried bok chang). I am a dutiful housewife ~ ^_^

Tim's wedding is approaching... He and Steve will buy suits on the weekend.. Time flies. I hope I won't gain too much weight so that my dress will be a beautiful fit. :-) hehe.. I only gain 2 or 3 pounds since I quit my job. Pretty good~~

After dinner play time...

Steve and I like playing board games after dinner. Monopoly is one of them... I tried to buy every property I landed on. hehehe... Unfortunately, I really had no luck last night. v_v I landed on the hotels he built twice... and I was financially-strapped.... I declared bankrupcy within 30 minutes. It'd definitely be more fun to play with more people instead of just two of us.

New Toy ~~

I have been SO lazy because of them... Yep, I tried to buy my childhood memory back. These were my favorite cartoons when I was young. Thank Goodness! I never thought that I could watch them again... ^__^

Besides watching cartoon DVDs, I am still playing the piano every day. Now, I can play the 'Hungarian Dance No.5' and will learn to play 'Canon in D' next.

I feel sorry for my neighbors as I am so loud all the time...no matter when I play the piano or play the rock songs SUPER loud in the house (yeah! the house is shaky.....)

SURPRISE!!

Thank you Titania! I received the birthday card and letter yesterday. I was SO surprised. ^__^ I couldn't believe we have met for about 12 years!! My memories are back - one summer, after I was done with my summer job, I went to your house ...I brought you some sushi made by myself... :-) Actually, I am still rolling the same kind of sushi at home these days. The only difference is that I put sashimi on top of the sushi now. Thanks a lot. I wrote you back already. I am turning 29 in less than 10 days. Time flies.

FRAUD

A few months ago, I suddenly found my portable electronic English-Chinese dictionary was broken. I liked it a lot since it contained American slang which was very helpful for me as I am still not proficient in English, comparing to a native speaker. I always carried my pocket sized dictionary in my purse. So, I tried to look on the internet. I found the similar ones in a few online auction sites. However, those were in Hong Kong or Taiwan. I didn't want to bother my friends or families to help me to get it. I didn't know anyone living in Taiwan to help me either. I contacted the sellers throught emails. I either got no response or refusing to ship overseas. Anyway, I found one on ebay 2 weeks ago. I was thrilled!! I won the auction.

Phew! It finally arrived this morning. I was expecting it since I won the auction. It was exactly what I was looking for. After I unwrapped it, I almost cried. It was an absolutely different model from the one the seller posted. It was supposed to be ''Besta CD-27''. I got ''Besta N-710''. IT WAS NOT A TYPO. The ''magnificent'' N-710 is written in Simplified Chinese which I can't read much. The pronounciation was distorted and terrible. I typed 'shit' and it didn't sound right. #_# I looked on the internet and found that the manufacturer stopped making it because it was the model not passing the quality control tests due to some electrionic defect. OH MY GOD! How can I take this crap?

Steve sent the seller an email. She admitted that it was her mistake. Duh! She said we could either get a full refund or get a partial refund and keep the dictionary. Of course I am going to return it. Hate people being deceitful to me.

Now, I need to look for another one again... *sigh*

Happy long weekend~

(FUNNEL CAKE! Wait for me, I will eat you tomorrow!!)

Yeah!! It is labor day tomorrow. Steve doesn't have to go to work! His long weekened started Friday. He cooked a pot of chili on Friday night and a big breakfast this morning. ^.^ His breakfast tastes better than those in waffle house. Homemade food is always the best.

Tomorrow, we will go to the Evergreen State Fair together. Hopefully it will not rain. My target is to go get the funnel cake, a very common tasty snack in the fairs. Funnel cakes are made by pouring batter through a funnel into hot oil in a circular pattern and deep frying it until golden-brown. They are often served with powdered sugar, jam , or other toppings.I don't like deep-frying food at home since it makes the whole house smell so greasy.

I don't care about the games or shows in the fair but the funnel cake!! I wish I worked and made funnel cake at the fair. :-) I also always wish I worked at ice-cream stores... I probably quit after trying all kinds of ice-cream. hehe. Well, last night, we bought a 1/2 gallon EXPRESSO MOCHA ice-cream. ^o^ We already ate half of it!! Yummy...

NEW TOY!!

THIS is why I am not writing my blog recently. I have got a new toy!! ^.^ It was my childhood dream to have a piano. I learnt it for 2 years. When I was about 5, one day my mom took me and my brother to visit her friend. Her friend's daughter was about the same age as me. One day, we played in her bedroom and she showed me her piano. I was thrilled. But, she told me that I could not touch her piano because it was very expensive or her mother would be mad at her. So, I couldn't play her piano. ~_~ When I was 10, my parents let me learn it for about 2 years. It was quite an expensive hobby for children. I felt bad that my parents had to pay for it. So, I quit. I practised with a small portable piano at home then. Anyway, I am very thankful that my sister-in-law-to-be has given me the piano.

So, I am playing it every day and practicing Hungarian Dance NO.5, one of my favorite pieces of music. By the end of the day, my arms become very tired and so I don't really want to type. :-P

Turkish March by Mozart

This is one of my favorites. :-)

Relief

Yeah, I finally finish the real estate course. It will be up to me to take the state exam and get a license. Anyway, I am thankful that I finally get it done! :-)
Tomorrow and Sunday, I will be taking the Reiki class. Thank God. I eventually can learn Reiki. I am so excited. Then, I can clean my crystals with Reiki. I love all of my crystals. It is so lovely whenever I feel their strong vibration with my palm.

I think the class will be fun. Yay!

Our yard

You may not believe that I don't usually go out to walk in the yard even though it's quite big and beautiful. Because I am so afraid of bugs. However, the weather was super nice today and I couldn't stop going outdoor and take a few pictures. I could have taken more...I saw a huge spider web hanging on the trees and I couldn't walk any further... The first pic is the green onions. When I need it for cooking, I can cut some and use. hehe...

Busy in the kitchen...

It has been a while since we came back from Texas. Whoa, I cannot stop cooking everyday. I make sure there is no repeating dish every dinner. In fact, after I reorganized the kitchen, cook books are more accessible. (Yup, because I am short and the books used to be kept on the top of the pantry where I couldn't reach them unless stepping on a chair!) Now, I like to scan the cook book and be creative. I have a sense of achievement whenever Steve remembers and requests my dishes.

July is the peak season for blueberries. We got some too. I made a dozen of blueberry muffins. Yummy!! He took one to work to eat with his coffee. ^_^ (I hide some in the freezer so that someone won't vacuum them all.) Hohoho ^o^

Blueberry muffin (12 servings)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup (135g) sugar

1/2 tsp (3g) salt

2 and 1/2 cups (300g) all-purpose flour

1Tbsp (15g) baking powder

1 large egg

1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil

1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) milk

1tsp (5ml) vanilla extract

1 cup (150g) fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400F ( or 205C)

Combine the sugar, slat, flour, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, combine the liquid ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the liquid ingredients and blueberries. Mix with a fork until it forms a loose batter.

Lightly coat a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon the batter into the pan until the cups are 3/4 filled. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and the centers are firm.

My note: I didn't have nonstick cooking spray. I used crisco instead. It actually took more than 20min to bake them to golden brown. I baked them for another 5 minutes. Before putting them into the oven, I topped the muffin batter with shredded coconut flakes. :) I am going to make coconut muffin next time.

Yard Sale

As summer comes, I have seen a few yards sale along the road in our neighborhood. These people are pretty good with it by taking the advantage of holding the sale next to a busy road. Whoa, this morning, I saw the neighbor across the road selling washer/dryer, stove, couches, toys, bikes and an elliptical. It caught my eyes as I wanted one. But after thinking twice, I was not going to buy it. I could use the bowflex and the treadmill we already have. Then, the neighbor next door is holding a yard sale too. Whoa, I see many stuff! It is so great! Not because I want to buy them but I always like the idea to have a more spacious house. Keeping less stuff also means taking shorter time to clean. Since staying home, my daily jobs include dusting the blinds and furnitures, keeping the house tidy and maintaining a cleaning habit - vacuum the whole house 2 times a week. It feels sooooo good not to see the dust covering the floor when the windows are open. Who knows if the dust has fungal spores. We will work on organizing the garage on the weekend. ^_^ No packrats please...

Memories

You don't know where you are going until you know where you have been...

Canon in D - Rock!!

MUST WATCH or you'll regret.
Classic Rock Rules!!
Yeah, I love ROCK!!!

A second chance

When I was so frustrated during the bad times last month, I couldn't continue my study. I thought everything was over. Fortunately, I got an email from the course instructor the other day and told me to finish the last two chapters. I was very surprised to be given a second chance to complete the course. I am doing so much better after coming back from Texas. I want to go there again, preferably in fall or winter!! :-D

比熊犬 Bichon Frise

My favorite kind of dogs.

A series of MY unfortunate events in June- No.3 and some memories

My palm got a cut yesterday when I was decluttering. It was on my right thenar muscle.. a pointed glass of a container sitting in the box poked into my palm when I was trying to reach the floor as I slipped off the sofa. It kept bleeding. When I was hoping that it would get better at night, I saw more blood staining the bandage. I was very scared. Steve told me that I would need to drive to the ER by myself in the morning if it became infected. I do not want any stitches! I asked him to spray the dressingspray followed by putting a regular bandage to cover it. I had the burning sensation the whole night and I unavoidably did not sleep well.

Right now, I opened it and looked. Hopefully it has fully stopped bleeding. There is bright red lines beneath some white broken (or repairing?) skin. I put spraydressing on again. It is so hard to use the keyboard with my left hand only.

The last time I had a very bad and a real deep cut, it was about 15 years ago. I played badminton with my classmates after school. I felt on the ground with my left knee being cut by the curb. It was all made of cement and of course, it HURT. Blood gushed from the knee-cap!! My classmate went to the first-aid room with me. The red-cross/girl scout on-duty dressed my wound. I thought it was no big deal. In fact, I couldn't bend my knee. I was screaming with every step I walked. A teacher and a classmate accompanied me to the bus-stop.

At night, I opened the dressing and peeked. Gross!! Bloody...I waited for another hour and it was still very bad. Then, my mom thought was I should go to the ER. We rode a taxi to the hospital. My mom said I might get stitches. I cried. After waiting at the admission for an hour, we saw the doctor. I guess he could tell I was worrying about getting stitches. YEAH, no stitches. BUT, I had to get a tenus shot to stop any infection. Plus, he gave me some antibiotics. After a week, I still saw some blood and pus. I did not want to see the doctor again. I begged my mom to go to the pharmacy to buy me an antiseptic cream and a dressing kit. I diligently cleaned and dressed my wound daily for a month.I could not swim for a while. I could still feel the pain beneath the wound after a month though. Luckily I did not get any stitches. I may needed it but I resisted. Because I already had an ugly scar from the stitches on my right ring finger when I was three years old.

Now, the scar on my knee cap is still obvious, more than 1.5 inches long. When the wound was repairing, it itched badly. So, I really try to avoid any activites that might break my skin. My skin is very fragile. Now, I have an idea: not to wear any shorts in Texas. In case I fall, my knees will be protected. It's so hot in Texas now. But, I'll still prefer to wear capris or pants to protect myself. And Steve, please hold my hand tightly wherever we go, you know how clumsy I am!

Food is the best medicine

I know my emotions was fluctuating again. My body has been torturing me this month. I have several problems with my body but I don't want to see the doctor again. Since June 1st, I've been to the clinic 3 or 4 times. It is like the total number of times I would go there in a year or two. What's wrong with my body lately?? And I've just got a cut on my right palm. Bleeding...1/2 inch long. It was my fault, I shouldn't sit on the sofa when I was sorting out junk from my box. I don't cook tonight. We'll have leftovers or I'll ask Steve to cook. I HOPE JUNE WILL BE OVER SOON. IT HAS BEEN THE MOST UNFORTUNATE MONTH IN MY WHOLE LIFE!!

Yesterday Steve came home with tons of BBQ leftover ... hamburger buns, beef patties, ice cream sandwiches, potato salad, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sodas, chips, condiments, etc. Yeah, I don't have to cook a lot then. Plus, my palm is hurting me anyway... Food always cheer me up. Next time when I am sad, I should just go eat the food I like. Then, everything won't be a big deal anymore.

We watched 'CARS' last night. It was a great animation/movie. I loved the story. In real life, when people are working towards their goal aggressively, they don't know they are missing something important around them. I am going to show this movie to my children someday.

I am kind of bored at home these days...but I found things to do: to repair (sew) the clothes with holes... and declutter. I don't like having too many things in the house... I know Steve doesn't like it. But, I promise him that I won't throw away his stuff without asking him. heehee. =-)

Sleepless in Seattle

I can't sleep tonight. I am not felling well today. It is not easy to move here by myself. When I really need to talk to someone, I don't really want to talk to anyone. I don't call my parents. I don't want them to worry about me. I am getting more used to be by myself. I have too many things in my mind. Sorrow, disappointment and anger. Everyone has emotions. Work helped me to forget them at least for 8 to 10 hours a day. Now, I sleep instead. But, at least, I don't use alcohol, everyone knows I cannot drink. And, I do not smoke. I do not want to use bad temper or crying to draw attention. I can just spend time by myself and write down what's bothering me to calm down myself. I am okay. Tomorrow will be another day. I wish I could do things before thinking more than twice. I am still holding on to things I had lost, especially when I can't sleep. That feeling comes back. Then, I miss home, my friends and my family. I miss everything I had in the past. I wish I could go back to the past to fix everything so that bad things wouldn't have happened. But I know it is impossible...

Start over

I love staying home. I discovered a few things...

-Enjoy the sun beam coming through the skylight during the day
-The front yard has been 'invaded' by clovers
-It is cool & nice to lie on the couch in the afternoon
-I can sleep like a log for 8 - 10 hours
-The front room isn't as warm as I thought. It's just right and comfy.

Too bad, I didn't have much time to enjoy the space and tranquility of our home. I worked so hard everyday like a pre-programmed robot. Now, I feel more like a human being.

Now...and gradually,
I miss doing massages,
I miss the people I see regularly,
I miss telling Steve the funny things happened everyday...
but I will not go back to the sweatshop. I do not want to work at any sweatshop in the future.

Looking forward to going to a Reiki class in August.
Finding a way to erase all of the bad qualities of myself.
Learning to forgive and forget.
Life is so unpredictable and fragile.

Enjoy every moment we live.
Today is a present.

I am okay

I am okay.
I just want to spend time by myself at the moment.
Thanks for everyone's concern.

staying home

• Got up after 10am instead of 6am
• Feel like having nothing to do, lose the goal of living?
• Able to cook fresh lunch at home, which is nice
• Got an email from Sandra, we can soon bring our kids to hang out. I need to learn to drive to South Seattle first. My driving sucks (honestly). hehehe.
• Plan to go for a walk to the lake tomorrow morning
• Need to focus on my study
• Enjoy life

Start eating things I didn't eat before

Trust me, I did not like eating citrus fruits my whole life. I didn't mind drinking orange juice. But, if you ask me to eat an orange, NO THANKS. But I've started eating fruits for myself and our babe since last prenatal doc. appointment. I bought bananas, strawberries and kiwis. But my friend and my mom told me not to eat bananas as the traditional Chinese medical myth believes that it increases the chance of having miscarriages. I am staying away from bananas now even though I still have more than 1/2 dozen sitting in the kitchen. -_- I had some strawberries last night. Tonight, I had a kiwi. Hahaha...I didn't know how to peel the kiwi!! I was choosing between a knife and a peeler. I didn't want to cut my finger as I still have to work one more day. I chose a peeler finally. I peeled it very carefully. I still have intact skin on my fingers. hehehe...

One more day to go. Yay!

My Independence day - June 1st.

WORKING. But, it's fine. I will be done on 5/31. After I quit, I will be busy actually - lots of 'projects' to do. Firstly, I will finish my real estate class. Then, we'll go to Texas in July for almost 2 weeks. And I have a bunch of ideas to prepare the best for our baby. I will see my friends too. Need to find some massage continuing education classes and first-aid class to earn the CE units before it's too tiring for me to sit in the class. I hope I can find a class teaching REIKI in Seattle area. Re-organize the whole house as much as I can. Keep doing exercise - my current physical level has never been better. I want to keep it up. I work out at least 3 hours a day. Maybe I should ask Steve to set up a mini gym in the garage for me. I don't enjoy walking on the boring treadmill. I was told that I should start listening to classical music (Bach, Mozart) everyday. That will be great. I like classical music. I will make plans to keep myself busy so that I won't become depressed. ^__^

What am I doing these days?

• Sending emails to my family and friends to tell them the good news
• Taking vitamins diligently everyday
• Eating more fibers in my diet including nasty tasting ground flaxseeds
• Eating bananas and drinking orange juice
• STILL snacking on Pringles chips... hehehe...eating the 3rd one already
• Cleaning the house and Organizing the storage. Need to do more before my belly is too big
• Cooking Hot & Sour Soup tonight. Gosh, my taste buds couldn't taste vinegar easily still
• Taking lots of naps. Feeling tired easily. Sounds very lazy
• Not working too much at work. It's been slow anyway
• Not suffering from any morning sickness still. Hopefully I won't have any until 12th week
• My Blood pressure is 110/70. Wondering how I'm going to keep it until I am 40
• Start shopping for hospitals. I don't want to go to the Overlake hospital. So far away!
• Working on Ray Willis yesterday. Massaging him was a good exercise: I lost a pound or 2
• START WORRYING HOW BORED I WILL BE WHEN I STOP WORKING IN JUNE. *_*
• Then, I may have depression...as I feel like having no goals in life

What should I do?

I am still working...until I can't.

It's been kind of a saying-goodbye week. I am very thankful to have seen a lot of my clients. I cannot wait to see what the doctor say on Tuesday. I will still be working. But, working less and less gradually. Luckily, I don't feel sick at all now. But I don't know what it'll like after a week or two. I am eating well recently, lots of fruits and vegetables. Everyone knows I don't eat fruits at all. But I always love vegetables.

Krystina and I talked about Bowenwork today. I was still impressed by the power of it: I sprained my wrists all the time while doing massages in school. I couldn't use my hands!! Then, I burst into tears one day in the class because my wrists were swollen and painful. How could I finish the rest of the student clinic?? Mary Hsu, my classmate, was practising bowenwork. She did some procedures on my wrists. After 2 days, my wrists didn't hurt anymore. She also worked on my knee problems. I decided to take Bowenwork course as my continuing education as soon as I graduated from massage school. I started it before taking my national massage exam. I wanted to learn it so that I could help people who might not respond well to massages. Time flies, it's been almost 2 yeas since I finished the Bowenwork course.

If anyone you know need some extra help, I will be glad to do Bowenwork. Please have the faith that your body can be healed without going through surgeries or taking pills permanently.

Upset and disappointed

I want to go back to Hong Kong...looking ticket on the internet now. Feeling frustrated at work.

DAVID, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING ME CHOCOLATE. YOU ARE AN ANGEL. (Please say 'Hi' to Liz for me!!) I will think about your suggestion: I don't want to give up doing massages forever. I know I am good at it. I am really proud of myself as I told you that Deion Branch came to see me to get a massage on Monday. Maybe someday I should just be the Seahawks' official massage therapist...LOL

Food Craving...

This is my favorite noodle: Thai Hot & Sour Rice Noodle. I have very bad craving these days. I have been eating it once a day. But I only have a few left. ~_~ I've tried to search every Asian grocery store but had no luck. Soon I need to go to Vancouver, Canada and see if I can find it. Every time I visited Hong Kong, I brought a lot back to Seattle. The ones I've been having lately were brought by my parents when they visited me in March.

Also, I want to eat salmon sashimi very much. But I cannot eat it because it is raw..and not good for me. SAD.

Feeling bored...

I am off today and tomorrow, I feel bored. I miss my friends!! Mandy & Zoe!! I can talk to them the whole time. Mandy wants to quit soon as I will not work there from next week. Zoe is planning to move to California. Yeah!! We can all live the hell...a very nasty and dirty place...gosh there were so many times those mainland Chiense yelling at me because I put the bathrobes into the washer after each client used it. Isn't it supposed to be washed after every single use? YES! But I was told that the bathrobes don't need to be washed very often. #_# Gosh! Just because they take room in the washer and the dryer?? They don't know people can catch others' fungus from the sweat left on the robes or flip-flops. My boss and her mainland Chinese employees don't know about 'hygiene' and 'safety'. My friend Hillary just told me that I could call the L & I to report forcing employees doing massages in the hydro. room. I will think about it seriously. I hope my boss will fall there herself because she yelled at me complaining about the slippery floor there. SHE YELLED AT ME!! She is so EVIL... God, please listen to my prayer and give her a lesson. Amen.

I've made a decision...

I already told her not to put me on the work schedule next week. Coming Sunday will be my last day. Then, I need to plan what I will be doing after I leave. -_-

IDIOT ! Shame on you!! It's So unsafe at work!! Help!!

I feel so bad that I have say something bad about my work place again. I do want to type something happy in my blog! But I have to vent... so, it's Mother's Day today. I was working and it was so busy today. I didn't have any chances to eat dinner. Fortunately, I brought some roasted beans to snack on in between clients. I had a regular client coming at 7 for a 90 mintue service. She is ALWAYS on time. She made an apoointment a few days ago. Unfortunately, she was arranged to get a massage at the 'hydrotherapy' room. Sounds fancy huh?? It is just a BATHROOM! with 2 bath tubs and a tiny space for shower. To be honest, it is absolutely not a favorable or pleasant place to get a massage. My client and I had no choice. I brought her into the room. Then she asked me if there was any table warmer to put under the sheets as she had a massage in that room before and it was too cold for her. The room is open-spaced. Alright, I reported it to our "nice" boss. She said that the client could only get a massage in the hydro room because the rooms were full. She and I had to stay an extra half hour to get a room. WHAT KIND OF SERVICE IS IT?? YOU CHARGE PEOPLE MORE THAN $100 FOR IT? Indeed, She wasn't a walk-in client. She was supposed to get a room and she was ON TIME. Our "nice" boss doesn't know how to provide a good service. She cares so much about $$. That's why she would still accept client even if it means she needs to throw them into the hydro room. IT IS SO WET AND SLIPPERY. On top of that, the shower curtains smelt! CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!! Never buy new ones even it's frequently used. I did a few massages there before and the edges of my pants turned wet AND THERE WERE A FEW TIMES I ALMOST FELT AND STRAIN MY BACK!! I told her about this. She said XXXXXX just gave a massage there for 2 hours. So what?? XXXXXX did not speak up for herself and put up with it DOESN'T mean it was right. I have to speak up for myself when there is something wrong. I will sue you if I get hurt! Plus, what if I am pregnant?? You will regret forever. ( I will hate you even after I die too!) You will be sued if a client gets a massage there and fall too. Idiot! You only care your $$ but not your employees/clients' lives. SHAME ON YOU!!

Is there anything like Occupatinal Safety and Heatlh Department here in Seattle? There was one in Hong Kong. All of the work place will get a spot check anytime.

I hope that Department of Health will visit the damn spa and catch all of the illegal people. It looked SO scary when I saw Judy suddenly pull the client's shoulder without any gently exploring the range of motion...we were doing a couple's massage in the same room. She didn't know what she's doing...

Happy Mother's Day!

So Angry...

.............

SuperWife ^.^

I am SO glad that I am off tomorrow finally. I had been working 10 days in a row since my last day off. I am going to order whatever I want to eat when we celebrate Mother's day with mom tomorrow. I know that it is going to be a crazy weekend next week and so everyone will work on Saturday and Sunday. I am so tired that I almost couldn't lift my arm to brush my teeth. Now I miss the sonic care toothbrush. Then, I don't have to move my wrist.

One day last week, I was working night shift. But I wasn't lazy. I cooked serveral dishes before I went to work so that we were not eating junk food for dinners. I stayed up a few nights to study and finish the quizes. I work hard during the day. I do think that I am a super wife.

I will be missing my clients a lot some day when I have to leave because of pregnancy. It is definitely rewarding whenever meeting nice people repeatedly - they're just like my friends, we have delightful coversations. They listened to my venting and I listened to theirs. Then, we all felt better afterwards.

Zoe & Liz are 2 newly hired LMPs. Yeah, I make good friends with them even though they're a few years younger than me. We all play and talk about video games. That is SO much fun. Now, I don't have to be so quiet because I don't want to speak Mandarin or listen to "other people"'s nonsense.

Anyway, I try to enjoy every moment I work with my clients cause I am not sure when I will go. Thanks God for letting those nice people walk into my life.

Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend

I wish I look like her. She's so hot.

Non-stop working..

BUSY. SLEEPY. WORK & STUDY. It's not easy... But it is fine, I will not give up. It's not that bad. At least, I know I will do well. So, study hard. ^__^

Massaged that over 300lb Seahawks Tackle today. Felt like losing 2lb. ^_^ Yeah, I overate yesterday and was worrying what I should do with my belly. Now, I'm okay again. Thank you!!

^_^ I had my annual TB test at the hospital as it's required for every employee to do it annually. Yeah, my result was negative. I didn't have to get other shots...Last year, I was borderline and I was sent to have an x-ray and they drew my blood too. >____<

Exhausted...

"Hey!! David, thanks for bringing me chocolate! You're SO nice. My husband and I are chocolate monsters. :-D Hehe I hope you see my message here!!"

Actually, this blog is for writing down my fun life. However, I am working so hard these days that I nearly have lost myself. Everyday is the same: get up, go to work, take a nap before working hours, work until I get off, go home, cook, eat & watch TV, clean and sleep. It repeats everyday. Can't do or think of anything fun. Had a dispute with stupid people at work. *sigh* When will they extinct??

Got the new Nintendo Wii, but my arms were so sore from work. So, I'm not playing it a lot. Just a couple of times. But, it's amazing to use Wii to download old games which I played with my brother in the past. It was at least 15 years ago. I missed those days... summer vacation, we went to our neighbor's house to play video games together everyday. They were all boys. No wonder I was so boyish. hehe.

Aunt Mary comes here from Virginia. We'll have dinenr together tomorrow night. Then, they'll stay with us overnight. We'll go to Leavenworth together on Sunday.

~_~ The other day I was eating the chocolate covered cherries given by David P. (one of my very nice clients) But I chewed too fast, I bit my gum. It was very swollen immediately. It hurts very badly whenever I try to eat or talk. So, I am very quiet these days. -__-

Busy

I've been so busy these few days. Just started reading the textbook and forced myself to finish Chapter 1 and the online quiz. Yeah!! 88% on my 2nd attempt. Only if we pass 75% the next chapter will be unlocked online. Great. I can start working on Ch.2 now. It's been so busy at work because of the spa week. Whenever I have a chance to sit down, I read. I don't care about my work too much. I just take it as doing my daily work out. Bottom line, it is always a pleasure to see my regulars. They're like friends to me. I talk to them and know what they have been. It is nice to have someone to talk to when the work becomes boring.

I'm working 6 days this week. Whatever it takes to get my Sunday off!! And I can leave early on Saturday. Whenever Dana is picking on us, I don't really care. I quit anytime. =-) Actually, there are whole bunch of things I want to do in my life. Glad that I didn't drop the online class.

"Don't become discouraged" - whenever you feel you will never "get it," think of everyone you knmow in real estate. The reason they succeeded is not because they are smarter than you but because they refused to quit. GREAT words from the texbook. They remind me not to give up easily.

#_# Crazy week

The textbook I ordered on the first day of class was LOST in mail. FRUSTRATING!

>____<

Anyway, I will go to Bcc bookstore tomorrow to try to find the book, I want to read when I don't work.

Tired of working at that place...really want to leave at the end of the month... don't know how much longer I am dragging myself to work. I like doing massage. I don't like working at unprofessional environment... No wonder they can't accept medical insurance...whatever.

If I had unlimited resources, I wish I could:

-take all of the English classes availabe at the community college

-learn to play the piano and the keyboard again; regret giving them up

-take cooking class

-learn karate or martial arts, eventually built up some muscles from doing massages, don't want them to turn to fat when not being used :-(

-ride a bike and get fresh air in the afternoon

-join Yoga class

-set up a vegetable garden at home; need to overcome the fear of bugs first

-learn reiki

-watch all of my animation VCDs/DVDs

-write letters to my friends; used to do it very often and it was enjoyable

-sort and throw away trash in the garage!!

I don't really get enjoyment from shopping. That's why it is not on my list. LOL...Shame to be a woman! I'm not very materialistic. On the contrary, I like to learn ways to conserve resources. And I don't like buying stuff ...I love space, I feel free when I'm not surrounded by stuff. I prefer spending money on taking classes. Nuts.

Doing great these 2 days because I'm not at work. LOL...

[Picture: Indian food. Not cooked by me. hehehe...had it at the Clay Oven restaurant. Yummy.]

Finally started studying the online class. It is pretty interesting. I like it since I can do it whenever I like to. No need to sit in traffic and drive to the class early in the morning. Thinking about how to stay focus while studying at work as they are always very loud. Maybe sit quietly in the sauna room while nobody is there. I need to study hard to get out of there. Explore more when I am still young. :-)
Besides studying, I am cooking a lot. Made sushi last night for dinner. Delicious. hehe...my secret is to spray a bit of sugar into the rice after mixed with rice vinegar. It brings out the flavor...And adding some miracle whip as shortenings so that the rice won't be toooooo sticky.
I have just baked a pan of brownies. I added some chopped walnuts into it to make it more healthy. I've prepared the ingredients for making hot and sour soup tonight. Yeah! I am full of cooking ideas when I am at home. Yesterday, I started growing spring onions by the window, I hope they will grow very fast. I love seeing the light green color, it's so vibrant! It reminds me of hope.
Better go back to study some more before preparing dinner. I wish I could stay home to cook and create my own recipes. hehe... Someday!

Bahama Bay Resort, Davenport, FL 3/21/07-3/26/07

My wallet is bleeding...I need to staunch. Amen.

[Picture: "I need a Hummer to keep me safe!! I don't know anyone whose driving skill is worse than mine." Taken at Test Track in Epcot.

*_* I am finally back to work. Well, it's hard!! I wish I could extend my vacation... Well, it will be possible when I am pregnant. hehehe. We are trying. So, hopefully soon. Glad to see Mandy again. We couldn't stop talking and laughing when we saw each other. It wasn't a very tiring day for me...but it was extremely BORING. Luckily, I kept talking to Steve and Hillary on msn messenger. Today, it's my first day starting the online real estate course. Damn! The computer at work was WAY TOO SLOW. I waited for minutes to load a page. When it was done, I saw a BLANK page. Now, I don't think I can kill time at work by studying online.... ~_~ What can I do? Sleeping?? Eating?? I hate wasting my time!! Especially at work!! If I'm at home, at least I can clean the house and make it nice and tidy. *sigh* God, please give me an embryo so that I can be a mother before I become a super old woman!!!!! Steve's best friend's wife is pregnant!! How come it's so easy for all of his friends' wives to be pregnant?? Is pregnancy contagious? Well, I should just wait. I will catch the germs eventually. lol.

It was a bit sad to know that Brandy has left. I hope she is doing alright. I felt bad when I saw her pale face but I felt mad when I had to work overtime because of her not coming to work. Anyway, it will be better for her to go back to her mom. God Bless.

Amazing! It is April already. But our yard was covered with 2 inches of snow. Come on! I don't stand this cold weather! It has been 4 or 5 months!!!!! It makes me miss the sunshine in Orlando. ~__~

After work, we went to pick up the car. Well, I never expected that it cost soooo much to repair my car. $950?! They changed a lot of things in my car....including the brake. Basically, my car was like having stage II cancer and went for a chemotherapy today. ~_~ Cherry, you can't quit your job yet. You have to go back to work to sell your thumbs and arms to pay off your stupid driving the other day!! YOU are SO stupid! Why did you drive that day?

Cooked a full dinner tonight. I haven't done it for a while. Sorry Steve, I'd been feeding you junk. I am glad that you are still alive. I will cook regular meals more often.

I found my writing very boring, what else should I write down here besides reporting my daily routine??????

New Goal, New Life

[Picture: Dolphins at the SeaWorld...they are so mean!! They don't let you pet them if you don't buy food to feed them!!]

Yeah! I finally made up my mind and signed up for the online real estate course. Learning new things will keep my brain young. :-p I hope I will enjoy it. And, anyway it will be too boring to have nothing to do at work when it is slow, why not making use of the time and study? :-D I may switch my career after being a mother. I am so exicted about it.

Poor me, I've been suffering from the flu after coming back from Orlando....couldn't sleep well for nights. My nose was always stuffy and my sore throat is KILLING me. Gosh...this time, eating ice cream doesn't seem to work. #___# !

We called 911...

What an 'unforgettable' trip we had today. We went to the Olympic game farm in Sequim today. It was absolutely fun. Since it was a long drive, I offered to drive all of us home. My driving was okay- no speeding up or tailgating others. After a while, I saw an ordinary white car behind us in the rear mirror. It was about 150feet behind us. When I looked at the rear mirror again after a few seconds, it was right behind me!! That was the trooper with its siren on. I didn't know if I was asked to pull over. I was suspecting if I was doing anything wrong. (It shouldn't be since I was not driving over the speed limit.) Anyway, I tried to steer to the shoulder. (Damn, it was not wide enough to be called a shoulder actually.) The car was in the ditch immediately. #_# Then, I realized that the trooper was only trying to pass us but not pull ME over. Then, no matter how hard I and Steve tried, the car couldn't get back to the road. We kept sitting in the car. He called 911 and noticed the state patrol. Shit. We were on SR104 South Bound. We couldn't tell them the exact location. We were in the middle of nowhere!! While we were waiting for the police, I was shivering. I didn't know how long it would take... I felt so guilty. Suddenly, there was a truck stopped in front of us, a couple got off the truck and walked towards us and see if we were okay or needed any help. That was very kind of them. Fortunately, none of us got hurt. We thanked them for their concern and let them know that we already called the police. Then, an 'Olympic Ambulence' stopped by and did the same thing. Again, we appreciated the concern the lady showed us. After a couple minutes, a gentleman stopped behind us and checked if we needed a cell phone. They were all very kind. After he left, we kept waiting for the police. Suddenly, a red 4X4 truck from the on coming traffic making an U-turn and stopped in front of us and see if they could help us. Two guys (they might be road or construction workers) jumped off and told us that they had a rope and it might be able to pull our car out of the ditch. They tried very hard. Eventually, our car was out of the ditch. We were all so excited and very thankful for their help. The state patrol arrived. Another old lady drove by and asked if we needed help. Afterwards, one guy was lying on the ground and tried so hard to untide the rope at the bottom of our car. We were all very thankful for their help. It could have taken hours to call a toll truck since it was on a highway in the Penisular. When I was getting back into to car and grabbed my wallet to pay them (at the same time, my dad was taking money out of his wallet to them too), those two men refused to take our money. They were so helpful and kind. At first, I thought they were from a toll truck company. I didn't know that they were just passer-by until Steve told me. It was very surprising that how many nice and kind people out there still. Of course, I learnt an important lesson:

-Never offer to drive if I'm not familiar with the area

-When we think others may need help, we should stop and check. Be generous always, we never know when we need others to help us.

I was very, very lucky. What if it happened in a rainy day or at night? What if we were injured?? Thank God for sending nice people to help us. We will do the same to others when they need help.

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down...

[Pic: Flower World in Maltby. 9322 196th St.SE, Snohomish, WA 98296]

It's been raining for days...We were supposed to go to Leavenworth yesterday. But the weather was really bad. At last, we stayed home and watched movies. It was boring to stay home the whole day!! So, we drove all the way to Bellevue and had dinner at our favourite Cantonese restaurant - Cafre Ori. In my opinion, I still cannot find any Chinese restaurants as good as this one! We never leave without eating their curry beef and pan-fried squid. I hope we will find places serving yummy food in Orlando. Right, we are leaving for Orlando tonight. Yeah! I am really tired of the rain... My mood is somehow affected by the weather. Anyway, I'll pack a swimming suit!! I can't wait~~

I don't know what I should do

It's 10:30am now. I feel really upset. He is playing the damn online game. He said he would wake me up at 9:30am but he didn't. So, I guess it was because he was so addicted to the game. His playing game has been bothering me for 3 years. He looks like his soul has gone whenever he plays. Well, comparing to how bored he looked yesterday during lunch and dinner, he looked totally different when he's playing the game. Sometimes, I dobut he is living in the virtual world. Maybe I am being unfair to him, always trying to compare him with other men in the 40s who do not seem like playing online games. He's in his early 30s and so are his friends. Honestly, I don't like them acting like kids even though they have children already.

Right now, I really don't know what I should do. I am tired of myself yelling at him. I'll just sit here in the bedroom and find something to do.

I feel that he is selfish. I'll end my life when I cannot take it anymore. Because, if I leave, I actually have nowhere to go.

I feel inferior and have lost myself.

So, my parents are finally here. They arrived Wednesday night. Before we picked them up, we walked around in the airport and saw a man collecting donations for the people in need. I can't remember the organization's name but I remember what he said to us after we made our donations. "Don't give up". I'll try. But, I just feel that sometimes there are things we can't control. *sigh*

On the 15th, it was mostly overcast. We had lunch at the Clay Oven, an Indian restaurant. The food was great. Afterwards, we walked at the grocery store and picked up some veggies for our dinner. At night, I made a cheesecake, cooked some crab legs and stir-fried some asparagus with carrots. We watched a movie together. "Love Undercover"-a very funny Hong Kong movie.

Everything seemed okay.

16th, we had vietnamese noodles for lunch in Redmond. On our way home, we went to the Flower World in Maltby. It was huge! I love seeing flowers, especially sniffing the herbs. But, Steve was quiet and walking alone. I didn't know if I did anything wrong and upset him. I felt so lonely suddenly. We always walk everywhere together. That day, he left me alone. Plus, I don't know why I actually don't want to be very close to my parents. I am seldom interested in what they talk about. My dad always asks questions about money, brags about how much he knows and criticizes everything. My mom doesn't use her brain usually. She only follows my dad and complains to me about what she doesn't like about dad. I seldom ask her things since she usually says she doesn't know. Whenever my dad starts to say negative things, I chose to pretend not hearing him, ignore him or simply walk away. I know, if I respond to him, an endless quarrel will be triggered. I want peace. I shut down. My mom never really cares about me, she cares about money. Fine. I gave them all of the cash I had saved. I don't know if they're happy or not. But anyway, I can't force myself to be close to them. I gave up. I just feel very lonely when my husband is not with me sometimes. At night, they probably didn't like the food I made. Dad was criticizing the chow mein having too much vegetables. Mom didn't like my cheesecake and spit it out into the garbage. They never appreciated how much I had worked. Hey, I am having a vacation, how come I have become a maid doing cooking and cleaning?? Cooking and cleaning are fine but it was really frustrating to be criticized endlessly. What do you want?? I was so disappointed and told Steve that I didn't want to cook for them anymore. Just dine out every night. I don't care!!

17th. We drove to Gig Harbor to see Mom and Jim. I know, it is very strange. But, I do feel so much more comfortable to talk to my mother-in-law than to my own parents. I can talk about everything with her. She is a very nice lady. I love her a lot and I am always thankful for having her being my mom-in-law. We went to Tacoma for dinner. I ordered my favorite Phad Thai. Then, we went to the Great Wall Mall and Fry's in Renton.

18th. We went to Ming's Place for dim sum. Steve kept turning his head away. I had no clues. As usual, I was not interested in what my dad said, I remained silent and just ate my food. I felt so upset inside. But there was nothing I could do. Afterwards, we walked around in BestBuy and Bellevue Square. Nothing speical... As I didn't want to hear anymore complaints, we dined out for dinner at Red Robin. Man, they are so hard to please. I could tell from my mom's face, she didn't like the food. WHATEVER! Steve kept turning his head away again. I felt so bad and upset. He wasn't like that in the past... What could I do? Remained silent again. I hate having such a painful vacation. I feel very inferior now...I don't want to beg for love, care, or anything. It is very hard for me. I want to make him feel happy. But I don't want to make myself feel miserable. I feel inferior. I have lost myself.

I don't think he reads my blog. I don't want to talk about it with my parents or friends. I may talk about it with my mom-in-law later. At the moment, I can only express my feelings by typing my blog.

I hate myself.