Browse Author: beakatude

I need July to end.

Summer school has been rather hectic. I don’t know why I’m sounding surprised. It was like this last year too. *sigh* I just have one more day to endure and then I’m officially on vacation…at least from this job. I need a manicure.  Hm, that was random.
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I’m looking forward to our short trip to Napa this weekend. It was a last minute trip but it’s going to be a hoot. We’re going wine tasting with the Bangs on Saturday and then having a little BBQ in Marin on Sunday. The featured food item will be oysters…and kalbi and other stuff we can put together. I’m also looking forward to bringing my camera up there and seeing what kind of pictures I come home with. Where is that macro lens when I need it most? Haha.
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Monday is the first day of Camp and I’m looking forward to it but not really. It’s been a bittersweet year since I had no intention of working in August this year until the fateful day when they sucked me back in. It should be fun but I’m just not looking forward to driving 100 miles per day. Jes might have to live the single life for a few days if I decide to stay in Cerritos for two weeks.

Fun with Fish Sauce

One of my favorite TV channels is The Food Network. Lately, many of their shows have been featuring traditional dishes that were passed down from generation to generation. Well, our mom is a wonderful cook. She makes, I think, the best Thai food ever! That’s probably what contributes to the “magical house” the most. Anyway, in hopes of learning a thing or two, I invited the family to my house and my mom prepared 4 of our favorite dishes. While she cooked, my brother and I watched closely, took video clips and photos, and took notes of ingredients and techniques. It was like making a cooking show for my mom. She made some pretty classic comments about her techniques that make it real “home cookin'”. For example, she was frying some sliced onion and we asked her, “What are you doing?” She replied, “I just do this to make it brown.” Haha. That’s awesome…let’s try writing a cookbook like that. She would also ask if we had something like lemon juice. I’d tell her that we didn’t have any and she’d say, “OK, we don’t need it.” There will be no list of ingredients or measuring spoons in this cooking show. Well, the dishes turned out great…just as I remember. Boy did we have a feast! I’m hoping to have several more of these afternoons so I can document and keep her recipes going for years and years. Thanks Mommy! You rock!

HOT

Are we still in California? Cuz it’s been at least 95 degrees everyday for the past week and the humidity is killing me. If it’s going to stay like this for a while, I might as well move to Hawaii. One of the reasons I wouldn’t live in Hawaii is the humidity. It drives my skin crazy with heat rashes and all kinds of ailments. Well, we’ve got all of the heat, humidity, and no clear blue waters to snorkel in. I’m feeling slightly gypped. (Is that how you spell it?) Anyway, this morning I woke up to the sound of thunder and there was lightning up in the sky as I was walking the dog. OK. That’s it, time to pack up and move. Luckily we have A/C and we’re not afraid to use it. We just got our electricity bill last week and it was a whoppin’ $200. So worth it at this point.

“Slow and steady”, said the turtle.

I’m back on the road and running again. With my back feeling better, I’m ready to start training again but this time I’m going to go slow and work on strengthening my core strength as well. I just have to say that waddling around for 3 weeks with excrutiating back pain is not cool. Anyway, I’ve been taking it easy and starting from square one. I started with a 1-mile loop the other day and gradually added distance each day. I’m on my third day in a row and I’m up to 2 miles and finished it under 20 minutes…I’ve still got it! I just wished that the weather was cooler. I HATE running in the heat but I HATE treadmills even more. At least I’ll get a nice summer tan. 🙂

and the doors opened…

I had a fun fun afternoon. I was on my way to the Nordstrom at the Spectrum to find myself driving past the long-awaited Target that is scheduled to open on the 23rd. Well, I was pleasantly surpised to see people coming out of the doors with shopping carts and bags of stuff. Wha?! Is my beloved Target new, clean, and ready for me to visit?! I parked my car and walked up to see if it was true and I was welcomed by the automatic door, beckoning me to enter. YES!!
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I ended up browsing and shopping for over an hour and a half with my cart filled with two new pairs of shoes, a new purse, a shirt for Jesse, and a bunch of other stuff that I may have been able to do without. But it’s Target! It’s my most favorite-est store in the whole wide world with brand new aisles fully stocked and organized by color and style. How could I resist?! Apparently, I was there on their second day of opening and it was soooo empty. They were open yesterday for only 4 hours so I’d just have to say that I’m one of their first customers and kicked it off with a “cha-ching” for them. Oh, I could go on and on about my afternoon. Did I mention that there’s a mini-grocery store and fully-loaded Starbucks in my new Target? The best part of it all is that it’s only one freeway exit away from my house (3.3 miles to be exact) with very little surface street driving and ample parking. Life is good.

Holly and Roy tied the knot

Holly and Roy threw a big party last night to cap off their marriage. My day started at 10 am when I got to the Hyatt where the girls got ready. We had our hair and make-up done by noon and helped Holly get ready. She looked so beautiful and Roy was glowing.

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At the Bowers Museum, we took some group photos and unfotunately it was the hottest day of the year with 95 degree temps and some crazy humidity on top of that. We all tried to stay cool and hydrated but the satin dresses we wore didn’t allow for much air circulation.

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The ceremony was very touching and the couple looked so happy. The guests tried their best to endure the heat as Holly and Roy said, “I do.” The dinner reception was in the same courtyard area with twinkle lights all around and plenty of booze flowin’. There was a slideshow, some cake, and of course dancing. By the end of the night, my feet were sore, my skin was sticky, and I was buzzin’.

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Here are some highlights:

  • Holly’s mom and dad cried and made Holly cry.
  • Roy was sweatin’ buckets from the heat.
  • I didn’t fall down.
  • There was ball play and double dutch.
  • Victor made friends with the bartender and tried to serve drinks.
  • Susie had a tree in her teeth.
  • Jes was the LD.
  • The alma mater was sung.
  • We got kicked out of the Presidential Suite for being too loud.

Good times….congratulations, you two!! Here are the photos.