The CHO girls an I went out for brunch for the first time in over a year. We met up at Nido’s Backyard for drinks and some delicious food. We had Stephanie over Zoom for part of the time too!
It was so nice to see everyone in person again after so long. It was also nice to eat at a restaurant with people again too!
Being home alone on the weekend is weird. I got bored so I made my mom’s Thai peanut sauce. Luckily I had all the ingredients! They include: smooth peanut butter, peanuts, sugar, lime juice, salt (not pictured), coconut milk, and yellow masaman curry paste.
Start by heating the 13.5 oz can of coconut milk, a little water, and a 4 oz can of curry paste. My mom puts in about 3/4 of the can but I put the whole thing in. It just makes it a little spicier.
While that mixture heated up, I crushed the peanuts.
Once the mixture turns an orange color and has heated up, I added two spoonfuls of peanut butter to thicken it.
Once the peanut butter is dissolved and the mixture is smooth and heated, add the crushed peanuts, 2 tablespoons of sugar, stir, and taste. Then add salt to taste.
Add some lime juice to taste. It was about one giant juicy lime wedge. The mixture should have sweet, salty, and a hint of sour.
Mix it up some more and allow it to simmer on low heat until you see it bubble up and pools of oil are visible.
It should get a little darker and you can add more crushed peanuts and sugar if it needs more.
I usually eat it as a dip with toasted french bread … or just toast of any kind. Of course, it can be used with chicken or pork satay but I don’t know how to make that yet. Haha.
As Supervisor, I was asked to attend the Annual OT Association of California (OTAC) Conference in Pasadena. It was an all-expense trip paid for by the department that pays for recruitment and marketing. So, I flew up on Thursday afternoon and checked in a the Hilton Pasadena.
On Thursday evening, I took an Lyft to DTLA to meet up with Brother and Joy. We went to Tender Greens and then Library Bar for a quick drink.
I love attending these conferences because of the new things I get to learn and it’s also a great way to catch up with old friends/colleagues. I bumped into Allison who I worked with at PTN over 17 years ago!
I also hung out with current co-worker who was attending to help with OTAC membership recruitment.
The main reason I was sent to the conference was to be present at the KP booth. We are hiring and Ken (middle) is the recruiter who sometimes does this on his own without actual OTs present to answer clinical/day-to-day questions. It was fun chatting with people and giving away KP swag.
On Friday, Brother drove the parents up so we could have a birthday lunch to celebrate my mommy’s birthday.
We went to Houston’s, an old favorite of ours.
She got her steak and I got my tuna platter that was very different from what I was used to.
The nice thing about having so many people is that we can share all the favorites. Brother got the ribs and I was so happy.
I also got a prosecco that came in this cool glass.
Later that evening, I went out for dinner with Holly, who lives in South Pasadena. It was so fun to catch up with her “after work”.
Overall, it was a productive trip with a good sprinkling of personal time. I flew back on Sunday morning with enough time to take the kids to kung fu that day.
My birthday celebration started early the week before when Ranee invited us to the winery at Jack London Square last Friday evening. It was a gorgeous evening with lots of sparkling wine to sip and taste.
Ranee also got us a bottle of sparkling rose to share. The kids played on the lawn all evening and we got to sit and unwind.
If that wasn’t fun enough already, we got to hang out AGAIN the following night!
We dropped the kids off at Jimmy and Eleen’s house (thanks guys!) and took an Uber to the city. We had tickets to see JANET!!!
We had purchased these tickets months ago and the Chase Center just opened a few weeks ago.
It was so nice to see Ishya smiling after the passing of her mom (my aunt).
Janet was awesome and sang what seemed like ALL HER SONGS.
The Chase Center was on their feet and he had such a good time.
The following week, we flew down to Cerritos to celebrate the actual birthday with Brother who turned 40!!
We had a family dinner at Lawry’s and then went out for dessert at David Chang’s milk bar.
The following night, we went to see Ali Wong at The Wiltern.
Interestingly, she had a strict no-device rule. We had to go through security at the entrance and lock our phones and smart watches in a bag that we carry around with us but can’t unlock until the show is done. It was a fun experiment and reminder of how things used to be when we were younger and didn’t have cell phones.
Ali was really funny and so was the guy that opened for her! Good show.
My last bit of birthday fun was the day after when we arrived back in Alameda. Just the 4 of us went out for Korean BBQ and stuffed ourselves silly.
Yesterday, we celebrated Jes’ birthday on his actual birthday. We took the day off work, sent the kids to school, and then went to Napa for lunch at Bouchon.
We started the meal with the salade lyonnaise and salmon rillettes.
Jes ordered the steak frites and I got a giant bowl of mussels in a garlic butter broth.
For dessert, they gave him a little package of their chocolate bouchons. So cute!
A trip to Bouchon would not be complete without stopping at their bakery next door. I wanted to get all the things but ended up with just a few goodies to share with kids later that evening.
Peanut made Jes a card complete with balloons, fish stickers, and his own writing. He chose to sign it “Peanut”.
The kids sang “Happy Birthday” and helped him blow out the candles on his lemon tart and chocolate eclair.
The next day, we had dinner at Ian’s house. He invited us over for some wagyu beef that he bought for Jesse.
What had also been planned was a surprise visit by all the guys at the end of the night.
They arrived with cakes and whiskey.
We were all in on it and he was indeed surprised. That was very cool of them to do that for him.
On our last morning before checking out and hopping on a plane back to Oakland, we went to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.
It was most fun to watch the trainer handling the giant crocodile who wasn’t in the mood to do his tests this morning.
For lunch, we went to Mother’s Restaurant and tried the Famous Ferdi Special.
I also had a side of gumbo that was oh so satisfying.
I also had my first bloody mary and it was SPICY! We had a good last meal before heading home. We had such a fun time in New Orleans and probably gained 10 pounds over the past 4 days. Good times…
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