Ninja Stomping Ground

Fat Rolls

2011-03-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

The baby's. Not mine. I just ignore mine. Always. Or better yet, I try denial.

How do one clean those adorable fat rolls? I am having the hardest time cleaning them. Of course I always find some dirt after giving the baby a bath just to make me feel like the most irresponsible mother. Speaking of being an irresponsible mother. How do you keep two kids clean? Do you just take them to the car wash please and hose them down together?

These are the important life questions that has been plaguing my mind.

ps. Is it really bad to find yourself praying about the consistency of poop?

Definition of Accidentally

2011-03-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Pi day I made this pie. Just a simple chocolate pie since it was a VERY last minute FHE treat. (I think this was thrown together in about five minutes so don't look at it too closely.) We never did get to the FHE treat that night however.

Long story short: Tried to play a wii game as an activity. Piper whined that she wasn't winning (because her mom's dance move was too great. I tried to lose but alas I tried to lose to a certain friend's name that start with E and end with rin too and that didn't work either.) James tells Piper to get it together. That worked so great that it turned into a melt down. Melt down = bedtime immediately = major melt down = screaming = husband leaves the house for a run to calm down (to give him brownie point he left after putting Piper down.)

What was I doing this whole time? I was holding the child who still loves me and smiled at me.

Anyhow, the pie sat lonely in the fridge that night.

Next morning Piper comes to me while I am still in bed. "Mom, I accidentally had the pie for breakfast." She said with a very apologetic smile. "Accidentally?" I replied. "Yeah! It was an accident."

I go to the fridge to survey the "accident"

I think I need to work with her on the definition of accidentally.

Having a roommate

2011-03-11T18:05:00.000-08:00

I suck at blogs. I have no idea how other people come up with so many things to blog about. I think about dozens of things in a day and I have to admit they are very random things but sit me down in front of a computer and I go blank. Kinda like now. BUT, I am fairly good at rambling ... apparently.

Things have been crazy to say the least in my little world. How something that weighed six and half oz could create so much chaos is beyond my imagination. I asked James today how other people do it. Do they just resign themselves to be roommates until their kids grows up? Because I feel like that's what James and I have become. He comes see me in the morning while I am passed out with the baby in my arms in the morning to say goodbye. When he gets home from work we play the game who watches the baby so one of us can get something done. At bedtime, I am in charge of putting the baby to bed and he is in charge of Piper. After that, James goes to bed and I try to clean my kitchen for the 5th time that day.

Come to think of it I don't know if we are even roommates. My roommates and I used to talk for hours at night over ice cream. (Remember those days when you can consume whatever you want in whatever quantities?) It was all about boys of course. I really wish I remembered that boys have cooties.

I am in love though. My 6.5 oz little man is now 15 pounds and I still look at him and say "how can you be SO cute!"

TV or New Couch

2010-06-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

When I went to my 20 week appointment to find out if Piper was a boy or girl the technician told us the story of a couple who went in to their appointment with a bet. The dad bet that the baby would be a boy and the mom bet the baby would be a girl. If the dad won the bet he was going to get a brand new TV, and if the mom won she was going to get a new set of couch.

The moral of this story? I found out today that if we were that couple James would've got a brand new TV.

Since really only my friends read this blog you guys are the first I would like to share this news with. Really, I would've said something a LONG time ago but strangely I didn't quite know what to say. I mean do you just pop out in the middle of a conversation and say "guess what? I am pregnant?" I was racking my brain trying to think back how I found out about other people's pregnancy. The only one I could remember was Tammy's. From what I could remember, I always find out via some electronic device and of course it is always way past when I really should've known. Anyhow, since I then took a trip to Taiwan for a month and we were finding out the sex two days right after we got back I figure it was just more fun to share after we found out.

Reaction to this baby being a boy... James and I are in a bit of a shock. From the start I sorted of refer to this baby as a he but really I had no idea about the sex of the baby. I was excited in the beginning to the possibility of having a boy but the closer I got to the date of the ultrasound I kept thinking a girl would be nice too. It felt a bit unreal to know this one is a boy. What do you do with a boy? We are so used to buying everything in pink it seems a bit of a shock to start looking at boy stuff. Anyhow, Piper's reaction to getting a baby brother was tears. She consoled herself that we could have one baby brother and later get a hundred (yes, 100) baby sisters.

Piper in Taiwan

2010-05-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

2010-05-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

Wisdom of the old

2010-01-03T19:42:00.000-08:00

The other day James and I were able to sneak away to watch the movie 2012. The theater we were in had a total of six people. Two grandpas seated at the front greeted us as we walked in making comments like "quick, grab yourself some seats before they are gone."
Pretty soon, my favorite part of going to any movie came... previews. About the third preview in, the upcoming Angelina Jolie movie "Salt" preview came on. At the end of it the grandpas in front of us had a short exchange for all to hear:

Old man #1: "Yap. That's Angelina Jolie"
Old man #2: "Sure is. Angelina Jolie"
Old man #1: "Yap. Those lips."
Old man #2: "Yap. Some lips."

Me: "Wha..." managed to muffle my outburst of laughter by stuffing my jacket into my mouth.

Now I have typed that out I think maybe you had to be there for that whole exchange to be funny. Oh, well. It gave me something to laugh about before the world ended.

ps. the movie 2012 was pretty good. Go see it for the special effects.

Understatement of the Year

2009-12-14T23:08:00.000-08:00

Saw New Moon tonight. Had a epiphany while watching it, thought I should share it.

Scene: Jacob takes off his shirt to wipe blood off Bella's face
+
Bella: Jacob... You are like sort of beautiful. = Understatement of the Year.

Asian Attraction

2009-12-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

My aunt came to visit a few weeks ago. She came for the Xango convention so she didn't specifically came to visit me but we were able to meet a few times. My aunt loves pizza so I took her up to the University of Utah to "Pie Pizzeria" which has the best pizza despite it's unfortunate location. My aunt was quite impressed with James being able to speak mandarin and was even more amazed to realize that he actually speak Cantonese (what people speak in Hong Kong) better. She asked him why he didn't marry a girl from Hong Kong instead (I am from Taiwan), and James, calling upon his training from being married for 11 years said "because she is Taiwanese." Ohh.... I love it when he dodges bullets like that.

After dinner we took my aunt to tour the Temple grounds and the visitor center. Thinking my aunt might be a bit tired I sat with my aunt for a while at the place they have the Savior's statue while James takes Piper to go wondering around. Here is the conversation that took place:

Aunt: So... does your church encourages husbands to only have their wife?
Me: "uh?" (I am trying to figure out if she is trying to ask me about polygamy or what? But it didn't seem like she was referring to polygamy)
Me: "What do you mean?"
Aunt: I mean does your church encourages men to not mess around outside and stay faithful to their wives?
Me: (thinking doesn't every church do that?) Umm... yes. The church is very family oriented and any men would be breaking convents if they have affairs. (Or I said something like that.)
Me: Why do you ask?(at this point I am pretty confused, because the question seem kinda random and out of no where. But it was apparent that my aunt was trying to get at a point in a round about of way.)
Aunt: Well, your husband seem to be a pretty good catch being good looking and all that. He has a good personality too.
Me: Okay...
Aunt: (hesitates) You know, what if he decides that he has better options...
Me: ...... (speechless)
Aunt: Maybe you should think about taking better care of your appearance
Me: ... (Still speechless. Can't decide if I should be laughing or fuming)
Aunt: That's why I was trying to ask him why he didn't marry someone from Hong Kong, because he probably had a lot of options you know.
Me: (I decide to go with laughing b/c my aunt was just SO sincere the way she was saying all this. She really was pretty worried for me.) Aunt, don't worry, we have a good marriage. He is a good husband and dad, I have trained him for 11 years after all.
Aunt: okay. (still looking worried) Just think about maybe taking care of your appearance more.

James comes back, and I gesture him to come over and whisper for him to go ask the Sister missionaries to put on the Chinese track of the introduction that they play.

My aunt watches James walk over to the a sister missionary to talk to them. She grabs my arm and says "Why is he talking to HER?" I almost died from wanting to laugh. My aunt was jealous for me that James was talking to a sister missionary. I calmed her down by telling her that James was only doing that because I told him to do so.

In the car after dropping my aunt off at her hotel I told James that he obviously had made a good impression on my aunt since she liked him so much that she could not for the life of her understand why he married me. AND is convinced that any day now he is going to wake up and say "You mean I could've married someone much better than YOU?" Apparently, my husband is caviar and I am obviously chopped liver.

I told my mom this story the other day, and she almost fell out of chair laughing so hard. For once my mom called upon her maternal instinct and tried to convince me that my aunt was probably just impressed to see a white guy up close like that so she thought James was the greatest thing since sliced bread... or white rice.

Moral of the story: I told James when we go back to Taiwan together he is not to stand next to me when we are out in public. I can just see it in my head. We would be on the subway together with everyone staring at us thinking "I wonder what that white guy see in her..."

A clue

2009-10-04T19:29:00.001-07:00

As I was typing the last entry to my blog just now I got a knock on my door. When I opened the door, the above piece of paper was on my door step. There were no one there though so I was left quite puzzled.

Dear ... note ditching person:

Yes! I like cheese. I LOVE cheese. If for some reason you are trying to ditch cheese along with your zucchinis I would gladly receive them.

Unless you weren't talking about the eatable kind of cheese but the kind of cheese where you list all my good qualities. In that case, I like those as well. Of course, being Asian I am very practical would still prefer the eatable kind. So, you are welcome to leave a block of cheese with complimenting notes about me anytime you want.

Thank you.

Birthday for me

2009-10-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

I have officially said goodbye to my 20s. Never mind I have been 30 years old for the last year. For some reason being 31 made it that much more real that 20's is in the past. I haven't given it too much thought as to how I really feel about being in the 30s. Although I get the feeling I will probably like it much more than being in the 20s.

20's for me was being a newlywed and trying to figure out who I am as an adult. Which meant it was just drama city. Not as dramatic of course as from 14-19 years old, but nothing can match teenage angst.

I wondered if I should be going through some pre-mid-life crisis, but seems kinda silly since once I think about it I am really living the life I have always wanted. Most importantly I think where I live has changed my total outlook on what it means to grow old.

My neighbors are some of the coolest people I know. My older neighbors are especially cool. I think it was a few years ago when I realize one truth. People might grow old on the outside but they are really just teenagers in the inside. I see so many retirement age people having the time of their life with their spouse who they are still amazingly in love with. It makes me look forward to that stage of my life and makes growing old something to look forward to.

So, to all the really cool people I know: Thanks!

ps. my birthday cake was a flan from Betos. I LOVE flan so my husband wisely used it as my birthday cake.
pss. It is also of note that apparently all the drama of the newlywed years has taught him the wisdom of putting 3 candles on the "cake" instead of 31.

View from the top

2009-07-07T02:30:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to go to lunch at a really nice hotel for lunch. We went for the afternoon tea which was served buffet style. For $10 the buffet included variety of sea food (even whole fish which you could order as you will) and countless selection of hot food. I really should've taken some pictures of the food... but I was a bit preoccupied But never fear, I did take pictures of the most important part- desserts!

The restaurant was at the top of hotel so the view was super nice.

A random statue of a buda inside the hotel.

A Ferrari that was parked right outside of the hotel that caused my cousin to drive right past the parking garage.

FYI

2009-07-04T02:10:00.000-07:00

The other day my family and me were walking to where my cousin parked his car (about 3 minutes away. Finding a space to park your car is a daily chore.) when my aunt all the sudden exclaims "oh, someones car got towed!" My aunt was pointing at some writing on the ground as she said this. My cousin looked at where she pointed and said "yap, it looks like they parked illegally." I was so lost. What does some writing on the ground has anything to do with someones car getting towed? It turns out the writing on the ground was a FYI message from the traffic police to the car owner whose car got towed. The top two lines of numbers showed the car's licence plate. The third line is the address of where the car was towed to. The fourth line is the phone number of the towing place. The last line is the city where the car is at. For some reason every time I look at this picture I think this is the funniest thing. Is kinda like a letter of connection from the traffic cop to the car owner. Sort of touching, isn't it?

Ice cream truck?

2009-07-02T20:55:00.000-07:00

I was window shopping with my mom and my aunt last night when I heard music coming from somewhere down the road. For a little bit I wondered if it was a truck that was selling food like the ice cream trucks we have in the States that drives around with its signature music on. Alas, this is what I saw:

In Taiwan dump truck come around twice a day and who ever has trash will go out in the street to dump their garbage. Maybe we should all teach our kids that the ice cream truck is really the garbage truck in disguise.

Living it up in the hospital

2009-06-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

I was a bit afraid of the hospital in Taiwan. I figure there was no way it would be better than the hospital in Utah, but I was wrong. My mom wanted a full physical check up and I got dragged along with her to share in the "fun". The hospital we went to was a new one and it looked more like a hotel than a hospital. It even had a piano in the front lobby. We registered in the morning and was given a full outfit to change into along with slipper. A team of nursers was there to make sure we saw the right doctors and given the appropriate test. I walked around in slippers, read magazines, and followed people around. The medical tests was not fun but I was really impressed with the hospital staff and how "spa" like they tried to make it.

I wasn't able to take pictures but here is a picture of the basement of the hospital that looked more like a mini-mall. It had a full on mall like food court, a bakery and even some shopping stores.

Wondering Around

2009-06-26T19:46:00.000-07:00

We have been spending the last two days in Kaoshung, Taiwan. Kaoshung is where my family is originally from and where most of my relative still lives at. It has been a lot of fun just following my cousin around to see how their lives here differ from the west. It is especially interesting comparing notes on various things that makes our lives different.

Some things that are different:
Cars are a lot more expensive in Taiwan. Owning a car alone means you are somewhat secure financially, since their yearly government car tax alone cost around $1000 U.S. dollars.
Their hourly wage for a middle level job is around $3 - $4 an hour.
Living expense can be somewhat lower in Taiwan. Food cost is usually cheaper in Taiwan, but other things such as clothing are not necessarily cheaper than United States (which really surprised me since I expected it to be cheaper).
It is usually a necessity for both husband a wife to work full time to support a family with the current job market .

One of my cousin's precious car's home.

My cousin's friend's car had a little run in with the train sign, so it need some beauty help.

Falling in LOVE

2009-06-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

So, I don't believe in love at first sight. But I do now. He is buff but sleek. Imposing yet tempting. Mysterious yet inviting. He is my Edward... before what's his name ruin it by playing it in the movie. Anyhow, you see where I am going with this. Here is a picture of my new guy:

Isn't he a beauty. I am in love... I was able to get a ride on this bike today. I really wish I had long hair and was able to take off my helmet and shake my hair. Instead, I looked apologetically at all the curious passer by that it's just plain me with short hair ride on this beauty that was zooming past them.

Letter to my real true love: So does lots and lots of Taiwanese people eating pizza with corn on it mean I can finally put corn on the pizza at home too?

Chestnut Cake

Chocolate cake

Really Tall Building

2009-06-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

The tallest building in Taiwan is called Tapei 101. A huge shopping mall with offices and an observation deck. The elevator is super fast. It travel from the 5th floor to 89th floor in 37 seconds. It does a number on your ear drums though. I saw lots of tourist there... I myself am one too of course, but I just didn't look or sound like one. I saw Europeans, Japaneses, Americans and Koreans. It made me realize lots of people actually do visit this tiny place. I also saw lots of Caucasians walking around alone yesterday. They were taking the subways and going to place with such confidence I assume they live and work in Taiwan. I asked my mom if she can imagine going off to a foreign city and living on your own. I don't think I have enough confidence to do that. She replied "Didn't we do that when we moved to Canada?" I guess I never gave my mom enough points for moving into a foreign land without being able to speak the language.

This is the mascot of the Tapei 101 building, the thing behind is a giant ball that helps the building stabilize.

Pandas made of of corrals

This is another educational picutres to show that Taiwan has high tech toliet as well. This one has heated toliet seat and the toilet cover close itself.

Learning to walk

2009-06-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

Walking in Taiwan is an art. Here are the following things you should look out for while walking on the street.

Other people. Lots of people.
Tucking your elbows in so it doesn't scrap against the cars that are passing you.
Mopeds that seems to fill every little space.
Street vendors that set up shop in the most creative spaces.
Flyer distributors who I've learned you are never suppose to acknowledge their existence if you don't want to listen to their pitch.

I have to admit that at times it is almost too much to be surrounded by so many people and things. The air quality is also horrendous. Many people smoke and combined with the fumes for cars sometimes it is difficult to breath. Tomorrow, we will be heading south to the second biggest city in Taiwan. I am hoping the air quality will improve some especially in some more rural area.

Night markets in various places.

I thought this was the coolest store. Everything in there was Hello Kitty, even the chairs was shaped like the kitty.

I thought this was a cool Japanese fish dish.

Tale of Two Cities

2009-06-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

While walking on the street of Taiwan yesterday I realized there were two groups of people where ever I went. The "haves" and the " have nots". Actually, according to my aunt is more like "the willing to spend" and "the not willing to spend" If there was any question which camp one fits into, a quick trip to the department store will answer the question. If you walk into a Gucci store and the clerk ignore you pointedly then you obviously are not part of the "haves" group. The first group dressed like they just finished a magazine shoot and usually carries a sort of haughty air. The second group are ... well... look like me. Yesterday was the first time I saw a Tiffany store. I thought it was sort of humorous that the first time I see a Gucci and a Tiffany is in a foreign country. I laughed pretty hard when I saw who was in the Tiffany store. Girls who were happily trying out different jewelries and boyfriends who were trying very hard not to grimace when smiling. We had to walk through an expensive store because we used that particular store's door to enter into the department store. I thought it was sort of weird since the store clerk who walked right pass me didn't say any greeting at all. If fact, I was the one who smiled at her since we made eye contact (btw, you really are not suppose to smile when you make eye contact here, but I still act like an idiot b/c I always smile without thinking). Once I walked out of that store into the department store hallway I realized I was surrounded by stores that I have only heard of and seen on TV shows.

This economic distinction is fairly obvious if you even just stand at a street corner and watch the passer by. I am sure within the "haves" there are the "truly rich" and "poor but want to act rich", just like I am sure there are some wealthy people who act like the the "have nots". Still, it

makes for an interesting people watching experience.

We were waiting at a street corner to cross the road. My aunt turned to me and asked "do you want an umbrella?" I looked up to the sky thinking it might be raining. It was not. The sky was over cast and looked like it might rain sometime in the afternoon but it was not raining yet. I asked her "why?" My aunt replied" for the sun". I looked at her incredulously and said "what sun?" She pointed at the sky... which I checked again in case the sun came out in the last 5 second since I checked. Yap, its still over cast with grey clouds. I looked around and realized that I was surrounded by people carrying umbrellas. Chinese people take the business of not getting tanned quite seriously. (we see pale skin as a sign of beauty.) I saw bunch of skin care product with "skin whitening" description on it. Should I buy some and bring it home for my friends?

A narrow street packed with stores.

My mom had her heart set on shaved ice (a Taiwanese treat). It took a lot of walking around for almost an hour to find it.

Street in Taiwan are not this narrow, but off the big shreets there are lots of little streets like this.

Can you imagin driving a car down a street like this?

Random restaurant with pig in its name. This mini pig was in the front of the store in a fenced of tiny area.

I thought my blog ought to be an educational one as well. Here is what a squating toilet looks like. Taiwan's bathroom usually look just like the ones you find in US, but I saw this in the train station yesterday.

I am getting on a jet plane

2009-06-19T17:24:00.001-07:00

Well, a 747 more precisely.

Who would’ve thought I would ever be blogging in Taiwan. It took a total of travel 20 hours travel time from SLC to Tapei, Taiwan, with a 13 hour ride from LA to Tapei. The Taiwanese airport had these cool terminals that you walk through and it shows the composition of your body heat or something like that. If you are too hot then they pull you aside to check if you have a fever. A precaution for the swine flue.

It has been an interesting first 12 hours or so in Taiwan. The land where my DNA belongs to and the massive of people who look just like me says I am one of them. But everything here feels foreign yet not quite so. I don’t fit in, but yet I do in a way. Awe, I am going to stop since I am writing mushy stuff.

Some pictures of my travel and first day:

My Aunt's husband, my aunt and my mom. Before we head home from the airport we had to(yes, HAD TO) stop and get some street grub.

Top veiw from where my aunt's house is.

Funny thing: At night, Taiwan freeway look just like the freeways in US. This is what I found out as I sat in an express bus that is lined with purple and blue curtins, compete with white tassles. It looked like a bus of sin... or at least that's how I would decorate one if I own such a bus.

Mother's Day Present

2009-05-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

Did I read that right? Feb was the last time I blogged? Sorry, my little blog. I was tempted and went over to the dark side of facebook. But never fear, here I am back to you now.

For Mothers' Day my dear husband surprised me with a present this year. By surprise I mean he told me that he and my three year old will be going to the BYU bookstore to buy me a present and would I like to come choose my own present. I gladly said yes. Side note: in a perfect world I would love to be surprised by great presents every birthday, Christmas, anniversary and Valentines day. Alas, I am the girl who wanted to choose her own wedding ring, forgets anniversary and birthdays. I always thought I was the romantic sort of person but then I got married and realize I am ... not.

Back to my present hunting. I wondered around BYU bookstore trying to find something I want keeping in mind of the gift budget and at the same time trying to find something for my own mom and mother-in-law. That's multitasking for you. Just as I was getting frustrated of not finding really anything I want I saw these babies.
Would you believe I have never owned a pair of high heels? I have always secretly wanted a pair of these but has never had the guts to buy one. I see girls who seems immensely comfortable wearing high heels and look great wearing them.

Sunday during Relief Society is when I usually ponder the mysterious question of why I am not a proud owner of a pair of high heels. Why Realief Society? I usually sit in the front roll and get a great view of all the RS presidency's shoes whenever I look down to avoid any misunderstanding I might have something to contribute to the lesson. In fact, just today a certain sister who shall remain nameless (who was wearing a red poke dot skirt, was leading the music in RS, and her name starts with C...) was wearing a pair of great red high heels that screams "world hear me roar!". Maybe one of these days I will work up the courage to own a pair of red high heels as well.

Once upon a time...

2009-02-15T20:24:00.001-08:00

A few nights ago, in a fit of parental love I decided to read Piper a bad time story. (She prefers her dad, but too bad for her dad wasn't home.) So I picked up a few books and saved the best picture book "The Princess and the Frog" as the last one since Piper loves anything to do with Princesses.
The story started like how I remembered but then I noticed some slight differences.

1. The frog didn't ask for a kiss but asked to eat off the princes plate at dinner and sleep in her bed.
2. The king was the one to force the princess to let the frog into the castle and eat off her plate.

I started to get a little concerned when the following line appeared.
"Little princess, let's go to bed." said the frog.

I was a bit surprised at how the princess responded to the frog.
"Thinking about sleeping with an odious frog, she felt terribly angry. Lisa took the frog and threw him with all her strength against the wall."

I bet you are just dying to know what happens...

"But when the frog fell down, he turned into a handsome young man smiling at her and said, "Thank you so much for breaking the evil spell, I am the prince of your neighboring country, and was bewitched by a wicked witch."

Umm... that's how you break the spell? Throw the frog against the wall?

I started laughing at this point. Poor Piper was very confused why her mom was laughing like a lunatic.

Of course the price and princess lived happily ever after. The princess who tried to back out of her promise, cursed the frog the whole time, threw multiple temper tantrum and lastly tried to kill the frog was rewarded with a prince who apparently had no problem with domestic abuse.

Moral of the story: If you ever encounter a talking frog, try throwing him against the wall. He might just turn into a prince.

Dang Windows

2009-01-29T21:22:00.001-08:00

I never thought there would be a day when I curse my front windows. It happened two afternoon ago. The door bell rang while I was in front of the computer contemplating how people can come up with so many cool things to post on their blogs. Without thinking, I walked out to my front room and glanced through the window at the front door. Once glance was enough for me to prostrate myself in my front room. You might ask why I would do such a thing?

Possible answers:
1. My house was a mess.
2. Despite being two o'clock in the afternoon, I was still in my pink polka dot pajama bottoms.
(Go feminism! The movement the allows me to proudly greet my hard working husband with a messy house and pajama bottoms!)
3. I saw a man with a clip board.
4. My friend Erin wanting to tell me she is holding a winter storm yard sale this weekend.

The correct answer is that I saw a stranger's head looking down at a clip board.
Reaction: Hit the floor.

To all of you who has ever had the unfortunate experience of going door to door selling something - I apologize. I can be so brazen and ask for your forgiveness because I have been there and done that as well. I am usually quite nice to door to door salesman. There was the time when:
1. Someone wanting to sell me a magazine subscription so they could earn enough money to go home somewhere in the southern states to see his cute little kids (he showed me their pictures). He was sure that I would feel great if I buy his magazine subscription at 4x the normal subscription price. I offered him some water.

2. I was even nice to that nice man who came to my door and asked if my parents were in... as my husband came up behind me to see who was at the door. I told him my parents were out of town on a vacation.

3. This very afternoon someone came to my door wanting to show me how I could buy beef at a much cheaper price if he can just come in for 5 minutes. Despite the fact he had no business cards or any paper to show what he is selling, I told him very nicely he can still drop some off when he gets something to show what he is actually selling. Oh, I said no to him coming in to my house.

BTW, I didn't really tell that guy that my parents were on vacation. He was actually pretty embarrassed and just left quickly on his own. He either thought my parents WERE on vacation or that I was adopted.

But I digress. Anyhow, as I lie face down contemplating how ninja like I can crawl away from my front door without being caught I was cursing the many windows my front room has. After a few seconds I thought surly the sales person has left and the probability of me maintaining my cool image if I was to stand up and get caught hiding by the sofa. Just then, the door bell rang again. Drat! Does this mean the guy is peeking into my windows right now and can see me hiding? Too embarrassed to stand up even if I was caught I continue to admire the feel of my front room carpet. Maybe I should just take a nap, after all, doesn't everyone take a nap in their front room all the time?

"Who was that?" My mom popped out of no where by the front door and was just a bit surprised to see her daughter in a uh.. compromising position. I consider this compromising since it was quite hard to turn around on the floor in my pink polka dots pajamas and portray the image of a 30 year old mature adult. My mom was able to assure me that the salesman had left and was not peaking into the window determined to catch me in the act of hiding. She thought it would have been much easier if I just pretended I didn't understand English.

To my friends who are reading this: don't come ringing my door bell holding a clip board. Oh, don't hold a yard sale during a snow storm.

First Kiss

2008-12-28T20:44:00.000-08:00

One night while I was watching an Asian romance show I noticed a trend. There are a lot of accidental first kisses in Asian shows. Girl run through the corridor unable to stop and end up smacking into the cute guy (essential in a good romance show) right on the lip. Guy catches girl who is falling, goes off balance and end up kissing her on the lips. These scenes plays out quite frequently in Asian shows. Being the cynic I am, I thought to myself "Give me a break! Like that ever happens in real life." I sneer at the screen, feeling quite righteous in my refusal to be taken in by the unrealistic plot.

An long forgotten memory resurfaced in my mind and I lost my smile...

Being blissfully in love and awe struck of who my new boyfriend was I was eager to show what a great girlfriend I can be. Noticing a sink full of dirty dishes in my boyfriend's apartment I decided what better way to show my domestic side than doing dishes! Truth to be told this is my first real relationship. Oh, I have had other boyfriends before, but they were either long distance relationship or ones where I ended up being the girlfriend because I haven't mastered the "is not you, is me" rejection line. For the first time, I am in a relationship where I actually REALLY like the guy and he only lives 3 minutes from me!

This relationship is so new that we have not even shared the first kiss yet. I was determined to follow my mother's advise on how "a girl is never the first one to make the first move". I was unsure how my brand spanking new boyfriend would make his move, but I was positive I would NOT be the one to make the move. Oops, I am getting side tracked here. Back to the dishes.

I happily started to wash the dishes (I think that was the only time in my life happily and dishes appear in the same sentence for me... the power of love) while making sure I was presenting the picture of domestic bliss. The trapped prey, oops no, my new boyfriend falls right for my plan and started to utter the appropriate words such as "No, no you don't have to do that. You are so great for doing that for me." He was so touched he came up behind me to give me a hug. Feeling immensely satisfied with myself I flicked my hair and turned to give him the domestic goddess smile. SMACK! My face ran right into his face... and lips!

Yes, yes, I kissed him. I have forgotten this part, but the man who is sitting across from me reminded me that I was so angry that my lovely plan of waiting for him to make the first move had turned to ashes I punched him right after the incident that shall not be named. In fact, writing this long forgotten memory is making me quite ready to punch him again.

The moral of the story: Drama reflect life after all - sometimes.

Another bird story

2008-11-30T20:20:00.000-08:00

In response to some of the comments on my previous post I would like to share an experience.

It was a nice spring day out side of the duplex we were living in at the time. My husband feeling perhaps a bit romantic asked wouldn't it be nice if we went out to the back yard with a blanket and... books. Yes, books. Since I never turn down an opportunity to ignore my dishes and read I agreed. BUT, I expressed some hesitation on being outside in the "wild". What can I say, despite my desire to see myself as nature loving hike until you drop sort of girl I really am air conditioning sort of girl. My husband pointed out again on how nice the weather was so I decided to be adventurous and followed him out to the back yard with a blanket and novels.

As we were laying down the blanket under the tree I noticed there was a bird resting on one of the branches. Experiencing some trepidation I asked my husband if we would be in danger of getting( ... hmm... I really can't think of a better way to say this... ) pooped on. My all knowing and wise husband of two years, swiped aside my concern and I quote " that bird has better things to do than pooping on your head." Feeling some what assured and trusting my Eagle Scout husband I settled on the blanket to read. I was feeling great at this point. What a picturesque scene we must make! The sunshine! Reading with a cute guy under the tree! THIS is what marriage is all about. PLOP! Ahhh... it is raining! Wait, is it snowing in May? Why does this feel chunky and wet? Confused I try to figure out what was sliding from my head, into my hair, and over my glasses.

You probably could guess what happened later. My repentatent husband catpured the offending bird for our dinner that night and took me on a shopping spree to assure me that I am still the most beautiful woman despite having a bird pooped on my head. Oh, wait I remember now. The bird flew away after my husband threw his slipper at it. (He totally missed, so no bird was hurt in this experience.) We cut short our "outing" and I head stright for the shower. I don't think I was compensated in any way by my husband... yet! (I am still waiting on the shopping spree) Of course, whenever my husband start the sentence with "Trust me..." I say "Do you remember that time..." "When are you going to forget that?" "Um... Never?"

A Place to Rest

2008-11-23T20:11:00.000-08:00

So.... I was minding my own business one afternoon and all the sudden my mom started to yell for me to get the camera. I dash outside to my back yard armed with camera and I found this:
This pigeon must have been trained, because it was extremely comfortable with people. I was able to walk right next to it without it being nervous at all. In fact we had a bit of trouble convincing it to give up my dad's head as a resting place. Apparently, it just flew to my dad's shoulder then hop onto his head and decided to stay there.

Tag! I am it.

2008-11-16T16:27:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my friend Melanee I have been tagged quite a while back and thanks to my wonderful personality trait of procrastination it has taken me this long to respond.

7 random things about me:
1. I like colorful socks.
2. Despite going to 10 years worth of high school football games... I still can't understand it.
3. Rain = Nap
4. When I need to get a shot at the doctors, I like to be the first one to get it over with.
5. All my three cousins are like me - only child in their family.
6. I used to dislike chocolate when I was little.
7. I will always stop to read any menu posted outside of a restaurant.

How's that for random!

Long Lost Brother

2008-11-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

I am an only child, but I grew up with a brother. He is really my cousin who is one year older than me, but our family lived together under one household, so for all intent and purpose we were brother and sister. Instead of playing house, we had mock giant robot fights. I got in trouble when he got in trouble, since I always defended him. I myself of course never got in trouble being a perfect child and all that. When Chinese New Years come around and I got pocket money from my family, my cousin would spend all his in no time so I would spend some of mine to buy some more stuff for him.

My cousin was my knight in shining armor. He was the creative one who charged ahead to try new things (which often got us in trouble). He was the one who took my hands and bravely led me home when both of us got hopelessly lost in a market just two blocks up the street from our house. When I got hungry he would whip up who knows what to feed me. When the adults ask us to share some tasty treats he would let me have the last bite.

It has been 15 years since I have last seen him, and probably at least 20 years since we have spent any significant time together. Last night, I was able to meet him and his dad in SLC. I fretted some this last month since I wasn't sure what it would be like to see him again. I have childhood memories of him as a cousin whom I loved just as a brother. Yet, I know almost nothing about him as a teen and as an adult. Could I treat him like a brother or would he be a total stranger to me?

When I finally saw him, it was neither. He is not a child anymore, but a man. Yet he is not a total stranger either. It was and is an interesting feeling I am still trying to figure out. Because of their schedule we were only able to have a meal with my cousin and his dad, but it was a lot of fun. It was really nice to finally see my long lost brother.

Experienced Woman

2008-10-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

So, a few days ago was my... birthday. I said goodbye to the 20's and entered into the ... hmm... the number that comes after 2. As a birthday goes it was a great birthday. My husband actually did something this year. I got Rolos (chocolate candy) and a cell phone pouch from him. Yes, not the most romantic gifts, but considering the fact I didn't get him anything this year for his birthday, that was not bad at all. (I gave him cash instead of a gift.)

In a fit of self-esteem crisis with my birthday, I asked James if he is sad that he wouldn't be kissing a tewenty years old anymore. After 10 years of marriage training, he came up with the anwer " I will just be kissing a more experience woman." Not a bad answer, so I made dinner for the first time in a week and half.

Power of Love

2008-08-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

Saturday is the worst day to visit Costco. Parking is bad, the line is bad, and buying way too much stuff is bad. However, the food samples are always great on Saturdays. It keeps my two year old occupied and happy, which is in itself priceless.

As I was trying to keep my eyes peeled for food samples and avoid the crowds of people that keep putting themselves in my way I saw something so unexpected that I burst out laughing. James was quite taken aback, since I am just not the type of person to burst out laughing . Especially since I usually get frustrated in crowds.

This is what I saw: Two teenagers (at least they look like teens), holding hands. The girl held the boy's hand and was walking quite purposefully. The boy had one hand in the girl's and another hand was tolling one of those large long orange rollers with a twin bed on it. They were walking through Costco on a Saturday at 12:00 (which is the most crowded b/c that's when the food samples are out). The boy was not having an easy time with the cart since it was large thus awkward to maneuver with one hand not to mention the amount of traffic in his way. The young man had to do some impressive dodges with his cart, since the girl was obviously not going to let go of his other hand.

James suggested maybe the couple were buying a twin bed for their toddler. I have no theory why they needed a twin bed, but I highly doubted that a couple with a toddler would be as determined to hold hands when faced with... Costco.

I am not sure why this whole thing was so funny to me at that exact moment, except maybe I was remembering my own youthful love when every gesture was of vital importance. I guess once upon a time I might have been just as intent on hand holding as a symbol of love. Now, I am more focused on where to go find food samples. Hmm... I guess I was probably always focus on food samples.

Definitely, Maybe

2008-08-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

A divorced dad tells his daughter the story how he met her mom by recounting his relationship with three women.
I thought this was a cute story, but not one I would watch with your kids though.
This movie made me thought of how many people out there has the one or two people who they could've might've made a life with, but in the end there really is only the "one".

Speaking of "the one" I would be interested in knowing how many of you believe in the concept of "true love" = "the one and only".

Grow old with me

2008-08-21T15:27:00.000-07:00

I went to a cake class a while ago in my ward and learned some nifty tricks. When my sister-in-law had a wedding shower I volunteered to make a cake. She didn't need a cake, but I wanted a chance to spend way too much money on cake supplies.

The most romantic thing in the world to me has always been the image of two people sitting on the swing at the twilight of their life talking about all they have shared together. That was how I came up with the idea for the bride and groom sitting on swing. The swing actually swings on the cake if you do it very carefully.

I learned...

2008-08-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

I didn't name my blog. Just like I didn't plan my own wedding reception (didn't even know what it would look like until I walked in on my wedding day) I have learned to rely on more creative people around me when I ... choke on important events in my life.

My very creative friend Erin named this blog for me. I took it as a compliment. I learned something today that gave me cause to question her motive for naming this blog the name she did. Ninja in mortgage industry means = No Income No Job or Assets.

Lesson: Don't let people who know you too well name your blog. But despite that Erin, thanks for creating this blog in the amount of time it took me to eat a dozen M&Ms.

Warning!

2008-08-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

I did not realize that if you get a new blog AND not post on it you get a warning from blogger. Actually, they thought I was a spammer, since I have a few blog links and no posts. I am typing this post to tell them that I am NOT a spammer. Nope, truly, I am a real person. Really. I hope this is not like saying "I am not crazy." Because I am not crazy either. Most of the time.

I am Judy and I roar like a Chinese Dragon

2008-08-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

ROAR!

Now do you like my blog?