Today at Costco I saw that they offer a selection of magazines at 30% off the cover price. Some of the ones that caught my eye are InStyle, Real Simple, and Cooking Light. Now, I did not buy any, mind you. See, that would feed into the magazine addiction that I have (as well as the rest of my immediate family).

Here is a list of magazines that I have subscribed to in my life:

Highlights
Ranger Rick
Cricket
Penny Power (Consumer Reports for kids)
Brio
Alf (I’m not kidding, but it was just because the original magazine I ordered, Muppets, was discontinued before I received even one issue)
Seventeen
InStyle
Glamour
Allure
Shape
Self
Marie Claire
Jane (only b/c it was free)
Vogue
Lucky
Cooking Light
Gourmet
Bon Appetit
Better Homes & Gardens
Budget Living
Sunset*
Audrey*
Domino*
Los Angeles Magazine*

*Currently subscribe

I’m sure there’s more, but those are the ones I can think off the top of my head. Of course, this does not include all of the magazines that D, my parents and sister subscribe(d) to, which we swap on a regular basis. I don’t think that web ‘zines will ever fully replace regular mags–there’s just something about the feel of a new magazine, with the fun new ads and glossy pages that cannot be replicated.

It is a rare occasion that D and I go out on a weekday night. We made an exception last night, however, to join fellow YAGgers in welcoming ebidebbie home. She likes Thai food, so we met up at Thai Nakorn, which is close to WPC, on Garden Grove Blvd. This restaurant passes the previously mentioned authenticity test (there were a lot of what seemed to be Thai people). D and I had been once before and I must say it is delish. We ordered family-style and there was lots of food. D was happy to have the yellow curry (he claims I always make us order panang, not true). Of course, there was the requisite pad thai and chicken satay. I also really like the pad see ew (I think my littlest sis would like this–think Thai chow fun) although it is not listed by that name. I believe it is described as rice noodles with broccoli and chicken, or something). We also had a fried fish appetizer and something that looked like beef jerky. Oh yeah, there was also a beef salad and spicy soup. D can’t believe I never ate Thai food until I was in college. What can I say–I was missing out! Anyways, we’re glad that ebidebbie is back in the States! 🙂

Top North American Destinations

City Travel – Urban Cities
1 New York, NY Y
2 San Francisco, CA Y
3 Chicago, IL Y
4 Boston, MA Y
5 Vancouver, BC Y
6 Washington D.C. Y
7 Seattle, WA Y
8 Montreal, QB N
9 New Orleans, LA N
10 Los Angeles, CA Y
City Travel – Beach Cities
1 Honolulu, HI Y
2 San Diego, CA Y
3 Miami, FL N
4 San Juan, PR N
5 Puerta Vallarta, Mexico Y

Adventure Travel – National Parks
1 Yosemite, CA Y
2 Grand Canyon, AZ Y
3 Yellowstone WY Y
4 Banff, AB N
5 Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica Y
Adventure Travel – Skiing
1 Whistler Blackcomb, BC Y
2 Snowbird / Alta, UT Y
3 Vail, CO N
4 Mammoth, CA N
5 Squaw Valley, CA Y
Adventure Travel – Islands
1 Maui, HI Y
2 Big Island, HI Y
3 Kauai, HI N
4 U.S. Virgin Islands: St. John N
5 Bahamas: Harbour Island N

Top California Weekend Trips
Northern
Carmel By-The-Sea
Napa
Southern
Laguna Beach
Palm Springs

Top Overseas Destinations I Have Visited
Europe
Paris, France
Zermatt, Switzerland
Asia
Hong Kong, China
Phuket, Thailand

Some people say that you can tell a good Asian restaurant by the number of Asian people dining there, i.e. the more the better. Well, if that is true, the Japanese restaurant we went to last night wasn’t very good. We went to a place called Agasse in Cypress. (I have never seen so many Caucasians in a Japanese restaurant before in my life!) D liked his rainbow roll well enough (the most raw fish he has ever eaten, according to him) but I thought my beef teryiaki was pretty mediocre. Both of our dinners came with a mini scoop of green tea ice cream, so that was nice. I actually like the beef bowl at Flame Broiler better (which is under $5!)
D wanted me to take a picture of the rainbow bowl but I didn’t have my camera. So instead, here is a picture of the chicken/veggie bowl at Flame Broiler. This is the second year in a row we ate at a Japanese restaurant before going to Good Friday service…maybe it will become a tradition?

Here is my attempt at spring decorating: little peeps on our mantle. We have also been doming some spring cleaning around here.

It doesn’t really feel like Spring yet even though we pushed the clocks back an hour. This past weekend I was able to brunch with some of my high school friends, D got a drug test for his new job, I picked out new eyeglass frames, and we bought a Costco membership. We also hung out with my fam so that the guys could watch the UCLA game on my parents’ big screen while the girls talked. It’s funny how it’s more evenly split now. For a long time, my Dad faced a 4:1 female to male ratio.
Yesterday D & I cooked a nice “Spring dinner” together: salmon (D), asparagus (L) and rice (D). The picture is of a cute “twinkie chick” my Mom made.

Sports Analysts had the Big Ten as the best conference along with the Big East. The Big Ten had the highest RPI, and the Big East was 2nd. However the Big Ten had 0 of 6 get to the Sweet 16!. Regarding the Pac-10, the analysts had as one of the worst conferences (along with the SEC & Big 12); they had the worst RPI. However they had 2 of 4 get to the Sweet Sixteen. We’ll see how far they go and if any get to the Final Four.

I rest my case counselor!

Yesterday D & I had two very different social functions to attend. The first was the Leu’s First Annual Spring BBQ in Irvine. We had some good meat (chicken, beef and sausage) and D was able to get some marathon-running tips. I brought inari and chocolate peanut butter rice krispy treats (which I saw on Good Deal with Dave Lieberman). D felt kind of old there b/c a handful of the guests were still in college.

Afterward we spent a couple of hours at the Spectrum. We hung out Barnes and I eavesdropped on a table of 10-year old girls talking about how Caramel Light Frappucinos are so good and that their favorite places to shop are Abercrombie & Fitch, Bebe, Nordstrom and Forever 21…hmm…

Then, we went to Mission Viejo to have a Mexican food dinner at one of D’s MBA friends’ house. It seemed like everyone was a few years older and the vast majority brought their babies/toddlers (the oldest being 4). So, we went from feeling old to feeling young, never quite fitting in. As you get older, the age range of people you hang out with seems to grow. For me, all the way up to college I had few friends who were more than a year above or below me. Anyway, all in all it was a fun day.

That is my non-ambitious goal for the race I entered in this past Sunday. I am planning on running a half-marathon in Anaheim in September. You have to finish the race in 3.5 hours and if you don’t keep that pace a truck comes and drives you to the end! That is motivation enough to finish faster than that pace. I decided 3 hours is a good round number. That is over a 13 minute pace, which seems slow, however after 5 miles I am not too sure if that will feel slow.

Being a financial analyst I created a Excel spreadsheet which shows the progress I need to make per week. In addition, it shows the treadmill level I will use in my training. I think I am going to try to maintain a 13 minute pace throughout my training and just increase my distance run. Yesterday I ran 3 miles in 36.5 minutes. Not very good, but not bad for my 3rd day of training.

I joined 24 hour fitness in July of 2005, I believe. I have been working out i.e. swimming, spin, resistance training, row, & eliptical mainly, on a regular basis. However, when I do cardio besides the cycle class and swimming I usually just do 15 minutes. That is not nearly enough to help me get ready for a half-marathon. So I know I need to train hard. I will also turn 30, 2 days after the race, so I better do it now. I am excited to have a goal to work toward.

On Sat. D and I had a “date night” that consisted of dinner at Volcano Burger, jazz concert at my old high school and Starbucks. D had never been to Volcano Burger, so since it is right across from LAHS, I thought it would be a good time for him to try it. For those of you who don’t know, Volcano Burger:LAHS::Peach Pit:BH 90210. Heh.

After freezing outside in line, we watched the middle school band, LAHS Jazz I and The Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band. I was impressed with the middle school…watch out for them in a few years. They played charts from the same composers that we used to use…Bill Liston, Tom Kubis, etc. Ah, the memories. It was good to see Mr. Wackerman teaching for his 49th year–amazing! The GGBPB was enjoyable. They all seemed to really love what they were doing. They played a nice range of music, and even poked fun at their all-white-male-ness by playing their own arrangement of “Play That Funky Music White Boy”.

The concert ended at around 7:30 and the night was still young so we went to the Cypress Starbucks and shared a grande Marble Mocha Macchiato. We saw all these Asian kids studying and it made me glad to be past that stage of my life.