Living An Intentional Life
Now that I am on maternity leave, I am determined to get our home in order. Unfortunately, you can’t really see the results yet. Sometimes you have to make a mess in order to create order. One “instant” result was putting a stretch slipcover from Target on our hand-me-down couch, which my mom suggested. It looks pretty good when you tuck it in, but you must be diligent about re-tucking.
Old Couch
Our “New” Couch. Some nice throw pillows would be nice, don’t you think?
Today I finished my first full marathon. After doing three half marathons with my last one under two hours, I decided to try a full. Well, I got a personal best. =) That’s a joke because it was my first so of course I set a personal best assuming I finished.
I barely attained my goal of running at a 10 minute pace. 4 hours, 21 minutes and 19 seconds. 4 hours and 22 minutes is 10 minute pace. I didn’t start cramping until mile 18 or 19 (ususally I start at about mile 15) and I didn’t feel light headed until about mile 21 or 22. That was when I was doubting I could finish it in under 10 minute pace. However with God’s grace, I was able to finish it with some blood, sweat and a potty break. And I am not joking about the blood. Ask me about it sometime.
Not too sure if I ever want to run another full marathon again. We’ll see.
Anyway, I just ate a western bacon cheeseburger and I am going to eat a philly cheesesteak soon!
(Yes, I know fortune cookies aren’t really Chinese.)
Last week D and I took a “refresher” course at the hospital. There were only two other couples in the class, plus two nursing students who were there to participate/observe. The other two couples both already had a daughter that is around two years old, just like us, AND they are both expecting boys this time around, like us. We had the same teacher as we did the first time. This course was only 4 hours, compared to the 8 hour course we took before. We were supposed to watch some graphic videos again, and again, I averted my eyes. Watching a caesarean birth just does not seem necessary to me. It was good, however, to review the breathing/coping with the pain techniques since we didn’t really get a chance to put them to use last time. Going through the class brought back lots of memories, both pleasant and not so pleasant. It is difficult to believe that we will be going through the whole experience again in such a short period of time. Meanwhile, I’m trying to finish up work and starting to go into nesting mode.
The Obama inauguration made me think if anyone connected to Berkeley and Indiana was in the Cabinet or Executive Office of the President in the last 10 years. Here is what my research found…
Norman Mineta (UCB B.S. ’53)
Secretary of Commerce (2000-2001)
Secretary of Transporation (2001-2009)
Steven Chu (UCB Ph.D. ’76)
Secretary of Energy (2009 – Present)
Christina Romer (1988 – 2009 UCB Professor)
Chariman, Council of Economic Advisors (2009-Present)
Paul O’Neill (IU M.P.A. ’66)
Secretary of the Treasury (2001-2002)
Rod Paige (IU M.A. ’64, Ed.D. ’69)
Secretary of Education (2001-2005)
Robert Gates (IU M.A. ’66)
Secretary of Defense (2006-Present)
An interesting fact is that there have been only three Asian Americans that have served in a Cabinet and two are Cal alumni. The third is Elaine Chao.
Visiting the Queen Mary was one of those touristy things that I have never done, even though I have spent most of my life in Southern California. So, when I saw that California residents could take a self-guided tour for free this month, I thought it would be a good opportunity.
When we pulled up in the parking lot, the Queen Mary loomed before us. It was so large, D said it looked fake. k was impressed, too. It’s hard to believe that something that size could float on water. Truly an engineering marvel.
First we went to the museum display and engine room. The inner workings of the boat were so complicated and impressive! Since we didn’t know too much of the history behind the Queen Mary, we stopped to read some of the displays. We probably would’ve learned a lot more by taking a tour, but I don’t think k would have been up for it, plus we didn’t want to pay extra (parking already was $12!).
Afterward we climbed LOTS of stairs to view the upper decks. The escalators were not working…not cool, especially when one of you is eight months pregnant, and the other has to carry a 29 lb. child.
It was nice to enjoy the views of the Long Beach skyline.
Our “foodie” stop of the day was on the Promenade deck at a place called Land of Fruits and Nuts.* We tried their specialty shake, the California Split, which had dried pineapple, banana chips, strawberries, and chocolate. The dried fruit was definitely unique, but it was expensive for what you get.
*Incidentally, this is how people referred to California when D was in Indiana.
Visiting the Queen Mary has reawakened D’s desire to go on a cruise, something neither of us has done before. One day, D, one day.
To kick off our three day weekend we went to the Asian American Expo in Pomona. The only reason we went was because D was able to get free tickets from work since Mazda was a sponsor. 
According to the website, they expected 100,000 attendees over the weekend–crazy! I’m not sure if they hit their estimate, but it was certainly crowded when we arrived at 11 a.m. Our first stop was the food pavillion, of course. There were free samples of soy milk, instant noodles, various crackers/cookies, and coffee/tea. We ended up buying a couple of boxes of soy milk and two jars of Kikkoman sauces for $1 each. It would have been more enjoyable if it wasn’t so difficult to get through the crowds of people with a stroller.
Afterward we bought lunch at a couple of stalls outside. We didn’t know where to go, but I guess we should’ve just stuck with the places with the long lines. A lot of the signage was in Chinese, so it was kind of difficult figuring out what to get. One thing that grossed us out was the “octopus on a stick” we saw people walking around with. Too bad I didn’t get a picture of that.
D took k to look at the elephant rides. 
Then we went to the other halls where there were various vendors: steam irons; all- you-can-catch goldfish, $1/minute; beauty products; black fermented garlic and ginseng, etc. One of the samples we brought home was a full size can of white gourd juice and black soy milk…interesting.
Mazda had a display with the 3 and the 6. One of the Mazda dealers (Alhambra, I think), was giving out free tote bags with a Mazda car shade, red envelopes, and a calendar (all with Chinese writing on them). That was probably our best freebie of the day.
The highlight of k’s day was the frozen lemoande we had for dessert. She kept on smiling and saying “Sour!” after each bite.
We were able to listen to various bands, including a high school jazz band and a worship band from a Chinese Christian church while we ate outside.
I’m glad we checked the expo out, but we probably won’t go again anytime soon. It was a bit “too Asian” for us, if you know what I mean.
On Saturday we went to a birthday party for a girl that was born just five days after k. (Coincidentally, we were also married within a week of the girl’s parents). The theme was Finding Nemo. There were hot dog octopuses, fish sticks, and sushi.
Birthday girl & Grandma
Look at that Nemo cake! We didn’t get to try it, though, since we left right after the singing.
My sister’s birthday was also Saturday, but since she spent the day at Disneyland, we celebrated on Sunday. We had lunch at Gyu-Kaku, followed by strawberry cake from 85 Degrees Celcius Bakery at my parents’ house.
We ended up ordering the “Samurai” lunch for 5-6 plus two “Meat Lovers” lunch specials for the 8 of us (plus k). However, one “Meat Lovers” would probably have been enough since we had leftovers. (We just cooked the extra meat and brought it home). Note that they don’t offer the “Gold Platter” on Sundays, contrary to what the website said at the time.
I enjoyed the strawberry cream filling inside the rolled cake. I guess D and I have to make a trip down to Irvine to try their other goodies.
Sigh…our vacation is over. It was nice having a break from our routine. Actually, D had to work all day Friday, and part of Saturday, so maybe the transition will be easier for him. 🙂
New Year’s Eve/Day were pretty uneventful for us. Lots of good food, of course. We slept over at my parents’ house. D was feeling under the weather, so we ended up watching the crazy stuntmen in Vegas, watching the east coast midnight celebration, and called it a night. I think it was the earliest I went to sleep on a New Year’s Eve since I was a kid. However, I was able to keep up my tradition of making a lot of cards with all of my moms’ craft supplies for the upcoming year. 
k ended up spending the whole day in her pjs! Happy 2009!
Saturday afternoon we went to a birthday party for k’s favorite one year old. (She even named her baby doll after her). The guest of honor likes noodles, so they set up a ramen bar…so yummy. Put some noodles in a bowl, add broth (just a little for k), then add sprouts, green onions, char siu, dumplings, and hard boiled egg to your heart’s content. I think I see a restaurant concept here. There was also beef curry and rice.
Look at the size of that cake! It was from a Chinese bakery, though, so it wasn’t too heavy.
D and I decided to celebrate New Year’s Eve a little early and went out to the Melting Pot in Irvine last night. Our leisurely meal took about two hours and a quarter hours! It was the first time having fondue in a restaurant for both of us, and it was fun. I didn’t think D would enjoy cooking his own entree, but he got into it. His stopwatch actually came in handy to keep track of the recommended two minute cooking time. It was a good thing that we were able to leave k with my parents, because bubbling pots of chocolate, broth, and cheese and a two year old would not have been a good combination.
We ordered the Wisconsin Trio cheese fondue, California salad/House salad (comes with the entrees), French Quarter/Shrimp & Sirloin entrees, and Flaming Turtle chocolate fondue. We were able to pace ourselves, making sure to save room for dessert! The cheese fondue came with bread chunks, granny smith apples slices and carrots/cauliflower. Although the busboy wanted to take everything away when we were done with the cheese, I asked if we could keep the bread and apples. That was nice, because we were able to have a little more bread with our entrees (it’s hard for me to eat meat without some carbos!) and finish the apples with the chocolate.
Even though we used our Entertainment Card (1 free entree), it was a bit spendy, but it was a meal we’ll remember for a long time. We were able to discuss our goals for 2009 and reflect a little…it was nice having a nice private booth towards the back. It was also funny overhearing the couple next to us swearing at their bubbling pot of oil (one of the entree cooking options). I thought they were going to start a grease fire!
