Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!



Happy Halloween! 



Tootles!

Packing

I'm packing.

Luggage that is.

I've never packed for a long trip, out of the country, with a kid in tow before.  And I'm not a little nervous about air-time with a 10 month old.  Who likes to move.  A lot.  I'm coming up with a couple ideas.  One involves feigning an illness so perhaps 'The Man' will have to deal with it the whole way.  The other is perhaps a heavy dose of sedative.  I haven't decided yet who gets it.  Me, or, 'The Kid'.

We leave in a few days.  So far I have packed one bag filled solely with food stuffs.  I think I have bag-packing-stage fright.  I do better under pressure.  Which means I will be scrambling Thursday afternoon.

Speaking of procrastination.  'The Man' and I are doing last minute Dr. visits.  I roll my eyes at my stupidity.

This may be the last post until we return.  So, I leave you with a little ditty a la 'luggage problem'.



May you live to be a thousand!

Tootles!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Countdown Malaysia Part II

My Father-in-law is so great!!!  He kindly gave some explanations to some things I brought up in my last post that I couldn't remember the names of.

He says....

This is a cool blog (naturally) and we enjoyed reading all the happenings with the Chan family. The name of the restaurant is called Summer Palace where we had our dinner.
The special dish we had is called "Loh Sang" in Cantonese dialect and it is only available during the Chinese New Year period. The significance of this dish is for those people who are tossing and mixing the many ingredients is to bring good health, good luck and prosperity. We are looking forward to the homecoming of the Man, the Lady and the New Kid in Town!!!See you all soon!Love Grandpa & Grandma


Loh Sang is REALLY REALLY good by the way.  (And I'm pretty sure it's healthy.  Bonus!).  Generally I don't like ginger, but this was fantastic!  

(I have a video.  It's really cool.  I'm still trying to figure out how to upload it without taking and eternity).

Maybe it's because we tossed our food around.  Who doesn't like to play with their food?   Visiting Malaysia during the Chinese New Year has got to be one of the best times to go.


Watching this video again has made me all nostalgic.  I miss these people!  And I had such a good time with all of them.  


And I may even be brave enough to try this:



Three guesses as to what it is.  



And then there's Roti Canai (not sure if that's spelled right).  My favorite.  Most likely because it was a bread product.  



It's like a sweet tortilla, but hardier.  And there's some dishes you dip it with.  The one I liked the best was some kind of potato-soupy/saucy stuff.  Yum!  The other dipping choices were, as I was warned, beyond my spice-tolerance level.  Bummer.  They looked good.  

Actually, if you want to get technical, there were/are two types of roti.  One made flat and plain like I had and one that is cooked with an egg in it.  (Brian, the one with the orange shirt, had that one...it also looked yummy).

Being American and brainwashed, it was interesting to see that in Malaysia, there's really no such thing as 'breakfast'.  Or even desserts.  They have these colorful tapioca type 'cake' squares that they get as 'treats' but those weren't all that great.  Again.  American.  If there's not a pound of sugar in it then it's not a dessert.

This was dinner one evening.  Very good.  LOTS of food.  I was a little intimidated by the shrimp.  I'm used to my meat not looking like it did two seconds before it died.  I'm not brave!!  Anyway.  I thought this place was an interesting venue.  We drove around a residential area to get to it.  It looked like an open car-port area with tables and chairs with Ma and Pa cooking in the back.  So cool!





Tootles!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Carrier Monkeys

My brother and his wife went to Hawaii for the week.  Their two youngest came to stay.  And they loving left us with.....the FLU!!!  Yay!

So far I'm the only un-infected one.  I'm guessing that it will rear it's ugly head while I'm on vacation.  Fun!  I'm hoping that by washing my hands constantly I'll just get lucky.  Ya.  We'll see.

The worst is seeing 'The Kid' sick.  Poor thing can't breath AND he doesn't know how to blow his nose yet.  So I get the fun job of following him around all day wiping.  And wiping.  And wiping.  

These are the culprits:





Actually, after the initial first day horrible-ness of them being left here by their parents, they were pretty decent.  

The MB might have other things to say.  (Ask her about the poop).  






I braved taking the two to the zoo.  I had a friend come in to town to visit (poor thing).  I think my friend and I were more excited about the zoo then they were.  Geez!  Tough crowd!


                                       


Best part of the zoo....the baby otters!  And there were tons of them running around.

I think the two terrors even graced them with a few seconds of cognitive recognition.


Scary part of the zoo....the spider.  

Uncaged.  

Most likely feeds on unsuspecting humans.  Ew!  I hate spiders!!!



But I am proud of myself, or maybe just my camera, that it captured his cool web though.  Neat!


The MB took the two to the airport to meet up with the owners.  Unfortunately the flu clouded her judgement.  She packed the kids up at 5 a.m.  Then came home.  With the two.  And went back at 5 p.m. to try that again.  Poor thing.  

But all is now well with the world.  Families are now complete.  And, I even scored some Hawaiian goodies.  Thanks guys!  



Tootles!


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Countdown Malaysia!

I really really really can't wait to see Grandma and Grandpa!!!  

I was going through pictures to find one for this post and am sad to say I have so few pictures of them!!! (But this will all change of course).

These were taken during the Chinese New Year in Malaysia.  Don't ask me where.  I wouldn't be able to pronounce it anyway.  But we had some SERIOUSLY AMAZING FOOD!!!  I'm looking forward to the food too!  And because I'll be traveling without the stress of 'meeting the family' I might be able to digest properly this time.  Yippee!

Father and Mother In Law

Traditional chinese dish...named???


So, I added a countdown gadget.  Or widget.  Clearly I'm not tech savvy.  And I apologize for the goofy looking thing too.  I couldn't find a sleek, pretty countdown!!!  Oh well.


I can't wait for the grandparents to finally meet their first grandchild!  And all of the aunts and uncles and cousins as well.  Many kisses and hugs and good food to go around.  I can't imagine what a reunion this will be.  We get to go to Epoh too, which I've heard so much about.  I can't wait.  Have I mentioned that yet??

So...

Let the countdown begin!

Tootles!



Connected

I hate to think of myself as technology dependent but, OY, I hate not having internet.

The parentals internet was down.

Again.

I swear they've got to have the world's worst computer karma.

I took the MB to the Apple store.

I'm trying my durndest to convince her that buying a Mac is a good idea.  Never mind that price tag.  It's so stream lined.  So tidy.  So....portable. And not to mention I love having just ONE CORD.

I have this habit where, if there is anything, a project or what-have-you, that, if it becomes a complete wreck, I toss it out and start from scratch. 

So you can imagine what goes through my head when I see things like this:



Yes.  The printer does work. 


 But what I still don't get is the switch-board thingy-ma-bob.   



Here,
look closer....



What the....?



And of course the CPU.  Thingy.  Is that what it's called?  I think the CPU has had a couple of little babies.  The MB's office is a great place for many things to produce spawn.  The post-it's have the same problem.




Anyway!  


How could she NOT want to go from that to.....




THIS!!!!




Oh, the heart sings!

Tootles.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Beat the Heat

I had a funny feeling that October we would see some heat.  (The summer was hit and miss with good weather).   It's made for some great beach weather.  And in October.  Hee hee.  (Sorry for those you are already pulling out the scarves and sweaters.  Kind of).

I like to capitalize on beach-going when it's not cold/windy.  (I love the beach and all, but, I hate sand blowing in my face and wearing a bathing suit when the breezes feel somewhere in the vicinity of 50 degrees).  And when it's really hot I know it'll be great at the beach.

Grandma must've been feeling rather beachy as well.  Tuesday's are the MB's day to take her mother shopping.  Usually Grandma likes to do her shopping and then go straight home.  But this Tuesday she actually suggested to her daughter that they pick up the granddaughter (that's me) and her great-grandson (that's 'The Kid'), pick up some sandwiches and go to the beach.  (Did you follow all that?).

I didn't have to be asked twice.

In N Out was suggested but man, I can't hack that stuff, it's nasty.  (I prefer the Habit, they have a nice veggie burger too).

Since we're going to be at the beach though, we might as well go to Andria's. 



The place doesn't look like much on the inside, but as experience has shown me, a lot of the really great eats look live dives. They've got great fish n' chips.  (And clam chowder).  I try not to think about how much grease those bad boy's are fried in.  They're so good!  Actually, for Andria's Traditional Fish N Chips they use shark.  But you can get it in Cod or Halibut or Scallops or Shrimp or...  Oh, and they have some GINORMOUS onion rings.  Ohhhh man.  Imma hungry!  Mmmm.  Go.  Eat.  Enjoy.  



Here's us:


I was coming back with the food and the MB and Grandma were busy chatting while 'The Kid' was waaaaay over there.  Nice job guys.  



Erg!  So scrumptious!

Tootles!


Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Say 'No' to Crack

A couple weeks ago I mentioned SAD FACE bread.  I hate SAD FACE bread.  SAD FACE bread is no bueno!

But, HAPPY FACE bread came for a visit last week.


Well, mostly HAPPY.

Looks good from here, right?





 
How about here?


What the...?





The book that I use shows beautiful pictures of these cottage loaves of succulent goodness.



I realize the food stylist is using specimens most worthy of a photo, but still!   

I get 'crackage' every time.

I don't see where there's a Trouble Shooting section for 'round-loaf-crackage'.

I'm thinking about using loaf pans from now on.  Plus, it's an excuse to go buy something cute for the kitchen. Doesn't cooking seem so much more pleasant and fun to do when you have good looking kitchen-ware??  (The MB would disagree, but, we're not listening!)

I swear I'm going to lick this bread-making challenge.  In search of the world's easiest and yummiest bread recipe.

Tootles.



Monday, October 10, 2011

Eye Candy

'The Man' took me to the Tim Burton exhibit over the weekend.  I am in love.  Last Christmas 'The Man' gave me Burton's collection of art/sketches book.  (Did I mention how much I love my husband?).  Actually seeing the art/sketches/paraphernalia was a real experience.  A very intimate look into this man's creative mind.

'The Man' is so sweet.  He even let me get some prints.  Like this one:

Romeo and Juliet

I thought this was so cute.  In a very strange, quirky kind of way.  I think this is how I'd like to picture my husband and I from now on.  Hairy and scaly.  But oh-so in love.   

Actually, the picture above doesn't show the whole view.  



Here's a picture of the print I took home:

  
Sorry the lightings poopy but, you get the idea.



I tried taking covert pictures while going through the exhibit but the only one that came out was the entrance.  Which is still pretty darn neat.  Who doesn't love walking through crazy-clown-of-death opening??



Interesting things I saw at the exhibit include:


  • (possibly my favorite) Detached heads of Pierce Brosnan and Sarah-Jessica Parker (from Mars Attacks!)
  • Edward Scissorhands hand.  Or Scissor-hand rather.
  • Nightmare Before Christmas claymation dolls (swoon)
  • Catwoman's outfit (worn by Michelle Pfieffer) that looks like it's seen better days.  And I never realized how extremely tiny that woman is.  Those high-heeled boots did a lot for her.
  • sketches galore!  Of which I enjoyed the numbers 1-10.  I asked 'The Man' if having the print of that would be too morbid for 'The Kid's' room.  He said 'no', so we brought that home with us too.


Thanks LACMA!



And one last picture....

Urban Lights installation

Aww.  So precious.

I never realized how much of a bummer it is to not have two of me.  Or an on-hand camera man.  Everywhere we go now as a family one of the parents is missing from pictures.  I refuse to be that person who carries around a ginormous tripod.  Hm.

Tootles.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Deja Vu

'The Man' and I have been talking Christmas shopping lately.  Already.  I know!  And by the MB's standard that's WAY late.

We want to get 'The Kid' some blocks.  We (I) are going for 'learning' toys for our kids.  Little to no plastic toys is the goal.  Especially ones that make noise.  I realize this is our first child and recognize that we've got 'dreams' that may go out the window later on.  (Ah...the idealism of the new parents).

Blocks!  I was talking about blocks!

About a year ago I saw these dreamy blocks on the MOMA web-site.  I've been in love ever since.  And I'm secretly jealous that I saw these on a popular blog as well.  Blast it!  I thought I was so cool for having found these unique blocks.  It was my little secret.  I know.  I'm lame.  But here they are:

Alexander Gerard.



Aren't they beautiful??


And because I LOVE these blocks, they, naturally, are expensive.  I want them for myself.  And I don't feel right about my kid, much as I love him, drooling (etc.) on a set of $120 blocks.  Sigh.



Oddly enough, since I've had these on my mind, I'm seeing some similarities in other things I come across.  Perhaps there's a pattern here, eh?

Like Mary Blair.  Love.

Every trip to Disneyland I realize just how much I love the outside of this ride.  Thanks Mary.




And today I found this guy.  



And he's pretty dang cool too.  



One more and I swear I'll stop!

Found this guy a couple years ago.  And anyone who wants to buy me a print for Christmas is more than welcome.

Matte Stevens...drool.






Am I crazy or am I really seeing some major similarities here?  Or maybe I've finally tapped into an actual style I like.  (gasp) 


It's amazing what a simple 'Christmas shopping' conversation does to my brain.  Happy art-ness! 




Tootles!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

What's this?! What's this?!

Did you see that?  Reference to Nightmare Before Christmas??  Get it?

Moving on.

Since living at the parentals presents many day-to-day oddities, I thought I'd mention this one.  And because it's just too easy to make fun of them.  Especially my mother.  She must've been feeling that Halloween spirit (pun, ya?) today because, well...oh I'll just SHOW you.





Aw....precious.


Let's get a closer look shall we?






AHHHHHHH!


Oh no poor Joe!  He has no.....??  EYES!

And she's got three bags and one box more to go on holiday decor.  What horrors await us???


Tootles.

ps

Today is HAPPY FACE BREAD day.  This one involves yeast.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Mushroom, mushroom

Recently I ate a Portobello burger at the Getty Villa.  I was being brave.  I've eaten at the Villa before to great success.  They are by no means Michelin Star chefs, (not that I would have any experience with that...wish!) but they've got some good food.  

Two words:       Not.  Good.

I laid off the mushrooms for awhile.  

A couple weeks ago I braved the mighty mushroom again.  But I left it in my own hands.  I'm the only one I trust.   And if I may be so bold as to say, it was a VERY tasty mushroom sauce.   For the cod I brought home.  (Frozen.  I don't fish).  If anyone's interested you can find the recipe here.  I substituted the vermouth for white wine and it turned out just fine.  More than excellent.  So there.   

So I'm feeling oddly pro-mushroom. 

The parentals have an alarmingly large crop of 'wild' mushrooms growing in their yard.  It seems such a wasted shame.  They look so harmless.  I wish I knew more about mushrooms.  But even if I knew a lot about mushrooms...I still wouldn't be brave enough to harvest and EAT them.  I might die.  Dying is bad.  Besides, I prefer to purchase mushrooms at the store.  It seems oddly safer.  Even though I have no idea where in the world they actually come from.  Or how they grow.  And that I'm trusting in complete strangers to supply me with a FUNGUS.

Here's a sample of the lovely ladies:






And in honor of the mushroom topic...a little re-visit to some days gone by.  I think of this song whenever I handle mushrooms.  Happy times.



Tootles.

Monday, October 3, 2011

It's a world of laughter



For someone who can't stand being in the same isle with other shoppers at the super market, you'd think that going to Disneyland would be more than frustrating.

It is.  

But every year on Labor Day, the husband and I (and sometimes the Parentals), subject ourselves to a little Disneyland mayhem.  My parents used to take us kids every year on Labor Day.  It's now programmed into my psyche.  I LOVE DISNEYLAND.   

This year was the first time we took 'The Kid'.  

(Actually, he's been twice now.  But it seems like the first visit didn't count because...it wasn't Labor Day.  Weird.  I know).  

'The Kid's' first trip looked something like this:



And this:





'The Kid' was 3 months old.  'The Man' and I had a hankering to go.  How I had the energy is beyond me and for some reason 'The Kid' was mostly interested in the light fixtures on Main Street. 




The second trip was a little more interactive.  And my Parentals came along.  

It was extremely hot that day.  Lots of people.  More than usual for Labor Day.  Anyway.  We went on the new Little Mermaid ride.  LAME.  On so many levels.  

And strange.  

For instance: 





Is that a Frostee's Freeze on Ariel's head?  And even stranger was in real-time her 'hair' would bounce and wiggle to the music.  Odd.



But 'The Kid' was fascinated.

 And that's all that matters.

Tootles!