Gravity

Because I am in that kind of mood...

So Happy Together...



This is what happens when you've got two people completely unmotivated at work.



A Stroll Down Memory Lane

My Dad turns 60 this year, so I wanted to do something special for him.  Growing up in a traditional Asian household, we have always been unexpressive and taught that it is implied that we love and appreciate one another through hard work such as making a living, getting good grades, etc...  As I grew up, I've learned that sometimes it's nice to hear someone tell you that they care about you or appreciate you.  I know my Dad.  He loves his family so much and he "just knows" that we all appreciate him, but I have decided that "just knowing" isn't good enough anymore, at least not for me for him.

I'm putting together a scrapbook for him this year and the pages will be filled with memories from our childhood to present day.  The pages will be embedded with photos alongside different topics, such as, "Favorite Childhood Memory" or "What I Admire Most" or "My Birthday Wish To You" where my brothers and sister and I will be filling in the blanks with stories of our own about our Dad.  We've been digging through old photo albums and pulling some of our favorite photos.  Here are some to share!

21,000 Calories At Last!

Yes, I have been obssessed with calorie counting over the past 4 months to the point where I would get cranky probably because I wasn't getting the nutrients or food my body needed.  My extensive research told me that for every 3,500 calories you burn above what you eat, you lose one pound and for every 6-7 pounds you lose, you lose approximately one inch off your waist.  When I tried on a pair of pants I purchased about 6 years ago and I couldn't get it past my thighs, I thought "Oh hell no, this ain't happening!"  Sure it's only natural your metabolism slows down as you get older and by no means am I whining about being fat, but to me, that was unacceptable.  And so I put myself on a very strict diet where I would try not to consume more than 1,200 calories a day and exercised 4-5 times a week burning 300 calories on average.  My goal was to lose at least 6 lbs so that I could lose at least 1 inch off my waist.  I did all sorts of cardio exercises so that my body wouldn't get used to one thing and also took Pilates classes on the side.  After 4 gruesome months, I am happy to report that I am finally DONE.  I have burned 21,000 more calories than I have consumed!  The last 4,000 calories were the hardest because I had been deprived of delicious junk food for so long that I constantly cheated and ate junk food to meet my calorie threshold instead of eating fruits, veggies and protein.  It was more principle by that time anyway - that I was determined to finish what I had started.  My final results are a total loss of 8% of my starting body weight and 1.25" off my waist!  No, you can't really tell that I lost weight, so hopefully the scale and measurement tape are not lying to me.  Now, all I have to do is maintain.  Finally, it's over.  Hello bacon.  Hello french fries.  I sure have missed you!

Lovebirds

I believe the best gifts are those that money cannot buy, and so once in a while I like to dig into my bag of hobbies and create something for someone I care about.  My sister and brother-in-law made it easy for me to give them a belated housewarming gift not only by asking me to paint something for their home, but also by picking out the painting they wanted replicated as well!  Thanks guys for providing a fun escape from my crazy work life!

Here is the original print given to me:

And here is my version:

Sometimes, Sh*t Just Happens

It may be because of a poor choice you make, or because luck just isn't on your side at that particular moment in time.  On days like these, I am not a big fan of my job.  Take exhibit A:

Monday
5:15AM - Groggily wake up and make my way to the airport
7:00AM - Ready for departure
8:15AM - Still on the plane at the gate and am informed that there is a mechanical issue that will take at least an hour to fix - everyone must get off the plane
9:30AM - Flight has been cancelled, but the airline is flying in a plane from Phoenix scheduled to depart from LA at 2PM

(Grr, I am frustrated that I even have to fly this week when my client is working remotely from home.  I decide to leave the airport and come back for the 2PM.)

1:00PM - Arrive at the airport and go through security (again)
1:15PM - Flight is delayed until 3:18PM

Seriously?

(I decide that I have had enough of flight delays for the day and decided to just fly out tomorrow morning.)

Tuesday
5:45AM - Wake up and decide that I'm not going to rush for the 7AM flight, so I reschedule for the 11AM
10:00AM Get out of bed and head to the airport
10:30AM - Rejected by check-in because I have missed the cut-off time for the 11AM and because of all the running around yesterday, I left my driver's license at home

So, the next available flight is in the evening thus I am now working from home until it's time to head to the airport...yet again.

Bah humbug!

A Wedding In Paradise - Jef and Marisa!

I absolutely love Hawaii and feel so fortunate to have spent the past week there with wonderful company for an amazing reason - Jef and Marisa's wedding!  Jef is one of my dearest friends whom I first met in college and from there our friendship blossomed and he became the older brother (even though I'm older than him by about a month) I never had.  I love his family, I love his friends, and I love his new wife Marisa!  I am so happy to see that he has found someone as amazing as she and together they are so lovely and sweet!  Thank you Jef and Marisa for bringing us all together in paradise! 

The happy couple at Paradise Cove

Here comes the bride!

Sealed with a kiss!

Beautiful sunset

With the groom himself!

No trip to Hawaii is complete without shaved ice...

...and Giovanni's shrimp truck!!

Click here for the rest of the pictures!

Pizza Pizza!

This weekend, I decided to make a pizza from scratch (with help of course) and let me tell you...I was surprised by how delicious it turned out and how easy it was to make!  Everyone should make their own pizzas so that they can eat it guilt free!  I had four delicious slices measuring at approximately 150 calories each!  I can't wait to make it again!

Prepping the crust - this was my responsibility

Sauce is ready to go - yummy!

Sauce and cheese on a stuffed crust!

Into the oven it goes!

Masterpiece completed!

An East Coast Getaway

I spent a few days in New York and Philly this past weekend and had the most amazing time.  I really love my good friend D and am so grateful to be able to see her a couple times a year even though we live so far apart.  We stayed at the amazing W in Times Square in New York - what a great hotel!  The best part about it was that the weekend was entirely free thanks to Starwood free nights - woohoo!  What else did we do?

Brunch at Ze

Hang out at Central Park

A taste of street food @ Halal

Best ramen ever @ Ippudo

Ferry ride to Camden for the Jack Johnson concert!

@ the Jack Johnson concert

...which was AMAZING!  I couldn't have asked for a better evening.  A cool summer breeze on a warm summer night, fireworks in the background, a beautiful sunset, wonderful company, and listening to Jack Johnson live.  Moments like these make me happy to be alive.

Exquisite. Stunning. Beautiful.

Even these three words do not do one of my dearest friends justice in describing her as a bride and of her wedding day.  This past weekend, Q&A finally tied the knot!  From the bride's dresses to the venue to the recitation of a heartfelt poem written by the groom to the day-of video montage, words alone cannot describe how amazing and touching everything about their special day was.  I find myself searching for words to describe how grand the day was, and because I'm at a loss [for words], I'll let the pictures do the talking.

First Look

@ Vibiana (day shot)

Reading a poem

 

 @ Vibiana (night shot)

Saying their thank you's at the end of the night!

I had the amazing honor of singing during the Processional and for the couple's first dance.  Thank you Can, for capturing this video for me!

Click here for the rest of the photos!

A Sticky Situation

I have never been a sweets person, but my Dad is a different story. He's what we call in Cantonese "wai sick", meaning, he likes to eat even when he is not hungry and is frequently rummaging through the fridge to see what he can get his hands on. His favorite foods have always been foods that are sweet, especially ice cream and sweet breads. Lately, he's had to keep an eye on his sugar level, so he has had to cut a lot of food out of his diet - sad! I try to empathize with him by telling him about the strict healthy diet that I've put myself on, but I know that empathy cannot replace the taste of sweetness. Since there are not a lot of sugar-free sweets out there, I decided to try and satisfy my Dad's sweet tooth cravings by attempting to bake sugar free muffins. Seriously, I am no baker. Seriously.

Blueberry mix

Lesson learned: Too dense of a mix creates a holey muffin

Into the oven the Blueberry muffins go!

Um, here they are! 

Lesson learned: Not enough baking powder equals flat muffins.

Banana nut & Walnut mix

Oops, not enough mix for 12 muffins!

Puffy banana nut muffins!

Ready for delivery!

Clumsy me managed to burn myself in the process.  See the pink on my ring finger where I am pointing to?  What?  You don't see anything?  Okay, maybe I am being a bit of a weenie, but really, it's there and it hurts! :)

So the million dollar question...just how did my muffins turn out?  Taste wise, they are edible and enjoyable a 5/10, but definitely not oh-my-gosh I am a superhero-baker delicious.  Quality wise, they stick to the baking cups so when I am trying to eat one, I only get to eat half of it because the rest won't come off the wrapper!  Must. Google. Solution. so that it doesn't happen again.

I was going to give my Dad the entire batch, but now, I think I am only going to give him a few muffins and tell him "Here is a taste of what is to come.", literally.

(Day after: So apparently once the muffins have completely cooled down, they won't stick to the wrapper anymore. Heehee.)

Sleeping On the Job

I have too much going on lately and am exhausted.  Here's a real life scenario that happened at work yesterday between my client counterpart and I:

Me: Do you know whether we've covered the drop-ship process in our deliverables?
Client: Um, let me check our flows...
(A minute passes and I am getting really sleepy.)
Client: Good night Sherly
(Grogg-ily awaking)
Me: Oh!  I heard you...you said...

Client: Riiiight

Apparently, I literally fell asleep while I was waiting for him to answer me in the span of two short minutes!

Enough Said

An Amazing Artist!

I went over to my sister and brother-in-law's place the other day and noticed an amazing new piece of artwork on their wall: touchingly personalized, incredibly adorable, and impressively creative!

This is such a thoughtful housewarming gift as it captures the essence of the two of them and their moving into their new home perfectly!  Their first furniture in their new house was a pool table which at the time was multi-purpose and they are both dog lovers.  The dog on the left is our family dog Niky, and the dog on the right is my brother in law's family dog, Riley.  Here are actual photos of the two of them and the dogs.  You'll see that the resemblance is adorably amazing!

Riley

Niky

So, who is the brilliant artist behind this creation?  It's none other than Miss Grace, one of the sweetest gals I know and a long time friend of my sister's.  Thank you Grace, for letting me brag about your artwork!  =)  I love her entire collection of goodies!