Dec 9, 2012  •  In Claire, Cute, Funny, Personal, Relationships
6 Comments

Memories from My 32nd

So Claire surprised me with a bouquet of flowers on my birthday. (Her grandparents had paid for it, but they told me that she had picked it out and she presented it to me while shouting, “Heppy buh-she-dey umma!”)

Of course I immediately placed the flowers in a vase and displayed them prominently on our kitchen table. And I guess Claire understands the concept of birthday gifts, because she would continually point to the flowers and say, “꽃!” (kkot, or flower in Korean) “Umma buh-she-dey!”

“That’s right, you gave them to umma for my birthday. Thank you!” I would reply.

Then she would nod proudly, smile, and walk away.

Well, after about the fifth time she did this, she looked a bit thoughtful, then added, “Umma! Whooo!” (making a blowing noise) “Umma buh-she-dey whooo!“

“Yes, that’s what you do on your birthday. You blow out your birthday candles!”

“Umma buh-she-dey whooo!“

“Yes, that’s what you’re supposed to do on your birthday, but daddy didn’t get mommy a cake or a candle to blow out.”

I made sure to raise my voice when saying this so that J would hear, and made a big exaggerated sad face afterward.

And just as I had hoped, Claire suddenly became gravely serious and asked, “왜?” (Weh, or “why” in Korean)

Haha, BUSTED, mister!

I told her to go ask daddy why he didn’t get me a cake for my birthday, so she ran to him and said something in Chinese to him. He responded in Chinese, and I didn’t even care to ask what they had just talked about because I was laughing too hard.  :mrgreen:

#   #   #

The most memorable part of my 32nd birthday was not the mouthwatering, literally melt-in-your-mouth 19oz prime filet mignon on the bone I devoured for dinner. (Seriously. Old Homestead outperforms Peter Luger every time I visit.)

Nor was it breathing a sigh of relief when J took me to The Standard High Line right after dinner because he had been hoping to take me ice-skating at their rink…and finding it closed for the night. (Because while I may be a decent skier, I am a horrible ice skater and I would have spent more time on my ass than on my feet, especially after the cocktails and the bottle of wine we had with dinner.)

No, it was finding the rooftop of a downtown bar empty due to the earlier rain, and so using the beautiful space with its spectacular views and twinkling Christmas lights as our own private space. By slow-dancing to Tony Bennett’s “The Way You Look Tonight” and Michael Bublé’s “For Once in My Life” (our wedding song) via the Spotify apps on our cell phones. And giggling like high school kids when a bouncer walked in on us making out in the romantic atmosphere.

Oh, and having your husband take care of the kiddos while you recover from a raging hangover the next day. That was pretty awesome too. 🙂

Google+
Pinterest
Permalink | Print This Post | 6 Comments
Dec 7, 2012  •  In Personal
4 Comments

Thirty-Two

I met my 30th birthday with a bittersweet goodbye to my twenties.

My 31st birthday began with projectile vomit.

And today…. Today I face my 32nd birthday with subdued enthusiasm.

Enthusiasm for my family. For my blessings. For my future.

For hope.

Oh, and the prime filet mignon waiting for me at my favorite steakhouse tonight. 😉

I tried to find an appropriate picture to convey this moment, but there were too many that almost fit the bill, yet none that was an exact match. So I decided to share this screenshot from last year: my favorite birthday email of the day.

Duh-nuh-NUH… duh-nah-NUH!

May my 32nd year be ever in my favor…

P.S. — My beloved Knicks gave me an early present last night with a momentous win over the defending champs…while without our star player. The third anniversary of my 29th birthday is off to a good start, wouldn’t you say?


(image source)

Google+
Pinterest
Permalink | Print This Post | 4 Comments
Dec 6, 2012  •  In Art/Design, Marketing/Advertising, Photography, Shopping
9 Comments

Disney Princesses Meet Haute Couture

Sigh. You know I’m a sucker for holiday-themed store displays. I personally have not yet had a chance to check out the famed NYC displays in person this year, but I have been following them via the web, and — as it seems to be the case every holiday season — each store has outdone itself once again.

Now, I am not a fashionista by any means (and to be completely honest, Vogue bores me to tears), but I am aware that there exist numerous fashion meccas around the world, and that each major city boasts its own high-end department stores.

Today, let’s take a trip to Harrods in London.

This year, Harrods has decided to bring to its window displays popular Disney princesses adorned in beautiful dresses designed by some of best designers in the world. And in order to promote — and celebrate! — these collaborations, Harrods Magazine did a photo shoot with the gowns just before they made their way to the mannequins in the Harrods displays.

Check them out below — I seem to be partial to Mulan’s and Snow White’s dresses, while Aurora’s and Rapunzel’s are pieces I wouldn’t wear even if they gave them to me for free. How about you?

Ariel from The Little Mermaid,
by Marchesa:
Continue reading »

Google+
Pinterest
Permalink | Print This Post | 9 Comments
Dec 5, 2012  •  In Facebook, Funny, Geek, Relationships, Twitter, Web
4 Comments

Wednesday Rewind: The 10 Levels of Intimacy in Today’s Communication

Once in a while, when I get bored, I like to look through the archives of this blog and reflect upon (and laugh at!) all the things I have shared with the web over the years.

Because, heck, after 1,801 posts, even I don’t remember everything.

There’s also the braggart in me who likes to shout, “Hey! I once wrote this years ago! You should go check it out because I think it’s awesome!”

(Or the part of me that likes to roll her eyes and exclaim, “Well, if you had read my blog you would know I had written about this in the past!”)

So I have decided to start sharing with y’all certain posts from this blog’s vault of archives. I can’t promise that this will be a regular thing, or that what I will re-post will be remotely interesting, but I’ll try my best.

…I also plan on using these “rewind”s as a means to escape writer’s block. 😉

This little chart dates back to August 3, 2009, but I believe it’s still — and perhaps a bit too — relevant today.

However, I believe that now, at the end of 2012 and more than three years since the chart was first created, the order would be better represented like this:

  1. Twitter
  2. Facebook Status
  3. Text Msg
  4. IM
  5. Facebook Msg
  6. Email
  7. Phone
  8. Video Chat
  9. Talking
  10. Letter

Now, the question remains: where would photo-sharing sites like Instagram fit in?

Google+
Pinterest
Permalink | Print This Post | 4 Comments
Dec 4, 2012  •  In Books, Geek, Personal
6 Comments

My First Time

The year was 1991. I was a young girl transitioning into an awkward mess of acne and hormones. Who knew that I was about to be met with an entirely new world of magic and wonders?

I was at a sleepover. Despite what the media has you to believe, none of the sleepovers I attended featured giggly girls in frilly nightgowns engaged in pillow fights. (Or perhaps I was never invited to those types of sleepovers?) Instead, it was more common to see us with our hair up in messy ponytails, our faces loaded with the latest “it” skin treatment or zit cream, dressed in ragged t-shirts and sweats, gorging on junk food while gossiping and playing truth or dare.

Ever a loner and a nerd, I would sometimes bring my homework to sleepovers, just in case things got too boring and I needed something to do.  😳

But I hadn’t to this particular sleepover.

So when my mind began to grow bored from the monotony of events…

I wondered off on my own…

And came across a bookcase.

There, prominently placed in a top shelf, was The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.

I thought that the word “Hobbit” sounded curiously funny, so I slid the book out just to scan the first page or so.

…And I ended up spending the rest of that sleepover reading, and finishing the book.

And that’s how I popped my Middle Earth cherry. How about you?


(image source)

I have always maintained that The Hobbit is greatly superior to the LOTR trilogy, so it is no surprise that I look forward to next weekend with anticipation.

I have even started to re-watch the LOTR trilogy, and was all set to start re-reading The Hobbit when I discovered that my copy was missing. 🙁

Time to go procure another copy! But I obvs need to seek out one that was printed before any mention of the movie, with no references or tie-ins to the movie whatsover, lest anyone sees it and judges me for being a “watch the movie first, then read the book” person.

It’s almost like going shopping at a fancy store during a sale, only to see that your purchase gets placed in a shopping bag marked “SALE!” all over it. It’s like, why??? Do they need to separate us regular people from those who can afford their full prices?

Google+
Pinterest
Permalink | Print This Post | 6 Comments
Dec 3, 2012  •  In Geek, Giveaways, Reviews
36 Comments

T-Shirts.com Review and Giveaway

I am of the opinion that one cannot have too many comfy t-shirts. And if that shirt has a geeky or witty design on it? More the better!

So when the online apparel store T-Shirts.com contacted me about doing a review, I didn’t hesitate. How can I say no to a company that lists Star Wars as one of its categories?

The site was well-organized and had a great inventory of t-shirts in practically every category imaginable…they even carried solid-color t-shirts as well as custom designs! I especially liked the “Fabric Softness Gauge” on every product page. 🙂

Although there were tons of designs I would love to own (Something geeky? Something featuring the Knicks or the Ravens?), my eyes immediately gravitated toward a R2-D2 womens t-shirt for its simple yet unmistakable design:

I received the shirt the following week and was pleasantly surprised by its soft fabric and terrific cut. Here I am, trying my best at not looking like a dork while modeling my new Star Wars t-shirt (I’m wearing a small):

Now, for the best part…

T-Shirts.com has generously offered to give a FREE t-shirt to one of my readers!

This would make a perfect gift for a loved one with the holidays coming up, don’t you think? (You could also choose to get a shirt for yourself, of course.)

To enter this giveaway, simply use the Rafflecopter widget below. Not sure how to use Rafflecopter? Watch this 52 second video for a tutorial on how to enter a giveaway using Rafflecopter. There are 6 methods of entry, with the first method (commenting on this blog post) being mandatory while the fourth method (Tweeting about the giveaway) can be used once per day:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway will end on Sunday, December 10th, 2012, at 12:01am, at which point a winner will be randomly chosen and announced here.

Please use a valid email address and/or Twitter handle so that I can contact you if you win!

Sorry, this giveaway is open only to residents of the United States.

Good luck, and thank you for entering!

 

Google+
Pinterest
Permalink | Print This Post | 36 Comments
Nov 30, 2012  •  In Aerin, Baby
16 Comments

Aerin’s Eczema Treatments (Part Deux)

Aerin was only 4 months old when I first wrote about her eczema. We had been hoping that she would grow out of the condition by 6 months old, or even 1 year old, but that has not been the case. 🙁

However, we have tried new products and changed her skin routine somewhat, so I wanted to write an update for reference purposes and in hopes that it may benefit others suffering from the same condition.

I want to stay clear of prescription medication as much as possible, so we’ve gone from 2.5% hydrocortisone cream to 1%, which can be found on the shelves of drugstores. We still use this to make the half-hydrocortisone-half-vaseline mix which we apply on her flare-ups, but only when it looks especially red and/or itchy.

We also gradually stopped using the EpiCeram® because once again, I didn’t want Aerin to become too dependent on prescription meds.

A couple of months ago, I read about Mustela’s Stelatopia line, which is formulated for eczema-prone skin. I read up on the products and saw that it was getting awesome reviews, so I decided to splurge on the Stelatopia Moisturizing Cream and the Stelatopia Cream Cleanser.

As much I had hoped the Stelatopia cream and cleanser would be the answer to Aerin’s dry skin, they unfortunately were not for us. Don’t get me wrong — they did not irritate or exacerbate her eczema. And others have had great success with these products, so maybe they’ll work for you. Continue reading »

Google+
Pinterest
Permalink | Print This Post | 16 Comments
Nov 29, 2012  •  In Books, Funny, Geek, Information, Personal, Web
2 Comments

Calvin and Hobbes Search Engine!

You guys, I discovered the best thing today…

A Calvin and Hobbes search engine!!!

Calvin and Hobbes remains my favorite comic strip despite the fact that it is no longer published. And as I have written in the past, one of my all-time favorite gifts from J is the Calvin and Hobbes Boxed Set. I can’t wait until my kids are old enough to enjoy this mischievous duo! (But let’s just hope they don’t learn any bad things from it! 😉 )

The only thing I didn’t like about Calvin and Hobbes was that there are literally thousands of strips out there — 3,160 to be exact — so it can be a PITA when you’re trying to look for a specific strip.

But now, my prayers have been answered.

Just enter the term into the search box and voilà! A comprehensive results page displays all strips with that search term, along with information of its release date, a summary of the strip and the compilations in which it has been republished.

And for those wondering, “By Bing? Is the search engine powered by Microsoft Bing?” the answer is no. Bing just happens to be the nickname of the creator, Michael Yingling.

I’m so happy right now.  :mrgreen:

Google+
Pinterest
Permalink | Print This Post | 2 Comments
Nov 28, 2012  •  In Funny, Infographics, NYC
3 Comments

Drinking in LA vs. Drinking in NYC

What do you guys think? Pretty accurate?

I can’t remember the last time I drank drank in LA (as in go out to a bar/lounge, not just have a beer or two with dinner…or get tipsy at a wedding 😉 ), but what I do remember are the early last calls and the relatively cheaper drinks.

Oh, and at least one person being a DD so he/she could drive us home. 🙂

Via Mandatory.

Google+
Pinterest
Permalink | Print This Post | 3 Comments
  1. Pages:
  3. 1
  4. ...
  5. 35
  6. 36
  7. 37
  8. 38
  9. 39
  10. 40
  11. 41
  12. ...
  13. 218