2011

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Wow, I can’t believe it’s officially 2011. I have had a great holiday with my family and boyfriend. I went back to Long Island for Christmas to spend some time with my family. When I arrived at my parents’ house, I noticed that there was a pumpkin on the counter. Immediately, I thought about my mom’s famous pumpkin muffins. I asked her if we could make these muffins as I haven’t had them in years. She told me that they require a lot of work including grating the pumpkin. On the first night of vacation, I peeled the pumpkin. Then my mom and I grated the pumpkins. The next day we pumped out 102 muffins. It took a lot of work, but it was definitely worth it. I don’t know when I’ll be making these muffins again because pumpkins are quite difficult to peel and grate.

I’ve decided with all my recent baking of cookies and muffins, I’m interested in buying a hand mixer and a mini food processor. I made some jam thumbprint cookies for work and they were a bit of a failure as the dough was way too dry even though I had used three sticks of butter. I’d like to think a hand mixer would be helpful in this kind of situation. My ultimate kitchen appliance would be a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. I plan on getting one once I have a real place with a full-sized kitchen.

My boyfriend just visited over the weekend. He brought along many wonderful gifts. I hinted about a Coach wallet to J and of course he was listening! I was totally surprised that he also got me a North Face fleece with a hoodie. I’ve been thinking about getting this fleece by myself, but now I don’t need to! Jeff and I watched three movies during the extended weekend: Black Swan, The Fighter and True Grit. As expected, Black Swan was really intense, dark and crazy. I enjoyed it though. It was a bit graphic to see just how much ballerinas go through. The toe shots were a bit too much for me! The Fighter was really good and I believed that Christian Bale was really crazy and a crack addict like his character. Mark Wahlberg was also really good in his role as Micky Ward. I love inspirational based on a true story movies (The Blindside). It’s really heart-warming and gives me hope. True Grit, was a John Wayne remake. I have never seen a Western movie before this one. It was actually quite entertaining and exciting. I had trouble understanding Jeff Bridges’ cowboy accent, but I guess that was on purpose. Matt Damon was pretty hilarious with his character. All in all, it was a great movie weekend. I hope the next time I’m in Tampa, we’ll be able to watch The King’s Speech with Colin Firth.

I’m really going to try to update my personal blog more often. Hopefully, I’ll have things to write about. I also have been updating my food blog.

Why Taiwan?

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When I tell my co-workers and friends that I’m going to Taiwan for vacation. A lot of them reply with, “Again? Didn’t you JUST go?” I find Taiwan extremely relaxing. I can hang out with my family and one Taiwanese friend. It’s somewhat comforting to be the majority instead of a minority. Although, almost everyone knows just by seeing me that I’m not really “Taiwanese” and that I’m a foreigner. I guess my American accented Mandarin/Taiwanese gives myself away as well as my big stature (I’m HUGE in Taiwanese terms). The past two visits to Taiwan hasn’t been purely for pleasure (carb bingeing), but to see my grandparents. They seem to be aging so much more quickly. In fact, when I saw my grandpa this year, I was shocked to see that he was bedridden and unable to walk independently. It broke my heart to remember how he used to have at least one daily walk a day. I guess this is what happens when you’re 90+ years old. It makes me happy that he can recognize me and smile even for a brief moment. Meanwhile, my grandma is going strong still. She is always thinking and ready to talk. She has an extremely good memory and knows all the foods I like or dislike. It’s pretty amazing.

Besides seeing my family, I introduced my boyfriend to Taiwan. Hopefully, I did not scare him off! I definitely understand if our next vacation is NOT in an Asian country. ) He will get to pick our next vacation spot. I do hope he enjoyed all the temples we visited. Who knew Taiwan/Taipei had so many temples? Also, he finally got to experience the Taiwanese buffet. It is just SO MUCH BETTER! Yum. I definitely will miss all the delightful food. There’s always a bubble tea shop within a few steps away. It’s just so convenient. I’ll live it up for my last few days. I will be sure to have a mango icy for the boy!

Summer’s over

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It’s the first full week of September and it already feels like Fall. It’s kind of depressing to think that just a week ago I was wearing sleeveless tops and skirts without a jacket. Today I’m wearing a half length sleeved top along with a jacket! I want my summer back. Before I know it it’ll be winter yet again and I’ll be back to my boring winter clothes where everything is gray, black or brown.

I do have something to look forward to in the midst of all this sadness. My boyfriend will be arriving in NYC in less than a week. We will go to ALL his favorite places to celebrate his birthday! There will be sushi, pizza, cupcakes, shabu shabu, falafel, etc. Of course we will watch at least one movie, specifically “The Town” starring Ben Affleck, Jon Hamm (from “Mad Men”) and Jeremy Renner (from “The Hurt Locker”). I’m really excited to see it! Ben has been picking much better movies to direct or act in. Also, in less than a month, we’ll be traveling to Taiwan together for the first time. I’ll be going on a diet before my trip so I can eat all my favorite foods without feeling too guilty. Plus, maybe this will prevent my family friends from commenting on how “fat” I am. I’ve learned to accept that I’m considered obese in Taipei. I do love coming back to America (Land of the Fatties) after a trip to Asia. I feel tiny next to these mammoth Americans. ) I guess it helps with my self-confidence after being told I’m a XL or even XXL in Taiwan. -)