Merry Christmas 2013

OH MAN, it's been so long since I posted, but good thing not much happened except for a long vacation.  But this holiday has been nice.  I've been a homebody and feeling anti-social.  Before going home B and I had two nice dinners.  Reason we had two was because he really wanted to try The Parlour because of the praises it got from the radio, while I wanted to go to the Red Ox Inn to enjoy some fine dining with my year-end bonus.  So here are the stuff we tried:

The Parlour
10334 108 Street

Appetizer - Risotto balls; shared

I didn't like it because it tasted somewhat bland, since risotto is rice.  The skin was crispy and that was about it.  I enjoyed eating the 'green embellishments' more.  B liked it though.

B's Entree - lasagna (I had a bite or two)

Now this was a good lasagna.  Instead of ground beef, they used chunks of meat.  And the lasagna had tons of compacted layers.  It was better than what I ordered...

My Entree - squid ink seafood linguini

Guess I didn't learn my squid ink paella lesson from Spain.  'Exotic' squid ink doesn't mean it's better than traditional stuff.  Sigh.  I'm not saying this dish was bad.  Typically I like all linguine pescatore.  However, this steer from the traditional was just no on par.  The lemon helped, but still no traditional linguine pescatore.  Maybe because I had such a good one a few months ago in Mykonos.  OMG.

Dessert - tiramisu; shared

Another non-traditional tiramisu, but good.  I enjoyed the mascarpone and the (chocolate cookie?) crumbs on the bottom.  Whatever was in between was a blur.

Overall, it was ok.  The taste of the food does not match the big prices.  The big question: would I go back?  No.  Would B go back?  No.

The Red Ox Inn
9420 91 Street, Edmonton

B's appetizer - pork belly (I had a bite)

This tasted like Chinese roast pork, but SOOOOO much better.  B savored it as long as he could.  

My appetizer - corn lobster chowder

A good soup, but not as good as that pork belly.  However, they 'embellished' the soup with this gigantic scallop and that scallop was so meaty and yummy.  Doesn't matter, I enjoy almost all soups!

B's entree - duck breast

At first he was skeptical about his duck but after a few bites, he enjoyed it more and more  I love duck. I thought it was good after the first bite.

My entree - was black cod, but became sablefish with mushrooms and scallops on quinoa

I'm a little disappointed that they ran out of black cod.  I love this rare fish.  However, the sablefish was cooked very well.  The top surface was crispy and seasoned well.   The quinoa was better than what I tried to make.  Overall, everything was good with this dish, despite the change in fish.

Dessert - "Chocolate", a chocolate mousse covered chocolate brownie - we both had one

Good thing we didn't want to share our dessert.  This was soooooo good.  B tried to go on a 'no refined sugar' diet (not me... no chocolate, are you kidding me?!), but he had to leave that thought at home when he saw this on the menu.  I kept trying to remind him of it, so that I could also eat his (yes, it was that good that I had to try to eat more than one), but failed.  It made it to B's best dessert ever tasted list.
Great place.  B thought initially thought it would be another pretty place with high prices and bad food.  I thought it would be another pretty place with high prices and decent food.  It turned out to be a cute little place with great food that matches the semi-high prices.  Would we come back again (not casual dinner of course, but for special events, such as bdays, anniversaries, etc.)?  Absolutely.  Hope they will still have that "Chocolate" dessert!

Henday Woes... AGAIN!

Yes, it's that time again where I bitch about driving on the Henday.  Ok, I've moved to the west side of Edmonton for two years now, but this will be my third summer driving on the Henday on a regular basis.

Year 2011: The City decided to 'improve' the ring road to make it a continuous freeway by constructing overpass at major intersections on the highway.  This made sense.  Improvement = construction = traffic delays.  I get it.  I can deal.  However, there was some confusion when the overpasses opened but whatever, should be smooth sailing in the future.

Year 2012: The City decided to repave a one year old road.  I don't know too much about road engineering, but this didn't make sense at all?  I don't know.  Delays again.  Oh well.  Should be good for the next few years...

Year 2013: Can I say WTF?!  Construction again?  The sign says repaving. AGAIN?  What the hell is wrong with this asphalt?  I know it's a high traffic road, but yearly repaving?  Oh geez.   However, they are doing some excavations next to the shoulder lane.  Are they planning to expand the road?  Then why didn't they make it a wider road in the first place?  Ok, let's say they are making it wider, but based on the above, that means next year they will repave!  More delays.

FML.

Shanghai Grill

Tonight B and I went to try the Shanghainese restaurant that is closer to our home: Shanghai Grill.  When we first entered the place, my feeling was this is not a typical Chinese restaurant.  It was likely a saloon/bar before.  First of all, what Chinese restaurant has a patio?!  We Chinese people don't eat on patios!  Second of all, the finishes.  Rugged wood floors, thick wood columns, and wood wheel light fixtures?  B later pointed out that the bathroom signs said "Outhouses".  Yeah, my feeling was right.  Decor is decor.  Restaurant is all about food, right?!

When I opened up the menu, to my disappointment, it was more of a Chinese restaurant than a Shanghainese restaurant.  They had mostly typical Chinese dishes and a few Shanghainese dishes.  I ordered the dumplings:

The skin was a bit thick, but the meat was tasty.  Better than Calgary restaurants, there's soup in it, but not enough.  Let's say there's better in Edmonton...

For the rest of dinner, we ordered:

Fat Choy and Siu Choy

Ok, on the menu, it said it has 瑤柱 (dried scallop) in it.  I couldn't find any.  But what I really wanted was the fat choy.  As you can see in the picture, there was less than a pinch of fat choy.  For the price I paid, I could hve bought about six heads of siu choy.  Disappointed, and felt ripped off.

Chilli fish

Another disappointment.  Indeed this dish was 'spicy'.  Mostly because it was so salty that it really stings the tongue which gives you the fake impression that it's spicy.  I think the saltiness of this dish beat my dad's extreme salty wings (it was by accident, since he's not a very good cook...).  Ouch.

Beef brisket and tendon hot pot

This was by far the best dish, but that's because I love beef tendons.  The fattiness.  Mmm mmm mmm. However, compared to other places, it's ok.

Would I come back again?  No.  For the taste, dish sizes, and price paid, so not worth it.  I could think of two other Chinese restaurants in the west for better food and value.  And I would definitely drive further for those Shanghainese dumplings.  

I Miss You, Mom

It's been a while since I posted.  Again.  However, the last two weeks were more than excusable.  First of all, my mom decided to take her 'staycation' here with me in Edmonton.  To me, this meant no cooking and cleaning for two weeks and also reminisce those days when I lived at home and mom took care of my everything.  Good ol' memories.

Unfortunately, the two weeks my mom was here were also my busiest at work: I got sent to Fort McMurray for two days, and I had to overtime like crazy.  Sucks.  The good thing was my boss let me take one Friday off, and I got to hang out with my mom.

It was nice coming home everyday from work, and the house was clean!  Another bonus was all I had to do was sit on the couch and wait for dinner.  After dinner, I just had to sit on the couch and the dishes will be cleaned by mom.  Yeah, sounds like mom's my maid, but I think she was still pretty relaxed - since she found quite a bit of time to watch some TVB.

Last Friday, we drove her home back to Calgary, and today is my first day without her again.  I came home with the house still clean (from Friday), but I had to cook dinner.  B had to do dishes.  Sucks.  I think we'll have to buy her a bus ticket to come up more often.

Family Day Long Weekend - Pt 1: Post Valentine's Day Dinner

Work on Friday was somewhat a drag.  Nothing turned out the way I wanted it to be.  I didn't even eat lunch.  However, it did end earlier than what I'd planned.  In that way, it's good.  No matter what, it wasn't going to ruin what was going to come after work.  A great way to start a long weekend: a dinner date with my hubby!

To celebrate our (late) Valentine's Day dinner, B took me out of the west end and onto Whyte Ave's Packrat Louie.  I dressed up a bit because this is somewhat a big deal since B doesn't like leaving the west end.  Traveling more than 15 minutes away from home is HUGE for him.  Sad, I know.

After parking a few blocks away and me teetering on ice with my 4" pumps, we finally got to the restaurant.  I'm so sure I've been here for an office lunch once, but I don't remember the inside or type of food.  Maybe it was just not a memorable lunch.  Anyways...

I was starving.  We ordered two appetizers, an entree, and a dessert.  First, the appetizers, an expensive pair of meatballs and a 8" pizza.  The meatball was a bit too salty for my liking, but the quality of the meat was good.  Overall, it was ok.

Black Truffle Meatballs

The second appetizer was the Spicy Hawaiian pizza.  I love Hawaiian pizza.  Maybe because I love pineapples!  The pizza was good.  For sure way better than a "franchise" pizza.

8" Spicy Hawaiian pizza

I ordered a beef tenderloin for my entree, while B ordered pork chops.  Oh sweet beef, it was great!  I don't know if it was good steak, or because the last steak I had was in Vancouver and it was bad steak.  However, B had a bite, and he thought it was good steak.  I had a bite of his pork chop and it was well marinated and very juicy.  I give both the meaty entrees - two thumbs up!

Sterling Silver Beef Tenderloin

To finish the meal off, we ordered a chocolate platter that consisted of chocolate mousse, chocolate brownie, and chocolate gelato/ice cream inside a cookie crust cup (sorry, no photo - like the Hardware Grill, I see chocolate I just dig in!).  It was a little disappointing to me, but I did enjoy the ice cream in the little cookie cup.  The mousse was too 'dark chocolate' for me, and I had better brownie (koodos to the caterers at my Vancouver office work conference.  SO good!).

Overall, it was a good dinner date, and for the final question: Will I come back?  No.  It's not a bad place, but I think I rather try something else.  However, if someone asks me for a place to take their date or to try a not-too-expensive fine dining place, I would recommend this place.

And now... off to Calgary!

Happy Valentine's Day

Our first V-day as hubby and wife.  Celebratory dinner scheduled for tomorrow.

Doesn't the frame look like Roshi?

The Burger Joint

I'm a little behind with everything.  Ok, I'm behind with everything!  Oh well, as long as I get it done one day...

So this post is about my burger adventure with B.  We went to the Burger Joint here in Edmonton on some Saturday last month.  Honestly, nothing can beat the taste of my favorite Banzai Burger at Red Robin.  Look at this beauty:

Anyways, back to the Burger Joint.  I tried to create my own version of the Banzai with a twist.  It was no Banzai, but it's pretty good.  However, my creation looked somewhat sad compared to the others shown on Urbanspoon.  Will I go there again?  Yep.  B would too!

7 oz all beef, BBQ sauce, mayo, lettuce, grilled tomato, grilled mushrooms, grilled pineapple, marble cheese

Happy Chinese New Year

It's time to say goodbye to the dragon, and welcome the snake.

Chinese New Year was actually yesterday, but I was too lazy to blog about it.  Typical, but I'm making the effort now.  So it's all good.  This year, B and I decided to spend it together instead with my family.  Mom was probably slightly disappointed, but this upcoming weekend is long weekend, and so it makes more sense for me to stay in Edmonton for Chinese New Year, and go to Calgary on a long weekend.  We'll make it up then.

Since it is somewhat a celebratory day.  I also decided to splurge a bit and had a somewhat celebratory dinner!

The Chou's Chinese New Year dinner: Sushi platter from T&T,
bulgogi sauce on rice sticks,  radish cake, and New Year cake

Ok, it's not your typical Chinese New Year dinner, but it was big.  B and I only finished one-third of it. Lucky me, I had the rest of the sushi for today's lunch.  It's fish, can't have it sit TOO long.

Today's Driving Woes

Today's weather: Above freezing, clear skies,
Road conditions: Wet, but clear

Ideally:
Posted speed limit on major roadways: 80km - 100km
Travelling time: 12-15 minutes

Reality:
Average driving speed: 17 km/hr
Travelling time: 36 minutes

Kill me.

Promises

This post is a little late.  In fact, it's about one week late.  I should have wrote it up, but then I got lazy (I know... make it count), and I had quite a few laborious work days and pretty much passed out at 8:30 every night.

Anyways, last Sunday I went to my first worship service since I can't remember when, and boy, was it a good message.  The subject was promises, and the purpose was to go along with the theme of new years resolution and such.  Like many resolutions, they are usually not kept.  Promises we make to ourselves and to each other are often broken.  Because of this, life can be sad and at lost.  Therefore, we can't depend on ourselves or others on promises, because we're weak and incompetent.  However, all the promises God made to us will be kept, and they are all a 'yes' through Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20).  The concluding statement was

"When did Jesus become not enough?"

Oh wow!  Worldly promises of love, wealth, security, success, etc. often drive me: need to work on marriage to make it last, need to work harder at work to get that bigger bonus, need to put away more money for retirement.  Need need need.  All of these things I do alone and often lead to failure.  Failure leads to disappointment and worthlessness.  Broken promises.  Worldly promises.  I really enjoyed the message.  It was a slap in the face from the Boss, "Hey, remember Me?  Forget all that stuff, remember Me.  I am Your Promise that will always be.  Remember."

Today I went back for another service.  The message was not as personal, but good nonetheless.  I am looking forward to more of this.

Thieves

Tonight, B and I went to see Les Miserables at the theaters.  While we were lining up to get the tickets, I saw this:

Movie snack price board

Can we say WTF?  I am aware that movie snacks are way overpriced, and I am guilty of supporting this occasionally when I wanted that bag of popcorn with my movie.  However, between the last time I bought popcorn and now, when did prices become like this?  A combo of two soft drinks, two bags of popcorn, and a bag of candy to share costs almost the same as a relatively cheap dinner for two at a sit down restaurant (e.g. Swiss Chalet, pho, HK style cafe).  ARE YOU FRICKING KIDDING ME?  This is utterly insane.  Despite my frugal efforts of packing two juice boxes to sneak into the theater, B wanted to get a bigger drink anyways.  While lining up for the drink, he then saw the prices and went 'Wow'.  No kidding.

Recently there's been this 'shark ban' vs. 'oppose shark ban' debate.  Yeah, saving the world and saving the sharks are good causes.  However, I just don't have much feelings for such a topic and feel like it's a waste of time (no offence to those out there who's involved with such debate) since 1. I don't have much passion for such topic, 2. I like eating shark fin, but could also live without it, and therefore, doesn't quite hit home for me.  This however does.  How about debating/banning this: robbing us hard working citizens by having us pay for junk food at insane prices so that Cineplex can make insane profit margins and pay the CEO to enjoy his martinis on his private jet and yacht?

Bitter.

First Friday of 2013

It started out bad this morning.

So I went to work, and since Fridays are shorter day, I got off early.  Just when I was about to start my weekend, my alarm went off.  What?  Why did I set an alarm on a Saturday?  Wait... it's only Friday in reality.  That means I have to go to work... again.  

Although there were 2.5 days of work this week, this work week still seemed like forever.  However, I did accomplish a big "monster" at work - at least, everything I could do about it, and started other minor tasks.  I scheduled a short site review near the end of the day, so that I could just go home right after.

To make the open afternoon count, I

• picked up Roshi's 1.5 day of poop in the yard
• read the last chapter of my course material (course officially starts in a week or so)
• put all my 2012 health claims into envelopes and stamped
• filed away some paperwork, and 
• got ready for my bank meeting tomorrow.  

No time wasted in front of the tv.  Then B came home.

He said his hi's, checked out a few things on the Internet, and turns on Counterstrike.  Again.  I spazzed out.  And yes, at this moment as I'm writing this, I'm still mad at him.  We're not talking.

B is a gamer and watches Starcraft tournaments.  I know about this from the start.  I have no problems with him gaming or Starcraft-ing, even if it's a daily thing.  However, I think he took advantage of this.  Not only does he game daily, he games ALL the time.  So here is a general schedule of our week:

Monday - Friday
7:00 - 4:30 - Wakes up, go to work, be at work, etc..
4:30 - 5:30 - B gets home, but I really don't know what he is doing during this hour, and so I won't comment.  However, I have a clue, because...
5:30 - I get home, and he's on his computer gaming.
5:30 - 7:00 - I shower, make dinner, hang with Roshi, etc. alone.
7:00 - 7:30 - Eat dinner.
7:30 - B either do dishes or goes back upstairs to game.
7:30 - 12:00 - I watch tv, play boardgames, read, etc. alone; sometimes, I'll be upstairs on my computer with him in the same room physically.
12:00 - Bedtime.

Please note: he told me this before, he occasionally watches Starcraft tournaments at work.

Saturday/Sunday
9:00/10:00 - I wake up.
Morning - Eat breakfast, get things done, hang out with Roshi, waste it by watching tv, etc..
12:00 - 1:00 - Sometimes I'll make lunch, B wakes up.
1:00 - 2:00 - We eat lunch at home or outside.
2:00 - 4:00 - Get groceries, and sometimes shopping.  If it takes too long, or there's a good tournament on, B moans and groans.
4:00 - 4:15 - Put away groceries.
4:15 - 7:00 - B goes upstairs to game or watch tournaments, while I'm downstairs alone making dinner with the tv on.  He will occasionally come down and change my channel to sports and then head back upstairs to his computer.  WTF?
7:00 - 7:30 - Eat dinner.
7:30 - B might do dishes or he'll leave it until tomorrow.  If latter, goes back upstairs to game/Starcraft.
7:30 - Bedtime - I spend it alone with Roshi doing whatever.

Now, how can any wife not be mad when this is the daily routine?  I've nicely voiced my unhappiness about it.  I've complained about it.  Nothing.  It is until I'm fuming and yelling when he gets it.  So around October or so, he said he will game/Starcraft 4 times a week.  Fine.

Just before Christmas, promise broken; this daily routine started all over again.  I've been just whining and complaining saying, "You're going to play again?  You play everyday!"  All I get is 'Yep' and no signs of change.  Therefore, I blew up today, and fumed out of the room and down the stairs.  He left his computer and came down with me.  But what did he do?  Nothing.  He just laid on the couch.  Couldn't he say something like, "I'm sorry, I won't play as much?" or "Ok, I'll try to work on my promise and only play 4 days a week?" or even offer to help me organize the pantry (yes, I refuse to waste time and trying to make every second productive).

Whatever.

He is came into the room and just said "I don't care what you say, I'm playing."

I somewhat want to just take the car and drive to Calgary and stay with my parents for the weekend.  However, I can't.  I have way too many appointments scheduled for tomorrow.  Unfortunately, I have to depend on him to give me a ride.  @#$%.

First Day Back at Work

After the holidays, it's tough to go back to work for 8+ hours.  Although I lost concentration at certain times, I was still somewhat productive, and got all my minute tasks done and almost finish a bigger task.  Tomorrow is another day.

On a good note, my 'after work' life was pretty good:

• Made two dinner entrees from scratch: vegetarian stir fry medley and teriyaki chicken drumsticks.  
• Got everything cleaned up by 8 o'clock.
• Read and finished three chapters for my course.
• Took Roshi out for a brisk walk around a few blocks (B came out too since it was dark out).
• Watched some tv (I managed to fit that in).
• And now blogging this.

The only thing I failed at is hoping to be in bed by 10:30 to start my relaxation routine and pass out by 11:30.  I guess I will have to shorten my relaxation to 20 minutes instead.

Good night!

Welcome 2013.

Happy New Year!

I missed the coming of the new year last night.  I fell dead asleep on my living room floor before midnight - not because I passed out due to intoxication, but instead of reading about lien legislation and listening to Prometheus on tv.  Ok, I just read what I did last night and I sound like a boring homebody.  Instead of partying or joining in the celebrations, I was studying and sleeping.  Oh well, I'm no party-er anyways.

New Year Resolution: my last new year resolution was to not make anymore new year resolutions. I've been good at it too.  However, this year I will make one.  Maybe I shouldn't call it a resolution (so that I could keep my last resolution), but more like I need to do something to change my lifestyle,

"To make everyday count"

Looking back (not just 2012, but also the past years since I graduated from grad school and started working), what have I done or accomplish?  Yes, there were some life changing events: got laid off, moved out, live in another city alone, bought a home, raised a puppy, got married, new job, new car, etc., but how about the in betweens, the insignificant times?  How were those times spent?  One word can summarize it: wasted.

Everyday is the same old same old.  Go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch tv, bedtime, and repeat the next day.  I think it's the 'watch tv' that gets me.  It is seriously a waste of time.  However, can I not watch tv? Probably not, since I have a few shows that I watch religiously.  Even if I record them on the PVR, I still need the time to plant my butt down and watch them.

On the weekends and holidays, the day doesn't quite begin until 2 pm, but that's partially B's fault since he sleeps in past noon.  I sometimes can sleep until 11, but that depends on when I slept the night before.  Sleeping in is nice, especially I'm no morning person.  However, sleeping in all morning also gets to me.  I wake up miserable because half the day is gone!  

I think this whole 'waste of time' is getting to me as I'm getting older.  Now that I'm no longer in my 20s, I'm starting to feel the downhill side of life.  I'm not saying I need to use my 'tv time' or lazy mornings to go change the world, but how can I use those few hours to do something more productive - even if it's as simple as keeping the house clean! 

So to get this 'make it count' started, here's a list of things I want to get done, try, get better at, etc.:

• Finish my course; I signed up for a distance learning course for work and it ends in April/May.  This is priority and a good short term goal to accomplish.
• Facetime and visit parents more; after moving out, it became more apparent to me that they are getting old.  The thought of them being old, and them one day becoming dependent on me scares me, since I still feel like a dependent.  I don't know what I would do or become when they leave me.  Must cherish their presence as much as possible - even if it means driving to Calgary on a 'normal' weekend just to hang out with them. 
• Find a church and attend regularly; I have left the church for so long (another issue that I won't discuss here) and I miss it..  However, it is difficult for me to wake up before 9 on Sundays.  Perhaps instead of watching tv on Saturday nights, I can find an evening service somewhere.
• Finish my European scrapbooks; notice the plural? I still have some pages left to do for the first Europe trip.  Seriously, instead of planting my butt on the sofa and watch tv, I should work on that.
• Update my 'everyday' scrapbook; so many pictures, so little time.  Enough said.
• Be more neat and tidy (at home and at work); I should really put away my things and dust a bit more regularly.  Do a little bit of cleaning everyday (or once in a while), less to do later!  
• Exercise more regularly; I am lazy on the weekdays, no doubt, but I should at least go for a short walk with Roshi, unless it's -20C out (I don't think he wants to go out then neither).  And on my early Friday afternoon off, gym.  However, this might need to be put on hold due to the tendonitis in my leg right now.  Sigh.  It's making me quite miserable.  
• Wall climbing; love the sport.  B even said he will try it, despite the fact he's scared of heights.  Again, this will be on hold due to my tendonitis issue.  Sigh.
• Blog regularly; don't know who reads this, but it's good to write down some thoughts and document some life events to look back on.  
• Make a friend or two; been here fore 3.5 years and I can only say I have 1 friend in Edmonton.  How sad is that?!  Really need to go out more and meet new people.  I wish B wants this too, so I don't have to put too much effort into this.  

So this is my list for the time being.  I will continuing adding onto this list as things come up.  This list will be added onto the many lists listed on the side of this blog.

Christmas 2012

This is our Christmas tree this year.  I know I should get a taller one, but I'm not ready to splurge on one yet.  This little 1' tall Christmas tree will suffice.  Tree and decorations all came from the dollar store and costed about $5 to $7.  B loved it and even helped decorate it.  Although it is a tabletop tree, I had to put it on the floor with the presents: 1. to be traditional, and 2. it just looks funny when all the presents were half the size of the tree.  The good thing about this tree is that I don't have to take it apart. It will just store right into a box and will be ready to be taken out next year.  Yay.

The Chou's Christmas Tree

B got me three Swarovski charms.  I just started collecting them since May 2012.  My favorite out of the three is the Hello Kitty.  However, the most practical one will probably be the owl.  It's blue.  It will match most of my outfits.  I pre-ordered The Game of Thrones Season 2 Blu-ray for B and a big box of Lindor and Ghirardelli chocolates.  I think he was drooling from every orifice in his head.  LOL.

Present(s) from my love

For B's parents, I made them a 12x12 layout framed in a 12x12 display box.  It contained a family photo of us (B and I, B's parents and siblings, and my parents) that was taking during the wedding in Hawaii.

Present for the in-laws

Since both B and I had to work during the holiday season (well, I only showed up to the the office for two half days), we decided to pay for two return bus tickets and bring my parents up for Christmas.  Although it was bitterly cold during most of their stay, I think they still enjoyed it.  Of course, mostly because of me!

I always buy myself a Christmas present every year.  Last year, I got myself the Cricut Expression 2.  Too bad it broke (kinda), but I got another one since it was still under warranty... Anyways, this year this time, I'm going through my boardgames craving.  I finally got Agricola, a game I've been eying since it came out a few years ago, and Legendary, a brand new deck building game with Marvel characters.  I got Legendary mostly because it's Marvel, and that in itself will encourage B to play with me.  He did, and liked it.  B gave Agricola a try and surprisingly, he didn't mind it!  In fact, he even played with me again.  However, he lost the second time and now claims he hates it.

My new boardgames

My dad left Edmonton earlier because he had to work, and so my mom stayed a bit longer.  With dad gone and B working, Boxing Week shopping for the ladies!  I bought new clothes, as I'm in desperate need for some! I got a new bright North Face jacket, since mine lost a lot of the feathers already.  I also got a new king size duvet and sheets for the bed.  New duvet, sheet set, and two duvet cover sets were $20 each. Come on, who can pass on that?  Even mom got some.  She also got a new North Face jacket and new clothes.  

My new North Face jacket

New sheets for the bed.  I think this is the prettiest bed I ever had.

Other than shopping, mom fed us well.  Before I had a tummy, now I have a muffin top... a tummy that hangs over.  Ulgh.  Roshi ate well too.  Mom complained whenever he was given dog food only.  "Give him some rice and chicken!", "Give him a some carrots/apples!"  Roshi followed mom around the house ... A LOT.  Yep, that's Christmas for me.  Great gifts, great spendings, great food, and most of all, great time with the ones I love.  

Although there wasn't much celebration of it around here, I do remember the reason for Christmas is Jesus.  Without His coming to this world, there wouldn't be the great gifts, spendings, food, and time with the ones I love.  And for that, I am truly thankful.  

New Year's Dinner @ Hardware Grill

It will be our first 'New Year' as husband and wife.  So to celebrate, I, the wife, took B out for some fine dining experience in Edmonton.  Although it's not quite new year's yet, we had plans near downtown today, so it was best to 'celebrate' today.

Since I had an awesome lunch at Hardware Grill a while ago, I decided to take B there and also try the dinner experience.  B often criticizes that we only pay the extra money for the environment setting and not for great food.  This time I believe I proved him wrong.

To start, B ordered a crispy duck leg.  He already took a big bite out of it before I remembered to take a photo of it.  He loved it.  It took him a long time to eat it because he just didn't want to finish the experience.  He shared a bite with me, and yes, it was very good!

I had a soup of yesterday - something with bacon in it (more like that's the only thing I remembered!).  The reason why it's called soup of yesterday is because the soup was made yesterday, and this allows the soup to sit overnight and soak in all the flavours.  It was very flavourful and good.

Soup of Yesterday - a flavourful bacon soup.

For the mains, B had bacon wrapped elk and beef short ribs and I had sea bass with lobster-truffled potato crepes.  His elk was good (I almost ordered it), but my sea bass and crepes were awesome.  The crepes were filled with chunks (not shreds) of lobster meat.  The filling was also very creamy.  So good.

My sea bass and lobster crepe. 

What made the elk fell short was the incorporated horseradish.  We are just not big fans of horseradish. Wasabi is ok on sushi (well, B doesn't like that neither), but not on meat.  However, B solved the issue by cutting off the side of the elk with the horseradish, and enjoyed the rest of the dinner.  Just look how happy he is!

Happy B with his elk.

To finish off the dinner, we had a lava chocolate cake.  Sounds simple, but it was a fine dining experience   It was not sweet at all but so chocolaty at the same time.  It was paired with caramel popcorn and peanut butter ice cream.  Odd combination, but surprisingly good.  I forgot the photo AGAIN.  Please forgive me, since all I could think about was 'chocolate cake, must eat now'.

I'm glad this place met B's high expectations of fine dining.  I really like this place.  The food is very good.  Of course, it's not going to be a place we can go often (unless we win the next 649 draw), but it will be one of those places we would want to go again when we want to do something special!

New Floors

While my new townhouse was still under warranty, my vinyl flooring in the kitchen was bubbling.  The reason was likely because there was moisture trapped in the subfloor when they installed the flooring.  The builder was willing to replace it while I wanted to upgrade it to laminate and willing to pay the difference. However, the whole thing just dragged on and on.  Builder had to contact contractor.  Contractor came out to see me a few times.  I had to choose a flooring and go back to the contractor.  The contractor go back to the builder for pricing.  Overall, there were a lot of back and forths.  Finally a quote came through and it was ridiculous.  Even giving up the builder's warranty credit, and buying the materials and tools and make it a diy project was not as expensive as what the contractor quoted me.

So after a few months of arguments with B (regarding silly things regarding spending money on tools, installation procedures, etc.) and laborious work  (by B, not me!) the floor is done.  Too bad I didn't take better "before" photos.  But here are some comparison photos, using "just moved in" as "before" photos.   They work!

The stairs

The Living Room

The Dining Area

The Kitchen

My Breakfast Sandwich

First things first... I'm on a roll with blogging!!!

Ok, now back to the subject.  I got this recipe idea from allrecipes.com.  It tastes so good because it's so high in everything bad for you (cholesterol, sodium, fat, etc).  To cut some unhealthy stuff, I used vegetable oil and margarine in place of butter, two slices of ham and cheese per sandwich, and no salt or pepper (why, there's enough salt in the ham).  Making these "kind" of sandwiches (i.e. having a piece of bread in a heated pan) requires patience.  You can't have the heat turn up too high, or else it will burn, and so having it on low heat setting means you need to wait for the egg to cook and not burn the bread.  I have to admit, my first sandwich was a bit on the burnt side.  Good thing B likes his bread toasted.  Well, he pretty much eats anything I cook because then he doesn't have to cook.  Nonetheless, he likes this, I like it.  It's all good, but I definitely need to go on the elliptical (or mall roaming for at least 4 hours, oh darn) after eating this sucker!

Chinese Cooking

So after leaving the nest for almost 3.5 years now, I have learned to cook pretty well.  In fact, I quite like it, provided that I have time, such as the weekends.  As you have seen on previous posts, I had successful dishes, as well as complete failures.  However, the dishes I seem to enjoy making happened to be Chinese-style.  Maybe I grew up eating Chinese food or there is just so much variety (besides pasta and sauce).  This post is to celebrate some of my recent Chinese dishes, because I've only been gathering memories and not posting them.  Please put on a bib, as these photos may cause some drooling.  Just kidding!  Sorry, no detail recipes.  Seriously, I just buy whatever is on sale, and season whatever I can find in the house.  However, there is one important thing that all these dishes have in common:  A wok!

Clockwise from top left: Fish and Tomatoes, Bulgogi Beef, Chop Suey Vermicelli

Fish and Tomatoes:
I don't know how to describe it besides fish and tomatoes.  Well, I guess I also had onions in there, but the main ingredients are fish and tomatoes.  The sauce was mostly ketchup and some herbs (I like basil and oregano).  All mixed in a wok.  I guess this dish isn't quite Chinese, but whatever, it's cooked in a wok.

Bulgogi Beef:
Here's a cinch: buy slice beef and a big bottle of bulgogi sauce, put it all together in a wok and add in whatever vegetables you like (as you can see, I like carrots... sliced ones that you can buy to save time).  Ta da, done.

Chop Suey Vermicelli:
I really don't know what to call this, but I love vermicelli.  I seriously could devour this whole plate myself, but I can't be selfish as I now have a husband who needs to eat more than me.  Anyways,  to make the vermicelli easier to cook, it needs to be soaked for a few hours.  While it's soaking, decide what to have in it.  I had eggs, black Chinese mushrooms (those need to be soaked too, or else it will never cook and you'll be eating rocks), and suey choy.  Again, add it all into a wok and add some soy sauce and oyster sauce.

Left to right: Fish Paste stuffed in Tofu Puffs and Hairy Squash, Spicy Mussel Stir Fry

Fish Paste stuffed in Tofu Puffs
TnT had a sale on all these ingredients.  So what else can I do but to put all these three things together.  I remember when my mom used to make these.  I haven't had them for a while.  Yum.  Cut the puffs in half and stuff them with fish paste.  1 tsp will do.  I like to fry them up a little bit in the wok before adding the squash ('shaved' of course).  This gives them a little more... crispiness.  Sauce: soy sauce?

Spicy Mussel Stir Fry:
So I bought this pack of on sale mussels and it was sitting in the freezer for a long time.  It's time to eat it.  I also had a half wrinkling red pepper left.  Why not put them together?!  Yep, I put everything in a wok again and mixed it all together with some green onion.  As for the sauce, it was a mixture of some black bean sauce and Rooster hot sauce and dried chilli peppers.

Tofu Cupcakes

Tofu Cupcakes:
I really don't know what to call this, since I made this dish up on my own with no recipes.  The combination of tofu, fish paste, and a sausage on top does seem like a cupcake, icing and a cherry on top.  Ok, I'm pushing it.  Seriously, I made this one up based on what was on sale and what I had on hand.  Both the tofu and fish paste were on sale at TnT, but the tofu and fish paste together were too bland looking and probably taste wise too.  So why not add the some preserved sausage that's been sitting in my freezer for a while?!  I steamed this dish... in a wok.  It tasted fine the way it was, but I had a spoon with some soy sauce and Rooster hot sauce and it tasted even better after being dunked in it.  However, I will need to find a way to incorporate that without having to take the fish paste off the tofu, dunk it, and put it back on.  Any ideas?

My First Pair of Pumps

Christmas parties are coming up.  With B and my new job, I have enough dresses (to recycle) for Christmas parties (if they still fit).  However, I have no shoes.  Back in the days when I was a "wee" one, wearing a dress meant bare legs with sandals.  Therefore, I own a good number of dress sandals (yep, I have at least two pairs over 10 years old, and are still awesome - one being my prom sandals. I think I just divulged my age...)  Now that I'm older (and couldn't stand the Christmas cold), I'm in need for some pantyhose and a pair of pretty (grown up) dress shoes.
I'm a practical person.  I don't mind spending good money, but it better be well worth it - as in it could be worn many times for different occasions.  But as a girl, I can only be so practical.  I fell in love with Franco Sarto's black leather pumps with 0.5" platform and 4" heel.

A pretty pair of shoes deserves some photo editing.  LOL.

Yes, they are gorgeous.  For the last few years, I've only purchased "good for feet" shoes - Merrell, Keen, etc.  It's been a while since I bought a pair of "kill my feet in 2 minutes" shoes.  Beauty over comfort.  It's definitely a girl's thing.