A surprise brithday gift

Hubby don't usually get me a gift on my birthday. For his birthday, I would make a special meal. In fact, we don't get each other presents whether it's Valentine's day or our anniversary or birthdays or Hanukkah. We only exchange cards. Bad huh....

So, this year, I didn't expect anything different. Hubby had left me a card on the kitchen countertop before he left for work. So, I opened the envelope to take out the card and out flew something...it was a gift card to Massage Envy!

Massage Envy is a spa right in our town. I have never had a massage before and I'm ticklish, so this will be interesting. I'm looking forward to my first massage.

Hubby did good this year....hehe.

Happy Birthday to me

Today is my birthday!! I don't really celebrate my birthday. Even as a child, my parents don't really do anything special. The most is go out and eat or get 'ang pow'.

This year, hubby conspired with my cousin when we were in Cleveland to surprise me with a birthday cake. We were almost done having dinner at a Chinese restaurant and I was watching Olivia in front of the restaurant. My little nephew came to find me and said it's time for dessert. I went back to the table and voila, they took out a cheesecake and sang happy birthday to me. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I must say I did not see them bringing the cake to the restaurant. Very well executed.

How old am I? Too old to even mention here. For those who are curious, the clue is in the picture above. ;)

We're back!!!

Our plane touched down at JFK at 1pm yesterday afternoon. I have to say that travelling with a toddler is not as scary as I thought it would be, even with a toddler who won't sit still.

On the way there, we had an empty seat beside us, so Olivia had her own seat. However, all she wanted to do was to stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down. For the trip back, she had to sit on our lap as the plane was full but she was good. She played with some toys, had some snacks and even took a 1/2 hr nap. We didn't even have to use the DVD.

One 'bad' thing that resulted from this trip is that she regressed to wanting her pacifier all the time. Before this, I had trained her to only have her paci during naptime and at night. However on the plane, when she asked for it, I had given it to her so that she will keep calm. At my cousin's place, I also gave it to her cos I figure she needed some kind of security since she's in an unfamiliar place. Now, I have to start all over again and try to wean her completely from the pacifier.

I will be back with more updates on our trip. Oh...by the way, we went to Cleveland....:)

Leaving on an airplane

Alright folks, we are about to embark on an airplane trip with Olivia. I'm so nervous I could puke....but I have to stay calm or else she will pick up on my anxiety and act out. Some people might think what's the big deal but you don't know her. She doesn't sit still, even her teacher at daycare said that she doesn't stop.

I have books, stickers, color wonder coloring book, Elmo camera & DVD. Not to mention applesauce, goldfish, fruit bar, sweet potato puffs & cheerios. I decided to bring the DVD player as a backup plan and will only whip it out as the last resort.

So, see you in a few days. I'll be back to tell you all about my experience. Ta ta....

Olympic fever

So, since the Olympics started, I have been feeling tired. Why??!! This is because I have been staying up to watch the games. I don't stay up very late, just until 11.30pm but when you have to wake up at 6am, send Olivia to daycare, go to work; come home, feed, bath and deal with a whiny toddler AND cook dinner, yeah....you will be tired.

Every night, I tell myself I have to go to bed earlier but I just couldn't tear myself away from the gymnastics and volleyball.

I blame the Olympics!!

An obscene size zucchini

My friend at work is an avid gardener and every spring - summer, she plants a lot of vegetables and usually has a huge crop of tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, cucumbers...

This is what she brought me that day.


This zucchini is more than a foot long. I haven't decided how to cook it but most likely I will grill it and make grilled zucchini sandwiches or I could make zucchini parmesan. However I cook it, it should last me several meals.

A 2 year old birthday party

Last Saturday, Olivia was invited to her classmate's 2 year old birthday party. It is at a gym where the kids could tumble and play and release all their energy. I think it's a great idea to have the birthday party at a gym.

Olivia getting ready for the party.

At the gym, the kids run around, crawled through obstacle course, jumped up and down on the trampoline. There was also a blow up castle where you go inside and jumped around. Olivia had a grand old time.

She even tried her hand at rock climbing!


After playing for about an hour, they all sat down and had pizza and cake. The party was short and sweet, just the right amount of time for a toddler's attention span.

Olivia's 2nd birthday is coming up in 3 months. At first, I wasn't planning to have a party for her but hubby wanted to. One of the reasons is I was afraid nobody is going to show up since I don't have any friends here with small children. However, after seeing this birthday party, I think I'm going to plan one for her. Keeping my fingers crossed that her classmates will come.

Advice for travelling with a toddler

In about 2 weeks, we will be taking Olivia on a 2 hour flight to visit my cousin. This would be the first time she goes on an airplane and to tell you the truth, I'm nervous. I'm so nervous that I think I might have an anxiety attack.

The reason being Olivia is at that age where she won't sit still. Since she is under 2, we don't have to buy a seat for her and she will be a lap child i.e. sitting on our laps. I'm so afraid that she would scream, cry and wants to get down to walk the narrow aisle. Other passengers would be staring daggers at us.

I will be bringing books, stickers, coloring books, magna doodle and some toys. However, most people say that a portable DVD player would do the trick. I know the DVD would probably be the best bet but I really don't want to start using watching DVD as a bribe.

Would you take a DVD player with you on a plane to keep a child quiet? Any other helpful advice?

My pathetic harvest

Gardening isn't really my thing. Last year, my father-in-law planted some grape tomatoes for me and they flourished even though I did not even bother to water them. They produced so many tomatoes that I couldn't eat fast enough.


So, this year, I decided to start small by just planting some tomatoes and basil. Tomatoes practically grow themselves so it should be easy right.....WRONG. This year the weather has been colder than normal especially in May. Usually by May, you can put your tomatoes & zucchini plants in the ground. However, since it was still cold, I didn't start planting till June.


It's now August and even though I have been watering and tending to the plants, my tomatoes are all still green. I did get 2 teeny tiny ripe tomatoes though...kinda pathetic.




The rest are still green, though some are turning red.





The basil, however, is doing very well. :)

Trying to gain weight

Ok, I know some people are going to hate me for this but I have trouble gaining weight. I always have. The last time I weighed myself on a digital scale, the number scared me - 97lbs!! I'm almost 5'4" and underweight.

It doesn't matter how much I eat, I just could not put on the pounds. Perhaps one day, I will be grateful for this....LOL. Before I was pregnant, I was about 100lbs.....gained 20lbs during pregnancy and lost it all the minute Olivia entered the world. In fact, I was even thinner the first few months after Olivia's birth.

Since moving to the US, the food portion I consumed has increased but my weight has remained the same. 2 cups of uncooked rice in our house feed only 2 adults.....hehe. I know I should be thankful but the downside of being so thin is small boobies. I was hoping that getting pregnant will increase my bra cup but that was just an old wives tale.

Oh well....