Archive Page 2
update on basil!
cause i know yall wanna see how much my basil plant has been growing!
HEHEHE.
um, so i think it has grown an inch! 
in other news:
today was another good day
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Tags: ikea basil plant
hmm’s&hobbies
sometimes i feel that “liking” a certain passion that you have isnt enough for you to pursue a profession in it. yeah you can enjoy painting, but that just doesnt cut it if you want to become a professional painter, if you want to do big things with it. i guess you can argue that “anyone can be a painter”, yeah anyone can be a painter, but how many of those people have their own gallery in big named museums? or sell paintings worth thousands, maybe even millions of dollars? or have changed or made an impact on the world?
if you want to be a painter, why settle for being “average” or “okay”?
i feel like too many people in this world pick up hobbies that they enjoy and then suddenly have this “epiphany” to carry out their “dreams” by pursuing a profession in that delightful hobby. and once it starts getting tough, they all start to bail out. all of a sudden, everything starts to get boring, too technical, no more “fun”, etc.
how lame is that? how lame are you?
how can you ever expect any profession to be easy with little difficulties? just because you LIKE it, doesnt mean it will be any easier for you to do.
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relatives&realizations&othernews
for most of my life, i was used to the idea of visiting my cousins every few times a year since most of them either lived in southern california or in a different country, and our family resides in the bay area. i was always amazed whenever a friend of mine would tell me how they live with their grandparents, or that their cousins live in the next city over. i mean cmon, visiting your cousins on the weekends?!! that is unheard of for me. er, was unheard of.
now that i am going to school in socal, i realize how close i am to my relatives now. in fact, i am the only person in my family who is the most near my relatives on both sides of the family…
so basically i feel pretty terrible of not feeling obligated to ever visit them even though ive been here for 2years and felt even worse when one of my younger younger younger cousins messaged me to come and visit him and his family.
i guess i always used the excuse of not really having “close relationships” with my cousins as an excuse to not contact them as often as i could.
geez. i am a terrible relative.
IN OTHER NEWS:
1. here is an updated picture of my basil plant 
2. look at all those beads!!!!!!!111oneoneone. i bought a tub of assorted beads and spent all day organizing them in their respective cups/containers. i ended up using 4+more measuring cups to hold other beads as well. this is just a picture of what i started out with
3. IKEA FOOD!! Singoalla is the best cookie. it is a cookie sandwich with a creme filling in the center and a raspberry filling on the top!
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Tags: basil plant, beads, cousins, ikea singoalla, relatives
plants!
i bought this basil-plant-kit-thing from ikea the other day, and hopefully it will grow into a healthy delicious plant
err, if it happens to die prematurely, then i think i’ll just go to trader joe’s and buy there potted basil plants for $5
but i really hope this plant grows because all i have to do is add water…
oh, and if it grows well, then im going to start growing my other seeds that i have but havent tried yet…
OH yeah, you know what else is awesome at ikea (er well, everything at ikea is awesome)??!
THIS!
HEHEHEHE. their swedish meatballs, really. REALLY!
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Tags: basil, growing plants, ikea
arrested development
i am not that big of a fan of publicizing “underrated” things. i mean, most things that are underrated are really overrated such as being a hippy hipster and stuff like that. BUTBUTBUT, i gotta say that the tv show Arrested Development is one underrated show. for realz.
i remember one of my high school friend’s/acquaintance’s always raving about this show, and because i didnt really watch tv in general in high school, or online, in ever really knew what he was talking about/bothered to look it up.
but boy was i pleasantly super duper surprised to agree with him on how freaking awesome this show is. i mean, i dont know if ive liked a tv show as much as this in a long time.
i mean, with the tv show, Friends, it’s funny. you can have a few laughs, but i use this show to kind of pass time, i dont really look forward to each episodes, nor am i willing to look it up online to watch it.
HOWEVER,
arrested development is one of those shows that i will try to make the whole world watch. seriously.
it’s only 3 seasons (got shut dowwwnnn unfortunately), and you can seriously rewatch each episode over and over again. and each time you rewatch it, you discover little details that you may have missed, and man, those writers are so good at stuffing as much information in one episode
i could basically go on about how fantastic each character is in this show and stuff like that, but ill just leave it up to you to discoverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. and if youre too lazy to look up the FREE episodes on hulu.com, you are actually missing out a lot in life.
haha
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Tags: arrested development
this may sound a bit arrogant…
but whenever i try a new cooking recipe, the thought of it turning out bad/un-edible NEVER crosses my mind. never. ever. seriously.
i dont know why, but i just never really feel that intimidated whenever i try out a new recipe–of course i try to keep it within the range of my cooking abilities + a bit more challenging, so im not talking about slow roasting some huge piece o’ meat for 6hrs and then making some crazy stuff to go along with that meat or..something..complicated like that?…err…that didnt really sound difficult, but basically i stick to the ingredients that i have in the house. ie. chicken, veggies, etc.
of course when it comes to baking, i am always on my tippytoes because baking is just plain finky sometimes…
anyway,
so last night i decided to try out this new recipe:
crispy chicken in a garlic mushroom sauce pasta
(uh, ignore this person’s blog’s profile picture, and believe me that this recipe is bomb)
now when i embark on a new recipe, i basically read the directions over and over again until i can visually see myself going through all of the steps in my head without actually doing it….
kind of weird huh?
well that is so that i dont have to constantly look at the recipe to see what the next step is…and in whenever i cook, i dont follow the recipe exactly. i dont measure out how many mushrooms, i like mushrooms so i just add a buttload because i know that in the end, it’s okay going to okay… i mean you cant go wrong with a few extra mushrooms right? and instead of using chicken thighs, i switched to the breast (haha.breast…okay, not funny?)
and i feel like cooking recipes are kind of vague in itself, there never really is a correct amount of time on how long to cook chicken…err maybe there is and i just havent figured it out yet…
ANYWAY,
i gotta say, everything turned out pretty darn good.
the garlic mushroom sauce was my favorite part–although i should have made more. the sauce was made in the same pan as the crispy chicken so you were able to taste the yummy chicken-y seasoned parts, and the roux was perfectly thick enough to pour over the pasta…mmmmm i do like me a meannn roux!
unfortunately, the chicken wasnt really crispy b/c i had to let it stay warm in the oven and it kind of just….got a bit soggyish. BUT THAT’S OKAY BECAUSE THAT CHICKEN BREAST WAS THE BEST CHICKEN BREAST I HAVE EVER COOKED–EVERR!!
why?
1. i defrosted/soaked it in a salt&water cold bath. thanks for those who told me about this tip!
2. im just the best?… (just kiddinggggggggg)
but that chicken breast really was pretty tender, and muchhhh better than what i expected. and normally my chicken breast turns out … strange.
anyway, that was all for that night
ugh, this italian parsley was nothing like what i expected. i should have just stuck w/ basil -__-
duh final resultttttt
my favorite graces
our asian slave
mmm poppysicle…
Filed under: fabulous foods | 3 Comments
Tags: cooking, crispy chicken with garlic mushroom sauce pasta
keeping in touch
people are bound to eventually lose contact with at least half the people they have ever met in their lifetime–right?
i mean, i dont really remember a lot of people from my elementary school, middle school, and now, maybe even high school. even in college it’s difficult to keep in touch with all of these people that ive met unless we have a lot of mutual friends, many of the same interests, or have many same classes or something like that…
and while i try to keep as much of my friends as close to me as possible, sometimes it’s difficult to have everyone in my “circle of friends” rather than “random acquaintances”. but ive learned/experienced that those who i want to build stronger and sturdier relationships with are the same people who want to do the same with me, so it all kind of works out…
HOWEVER,
there are also some people who i really want to get to know better. who i want to hang out with because i remember having such enjoyable times with them even though they were short lived/lessless frequent than id like them to be.
so what’s the problem? i mean, it’s quite simple to call them up and say: hey dude, let’s chill like pills and eat food etc.
but it gets more and more difficult to keep in touch with these people when they do not give the same amount of effort, which sucks because I JUST WANT TO BE YOUR FAVORITE FRIEND MANNNN!!!!! WHY CANT YOU LET ME DO THAT?!
wow. i should control my outbursts.
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smiling&confidence
when i was in middle school i remember looking through all of my school pictures and realizing that i never had any good pictures. i mean, that is what school pictures are for, to show the wonderful awkward untimely smiles that you force out of your butt. but even when i was flipping through the family album, i saw how i just wasnt able to pull off a great smile–and having crooked teeth and braces didnt help either.
i remember telling my dad that i wasnt very good at smiling whenever someone was taking my photo, and that i didnt really know how to smile without looking terribly awkward or ridiculous. my practical dad then replied: why dont you practicing smiling in front of the mirror? besides, you have your mom’s mouth/lips.
after hearing this, i immediately felt oh-so-very relieved. i mean, it just made sense–practice! why hadnt i thought of this earlier?? and it wasnt like it would be too hard of a task to do either–no surgery or money involved in trying to achieve a better smile! (it’s strange and dumb how the human brain tends to exaggerate the small stuff that we worry about in life. or maybe it’s just my brain…)
oh, and to top it off, my dad said that my mouth was like my mom’s.
here’s the thing about my mom, she has a great smile. she has a big mouth (figuratively as well…), very straight teeth, and a million dollar smile. when she smiles, i think the sun gets brighter and flowers start shooting up from the ground…
so for my dad to tell me that compliment was enough to keep me flying high for the rest of my life.
it’s strange how one small helpful suggestion/compliment (whether it was intentional or not) can make someone feel that much more confident. while it wouldnt have been the end of the world if my dad didnt compare my smile to my mom’s, it sure does feel good to know that i have the ability to show off those pearly whites to the fullest extent as she can. however, the smiling and photographing transition wasnt instant. i still practiced (a lot) smiling/grinning/:D in front of my bathroom mirror whenever i could–until i was comfortable and secure with myself. i know everything about this blog seems ridiculous, i mean, “gaining a bit more self confidence because you learned how to smile better?!!”
yes.
anyway,
so if you ever feel like you have a few obstacles keeping you from smiling, just know that there is a mirror in your bathroom waiting for you to flash your teeth in front of
“i gib diz a thumbz up”
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Tags: smiling
nail clippers and fingers
while i was braiding my hair today, i accidentally cut myself with my own nails.
im still not exactly sure how i did it, but it happened in the middle of hair braiding…
now my nails arent very strong or thick, however they are quite thin and so i guess it wasnt too difficult for them to slice through my finger skin 
anyway, i decided that i would give up trying to grow out my nails (they break at a certain point anyway. wait, why do i have such weak nails?!) and cut them regularly.
however, another problem arose while i was trying to cut them, it didnt matter how slowly or quickly i cut my nails, the left over finger nail parts would fly EVERYWHERE! i tried cutting my nails over a trashcan, and they still would miss it.
soooo, i used my neat brain and decided to tape the edges of my nail clippers because i dont have the cool asian nail clippers that already have plastic edge covers…
oh yeah, im lying on my stomach and that in front of me is a pillow. after while of sitting like that, i have to rotate my body because it is difficult to breathe like that..haha
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Tags: finger nails, nail clippers
(title for today’s entry is a song title by relient k)
i think it’s because of the summer weather, but i have been having a major case of chapped lips…
so,
ive been using my trusty Burt’s Bees chapstick. but that isnt even cutting it. i still wake up with terribly rough lips -_-
anyway,
i thought id share that with you fella’s.
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Tags: burt's bees chapstick, chapped lips
permmmm
i dunno why, but i really want to get a perm.
ER, not those crazy asian lady perms.
but the “wavy” type of perm. you know, when you tie your hair in a braid and then unbraid it the next day. it’s all curly and wavy and summery and beach-y
okay, so i am not so good at describing things, but if you know what i mean, then you know what i mean. if you dont, er sorry
IN OTHER NEWS:
I MOVED IN TO MY NEW PLACE
hehee, i just have to get all my big furniture back in there on thursday and then i will be doneee!!
wow i love unpacking
wow i am super excited for a great new year.
er, hopefully you all are too. sometimes i get annoyed whenever i see/hear someone having a fantastical time while i am feeling in the deep down dirty dumps because i want to be included in that whimsical state of mind.
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books to read
i really think i am lucky to enjoy reading. some people just do not enjoy reading, and i really do feel sorry for them.
i mean, while it is extremely convenient to turn on the tv, once i do open up a book, i cant take my eyes off of it. err, unless it’s a dense read. then i just want to cry because i end up having to read the same sentence 23 times until i give up and continue reading…
anywayyy,
so here is a quick list of books i really want to start reading:
Outliers – malcolm gladwell (btw, i looked at a picture of him. he has interesting hair)
A Confederacy of Dunces – john kennedy toole
In Defense of Food – michael pollan
East of Eden – john steinbeck
Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe – edgar allan poe
Ender’s Game – orson scott card (err, the whole trilogy)
OOOKay that is all for now…
but i really want to read the first few books that i posted up ))
why? because i want to look smart.
just kidding.
sort of. HAHA.
aww i miss this little guy…
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Tags: books i want to read
positive people
i like being around positive people.
i guess it’s kind of assumed that everyone likes being around an optimistic, caring person, and maybe even more assumed that everyone in the end wants to be happy and be that happy person for others to witness…but sometimes that isn’t the case.
i used to hang around this one girl for a long time, and i later realized how stressed i would feel whenever we would walk to classes together/sit next to each other during the same classes/talk/etc. because she was not a positive person. she would feed off from being somewhat negative–about basically everything.
all we would do was talk about all the things we didnt like. it was strange, but i think the only thing we had in common was the things we didnt like about our high school, or about that one annoying person in class, or how far it was to walk from our PE lockers to our next class on the other side of school.
i think it was quite rare whenever we would talk about “normal” “light hearted” subjects…
i dont think i even know what her favorite color is. what she likes to do in her free time…
i mean, for a little while it was fun making jokes at the expense of others, but it gets old pretty fast. and i really am not the type of person who likes to continue to talk about how terrible a certain teacher is, or why is it cloudy today, or how awful that one outfit was on that girl.
but this girl i hung out with seemed to really badmouthing so i kind of just followed her.
after going our separate ways after high school, i realized what a huge relief it is to be around people who have an amazing flow of positive energy. it just makes me feel so much more relaxed and well, happier. it doesnt matter what kind of mood i am whenever i am around positive people, i just feed off their energy. i feel better–mentally. i dont have to worry about who or what else to pick on and dislike.
it is actually kind of hard to find something bad to whine about everyday…
we are just imitators:
ORIGINAL PHOTO:
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Tags: negative people, positive people
District 9
I am not really a fan of science fiction/mythology/fantasy. I rarely like watching movies/tv shows that are dated in the age of “Merlin” where the townsfolk meet up with the wise old wizard to fight the invading trolls in their village. Or where the setting of the film is in some random planet where aliens abide in.
Stuff like that isn’t very appealing to me, so i normally pass up on things like that in all media form (books, movies, etc.)
HOWEVER,
a week or two ago i watched: District 9 because of the positive views it got from all of my friends who did watch it, and i had to say that the preview of the film was slightly more interesting than others.
even after watching the commercial for that movie, i still wasn’t too sure what that movie was about, and even though it had aliens in it, as long as it wasnt one of those “aliens vs. humans, where mankind “saves” the world again from them” type of films, i figured that i would be okay with it.
boy did i make a good decision (woot!).
i think this is a type of film that i wouldnt really watch over again because i am not very good at handling blood, and it had some pretty intense drama moments that left my heart feeling quite heavy after i left the theater.
i guess i could go more in depth of why i enjoyed this film so much, but id rather not because i would for sure just spoil everything.
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Tags: district 9
scones. SCONES! (&other news)
i made scones today! and yesterday…
but i made yesterday’s batch as more of an experiment, but dont worry–no food was wasted because my parents are now happily munching on the first batch of scones.
i am kind of glad i decided to do two batches because the first one was…interesting.
i mean it tastes all right. actually, it tastes pretty good.
to be more specific, i made blueberry scones with lemon zest (dang that lemon sure made the scone!)
the outside was toasty and crumbly while the inside was soft and fluffly.
are those how scones suppose to taste like?
i am still not too sure why there is even a category for scones. it’s like a mix between a biscuit and a muffin or something…
ANYWAY,
so this next batch i put more time and care into it.
i am not used to kneading out dough so i made sure i had enough flour on our wooden surface so that the dough wouldnt stick (haha it stuck like CRAZY during my first batch…).
i didnt put too many blueberries in like i did last time (the blueberries to dough ratio was off…but still good!).
and i added more delicious lemon zest. yum yum yum yum yumm…
oo, and i made my scones all small and pretty like. hopefully they wont go crazy and slightly explode into this globby triangle mess like the first ones did…
so i guess overall, my views&taste for scones have slightly changed. i think i would make a lot of these to eat in the morning but that would be it i think…
IN OTHER NEWS:
i am DRIVING BACK DOWN TO SOCAL TOMORROW! wheee i sure am excited…
er, but im not looking forward to the weather…
OH,
and i am trying out these new purple eyeliner. it’s the pencil type, and it’s dark and stays on my eye for at least 8hrs. niceee!
i like it. im buying one for you
Filed under: busy bakings | 1 Comment
Tags: almay purple eyeliner, blueberry scones with lemon zest
school supplies
i just bought a million cute notebooks for school–i am so excited!!!!!
i mean, cmon, if there is something that is going to motivate me to go to school, it is all the school supplies i get to buy.
i guess after a few weeks of meticulously taking well written notes in the notebooks, i do kind of start to get bored of the class and the new notebooks no longer motivate me to attend class…but at least once tests/quizzes start rolling around, i have at least a few pages of organized knowledge that i can study off of…that, and then i am eventually left with a bunch of doodlings and unfinished sentences in the later pages…haha
I MEAN SERIOUSLY MAN, THEY HAVE ELEPHANTS ON THE COVER..ELEPHANTSSSS!!!!!!
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Tags: school supplies, notebooks
1. keys. keys are so finky sometimes. at least my keys are.
i have a lot of different keys that are used daily, i counted all the keys that i have and so far i have 6. 6 goshdarn keys that i have to look through to open the different doors/rooms i have to get into everyday. darn you keys. especially when i put you somewhere and then forget.
i am late to have of my morning classes, late to set appointment, keep people waiting because i am scrambling to find you keys.
2. cell phone.
while i would like to leave you at home to charge and confidently know that you are where i left you, i cannot. it’s not that i am so important and that many people are calling me…it’s that i need to contact many people.
and you tell the time, which is something i always need to see for some strange reason.
3. wallet. id cards. moneyz.
the one time i was without any sort of credit or money was the time i wanted to eat a delicious frozen yogurt. never again will i make that same mistake again. oh how sad i was to walk out of that shop and back home to sulk that i had left my wallet at my apartment.
and unfortunately, i have many important key cards that allow me to pay for my laundry, print out papers from school, get into certain buildings…
so those are the most essential items i cannot leave my apartment without or else i would make myself grudgingly trek back home. it is not really fun to realize that you forgot one of the above items when you are almost on your school campus…
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Tags: things i cannot leave the apartment without
photography
one of the many reasons why i love reading and looking through foodblogs are their pretty photos that are taken throughout the process of whatever they are making, and then the long awaited for picture of the actual result(s)!
i like seeing the crisp clear pictures taken of whatever the person happens to be making, and realllllly like how the quality of the picture is so…nice.
everything seems to be in perfect focus.
it kind of makes me think that if you want to have a convincing foodblog entry, you kind of have to have well taken photos of your food–i mean of course! blurry dark pictures arent as aesthetically pleasing as those bright colorful ones…
which got me thinking…i need to edit my pictures more often. or i need to find better ways of taking photos of my food.
every time i post up an entry of whatever i baked i cringe because the quality of the photo is so terrible. everything is a bit dark/random shadows/not as clear as it could be…i dont even really have good angles -_-
gah, i need to hire a photographer. HAHa
i kid. i kid.
BUT, i really am thinking about using good ol’ Picasa. or something to make the photos i take look better (no it is not the camera unfortunately. i would love to blame my camera but it is way too good (at least way too good for me, a canon powershot 1000) )
anyway, in other news:
i am going to make scones. this is kind of a big deal for me because…
1. i do not particularly enjoy scones. i would rather eat a crumbly cookie than eat a scone–and believe it or not, i dont really like crumbly cookies.
2. my mom made scones before, and they were okay…
3. this scone recipe i am going to try looks pretty darn complicated, but it got rave reviews so, i have to try it by default, right?
oh, so why am i making scones?
i mistakenly told one of my friends that i will bake anything that she is craving and she said scones.
darn you scones!
Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments
YES, you definitely read that title correctly. today, i tried making a recipe from the blog site, Joy the Baker (another joy, not me heh) that was a vegan chocolate cake (i just made them into cupcakes) that used avocados IN the cake batter and IN the frosting as well!
so what was the results? *drumrollll*
SO
DELICIOUS
so moist and dense and yummy! the cupcakes were really good, as good as any “normal” chocolate cupcake, maybe even better because of the elimination of butter. the frosting was a nice touch as well! although at first you could taste a bit of an avocado after taste, i added about a tablespoon of orange juice (i ran out of lemons) and it had a refreshing slight tang. mmm..
if only i could eat all of them, but these cupcakes were not for me.
they were for this little boy that i babysit who cannot eat milk and eggs because he is allergic to them. it’s so sad to see him unable to eat birthday cake and icecream
anyway, hopefully he will enjoy these. heh..
here are my pictoral results:
the boy on the left!^ …okay, so you cant really see his face, but at least you can see how tiny and small he is. no little kid should be deprived of sweet chocolatey goodness.
mmm avocados. so buttery and good.
all the dry ingredients.
wahh so pretty…(btw, the avocados should have been mashed -_- as you can see, they are NOT in this picture…but the cupcakes still came out good!
two frosting colors
one bunch of deliciously frosted cupcakes.
Filed under: busy bakings | 1 Comment
Tags: joy the baker, vegan avocado frosting, vegan chocolate avocado cupcakes
