Blood-suckers!

We noticed a couple of pimple-like sores on Scraps' belly and head yesterday. After looking into them more closely, I yelled out frantically to Jeff, "They are ticks!!!" Jeff was calm as always which helped me calm down as well, but my whole body still felt like there were millions of ticks crawling on me. Jeff and I worked as a team to hold down Scraps, and Jeff used a tweezer to remove those ugly insects.

This is my first time seeing ticks. We are certain they got to Scraps while we were in Michigan this past weekend, as the lake house was surrounded by woods. Before we went there for the first time in July, one of our friends reminded us to make sure Scraps didn't miss his medicine (for heart warms, ticks, etc.). I even bought whole bunch of repellents and Neosporin to bring. But it was pretty much raining the entire weekend, so we didn't have to worry too much about it.

It was rather cold this past weekend, and for some reason, my ignorance told me it's too cold for ticks. There's no such thing as too cold for ticks! These blood-suckers will always be active and everywhere!

炸醬麵

I have been craving 炸醬麵 (zhajiangmian), so I decided to make it for dinner tonight. Though I have never made it before, I found some recipes online that looks pretty authentic. It was actually very easy to make if you have all of the key ingredients. Chinese cucumbers were sold out, so I used some butter bok choy as veggies instead. Jeff once again is a big fan of it and finished a big bowl in no time!

Weekend in the lake house

Our good friends, Bret and Katie, invited us to their Michigan lake house this weekend. Jenn and John, as well as Jessica and Andy also spent the weekend there with us. It was our second time at their vacation home, and we had a great time! This time, there was only one baby (Bo), so it's not a baby weekend :)

We got there on Friday evening. We ordered pizza, drank wine/beer, and watched a scary movie, The Strangers. Saturday morning, the boys took Scraps and Re-Run to the beach. All eight of us spent the afternoon in Saugatuck/Holland, a nearby town with many cute shops and art-galleries by the lake. After lunch at The Butler hotel, we saw the Halloween parade, did wine-tasting, shopped at a variety of stores and took pictures of many black squirrels in town.
In the evening, we went to a local "haunted barn" where we went to their haunted house and took the haunted train. I haven't been to a haunted house in years, and it was actually a lot of fun. Everybody was fooling around in the barn like big kids.

After we got back to the lake house, we make tacos for dinner. All of the boys were cooking and making margaritas for the ladies. Everybody got so drunk and played an interesting dice game till 1 am. We then sang karaoke and danced. It was such a fun adult (no toddlers!) weekend with good friends. It was just what we needed -- get out of the city and enjoy the beautiful autumn color change.

Chow Mein Trial

My mother-in-law makes the best chow mein in the world. It's full of veggies and never too oily like those in the restaurants. It definitely is one of the dishes both Jeff and I stuff ourselves with when we visit them in Florida during Christmas. Since we rarely get to taste her cooking, I decided to try and make it as close as hers. I made it for the first time tonight, and Jeff had three plates!!

Spicy Salmon Miso Soup

Jeff said this is my new masterpiece :) If I add crab meat, shrimp, Enoki mushrooms, it will taste exactly like the famous Yosenabe from Mirai. Give it a try -- it's simple, tasty and nutritious!

• Stir fry minced garlic and hot peppers in hot oil, add Napa cabage till tender
  
• Add chicken broth and miso paste, salt, a little sugar
  
• Add fresh salmon and sliced shitaki mushrooms

"Can I Get the Contact Info of Your Boss?"

I had a day trip to Minneapolis today visiting a few clients. At the end of my meeting with Carlson Interactive, my main contact, Laurie Blum, came up to me and asked for my boss's contact information. I was like...OMG...did I do something wrong?? But she quickly explained in front of the entire group that she is nominating me as Carlson's Outstanding Vendor & Partner and wanted to share that with my boss! Whoa! This is my first :) Though I've always had good relationships with my clients, this is really a huge honor because I've only been managing them for about 8 months!!
That really made my day! And the hours delay of my flight coming home didn't seem so bad anymore:)

Kuo-Hsun 加油!

Keep your head high and stay positive! All of the great things in life you deserve will come soon, trust me. I will always be here for you.

Love,
Big sis

Valdivieso of Chile 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

My recent discovery. Very nice taste and easy to drink. I've always loved Chilean wines. They are quality with an inexpensive price tag.

Catching up with Mimi

The last time I visited my friend Mimi was when I went to Dallas for work this May. Though we have been emailing back and forth, it's really nice to get her call and chat for awhile today.

I met Mimi when she lived in Chicago in 2000. I think we actually met in the elevator of our apartment building. During her short stay in Chicago, we spent a lot of time going out to dinner, clubbing or just hanging out. We usually reminiscent about a few interesting yet unusual events we experienced together that year! When she lived in New York City, I visited her a couple of times. Now she is in Dallas getting her MA in physical therapy. We share similar tastes in movies, books, wines, view of life. And most importantly, our value of friendship keeps us in touch all these years while we are apart.

Jeff's Famous Antipasto Salad

This is a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Pasta. We have been serving this when having friends over or bringing it to our friends' parties. It's hearty, colorful and easy to make. Of course, it's one of our favorites! Since we stayed in on Saturday night, Jeff made it for our cravings~

Vinaigrette

• fresh basil, red wine vinegar, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt, black pepper
  
• Blend all the above in a blender while drizzle in extra-virgin olive oil

Antipasto Salad

• fucilli pasta (we use tri-color rotini)
• salami, smoked turkey, pepper jack cheese, rosted red peppers, sometimes green olives
• salt, freshly ground black pepper

Back to ZED451

Rooftop drinks and dinner with 14 friends at ZED451 on Friday night. Beautiful scene, good wine, great food -- it was a lot of fun to hang out with some friends we haven't seen in a while. Rakesh's sister and her boyfriend are in town, and Raj and Amanda are there, too. Rak brought Shannon to the dinner, and it's a big step for him. Looks like the set-up was a success so far!
We got home at around 1 a.m. after a belly full of food and many drinks~

台灣民主萬歲！中華民國萬歲！

Today is the "Double Tenth Day" in Taiwan in memory of Wuchang Uprising (武昌起義) on October 10, 1911, which led to the collapse of China's Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China on January 1, 1912.

I have many feelings this day....can't help but tearing up right now.

Condo Repairs

Our condo association decided to do some repairs to our building, including our roof, exterior, etc. The whole process started this week, so they can be done before it gets cold. The building is about 6 years old, so everything is still in pretty good shape. With some necessary minor repairs, it will be easier to sell in the future.

Histiocytoma

Scraps has been having a few abnormal growth in his skin in the past weeks. There are a couple of spots on his head and some on his legs. Since he was born with beautiful fur, even small hairless spots are very obvious. We finally got an appointment with the vet and took him in for a check-up today. Dr. Kraemer said it's histiocytoma, a benign tumor. She prescribed some liquid medication for the bigger one on his leg, and some ointment for the smaller spots. It will probably take a few weeks to heal.

We boarded him at Bark Chicago during Labor Day weekend, so the doctor said that might probably be what caused it. This is just our second time boarding at Bark Chicago, and I'm never boarding Srappy at that place anymore. There seem to be poor management and sanitary issues. The first time we tried this place was during our wedding, and he got kennel cough :(

Hope my baby Scrappy feels better soon. He weights 72.8 pounds today.

Cooking Dinner for Two

I usually like to cook on Sundays. Since Jeff caught a cold this weekend, I thought it's a great opportunity to cook some nutritious dinner for the both of us. I crave Chinese cuisine most of the time, so I had a few dishes in mind. Sometimes we cook pasta dishes together, as Jeff's a big fan of Italian as well. Sunday afternoon, I got the ingredients from Whole Foods (I love shopping there), and here's what's for dinner --

Sunday:

• Sauteed tilapia in wine and soy sauce
• Baby bok choy stir fried with garlic
• Chicken soup with shitaki mushrooms

Monday:

• Sauteed flank steak with green onions and hot peppers (蔥爆牛肉)
• Broccoli stir fried with garlic
• Chicken soup with shitaki mushrooms

Since Jeff is a better cook then I am, I'm always the sous chef when we cook together. So whenever I'm cooking by myself, I wanted to "try" to impress him :) The flank steak dish is one of Jeff's favorites, so I got the recipe from Jeff's mom. Honestly, I was under some pressure when cooking this dish ><... Fortunately, it was a success, and Jeff loved it! The chicken soup was also a triumph this time (taste like professional made thanks to my secret ingredients), which also helped remedy Jeff's cold.

I love cooking for the two of us.

Bucktown 5K

This is the second year I've been running the Bucktown 5K~
I'm not a runner, and I'm doing it more as a social thing. Since it's only about 3 miles, our group of girls usually run together and then go to brunch at Cafe de Luca after the race. This year, Katie, Jessica, Melissa, Jen, Shannie and I participated. Marie is 8 months pregnant, and Jenn did not even know that she needs to register to run ("oh, you mean we have to pay to run the 5K?" ><).
The star/finish spot is about 4 blocks from our house, so Jeff and Scraps went with me and cheered for me during my run. Yes! They are my biggest fans for everything :)
Though I had to walk a little, I finished in less than 38 minutes. Not bad for a person who never works out! I'm not exaggerating -- I couldn't find my gym shoes this morning, as I haven't worn them in at least 5 months! Ha!

Couples Dinner & Skinny Jeans

Scraps stayed with Jenn and John last weekend while we were in Virginia Beach. John has always wanted a dog, but Jenn thinks until they get a house, it's not a wise decision. They love Scraps, who enjoys hanging out with uncle John and auntie Jenn. If it's not for them, we would have to put Scraps in a kennel, where is definitely not as comfy as a real home!

As an appreciation, we took them to Half Shell for dinner on Friday night. All four of us had king crab legs as an entree. We also ordered oysters as an appetizer. Dinner was great as usual. We then walked over to Halsted and had some frozen yogurt.

Jenn wore a pair of cute skinny jeans with long boots....love that look! I still have a gift card to Barney's from Jeff, so I picked up a new pair on Saturday :) I've always been reluctant to wear skinny jeans, but I think I'm just older now and feel a lot more comfortable about my body!