Happy Chinese 牛 Year!

My sister-in-law, Kien, has been studying Chinese Medicine in San Francisco, and everytime I see her, I'm surprised at her Chinese-speaking progression. Whether it's a type of Chinese herb, a body part or a section of a diagnosis, I can tell she is much more confident now to pronounce and convey them in Chinese.

Yesterday she once again surprised us by sending us a Chinese New Year's greeting card written in Chinese by her! Though she had to explain she asked her teacher to write the characters before she copied them onto the card, I love her thoughtfulness as always and am especially amazed at her Chinese penmanship!

Thank you Bib!! Love the card!

Happy 5th Birthday, Scraps!

Dear ScrappyDoo,

Happy birthday, baby! Mommy can't believe you are 5 already! It seemed just yesterday when we met you. Remembering that day, I was convinced we were meant to meet you and take you home. You were actually one of the first puppies to be taken in the litter. However, you were returned back to the breeder because your first family couldn't take care of you anymore due to a death in the family. It was such a surprise and bless in disguise for us, and you completely sold yourself to us. Unlike other 11-week-old puppies, you had unbelievable energy and was really "scrappy". You ran around the room seemingly barking "pick me, pick me", and your clumsiness led you hit your head in the furniture a few times, but it never bothered you.

It has been almost 5 years since you came in to our lives, and you never cease to surprise us with your unpredictable facial expressions, your passionate licks, your jolly prance, your enormous appetite, your intent to "talk", your better-than-human sensitivity, your extremely observant nature, your patience, your optimism, your sweet companionship, your ecstasy every time you see us coming home from the window. Baby, mommy can't tell you enough how lucky I feel every single day because of your love! Everyday with you is a blessing for daddy and me! You're such an important part of our lives.

On this special day, daddy made you a birthday fruit jello cake with your favorite apples and banana. We hope you love this special treat. We want you to be healthy and happy as always, and we look forward to celebrating many many birthdays with you!

Love you more than you'll ever know,
Mommy

Food for the Soul

I finally received the two books I ordered from Amazon.com today after impatiently waiting for them for almost 2 weeks. Since my The New Yorker subscription and less travel (less in-flight time) with my current company, I haven't finished any good books lately. I often miss my food for the soul and crave the contentment of being immersed in several hundreds of pages.
The Middle Place is a memoir of a woman who are "comfortably wedged between her adult duties and her parents' care". This book got my attention due to my recent argument with my father and finally speaking to him after almost 7 months. Though I've been living 8,000 miles away from home and taking care of myself since I was late in my teens, there is still a big part of me that resist to completely grow up. I find myself really lucky to be able to pick up the phone and just being a daughter to my father.

I got Outliers: The Story of Success to motivate myself a little. It has been a comfortable year, and perhaps because of aging, I found myself gradually losing the tenacious ambition I have always had. I've heard mixed reviews about this book, but I'm excited to read it and be the judge myself!

Girls Wine Night

Since the weather has been pretty brutal and the economy is not too encouraging, we decided to have a "girls wine night" at Marie's house on Saturday, instead of out at a restaurant. There were nine of us girls and two handsome boys, Jack (Marie's baby) and Bo (Katie's son). Each of us brought a bottle of wine. And there were appetizers like guacamole, pigs in a blanket, taquitos, chips and dips, as well as desserts like brownies and cupcakes. It was a nice time to catch up, drink wine and just hang out and laugh! We were also reminiscing about our fun Hawaii trip to my wedding last year around this time.

What Can We Learn from Faith?

Auntie Sha-Li is an animal-lover and often sends us interesting articles about dogs. The email I got from her today is especially inspirational.

Faith was born with three legs - two healthy hind legs and one abnormal front leg which had to be amputated. His first owner didn't think he would survive, so contemplated putting him to sleep. But his current owner decided to keep him and teach him how to walk by himself. After only 6 months, Faith learned to balance his two hind legs and jumped to move forward. Now he is able to walk like a human being.

What I learned from Faith is that as we appreciate our health, we need to also remember that even if one day we lost our health or our ability to walk, we will still be smiling and enjoying life with everything we have.

Everyone is born with imperfections. Instead of focusing on our shortcomings, what can we do to focus on accepting ourselves and to live a happy and fulfilling life?

2006 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon

My sister-in-law, Kien, got me a bottle of Chateau St. Jean Pinot Noir from Somoma for my birthday this past year. It was probably the best Pinot Noir I have tasted, so I wanted to try other wines from this winery. I would definitely recommend their 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. It's refreshing and smooth with blackberry, coffee and a little oak flavors and a dry finish. Very tasty.

My Year of Spirituality

I have decided! I've decided my priority for the year of 2009 will be to advance my spiritual life. I'm not talking about religion or rituals, yoga or pilates, or candles and meditations. But rather, it is an effort to understand why I'm really here on earth and how I can live a fulfilling life.

I've never stopped believing I'm a lucky person, and I'm truly grateful for everything I have in life - my family, my education, my career, my husband, my friends, my in-laws, my dog, my health, my wisdom. After all, looking inside of myself and being true to myself, there are certain emotions I have since I was a little girl that I really want to try and deal with more appropriately, starting this year. Generally speaking, these emotions involve the desire for more and better material things, the anxiety toward any changes happening around me, and the apprehension about making the right decisions in life.

Though these emotions may seem "normal" and apply to most people, I am inspired to minimize these sometimes uneasy feelings. And I will make an effort to do so starting this year. I will begin by advancing my spiritual life with the understanding that --
"Everything I need, I have it. And that everything happening in my life is to teach me more about who I am, and to grow me into who I was really meant to be. Whatever happens, it will be okay! Be alive, joyful and present in every moment of my life, as it is truly a gift to be alive."

It is a choice of how we want to live our lives.

Yummy Brunch @ Wishbone

The New Year's Eve party resulted in all-day lounging and napping on New Year's Day. This also helped us feel all rested and refreshed the next day. Jeff and I got up quite early, so we decided to start the new year with a nice brunch together at Wishbone! It is a fun place with great Southern cooking in Chicago's West Loop.
We both ordered coffee to warm us up first. Jeff had the Andouille Hash, which was sauteed Andouille chicken sausage, potato, peppers and onions served with two eggs and toast (with choices of corn muffin or biscuit as well). I had the North Carolina Crab Cakes, which was spicy blue claw crab patties in Outer Banks style served with lemon butter sauce, two eggs and grits. It was a nice start of the day and prepared us for a day of fun activities~

Valkyrie

Valkyrie intrigued us to watch it as it's based on true events of Hitler's assassination. The idea of making this movie is original. To me, the movie worked well as a suspense film. Many nail-biting moments kept me captured. Tom Cruise did a fine job as the assassin, colonel Claus von Stauffenber, but I have to say it is not his most enticing performance.

Merry New Year

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2009!