Love in a bento box

First day of clinicals tomorrow: I've been assigned to a hospital around Whittier. Super excited!

We aren't allowed to leave the premises to get lunch, nor are we allowed to use their microwaves, ect. So that means....either eat cold food (*shiver*) or bring a sandwich (*eh*) But I'm so excited about clinicals that i told my mom over our dinner I'm even excited at the thought of a balogne sandwich! (no sarcasm. Im serious)

I know how to make all sorts of japanese dishes, even a mean fresh lobster dynamite roll, katsudon, and udon noodles...but I've never mastered making california rolls and such. Something about the rolling thing-a-ma-jigger...I still find it a bit intimidating. So mommy supervised while i gave it another go:


We prepared the rice, cut the veggies, got everything else together, and I watched her assemble the first roll. Watching her, my first big challenge was where to place everything to make it as pretty as she makes it... and how much ( so that it doesnt bulge, get loose & lose shape, ect).


Seems like PRESSURE is the key: the rice has to be a certain density so that it can hold things in place, but still be "roll"-able. and rolling with the thingy, a lot of attention is also places on amount of pressure and placement of pressure. Naturally, being a piano teacher who's made a living on emphasis of the finger tips, I started out pressing with my fingers tips; I thought I'd have more control over it all because my mom pointed out you can never re-roll re-do it once its been rolled. yikes!)...but my mom corrected me: it's about pressure with the fingers (not the tips themselves) and the palm.


Mines turned out a little smaller, but nothing was falling out, and one end was slighter larger in diameter than the other (I'm thinking it's due to uneven placement of filling and uneven pressure from when i began with my finger tips)


I kept eating the leftover cucumbers and tamago (sweet egg),,,each bite just made me grin. so yum! at first, Ma just gave me glares for munching...but finally...I guess I was eating too much of it, she slapped my hand gently before I got my hands on another strip of tamago. OK~ I'll stop (and stuffed one last strip into my mouth. She glared at me again, but I could see she was trying not to smile)





then I packaged the ones I made in my bento box, and made a baby rose out of some ginger. cute huh!? now I am REALLY excited about tomorrow!

Goodnight all!

-N

Inedible Sweet Indulgances

I'm a big girl now, but i love that mommy still indulges the little girl inside me

She camped herself out at the guest dining room & kneaded flour, water and oils. I was curious to see what dessert she was making....cake? cupcakes?! her famous cheesecake??!?....

...but when she started to pour paint into the many rolls of dough, the word "edible" became a concern for me...



deciding it was inedible, i lost interest and went upstairs to practice piano. I didnt come back down until it was late into the night and everyone was fast asleep.



and there, on the table was my mom's creations:

She was preparing for her arts & craft class at her

children daycare center the next day. And for her

over-sized baby girl, she made this:

Im so blessed to have such a fantastic loving woman be my mom. God, pretty please let me be at least HALF of the woman she is. please? half at least? sigh~ got a long way to go...my big feet will need lots of time before they can fit her tiny shoes.

Hello Kitty seems to be smiling at me, she is so adorable, and she knows it

Mission de Chef Natalie: LA Rooftop Sunday Brunch

Now playing "feather"
Up super early... but it's gorgeous morning! There's a slight morning chill, birds are chirping.

Making Sunday Brunch @ a gf's pad in LA. Its a beautiful morning! it will be perfect to enjoy a sunday brunch, mimosa's and alcoholic desserts on the rooftop overlooking LA.

Can't wait, but Im up against my will because my constant itch of having to always be prepared prepared prepared has got to be scratched well well well! Dont want to forget a single ingredient (dunno where the closest store it at). Don't want to forget a single tool or garnish...or dish or matching glass for that matter either! I'm not OCD...but I am definitely anal about detail cuz it's ALL about taste & it's ALL about presentation.

OH MAN! EYEBAGS GALORE I'M SURE OF IT!

Menu this morning:

笑了

今早發現媽媽不在房間裡...我走進後院的花圃看到媽媽的背影.我們看著對方, 兩人都穿白色衣服, 戴帽子. 我們看著對方...沒說話...媽媽笑了。我看著她，也笑了。

Lookin back, me and mommy were born with such opposite character and personality: I was so tough, strong, selfish and stubborn. Mommy grew up soft, weak, gentle and giving. Time has passed. Mommy aged. I've grown up. As I looked at her in our garden...both wearing white and sunhats....her with short hair & cute wrinkles...me with my long hair & flip flops, I realized something. I am a mirror of her when she was young. And some how, with God's blessing and her love....Time & their love has washed away my toughness, selfishness & stubborness. I've grown up to be soft, gentle and giving....but remain strong in my spirit.

...謝謝.

春天的雨

currently playing: "你是爱我的" from film "如果·愛"

我還沒有放棄... 你打算放棄了嗎？就這樣放棄了嗎？

只是回憶的音樂盒還旋轉著　要怎麼停呢? 説好的幸福呢?

爸，請你告訴我...回憶的音樂要怎麼停呢?
爸，請你告訴我...你後悔了嗎？

i guess we are powerless to help determine the happiness of others...but we can determine our own, and aim to provide an environment for our future other & children to find their longlasting happiness....

i guess....我們只能找到自己未來的幸福.

2010, Madonna & 2nd chances

I find constant updating & loading photos on FB a bit toilsome, so from now on, I'll just update here. I dug up an entry I wrote last year about believing in 2nd chances. It's a new year & I still believe.

It still makes such an impact on me, so i thought id start out with this as my first entry in 2010:



Madonna & 2nd chances
Madonna's speech on Michael Jackson made me reflect on my own life, the people I have met, the impact they have made in my life, ...and how we tend to take advantage of things that we feel will always be there. It is so sad that we do that. And it isn't until God takes someone or something away when we turn around and want to say or show what we always wanted to say or show to that person, but it is too late. When God sends his angels down to take that person away, there is no way to change his mind, or to turn back time...all you can do is regret that you never told that person how great and how important they were to you...or how wonderful it was to have that person light up your life. All too often we are left with that desire to correct our shortsight, knowing too well that THAT desire will never be fully satisfied~ once a glass of milk that was once half full has been broken, one can never fill that glass back up...no matter how fantastic that new carton of milk you had purchased is. and Why? Because, that person has left. Because God HAD given us the time to appreciate what we have in our lives, and we tend to get so caught up in things that-- in one way or another, choice after choice made, had chosen to take advantage of it while we had it.

For those that think I am stupid for giving others 2nd chances: perhaps I am. perhaps a part of me still believes ( naive? maybe.): it is a chance and a risk I take. Yes, I have had people take advantage of my ability to forgive, and hurt me again and again. But i will put it this way: God has shown his love to me when i had most needed it. and He had forgiven me when i had needed it. So i will continue to show my love for those who need it, and forgive them as well...and I hope they will do the same for me. I believe we are all humans, and i believe we all make mistakes. I believe in the bad and the demons in people...but I also believe in the good in people. I believe in 2nd chances. On an individual basis, it is not necessarily what they do to be called a "good person" or "good friend"...but it is what that person does with the 2nd chance ( call it hope or love) you give them that i believe determines if they are a good person or a good friend. If they take that 2nd chance for granted, and depending on the situation, a possible 3rd chance (although i dont expect much after that), then they deserve the distance i put between us. If they appreciate that 2nd chance, then yeah, i will continue to believe in them.

I had recently given a friend a 2nd chance. There are those who shake their head and tell me that friend will just end up doing the same thing again...so why bother. Why? because i want to believe in her, the way i want to believe in the good in people, and the only way to find out is to give it a try. Because i dont want to take advantage of the possibly good people God places in my life, and because i dont want to live a life with a trashcan full of broken glasses. What an ugly world we end up living in if we lose faith in the good in people, what an ugly world it is without 2nd chances.

In case her speech has been forgotten already, here is from my scrapbook:

Madonna gave one of the best Goddamn speeches on Michael Jackson ever. (sorry, there is a 25 sec Jay-Z commercial before it. Can't erase it)

MTV Shows

( if the video doesnt work, this wonderful speech can be found:

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1621390/20090913/jackson_michael.jhtml