Love Notes

The excitement of summer is officially gone, and we've finally settled into our daily routines for the school year at our household. It's cr...

Brazilian Steak House and Fantastic Four

Last weekend, I went to the Brazilian chain-steak house: Fogo de Chão for the first time. [from left: Michelle, Christy, Ivy, Me, and Zhong...

Things that Rock: YSL Easy Liner

My latest find--YSL Easy Liner! It apparently has been around for a long time, but I happened to run into someone (stranger!) that swore by...

Breakfast That Rocks!

Some of you know that Russ "gets into" things very easily. He would find his thing, do his thing, perfect his thing, and then move onto his ...

43.75%

Okay, okay. I understand that this is the nature of this business. I get that running for President of US has a lot at stakes, and you've go...

Vegas, Baby!

A couple of weeks ago, my girlfriends and I took our first annual girls' trip to... Viva! Las Vegas! I had not been to Vegas for quite a wh...

For those of you who are under stress this morning...

Sometimes, when you are a bit stressed out, all you have to do is to find some people who are enjoying themselves and just imagine what they...

Papaya Mango Salsa

Ever since we moved to Texas, the frequency of Mexican dinner has increased tremendously in our household. I guess they're more Tex-Mex than...

August 15

It's August 15th again, and it marks a significant date in the history of Japan, or of the world actually--the end of the war in 1945 or mor...

Best Comedy Ever!

Russ and I went to see Tropic Thunder last night at the Alamo Draft House. It was the perfect movie to watch at the Alamo--it was so funny t...

The Source of My Power

Man, I miss Russ so much! He's only been gone for a week, but it's the second weekend that always get you, ya know!? I've been moping around...

Consequences

I just finished reading this month's book club book; Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum. What an extraordinary story... When I finally finishe...

The Awesome Man and the Sea

Thaaaats my baby! Mmmmm... halibut... I need to get going on my mango salsa...

Here is a Story of the Biggest Bit*h in the History for ya...

This photo was taken at Qian Mausoleum (Qian Ling) located outside of Xi'an. These statues once represented the 61 foreign emissaries who at...

The Value of Now

In The Great Debaters , the preacher character played by Forest Whitaker repeatedly says to his 14-year-old son, "We do what we have to do i...

Life's To Do List

I've never met a person who does not have a "Before I Die" List. Most I hear are the "places to visit" lists for obvious reasons. Some have ...

All the Small Things

Okay, okay! Thanks to my silent readers who are not so silent only when I don't update my blog, I am renewing my commitment once again to ...

Are Bloggs Off Limit in China?

I have not been able to access my blog site ever since I arrived in Shanghai. I seem to be able to post one, but not visit a site on blogger...

These People Are Not Afraid of Death

The more I observe the locals here, the more I realize that these people are just not afraid to die. They will cross a busy intersection hop...

It Has Only Just Begun...

Yay, we did it! (Insert Dora's theme song here.) After a long day of playing I Spy's and Rush Hour games, we've successfully transported ou...

Monday; Here We Go Again...

I'm sure it's the same for everyone, but I sometimes have the hardest time with the whole weekly routine thing. Because I enjoy the weekends...

The Reason Why We Shouldn't Let Kids Watch Scary Movies

Late last night, I discovered that we had a major tornado warning in our area. I was sitting out on the patio with Irene trying to relax and...

The Power of Continuous Efforts

It has been 9 months since Jay started to swim with his swim team. While he still maintains his enthusiasm for swimming (especially now that...

We Are Moving On!

Today was Pucker's preschool graduation. As Rachid and I watched him perform songs and go through the commensement, we could not help but...

My Special Mediocrities

Happy Mother's Day, everyone! Hope your day was a special one. As for me, ever since I was blessed with my boy(s), each year seems more and ...