Holly Jolly Christmas

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas,

Lean your ear this way;

Don't you tell a single soul

What I'm going to say,

Christmas Eve is coming soon;

Now you dear old man,

Whisper what you'll bring to me;

Tell me if you can.

...

Those are the lyrics from one of the Christmas carol pieces Sophie has been practising on her piano.

It was so funny last night that Sophie rushed inside the house in the quest of surprised presents from Santa as soon as we got back home from our vacation.  When she couldn't locate any, she felt extremely upset, and went inside the closet in their room, closing those sliding mirror closet doors and sat down in that dark corner with a sad face wearing a huge disappointment.

When I tried to comfort her with presents we got for them, it didn't do it of course as they weren't from Santa she pouted.

I didn't think that it would be such a big deal so I didn't wrap and prepare the gifts and secretly leave them at a corner of our house (since we didn't plan to decorate Christmas tree this year due to the limited space in our current place) before our vacation.  My bad!!

Being a non-Christian and coming from a country where Christmas is not widely celebrated (it held at least true until when I was there), it was so amazing to learn about the beliefs of Santa's existence by kids in this country at the beginning.  What Christmas to me back then was that it was merely something which was celebrated by my Christians neighbors.  Even when I was in Singapore, I visited Orchard Road and enjoyed staring at those beautiful vast Christmas decorations every year and it was nothing more than that for me.

I used to think that Santa doesn't have anything to do with me until when girls starting to learn about Santa at their preschools and make me leave a cup of milk with a cookie under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.  And I learnt to secretly take a bite of cookie while girls were falling into asleep to convince them that Santa really came and left presents for them on that night in our house :D

Apparently, I'm getting there but there's always rooms for improvements, don't you think? :P

Once there got this famous news here that a teacher was in trouble for breaking the news to her students during the class that Santa was fake.  Not only parents of the students of the teacher, but also almost all parents nationwide got furious after hearing the news.  Even my boss back then had a very upset conversation with others in the office including me by blaming the teacher for being so clueless.

All those young kids who are small enough to buy the idea of Santa's existence, St. Nick or Mr. C is really there making a list of nice and naughty to make sure whom to be given presents and whom would be excluded from his list.  And on Christmas Even, Santa will be visiting kids all over the world on his flying raindeers and is sneaking into house to house via chimney to leave the presents to good and well-behaved kids.  And every kid is so concerned of not getting a gift from Santa.

It was so funny when Sophie was so concerned how Santa would come into our house back in Sacramento which doesn't come with chimney.  I had to convince her that modern houses don't have chimneys and Santa would use the garage for those which don't have one.

To me, it wasn't until recently which I learnt that St. Nicholas who is a Greek Christian bishop who likes to secretly leave money or presents the poor kids on Christmas Eve is somehow linked as a Santa.  Thanks to Wikipedia! :P

Well, I'm learning more and more as you see :D  And for Sophie & Michelle, we're now celebrating Christmas every year just like everyone else here.  Christmas is such a huge festival and celebration over here for family time, reunion and get-together, just like what Chinese Lunar New Year is for Chinese.

Girls told me that Christmas is one of their favorite holidays.  Perhaps what they really love is presents they got by then I guess, LOL :P

About last night's incident for Sophie's big disappointment (Michelle is easygoing and she was disappointed too but wasn't as bad as her big sister), I was lucky enough to cover it up for my bad.  Am I being such an ignorant mom who didn't take serious for the fact that any kid here is so much concerned of not getting a present from Santa because they don't like to be regarded as bad kids?

Well, I of course got my own excuses just like everyone else.  :P  Sophie even asked me before our trip whether Santa actually exists and Christmas gifts actually come from Santa or from us?  I didn't really say "Yes" or "No" and my answer was really vague.  But I thought she was smart enough to figure the truth out at that early age :P

Anyway, my lucky helper is that they sometimes didn't behave during the trip (Oh, yeah! When they become bored after sitting long hours in the car, I learnt from my experiences that naughty and misbehaved kids are unavoidable :P) so I had to threaten them that Santa might retract his presents to them due to their mischief.

I think Sophie buys it and the same goes to Michelle for breaking iPad during the trip.  Probably that's why she was easier than her big sister last night as she knows her guilt.

Oh, well, I guess that there's always one good thing out of all madness or bad, right?  I just hope that girls will behave better from now on so that they won't be excluded from Santa's list for presents next year :P  At the same time, the lesson learnt for me is that secret presents on Christmas Eve are so important and it's a "must-do" on my list from next year on (until they are old enough to take the truth about Santa) :D

Other than that, we really got a good white Christmas on San Jacinto Mountain until the evening and a family movie time at home after getting back home.  And Sophie ended the night beautifully by playing Christmas Carols on her piano for us (Yes! Her big disappointment didn't last that long.  Thanks God!  :P). And it's holiday too, yeah? :D

Merry Christmas everyone (or perhaps Happy Boxing Day?  :P) and I hope everyone had a nice Christmas too!

If you have a clean soul and no evil wills then you'll have a good life!

While I was getting my tea in the kitchen earlier, I heard the conversation between two of my coworkers about other coworkers pissing them off at times.  Suddenly, one of them pointed to me and said that "She's always so pleasant and it's a big assets."  It's hard to do you know he added.  Well, I'm really flattered for his compliment of course :D

And just earlier, My aunt and I happened to talk about people's "jealousy".  

So, these two points which come onto my mind today becomes this blog post of course.

I'm a big believer that "If you have a clean soul and no evil wills then you'll get a good fate".

However, we as human beings at times deviate from it and misbehaves from time to time.  It's even unavoidable for some religious monks so it's very obvious that it's harder for ordinary human beings like us to practise and stick with it.

A lot of times, "gossips" are very common among us as human beings.  And what's interesting even more is that those gossips are mainly rooted from one's so-called jealousy in my opinion.

It's so easy to cause jealousy to those who aren't doing as good as those who are doing so well or much better than them.  When one in such mode, happiness apparently is out of question.  

And the next thing you know is that they either might trip you and pull you down.  Any mistakes you made or any misfortune you gotwill be monitored by them and you will be their victim under exaggerated bad-fouled gossips before you even know it.  

Basically, those jealous people will celebrate and cheerful for your failures and mistakes.  But you'll be confronted for any of your success and anything better you got than them.  Those are unpleasant things 

 to me really!  I have two "S" words for such unpleasantness: "Sad" first of all and "sick" second of all.  It's just not so unhealthy.

I of course have been victims of those evil wills every now and then. I got so many stories but I guess there's no point to waste everyone time including mine upon them :)

And I have came across a lot of people who only want to regard you as a family, relative or friend when you're doing so well.  If not, you will feel like you don't even exist in their eyes.  It's really disgusting to me!

As I grow older, I don't want to hold any grudges toward anyone who did wrong to me.  I used to feel the growing of heat of those grudges inside me.  It was really hot and burning me every once in a while.  I was merely one of their jealous victims and why would I burn myself for somebody else's faults or wrongdoings?  

When "forget" or "forgive" couldn't be a solution, "neglect" or "ignore" are the resolutions I adopted.  I feel much happier that way.  I just believe those people one day will go to the places where they deserve.  They don't need any of the punishment or revenge from me.

With all those said, I'm not saying that I myself is a perfectionist.  At least, I don't commit those jealousy crimes either physically or verbally :)  I'm still one of the human beings.  Every human has sins and every once in a while none of us is free from such sinful acts. 

However, I usually thrive myself to live up to this motto of my life: "If I have a clean soul and no evil wills then I'll have a good fate". Whenever I feel like I'm falling into the crack, remembering my life motto will keep me back on track.  I think it's really important because it's one of the important factors which make us pleasant and desirable!!!

In the pursuit of alone time

As a kid I used to be really envious of those successful grown ups with super busy schedule for some reasons :)  I still remember that I used to pretend play like I'm a director or an executive who was so busy that she didn't even have time for her lunch or dinner at times. 

Little did I know that Buddha would grant my wish one day, not being a director or an executive but a super busy working mom :P 

As I've already mentioned in several other blogs, struggling between a full-time job and trying to fulfill the housewife and mom role usually leaves me as a very exhausting one who got very little or almost no energy at the end of the day.  I couldn't even remember that there got how many nights that I fall into asleep before girls had fallen asleep while I was putting them asleep. :D

I find out that I'm not alone when other moms shared the exact same thing with me during Thanksgiving party at Michelle's preschool.  Regardless of stay-home moms or working ones, we as moms got the exact same topmost wish list.  Guess what?  It is to have own little personal time at the end of each day of course.

Well, didn't I just mention earlier that I barely got enough energy just to go and sleep by the time those little ones go to bed?  You heard me right.  Then, stretching out the last chunk of energy to its max possibility for the pleasure of one's personal free time aka so-called independence time of mine is the one and only solution as one could imagine of course :P

It was all good until my heavy eyes and tiring body are softly killing me at work the next day.  Then, I would swear to myself that I wouldn't stay up late for the night again but "it depends" is the only promise as good as I could make to myself I guess. 

Why?  Whenever the overwhelming desire for having my own little personal time re-appears, the vow I had made earlier could nowhere be found.  Just like that the same pattern repeats and life goes on... :P

Enjoying tiny little spare time out of exhaust or having fun with tiredness for the lost independence I'm trying to claim or just feeding my minds to quench the thirst of independence or whatever you name it.  It really satisfies one for that time being no matter what payoff I gotta make.  I'm sure that there got so many of us as busy parents in the same boat hear me well. 

Hmmm... I don't think we should be guilty for trying to pursue own spare time and pleasure every once in a while as I do believe that parents need time outs too.  I don't think I have heart to leave him alone with girls for mom getaway for a short break or timeout.  But I could become desperate for the pursuit of alone time at times.  "Desperate mom the alone time seeker" is the title for me?  You name it and I'll take it :P

Unbreakable Invisible Ties

 

Courtesy of Google and credit goes to the original graphic designer of this lovely picture

I was prompted with an opportunity at work to go to a conference at Las Vegas.  It's a really good opportunity for me to get exposure to the latest technologies and trends but the fact that I need to stay away from my family for a couple of days was really holding me back.  It was quite a bit of a "go-or-no-go" mentality battle for me.

I thought I would just skip it but he signaled the green light and thus I finally made the call for my attendance of the conference.  I broke the news to Sophie and she broke her tears.  Here are her words: "Mama, I really don't want you to go to Las Vegas.  I want you to be with me always.  If you go, I will go also.  I won't let you go all by yourself."  Oh, my!!!! It was such a touchy feely mommy and Sophie's moment.  After the thorough explanation to her that I would be going away just for a few days and I would be back, she felt better.

I was more hesitate to share this news with little Michelle as she attaches to me so much.  She expressed the same concern as Sophie and thought that I would be going away for a long time or would not come back.  She also mentioned that she didn't want me to go away even for a day.  Oh, my God!  I knew she would say that.  But at least she didn't shed her tears like Sophie and I was so glad that.  Seeing their tears really hurts me!  She used to cry a lot when she couldn't find me beside her in the bed in the morning when I often needed to head to work early.

SIGH!!!!!  $%&***@###$$$$%

Do you know what "Family" stand for?
F- Father
A- And
M- Mother
I- I
L- Love
Y- You

I got it from one of the forwarded emails from a friend long long ago.  The meaning of each letter just so makes sense.  How amazing it's that someone lay it out for such a meaningfulness!!

If love is some sort of string then it's one which is soft and gentle enough to touch and move one's heart.  Yet it's one of the strongest and unbreakable ones which can tie the hearts of all of us as family members forever.  Really, love and family they are inseperable and they indeed are unbrekable invisible ties!

Beauty of Sisterhood

As a kid, I always wonder what it'll be like having a loving and caring big sister!

Just the other day, we were joking to girls that if Sophie didn't listen to us, she would end up staying with grand parents back in China for some period of time.  To my big surprise, it wasn't Sophie who was scared and shocked. Instead, it was little Michelle who immediately started to cry and yell so anxiously that she wouldn't let her big sister go.  At the same time, she was begging us to let her big sister stay together with her as always.

I was so amazed and touched by a 4-year old's response and love for her big sister.  It was one of the cutest and sweetest things of sisterhood.  How lovely and sweet!  At the same time, I can't be happier for the love and attachment they have for each other.

When Michelle was first sent to the preschool at the age of 2, she cried so hard everyday for coping with new environment: new teachers, new school, new friends, etc.  I was told by girls' preschool teacher that Sophie usually came to Michelle's side (as she's in Pre-K side and Michelle's at Toddler side), stayed, kept company, comforted her little sister all the time.  All of her teachers praised her for being a very good caring big sister!

Even though the rocky and distant relationship I got with my big brother, I never want that it'll be the case for my girls.  We used to be very close and he used to a very loving and caring big bro until things started to flip him over.  Or may be it was him who started to flip things around him.  Either way, when things started not to work out for us, I started to mourn for a big sister who is willing to share every inside out with me and who literally is my best friend in this world.

I'm so glad that girls are naturally and instinctually embracing the blessings of sisterhood they're getting.  I can't be happier for their lovely gestures, mutual love and care towards each other.  This is sweeter than any sweet in the world!  Keep it up, girls!  Let this precious love glow all the way through!

"A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life."

"Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there."

"What's the good of news if you haven't a sister to share it?" ~ Jenny DeVries

Come, Come, Come and Sing!

Sophie got her very first singing recital from her After School about two weeks ago.  I've been  meaning to write a post for her but was getting so busy and haven't accomplished it yet as I wish. Well, I gotta admit that procrastination plays part of it too since I was lazy to copy over the pictures and video clips from the phone to the computer so that I could upload some to my post :)

As an excited mom for my girl's first recital, I prepared to charge all batteries of my camera, my video camera, my phone and whatever device I can use to take or record her performances.  Electronic recording gadgets overloading.... :P

Everything was in order and we were off to go the venue where she would be performing her recital only to find out that my camera got the missing battery which I apparently forgot to put it back after charging.  Ahhhhh...  What's a failure!

Other than blaming to myself, there weren't much I could do :(  And the light setting was so dim and the color appearing in our video camera looked liked sepia or so.  Another under preparation or failure at my end for the gadget we hardly use these days, just because we're lazy to bring it to everywhere even though its small size.  I'm sure that we could have figured something out for the better and more vibrant color recording by it with some advanced testing and preps.  Then, I was given no choice but only stuck with camera/video camera of our iPhones.

And guess what?  Everything tried to go against me on that day.  I rushed to take a seat at the second row so that I would be able to take a good recording of her performance only to find out that I picked the wrong side.  There was a center aisle and seating arrangement rows were on each side of the aisle.  I picked the right hand side of the center aisle's middle seating of the second row.  That's the opposite far end of where Sophie would be standing on the stage.

There were a group of about 10 girls doing the performance altogether and Sophie stood at the leftmost end.  So I was barely able to see her from the place I was sitting.  I asked her to come to rightmost end so that I would get a good picture of her but she just stuck to stay at her position there as it was the position arranged by her teacher she insisted.  What can I say?

There were two other parents sitting on my left hand side who seemed to be parents of one of those 10 girls in Sophie's chorus.  They were also recording their daughter's performance so I was not in a position to get out of my seating and moved to a different seating to get a better view of her.  I didn't want to be a very annoying mom who is super-excited so she would do anything to get a good view or recording of her kids by getting in other people's way or blocking view of someone else, etc.

So, there was nothing I could do other than blaming myself once again for not planning ahead by asking Sophie where she would be standing on the stage so that I could pick a seating with a better angle of view accordingly.  Lesson learnt is to do more planning and preparation next time.  Sigh!!!

Other than those few hiccups, I was really amazed by she and her group's singing.  They did three songs: two Chinese songs and one English song.  I had to say that they did a great job.  She did learn lots of stuff during her singing class.  Most of all, she loves singing and she had fun and enjoyed her class and recital.  That's what it matters most to us.

At the end of the third song, I was clapping my hands so hard to give her a big applaud.  It was just a recital and I could have been more proud if she is to do her individual performance.  Nonetheless, the chorus they did was pretty awesome and cute and it gave me nothing other than a proud mom's ecstasy.  I used to be so anxious for getting on the stage.  Having no stage fright alone makes me so proud of her already.  Well done, girl!  Jia you, Jia you!!

    Pictures and Videos to come..... :P

Work Coma

Almost everyone has heard of food coma, right?  That's what happened to me during holiday festivals such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Too much food and thus I got a food coma :P

This year, I stayed away from Black Friday so I was able to preserve my energy.  And we gave up the idea of visiting to Grand Canyon and around.  Sit back, relax and rested so well.  That was the sort of my ideal vacation anyway. 

But guess what?  I was getting the work coma for the whole day for getting back to work after a long break.  After getting such a comfy days at home, it was such a dragging to go back to work.  With heavy eyes, dragging feet, slow hands, semi-frozen brain from holiday, I can't think of anything other than "work coma" to describe myself at work today.  Thanks God!  The work was easy on me today and I couldn't really complain of course. 

Instead of waking myself up from work coma, I'm feeling so ready for another holiday.  Oh, NO!!  Gold please helps!!!!!  Work Coma for real!!  ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz   :P

My Black Fridays' Shopping Craze

Another Black Friday had just passed.  It's the Friday following the Thanksgiving Day.  And it's the biggest holiday shopping season for shoppers here as tons of one of the best deals are being revealed. 

For my very first year in the States, I just wanted to have an idea of a Black Friday so we went out to look around.  We happened to go to BestBuy which is one of the most crowded places for Black Friday every year.  I still remembered that moment when I was able to grab the last tub of CD R/W discs which comes with about 50 discs for just $1.99 or so.  But when we headed to the cashier to make the payment, the line was about 100m long.  That was the biggest crowd or longest line I've first ever seen in the States.  And yes, we gave up buying it as it didn't worth to wait for hours to check out. 

And after that incident, I kept a distance from Black Friday and I felt it was not my cup of tea. A few more years of Black Friday quietly passed by me. 

It was until when we pulled a trigger for our brand new house.  It was when I was thinking to load our new house with new stuff, I started to flip the coin and was getting to start falling in love with Black Friday.  We got tons of good deals during then and it was a very fruitful Black Friday. 

Since then my Black Friday shopping madness had been unfolded.  Whenever it's approaching to Black Friday, I'm always excited by monitoring and digging deals.  Every year, I got a pretty long wish list or To-buy list.  While I still couldn't beat those who tent at BestBuy a day or two before sales start in the cold winter weather so that they could grab those limited quantity door busters before they are gone, I have my own judgement so I usually head out to the place where I can handle the crowd.

I still remember that dawn when I would be hunting down the deals by myself for the first time in my whole life for that early in the morning.  He needed to stay home to take care of the girls.  It was still dark outside and I was kind of scared that I would be robbed or stopped by bad guys on the way to the shopping center.  But my determination to deals hunting and my love of shopping embraced my braveness so I went out for shopping alone anyway.

To my surprise, when I got to the shopping center, it was all bright everywhere.  And when I entered the store, all shopping carts and bags were gone.  Oh, yeah!  It was so silly of me who was so scared with own thoughts or imagination that it would be really deserted just by being myself alone or with a few other people who would be waiting in the dark outside the store to get its door opened.  I learnt that when it says the door will open at 4:00am I should be there by around 3:00am so that at least I would be able to get a shopping cart :D

Just like that, Black Friday has been giving me excitement before it comes and satisfaction after it has gone.  :P

Another remarkable Black Friday was I had gone wild shopping since the mid night.  Going in and out of one shop to another and hopping from one shopping mall to another, my shopping craze just went on and on.  By the afternoon, I became no exhausted providing that no sleep was taken for Thanksgiving night.  And it took me not only Friday evening but also the whole following Saturday to make all the sleep deprivation up.  And my long weekend was simply gone just like that.  Since then I made up my mind that I would not repeat such hysteria again.

My this year's shopping resolution is not to buy anything which I would not need no matter how good the deal is.  Plus, I don't really have much desire for Black Friday shopping craze this year.  And the good thing about this year is that most of the big retailer like Walmart, Target and BestBuy started out their sale as soon as it hit 12:00am mid night of Wednesday, which was considered to be the first minute of Thanksgiving day.  Most of the deals were available online and I managed to get almost everything I needed via online.

When I saw Black Friday shopping frenzies via the evening news of this year's Black Friday, I was so glad that I didn't even have any possibility of one of those victims.  I just feel like it's just not so worth to risk your life or pick a fight or argument with someone else just to save some $$$. 

I did Saturday and Sunday shopping and it was equally fruitful as well.  I think most of the retailers are getting smarter in the sense that they keep most of Black Friday's deals ongoing so that people who do not like to beat the crowd like me also got a chance to grab some good deals.  This way they will have a higher sales volume as well.  I called it as an equally fruitful holiday shopping as I got one Coach bag, one Michael Kors bag, one Ann Taylor sweater, some stuff from Victoria Secret's and winter clothing for girls from Macys.  And most of my holiday gifts shopping were done as well.  Most of all, I'm glad that I didn't buy any junk this year.  Bingo!

And I really like Cyber Monday as well.  Online shopping is much easier and I personally prefer it a lot.  Just need to be careful to stick with reputable sites or retailers to prevent oneself from Identity Theft.  The only downside of Cyber Monday is that most of all are back to work and I couldn't get the most out of it, LOL :P  Hmmm.... How I wish that Cyber Monday should be stipulated as one of the holidays too.  Well, that's just my wish list.  May be that's what I gonna ask from Santa this year and wish that Santa will really grant my wish.  Only if I'm a few decades younger and believe in the existence of Santa like all of those kids here though :P 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 
Thanksgiving is right here.  Sophie's Thankful Performance at her school on the other day just popped up on my mind.  There was power point slide show of answers of the question "What are you thankful for?" of each kid.  Sophie was thankful for Daddy, mommy and Michelle for the love she received.  Kids all came up with different reasons: there got one who was thankful for sky, or for their stuffed animal, or to their little puppy, and so on. 

It suddenly makes me wonder what I'm thankful for?  I've been really busy lately and tend to get so cranky and grouchy whenever I become exhausted.  A lot of times I ended up with loads of thoughts which made me upset.  It was a different me who was overlooking appreciation.

In fact, I'm thankful to Buddha for having me as a human being in this world and also for all the blessings which I've been getting.

And I'm thankful to my late parents for their endless gratitude, sacrifices and love towards me. 

I'm thankful to my husband who plays all different roles for my life, not only as a husband, but also like a dad, like a big brother, like a teacher, like a guardian, like a supportive companion.  Simply put, I'm thankful to him for being a guiding star of my life.  Without him, I could have lost several times during those life battles I've been fighting.

I'm thankful to my two wonderful adorable angles who make me learn new things every other day as a motherhood.  It's the most challenging and toughest job at times but it's also the most wonderful and rewarding role of my life.

I'm thankful to my family.  Without you, I'll be a loner.  With all of you and your love, my life is so green and I can't ask more.  Really!

I'm thankful to my job for making me feel independent and keep my life going.

I'm thankful to my relatives for giving me a hand whatever they can.

I'm thankful to my friends for all the laughter I got from them.


I'm thankful to all those good days I got for bringing the happiness to my life.  At the same time, I'm also thankful for all those bad and challenging days I got for making a better, stronger and more experienced me :)


And such and such and such...

Most of all, I'm thankful for who I am, what I am, where I am

I'm actually truthfully thankful for every single thing I have.

And last not least, I'm really thankful for this thankful and appreciation thoughts that I suddenly got which makes me feel so good and happy.

I guess I need to repeat or must not forget these wonderful thankful thoughts which can cheer me up whenever I feel down.  They do really make me optimistic.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!   Let's not forget to be thankful and appreciate what we get and whomever deserve it!!!!

Strawberrylicious

I've been so busy during past few weeks and I could not keep up with the blogging.  There got a couple of posts including Halloween post for my little ones but I could not locate it anymore after all these days have been passed. 

Holiday is right around the corner but being so busy and tiredness makes me not in the holiday mood.  Usually I'm so ready for the holiday around this time, :P

However, Thanksgiving is in the air and a series of Thanksgiving potluck are convincing me to get to the holiday mood. 

I made my favorite Cheese Cake for one of the potlucks at work today.  Oh, joy of baking!  It was the most successful cheese cake I've ever made.  So, I want to share a couple of tips for successful cheese cake from my experience:

1) Use the water bath while baking.  It really helps with not making the cake stick to the pan.
2) Follow the exact temperature the recipe is called for.  If you want to go over, don't go over a minute or two.  It really helps. 
3) Chill it over night or at least 10 hours. Another tip for not getting the cake stick to the pan.
4) And last, my Sharper Image brand new pan really helps I think.  I was putting back and forth before I pulled the trigger for it but I'm glad that I decided to get it.  It's such a keeper.  The shiny unique non-stick coating on it really helps with not making the cake stick to the pan.  Yahoo!

All in all, it was strawberrilicious and cheesylicious I guess.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

 

Aftermath of my Cheese Cake.  It was a hit :P

Life without internet...

I dropped my digital camera during one of the past weekends and it stopped working.  The fact that it's still pretty new and also not being ready to spend $$$ for a new one, it was really disappointing and annoying.  So with desperation for a free fix, Google was the very first thing which popped up on my mind.  And guess what?  I fixed it from the free blog post of one guy who shows all possible fixes via video.  Bingo! 

We now live in the technology era and Internet virtually is an essential part of our life.  To me, Internet is my knowledge or information ocean.  There're always answers or solutions for pretty much almost all of my questions. 

Once I was with him at his workplace for lunch.  He was approached by his boss and was asked for a technical problem.  He immediately suggested him to look the resolution up via Google.  His boss immediately responded him back that he was asking him just because the internet was down and couldn't get onto Google.  And they both laughed. 

When I'm in an deserted or remote area with very poor or no reception of my phone, I feel so screwed.  I feel so concerned for what I gonna do in case I'm in need of some help or encounter some issues, etc.  When I'm moving into a new place and couldn't get an appointment for the internet setup through the provider company on the very first move-in day, it makes me really frustrated in the sense that I don't know what to do without internet. 

I sometimes wonder how I passed the first few decades of my life without internet.  It sometimes further makes me wonder how people live without internet and electronic communication medium during ancient time.  I can feel the big PAIN back then!

However, flipping the coin will give one a different perspective. Technology can be really exhausting though if it's being overused.  I recently quit facebooking as I become overwhelmed for the time I've been wasting on there and the distraction I got from it.  It could lead to information overloading if one go over limit.  If I sit before my computer during my spare time, I could keep on surfing there until my body signals and commands me to stop as it couldn't take any longer.  You see the point?

 

This is the point I'm talking about, LOL :P

Just like anything else, "Balance" is the key.  We just have to make sure not to overdo it.  Not sure I get the best out of internet or Internet gets the best out of me :P  Regardless I can't live without internet unless I decide to turn my gadgets and devices off during my vacation to prevent myself from information overloading.  Google is like my virtual H2O.  Life without internet, I simply don't know how.  Another version of it is that "Life without internet, it just sucks!!!".  What's the version of yours? :P

Oxymoron

I grew up with so well protected by my family, especially my mom, my grandma and my aunts.  There wasn't a single thing I needed to be concerned of since everything was well arranged and prepared for me.  Everywhere I went I was escorted by one of the family members.  I thought that I was well favored by most of my elementary school teachers just because my grand parents were doing so well financially and they were well known and respected by my teachers, not because I placed the first rank almost every year.

Basically, the path that I would be going was well paved ahead of me by my family.  The fact that I was never been on school excursions (because my parents had lots of concerns about  me when I was alone and out of their eyesight) and what I wore daily was decided, prepared and got ready by my mom every day until during my freshman year really made me to wish a bird who is flying freely and experience things on its own, rather than a bird in the cage.

Suddenly, things started to go the other way round.  It was when my two main guardians and escorts who were my two maternal aunts, my mom's two younger sisters, left me alone under circumstances.  My big aunt got married and my youngest aunt who dearly loved me lost her battle with lung cancer.  My mom was busy helping my dad with the business and left me alone with the decision making token for the path that I would be going.  Just like that, I made lots of decisions for my education which later would lead me to my current career.  At times, I felt helpless since I wasn't sure I was making the right decision or going to the right direction.  At times, sleepless nights during exams and stresses and exhausts at work made me feel weak.  And it made me mourn my long lost well protection and care by my family at the same time.  

Isn't it very common that we, human beings, always tend to like the opposites and contradictions?  When one had a well-paved road, she wanted to try to make her own road.  And when it came the time to  make her own road and was making one, she missed the well-paved road she once used to get.  Isn't it funny?

Likewise, we like to be a grownup when we were a kid but when one started to grow old, he or she wants to be a carefree kid again.  A lot of things we currently have, we take it granted.  Then, when we suddenly loose it, its value suddenly surfaces and we regret. 

In contrast, the more we know we can't get something we want, the higher value it is, agree?  When it's easily available to one, we take it granted.  It always appeared to me that the movie which I had watched Nth times and I didn't bother to watch it anymore really attracted me on my exam nights. :P  And there always got super long list of things to do right before my exam so that I would be more well prepared next time for next year's exam.  But guess what?  That long list vanished with the wind and evaporated as the gas once the exam was over.  :P  And the same mindset of being more prepared and more disciplined would visit me again during next year's exam.  LOL :P

Super famous celebrities wanted privacy whilst we as most of the commoners like publicity by publishing everything or posting pictures at everywhere we go on the facebook? :D 

People in the villages wonder what it takes to experience the city life while people in the city pays to experience the urban or rural lives during their vacations.

Single people want to get married whilst it pops married people's mind with the freedom of being single every once in a while.  Couples who aren't able to get kids try all possible way to conceive.  But parents with kids long to have a break every once in a while. 

People who are out of job want so badly to be back onto the career no matter what it takes whilst those with jobs usually complain how tiring and stressful their job life is.  Black people want to have a fair skin whilst white people sun tanned to get a darker skin. 

Oh well, this world is full of opposites, contrasts and idiosyncrasies.  I guess it's what makes the varieties and differences.  The word "miscellaneous" exist there for a reason.  Like colors, opposites and contrasts make us different and unique.  And guess that they are what make the world go round. The opposites attract each other and contradictions make spices of our lives, don't they?  Yeah, Oxymoron!!

Leaving Me the Angry Bird in the Legend

Okay, I'm sure that everyone of us knows that yelling is not a good thing.  Especially this plays even an important role and make a bigger point when one is trying to be a role model to her kids.  I had repeated Nth time to myself that no yelling, no screaming or no raising voice before them but it failed at times.  

Why?  I realize that it's the only exit I could find whenever I get caught myself into the ultimate exhaust, tiredness or upset.  Even if I'm in the normal mood, those little playful mischief and patience rubbers along with their misbehavior are so capable of making me to end up with mommy's meltdown moments most of the times.

Whenever I got blindfolded by my anger, I'm no longer me and all my consciousness and senses are gone momentarily.  9 out of 10 times, I was out of control and I ended up ranting.  After busting out and releasing my madness and anger, I always come back to my senses and guess what?  I'm usually loaded with full of guilt and regret.

However, what I notice though is that my guilt and regret declines for each incident.  The more such incidents I committed, the less guilt and regret I felt.  For almost everything we involve ourselves, the very first time always appear to be the biggest deal.  But it usually tends to be no such a big deal for each subsequent incident, isn't it?  Likewise, I guess that I just don't try to make much effort to rectify my mistake after repeated guilt and regrets had numbed my senses.  And it's probably because I don't get haunted by my guilt and regrets anymore after having them multiple times.

I came across this article on Yahoo! which mentioned about the danger of yelling at your kids.  This really made me review myself and I feel so horrible how I become getting comfortable with it over time and not reinforcing myself to stay on track with my vow.  Especially when I learnt that how yelling and screaming at those little innocent ones could have created such a big impact on their life and more importantly, an unintentional wound or scar could have left on their mind.

Oh, NO!  I'm one such angry bird.  I suddenly feel like I'm a horrible mom and I feel so embarrassed for my behavior at the same time.  I realize that I'm seriously in need of reprimand to not repeat those again.  All I need is my anger management.  I know that it's not going to happen overnight as it takes time to rectify one's personality.  It's not easy to stick with it but I must not give up.  My determination is my first step.  I hereby make a vow to myself that NO YELLING, NO SCREAMING and NO RAISING VOICE to my little ones NO MATTER WHAT.  I'll live up to my mojo!  I can do it! I can do it!! :D

iOwn, iHeart, iUse and iEat Mac!

First of all, when you're thinking about Big Mac from Mc Donald's, I know where you usually end up for your meal :P  And it's not Mac-and-Cheese either :)  What I mean here is Macintosh.  It's A-P-P-L-E in other words.

Apple is something which got fascinated since Adam and Eve time.  But who knows that it'll still get influences and will still be fascinated for generations to come.  Thanks to Apple's father, Steve Jobs, who created jobs for people out of (an) apple as his name suggests :P

I'm always fascinated by White and thus design innovations in white by Apple is always eye-catchy to me.  They really make me love at first sight.  I still remember myself seeing the first time of those gorgeous white Mac PCs which was displayed at a computer exhibition and it couldn't get out of my mind.  But with a thin or flat wallet as a student, it was something I could only have dreamt of.

So, when i-Products revolutionize the gadget world, it's no doubt that icrazy about them.  Then, iBuy, iOwn and iPatronize those iPhone, iPod and iPad and iXXX. 

When my ex-boss was getting an office cell for me, ideviated and idecided to get Android instead of iPhone4S out of curosity to see what an Android has to offer.  iAdmit that Droid got more features, functionalities and ifancinize voice-command feature and voice-prompted Google navigation system.  But iFind that iProducts are much more intuitive and easier to use.  iPrefer and thus iStick with iProducts. 

iBrag about the new iPhone5 here :P

Now that, iPhone5 just came out and imanaged to get one for him.  ihaven't really explored it yet but ilove it so far for being lightweight, Siri and voice-prompted iMap, which is very similar to voice-prompted Google map which ilove from Android.  Being a lot lighter in weight than iPhone4 alone is making me to get one for myself as well.  Especially when the middle main button of my current iPhone4 doesn't work all the time, it makes me in the midst of iHate and iLove of my iPhone4.  Anyway, when iheart and ifascinate by them, iforgive and ioverlook any flaws or downsides they might have. iKnow, iKnow, iBaise :D

Just like that, iInsist and iGo on fascinating iProducts.  iBuy, iOwn, iFan, iUse iPhones and iProducts which are otherwise known as Apple(s).  OH, Ah!  And WAIT!!!! iEat Apple(s) too, LOL :P

Cure for Shopaholic Syndrome?

One of my favorite things to do is shopping.  Which girls don't like it anyway, right?  Well, I've come across a couple of those who are not really into the shopping so...  Anyway, I'm speaking for myself and shopping is one of my passions.  Yeah, yeah!  I'm one of those girls or whatever you call me.

Just the other day, I've come across this article on Yahoo! and it really made me to testify whether I'm a shopaholic?  I couldn't escape from a lot of points mentioning there and I'm a shopaholic of course as you might have already guessed :P

Just this morning he was telling me that closets at our place weren't large enough to accommodate all my stuff.  That's why I need California closets and I'm glad that we happen to be in California.  Thanks God! LOL :P

There got lots of items with tags still on in my closet.  See!  That's one of the shopaholic signs of the aforementioned article, isn't it?  Shopping is my relaxation, my enjoyment and yes it's my entertainment as well :)  When I'm stressed, frustrated or tired, I need window shopping online to make myself relieved from them.  It works for me most of the time, if not always.  Of course, there got times when even shopping could not cheer me up though. 

Luckily, I'm not a very obsessed shopper who always need to buy something but just looking and drooling over stuff could satisfy me most of the time.  Good deals always turn me on though.  :P  This really contributes a lot to my shoe shelves for adding more pairs to them.  A Junkie Me(hot deals addict or coupons queen or you name it :P), a Shoe Lover and a Shopaholic, they all are linked together, aren't they? :P  And even California closets give me up for loading them up with way too many stuff.  :P

I still remember those days when I teamed up with a very good and close friend of mine and shopped til dropped.  We literally started out like 10:00am in the morning and when we got back home it was about 10:00pm.  Believe it or not!  And my feet were super ached and killing me that I could not even wear my favorites wedges for a day or two :P

With that momentum, Singapore's shopping paradise, the famous Orchard Road, left us no fresh places to go :D  And I still remember those crazy yet carefree my college days where we (my other two close friends and I) often skipped lectures to cruise around different shopping malls.  "Window shopping" was a pretty fancy term for us as students with slim wallet. 

You know what?  This world needs people like me, especially for the current economy downturn, to stimulate it.  LOL :P 

Recently, I come to my senses that when those little things which I acquired through the good deals that I'd thought really add-up.  Just like a dime seems nothing but when tons of dimes are added-up, it could make big $$$$.

With that said, currently I'm in the process of looking to adopt my new passion or hobby, LOL :P  My enjoyment of shopping is already imprinted to the bottom of my heart or head so I don't think that I could get rid of it completely.  I'm just merely trying to find a way to divert my passion into a different perspective so that I could downgrade myself to a shopper from a shopaholic.  Simply put, I'm just trying to find a shopping substitute. 

The thoughts that I should prevent myself from being a shopaholic has already clicked my mind for a while.  And when I came across the aforementioned article on Yahoo!, it motivated me even more and my revelation followed. 

I'm on my way to rehabilitation.  If you're a shopaholic like me, think twice and think over yourself again.  It's never too late to change you know? :D

I'm one proud MaMa!

OMG!  It was so incredible!  Never thought of how it will be like to start a piano lesson with someone who created the book.  When Jane Bastien called me last week that she got an opening spot for Sophie, I was really thrilled. 

At the age of 6, Sophie went for an interview with her a couple of weeks back.  As a parent, I thought that I would just let her give a shot but never thought that she would be selected.  I know, I know.  Nows-a-day, interviews started at the age of 5 or 6 years old :P  What's a competitive world! 

Right after relocating to San Diego and while practicing her piano one night, Sophie noticed that the author of the piano text book from which she was learning her lessons was from San Diego.  At that point of time, I know that James Bastien is the author of all those Bastien piano lesson books series which most of the piano teachers follow.  But it was all and no more or no less. 

It was until then I learnt from one of parents' of Sophie's good friend that Jane Bastien who is the wife of James Bastien and co-author of all those books provide piano lessons.  Even at that point, I still didn't have an idea that James Bastien had passed away.  I went back home and did a little research about both James and Jane Bastien and I started to find out more about them.  I learnt that this couple is a piano Gurus and really renowned people for piano world.  Having her contact information on hand, I thought that I would just check with her to see whether she would have time for Sophie.

Even when Mrs Bastien called me back and gave me an appointment to meet with Sophie, I didn't fully understand that it would be an interview to say yay or nay to Sophie to become her student.  I knew that she would be evaluating Sophie but didn't even stress Sophie that it was the most important part.  Honestly, I didn't even do much preparation for Sophie.  Even though I wanted Sophie to start a lesson with her, I guess that I would be fine if she couldn't make it. 

The bottom line here is that I wasn't as crazy as other parents whose dreams were to become their kids to be students of Mrs Bastien even though I was hoping that Sophie could make it. Last week when Sophie started her very first group lesson with another girl of her age, I was a little bit surprised by the gesture of the mom of Sophie's partner.  When Mrs Bastien gave both of us permission to go in to the piano room to listen to her lessons, the other mom whispered me that it was the moment she had been waiting for all her life and she could not express how happy she felt that her daughter got selected. Her words made me wonder that being a student of Mrs Bastien was an once-in-a-life-time opportunity or something like that :)

Then, I realized that there got so many parents who were dying to make their kids to be students of Mrs Bastien and I wasn't as bad as them :)  When Mrs Bastien called me and gave me the time slot for Sophie, I didn't even accept it right away even though I was overjoyed.  I told her that I needed to think for a while since Sophie got a conflict with her After school lessons.  :P 

Anyway, I could not hide the fact that I was really thrilled and was really proud of her though regardless.  Even it takes me to wake up and go to work super early on every weekday where Sophie got her lesson so that I could send her there on time, I still feel so worth it.  Even it took me to wait for hours outside of Mrs Bastien's house in the heat with both Sophie & Michelle for her interview as Mrs Bastien was running late, I find it was really a trivial thing as well.  I have to admit that it was like a dream when I stepped into Mrs Bastien's house for Sophie's very first lesson last week with her.  Basically, I could not believe that she was getting that opportunity. 

Sophie was mad at me on that day of her very first piano lesson with Mrs Bastien as she had to give up her Chinese and Kung Fu classes for that piano class.  She didn't understand that how lucky she was to have that opportunity other kids are dying to get it.  But she came out happy of her piano class as she enjoyed it.    I just would like to create this post as a memoir for my little girl as a milestone so that she could read it one day when she grows up.  Keep up the good work, girl!  It's no doubt that I'm one proud MaMa!

A Shoe Lover's Note

Let's just start that I'm a shoes-manic.  I couldn't recall exactly when it started but when it comes to shoes, I'm pretty crazy.  When I was a kid, I used to always donate a pair of shoes for monks as they were affordable from my pocket money vs. the robes which were much more expensive than shoes.  Not sure I can relate it to having Nth pairs of shoes I got.  But there's a saying in Buddhism that if you do generous donations (which basically are sharings) you will get shared by others in return.  Who knows, I'm getting the fruitful returns of those donations which I had done previously :P  Anyway, the bottom line here is that I'm pretty fascinated by shoes and yes I have quite a bit of them (Okay, okie, it's a little more than quite a bit :D). 

When I go shopping, either online or in store, the first section I'd automatically and unconsciously look at is the S--H--O--E--S racks.  I like trying to put them on when I'm shopping in store.  And if they fit and if I think that they look pretty then you'll see it on my shoe rack the next day in addition to those Nth pairs of shoes I own.  I just couldn't resist, that's all :P  My 50-pairs shoe rack at home could not accommodate all shoes I got.  Just for your record though: I got 3 shoe racks to keep everyone's shoes of the family.  Yeah, I know, I know... :P

I still remember that there got 15 something pairs of shoes I gotta throw away when I migrated here from Singapore.  I still remember that moment when my heart got ached when I had to throw each of them away right into the trash chute of our apartment.  As a side note, almost every apartment in Singapore comes with a trash chute. And I really love that convenience of throwing trash without having to leave your house by the way.  Anyway, the point here is about my heartaches that I had to trash my 15 something pair of shoes which I couldn't bring them here with me.  Instead of trashing them, I had thought about donating of them.  But, all of them were used and a few of them were even worn out so I thought that they wouldn't be good candidates for donation anyway.

Well, that was one of dramas of my shoes.  And when I first left to Singapore from my country, I again left tons of shoes at home as well.   It was a collection and some of them were my favorites so I got a hard time back then as well.  Everyone around me knows about my fascination of shoes.  And once I was joked by one of the guys who was courting me back then that the only concern he got about me was that he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to afford for my shoes down the road.  LOL :P  Very well said of him, didn't he?  :D

And just the other day at work, I got a comment of "Oh, you really got lots of pretty shoes!" from a coworker who was passing by me by staring at my feet.  That was a comment from someone whom I only run into at the hallway occasionally.  And he's also not from my group so we didn't see each other much.  Even he noticed about my shoe fascination.  Hmmm.... $$$$ well spent?  LOL :P  Likewise, people around me often stare at my feet to see what shoe I'm wearing is not something unusual either :D  And needless to mention about loads of compliments which I got from them.

He asked me a couple of weeks back that whether I knew which department of Macys makes the most money?  After a small delay, I guessed it right.  Yes, it's so-called "Shoe Department".  When Macys was doing the designer shoes clearance with 65% discount a while back, it was super crowded there.  I no doubt was one of the shoppers there of course :P  I added three more pairs to my collection including a pair of Michael Kors's by then.  The shopping crowd explains that there got plenty of women who are as crazy as I do (or even more crazier than me perhaps) out there.  See, I'm not alone :P

The only thing though is that when it comes to moving, it could be quite a headache.  My shoes alone need a couple of boxes and need certain amount of time for packing and unpacking of them.  No kidding, huh? :P

Regardless, nothing could stop me from my love about shoes.  It's above and beyond of an addiction.  My love about shoes has already been rooted as a part of my brain. LOL :P  I'm now trying to control the pool size of my shoe collection though by buying only the ones which I absolutely love.  Even then, it doesn't mean that I would stop buying; it just means that I'm trying to reduce the volume :P  Guess what? Just like one of my favorite song titles, Nothing Gonna Stop Me, Nothing Gonna Stop Me Now!!  LOL :P  Also, have you ever heard that a girl can never has too many shoes?  :P

Lastly, let me share this cool note from this site with you:
Just in case you're wondering why shoes?

"Shoes don't talk back where men do. Shoes don't just stand there looking pretty, they make you look and feel beautiful. Shoes go with what YOU want. Shoes are the perfect accessory. And having more shoes than friends is definitely the way to go. Shoes are your best friend and always know how you feel. They don't tell you your gorgeous, but they make everyone else see it. Shoes make you feel good inside and always give you that excitement when you try on a new pair. How much it pains me to say it, choose shoes over chocolate, shoes don't make you fat and you still feel nice. And shoes you can live with your whole life. Shoes always replace men!"

If you're still wondering why shoes then I would recommend you need to read on other people's notes from that same link.  :P   But no offense of course :D

                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  THE END     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before an uninvited guest has knocked on our doors...

"Death" is something unpleasant and I don't think that anyone want to talk about it.  There are exceptions like monks and certain people though.  But a lot of us tend to forget it because no one really wants to die. 

But there are times like family, friends or loved ones' deaths are something we gotta unavoidably deal with.  The recent death of my big aunt, my late big uncle's wife, brought "Death" once again to my attention.  When I talked with my youngest uncle about her situation during her last hospitalization days, it broke my tears again as it once again poked my old scar for my late parents.  I absolutely can relate and sympathize of how my cousins will be feeling for their mom at this one of the hardest times of their lives.

There's Buddha's teaching that everyone will die one day.  Along with that, all other thoughts and insights click my mind altogether once again.  I felt like I suddenly become more religious.  It just brought up most of the stuff which I learnt during the summer Buddhist camp  when I was a fourth grader.  A lot of times, we as human beings enjoy the materialistic things around us.  Wearing the nice clothes and pretty shoes and bags, enjoying the compliments we've got from people around us for how great we look or how great we're doing, dreaming of a big and gorgeous house to own, etc, etc.  The list of items which we care and our wish list, both of which appears to be materialistic are so long and it just goes on and on and on...

But how many times and how many of us do care about helping others around us who are in need?  From the small things like holding a door for a mom with a stroller who is struggling to get through the door by holding it with one hand while trying to push the stroller with another one ?  And do we really care about those who are starving and thinking of sharing what we have with them, in terms of money donation or whatever we could?

A lot of the times, we care ourselves so much that we get ourselves lost in this materialistic jungle and the core values of life such as kindness, being helpful, etc have been overlooked.  Our mind is poisoned unconsciously with Greed (lobha), Hatred/Anger (Dosa) and Delusion (Moha), Pride (Mana) and Jealousy (Irshya).  Those five main different kinds of fire are burning inside us without being aware of ourselves.  Those are the main sources of our unhappiness and uncontentment. 

I used to hold griefs and grudges for people who did bad or treated me bad.  Whenever I happen to think about what they did to me, it makes me really mad again.  It's one of the main aforementioned mind posioners, Dosa (Hatred/Anger), isn't it?  During recent years, I had learnt to let them go.  I come to realize that I could have diverted my energy to use on other beneficial stuff for my life instead of getting it burnt by these kind of unworthy things. 

When "forgiveness" couldn't be the solution, "Let it go" and "Move on" are the two main resolutions I learnt during recent years.  And still my same old favorite quote "If you have a clean soul and get rid of your evil wills then you will get a good fate".  Speaking of "fate", I couldn't deny the fact that there got certain things in life where they are beyond our control for deciding our own fate. 

For instance, someone who is born as a deaf or a blind, they couldn't pick their fate for being a normal person just like others.  However, I'm a firm believer that the fate of most of the things in our life are determined by how we behave or gesture.  Newton's law states that everything has reflection.  Good things will have good reflections and bad things will do the same.

In summary, any of those materialistic things we're holding onto today means nothing when an uninvited guest comes and knocks our doors.  Can we bring anything with us when we're leaving?  Can we bring a beautiful girl or a handsome guy tile when we left?  Can we bring our favorite diamond ring or a Lamborghini with us when we're gone?  Nah!  But I think a clean guilt-free soul is something we can bring everywhere. Our uninvited guest could pop up at any point of time in our life and before he comes  we'd better behave ourselves.  Still the same old saying: "Life is short.  Live...Love...Laugh"  And when and while we live, keep ourselves up with a clean soul and get rid of those evil wills as much as we could.   I've been trying in the past as well but I now will raise the bars of my life even more by trying harder to always stick with this new motto of my life!  Bring it on!

I heart beaches

The weather forecast on my phone starts showing 90F for this week.  It's my first time seeing 90 degree ever since we've got here.  After passing May Grey and June Gloom, summer is right here.

What that means is that those countless gorgeous beaches will be super crowded for such a nice and warm weather.  I heart beaches and it's so incredible to live in a city where beaches are just so close by.  From where I grew up, we always gotta make a special plan and reserve a dedicated time to visit a beach.  Going to a beach was a vacation for us.  All I'm trying to say is that beaches are not close by and it would take hours to get there.  To visit Ngapali beach which is considered to be the best beach in my country took us a little more than a day by the bus.  By air will get one within shorter time frame but it'll cost one more of course.

From where we live now, it'll only take about 10 minute drive to a gorgeous beach. And one doesn't necessarily need to stick a beach when there got so many stunning ones to pick from.  To me, that's the beauty and the core of San Diego.  Beaches are so easily accessible to us and it could be the destination of our daily evening strolls if we want to.  Really, we can have a little vacation every week at those beaches.  I can't ask more.  The only downside is that beating the crowd during weekends when they are so easily accessible to everyone.

A beach offers the countless options.  Walking, jogging, surfing, swimming, Frisbee-ing, beach-volleyball, you name it.  Or gazing people or staring and enjoying it beautiful scenes?  Or trying to spot wildlife such as pelicans, storks, seagulls, sea lions?  I really love gazing at the restless sea and its raging tides.  Pampering my bare feet by dipping them into the warm and soft white sand and enjoying the cool breeze which is kissing my face and the gorgeous scenario and surrounding are just so soothing for me.  The settings and surroundings at the beach always make me forget everything but the current moment I'm enjoying there.  I find it's the best stress reliever for me.  It always makes me refreshed and recharged.  There's nothing like spending time with family at beach.

My kids love beaches too.  Beaches never disappoint them.  Building sand castles, playing with sand, running before waves or chasing them, collecting the shells.  There got plenty of activities which will keep them entertain and busy.

One of these days, I see myself camping at a beach with my family from the sun rise til sun set.  Cooling down ourselves by the beach during a warm day will be a wise thing to do.  And relax, relax and RELAX!  It's all about relaxing.  To kill such a beautiful day, I would add a favorite book or two to my list.  What do you say about the lunch picnic and the afternoon nap by the sea?  I had witnessed the sunset at the beach for a couple of times and they were incredibly awesome.  One time at Pacific beach, it was super awesome to witness the sun setting below the horizon, behind the sea. It happened like within a minute or two and I felt so incredible for catching that remarkable moment.  Oh my! Just thinking about it makes me want to do it right away.

Hey, most of all, beaches are free.  We're literally getting a free vacation.  Scratch those big bucks for expensive hotel rooms or resort fees.  One just needs to bring own self and invest a day.  Cost-efficient and affordable mini-staycations without having to cost one much and leaving your own town.  Plus, one can do it periodically and over and over again. Oh, I heart beaches!