an apple a day

missing home

It's weekend again. I'm still trying to adjust after the trip to Hong Kong. I always get depressed for a while after visiting Hong Kong. It is my home afterall. After this visit, I have a strong desire to move back there. The living condition may not be as comfortable as it is here, less space, pollution, hot and humid weather. I think I will be happier there. At least that's how I feel right now. When I was younger, I thought I loved living in Hong Kong because I loved big cities. That's the life style I knew. Now I'm older and have a family of my own, I realized that has little to do with being a city girl. I miss my family and friends. Sometimes I wish I was from here, at least I wouldn't know what I was missing. Peter had been telling me how much he wanted to move to Hong Kong. I didn't think that was possible. That was because I wasn't seriously considering it. So our plan now is to move back to Hong Kong in few years. There are so much to consider, but hopefully now we can start moving toward our goal. 

trip to mainland China

We just got back from a five days trip to mainland China this morning. It could have been shorter in my opinion. We took a 12 hours train to Longyan, Fujian (my parents' hometown). We visited my grandma and some extended families. I was glad to see my grandma. She's 88-year-old, and not in the best health. This may be our last time seeing her. Her vision has deterioated so much that I had to get up close for her to see me. Then we took a 2 hours bus to Xiamen to visit some more friends and families. Xiamen is right by the ocean and much more modern than Longyan. It seems like a nice place to live. Peter really likes it there. Then we took a 16 hours train with another 30 minutes connecting train ride back to Hong Kong. I'm so exhausted. I can't even think about the long flight coming up in a couple days. I wish we could have more time in Hong Kong. Although I'm not looking forward to the flight back, I'm so excited about my brother-in-law's wedding in a week. More family time and eating. Here are some photos I stole from my brother.

Train joy

No surprise

Peking duck is my favorite.

American superman vs. Japanese superman

Those are the typical halmet they use. I think they are plastic.

Five bucks per ride. We gave ours extra becase we were too heavy.

Eli's new toy.



This lucky chicken gets to wake up to this beautiful scene every morning

Typical feasts we had while we were in China. This one is extra special. My parents' friends took us deep into the mountain to have this meal. All of the ingredients are grown and raised locally.




I wonder if there are any hobbits down there.

Tips on traveling to China:

1. Most of the places in China don't have air-conditioning. Even if they have, the air isn't very cool. So if you can't stand the heat and humidity, go during fall or winter.

2. Bring plenty of toliet paper and kleenex. Almost all of the public bathrooms don't have any toliet paper. Of course you will have much better bathroom setting in a hotel.

3. Another thing about public bathroom, be prepare to squat. Most of the public bathroom in mainland China are just a hole in the ground. Oh, and try to hold your breath if you can when you are in a public bathroom.

4.Foot wear: don't wear any sandals or open toes shoes, espeically again, in a public bathroom. You don't want to get your toes or feet wet by yours or other people's body fluid.

5. Don't give any money to beggers unless you can stupid.

6. Don't be afraid to eat local dishes. They are probably better for you than McDonalds. Yes, there are McDonalds and KFC all over China, so you won't starve to death.

pizza, sushi, cakes and friends

grandma's funeral

what we have been up to

Some pictures of what we have been up to in the past week or so. Not much has happened. We didn't do any sight seeing because we are here for my grandma's funeral. There are lot of hanging out with family and friends and good eats. It's been strange not having a baby to take care of since Eli is staying with my parents. To be honest, I don't find that as enjoyable as I expected. Not because I miss him, but I'm so used to being a mom, sometimes I feel meaningless and blah without him. It's obvious this little guy has brought more joy to our lives than we knew.

Hong Kong trip part one

I can't believe I'm Hong Kong, even harder to believe that we survived the fifteen hours plane ride with Eli. I don't want to about it. It was as awful as it could get. By the end of that flight, the idea of leaving Eli with my mom for a year sounded really great. Here's how our trip started...

We had to drive to Chicago couple days earlier. so I could get a permit from the Chinese embassy. They were very helpful and I was able to get it on the same day. To ensure we got there at the earliest, we left our house at 3am. We didn't get there until 9ish. Now we understand why people always try to avoid the rush hour in big cities. It took us thirty minutes to drive four miles there.

After a gruesome fifteen hours flight, we have finally arrived Hong Kong. Hong Kong is in the 60s and 70s and humid. My dad's first reaction when he saw us was to run toward us and scream "My baby!". The biggest reaction we have seen anyone every has for Eli. He forgot he's in public. We had a delicious home cooked meal, and for once, we didn't have to take care of Eli while we eat. Maybe that's why it was so delicious. My mom asked if Eli could stay with them while we are in Hong Kong. I told her to take him and no need to return at anytime. Then we went to best friend Shan's place. Shan and I stayed up until 3 am. We talked and laughed. We were laughing at old letters that she wrote me and playing with makeup. Good times.

kids play

We took Eli to the play area in a nearby mall last week. He loved it. It's very hard to keep him in one place. You have to keep your eyes on this little guy at all-time. There were a few times when he escaped the play area and started walking in the mall without his shoes. There were also couple times when he took the cell phones from couple of the moms' purses and started talking on the it and walking away. There was a boy there that seemed to want befriend with Eli. He kept following Eli and taking Eli to his mom. I imagined he probably asked his mom if they could keep him. It was so much fun to watch Eli interacting with other kids. Oh yeah, and there was this little girl that pushed Eli down. What a umm... nevermind.

so sick and so precious

Can't do anything. I wish I could bear your sickness for you.


Checking out dad's IPod.


Bless his heart. Still a happy baby even when he's sick.


He hasn't slept on his dad's chest since he was few months old.

smitten

my first birthday present from Eli

I got my first birthday present this morning from Eli. As always, I was excited to see my little boy's smile, as I walked into his room, he looked excited to see me as well. He was holding up something for me with a nice grin on his face. "Oh BB, a birthday present for your ma? You shouldn't have." As I walked closer, I noticed with his first two fingers, he was holding a piece of poop. Oh poop, you really shouldn't. Sorry, I didn't capture this moment on camera, but you all will understand.

valentine's day recap

So on valentine's day, we had plan for homemade candlelight dinner. Unfortunately, we spent out evening in ER after my one year old c-section incision got infected. That incision had been swollen and red for a few days, but that night, it broke open and bunch of pus came out. Here are the pictures, nah, just kidding. I called my OB doctor, but didn't hear back for a while. I decided to go to ER when I started thinking about the worst scenario. My mother-in-law came over to watch Eli. Going to ER with a baby is not fun. Luckily, I didn't have to spend the night at the hospital. They prescribed me two different antibiotics and sent me home. We went to TGIF for our valentine's dinner. I had a berry mojito and some food. I can't remember when the last time we had a date. It was really strange to be sitting in a restaurant without a baby. I still remember the first time we took Eli to a restaurant was for my birthday last year at the Cheesecake factory. I remember how nervous and embarrassed I was. We are not afraid to eat out with Eli anymore. He will be good as long as he has food in his mouth. He loves his food.

Happy Valentine's Day

hands dancer

He makes us laugh every day.

baby sleep screams

Does anyone know why my one year old baby screams in his sleep? Eli does it every night. We are not talking about that kind of screaming bell that may suggest night terror. His scream usually lasts no longer than a minute. It's annoying if I'm awake. Yes, I said it, my son is annoying sometimes. Still love very much regardless, in case he reads this when he's older. The only think I can think of is that his dad sleep talks sometimes. It's creepy when you are not prepared to hear someone sleep talks, because it usually comes on very sudden and loud. Sometimes it's all gibberish. So maybe Eli got this weird habit from his dad. So if anyone has any idea what this is and how to stop it, please leave a comment.

photography

Some of my friends are amateur photographers. Every time I saw their photos, I wished I could do that too. I think photography is underrated. Photos often say so much more than words. I want to be the photographer of my family. I want to record our lives. Someday when we look back at our photos, we will remember all the memories that would not have been genuinely captured with words. With that said, I hope to be able to buy myself a nice camera maybe with our tax return. Not the point and shoot kind, I already have my sony cybershot. I will have to discuss this with the husband and hope that I will get his support too.

we just all look similar

The other day I had a patient asked me if I knew this Asian friend of his who also works at the hospital I work at. He said I reminded him of her. This happens a lot. People from time to time ask me if I know certain Asians that live in town. I just don't know what to say to that. I told this patient I don't know his friend, but throughout the night, he would tell me his friendship with his Asian friend. At the end of my shift, he asked me again if I was sure I didn't know his friend, I finally said, "no, we just all look similar." I wasn't trying to be rude, but I thought that would an end to that conversation, and it did.

Sick baby

My mom asked me for a recent video or photo of Eli. Unfortunately, the only recent photo I have of Eli was taken today, but he's sick. Poor thing has a cold. You can see his skin gets worse from him rubbing his snot all over his face.

When he's not sick, he's usually a happy dancing baby.

My favorite things

So I was inspired by my friend Amanda's recent post "my ten favorite things". I used to make youtube videos about my favorites of the month. I think this is fun and helpful to those who want to try new things. So here are my ten favorite things of this month.

1. LUSH godiva solid shampoo. The smell is amazing.
2. LUSH angels on bare skin. I have been using this for couple months, it exfoliate my skin so gently. My skin has never been softer. I'm a new LUSH fan can you tell?
3. These mugs I got from target. I love them cuz they are so cute and tall enough for water.

4. Animal crackers. Perfect snack for Eli.
5. Online shopping. My all time favorite. Life can't be any easier.
6. My curling iron. The barrel is big to create nice soft curls.
7. CHI silk infusion. This makes my hair shinny and less tangly.
8. O.P.I. nail polish in metro chic. It's a gorgeous purplish gray color.

That's all I can think of for now.

the new president

I'm so behind on my blog. As I'm watching the president inauguration, I see people weeping and so enthused over the new president Mr. Obama. Peoples' reactions uis strange to me. They worship this man like he will do no wrong. It's good to have trust in your president and hope that he will do well for your country, but don't get your hopes up people. He's not God. He's human just like everyone of us. He will too make mistakes. To be honest, I think people will have a hard time criticizing him because they think he's "just perfect". If I were able to vote, Obama wouldn't be my choice, neither would McCain, but this is what the people decided, so let's hope and pray that he will change this country for the better as he promised.

holy crap what happened

What happened to 2008? Were there really 366 days? Time really flies when you are having fun, or when you have a baby. I have no idea how my husband and I managed to survive our first year as parents. We probably would have died if my mom wasn't here for the first six months. She's a little upset that she is missing out all the cute and funny things Eli does now. When she left in June, Eli was still just a baby that ate, pooped, cried and lay around all day. Now he's walking, talking, laughing, all that good stuff. If she had a choice now, she would come see Eli everyday. I don't have any resolution for 2009. I just want to make it to 2010. I look back in 2008, here are some of the things I experienced.

I miss...
Staying up til five in the morning and sleeping pass noon.
Going to movies and not worrying about having to get home soon.
Being able to just grab my purse and go.
Enjoying my meal.
Peace and quiet.

I'm grateful for...
Waken up to Eli's babbling.
Poopy diapers because that means Eli is healthy.
Eli's baby teeth.
Bananas, Eli's favorite snack.
Strong arms to carry Eli around.
Warm weather that is good for Eli's skin.
Hand held shower head for Eli's bath.
Cheerios.
Cuddle time with Eli.
Hugs from Eli.
The big happy smile on Eli's face every time he sees us.

In 2009, I look forward to...
Hearing Eli's words.
Eli being able to feed hinmself.
More baby smiles.
More cuddling.
More hugs.

And more hair.

In 2009, maybe another baby? Nah, we will save that for 2010.

Eli's first year

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Our boy turns one today. This has been the best year of our lives.

thank you uncle Jon

Eli got a package from his uncle Jon yesterday.

Christmas tree

You know what's crazy? That we got rid of all the food I cooked for the Christmas dinner. (see previous entry) We ate all the chicken wings, sickening I know, and I took most of the lettuce wraps to work this evening.

We went to the mall yesterday, and we finished our Christmas shopping yay! We only had a few people to buy for. I hate mall shopping these days. Eli was good, but really, there's no place for babies or little children at the mall during holiday seasons. It's too crowded and too much stimulations. I'm sad that I can't put up our Christmas tree this year. We don't need to have a fake tree filled with lights and breakables for Eli to destroy.