Anna's Belly at 29 weeks

Not too exciting...but some of you have been asking to see Anna's growing belly. Baby boy Chin is still on schedule for a delivery date of March 6th. We will keep you posted of any new changes.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Christmas 2009

4D Ultrasound picture of baby at 19 weeks

Crazy Hail Storm!!!

Casper and Teddy...Posing!

Over Christmas break.

Casper and Teddy are posing next to the warm fireplace with their winter sweaters on.

TWILIGHT!!!!

Pork Tenderloin dinner...

Pork Tenderloin, Quinoa with Corn and Scallions, Roasted Yellow Squash and Poblano Chiles, and oven baked Russet Potatoes (quartered).

Happy 6th Birthday, Casper!!

They grow up so fast...Casper is already 6 years old. And still not at all a bit calmer. Here he is sharing his birthday canoli with Teddy.

Vegas, Baby!!

Ray and I were in Vegas this past week. Ray had work training there and I tagged along. We stayed at The Orleans off the strip. Needless to say...we didn't win the jackpot. However, I did win $127 (12,700 credits) at the penny slots. That's pretty good for penny slots.


We wanted to see a show but couldn't decide on which one. Ray wanted to see the X-rated show Zumanity while I wanted to see KA. We ended up watching Criss Angel's Believe at the Luxor. I was excited to see it because of the performance they did on "So You Think You Can Dance", but honestly, the show was very disappointing. After the show, all I could hear were bad comments coming from the other audience members.

Being in Vegas really made me miss Cali. For instance, we had to make sure to stop in to eat at In-N-Out. Texas is great, but no In-N-Out. Yummy!!



I left Vegas early while Ray stayed 2 more days. To wrap up my trip, guess who I bump into? While checking through security at the airport, I see Mike Tyson. Hello...I wanted to get a picture of him, but was a bit intimidated. I called Ray and he urged me to go up and ask for a picture with him. Well, here's the proof. He was actually a pretty nice guy...very quiet and mellow. He even thanked me after the picture. Totally awesome!!

Kayaking on Town Lake

Today, Ray and I decided to go kayaking on Town Lake in downtown Austin. We brought the dogs with us and they had a blast. It was rather warm today...in the mid-90s. Teddy wanted to jump in the water several times to try and catch some turtles that we saw along the way. All in all, we had a fun time. We rented the kayaks for an hour and saw some of the beautiful sights that Austin has to offer. We will definitely do it again.


After a hard workout and our stomachs growling, we went to the famous Guero's... for some tex mex food. Guero's is located on South Congress....or SoCo, as the locals call it. SoCo is now a lively street with lots of little shops, boutiques, and local eateries. It's got it's own cool vibe. Back to Guero's...I personally do NOT like tex mex food and miss and crave the real Mexican food back home in Cali, but this place is not bad. They have some awesome margaritas that do not taste very strong but hit you like a ton of bricks. Having the dogs with us, we sat outside. Tonight, they had a live band playing jazz music in their patio area and we were able to listen to it while dining. This restaurant is ALWAYS crowded and there is always a long wait. But I think it's worth it.

Happy 4th Birthday, Teddy!!

Teddy turned 4 today. Here he is with his birthday cake.

Portrait of Casper & Teddy

Lifehouse Concert Rocks!!!

Last night, Ray took me to a Lifehouse concert in San Antonio for my birthday. On the way there, we stopped by Cracker Barrel. I must say that I like that place less and less everytime we go. We got lost on the way there but somehow made it on time.

The concert was at a small bar, Scout Bar, which was in the middle of no where. Of course, we found out soon enough that it was standing room only. So, we were standing for about 3+ hours. Was it worth it? Heck yeah!! Lifehouse was in one word...AWESOME!! They definitely rocked out and did stuff that was not on their cd. For a minute there, we thought we were at a Seether concert. Excuse the blurry pics...my iphone camera sucks in the dark.

On the way home, the GPS took us on a rural road back and straight face to face with a deer in the middle of the road. Luckily Ray's swerving helped us avoid hitting the dumb deer. The deer didn't even care that he was going to die. Of course from then on, the ride home had us on edge. Tryng not to fall asleep in the middle of the night...that was the longest 1 1/2 hour drive ever.

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!!!!

For my birthday on Wednesday June 4th, Ray took me to dinner at Truluck's...a local seafood restaurant well known here in Austin.

We knew going in that it was going to be pricey. No dungeness crab in these here parts. Truluck's serves stone crab fished from their very own fisheries. I ordered the North Atlantic Jonah Crab Claw Platter and as you can see, there were 9 claws on my platter. Ray had the Alaskan King Crab which came with one ginormous crab leg. He wanted to support the fishermen from his favorite show "Deadliest Catch". From the price we paid for that one claw, we understand why those fishermen make so much money.
The meal ended with a chocolate lava cake...on the house. So, overall, we were happy with the meal. It was very good, however, definitely a bit pricey for our taste. Being Chinese, we would still be happier going to a good Chinese restaurant and ordering the typical crab cooked with green onion and ginger.

Yummy in my Tummy...SUSHI!!!!!

Ever since we have been here in Austin, we have yet to discover a sushi restaurant that we had the guts to try. We sort of gave up on the idea of getting authentic sushi that is fresh and tasty here in Texas. Well, we found that place tonight. When I was back in LA, I craved sushi EVERYDAY. Once I moved here, that strong desire left me completely. It's finally back. Today, I started thinking about places for Ray and I to try. Being Friday and our usual night to eat out, I thought Japanese would be something different to try. So, I started looking up places on Citysearch and Yelp. I found 2 places that received many good reviews. On the top of my list was Musashino Sushi Dokoro.

After reading all the rave reviews and browsing their website, I was even more excited to try this place. From their website,

"Operating in the heart of Texas, we proudly present EDOMAE ZUSHI – Tokyo style sushi. Thousands of miles away from our homeland, you may ask, “How close is this to the real thing?” For you to taste the historical significance and essence of EDOMAE ZUSHI, we air freight our selection of seafood, not only from the USA, but from around the world from places such as Norway, New Zealand, Hawaii, and now we are getting seafood directly from Tsukiji, Japan’s biggest fluton. We set our standards higher than most Japanese establishments. By pursuing and respecting the traditional EDOMAE ZUSHI style, we may seem hardheaded at times in preserving the tradition and authenticity, but we do not cut corners. Such an act is often a euphemism for cost cutting, and mediocre quality is the result. Only the best and freshest ingredients are used when serving you, and with each bit, you are enveloped in our tradition. Enjoy!"

Another plus? The pictures on their website show Japanese sushi chefs.

So...Ray and I went and it completely exceeded our expectations. I guess this is the closest you can get to authentic and fresh next to Japan. Do not be surprised if you don't find all the typical Americanized sushi items. They pride themselves on the real deal Japanese sushi. And the fish is beyond fresh. But be warned that if you're looking for 1/2 price sushi, you won't find it here. Again, quality is what you're paying for and you can see it in the way the sushi chef prepares each piece of nigiri...with a delicate finesse and finishes it off with a brush of different sauces on each piece. It all looked like art.

Needless to say, we will be back. We give this place 2 BIG thumbs up!!

Pluckers Wings...was good, now not so good

We found a wing restaurant here called Pluckers and the first time was pretty good. The wings were very large in size which is always a plus. But recently, we went back and not so good anymore. The wings were tiny and over-seasoned. I guess the first time, they were trying to impress us since we had told them it was our first time. Anyways, here are some pics from our most recent trip there.

Ray with his XL Shiner Bock


Me and my Ginormous Pluckers Lemonade...
needless to say I did not finish this drink.

Deep Fried Pickles

Spicy Ranch Wings and Waffle Fries

Anna's Mom Comes For A Visit

Last weekend, Mama Cheng came to visit us. It really made me miss CA. While she was here she whipped us up a few yummy home cooked meals. =( It was sad to see her go. We took her to a local place we discovered that has amazing catfish. Catfish can have a strong taste if not fresh or cooked the right way. Here is another Austin good eat.

BOATHOUSE GRILL


BASKET OF CATFISH TOES

What's Up Athlete?

So I haven't been blogging lately because I've been so busy with work. I've had two major SharePoint projects that I have been swamped with, but now that I think I have them under control, I can relax a little.

What have I done in the past few months besides move to Texas and eat everything that Anna's been blogging? Well, I've dropped about 10 lbs, because I've been more active and Anna has been packing my lunch every day. No more breakfast burritos for breakfast or George Lopez specials for lunch.

I have also been playing more sports...

Been playing tennis a couple times a week with Anna mostly, a friend from work (Pingili) sometimes, and some guy (Randolf) once (He kicked my a$$).

I started playing flag football on Sundays for the past 5 weeks and I joined a flag football league in Round Rock. We had our first game last night and kicked a$$. Final score: 32 -0. I ended the game with a 50 yard touchdown catch, 2 sacks and 1 pass deflection. If we were counting fantasy points, that would be 17.5 fantasy points(6pts(td) + 2.5pts(50yds) + 6pts(2sacks) + 2pts(2tkls) + 1pt(1pd) = 17.5pts). Not bad, eh? I'd draft me in any fantasy football league.

I am also starting to play in a volleyball league at our apartment. I signed up and have 5 other people on my team. Hopefully, it will be fun, but I tend to hate playing jungle ball when people don't know how to play. Our first game is this comming Monday, so I will keep you posted. I did try to play a pick-up game this past Saturday with a few people from my team and found that they were not as bad as i thought they were going to be, but not as good as I had hoped either. They were just average. I do have to say that I stole the show with some nice digs and a few perfect sets.

I'm still waiting on someone from work to set up a softball team. I'd love to play softball too (if my schedule allows).

Oh yea, I also tried playing cricket with a friend from work (Satish). It was very interesting. You "bowl" the ball after running from a mile away trying to knock down the "wickets", but the batter that stands in the middle of the field gets to hit the ball anywhere. It's a good workout when you are bowling though. lol

That's pretty much it. I will keep you posted on my league play and pick-up games from time to time, so check back in...

Carrot Cupcakes

In celebration of Easter, I baked these yummy carrot cupcakes. I did alter the recipe a bit by adding cinnamon and nutmeg to make it taste more like a traditional carrot cake. Enjoy!! I guarantee you will love them. They are quite addicting.

Carrot Cupcakes with Mascarpone Icing courtesy of Williams Sonoma

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbs. maple syrup or honey

1 Tbs. finely grated orange zest

2 eggs

1 cup grated carrot

1 cup plus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

7 Tbs. fresh orange juice, warmed

1 tsp. baking soda


For the mascarpone icing:

6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room
temperature

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

4 oz. cold mascarpone or low-fat cream cheese

Strips of dried mango for garnish (optional)


Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line 10 standard muffin cups with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, maple syrup and orange zest until pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the carrot.

In a bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. In another small bowl, stir together the orange juice and baking soda. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture in two additions, alternating with the orange juice mixture in two additions until smooth. Do not overbeat or the cupcakes will be tough.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake until the cupcakes are risen and lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cupcakes cool for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a baking sheet and let cool completely, about 1 hour.

To make the mascarpone icing, in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and confectioners sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the lemon zest and mascarpone until blended.

When the cupcakes are cool, frost them and garnish with strips of dried mango. Cupcakes may be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Makes 10 cupcakes.

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatilla Chile Sauce

Saturday night dinner and cocktail...

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa:
1 pound tomatillos, husked
1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole
4 garlic cloves
2 jalapenos
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 lime, juiced
Enchiladas:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock, storebought
Chopped cilantro leaves
1 deli roasted chicken (about 3 pounds), boned, meat shredded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 large flour tortillas
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 cups sour cream
Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves, for garnish
Spicy Black Beans, recipe follows
Yellow Rice, recipe follows
Guacamole, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For the salsa: On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.

Enchiladas: Meanwhile heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized - this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn't burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a veloute. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, some additional fresh chopped cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa. Now take the flour tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove). Using a shallow bowl, coat each tortilla lightly with the reserved salsa mix. Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish, cilantro and tomato.

Meyer Lemon Drop Cocktail:

1 shot of Triple Sec
1 shot of Vodka
1/2 a Meyer Lemon, juiced
1/2 shot of simple syrup (boil 1 cup of water with 1 cup of sugar and let cool)

Wet the rim of the cocktail glass and coat with sugar.