after the annual SCAW (sleeping children around the world) charity concert, we finally had a chance to try roger mooking's kultura restaurant. like his other restaurant, nyood (pronounced 'nude'), it's like a tasting menu where you share as a group.
oh yum. definitely a good choice. the only problem was that there were so many yummy items that we over-ordered. at the same time, the plus side is that the next time i go back, i'll have a clearer idea of what i want to focus on.
our crazy, long list (including appetizer, main menu items and dessert):
Edamame - Miso, Black Bean
Scallops with Gow Gee - Braised Beef Cheeks, soy Emulsion, Cripsed Shallots
Mushroom Orecchiette - Mailvoire Pinot Noir Pear Chutney, Aged Cheddar
Peppered Tuna Carpaccio - Daikon, Sesame Oil, Mizuna Cress, Miso Crisp
Naan - Garlic, Black Onion Seed, Harissa Yogurt
Indian Samosas - Shitake Mushroom, Pine Nuts, Truffled Paneer, Tamarind Date Chutney
Miso Black Cod - Yuzu Corn Puree, Pickled Radish Salad, Crystallized Tamarind
Crispy Tofu - Miso Consomme, Shitake, Garlic Chips
Chicken and Gnocchi - Rice Crunch, Spring Peas, Peppered honey
Black Quinoa Cursted Lamb Loin - Roasted Salsify, Gai Lan, Maple Gastrique
Chocolate Delice - Salted Caramel, Sesame Nougat, Twizzler Ice Cream
Flourless Chocolate Cake - Chocolate Pudding, Caramel Parfait, Frozen Lemon Curd
Vanilla Sugar Doughnut Holes - Caramel and Chocolate Dipping Sauce
keep in mind, for a lot of it, we had to order two as there were about 5 adults and chaeli, whom loved the food that she tried but was a bit disappointed that roger mooking himself wasn't there to greet her (he's one of her favouirte 'cookers' as she likes to call it, from foodtv.ca). okay, i admit it. i was disappoint too, even though i knew full well that he wouldn't be there.
my favourite was the black cod, mushroom orecchiette and the tuna carpaccio. the tofu and scallops were also amongst some of my faves.
alright - just one more observation that I have to make from my bodypump class, which i wrote about yesterday... okay, maybe two. because there's this little petite brunette who attends the class and she really is just that. petite. but with very noticeable breasts. and not in the bad way. i'm not saying that she's so out of proportion that she might fall over but seriously - she's stacked and well, it's very hard not to notice.
but other then that, i've noticed that on the occassion, we get some male clientele in the class. and without fail, i honestly do not know what they are trying to prove.
there they are, all arms but with a big pop-belly, loading up the weights and ready to go.
not even after the first exercise, are they able to last.
here is where i smirk. way more then towards the teens that i wrote about yesterday because at least those teens proved to us that they weren't there to try and prove anything and were, actually, not the typical, pain in the ass teens we normally stereotype them for.
but these men! exactly what did they think they were trying to do - impress us?
i lose count at all the times they end up dropping their weight right to the ground before we finish a set, creating a huge thud as the instructor, even with the mic, tries to talk over the noise as she brings us all to the finale. at this point, our muscles are starting to shake, sweat is stinging our eyes, and we are doing everything in our power to try and overcome that lactic acid build-up so we can finish the set together - as a team. and basically, just bring it on home.
but that loud thud? that annoying distraction?
it makes me want to just face THAT GUY and say, "did you seriously think that this is about how much you can lift/press? this is about ENDURANCE, baby - not maximum weight. take it outside to the rest of the meat heads if THAT's what you're looking for!"
morons.
so this is probably going to make myself sound pretty horrible... but who doesn't sound horrible once in awhile on the internet? everyone. that's who.
i walked into today's bodypump class about five minutes early, surprised that nearly all the spots were taken. relieved, i did find one spot near the front and yes, while most people do not like being in display for the rest of the room to see, i don't care.
i even have a hole on one of my butt cheek which i have to patch up. but as it's mainly a class of women, whom will see me completely naked after the class in the locker room (and vice versa), does one hole, showing my baby blue panties really make a huge difference?
i don't think so.
as i was saying, i like being up front. not because i like being on display (not caring about who sees my bum with the hole showing that i'm wearing baby blue coloured panties and WANTING to show said bum with the hole that's showing blue panties are two completely different things), but because it helps for me to be close to both the instructor and the mirror. just so i can stay focused and on time. and i don't have some one in front of me that's completely off beat, mucking me up.
i hate that. it's my pet peeve. let that be a warning - if you're going to take a spot in front of me, you had better be awesome.
anyway - the class was packed! and as i didn't look around all that much, i didn't realize that half the class was made up of teen girls until the instructor welcomed the students of some catholic school, where they were participating in the class for the day as part of their gym excursion.
and in the middle of the week, outside of summer vacation, i'm just not use to seeing anyone younger then the age of 23 at my gym - and the 23 year olds are usually either trainers or fitness instructors. the rest of us clientele are usually in our 30's and up. these girls were YOUNG! you know - young enough so that THEY needn't be ashamed for gushing over twilight actors.
now, this is a hard class. and while i've been going to this strength circuit training class from hell since september, i'm still working on increasing the plates of the bar that i use. and the last thing i need are a bunch of teens laughing and pointing at me while snickering to each other, "hee hee - look at that older lady there struggling with half the weight i'm using! and she's got a hole in her pants! YOU CAN TOTALLY SEE HER BLUE UNDERWEAR!"
but something amazing happened. because as we started to do the warm-up, and i couldn't help but to see the reflection of those behind me from the wall mirror, i realized that these teens were actually using 1/3rd to even as low as 1/4tr of the weight that i was using. and they were struggling! like - they were just dying and we only had just done the warm-up!
so it's horrible for me to say, but i enjoyed it immensely as i doubled up my plates for the squats while they were all taking breaks numerous amounts of times, panting and making faces like, "you have GOT to be kidding! she wants us to do what now?" they were having 10 times harder of a time then my first class.
and then i really looked around and saw that some of the regulars are actually older then i am and loading up way more weights.
it gave me inspiration - that with age, we actually can become stronger. and that women today knows what it takes to be kick-ass if they want to be.
okay... so maybe this epiphany was somewhat tainted over the fact that i got to feel better about myself through the struggle and pain of a bunch of teens. but i hope, at the least, that these girls saw a future where they too, can achieve this type of strength and determination.
after all, us old farts know a thing or two about life. :)
i guess you could say that today has so far been all about me.
when your husband is out of town for a good part of the day and your kid is sleeping over at your parents' place, wouldn't you make it all about you? damn right!
after my bodypump class, i did a bit of shopping. mainly - christmas wrapping paper, christmas gift bags and some gift-tissue to go with the bags. but while i was at it, i made a point to stop at the shoe company and winners to finally treat myself to some ankle boots. i'm so happy that i did. the one i got at winners is basic but sleek - fine, black leather, squared-off toes and thick heels (more practical). the one i bought at the shoe company is nice and shiny! and really, just for fun - mainly to wear with jeans:
the last thing i did before heading back home was to treat myself to a manicure. it's been way overdue.
i went to one of those drop-in, fast places that only charge $15 for a basic manicure. i've come to the conclusion that the quality isn't any different from some of the more expensive spa's. the extra $10 i have payed for those upscale places have just been that - an upscale place where the ambiance is all very nice and pretty.
the colour? shiny, dark blue, baby. :)
will be sporting them tonight when doug and i head out with friends for some wining and dining.
and i love my boots.
Out of the blue, our nephew Brandon asked me today, "婶婶 (Aunt), what is your Chinese name?"
The question took me by surprise. This means that the four-year old is now aware that the adults, like his classmates at the childcare centre, too come individually packed with their own names - with Chinese, English and dialect variations to boot.
I hesitated with my answer. For all our pally good times, the nephews have never known my name. For a moment there, I had a vision of an Internet chatroom pal suddenly demanding to know my real identity. Was I going to tell?
Nope, I chickened out. "My Chinese name is 婶婶,", I told the boy.
;)
"独", 很深
让三点半的午后, 比午夜更寂静
未成型的思绪
或随呼吸蒸发去, 或象冰块化不去
不是缥缈, 就是哽咽
"惜独"
难道也是一种病
让人渐渐步向"声"亡?
First, we're happy to announce that the team has identified and fixed the issue with the YouTube conduit; you can now find and add videos from YouTube to your library and posts. As always, thanks for your patience!
The other news we have today is about a new addition to the Six Apart family: TypePad Micro, a new free level of TypePad that is streamlined for microblogging. We see a new form of blogging emerging that lives between the quick status updates of Twitter and Facebook and the long-form posts of "classic" blogging; TypePad Micro is designed to meet that need. You can read more about TypePad Micro in Chris Alden's post on the Everything TypePad blog.
A lot of the new capabilities we've added to TypePad this year were actually inspired by some of the best things about Vox: favoriting, member profiles, a dashboard to follow other bloggers, and easy ways to post content from other social media sites. But the things that make Vox different from TypePad are still there: Vox has always been -- and still is -- the best place for "friends and family" blogging, where you're in control over who sees what. TypePad, on the other hand, is built for the blogger who wants, no, craves, attention.
Do you have a passion or interest you want to share with people beyond your Vox neighborhood? If so, we'd love it if you tried out TypePad Micro. Maybe you've always wanted to start that obsessive blog that's just about waffle restaurants. Or want a place to share videos of your favorite band (Jonas Brothers, anyone? Anyone? ...). TypePad Micro's great for those topic-specific blogs. Take it for a spin and let us know what you think.
On the Vox front, our designers are working on some cool new themes (coming soon!). We'd also love to hear your thoughts about where we should take Vox in the coming year. What are the key things you'd like to see for Vox? If you've had a chance to use TypePad this year, what are the features there that we should bring over to Vox? And, if you're thinking big thoughts, how could we connect the Vox and TypePad communities in order to bring together bloggers and their shared passions? Your feedback is really important to us, so please leave a comment here, or shoot me a message.
And again, thanks for your patience as we found and fixed the YouTube bug!
~ daisy
we were sitting in the living room, doug and i, while chaeli was playing pinball on the wii with my aunt.
out of nowhere, we hear chaeli yell out, "ALRIGHT! ROCK 'N ROLL!"
rock. and. roll.
i have no idea where she got that from
***
at the zoo, chaeli went up to the educational table, which are always manned by volunteers.
she stood there for a few seconds and then asked the lady, very loudly i might add, "DID YOU KILL ALL THESE BUTTERFLIES AND BUGS? JUST TO SHOW IT ON THIS TABLE???"
ack!
***
for such little person, she clogs up the toilet the MOST in our household.
As many of you have noticed, the YouTube Conduit is not working. I am so sorry about this; I know how frustrating it is.
The team is looking into how to get this fixed and I will update you as soon as I hear something. In the meantime, not all is lost... There is a work-around for posting videos.
When you're in the Compose Screen, just click on "embed." Ignore the fact that it says "Widget" before everything because you can definitely use this to embed videos as well. You'll just need to input the embed code from the video, enter a title (if you want) and hit OK.
It might not show up perfectly in your compose screen, but when you hit "Save," your video should appear just the way you wanted it to.
Hopefully this will allow you to keep posting videos while we figure out what's happening on our end.
As always, thanks for your patience.
our plans changed for the weekend and ended up being a very quiet one at home. which was just as well - we have so many busy weekends up ahead so a little break won't hurt.
i ended up being the first to be awake on a saturday morning. i quickly packed my gym bag and away i went to my bodypump class. and because the women's gym was on top of the 2nd floor of the superstore, i decided to do some grocery shopping afterwards. convenience at it's finest!
the rest of the afternoon was lazy. after lunch, we were all in the living room... chaeli playing her leapster games, doug reading the paper and me... well, i was reading something. but my eyes were so heavy that after awhile, i just leaned into doug and closed them for a bit.
i think that was my favourite part of the day. sitting on that couch with the two people that i love, just taking in the quietness and peace. but... i couldn't take it much longer. i was just that tired. i ended up going up stairs and napping for almost an hour an a half!
being completely lazy, we ordered in swiss chalet and then watched Up.
sunday wasn't as lazy, though. we got up and went to the zoo for a stroll, and then went shopping. i ended up treating myself to DDR3 for the wii and man... i suck! hopefully, with practice, i'll be a dancing queen but until then, lets just say i'm glad that i'm doing this in the privacy of my basement, away from the public eye.
anyway, it was one of those interesting weekends where nothing significant happened. instead, it was filled with a lot of little things. but for whatever reason, it's those little things that sometimes gives me that exhilerated feeling.
