Woah, I'm Half Way There!

A hat tip to hottie Bon Jovi! ;0)

I'm back! Contrary to what you may have thought...I didn't fall in. I've just been too lazy to blog. Mostly tired but I'm starting to feel better now. Since I completely skipped over the month of September and half of October, I'll do a brief recap of what I've been up to.

I celebrated a birthday this month and was spoiled rotten by my loved ones. <3

My niece and I have birthdays very close to each other so she also celebrated a birthday. The BIG 2!!! She loves to blow out candles and sing the Happy Birthday song so this was right up her alley. She is turning into a little girl so fast but I still pinch those little cheeks every chance I get. Yes, I'm one of those cheek pinching aunties.

Over the past two months, I've been running or should I say jogging less and less and I am basically down to just walking and using the elliptical machine. I have to say that working out for the sake of health can be pretty boring. I've gotten so use to pushing my limits when I workout that I find absolutely no enjoyment in just walking around. But you know what's even worst than walking around? The elliptical machine. That thing is just a slow torture device to bored the heck out of you. I have to admit that I only move at all nowadays so that I don't end up looking like Jabba the Hutt. I wanted so much to be one of those women that still ran or worked out regularly like before they got pregnant but sadly I am not. It doesn't feel all that comfortable when I run so I've decided to just use this time as a break from running and store all my running energy and excitement for when I can fully get back to it.

I have picked up knitting again. My first project was this bunny for my niece's birthday. I am now onto crocheting a blanket.

I have a new dining room table now but it's been a mini ordeal. I ordered this table a couple of months ago when I first moved in and since then the order has been misrouted to Canada, involved in a truck derailment, arrived damaged and sent back. The replacement table came really quickly and aside from the delay and mishap I love the table even more than when I saw it online.

Here is a progress photo of me at four months! That's right, almost half way there...hitting the mile 12-13 mark in a marathon...okay so there is still a long ways to go, believe me I know but I won't mind if you tell me that I'm almost there but only this one time. This is how you can tell I've totally stepped out of my runner shoes. It probably doesn't look like much at this point but I feel huge when I look down. I've been very lucky with this whole pregnancy thing because I've had no morning sickness, I still sleep like a log, and have pretty normal cravings. Okay, so there was that one time I wanted McDonald's french fries and this other time that I wanted frosted flakes. But no ice cream and pickles cravings yet or ever. I thought that I would be craving sweets like crazy since I had a major sweet tooth prior to being pregnant but lo and behold I mostly want to eat salty foods. Toss me that bag of chips will ya?

Next week we find out the baby's gender. I kind of already know but it will be good to get confirmation. All the tests have come back and the baby is healthy and doing well. That was a load of bricks off my mind. I spent most of the early months worrying about everything under the sun. It didn't help that I was on the internet every night reading about stuff that could go wrong. I know I should have been relaxing but the unknown and my curiosity got the better of me. I swear I am way more relaxed now.

So come back next week if you want to know...

Six

Today this little blog turns 6! Six years ago I originally started this blog to talk about all things relating to afternoon tea. Over the years, the blog has gone through some changes but there will always be that underlining essence of drinking tea served in fine china while eating little crust-less sandwiches and dessert. A couple of years ago I decided to commemorate my "blog-a-versary" by having afternoon tea someplace new each year. I started this in 2011 but some how I didn't do it last year, maybe I forgot or maybe I was just busy.

This year I remembered and planned ahead. My pick this year was the Rendezvous Cafe inside the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. I read some reviews prior to picking this spot so I was really excited to have tea here.

There is only one tea set here, the Victorian Tea for $35/person. The tea selection is pretty small but it covers a decent range with a couple of offerings of black, green and herbal teas.

I have to be honest and say that this was one of the worst tea service I've ever had and I've had many. The sandwiches were uninspired, as were the desserts. I didn't really enjoy any of the food. Nothing stood out in my mind. If not for the nice company I was with, I would have been in a foul mood as this place was a long drive from the OC in some really knarly traffic. If you plan to come here, make sure you make a reservation. Also, please note that they are very strict about their tea set. Apparently, they prepare all their food in "sets" so you can't really ask for extras of anything. I know this because I asked them to sub out one of the sandwiches and they made it seem like a chore and half to do so. By the way they were reacting when I asked for this, I did not think that I would actually get a substitution but eventually they did bring me a couple of cucumber sandwiches. I was really surprised by how bad the food was and how strict they were with their food. I was just expecting so much more from a restaurant inside a hotel with such a glamorous past. I can honestly say that I will probably never come back here for tea. It's too bad because I love historical hotels and I really wanted to like this place.

Rendezvous Cafe (Biltmore Hotel)
506 S. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90071
213-612-1562

It's Your Birthday!

Today is Sister S's birthday!!!

We celebrated her birthday a couple of weekends ago because I was in Sacramento running the California International Marathon this past weekend when we would've celebrated her birthday.

Happy Birthday Little Sis! (the clapping one below is not my little sis, she just came for the cake!)

First Birthday

My niece turned one this past weekend! Seems like it was only yesterday...

Right photo credit to Sister K

Her special day was filled with flowers, balloons, lots of yummy food, presents, family & friends, Hello Kitty and even a pink cake! My sister did such an amazing job decorating the HK themed party. It was perfect! Happy Birthday E! I love you so much!

My Birthday in Photos

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:)

Halfy Birthday

My niece's 6-month birthday was last weekend. I know, I am a week late and a dollar short but I finally got around to posting about it. I know this is Ragnar week so I should really be posting about that but isn't she cute? We threw her a small half birthday celebration. With lots of purple and pink! I cannot believe that she is already six months old. She has grown and changed so much. She loves to bounce up and down and when she is really happy she makes these little happy screaming noises.

Partial photo credit to Sister K

And what kind of party would it be without food! On the menu was Italian sandwiches, mixed green salad w/ buffalo moz, strawberries, cookies and cupcakes! Sister K was the mastermind behind this little celebration. She even did all the menu planning. All delicious by the way. Youngest Sister K helped prep the food. I just came along for the ride. :D

In celebration of the baby's half birthday, we also busted out the Beaba Baby Food Maker that Sister S got from Sister K at the baby shower to make some apple sauce. The baby is already on rice cereal but this was her first taste of apple sauce. She was not a fan but I think she will grow to like it. It tasted really fresh and creamy. I was really surprised at how creamy the apples came out. The Baeba is a neat little gadget for making preservative-free baby food. It steams and purees fruit, veggies and meat into really creamy baby food. Sorry, I was sleeping on the job again and forgot to take a photo of the actual apple sauce.

It was a warm day that day so the baby waited until late afternoon and then donned her wide-brimmed floral hat and little pink shorts and headed out to the garden to watch her papa weed the flowerbed. Look, she found her toes...a big 6-month achievement!

Happy Birthday Sister K!

Birthday Wishes to My Little Sister!

Today is Sister S's birthday. Happy Birthday Little Sister! This is her first birthday as a new mom! She is a wonderful person, wife, daughter, mom and she has always been an amazing sister. I honestly cannot imagine what life would be like without her. She became my best friend the day she was born.

S - have a wonderful day today and always!

Happy Birthday Mama! I love you this much!

Red Egg and Ginger Party

It was my niece's one month celebration yesterday. It's a Chinese thing. Maybe other cultures do a similar thing but in this instance I'm referring to the Chinese tradition. Traditionally it is held one month from the date of birth but due to scheduling conflicts, she is already 6 weeks old. Luckily it is more flexible these days and people celebrate this occasion anywhere from one to three months after the baby is born. You can read more about the significance of the one month baby celebration here. Basically, back in the days in China, the infant mortality rate was high because of the lack of modern medicine. An infant who survives the one month period was believed to have made it pass the precarious stages. A call for celebration!

Chinese people still carry on this tradition even today here in the U.S. where the infant mortality rate is low. This celebration now serves as a way to introduce the baby and mother back into the world after recovering from birth for a month. If you have ever seen the movie The Joy Luck Club, there is a scene in the movie of a Red Egg Celebration.

Here's the sleeping beauty!

Here's the feast! Some of these dishes were selected for symbolic reasons. Yes, meaningful and delicious! That's how we roll. The red eggs above represents fertility and the color red stands for happiness.

The whole steamed fish stands for prosperity, while the Peking duck stands for fidelity. All the dishes red in coloring represents happiness. The lobster dish is a dragon food. Normally chicken is also served in it's whole form. The chicken is a representation of a phoenix food. The lobster and chicken represents the unity of dragon and phoenix, a symbol of a happy marriage. Serving the chicken whole stands for the unity of the family. I'm not an expert by any means. I just came for the food. Just kidding. Maybe.

Happy One Month to my beautiful niece! <3

Return of the [Running] Mack!

You know that I'd be back! Yes I just referenced a song by Mark Morrison and will amaze you with my skills of making it relate to running. Urban dictionary defines "mack" to mean the act of flirting or seducing. Well in my situation I guess I am trying to put the mack on running again. After getting my Spinning certification a couple of weeks ago, I've been spinning 3+ times a week and subsequently had to par down on my running to 2, maybe 3 times a week. I have an obsessive personality when it comes to certain things.

You're thinking..."what the heck are you trying to say?" Well just that I'm going to be bringing running back. I guess I should have titled this post...I'm Bringing Running Back! I seem to remember having a post with that title already for some reason. All this has been brought to you by the kick-in-the-pants I got at the Long Beach Marathon this past weekend. Maybe it was spending many hours in the hot sun or not hydrating properly but I am determined to redeem myself at my next race. De.ter.mined!

So what's next now that Long Beach is over? Well I am going to run a distance that I have not raced in since 2003 this coming weekend. A 5K in Chapman with Team Sparkle! I need a PR so that I can update my PR stat for that distance. That will surely make me feel better about my sub par performance at LB.

At the end of the month, I will be running the Rock/Roll Los Angeles Half and then the Santa Barbara Marathon early November. A couple of minor races after those and I will be done with my 2011 race schedule. This has been an unusually packed year of races for me. I intentionally planned it that way to see how much I could handle. Apparently I am quite resilient but I am tired and will be running less marathon distances next year. Maybe!
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So on my birthday last week, M sent me flowers and balloons!

He took me out to dinner at an Italian restaurant called Villa Nova in Newport Beach. I've never been there before but it is situated right on the dock and we got an amazing table with a really cool view.

We had sparkling wine! Judging by the blurriness of this photo, seems like the waiter may had one or two himself. Just kidding. I forgot to turn the flash on before I handed the camera to him. Speaking of...have you ever seen Deuce Bigalow (Male Gigolo)? I ask because I swear our waiter looked just like Deuce's dad in that movie.

We started our meal with some Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms.

They were pretty good.

M ordered his usual steak. It was average tasting to me but he liked it. Sorry I am not more descriptive, I only had one bite and it was cooked medium the way he likes it but I like my steak medium rare.

Since it was race week, I order some pasta (Frutti Di Mare). It's one of my favorite Italian dishes.

This was good but I've had better and less expensive too. The pine nuts tasted strange. I don't know if it just didn't go with the dish or if the nuts had gone bad. They did nothing to enhance the dish in my opinion. Would have probably been better to just sprinkle more chopped parsley than these nuts. Gag! And I like pine nuts, just not in this dish.

I had about half the dish left over after I was finish eating so I got it doggy bagged for lunch the next day. Now I remember why I had not eaten here before, it was because I've read some lukewarm reviews about this place and now I know why. Can't beat the view though and that is what you will be paying for.