Archives for the month of: June, 2009

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

June 20, 2009 //
2

I have to say, growing up, I watched a lot of baseball games on TV.  My dad was a gadget fan so he will always have the latest and the greatest.  Satellite TV was just starting to become popular in Taiwan, and needless to say, we were the first to get it among my friends.  But maybe because of all those baseball TV time, or maybe because I have absolutely no athletic skills, I was not that into baseball – until college.  I wouldn’t call myself a die hard fan that will NEVER miss a game, but I wouldn’t mind it if it’s on TV (unless it conflicts with my other favorite shows).  AND, I will watch football over baseball any day, unless Red Sox is in World Series.

Back in February, I had scored us some Green Monster tickets by patiently sitting next to the computer for an hour, waiting for the lottery screen to refresh for my chance of purchase those precious.  They are by no means cheap, but of course, the view isn’t either:

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On April 18th, David and I drove to Riverside and took the green line into Fenway.  We met up with Scott and his son T for the game.  T being only 11 was completely surprised and super excited to no end after learning earlier that he was going to sit up at the Green Monster!  I don’t blame him – how many 11 years old you know that went on the Green Monster?

Being only mid April, it was still chilly.  I had worn many layers but my legs were frozen!  David went and got me a way overpriced Red Sox blanket to keep me warm.  (It was a good investment)  The game started promptly at 7:10 and we were intensely immersed in the game.  One thing I should mention about the Green Monster – it is really exclusive.  Unless you have the Green Monster tickets, you will not be allowed to enter.  There are personnel standing by the staircase the entire game to ensure of that.  And the Green Monster has their own food stand and bathroom, which made it super convenient.

During the game, David and Scott were explaining to T why we can never get some of the home run balls from some players because due to physics, they aren’t able to hit the ball our way.  As we were talking about it, Youkilis hit one right towards us!  The only homerun in that game!  If it weren’t for the gust of the wind, the ball would have landed perfectly on me.  The lucky bastard guy two seats away from me got it in the end.  I think David would have run over me to fight for it if it weren’t for that I was pregnant.

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=4202959

And yes, we were on TV for two seconds.  That was my claim of fame.

Claim of Fame!

The game was so much fun, even though we were so cold by the end of it.

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Here are some other pictures we took:

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I’m glad we had the opportunity to go.  If I have a chance to go again, I totally would.  Would I pay for it again?  Absolutely not.

Tags
Categories Baby Makes 3

Beauty

June 8, 2009 //
1

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I still got 6 buds that look promising from the same bush!  And another bush isn’t ready to have any buds yet (different location).  I’m hoping that one will grow big enough to have flowers.  Last year I got three blooms out of it.

And did I tell you that they smell divine?

Categories garden

Cloth Diaper Contest Alert

June 5, 2009 //
0

Simple Mom is giving away some cloth diapers!  Click over to check it out!!!

http://simplemom.net/the-simple-mom-cloth-diaper-review/

Categories Contest

Fashion Show

June 3, 2009 //
9

Upon a few request of seeing my bump and my newly purchased dresses for the upcoming weddings I’m attending, I decided to do a little fashion show on my back porch:

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This outfit shows my bump really well.  It is a $3.00 bargain shirt at the maternity section from Goodwill and my awesome $20 score of Express Editor Pink Pants with Alexis in Wisconsin back so many years ago (that you can’t see).  How am I still fitting in those you asked?  Thanks to the magic Bella Band, I am still able to wear all my regular pants un buttoned!

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Next up is the beautiful Poppy Flower dress found at Destination Maternity at the Promenaude at Evergreen Hills.  We were way early for the movie “UP” so we went across to find me some grubs.  Destination Maternity was on the way to Moe’s, and was having this huge side walk sale (75% off!) so we wondered in.  I think I will wear this dress to the rehearsal dinner next Friday.  (As a side note, UP was really good.  But don’t go without some tissue!  There are some really touching moments in the movie.)

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On Sunday, CostumeChick, BackStageKnits, and I went up to West Farm mall to find some dresses for me for the weddings.  We scored this at H&M of all places!  The dress is not a maternity dress, but it is roomy and comfortable for me.  It was inexpensive (~ $39) and I will be able to wear it again after I have the baby!  I can see myself dress it down to wear it to work, or dress it up for a wedding.  I’m probably going to wear this to the wedding next Saturday.  I’m thinking red jewelry and red nail colors…  I don’t own any red shoes though… hmmm…

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This was found at Caché.  I *HEART* that store.  Always had.  It is, again, not a maternity dress.  I can see myself in this for many summers to come.  It was 50% off, plus additional 10% because one of the strap is defective (it can be easily sewn back in place).  I’m thinking of wearing that to the rehearsal dinner for the August Wedding.

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This is another great find from H&M (~ $55).  It is super comfy and flow-y.  As you can see, plenty of room for me to grow into even though it is not a maternity dress, and wearing this to the August wedding is definitely not a problem.  I’m thinking of wearing my black pearls set of jewelry that I wore for my reception.

And while we are at fashion, I might as well show you this shawl I made as a wedding present for my cousin:

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Pattern – Icarus Shawl by Miriam L. Felton (Ravelry Link Here)
Yarn Used – 2.5 skeins of A Touch of Twist Aussie in Ebony
Needles – Harmony size 4
Gauge – N/A
Knit – February 21, 2009 to May 20, 2009

I have to say, I was bored while knitting this, hence it took me so long.  Plus for awhile I was low in energy so I didn’t get to knit it either.  This, however, could be a really great beginner shawl – a little bit of lace edging that’s just enough to start learning lace, but simple stockinette and yarn overs makes up the majority of the shawl.  Of course, if you just want a easy shawl pattern that you can take along to SnB or watch TV with, this could be good for you as well.

Well, what better way to end this fashion show with a fashion no-no?  This is a dress I tried on to show that some retro styles should just NOT be allowed to come back, EVER:

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Tags , ,
Categories Baby Makes 3, good finds

The Traveling Tajine Project – Belated

June 2, 2009 //
1

Man.  This is WAAAAAY overdue.  I just want to apologize to Vanilla Garlic before I show you what I made, for not posting this for the longest time. 

 You see, when I made this dish, I had just found out from the sticks on what’s to become of me for the next 35 weeks, and that the baby was kicking my butt, and I ended up not posting nor knitting for quite awhile.  But no fear my friends – I will share this yummy dish with the rest of the bloggy world.

The Traveling Tajine Project was initiated by Vanilla Garlic, to share his love of this piece of equipment on cooking specific dishes.  Each participant will have the Tajine for a month.  During the month, you are to make however many dishes you like using the Tajine.  In exchange, the participants have to post on their blog on what they made and their experience with it.

The Tajine came to me mid March.  And reason being that the Tajine is highly fragile and broke during transport, so some time was taken for replacement to show up to the previous participant.  I was super excited when I join the project as I had a whole cookbook on ceramic/clay pot recipes that I wanted to try.  But in the end, I only made this simple dish:

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 Butterfly Leg of Lamb

  • 1 Leg of Lamb, butterflied
  • Canola Oil, enough to rub the leg of lamb
  • Finely chopped garlic, amount depends on how garlic-y you like your dish
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary, or
  • 1 tsp chopped dried rosemary
  • Half of lemon, cut them in small wedges
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  1. Generously rub the butterflied leg of lamb with all ingredients besides lemon.  Gently squeeze the lemon wedges directly on the rubbed leg of lamb for some lemon juice, and place the lemon wedges in with the lamb.  Let marinate as long as you can stand.
  2. If you marinated overnight in the fridge, take it out to let stand in room temp. for half an hour before next step.
  3. Pre-heat oven with the Tajine in it to 375°F.  NOTE:  It’s best not put a cold tajine into a hot oven as the temp difference may make the tajine crack.
  4. When you are ready to make the dish (once the oven is preheated and pass some time so the tajine and the oven has a chance to stabilize in temp in your oven), take the tajine out and put the leg of lamb along with all the marinate items in it.  It should sizzle briefly and turn when one side is brown.  You can pre-sear the meat in a different pan to get better seared sides, but I didn’t want to wash another pan.
  5. Cover the tajine and put it back into the oven before it becomes too cold and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of your leg of lamb.
  6. When it’s ready, take it out, cut it up and enjoy!

It may seem complicated, but it really isn’t.  Some of the dishes that I didn’t get to try were some desserts.  Maybe when I get a chance, I’ll post for others to try.  Or maybe, I should just try them in regular Pyrex dishes.

Tags
Categories Food
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