Hunger Pangs, Cravings, and Missing My Kitchen

Hurt me now! I'm going mad. I'm having hunger pangs for something out of reach. The nearest PF Chang is in the suburbs of Chicago and it's the only restaurant that has the Green Tea Noodles in their menu. Nonetheless I found the recipe online and am excited to cook it sometime this weekend.

I've been deprived of good food lately. I'm sick of frozen food set up for a few minutes in the microwave. I'm even sick of going out to eat. Restaurant food is never as good or as satisfying as if I cooked it myself. I yearn to cook in my kitchen... not just "child's play" cooking, but spend the whole day in the kitchen cooking something I've never cooked before, baking something from scratch, and then phoning my family to invite them over for dinner. I can't really remember the last time I did that. My apron misses me. I need excitement.

We went to the health food market today but my mind was in La La land... couldn't concentrate on anything but all the crap I have to get done in three weeks (until vacation). Wish I had an action plan in mind so I could have gotten the ingredients for the green tea noodles. Nonetheless, I'm really glad to stay home for vacation for once. I have it all planned out... spring cleaning, cooking new recipes, and taking lots of pictures. I can not wait!!!!!

Wednesday's List Fads Embraced While Growing Up

Claiming Back The Space

A few months ago, in an attempt to multitask and get more out of my time, I mindlessly ate lunch in front of the television tuned in to my guilty pleasure channel, HGTV. At that specific time, there was a show that featured a family who had problems selling their house. Then entered the staging expert and a few realtors who made assessments to the interior of the house. It was kind of sad because the married couple allowed their children to take over their house. The hallways were filled with kid stuff, the walls were covered with pictures of their children, their master bedroom got turned into a play area, and the couple slept in a tiny room with their children. What a mess!

The show actually got me to think... I judged the married couple for letting their children claim the whole house when I was doing the exact same thing with my adorable darlings. It had to stop. We claimed back our house and our lives from letting the pets rule it. It was VERY liberating. We've already claimed back: the hallway, the guest room, the dining room (no more contract workers and meetings allowed in that room), and the workout room (Jean-the-Cat's room *Zhan*). In another blog post in the future, I'll write about how we built a separate litter room for the cat... fully equipped with ventilation and what not.

But now we claimed back the workout room. I spent the whole morning cleaning it and I dare not post a pic of the before. ha ha! For a few months it had become the storage room and the cat's litter room - we hardly went in there. Nonetheless, since that problem has been solved, we have the workout room back - also a conference room. It's kind of funny that my college furniture ended up in that room. I had the treadmill and the mini fridge in my college dorm room. What a riot. The microwave was from Dre's bachelor days, and the kitchen table and the chairs were from my first apartment in college. I love it. It makes me smile, especially since I love that room now. A few tweaks to do as far as decorating, but it will do.

Style-For-Style SaturdaySpring Must-Haves

SPRING MUST HAVES: trench coat, leopard print flats, white handbag, silk square scarf, big sunglasses.

There are a few things I don't mind spending a little extra money on, one of which is a nice coat or a jacket. Right now my fashion obsessions are trench coats 01, 02 and leopard flats 01, 02.  I think I'll actually make a purchase tonight. Lately my style seems to have evolved to European and American Classic because the pieces are timeless and have a minimalistic feel.

Cup of Joe & Nostalgia

Today yesterday morning I actually got up early to drop off Colette at the groomers. I can not, for the life of me, remember the last time my alarm made a racket at 6 A.M. It reminded me of my grad school mantra, "Early bird gets the worm" -- back then I got up at 4:30 A.M., worked out at the gym, hit the coffee shop, went to work, and then spent the day lived in the university library with my grad school buddies burning that midnight oil. Looking back, I don't know how the heck I pulled it off.

Nonetheless, this morning I found my sleep deprived self at Starbucks. As soon as I entered, a number of college students, chiropractor students, and freelancers were already busy studying/working. Hit Me Baby One More Time... nostalgia. All of a sudden I felt like my 25-26 year old self again (with an expensive latte at hand) studying my butt off to get good grades and feeling incompetent because my economics professor made me want to sink in my chair or to sit in a corner to wallow in my pathetic sorrows. When he called on you, you better be on top of your game with the correct answer. I actually wanted to be invisible in that class but he definitely could sense my fear, and he fed off of it. Oh the horror! Besides the constant humiliation, I miss it all.

A lot has happened since I got down on my knees and rejoiced that the miserable class was over and done with - in other words, 2006 graduation... but life continues to be a humbling experience. With all that had been said and done, it boils down to this... I feel old.

A few hours ago Dre said goodnight, gave me a kiss, and within a minute started snoring next to me -- he's completely out. A few minutes ago I started talking to him and surprise, surprise, he actually held a conversation with me at his half asleep state, "Um... I think I fed the cat... I think I locked the door... I did not take all the blanket... I love you too... go to sleep. Sleep, sleep, sleepy sleep" -- none of which he'll remember tomorrow I bet. So, it's almost 1 A.M. and I can't fall asleep... I look at him and all I want to say is, UGH!!!! How can anyone sleep that fast?

Eleanor's Face TransformationsWhat I'll Look Like In Different Nationalities

I ran across the FACE OF THE FUTURE website in 2005 when Dre and I first started dating. I've been searching for this website forever and only a few days ago did I stumble upon it once more. This time I'm going to share it with everyone because it's extremely fun! I love looking at what I'd look like if I were a different nationality and different forms of art. Spectacular! Try it!

Wednesday's List: A Few Of My Favorite Things

I couldn't get that Sound of Music Song, A Few Of My Favorite Things, out of my head today so I decided to make a list of my current top favorite things.

Artistic photography and design have been my obsession lately. I've been voracious for anything I could get my hands on. On Valentine's Day, the hubby took me to the Camera shop and being there made me feel so dang good. Who knew? He got me a Wireless Remote Control for my Nikon - which means we can take more pictures of us this spring with just a click of a button. Excitement running through my veins.

Nonetheless, life is still good... can't complain except for a few things looming over my head that I can't wait to get done... hopefully soon because it's starting to get to me.