thanksgiving 2007

My thanksgiving break started leaving for San Jose 5am on Wednesday morning. Our prolific morning after our landing included Isaac purchasing a new phone "Voyager", visiting the new & expanded Whole Foods Market, and taking a nap. Then we headed out to Sf for a fun day riding bikes at the Golden Gate Park, dinner at Ruth Chris, and $20 1 hr massages next to my dad's lab.

Thanksgiving day included a rigorious 2 hr hike in the prospect mtns., cooking and eating our big feast, and gambling & losing money in the korean traditional game "Yout."

We came back to Loma Linda on Friday morning. My husband was gracious to continue my past traditions of obtaining a x-mas tree the day after Thanksgiving. We didn't have time to decorate it because we were invited to our 2nd Thanksgiving dinner at Chastain's home. We stuffed our faces with good food and headed for bed at 6pm because I had symptoms of the flu.

11-18-07 was Soojin & Darren's Wedding. Their wedding was one of the most glamorous weddings I have ever participated in. The beautiful couple got married at the beautiful 1st Congregation Church of Los Angeles and had their reception at the San Gabriel Hilton. Here are some pics of her & her dad and her & Darren.

san diego weekend

saturday: homeless feeding in san diego downtown, dinner at el torito =( and nintendo wi at the hotel: humphrey's half moon

sunday: breakfast at red sands inn, boating around san diego bay in the rain, lunch at pizza nova, dessert at extraordinary desserts

Homeless feeding was a lot of fun. Once we had our sacks of goodies packed, we had 5 cars driving around downtown, till we found blocks of people sleeping on the streets. As we handed out our sacks the people were so grateful especially for the bottled water. My heart was moved even though I didn't know their individual stories. I felt the cold air and the dirtiness around, but their cheerful hearts uplifted my night.

This year at humphrey's half moon inn, I was not upgraded to a suite that overlooks the bay like the picture. That was my room last year. This year I had something better: a husband. lol.

Extraordinary desserts is a heaven for those who have a sweet tooth. Entering its extraordinary glass door, you find all sorts of beautiful desserts decorated with elaborate cream and fresh flowers. The architecture in its simple, modern and eastern influence stands out. From the simple white square plates to the warehouse ceiling, everything is simple. Back to the desserts: they are most excellent desserts. I had the torte misu which was very good consistency of the cake and the right amount of rum. Really worth visiting if you are treating yourself to a special weekend. I am definitely going back even though I don't know enjoy sweets too much. * Also, they have good paninis!

therapy

after a long day of work, my feet swell up, my necks hurts, my wrists ache, my hands get shaky, and my mind is koo-koo. i am still in the transition of getting use to the real world: work. not that sitting on my butt all day is hard, but i tend to clench when i work which really messes my body up by the end of the day.
furthermore, i feel even worse on the days if there is any mental stress from my co-workers or patients. its not fun when a 11 year old starts to cry when i have only applied topical anthesetic with a q-tip. its not fun when someone complains how long they have waited to see me when i have been jumping around from chair to chair breaking the heels of my shoes.
the past couple of months, i collapsed right on my sofa and in front of the tv. however, somethings needed to change. i have been going to the drayson gym with my husband to walk/jog outside. it is so refreshing and energizing by the end of it that i feel like a different person. after the exercise, my life is relieved with all the negative energy that has clogged up inside. i can't believe how therpeutic exercise can be when i'm stressed. so if you are sitting and reading my blog, you should probably get up and at least take a walk around your house.

are you green?

Due to the increased public awareness encouraged by celebrities, there is a "green trend" going on. Al Gore's documentary on global warming has turned the heads of the average American. Even the rich and the glamorous are driving hybrids or electric cars. Also these cars are awarded to use the carpool lane and to save $ on gas. The lastest magazines are encouraging readers to conserve practical and simple ways at home, work and travel.

Environmentalism... Not the most comfortable word to chew on. We all define the word that makes it convenient to our lifestyle. Yesterday, Sabbath school introduced what this word means to Adventists. We love the outdoors: hiking, Adventist campgrounds, etc. Most of us don't litter and we try to recycle. Sometimes we have a beach cleaning for our sabbath activity. Is that all the stewardship we hold of this Earth? How many of us fight to conserve national parks and marshes from becoming targets of a track home community? Do you even really care if the some random bird is endangered? Is it wrong to not respect my front yard landscaping? What do you pick and choose to preserve?

Furthermore, this comment in Sabbath School impacted me:
"does the way we treat creation show how we feel about the Creator?" I know for me, preserving the environment sounds like a really good idea, but an idea I put in the back of my head where it can be ignored. I don't know exactly how I am suppose to be more involved as a "good Christian." At the end of the discussion, Isaac brought up a really good point that God created this Earth for man and woman. He gave us a gift of life to enjoy. He would be sad to see if we rejected the gift and did not use it. However, there is a difference from use and abuse. I am eager to see how this discussion will flourish next week and inspire me to treat Mother Earth.

Hump Day Fling

When I woke up this morning, my eyelashes fluttered through the vision of my eyeburgers and my husband running towards me. Suddenly, Isaac jumps on our bed to wake me up and tells me to get ready in 5 min. because he had a date planned. Without disclosing where we were going other than packing my swimsuit, a change of clothes and a book to read, I figured we were going to the beach because I did mention how I wanted to go to Laguna the other day. We took off in “Snowball”(Isaac’s car), singing praise, my feet up on the dashboard, and eating chick-fil-a breakfast sandwich.
As we were driving on the 91W, Isaac took the 15 S instead of heading towards the beach. We entered a desert area that welcomed us with palm trees and new track homes aligned side by side. I got out of the car and felt the “peace and relaxation” oozing out from our final destination: Glen Ivy. For those who have never visited before, Glen Ivy is a spa with an outdoor facility that has swimming pools, hot tubs, clay painting, mineral bathtubs, indoor roman baths, saunas. I guess its not your typical posh hotel spa, but more of a desert one day getaway relaxation center.
It was a perfect treat for me because I felt like I was always indoors this past month. I work in rooms without windows and that is very painful for me. I have missed looking at the mountains and nature. I have had no breaks in October, so my body was really tired. But- entering into tranquility was the experience I have been waiting for.
Furthermore, I was excited to find out Wednesdays were 2 for 1 entrance fees! (FYI: Weekdays are less expensive $35 than the weekends $48 entrance fee.) Its nice to go on the weekdays when there are less people. Also, I heard that if you come on your birthday, you get a free entrance pass to use within 6 months.
After changing in the locker rooms, my husband and I first soaked our bodies in the mineral baths. There are about 6 mineral tubs. Most of them are two seaters, and there is 1 tub that seats about 5 people. Of course, we sat in a two seater to be romantic, but you really can’t when you’re enhaling the smell of rotten eggs. I’m not sure how mineral baths are suppose to be therapeutic, but it definitely massaged my muscles.
There are numerous isolated coves with fountains, giant bamboo, and money trees to encircle you with privacy and tranquility. If you go when there are a lot of people, you might not have the same experience that I do. Moreover, if there are birds of paradise or hibiscus flowers blooming, you feel like you are visiting a tropical country. Our next stop was the best part of my day. We went to a little secluded hot tub, where Isaac read to me. In the calmness of our surrounding, the reading was just what I needed to hear: how God empowers us with our daily temptations and struggles. It was so nice to start my day off with my husband and reading such powerful message.
After the quiet time together, we decided it was time for fun! We headed to Club Mud, where we painted our bodies with red clay. (Your swimming suit gets clay on it so you don’t want to wear a nice or light suit.) There’s something childish and silly about playing in the clay, but its so much fun and soothing to the soul. Once you paint your body, you want to lay out till your skin is cracking dry with the clay. When its very dry, you can start rubbing the dry clay off. Basically, the clay is used as an exfoliator to remove dead cells. After an experience with the clay, I love to feel how soft my skin is.
Before lunch, Isaac went for his massage while I had my hour of solitude to myself. I swam, used the sauna, and painted mud again. I wondered if the people around me were as satisfied as I was. I did realize that I was enjoying this time a lot more because I have been indoors and working hard the past month.

Lunch was a little expensive, but the fresh tossed salads were pretty good. The best part about lunch was where we sat. We found an outdoor table that was seated away from the crowd and near a fountain. It was such a beautiful scene with the backdrop of mountains, hearing the waterfall and sitting in the warm rays of the sun. I felt like I was in Costa Rica, even though I never been. I have so much more to write, but Isaac says this post is getting too long. So basically I will end saying that my date with my hubby was fabulous.

Saturday

we had so much fun eating, making care packages for firefighters, playing wi, decorating cookies, and seeing silly dressed peeps. i dressed up as a ghost...

Invitation

Here's what we'll do this weekend.

Saturday night we will have our Fall Party at Isaac & Grace's house.
26041 Hinckley St. in Loma Linda. Let's meet at 6pm.

We will have dinner, carve pumpkins, play games, and make care packages for firefighters. I know many are going to be studying Saturday night. Please come and at least eat dinner with us.

Things to bring.
1.Something for the care package for our firefighters
-cookies, bottled water, energy bar, thank you cards, etc.
2.board games
3.pumpkin to carve.

*Dress up as a character that begins with the same first letter of your name.
Ie: Grace is dressing up as a ghost.

Sunday morning Yard Sale to benefit cruise with a mission at Isaac & Grace's yard.
26041 Hinckley St. Loma Linda, CA

nip & tuck

I spent 4 hrs of my precious day off reviewing surgical basics in Irvine. The last hour, I had my moment of "Nip and Tuck" incising a hog's mouth to perform an osseous surgery. In a odd kind of way, I found it relaxing to use a blade to make a beautiful invision and scrape all the granulation tissue. However, I decided during the next assignment of grafting connective tissue, that I wanted to refer to a periodontist. I love being a GP!

slimy & squishy

There are a plethora of sushi restaurants in the Loma Linda area. However, the past four years living here, I haven't found a quality restaurant to my delight. Without the satisfaction, I end up ordering masked cut rolls that taste like too much mayo or cream cheese. My limited selections confined me to any opportunity to good sashimi.

Recently I have found a treasure! Well, not recently but like a year ago... The best sushi in Redlands is Super Sushi. Yes, the name isn't very enticing at all. My husband and I were hestitant to its cheesy name. However, our hopeful hearts were willing to take a risk. We have finally found an authentic Japanese owned restaurant. This is very rare I hear in California because 90% of Japanese restaurants are Korean owned.



From a 1-5 rating (5 being the best), this sushi is about a 4. The taro tuna is excellent and the salmon is pretty good. The alborcore has a little garlic paste on it which makes me wonder if its not fresh. It doesn't melt in my mouth, but still satisfies my craving for alborcore better than any other sushi joint.


My favorite at Super Sushi is udon noodles. Udon is hot Japanese noodles. The kelp stock is what makes it taste like home cooking and not a instant powder form. I am an addict to hot things so this soothes my body when I'm cold. I like the tanuki (tempura crunch) or kitsune (fried tofu) udon. To master such a simple dish to be scrumptous is brillant.



Tonight my husband and I enjoyed having beef donburi. This dish consists of a rice bowl with sauteed onion, glass noodles, and marinated beef. My friend Amy introduced me to donburi in highschool back in San Jose. She loves it because it tastes like a mix of rice and bulgogi together. Try it for yourself the next time your in the area!

Opening the broom closet

Yesterday I went to my friend, Julius's house to learn and converse about people of different faiths. A prominent leader of the Wicca faith came to Julius's house and spent time to have a question and answer session with the Loma Linda community. The witch's name is Yvonne and she is out of the "broom closet." In a very professional way, Yvonne shared with us the basics of Wicca to the various types of groups out there.

What interested me was how sincere Yvonne's faith was to provide love and to seek truth in her journey. From a Catholic background, she searched through Buddism and found herself involved with Wicca. Previously, I ignorantly associated Wicca with only the sterotypes of "Dark Magic." But it touched my heart to hear the earnestness of her spiritual journey.

To make a long post short, two things that caught my attention were: Harry Potter books are nothing like of the Wicca faith. The Wiccans find Harry Potter's books to be more Christian influenced than anything like them. Very odd, how we know nothing of Wicca and hastily make the connections. Furthermore, I was enchanted to learn that Yvonne's spells were merely like prayers of our faith. Her spells consist of meditation and solitude of focusing on the well being of a person or situation. According to her faith practices, casting spells are used to change negative energy to positive. Of course, there are many variations in the many different sects.

orange & plump

When the month of October comes, I go to my garage and start opening my holiday decor boxes. I look for everything orange with a fall theme to decorate my home. My foyer is decorated with a fall garland with pumpkins all around. I even have an electic pumpkin that can be lit and a scented electric plug-in to smell like pumpkin spice all day long. Every free moment I have is spent in my living room where I can see and smell all this holiday goodness.



Pumpkins are not only associated only for my home decor. I have throughly enjoyed pumpkin bread, Starbuck's pumpkin lattes, and going to the pumpkin patch! I went to the best pumpkin patch when I was in Hamptons last month. This pumpkin patch had the biggest pumpkins I have ever seen. This child friendly pumpkin patch made me want to be a kid again with its attractive features like a corn field maze, hayride and etc. The field and the truck loads of pumpkins tempted me to run around, but I didn't scare anymore. Also, a random and friendly pumpkin patch worker offered us to take pictures for us. So he would walk around making us pose and was to our service. The funniest part was when Shannon was purchasing her "goose" squash, he wanted to pay for it.



Back to my main topic- PUMPKINS. I love pumpkins. I love fall when I can have pumpkins galore! Drop a comment if you have any favorite pumpkin recipes!

quickie

Living in the inland empire has made me appreciate the stores around me like Marshalls and Target. Surprisingly I have nicely adapted not having a Neimans nor a higher end Nordy's around. (I don't consider the Riverside Nordstrom to be of any value.) Shopping at Marshalls and Target has spoiled with me with amazing prices like Forever 21, but with better quality. I also appreciate how they are close by so I can drop in during a lunch break or a late night fix. I don't know much about what's the "in-style" fashion. Due to my weight gain, I usually purchase whatever I can fit into that doesn't make me look huge.

My friend Sarah and I went to Target last Wednesday for a walk in the store. This fall's collection at Target is adorable. We found some adorable dresses with bright colors and a variety of soft textures. Sarah bought the cutest blue sweater dress with a chinese collar that has 8 black buttons crawling up her collar from her bust area. The cornflower blue is very concentrated and exudes attention. The slim fit is sexy and the buttons add a touch of innocence. If I was skinny enough to wear this dress, I would buy it in every color. I didn't purchase it because I am aware certain styles can not be worn at this physical state I'm in. Yes, I am very conscious to the public's opinion. This blue dress flowered Sarah with multiple compliments and a friend asked her if she could buy the same dress!

The dress I purchased is a silk beige tunic with black pattern on the knee area. It looks very posh and clean. It matched my new short bob very well. The best thing about these sexy dresses were that they cost only $20. Both dresses could pass if they were Anthropologie items that would cost at leaset $150. This is not my first time where I have found an amazing dress at Target. I have bought my turquouise dress for my engagement pictures. So- go check out Target for a quick fix for a cute fall dress!

Who should I strip?

Yesteryday I invited my girlfriends to attend Jars of Clay concert with some people from church. When we are given our seating arrangements, I noticed that I was not sitting with the girlfriends I had invited. They were sitting from a different row and I was to sit next to my husband. I tried to see if we could sit altogether, but there were not enough sits to seat us in one row. Therefore, I asked my husband to trade seats so I could sit with the girlfriends I had invited instead of sitting with my husband.

This request probably would not be a big deal before I was married. This request might not be a big deal if it was for the first time. This request might not be an issue for you. However, I have observed whenever I invite guests, I tend to put their comfort level more of a priority than my husband's. I do not want the transition of marriage to neglect my relationships. My husband and I both know that small instances such as these are out of the kindness and the desire of my heart to be with my friends.

However, yesterday instance hit me. If I were to do this repeatedly, would it be wrong? How many times will it take before he gets angry? I know if he did this to me, I would be upset. So is it fair to treat him because he is being thoughtful and understanding? Or are females okay to act like this?

I am confessing that I have been doing this over and over. In the midst of it, I have a million thoughts of guilt. Sometimes I regret inviting my friends. I feel like I am being a bad wife, even though my husband doesn't care. Other times I am so glad I invested in my friends because we got to strenthen our friendships.

Furthermore, as I sit here, I can recall the family dynamics growing up. When we had guests over at the house, my parents put me 2nd to the attention of their guests. My parents always went out of their way to make their guests feel pampered and had to ignore our wishes to do so. We ate the guests' preference, we visited where the guests' wanted to see, and etc. Their actions never made me feel like I was less loved, but it did make me feel less cared for in those specific moments. I knew I had to sacrifice a certain time period only because after the guests left, I would be the queen of the house. Hence, maybe my actions stem from the way my family treated me.

I don't want to have to choose anyone for keeps nor anyone to strip from my activities. I am an extravert who is a pleaser. I want to make both sides happy. Is reality different from my idea of happiness? Maybe someday be able to invite my friends to all the events, but feel total secure that they don't need my 100% attention. Most importantly, all this supplements to my recognition to how amazing my husband is and more love to him.

*Check out Jars of Clay Christmas CD! www.jarsofclay.com

Taking my W off

In the month of September, I traveled riding in a car, metro, and airplane. It is amazing how we can explore so much with the means of transportation. September was fun packed with weekends spent in Lake Arrowhead, Las Vegas, and New York. From staying at a humble little wood cabin to a 5 star suite, I treated myself to self indulgence. Self indulgence to seeing what I like (O show), eating what I like (Gramercy Tavern), and hearing what I like (East Hampton Beach) wore my body out!

Self indulgence is a priority in my journey. If I don't listen to my cravings and desires, I get restless and uninspired. Along with serving other people and a higher being, we must take care of our needs. I think its harmless to satisfy yourself as long it doesn't hurt you and those around you. (The word "hurt" is another whole conversation for those who are post-modern thinkers.) Its critical to balance self indulgence with self sacrifice.

Self indulgence comes in various forms and shapes. In the month of september, I gave into all my physical indulgences by traveling. October came and I desired for rest. I wanted to stay at home. I wanted to sleep. I wanted silence. Finally, my first free came today, Wednesday. I slept in, ate whatever I wanted and went back to sleep. I'm usually not a napper, but it was really REALLY nice. I can't express how good my brain felt unattached from my career, my family issues, and endless worries. After my nap, I got my favorite goodness: a massage! *Shar's hot stone massage in Redlands is a reasonable place to go. To top off my perfect day I exercised walking around at Party plus and target for a halloween costume.

My day off was a sweet indulgence to relaxation. Every woman needs her day off. A day to take off her outer shell and not feel guilty about it. A day to disengage so that tomorrow can be engaged.