A new beginning

I decided to give my blog a face lift for a fresh start of 2010. There may still be some minor adjustments as I spend more time playing with it. :D

Here’s to a great year ahead! (let’s just be optimistic a little, although we know the economy is not going to recover anytime soon)

Snowboarding at Heavenly, Lake Tahoe

I attempted snowboarding last week at Lake Tahoe. I knew I wanted to snowboard rather than ski, because I've had bad experiences skiing. So with a private instructor, and gear in tow, I braved the challenges and pain of snowboarding. I took a snowboarding lesson about 2 years ago, but never really snowboarded on a "real" run before. In fact, I've never even been on a ski lift before. I was much more brave this time because I had John with me and I was pretty determined to learn snowboarding.

Although I was in so much pain from all the falling and picking myself up, I have to admit that I was enjoying myself out there. I still suck at it, and it was a pretty fun experience. I am a left foot forward person, they call it regular because most people are left foot forward. John is a left foot forward boarder too. I can't switch myself back and forth (heel and toe), therefore I got exhausted very quick since I am only relying on one leg. And it's funny because I only know how to turn right. I kept moving towards the right and John had to pull me back to the far left so I can start moving towards the far right. Each time I felt myself going too fast, I slowed myself down by making myself fall on my knees. By the end of the day, my knees were so sore and swollen from all the falling. I wish I brought knee pads with me. It would have been a great help! Hopefully my next snowboarding trip, I will be able to distribute the weight evenly between my left and right leg.

I was so done with snowboarding after lunch. My legs gave up on me and I called it a day.

As I braved the challenges and pain of snowboarding, John braved my yelling and frustration ;) I must say, he is a very brave guy. amazing viewour very very expensive lunch at the lodge view cafePosing for the cameraJohn taking a break by enjoying the pleasure of watching his wife fell helplessly on the snow... and then some.John managed to get a picture of me actually snowboarding for a split secondand then the moment was gone. It went from that to this from then on...and then it was all this. tsk.... tsk....

My poor knees.... they were so red at the end of the day! I was starting to feel sore that night, and the next day, I could barely walk. I was not able to sit, get up, walk down hills, climb stairs, move my body.... etc. I was in so much pain. Every inch of my body, I mean EVERY inch, was in pain. That just shows how out of shape I am! :(

Till my next snowboarding trip....

I learned the best way to prepare lobster tail

Last week when lobster tails were on sale for $5.99/ ea, I went out and got ourselves 4 lobster tails. Last Sunday, after we just got back from our Lake Tahoe trip, I decided to cook ourselves a simple and delicious meal. In the past, we would usually boil the lobster, which is a quick and easy way to prepare the meal. This time, I wanted to try something different. I wasn’t sure whether to grill it or to steam it. I googled for recipes and decided to use this one. It seems simple and looks yummy. I mean, you can never really go wrong with lobster tails. :D

I found the recipe so John executed it. :) He ran a wooden skewer through the tail to avoid the lobster from curling up. We learned that from past experience. The lobsters came up perfect, better than last time. We served our lobster tails with melted butter and mashed potatoes. I do not have a picture of it unfortunately.

I love steamed lobster tails rather than boiled lobster tails.

Lake Tahoe for new year

We are spending our new year at Lake Tahoe this year! And if I feel brave enough, I might hit the slopes! :P

http://www.skiheavenly.com/

source here

See you guys next year!

Fish taco craving

Lately I've been crazy about fish tacos! I love love love the fish tacos at the Ventura farmers market. Unfortunately, the location (about an hour away from where we live) and the time (only on every Sunday morning) make it hard to satisfy my unpredictable crazy cravings. Thanks to John, I now found a restaurant that offers fish tacos as good as the ones at the farmers market. Okay, maybe not equally as good, but it is definitely up to par! Yes, it is Rubio's! I see them everywhere but never thought of eating there. Until John suggested Rubio's when I was craving for fish tacos one day. Since then, i was hooked. The price is pretty reasonable since it is sort of a fast food chain restaurant. They offer a variety of Mexican food but I have not tried anything new on their menu except for their fish tacos. Now I can easily satisfy my fish taco cravings!

Christmas lights around the neighborhood

On Christmas night, after a fun filled evening at Debbie's, we cruised around the neighborhood to see houses decorated with Christmas lights. I think there are more houses decorated with Christmas lights this year.

all the traffic to see these beautiful decorated houses

They are amazing, aren't they?! So Christmassy...... :))))

my fun fun christmas

This year christmas, as usual, we went to Debbie's. For some reason, this year was a lot more fun than previous years. Maybe because the kids are older? And their toys are cooler this year. This year, Jacob is able to unwrap his own presents without the help from his big sister. Christmas is always more fun when there are kids around. It was so fun to see their faces when they unwrapped each gift. They were thrilled and excited! They got lots of presents! All the cool new toys which many of them were not pictured below.

say cheese.......
open open open.....
santa got Jacob a thomas the train wooden track table because he has been a good boy
where's my thomas train...??
he also has a mini track
uncle john checking out jacob's cool new toy
Jacob: which one? which one... too many selections...
this years most popular toy... the zhu zhu pet. And these lucky kids got the whole set!
we got some cool new stuff too! :D
Debbie got a new set of wine glasses... :D
dad got some new polo shirts from Debbie
mom got a Wii induction charger here
happy happy faces :)

After opening presents, it was time for some yummy prime rib!!! That's why people love Christmas so much. The kids get lots of new toys and the adults get to eat!!! and not to mention drink! :-) Although I was a little jealous of the kids new toys! Hmmm...now if only Jasmine will share some of her cool new toys with me. ;) John was already playing with Jacob's remote control Thomas train all night!