Am thankful for...

Just want to wish all a Happy Thanksgiving and a happy Friday!  My family, Wife and friends are what keeps me going... I am truly blessed and thankful for the life that I have.  But I believe we are all fortunate if we just continue to love and be positive.  Stay warm this holiday season, enjoy the weekend and the countdown begins till Christmas!!  1 <3

So now enjoy these cupcakes Vien and I made, compliments of Family Fun Mag!

Dinner for 2...

 Night is cold, the rain is coming and going, usually unannounced but always a good reason to stay home and cook.  Tonight we decided to cook some crab cake stuffed salmon.  As a healthy eater, it's always a challenge to come up with something healthy yet taste good at the same time... Thankfully, these came out better than I thought!

Not wanting my salmon overcooked, I baked it for about 12 minutes at 400 degrees.  This kept insides of the salmon moist and slightly under cooked, but still evenly cooked the crab cake in the center.  With a side of blanched and shocked asparagus, this meal turned out to be a hit.

On turning 29...

Another year has passed by... so quickly that I still remember last year's birthday like it was a couple weeks ago.  But this year was special, no... not just because it's my last year in the twenties, which is also true but this is my first birthday as a married man.  No physical gift can compare to the blessing's I've received in the course of a year.  I found my true love, my soul mate and my best friend Vien.  People asked me how does it feel now that I am married and honestly, I can say nothing much has changed other than the fact that it's official and that I have my own family to look forward to.

I can now say that I am content with my life, it is everything I had ever hope and had worked for.  I am thankful that I was given such a blessed life.  I say, 'you do good, you get good.'  This I can vouch for since my life is good.

Where the magic happens..

Well at least where blogs are born... 

One Month after..

Today mark's our one month Anniversary from our wedding day!  Honestly, these past 4 weeks since our wedding, has flew by so fast that I still have goosebumps that it happened.  I remember very vividly, anticipating the big day, prepping everything the night before and making sure we had everything the week before.  But even though it was a lot of work, time and money spent planning the big day, I wouldn't take back anything.  I'm just still shocked at how perfectly the night turned out as it did... It's real hard to tell when you are the one getting married since the only thing running through my mind was making sure everything was under control and that we are on time with all the scheduled events.  It's funny because even till this day, our parents still reminisce about that day with their friends.

After all these years, we've remained close friends since 2001.  I am really fortunate to have the opportunity to spend the rest of my life with my best friend.  She is my everything and this is going to be one helluvah adventure.  Stay tuned...

Be fast in the Mornin'

Call me spoiled, or not... but I remember asking my wife a couple days ago, 'you know what sounds good one of these mornings... some choco chip pancakes'  ...'Don't worry, babe one of these mornings well make some', she said with a soft spoken voice and a gleam of hope in her eyes.  But as no surprise to you readers, the photo above says I got my request!  This past weekend she surprised me with not only a plate full of my favorite choco chip pancakes, but with a glass of blended carrot n orange juice, with banana pancakes, bacon and a side of eggs (yolk to the poke too).

Yeah I know you may think, so what... it's another breakfast.  But this is special to me because breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, the delicious aroma of just cooked breakfast, the fact that we can cook together then sit and enjoy our first meal of our Saturday is just priceless.  I plan on continuing this tradition of home cooked breakfast on the weekends...  not to mention, good practice to when we plan to start a family sometime in the future. ;)

Scrappin' and loungin'

Ahh yes today is Friday, the night is young, the air is cool and perfect snuggle weather.  After dinner, Vien and I glanced over at each other, by the look in our eyes we knew we wanted to stay in tonight.  We figured we'd spend some 'us' time, quality lounge around the house time, a movie or two tonight and maybe scrapbook somethin'.  When we scrap, typically we do a page each of a particular weekend or holiday.  For example, in a typical 12x12 album, I would design the left page and Vien would design the right page.  By doing it this way, we showcase how we envisioned the weekend or that particular holiday by how we decorate it or by which pictures we choose to print and use.  The last time I remember scrapbooking was back in May 2010 when we went to Santa Barbara for our first time, to see 30 seconds to Mars concert @ the Bowl.  Yeah ages ago!

But now with all our wedding planning behind us, we now finally have the time to do what we want to do and be able to plan a whole weekends dedicated to us.  And now normal everyday life sets in, but only difference now is we are officially a married couple!  Just the ring to it, still gives me chills and I still can't believe that we made it.  In a good way of course!  But I know, we will continue to do the same things we normally would do, such as hanging out with  with family and friends, looking for new places to visit, taking hundreds of pictures, and our favorite past time, dining at new restaurants on Sunday mornings.  It's now been 4 weeks since we've been married and so far its been a blessing.  I look forward to our new family, and where the future may take us.  As a reference to Maui, on the Road to Hana, we had a saying...'its not about just finishing your journey, but its about all the stops along the way, enjoying each and every milestone along the way towards the finish... is what the journey is truly all about'

Hello November...!

Pulling down the fake spider webs, throwing out the semi wilted pumpkins from the night before... We say good by to the month of October.  Halloween has just ended, we fold away our costumes that we plan to never use again, but what does remain are all the candies and chocolates afterwards.  Some of us, like myself continue to bring the left over sweets to work, snack throughout the day and just figure, hey might as well, it's there!

But now rolls in my favorite time of the year, Fall!  The weather is consistently cool, the trees transform into a nice shade of orange and red, the rain sprinkles in from time to time, my birthday is this month, and of course the intimate Thanksgiving dinner with my family.  The leftover food is another great thing about it!  You can have yourself some ham, turkey, stuffing, mash potato and gravy and the list goes on. But other than just the food...to me, Thanksgiving is about spending quality time with my family, talking stories, poking fun, making jokes, and the joy to watch everyone having the time of their lives, being with one another makes it all worth it.

Kung Pao and Brocolli cheddar rice

Tonight, I decided to prep dinner before Vien came home... I tore open a bag of Broccoli Cheddar rice, cooked it in boiling pot of water and added a tbsp of butter.  To compliment the rice I warmed up some leftover Kung Pao chicken we had ate from the night before.  Vien warmed up some spinach artichoke dip for our side item.  

1 bag of broccoli rice

2 cups of boiling water

1 tbsp of butter (optional)

Simmer for 7 minutes 

2  minutes to cool then serve  

The finished product of our dinner for Wednesday night.  Vien said it tasted like a soft macaroni rice but she enjoyed it!  This also marks my first blog about food so stay tuned for what I have in store next time.  Enjoy your dinner as Vien and I have and have a good night.