Why the delay in postings

Was just looking at unposted "post", all there to be edited. What is the delay? Is it the perfectionist in me? Making sure it is just right? Ha, ha, not if you have read by blog- typo, spelling and grammatical horror! Maybe, I am editing it to portray myself the way I want the world to view me? I hope not!! Hmm, maybe there is a little editing there...... if I being honest. Hey, who wants to put herself out there as being _____ (whatever fills that blank!). Still I think it is essentially Me and my beloved family. It is hard because you always want to be portray everyone in good light. Plus it is hard to write about hard times. I guess that is why I never truly kept a journal. Heaven forbid, if it fells into the wrong hands. That is then to imply that there would be "juicy" stuff to be ashamed off!!! Ha, ha. I think I have lived a fairly normal life.......

Hah! Feels good to ramble on. Maybe that is why people keep journal. Was just reading Sister C's blog. Her attempts in keeping a journal in her younger days (yes, you are still young). It so reminds me of me at that age. I too tried and failed with journals. Repeatedly. I see that my Daughter L has the same problems. In my annual spring cleaning, I come across numerous journals she had started.....at best a dozen pages then cold silence. Ha,ha. I remember she had a coach that wanted them to keep a journal of their soccer / sports which they had to " show" him, weekly. There they could rant about the game, fellow players, how they felt, about the coach etc. Anything that affected their game. She invariable forgot to write in her journal. Okay, maybe that is not a fair comparison as you know someone is going to read it. Or maybe, she was just plain lazy. Yes, my sisters she can be lazy too. She is human.

I digress. Actually I take that back. Daughter L example is like Me. She is like Me. We both are writing or not writing because we know it is going to be read. Make sense????

This is what happens when you wake up at 6 am to bake Rock Buns for your daughter's breakfast so that she has something in her tummy before she takes the ACT examination! You ramble on nonsense.

My Young Man

Been sitting in Son A's Martial Art Studio classes more often these days. His class schedule changed recently, so that he now goes every night for about an hour. With the price of gas, it just does not make sense to drive back and forth within the hour. So, I sit. Read a book or magazine. Do a bit of work.

And I look up. Often. When I hear grunts, cheers or sound of punches raining on somebody! Is it my son? I am amazed at him. He is really quite good at Muay Thai and also at Jujitsu. He is more often than not the youngest in the class and he more than holds his own. It is totally mind blogging to see him lift and carry his training partner for the day, normally a person of approximately his weight across the studio. And do this repeatedly. Of course, I worry that he is going to hurt himself. I am in awe! The strength of my baby. He is able to lift and carry his own weight. The prowess of youth.

I watch with pride as he spars with kids older than him, college age and young adults. He has improved so much in the last 2 years since becoming a Black Belt holder. He is faster, stronger and more skillful. His Sensei was commenting tha other night about how fast and hard his punches and kicks are these days. Son A takes a private training session with the Sensei once a week. It has really help him hone his skills. The Sensei watches him during regular classes and gets excited when he see Son A sparring, using techniques he just taught him. He is beaming with pride when Son A wins or does well against an opponent. He was just saying he wishes his son would want to train as much as Son A. The other day, Sensei tells Son A he is prodigy #2. Prodigy#1 is an older college aged young man who is skillfull and currently the lead instructor aside from Sensei. Son A hopes to be a paid instructor once he reaches 16.

Me. I am proud. But... sometimes I wonder if I'll have to someday rush him to the emergency room because of an injury. So far, so good. He is careful and not boastful. That helps because if you think you are invincible, that when you get hurt. Oh, don't get me wrong, he knows he is good. He is confident and he goes out there to prove it over and over again. But, he knows his opponents. He knows who has a temper, who has something to prove......

I am also filled with pride when he leads classes. It is still so amazing to me to see him at the front of the class. Where is my little boy who used to be trying to wing it,among the crowd of the class? He is now particular about his form and doing his best. He is a young man,My Young Man.

I better post this already. Been thinking I wanted to take pictures of him in action. That is pictures that shows him in action without actually showing him! Yes, still have that hang up. Keep forgetting my camera so....... IT is posted.

Second thoughts about blogging.

Been in the dumps lately. All bottled in and not posted on the blog. I think I have a problem putting it out there. The blog is not quite working out as a journal for me. I am not free spirited enough to let it out there.

I enjoy the playing on the computer, taking pictures and writing about the good times, the funny times- the tougher time....... as you can see no posting for over a month. I guess I will limit it to my hobbies until and if ever I feel differently. Ha, ha, even that has not quite worked out. I am so happily engrossed in my cooking for example, I forget to take pictures or write down what I tweaked about the recipe. That I think will work itself out once I can set aside enough playtime and set up for it, knowing I will blog it. I will do that for my daughter L, though she will be in dorms for a bit so maybe no cooking yet.

Busy with my family. Proud to say, husband is busy getting fit. He has been biking up to 16 miles a day. GO Baby! He is aiming for 30 miles a day. Really proud of him. Me- my Wii Fit age went down to 29 the other day so that is pretty good, right???? Weight wise I have not budged much, though my clothes are feeling looser. That's what counts said my doctor when I complained to her the other day. At the amount I am exercising 2 years ago I would have lost 10-15 lbs in the first month alone. I have to jump start my metabolic rate. Have to work harder.

Son A has love and lost since the last blog. He has come out a little wiser about girls ( I hope!). He is busy with his Jujitsu, Muay Thai and Tae-Kwon- Do. Also, he is excited about Lacrosse and thinks it might be the sport for him.

Daughter L is started on the stressful college application process, meeting datelines ( or not!), being sweet (most of the time) tired out by all her sport activities but enjoying it all.

Well, at least I am trying to post something!

Garden Frontline news.........

I have to confess, I have not been out in the garden for as long periods as I had been. Life has got a little hectic. Of course, I check on whether my seeds have sprouted and water the seed trays. Handle the obviously critical matters but basically left the garden alone.

Oh, yeah, I forgot I did on Monday, strip the citrus trees of leaf miner affected leaves- your know the ones where you see a white trail where the leaf miners have 'mined/sucked' out the juices. San Diego is under a citrus quarantine -backyard fruit are not to be transported out of location as Mexican insect have been found in orchards. California is a citrus producing state so the quarantine is very important. Sadly, I finally had to resort to chemical intervention for the leaf miners - one recommended by the Department of Agriculture. I kept it to only my citrus orchard. It should be safe to harvest my fruits (if they were ready) 5 days or so after application. So that is fine as it will still be awhile before I harvest the citrus.

Oh, before I forget, I also ran into another pest. This time on my mango tree. Some kind of borer had decided to attack the trunk of my tree. Remember, I had found one side of the tree dying off when I came back from vacation and never found out why it happened? Well, I guess the borers must already have been at work but not visible. Again, Agriculture Department recommended a Bayer Tree and Shrub product that was safe. I am prepared to forgo a season of fruit although they said I do not have to. Ha, ha. I am agreeable as there is no flowers on the plants and unlikely until next spring!! Hey, I love my mango so I am glad I do not have to make a hard decision.

Finally, the tomato horn caterpillars have reduced. I still find one or two a week but not the numbers I used to. The tomato plants are finally coming back and are flowering. Little tomatoes are also visible. It is so sad that almost two month for the surviving tomato plants to come back to fruiting. Another plant that is finally thriving is the pea eggplant (terung pipit).

Black Hokkein Spaghetti

Ingredients
1 lb dried thick spaghetti
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 shallots, sliced thinly
1 cup medium size prawns
1 cup sliced meat- chicken, pork or beef
1/2 cup squid, pineapple scored or cut into rings
3 cups Choy Sum, cut into 2 inch length. (maybe substituted with
Bok Choy aka Nappa Cabbage
3 eggs (beaten)

Sauce
3 tablespoon dark
1 tablespoon light soya sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 teaspoon cornflour
1 cup of water

1. Boil spaghetti according to the box. We use Barilla Thick Spaghetti - boil until al dente only, 12 minutes.
2. Mix sauce ingredients together in bowl.
3. Heat oil in a wok or large saucepan. Add sliced shallot, fry until translucent. Add garlic and fry until just golden brown.
4. Add the meat, fry for 2 minutes or until just cooked.
5. Add prawns and squid, fry another minute or 2 until prawns just turn opaque.
   
6. Pour in sauce and bring to a boil.
7. Add noodles and vegetables. Cook for 2 minutes till vegetables are done and noodles are heated through.
8. Serve .
   

Craving for Black Hokkein Noodles

The family had a craving for Black Hokkien Noodles but was not interested to go out to groceries or look for a pseudo Hokkein Noodles. So, I rustle up Black Hokkein Spaghetti. I used thick Spaghetti Noodles. It turned out quick good. So much so we had it again this weekend, but I did not have the thick spaghetti. Had to use spaghettini- pasta with ridges along the sides, which we love for regular italian sauces as it clings to those ridges. Have to say, go with thick spaghetti. Udon would do too, I think. I thought I would blog this so that daughter L would have it for college. After all, that was one of the reason for this blog. For course, we had to have finely sliced omelet to top it off because that is what we like!

Doesn't it look yummy? It looks lighter in the photo. Anyway, it was good eats and will do in a pinch when you are far from the real McCoy.

Recipe

Dream Catcher

Son A has been working hard at school. We are so proud of him. It is wonderful to see him so motivated and driven to do well in school. That is not to say that he is `perfect'. Dear boy, still has his lapses. Only these days, he kicks himself for it versus me `kicking' him! Middle school has brought such a maturity to him that makes me beam with pride and tear up. Yeh, I am a sappy Mom especially at a time in a boy's life he needs his mother to have a little dignity and restraint! And did I tell you how cute he looks? Especially so, in button down shirts and polos. I am not surprise that he gets the attention he does from the girls!

Week 2 of school has ended. Each day, when I pick him up from school, he gets into the car and say, "Mom, I have great news", or "Mom, I have bad news". Or, if there is no exceptional news, I have to ask him how his day was. This week I was greeted with two "Mom, I have great news" events. He rummages through his backpack for the paper that shows his `great' work. Often, this is preempted by me saying I wish he would keep his paper neatly and not dog eared. Anyway, I digress. Happy event 1 - He tested great in Math, achieving mastery levels in all levels of this Math/ Algebra curriculum.Event 2- He tested Reading and Comprehension at post high school level!!! He was ecstatic, especially since I am always asking him to read, and read a wide range of genres. He reads Mad magazine and Lat , for God sake! Ha, ha, we are all so proud of him. He, happily relates this to his sister who then tells him she tested out at 4th grade to be post high school level and then they stop testing her in elementary school!! Not even that comment could take away the pride he had in his testing. Never mind how Che Che did, he is doing okay by himself. But it did start him thinking on the reading level of high school kids....

In any event, Son A, appears to be doing well in all classes with the exception of US History. The first test was on US state capitals, which my dear son thought would be a snap, since he already learn that in 5 grade. Well, as you can predict, he did not do so well.... He says he remembers the state capital if given a map. He is able to put down the state capital and the name of the respective state. He was not able to answer a straight question. What is the capital of______? Imagine that! I told him he needed to know his subject thoroughly and be able to answer the questions which ever direction they took. Besides, if you can actually place on the map, the state and it capital city, you really know the stuff. Straight questions capital to state should be a done deal. Guess not. He must be a very visual kid.
Here's where the Dream Catcher comes in. In order to raise his scores, he has opted to take on extra credit work. He comes to me and ask if I could help him weave Native American baskets??? Yeh, right! No, I said, I cannot. Besides where will we find the reefs needed? So he researches and come back with the idea of Dream Catchers and has his teacher approves the project. He comes home from school on Friday and asks me to help him with the project. He researches online and gets instruction on how to make a Dream Catcher and presents it to me. Okay, he needs dried grapevines. I send him into our garden to look for it. We have only green vines. I was not about to make another trip across town to buy a dried wreath for the project (at least not if I could help it). So, I go out to the garden and we find some dried raspberry stems. We soaked them and fashion a wreath out of it. I started the first rows for him and he finished the weaving and stringing the bead on the Dream Catcher. Lastly, we tied a bunch of feathers to complete the project. Not too shabby, even if we do say so ourselves.

With this Dream Catcher, Son A, hopes to capture back his grades. One can only applaude him for his effort and persistence.