Wandom Wednesday

1. I miss my pupster Sonic. He is staying with my Kuya for awhile. Our family dog Keiko is getting old now and when she's around Sonic, she seems to really perk up. My Kuya and I want her live out her life as happy as can be.
How I got this to stay in his mouth is beyond me. He usually eats anything that close to his mouth.
2.
Me: Sebby is our baby boy!
Sebby: I'm not a baby!
Me: Then what are you?
Sebby: I'm CUTE!

3. Peek-a-blue in my Target Shoes! As happy as I am that summer is coming to an end... more specifically the hellish temperatures, I'm going to miss my bright colored nail polishes.

4. My favorite TV chef is Giada, HANDS DOWN. She's pretty, she's talented, and she's a barrel of smiles. She gained extra points on her new episode when she made Adobo, a filipino dish. I made it last week and tweeted her.. She tweeted me back :) I'd like to say that it made my year, but I think that would make me a crazy person.

5. I found an easy dinner option for wives that don't want to cook some elaborate meal. Add some pasta, veggies of your choice, olive oil, and Parmesan and you got yourself some din din.
I really miss having buku time to make fancy feast for Project Wifey Wife. Tomorrow I have plans to actually make a fun dessert...let's see if that actually takes place. ::crosses fingers::
6. Saturday is my 10 year High School Reunion. And you guessed it... in HS I was a big fat nerd. This is an embarrassing picture of me and my hs buddy. Apparently we loved taking mall pictures...and were outlaws...so says our shirts. ::WHAT THE HELL WERE WE THINKING?!::

  • Tell me something "wandom"!

Weekend Recap. No lie.

Ok, so I lie. This didn't technically happen over this weekend, it happened last Thursday. However, my weekend was sub par so I'm passing this off as something that happened this weekend. Is that ok with you, reader?

Some sad news first, my Nikon DIED! Ok, ok, I exaggerate... It's super broken. It's making the cool camera noise but not taking any pictures. I tried to look inside (and secretly wanted there to be a dinosaur bird in there drawing my pictures...you know... like the Flinstones? No? Just me?) But, to my disappointment, merely looking at the thing doesn't solve the problem. Woe is me.

Via Pinterest
Btw, I LOVE PINTEREST! Anyone else on it and totally obsessed?

So anyway, back to my amazing weekend. I went on a little trip to Downtown LA for their monthly Art Walk and Food Truck Festival with Hubby, his brother, and his cousins. It happens every 2nd Thursday of the month, which means I have the rest of the month to workout enough to make room for the eats. Brilliant, no?

I don't know that I could ever live in the city.. maybe if I were a single lady with 3 best friends whose names were Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha, but other than that, I would not survive. It sure is beautiful though.
While we were waiting in the horrible city traffic, I snapped some pictures of the beautiful buildings.
The food truck festival wasn't as big as it use to be. Last time we went, a baby was killed when a driver was trying to parallel park and accidentally hit the gas and jumped the curb. To divert some of the traffic, they took many of the trucks away. Such a sad story about the baby.

Nevertheless, we managed to find some delicious treats!
I opted for an amazing Grilled Cheese Truck!
Last time we went, we tried the original Grilled Cheese truck and it was a huge disappointment. Sorry to burst your bubble. I have to say that this truck was much better.

I had a Granny Style Karl B. Marx. It was SOOOOO cheesy and good. It was one of those sammies where you pull it from your mouth and a string of beautiful cheddar cheese oozes out. The bread was cooked to a perfectly buttery crisp. It was TO DIE FOR!

I also hit up the Boba Truck.

Remember, I had this OBSESSION with boba in college... this took me back to simpler days.
This was more than filling... and fulfilling.
After we fed our bellies, we tried to culture ourselves with some Art... Sometimes I just don't get it.

I guess this is what you call, live art. This "exhibit" was pretty much people dressed up as Hippos throwing plastic bags around the room. I is confused.

I did LOVE this... Facebook statuses typed on a typewritter. Genuis.

"I would like to get to know you"
Food was great. Art was great. A totally bang-a-rang weekend!

  • Are you an "exaggerator"?
  • Grilled Cheese fan?
  • Pinterest Aficionado?

Missing in Action, Studying Fractions.

You like that title? Because it took me 10 minutes to come up with, so a little pity chuckle would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Life has been good. Work has been busy. I have been left...all in a tizy. That... took 3 seconds. I don't know why that came out so fast but my title couldn't. I'm losing my blog mojo... my blojo. ok that sounded way less dirty in my head.

In a nutshell, work has been extremely busy but ten times more rewarding then a large side of french fries. I love my class, I love my Math team, and ::le gasp:: I'm starting to fall in love with Math. Shhhh... don't tell the other subjects.
Running is coming back to me as the weather gets a little bit better. I'm signing up for two 5Ks soon and hopefully getting back into it.
I just paid for my tickets to my High School Reunion. Holy Moly... I feel oldy.
And then there is food blogging. I miss it so! I hope I can find time again to visit all of the blogs I miss so much!

Until then... have some EASY Mexican Lasagna... on the house.

Project Wifey Wife Week #22-The Savory
Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 lb of ground beef
1 can of black beans
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 pack of taco seasoning
1 small can of corn
1 large jar of salsa
6 flour tortillas
cheese, lots and lots of cheese
crushed tortilla chips

I got to use another one of my cool new Pampered Chef tools! Super helpful!


I added some corn to the stuff. Made the stuff even stuffier.

Quatro, Cuatro, Kuatro... you know what I'm saying?

Repeat these steps until your ingredients are gone, your pan is full, or you're satisfied.
Whichever comes first.
This stuff is muy bien.

Tell me that's not Bonita?
I served this with a side of saffron infused rice with some cilantro. Si!

Quick. Delicious. PERIOD. Exclamation point.


  • Hi!

Ode to Running

Ode to Running
What's the point of running?
What reason could there be?
Running twenty-six miles
Makes no sense to me.

We have planes, trains, and automobiles,
Helicopters scooters, and boats.
And if you really, really need to
You could even ride a goat.

With all these options to move you
Why would you want to run?
Compared to running for hours
Riding a goat sounds like fun.

Running makes you sweaty
And tired and cranky and sore,
And running around in circles
Can be really quite a bore.

But the worst part of running,
What drives me out of my mind,
Are the Chipper Happy Runners
Who are Chipper and Happy all the time.

They get up at 7 am
To run too many miles
And whether it's Mile 1, 5, or 10,
Their faces are covered with smiles.

I fear that I'm outnumbered,
And they're trying to wear me down,
They're trying to make me chipper,
But all I can do is frown.

But I'll be nice to the Chipper People
And I'll tolerate their smiles,
Cause they have so much friggin' energy
Maybe I can ride their backs for awhile.
-Dawn Dais

Due to the unnecessarily ridonkulous heat here in Southern Cali, I have put a hold on running. I tried a couple of times in the past few months, but because I don't have access to a treadmill, running outside has been only a wish from the stars (that phrase totally came out of my poop chute). Meaning, running outside is something I refuse to do. Running in 106 degree heat? Ummm...no thank you, Sir.

Surprisingly enough, my body has been craving a good run, which is a break from the french fries and Red Velvet Ding dong cravings it usually has. So if you crave something enough, God says, in his baritone voice, "OK." poof Prayer request accepted. Thank you, Sweet Baby Jesus.
My new school has a pretty sweet Fitness Center that the teachers have access to and the moment I found out that they had a treadmill I jumped at the chance to use it! I mean, it's no 24 hour Fitness in there, but if I close my eyes and block out the sweaty stench of puberty, it is worlds better than running outdoors in Hades Southern Cali.

It was my first time on a tready and it was a little slice of ego-pie for me. Outdoors I can only run for about 20 minutes at a 10:00 pace before having to take a minute to pick my lungs up off the pavement. But on the treadmill, I ran for a full 30 at an 11:00 pace with both of my lungs A-okay. It was nice!

I miss running. I've also been reading this hilarious book, T lent me.
Dawn Dais is so comedy. I want to be her running buddy. She wrote that poem up top, that pretty much forced me to laugh snot bubbles out of my nose. I don't have any immediate plans to run a marathon or even a half because my goal is to keep working up to it. I want to do more 5Ks then 10Ks, then eventually run some halves and fulls. Who am I, Miss I can't remember to take my inhaler, to run something I'm not ready for. I run to beat of my own drum.... or something like that.

Here's to cooler days, faster runs, and craploads of motivation to get me off my butt imprint in my couch.
  • Are you a runner?
  • Treadmill vs. Outdoors, which do you prefer?

He's a Fungi

A couple of weeks ago I had a Pampered Chef party.... it's like a Tupperware party but with cooking toys... and with much more fun and eating involved. I have to admit I was super hesitant to host one at our house because I'm not crazy about those type of parties, but when my friend Minda (Hi, Minda!) told me there was food demos and taste testing involved, my tummy decided, YES!

Needless to say, I purchased and received so many amazing kitchen who's it's and what's it's galore (You want thingamahbobs? I got 20!) and I don't regret it one bit. Everything they have to offer is legit. And here I give you, my new AMAZING toy!
I decided to break this bad boy in with ingredients that would make it sing...Sweet sweet sounds.

Project Wifey Wife Week #21
Beef & Mushroom Sandwiches
adapted from Cooking for Two & More by Pampered Chef

Ingredients:

1 beef strip steak (about 12 ounces or so)
2 Tbs. butter
3 cups of fresh white button mushrooms, sliced
3 Tbs. Sour Cream
2 Tbs. snipped fresh chives
Sprinkles of Garlic Salt and Pepper to taste
Potato Bread Rolls

1. Heat Skillet over medium heat until HOT. Sprinkle steak evenly with Garlic Salt and Pepper to taste. Place stead in skillet and cook to your liking, turning only once.
Remove steak and let stand on carving board for 15 minutes. This allows the juices to settle. Thinly slice on a bias.
2. In the same hot skillet, add butter and swirl to coat the pan. Add the mushrooms and saute until brown.
"Don't crowd the mushrooms or they won't brown."-Julia Child

Best advice EVER! What a difference it made. They were juicy and brown.

"Why was the mushroom invited to all the parties? Because he was a Fun guy (Fungi)!- Ian Bo Be-an

Best joke EVER.

3. Toast bread on a buttered pan, mix sour cream and chives, and schmear as needed.
DE...wait for it...VOUR! This sandwich was so juicy and savory, Hubby and I were in food bliss!! I LOVE this sandwich!

  • Have you ever hosted a sales party at your house?
  • Any corny jokes? I love em!

Teacher Talk Tuesday: Rockin' the Schoolhouse

I've told you time and time again that I HATE math. I'm pretty much the only Asian on this planet who is painfully bad at math. I probably had many disappointed friends in HS who copied off my homework only to discover that I didn't know JACK about prime factorization. (BTW, my 10 year reunion is next month...CRAZY!)

Now that I am teaching math, I find myself reteaching myself how to compare mixed fractions before I lay my head on my pillow each night. I do lots of math, and show my work, and watch lots of YouTube videos on how to explain the divisibility rules. So far, I'm smarter than ever in math and actually enjoy being a student again.... a student to myself... a teacher teaching herself? Totes McGoats!

Today I showed my class my favorite Schoolhouse Rock video! Hopefully I can instill the love of math into my little students so they wont grow up to be like me, hating math, and still counting on my fingers under the blackjack table. (I actually don't do that anymore.)

I still count my 3's times tables like this. It puts the fun in functional! WOW, I need to go to bed!

  • Tell me your BEST Math trick or way to remember something!


Drooling Over Spitz



I think I found my new favorite place to eat in Downtown LA. This has to be the  BEST place I've eaten in a looooong time. This place made my eyes roll to the back of my head while I had a delicious food-gasm.


The Place: Spitz is a hip European Style quick service restaurant located in Little Tokyo. To me it was half trendy bar, that had a good variety of beer on tap, and half little eatery that serves LEGIT Mediterranean style food. I loved the feel right away. 

To be completely honest, whenever I travel to Downtown LA, the fact that I'm a plain Jane nerdy pants girl comes out like crazy. I feel so insecure because there is nothing "hip" or cool about me. I beg Hubby to take me to Urban Outfitters for new clothes beforehand, but he always shuts that idea down.  However, I didn't feel like that at Spitz. The people here didn't give off that "I'm a hipster and you're not" vibe.
The insecure nerd in me liked that very much.
Can I point out that AWESOME light fixture that was hanging at the center of this place? That my foodies, is a Gyro Spit! Beautiful art is what I call it. Since hubby is the quintessential man and is obsessed with meat, I think I will buy this for our living room...you know... just for him. I'm such a good wife like that.
 
 


The Menu: I appreciate any eatery that has it's combos down to a science. This menu was exactly that! The fact that they offer such amazing combos tells me that there aren't money hungry douchebags that work behind the scenes. I imagine that they are heavenly angels with a gift of food, spreading joy all around the world. I love you, angels.

I also like the fact that there aren't a million things on the menu. Don't forget that those places that offer too much can never get anything perfect...instead everything is mediocre. Since Spitz doesn't do that, the things that they do make, are sheer perfection.
As you can see, LA seems to agree with me. They coined this place "Best Cheap Eats". If you've ever been to LA there are many many cheap eats, so to be named THE BEST is really saying somethin'!

The Eats: With all this good food around, it was bound to happen. In mine and hubby's game of "Mine is better than yours" he beat me out cold. I mean, don't get me wrong, we both had things that made us shiver in delight, but his....should win a gold medal or something.
I decided to try to be healthy and opted for the Falafalite Wrap Combo with Tzatziki and chili sauce with a side of fried pita strips and hummus. Because nothing says healthy liked fried pita strips right?
 
 
It was DIVINE. So flavorful and refreshing. Great combo of crunch, smoothness, freshness, and Oh My Goshness. I dream about those pita strips and they are begging me to make sweet sweet food love to them! They were crispity strips of perfection that were only made better with their hummus.
Hubby knew what to get because he has the convenience of going on his lunch break sometimes (although he says it's packed like sardines in there at that time). He ordered the The Classic (Beef & Lamb) Combo Zesty style (zesty feta and pepperoncinis) and....
the item that single handedly beat my meal....

Street Cart Fries!!! Let me just tell you so you know what I say is TRUE... "French Fries topped with tons of garlic aioli, feta cheese, diced onions, green pepper, tomato, kalamata olives, pepperoncinis, and chili sauce."

People, people!! Get out your bucket lists, this will need to be on there. This is genius-osity at its best!
Since hubby is such an amazing man, he let me have half of his meal. And me, being such a great wife, traded half of my meal, too. Secret to a happy marriage #1- it's all about give and take.

Overall: This place is a must if you're ever in LA. I know that I will beg the hubs to bring me here...maybe tomorrow? These chefs know what they're doing. The flavors combine perfectly to make your mouth appreciate every ingredient of love that was put into your combo. Even though this is a quick-serve restaurant, you can tell that they make each combo to order. They can't make these things ahead of time!! I give this place an A+.
GO to this place!! Like, NOW!




 
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