Happy Birthday, Willy!

It's been a busy but very fun weekend. Friday night I took Willy out for dinner at a nice local restaurant, No. 9 Park. We had some really delicious dishes, like prune-stuffed gnocchi with foie gras, hake (it's like cod), duck, and these two amazing desserts--an apple creme brulee and this liquid chocolate thing that I'm not even going to try to describe in writing. Suffice to say I stuffed myself silly (not that that's anything new). I just wish I had to brought his gift with me because it would have been perfect to give it to him while the table next to us was having their cheese course presented to them (Cheese, Gromit! Cheese!). We did have some laughs over the two really drunk, loud women at that table too. One of them actually almost fell over as they were leaving the restaurant. Klassy.

Saturday afternoon we invited some friends over for a BBQ and had a great time. We totally lucked out with the weather, our first 80+ degree days! It was a little scary inviting a bunch of people over for the first BBQ of the season since it's been kind of wet and rainy the last few weeks, but the weathermen ended up being right this time and we've had a gorgeous couple of days, officially transitioning from winter straight into summer. Typical no-spring New England.

That same night we went out for dinner with my family for our usual family birthday celebration, which is always fun. I couldn't eat though after all those hours of BBQing. Then my family decided to invite themselves over for BBQ leftovers tonight (Sunday) so we did some more socializing. I've got some serious cleaning up to do tomorrow.

Crocheted blankets

Recently I crocheted a bunch of blankets to give away as gifts to various friends and family. I think everyone's received their packages by now so I can finally post some pics of the projects.

I started out with baby blankets and sent these to two different friends, both of whom are due this summer. The green one turned out a little smaller than intended (~16.5" x 26.5") but I've been told it can still be used as a stroller blanket, which I hope is true. I gave it to the smaller couple thinking they might have a smaller baby :) The yellow blanket turned out a bit better at ~27" x 24.5".




Then I got to work on an adult-sized blanket for my sister as a birthday gift. She had asked when I would make one for her and I had enough lead time to make sure it was done on time. I gave it to her over the weekend and I think she really liked it.


I am totally addicted to crocheting at this point. I will say that it's a lot cheaper than my beading hobby, which I haven't picked up in months. It's also easier in that I don't need to come up with my own designs--I'm such a crafty poser, haha!

Hair donation pics

My friends Dave and Jo at Allegro Photography took some really fun before and after pictures for me of my hair donation process. What do you think?

Before:

During (yikes!):

After:

Restaurant Review: Mistral

We had a much belated "holiday party" date night over the weekend, courtesy of Willy's company. Every year they give us a stipend for a night out because they don't fly him back to headquarters for the company party. It's a nice little perk for us, and usually we use the money to have dinner and see a show but this year we decided to just have a really nice dinner with the $75pp budget.

We chose a restaurant called Mistral in the Back Bay and had a very tasty evening. Our first bit of good luck was finding a free parking spot only a block away from the restaurant--score! To put it in context for those of you in S.F., imagine getting a spot right in the financial district or finding a space in the Richmond or Sunset :)

I'll try to give quick reviews of what we had.

APPETIZERS
W: Mistral Winter Black Truffle Macaroni with Madeira & Parmesan ($32)
K: Seared Foie Gras with Confit of Duck in Brioche, Tart Wisconsin Cherries ($22)
Yeah, so Willy's app cost more than entrees do at a lot of restaurants. What better time to splurge on it though than when it's on someone else's dime? :) You could call it a fancy mac & cheese, but that wouldn't really do it justice. Who knew truffles were so flavor-packed? It's the first time either of us had tried them and they didn't disappoint. It wasn't as cheesy as a real mac & cheese is, either.

The foie gras and duck were delicious, though I could have done without the brioche which was a soft, doughy, stuffer that I mostly left untouched on the plate. The app was significant enough that I probably could have had it as a small entree. All I know is I was already pretty full after having just my appetizer, and that is soooo not like me. I guess it didn't help that the bread at the start of meal were these huge pieces and I just had to finish a whole slice :P

ENTREES
W: Herb Roasted Wild Striped Bass, Butter Poached Vegetables, Black Truffle Whipped Potato ($38)
K: Pan Roasted Native Cod, Maine Lobster & Asparagus Risotto, White Asparagus Veloute ($39)
Both of these were very good, though I think I slightly preferred Willy's dish. His potatoes were to die for, too. Must have been those truffles again! Seriously, even just a small taste of the potatoes were so flavorful...yummmm! And the bass was also very well done and yummy. The cod was perfectly cooked and slabs of it just slid off; it was much lighter in flavor than the bass, which isn't a bad thing. The risotto was very good, and I'd say overall my dish was very good, though not excellent. I put in a poor showing though as I was already so full that I could only eat about half of my entree--boo on me!

DESSERT
Vanilla Crème Brulée, Fresh Raspberries, Ginger Cookie ($10)
Even though we were stuffed of course we had to try a dessert. Every part of the creme brulee was delicious, including the ginger cookie bowl that the raspberries were sitting in and floating on top of the caramelized sugar of the creme brulee. I also had a cup of decaf coffee to go with it (why do restaurants have such a hard time bringing out the coffee and the dessert at close to the same time?), and the coffee was so, so good. It's the best cup I've had at a restaurant in a while. I probably should have asked them what it was. Great way to end a very good meal.

I am a decorating failure

OK, maybe not a failure but I'm definitely a little slow. We went over to say hi to our neighbors earlier this evening and I had no idea what great taste they had. Their whole place is totally set up--curtains on every window, photos and artwork on the walls, accessories--and it looks fantastic. They've been in their place at least six months less than us and their place is so much more put together than ours.

And it turns out Becky is super crafty! They're having a baby in a couple of weeks and we got to take a look at their nursery. She made the artwork and the mobile in the room--they were amazing. The artwork were three large canvases, maybe 3' square, and she had freehand drawn animals onto them and painted them onto bright backgrounds. The first was a mother and baby giraffe, the second was an elephant (can't remember if that was mother and baby too), and the third was a mother and baby penguin. They were seriously awesome. And the mobile was so elaborite--lots of ribbon, painted wood squares, swirly patterns--just so, so cool! I had no idea she had such skills! I was totally impressed and jealous.

I just can't believe how far they've taken their place (they even painted literally every room in the place) and how much further behind we are. *sigh* someday we'll get there.

Hair Donation

I've been wanting to do a hair donation for some time now. In the past I was either too impatient to let it grow or I was in an office setting where having hair that long just didn't look professional. The organization I wanted to donate to, Pantene Beautiful Lengths, requires a minimum of 8" and you need to leave a little on your head after the fact too so it does take a while to grow out, even for someone like me whose hair grows pretty fast.

I'd already let my hair get pretty long over the last year or so, and once I got laid off I didn't have to worry about the latter issue either. Then came the patience part. It was starting to get annoyingly long but I wanted to make sure I had enough to make a good donation. Willy measured my ponytail for me last week and he said I had about 8.5-9" available, leaving the resulting hair at just about or slightly above chin level. Time for the big chop!

I went to the salon this morning with a photographer friend in tow to do some before and after shots. This friend was also my wedding photographer so I was lucky to have a pro. Hopefully she'll have the pics ready to send me soon and I'll update this post with a few shots later. The lady at the salon was so nice and she told me that I had 10" to donate! Wow, I had no idea.

Now I'm sporting a cute (if I do say so myself ;)) little bob that's longer in front and shorter in back (it's about an inch below the very base of my head). My hair looks so much healthier coming out of the salon. I haven't had hair this short in a while, but surprisingly it doesn't feel that weird. And I haven't even needed to use a scarf yet like I thought I would--I've been insulating my neck with my hair on the cold days out here and thought I'd be freezing after the big chop :) The salon is so organized that they're going to send my donation in for me along with another lady's donation that's being cut later this week.

Final note: the reason I chose to donate to PBL rather than the better-known Locks of Love is that PBL focuses on wigs for cancer patients, whereas LoL primarily creates wigs for people suffering from alopecia, which researchers believe is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks its own hair follicles. Alopecia sufferers are often completely bald, including women. While this is also a sad and, I imagine, demoralizing condition I personally wanted to focus on cancer sufferers, hence my decision to go with PBL.

Amigurumi Cow

I've finished several crochet projects recently but many of them are gifts that are on their way to the recipients so I can't post them yet. The metaphorical slow boat I sent them on should be arriving soon though so I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

In the meantime, though, here are a few (bad) shots of the cow I made for my aunt. I'm not giving it to her until next month for her birthday but no one in my family really reads this blog so I doubt she'll ever see this. She was born in the year of the cow and when I started making these amigurumi she requested one. I had to make some modifications to a pattern I found online here but overall I think it turned out really cute. The collar and bell are my own additions--I like the little jingle it gives now!

Gung Hay Fat Choy / Gung Xi Fa Cai!

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! Here are some horoscopes a friend sent me. Hope you all have a happy, healthy, wonderful and wealthy year!

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Year Ahead: The OX year is a conservative year, one of traditions and values. This is not a year to be outrageous. A slow but steady year. This OX year will bring stability and growth where patience and diligence pays off. This is a year of Harvest - when we reap what we have sown. Take care of business this year, do not let things slide.

2009 Horoscopes for Year of the OX

Rat (1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996)
Positive: Influential, sociable, imaginative, and charismatic. Rat people will always stay loyal to their friends.
Negative: Power-hungry, gossiping, indiscreet, and meddling. These individuals don’t always plan for the future.
Chinese Astrology Horoscope 2009 for the Rat: 2009 will bring changes on both professional and personal levels. Career opportunities abound, but also require commitment. Income should increase but again, input is essential--careful assessment and control of personal finances is required. New friendships and developing (or new) romances are also indicated. Overall: quite favorable.

Ox (1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997)
Positive: Diligent, stable, and possesses a strong sense of purpose. These people build long-lasting friendships.
Negative: Stubborn and bigoted. Ox people aren’t often flexible.
Chinese Astrology Horoscope 2009 for the Ox: Romance will improve in 2009, and many single Oxen will discover new opportunities for love. A much steadier and more positive year is in the forecast overall. Family life is strong and even joyous. Steady progress in career is indicated. New friendships and plenty of reasons to celebrate.

Tiger (1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998)
Positive: Brave, strong, charismatic, and benevolent. Tigers are risk-takers and true adventurers.
Negative: Impetuous and hot-headed. These people aren’t good at taking orders from others.
Chinese Astrology Horoscope 2009 for the Tiger: As this is the year before his/her own year, 2009 can bring the Tiger some challenges, but never insurmountable ones. Avoid acting on impulse in 2009. It will be important to accept work responsibilities and to expand your knowledge set and skills base, rather than to push ahead aggressively on a professional level. Some disagreements with others could arise. Patience, controlled spending, and hard work will help Tigers to conquer any challenges that arise.

Rabbit (1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999)
Positive: Tactful, intelligent, caring, considerate, and virtuous. Rabbit people don’t like conflict.
Negative: Pedantic and secretive. These people can appear a little cold and distant at times.
Chinese Astrology Horoscope 2009 for the Rabbit: 2009 will be favorable overall and life will be more stable. Emotions should be kept in check. It's not a year of dramatic advancements on the job front. Rather, steady work and attention to duty pays off in small ways. Modest income increases are indicated. Social opportunities need to be sought out.

Dragon (1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000)
Positive: Successful, proud, lucky, and enthusiastic. Dragons are determined people and able to inspire others.
Negative: Rigid and easily infatuated. Dragon people don’t like routine.
Chinese Astrology Horoscope 2009 for the Dragon: Crucial changes are ahead in 2009. The Dragon prefers immediate or at least quick, results from his/her efforts, but the year of the Ox is one of hard work and steady progress. So, some patience needs to be cultivated. It's not the best time to make sweeping changes or advances on the career front. It's a good year for romance overall, although love can be complicated as well.

Snake (1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001)
Positive: Intuitive, wise, perceptive, and compassionate. Snakes prefer the finer things in life.
Negative: Lazy and extravagant. These people may have a problem with depending on others.
Chinese Astrology Horoscope 2009 for the Snake: Be ready for ups and downs in 2009. The year brings a mixed bag of energies, and any complications that do arise can generally be handled successfully with a disciplined and patient attitude. All areas of life require extra effort and discipline, but particularly with regard to finances, which should be attended to vigilantly.

Horse (1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002)
Positive: Popular, engaging, refined, and persuasive. Horse people are hardworking and independent.
Negative: Selfish and unscrupulous. These individuals may be rebellious and shun the advice of others.
Chinese Astrology Horoscope 2009 for the Horse: Success in career and recognition professionally can be attained in 2009. The year is a strong one in many ways, as it requires hard work and effort, which Horses are very capable of putting forth. A much more favorable year than last year is in store. Social relationships are expected to be fair, and attention is necessary to others' feelings. Rumors or gossip could play a role.

Goat (or Sheep or Ram) (1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003)
Positive: Sensitive, imaginative, and well-mannered. Goats are peace lovers who don’t like disagreements.
Negative: Pessimistic and tardy. These people can let others take advantage of them too easily.
Chinese Astrology Horoscope 2009 for the Goat: The year of the Ox tends to be a demanding one, and rules will have to be abided by. Goats don't always feel comfortable--in fact they could feel quite anxious--when too much is expected of them. Avoid overspending or money matters could become critical. It's time to buckle down with money. Expect better interpersonal relationships in 2009. Because the Ox and the Goat are opposites, the year is likely to be somewhat challenging, but not overwhelming.

Monkey (1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004)
Positive: Very inquisitive, curious, and witty with leadership qualities. Monkeys are popular people.
Negative: Deceitful and self-absorbed. These individuals can be childish and drawn to mischief.
Chinese Astrology Horoscope 2009 for the Monkey: Travel is a good option for 2009. Monkeys will have to be more disciplined than usual in the year of the exacting Ox, particularly with money, and also with health and well-being. While 2009 is not a year of making huge strides, the social life is rewarding, family relationships satisfying, and romance is more settled and reliable.

Rooster (1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005)
Positive: Enthusiastic, dignified, and resilient. Roosters are well-organized and good time-keepers.
Negative: Bossy and pedantic. These people are often a little too outspoken and hate being criticized.
Chinese Astrology Horoscope 2009 for the Rooster: The Rooster's personality is well-suited to the qualities of the year of the Ox. Work extra hard and joyous events will happen in 2009. The only thing to watch for is overconfidence and unrealistic thinking, as the Ox does not favor fanciful endeavors. Outlook for career, romance, and money look favorable, particularly if the Rooster keeps things "real".

Dog (1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006)
Positive: Intelligent, loyal, fair, and constant. Dogs are always willing to listen to others’ problems, and to fight for a good cause.
Negative: Cynical and tactless. These people don’t always forgive easily, especially those who cross them.
Chinese Astrology Horoscope 2009 for the Dog: Expect many changes in 2009. In the year of the Ox, Dogs will succeed best if they keep their expectations realistic and expect only minor improvements. This is not to say that improvements cannot be made. If Dogs work hard and take care of others' feelings, they can overcome obstacles and challenges that they may face.

Pig (1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007)
Positive: Gallant, kind-hearted, and sincere. Pigs rarely lose their temper and always try to avoid arguing.
Negative: Materialistic and pig-headed. These individuals have a problem saying “no” -- to people, and to food!
Chinese Astrology Horoscope 2009 for the Pig: Marriage and pregnancy could happen in 2009. This is a favorable year for the Pig overall. Determination and a master plan help the Pig to succeed in his/her career and with personal finances. Relationships that build gradually with modest and realistic expectations are those that will be most satisfying now.

What will the new year bring?

Chinese New Year is less than a week away (starts on Monday). I'm hoping for lots of good things in the new year--good job that I'll actually enjoy, healthy family, time for sports and crafts.

Don't mind if I ramble a bit as I'm really tired. I'm glad that I've had the free time to take care of my grandfather this last week and a half but I'm also starting to get worn a little thin. 4-7 hours in the hospital every day will do that to you I guess. A lot of things have fallen by the wayside as a result too. I feel like the house is a mess, I'm not at all prepared for CNY, grocery shopping and meals aren't getting done, job hunting is at a near standstill...*sigh* Not to imply that I regret one minute of the time I'm spending with my grandfather. This is exactly why I moved back to Boston--to have more time with family, especially my grandparents who I knew might not be around too much longer. I just want to have it all, I guess. What can I say, I'm a Type A perfectionist :)

Anyway, as for an update on Grandpa, he got moved to a rehab/nursing facility yesterday. It was very sudden as we were last told that he'd be doing rehab at the hospital he was in. Rehab was mostly to see how mobile, stable, self-sufficient, etc. he was before deciding whether he could go home or needed to be in some type of care facility. The family wants him in some kind of assisted or nursing facility because it just doesn't seem safe for him to be on his own anymore. He's done AMAZINGLY well for an 89-year-old living solo, but after my grandmother's aneurysm and the fact that we didn't get to her for hours afterwards has the whole family on edge.

But I digress...the social worker at the hospital found a bed at this rehab/nursing facility that has a high Chinese population and lots of Chinese-speaking staff. So that helps a lot since part of the reason I had to be at the hospital so much was because my grandpa just couldn't communicate with any of the hospital staff. But the problem was that we were told just hours before my grandfather was being moved and so had no time to find out anything about the facility or even really know what was going on. Luckily the place and the staff all seem nice and from here we just start with some rehab work and assess as we go along.

Grandfather is doing better!!!

They started him on dialysis around 4pm today. It's a 3-4 hour process and the rest of my immediate family showed up around 4:30-5:00pm so, to appease everyone who kept saying I needed a break, I went home then since there were plenty of people to keep him company. Around 6:15pm as I was home making dinner I got a call from my sister and immediately I thought they were calling with bad news--some other sudden and unexpected development.

Well, it was somewhat unexpected but in a good way! They had given my grandpa a pencil and paper so he could write (since he's still intubated) and he kept writing #1. At first they asked him why he kept writing 1 and I guess he then wrote my name, as in I'm #1 :) :) :) I guess he knows I was taking care of him these last few days.

I cried when I heard this. I didn't expect him to improve so quickly on dialysis but things are really looking up right now. I hope he can get extubated soon so he can talk to us again and, really, I'm just so so so so so so happy right now!