Early Morning Wake-up Call

This morning at 5 a.m., I was rudely awakened by the phone ringing from another room. I stubbed my toe and banged my hip in an effort to get to it before the caller hung up. Tempted though I was to let him/her go to hell the answering machine, I sensed that a person who would call someone at 5 a.m. without blinking an eye, would never leave a message. Despite all the technology available to me—caller ID, simul-ring, call-forwarding, et al.—the call was gone and the name of the nefarious caller was “not available.” Grrrr.

Now I’m wide awake wondering about the call and caller that never came through and debating whether or not I should go back to bed. I’ve opted to stay awake for fear of not being able to wake up on time for my regularly scheduled Mom duties. So here I am, bleary-eyed and bitter, bumbling through another blog post.

I guess it wasn’t an emergency because the caller didn’t try calling again. It’s got me thinking…

Becoming a Better Me (Take 3)

I had New Year’s and Lunar New Year to get started on becoming a new and improved me. Thankfully, I now have “Take 3″ with Lent, the first day being today, Ash Wednesday, to start again.

(Side note: I consider myself “Catholic adjacent.” Though raised and confirmed as Catholic and having been educated in the Catholic school system for eight years, I haven’t been a good practitioner.)

Anyway, this is the first time in a long time that I’d thought about giving up something for Lent. I’ve decided to give up…

Grandma Lee’s Homemade Cucumber Face Masque

Between the cold, dry air outside and the dry, heated air recirculated indoors, winter is notorious for drying out skin. I’ve found that I have to switch up my skincare regimen depending on the season. For winter, I usually change my moisturizing cream to something a little heavier. To help my moisturizer do its job, I usually exfoliate about once a week. Most of the time I use a commercial product, but occasionally I get inspired to mix up my mom’s homemade cucumber face masque.

I like the coolness of the cucumber and the odd, tightening feeling as the masque would slowly harden (though not completely). Best of all is the silky-soft and smooth feeling of the skin after the masque is wiped off with the washcloth—like a clean baby’s bottom.

The ingredients remind me of tzatziki, a Greek condiment for gyros or souvlaki. There’s a lot to like about this masque—it’s cheap, simple, and all-natural. Make it a party—invite the girls and boys to try it out. You will definitely feel a difference.

Grandma Lee’s Homemade Cucumber Face Masque Recipe

Losing Weight Eating Korean Food?

Today I happened upon a blog post on how to lose weight eating Korean food on LivingStrong.com. I had to laugh because I’d eaten Korean food most of my life and always had weight issues.

Granted, I wasn’t as physically active as I probably could have been (too much piano and studying/reading instead of playing outside or doing sports). It probably didn’t help that my mom was a good cook or that we were taught to eat up all the food in our bowls or else our luck would disappear.

Maybe if I had brown rice and more of the less appetizing vegetable sides instead of the tasty sweet and savory goodies, weight wouldn’t have been issue. OK, and maybe if Mom were a bad cook, and she had allowed me to take dance lessons even though my physique wasn’t dancer-like…but I digress.

The writer missed out on a number of points with regard to losing weight eating Korean food:

Holiday Denial

The calendar is not my friend. How is it that I have less than two weeks before Christmas and none very little of my holiday shopping, not to mention the other shtuff linked with the holidays, done? (Gulp!)

At this point, I should be curled up in fetal position and sucking my thumb. Instead, I’m like Dorrie from Finding Nemo repeating to myself, “Just keep swimming, swimming…”

Thanksgiving 2011 Countdown

Even though Thanksgiving is 2 days away, I’m in serious denial and already behind schedule. But it’s OK—everything will come together in the end, right? Anticipation is often far worse than the actual work itself, or that’s what I keep telling myself.

Must breathe. Breathing is good.

Recipe: Mama Sophia’s Lazy Person’s Cinnamon Rolls (Dairy-free, Egg-free)

I have a weakness for cinnamon rolls, but don’t have the time or stamina to make them from scratch. It is still one of my fantasies to wake up one morning, inspired, energized, and ready to fill the house with the scent of rising cinnamon rolls made from beginning to end by my very own hands.

Earlier this week I figured out a quick and easy way to make dairy-free cinnamon rolls using Pillsbury Place and Bake Crescent Rounds and some cinnamon sugar, and then topping it off with my Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese Frosting. We can’t have the traditional Pillsbury cinnamon rolls because of the dairy, but I think this version tastes better anyway.

Mama Sophia’s Lazy Person’s Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Tips for Making Change Happen (Part I)

Yesterday while waiting for the Princess to finish her swimming lesson, I was reading Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success (Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler). The title caught my attention as I browsed the new non-fiction books at the library. I thought this book was appropriate with New Year’s around the corner. I know we still have Thanksgiving and December, but let’s face it. The year’s almost over. ;-P

Although much of what I read was common sense, here are some useful pointers I got from the book:

My Halloween Candy Giving Rules (Revisited)

So far, it’s promising to be a rain-free Halloween, which means there should be a good turnout. Now the question is, will we have enough candy to give out to the masses?

Right now, I’m on the fence about getting more candy. Worst case scenario, we can always borrow from the Princess’s goody stash, especially anything nut- or dairy-based that she can’t have because of her food allergies.

Things we can easily redistribute—Muskateers, Milky Ways, Butterfingers, Whoppers, Tootsie Rolls, Milk Duds, fruit-flavored chocolates, plain M&Ms, white chocolate—basically anything dairy- and/or nut-based that HB and I don’t like. We’ll be sure to hang onto the Hershey bars and Snickers, which HB likes, and the KitKats and Reeses Peanut Butter cups, which I like.

My Halloween Candy Giving Rules

To Jump on the iPhone Bandwagon or Not?

This past weekend, HB and I went to our nearby mall with the Apple store, only to find a long line just to get into the store. It’s already more than a week since the iPhone 4S launch, but people are still lining up. Needless to say, we walked away very quickly. The prospect of lunch was more appealing than waiting for something that was probably going to be gone by the time it would be our turn in line.

For the longest time, I’d been yearning for an iPhone. What’s there not to like? The 8.0 megapixel built-in camera; the ever-entertaining and resourceful Siri, who can answer questions, help with scheduling, find restaurants, take dictation and send messages/texts for you, et al.; the fact that there’s an app for almost anything one’s heart desires; the integration with iTunes, iPad, Mac computers; and more. Plus, if I get an iPhone I’d be supporting my stock investment, and that’s a good thing, right?