Beautiful weather indeed

It's gorgeous outside! Yes, finally! More pics coming soon.

For now, I had to empty my digi cam.

View of the Atlantic Ocean in Savannah, GA.

Hubby's beloved kayak.

Hubby's gardens

Pics back in April, will take an updated pic this weekend and compare how much it's changed. He took these pics to compare his gardens at that time. Will take updated pics this weekend :)

Side view

It's more green than that now. Thank you rain!

These plants are so tall now! Wait till you see them on next post.

Can you see the log pathway? I'll take a closer pic of it this weekend. I touch NOTHING when it comes to gardening, he does everything. I <3 him

Hot wings I made the other night. Yummy with Jasmine rice & papaya salad, which I didn't take a pic of :(

Family usually ask me to make it. I make it at least once a week, sometimes two.

My special ingredient is garam masala. It's an Indian spice literally meaning "hot paste" in Urdu. It's a combination of dried herbs, which usually include black & white peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves, long pepper (also known as pippali), black cumin (known as shahi jeera), cumin seeds, cinnamon, black, brown & green cardamum, nutmeg, mace, and star anise, coriander seeds.

I decided to take the pictures in three different ways, tell me which one is better? I know for a fact the second pic is the worse, lol.

Oh yeah, I only have a digi cam - Nikon Coolpix, don't remember which version, got it two years ago.

Flash, no artificial light

No flash, no artificial light

Flash, artificial light


Hubby does not want me to post pics of him or the kiddos publicly :( I'll talk to him again. Until then, you can view their pics on my MySpace. Just add and request, I will accept.

Nice weekend??

In Georgia, for the past few months, it's been raining almost every single day. Although the rain was much needed because of the drought last year, I wanted the weekend to at least be rain-free.

Finally! So it looks like this weekend will be nice. Or at least that's what weather [dot] com has. I certainly hope and want it to be nice.

Hoping to take some pictures this weekend of the garden. Hubby's hobby is gardening. He has done a wonderful job with the landscaping and wanted to take pictures. But everytime I do, it starts to rain! Not enough sunshine to light up!

That is how Lake Lanier looked like before (prior 2007) and after (the drought, 2007-2008) Hubby says it's filling up again. He's thankful since he loves kayaking/fishing.


Picture taken from www.palscarwash.com

Boring post, hope to have updates soon

Oh yeah, if anyone is interested, I blogged about a Hindi film I saw called 13B - it's a horror/thriller and Hollywood plans to remake it!!

Read it here.

Sedu Ionic Ceramic Tourmaline Flat Iron (1 1/2")

It's been almost a year since I've owned the Sedu Ionic Ceramic Tourmaline Flat Iron. Never did I think that I would spend close to $100 for a flat iron!

After going to my hair stylist and getting my hair flat iron every time, I thought I would just invest my money in a quality flat iron.

Before making that investment, I did a lot of research. One of my child friends is a hair stylist and doesn't live in the same state but she gave me some advice to check out Folica because it's a beauty supplier website.

At that time, it was a toss up between buying a Chi or a Sedu. In the end, I concluded to buy the Sedu.

Why?

The reviews for Sedu were positive with before/after pictures.

Not only that, I've read that celebrities like Jennifer Anniston, Jennifer Lopez, Hilary Duff, Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson having the Sedu hairstyle.

Finally, I decided to go to Ulta to purchase it (I got a coupon for 20% off) I got the 1 1/2 only because I had thick hair and wanted to straight out my hair quicker.

Below are a couple of my before/after pictures. These were taken in June 2008, almost a year ago.





My short review can be seen on Folica here.

What I love about it is how quickly it gets hot and works very well. I don't use it every day because it's time consuming.

In a few weeks, I will post more pics of my hair. Besides, I'm getting a hair cut in a few weeks :)

Day at work

Even though today is a busy day for the payroll industry, I still can walk away and have time for myself.

I can not do that at home. Thinking and realizing that as much as I complain about going to work, I have more "me" time at work. I can get up and take a walk and think.

When I am at home, I have so much to do. I feel as though I have A.D.D. at home. Once I start something, then I lose my mind and end up doing something else. Cooking seems to be nonstop. Not only cooking, there's cleaning too.

Even though my kids are older now, I must constantly remind them to do their chores. It's getting old and annoying.

Hubby does a great job with the landscape, where he usually is. Or out kayaking and fishing.

If I'm not home, I'm at the grocery store buying items. Or Wal-Mart buying household items.

Being at work, I seem to fit more workouts than at home.

No wonder I haven't had time to watch movies anymore. I used to watch them late at night when everyone is sleeping. But now instead, I'm up studying.

At work, it's the usual, come in, read e-mails, see what's going on, turn on all 13 PCs, connect to the mainframe, see what payrolls are in, investigate if there is a problem, then run payroll, check off. That's basically my day at work.

Of course, every day is different depending on what is needed.

Kashi - Lemongrass Coconut Chicken

Finally, I used the coupon to get a free Kashi frozen dish. It's been a few months since I've had the coupon and never used it.

Mainly due to me not remembering because I usually go to the grocery store just to get the necessity items that I normally do. Or if I want to make a particular dish, I would write down a food list. I'm not a big fan of frozen food and prefer eating food that I cook. Rarely do I go out and eat too.

But wanted to try a healthy frozen lunch, just in case, in the future, I am pressed for time.

Looking at the Healthy section at Krogers, I decided to get the Lemongrass Coconut Chicken.

Ingredients: Cooked Kashi™ Pilaf (water, whole: oats, long grain brown rice, rye, hard red winter wheat, triticale, buckwheat, dehulled barley, sesame seeds), cooked chicken (chicken breast, water, chicken flavor [dehydrated chicken broth, chicken powder, natural flavor], rice starch, carrageenan, salt), water, brocoli, lemongrass puree (lemongrass, water), carrots, cooked quinoa (water, quinoa), sugar snap peas, coconut cream (coconut cream, xanthan gum, carrageenan, guar gum), coconut, evaporated cane juice, rice starch, canola oil, garlic (garlic, water), evaporated salt, ginger puree (ginger, water), jalepeno pepper, lime juice concentrate, soy flour, whole milk powder.

Allergen Statement: CONTAINS WHEAT, SOY AND MILK INGREDIENTS.

Diabetic Exchange: 2.5 carbohydrates, 2 very lean meats

Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 1 entree (283g)
Servings Per Container: 1
Amount per Serving %Daily Value*
Calories 300
Calories from Fat 70
Total Fat 8g 12%
Saturated Fat 4g 20%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 10mg 3%
Sodium 680mg 28%
Total Carbohydrate 38g 13%
Dietary Fiber 7g 28%
Sugars 6g
Protein 18g 36%
Vitamin A 40%
Vitamin C 20%
Calcium 6%
Iron 10%

After a few days, I decided to try it. The presentation wasn't appealing. However, I didn't want to toss the food away. So I finally tried it.

It definitely is satisfying. Would I buy it again? Most likely, no. Mainly because I'm not a frozen food person. I would recommend to others who are used to frozen foods to try an alternative healthy frozen food and go with Kashi's products. There are many other dishes from Kashi. Check them out

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (Indian temple in Lilburn)

In March, I went to the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir aka beautiful Indian temple off Rockbridge Road and US 29. If you have been in the Lilburn area, then it is not hard to miss the beautiful temple located behind WalGreen's (yes, odd place but it's well worth it).

I still remember when it was in the process. When I drive by the area, I would wonder when I would finally see the finish product. My kids went to the elementary school in the area. When I read more about how dedicated the workers were, I was more astonish. The workers were volunteers. The stones, consisting of Turkish Limestone, Italian marble, and Indian pink sandstone, were carved and shipped from India. In only 17 months, the gorgeous temple was finished.

But it took me a year or so to even visit the beautiful place. I was unsure if I would be allowed to visit. As I did more research, I discovered that visitors are allowed and take pictures. However, within a limited area.

Let me add this -- at night, the temple changes colors. It's because of the lighting. When I'm pass the area again, I'll take pictures. Only if I remember.

Nevertheless, in March, my Blogger friend ajnabi came to visit Atlanta. We decided to visit the temple. We didn't take many pictures because of limited areas and shortage of time.

Here are some pictures from that time. I decided to crop out Jocelyn just in case she wouldn't be happy with me posting her pictures online :)


Arriving and parking


Walk to the the temple but we notice a water area? Reminds me of the Taj Mahal, not like I've ever been to Agra.


Closer view


Another view, can you see the elephants?


Let's go inside the temple


Beautiful


Can not take pics passed the peacock

You can read more about the temple here

Weekend so far

Oh gosh, this weekend dragged. It rained and rained and rained. And rained some more. Georgia has not seen the sun in a while. If the sun comes out, it is only visible for a few hours and then the clouds come again and cover the sun and starts storming again.

On Saturday, I ended up going to Mall of Georgia, which I haven't done in soooo long to shop. I actually have not shopped for myself in so many years. However, I took my daughter clothes shopping. She's getting too big and needed an updated wardrobe.

Besides, she's gotten straight A's all year so she wanted to be rewarded. Plus I haven't taken her to use her free kid's lunch at several restaurants.

After shopping, I took her to Mimi's Cafe (one of the restaurants where she got a free kid's meal), which is located outside of Mall of Georgia. We were the only minority in the place. No one came to seat us right away. When we finally sat down and ordered. I got the wrong order! I got some beef sandwich and I ordered a chicken parmesan sandwich. I hate beef, urgh. Being a nice person, I just let it go. I will not go back though.

Ended up watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I am a fan of Brad Pitt. Besides his good looks, I love him as an actor and producer. However, this movie really dragged and didn't keep my interest up. The storyline itself is interesting but the slow pacing of the movie just didn't do it for me. Acting is great. Brad hardly ever disappoints me. Since it's based on a book, I'm not sure if I even want to read it. Usually if I have never read the book and really loved the movie, then I would inspire to read the book.

Sunday - just ended up going to my parent's house. Mom wanted to bbq. Dad and mom ended up making a homemade grill. Ghetto or creative?

Ended watching Running Scared since it came on HBO. Haven't seen that movie in soooo long. Still good. Paul Walker is still hot.

What impress me is the little boy who played Oleg -- Cameron Bright. He's really good. Seen him in Birth too (weird movie though)

OMG, he's a handsome guy now. He'll be in the upcoming Twilight sequel, Full Moon. Yes, this is him now :)

Will upload some pics on here soon. I haven't been taking pics like I used to. Just been lazy. Definitely will blog about my trip to FL soon!

As quickly as I gained the weight

I lost it!

As I stepped on the scale this morning, I panicked.

I lost those two pounds that I complained earlier.

Oh My Freaking Goodness.

I didn't eat any rice. Did that contribute to the weight gain?

Anyhow, I am happy! Definitely no rice this weekend.

Rain, rain, go away?

I actually like the rain a lot. It makes the temperature drop.

For some reason, as I get older, I prefer the nice, warm weather. Rather than the hot, humid weather.

It could be that I don't have the bikini body for it yet.

But I also don't like that sweaty, sticky feeling on my skin.

However, once June hits, I do want the rain to go away.

Cause I'm heading to Miami-Key West-Fort Lauderdale with the girls.

Gained 2 lbs in 2 days

Okay, I know I may sound like I'm over-reacing

Only 2 lbs in 2 days

but......

that's actually a lot!

Yesterday when I weighed myself, I gained only half a pound.

If I don't change what I've been doing, then I'll gain more weight a few more days!

Thank goodness I weighed myself daily now.

While flipping over my food diary, I realized that I've been eating rice for the past four days! The first two days, I didn't gain or lose any weight.

However, the last two days, I have.

So now what do I do?

No rice!

Okay, limit rice only twice a week!

That's what I get. No rice this weekend. It's Memorial weekend so definitely have to watch what I'm eating.

Aveeno hair product line

My hair is dry. I mentioned that before.

I kept messing with my flaky scalp earlier in the day.

When I got home from school, I saw that my Aveeno sample has come through! I was excited to try it.

My daughter has been using Aveeno products for her skin since the peditrician had recommended that she have really sensitive skin.

So why not Aveeno hair products? My hair is really dry. Probably from all the dyeing and damage I've done to it over the past 200 decades.

While getting ready to use the product, I was saddened that the conditioner has been mashed in the mail :(

I used what I could get out of it. The smell is nice.

This morning I woke up and my hair feels less dry and flaky.

I like.

Once my Tresemme shampoo and conditioner are done, I am switching over to Aveeno.

John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoo & Conditioner

So I got a free sample of the new John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoo & Conditioner.

Tried it on the other night.

It was a great experience. The scent of the natural Eucalyptus plant is amazing. Loooved it.

Hair felt silky and full.

That's all I can really say about the product.

If I used it long enough, I could better conclude whether or not, the products really had an effect on my hair.

As I get older, my hair becomes more dry and puffy, which I hate. Oh yeah...and the roots would just be there. If I want my hair to look smooth and healthy, I would have to flat iron my hair.

Therefore, the Root Awakening products caught my eye.

I'll have to look for it at Wal-Mart to see how much it costs. Right now, I am using Tresemme. Before that, I was using Garnier Fructis.

Loooooove my new scale

Family and I usually go to Sam's Club about once a month to stock up on items. We like browsing in the clearance side and came across an interesting-looking scale.

Hubby opened it. The scale was see-through glass! Looks futuristic. We like.

We really needed a new scale. It has been about six months since we had one. Hubby accidently spilled coffee all over the old scale and it stopped working. It was a digital scale as well. We bought that scale from Circuit City (no longer in business).

Since the new scale looked cool and can measure body fat and water fat, why not?

We bought it. Took it home. Used it.

Loooooove it.

You can program your age, gender, and height before you step on the scale. Once it gives your weight, it shows your fat percentage, and then your water weight percentage.

Soooo cool!!!

What makes it even more amazing is it saves your information. All you have to do is scroll to where you saved it and it will pop back up the information you have program before. Wait until the scale reads 0.0 and step on again.

Absolutely love it.

I have been weighing myself everyday now. I know I'm not suppose to. But to me, it helps me out to lose weight. To help me stay on track.

Most people wait until they are at least 15 pounds over before any attempt to be on a diet or exercise. I have to stay up on it.

I lost a lot of weight last year, gained it again (due to lack of exercise and medical reason) but I am not letting myself go again. No more excuses.

Oh yeah, the name of this scale is called Taylor Lithium Electronic Glass Scale 7506

You don't need to be afraid of strangers anymore

It's your own family members killing you now.

This is scary.

For the past year or so, I've been reading nothing but terrifying news about parents killing their whole family and then themselves.

It's becoming too much.

Instead of telling your kids to watch out for strangers, you have to watch out for your own parents!

I could never think about doing that to my own children!

I found some websites about parents killing their own children

http://karisable.com/parentmur.htm

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/294517/when_parents_kill_their_children.html?cat=47

http://www.newsweek.com/id/91534

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/US_Florida_Slayings.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab&imw=Y

That Viet sub again

I want that Viet sub!

Okay, been craving it. May get it after work.

However, since today is Friday, traffic will be bad going home, so I may just avoid it. Who knows.
I've been thinking about going vegetarian again. It's hard to do. But I did before but for a year, only.

It gets even harder with the family since they love meat.

Why should I say that when the Viet sub has bbq pork! Ha!