It’s Monday (June 10, 2024)

Some things last week:

It was the first week of summer break for the kids.

We went to an Italian place known for its wood fired Italian style pizza. I saw that they had a seafood squid ink pasta, so had to get that too.

Also this prosciutto, burrata, arugula pizza.

A browse at the indie bookstore

The fancy (but oh so delicious and delicate) cakes we got. The front one is a pistachio cake with a raspberry centre (I loved it as the raspberry was a bit tart and the pistachio had this slightly savoury note to it, but the younger one had one bite and said, it’s too salty!). The one behind is a chocolatey chocolate cake.

More rainier cherries at the farmers market

The white nectarines and peaches have been sweet too!

We had to go to an outlet mall to get shoes for the older one, and there’s nothing much to eat around there but walking around, we realised that there’s a Jollibee, which we had never eaten at before. We all got chicken sandwiches, peach mango pie, and a pineapple refresher.

Currently…

Reading:

Crooked Plow – Itamar Vieria Junior

Ghost Town – Kevin Chen

Watching:

Band of Brothers with the kids (we’re almost done, and last weekend reached the part where they found a concentration camp, it was hard to watch, but we talked about it together afterwards).

The new Star Wars series, Acolyte.

Listening:

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, read by Meryl Streep (!)

Eating and Drinking:

Half a bagel with a cup of tea for breakfast

Cooking:

Last night, I made tom yum soup as well as Japanese curry. So we have that for leftovers.

Last week:

I read:

The Right Notes – Dominic Lim

The Obsession – Jesse Q Sutanto

I posted:

Library Loot (June 5 to 11)

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (June 3, 2024)

It’s the summer break!

Some things last week:

My younger son graduated from elementary school last week. The school held a promotion ceremony on campus, and the parents organised a graduation party, as the Mandarin immersion parents council sets aside money for grad parties each year.

Some of the goodies at the grad party. Some of their teachers were invited, including their kindergarten teacher!

I had many photos of the ceremony and party but I won’t be sharing them as the kids don’t want them to be put online.

Instead, here’s a burger I had on Sunday 😛

Currently…

Reading:

The Right Notes – Dominic Lim

The Art of Prophecy – Wesley Chu

Watching:

Band of Brothers

Listening:

I just finished Kween so have yet to start a new audiobook

Eating and Drinking:

I had pancakes and tea for breakfast. The pancakes were extra I made on Sunday, so we had breakfast today.

Cooking:

I have some thinly sliced pork belly, so will make that into a pork belly rice bowl for dinner.

Last week:

I read:

Extremely Online – Taylor Lorenz

I posted:

Library Loot (May 29 to June 4)

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (May 20, 2024)

Some things last week:

Made the usual Tartine country sourdough, using a 50/50 whole wheat/plain flour blend.

Sashimi special!

And also mixed tempura for Sunday lunch.

And the kids said that we haven’t had In-N-Out in ages, so here we are.

We went to the farmers market for the first time this year. There were cherries out, and at $5 a pound, that was a pretty good price for sweet cherries. We’re not sure if we want to go cherry picking this year (it’s about 1h drive from us), and I heard from someone who went last week that it’s about $4 a pound there. So I guess $5 a pound for cherries at a farmers market a few min from us is pretty good.

And we grabbed a flat of strawberries and they were huge!

The fifth grader made a solar oven at school and wanted me to take a photo of his creation.

Currently…

Reading:

The Family Chao – Lan Samantha Chang

Watching:

Over the weekend, we started watching Band of Brothers with the kids. The husband and I have watched it a few times, but after the kids enjoyed watching Masters of the Air, we figured they could probably watch Band of Brothers too.

Listening:

Kween – Vichet Chum

Eating and Drinking:

Had some overnight oats with honey, raisins and sliced banana for breakfast.

Cooking:

We still have some bits of leftovers for dinner. But I was thinking of making Thai curry, maybe with chicken and different vegetables.

Last week:

I read:

We Hunt the Flame – Hafsah Faizal

The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee – Ellen Oh

Stars in Your Eyes – Kacen Callender

I posted:

Library Loot (May 15 to 21)

Mott Street by Ava Chin

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (May 6, 2024)

Some things last week:

My mum flew back to Singapore on Saturday morning! She had stayed with us for about a month, and it was so nice to have her here. The kids were sad and teary about her leaving so after the airport, we took them to have burgers at Gott’s, which we hadn’t been to in years.

I had the bacon cheeseburger and the kids wanted a chocolate milkshake and onion rings. It was a strangely rainy day for May! It rained all the way to the airport, and it still rained all the way when we reached home.

The lovely indie bookstore Books Inc is next to Gott’s, so we had a nice wander around.

The day before my mum flew off, we took her to try the Korean beef soup place. I had the kalbi tang (beef rib soup) which was delicious. Unfortunately, this eatery doesn’t have the best side dishes though.

One of the dishes my mum cooked last week – Singapore-style chicken curry. So good, although a bit spicy for the kids!

Another Singapore dish is kong bah or pork stew. We used the storebought buns to put the pieces of tender meat in.

And hotpot!

Currently…

Reading:

Watching:

Listening:

Eating and Drinking:

Half a strawberry and half a chocolate cereal mochi doughnut

Cooking:

We have some leftovers today for dinner. But I may make a baked pasta dish for tomorrow.

Last week:

I read:

Cat + Gamer Vol 1 – Wataru Nadatani

What I’d Rather Not Think About – Jente Posthuma

I posted:

Ice-cream Cake, Black Forest Cake #WeekendCooking

Library Loot (May 1 to 7)

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (April 29, 2024)

Some things last week:

My younger son turned 11 last week and for his actual birthday itself, he wanted a Black Forest cake. As some of you may know, I’ve been making black forest cakes for a few years now, as it’s my husband’s favourite cake – and I guess now the boys have decided that it’s their favourite too 😛

I last posted about Black Forest cake here a couple of years ago. Maybe I should update the post!

/

The birthday boy was disappointed that his birthday was on a weekday, with regular school plus a state test too! But he perked up when we took him out for birthday dinner where he ordered this salmon and ikura bowl and devoured it.

On Saturday, he had friends over for his birthday party, with lots of video games, nerf guns, playground tag and more, and he wanted an ice-cream cake. I’ve never made an ice-cream cake before, so it was something new for me!

Back at the track again on Sunday.

On Sunday, we went to our favourite Korean place for dinner.

Currently…

Reading:

What I’d Rather Not Think About – Jente Posthuma

Watching:

Hope on the Street

Listening:

Mott Street – Ava Chin

Eating and Drinking:

A coffee and an Oreo

Cooking:

Today we have leftovers, but tomorrow, a Singapore-style curry chicken.

Last week:

I read:

Mater 2-10 – Hwang Sok-yong

I posted:

Library Loot (April 24 to 30)

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (April 22, 2024)

Some things last week:

Oof last week was a tough one for me, as I was sick all week with some kind of cough/cold/chills situation that still lingers today.

The older boy’s middle school band performed at a music festival, where they bands are graded. They also did a sight-reading test, which I didn’t realise that bands do. They did great, receiving top scores for their performances.

Sunday was again track meet day, but as I was still not feeling 100%, I stayed mostly under the shady trees. It was pretty hot out there!

My son wanted a photo of his burger. We went out for dinner on Sunday and the younger boy got to pick the place as his birthday is coming up. Of course it involved burgers. But I did suggest a diner that allowed for the rest of us to eat other things too

Currently…

Reading:

Mater 2-10 – Hwang Sok-yong

Watching:

Weirdly I started watching Grey’s Anatomy, which I had not watched for a long time.

Listening:

Mott Street – Ava Chin

Eating and Drinking:

Toast and tea

Cooking:

Tonight we have leftovers from dinner out yesterday, but was thinking of cooking some chicken curry this week.

Last week:

I read:

Game On – Seressia Glass

Cleat Cute – Meryl Wilsner

I posted:

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

Library Loot (April 17 to 23)

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (April 8, 2024)

Some things last week:

Well that’s the end of spring break, the kids are back in school today.

My older son turned 13 last week and on Saturday, we had some of his good friends over for the evening. And what else do 12 and 13-year-olds do but play video games, watch YouTube, and eat a lot. And since there were six boys that turned up (some couldn’t make it – it was the weekend of spring break after all), and plus my two boys, I thought, I’d better make extra cake. Luckily I did, as a couple of them didn’t like chocolate cake (??) and ate the funfetti cupcakes instead. (I used this confetti sprinkle cupcakes recipe as well as this chocolate cake recipe).

We ordered 3 types of pizza, I made pasta and garlic knots, also a salad that was ignored, and fruits that did actually get eaten. Apparently combo pizza isn’t very popular? Maybe because of olives (although I do know one kid who loves olives).

We took my mom out to eat dim sum.

Tried these coconut jelly rabbits for the first time. Cute!

I wouldn’t typically buy crabs as the husband doesn’t really eat them, although the 13yo does. But since my mom is around, and she likes eating crabs, we picked up these precooked Dungeness crabs from Costco. We ate them with melted butter.

And I also made it into a pasta.

We took a walk on a windy afternoon at the Don Edwards wildlife refuge.

I’ve been making these little bunnies out of scrap yarn. And stuffing them with leftover yarn ends.

Currently…

Reading:

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store – James McBride

Watching:

The kids and I have been watching Just Feed Phil on Netflix

Listening:

Eating and Drinking:

Leftover cupcake for breakfast

Cooking:

We picked up some meats for hotpot yesterday at the Japanese supermarket. So that’s what we’re having today, along with two types of vegetables and three types of mushrooms.

My mum said she wants to cook Singapore-style chicken curry this week.

Last week:

I read:

The Fox Wife – Yangsze Choo

Slip – Marika McCoola, illustrated by Aatmaja Pandya

Mrs Mohr Goes Missing – Maryla Szymiczkowa

I posted:

His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie

Library Loot (April 3 to 9)

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (March 18, 2024)

Some things last week:

Another Sunday afternoon at the track meet. The 10yo’s 5th grade 4x100m relay team got 3rd place. He also ran the individual 100m, then did the tetherball throw and the long jump.

This time, we sat under the trees. The bleachers (pit?) that our team is assigned to gets the full-on afternoon sun, and it was a bit of a hot weekend. Plus, my kid wanted to spend the off-time with his classmate who is on a different parish team (you have to join the team according to where you live).

Tried out a new to us noodle place. This was their signature beef bone noodles which came with lots of coriander and also sliced daikon. I quite enjoyed it.

The chilli wonton wasn’t very spicy though.

On Friday, we made pizza. I had some leftover asparagus, hot dog, and deli ham. So all that went on the pizza 😛

The 12yo went for a friend’s birthday party – and they went go-karting. This was his first time and so I was surprised that he won both of the races 🙂

Currently…

Reading:

Dona Cleanwell Leaves Home – Ana Castillo

All the Sinners Bleed – S.A. Crosby

Watching:

We finished watching Masters of the Air on Apple TV.

Listening:

The Rabbit Hutch – Tess Gunty

I tried this book last year but somehow didn’t quite work at the time. This time I decided to go with an audiobook – this one has a cast of several narrators, and I quite like it

Eating and Drinking:

Cooking:

I was thinking of making Hong Kong-style baked rice with chicken today. I also have a cauliflower I need to cook up, so will roast that in the oven too.

Last week:

I read:

Eagle Drums – Nasugraq Rainey Hopson

One Summer in Savannah – Terah Shelton Harris 

I posted:

Library Loot (March 13 to 19)

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (March 4, 2024)

The husband had to go to Lowe’s as he was replacing our bathroom faucets and needed a part. He decided that $200 per faucet was too much to pay someone so he decided to do it himself. Anyway, the store also has a garden section and I just had to go look at the tulips for a bit. Also, happy Monday! Hope you have a good week ahead.

Some things last week:

There was an epic storm (blizzard!) in the Sierras over the weekend (the highway 80 is still closed – for the third night in a row) and we got some rain over the weekend but nothing crazy down here.

The husband and kids were watching a Korean anime on Friday night and I guess it must have featured fried chicken so they wanted that on Saturday. We picked up three types – cheddar (it’s a slightly sweet cheddar powder that coats the chicken, so good), the spicy yangnyeom (a little bit too spicy for me!), and a plain crispy one that everyone could enjoy.

I also made some coleslaw and macaroni salad to go along with it. While I love their chicken, their sides aren’t the best. The chicken does come with the pickled radish which we love though.

Some dim sum – not as fun to eat out of boxes but it does get really crowded on weekends and sometimes it’s just easier to takeout.

A dinner I made last week – thinly sliced pork, steamed broccoli, mixed grain rice. And I randomly found a cured shime Saba (mackerel) in the freezer so I thawed it out and sliced it. I love mackerel but I didn’t realise that the kids loved it so much too.

Currently…

Reading:

Hijab Butch Blues – Lamya H

Your Utopia – Bora Chung (short stories)

Watching:

Past Lives, a beautiful movie that follows two friends from Korea over 24 years, starting from the age of 12, when the girl’s family moves overseas and they lose contact. They get in touch again online 12 years later.

Listening:

I just finished Hadley Vlahos’ The In-Between and am looking for a new audiobook.

Eating and Drinking:

I had a macaron and a cup of tea.

Cooking:

Well I haven’t figured out what to cook yet but the husband wanted to get Costco muffins over the weekend and I said I probably can just make muffins. We ended up picking up croissants instead because while the croissants aren’t the best, they’re still pretty decent and make for good sandwiches (so say the kids). Plus they’re $6 for 12 croissants! Anyway, so the plan is to make banana nut muffins and chocolate muffins. Also a tangzhong sandwich bread.

Last week:

I read:

A Sea of Love – Gregory Panaccione

The In-Between – Hadley Vlahos

Lunar New Year Love Story – Gene Luen Yang

I posted:

The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa

Counterweight by Djuna

Library Loot (February 28 to March 5)

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

It’s Monday (February 26, 2024)

February has flown by!

Some things last week:

The younger son has joined a track program (it’s part of the catholic youth organisation) and we needed to get him another pair of shoes, partly because they also do field events like soft ball throw and tetherball throw, and the high school field they practise on has been so muddy with all the rain, and his shoes were caked in mud and had to be washed, which meant he couldn’t wear it to school the next day.

Anyway, since we were going to the outlet mall, we decided to also go to the conveyor belt sushi place as there’s none in our city. And also our favourite soft serve ice-cream place, where we got a ube soft serve with a taiyaki.

It was the fifteenth day of the lunar new year last Saturday, and that marks the last day of new year celebrations. So we had tangyuan, these glutinous rice balls with sweet filling inside, we got black sesame and peanut ones.

We tried a new-to-us eatery, the food was pretty good, although a bit pricey. This is the older kid’s breakfast burger which had hash brown, egg, bacon, and cheese as well as the burger patty. He loved it. My pot roast dip sandwich was tasty but not very photogenic.

Currently…

Reading:

Your Utopia – Bora Chung

Watching:

The latest season of Abbott Elementary.

Listening:

The In-Between – Hadley Vlahos

Eating and Drinking:

Cooking:

I was thinking of making some Thai curry this week, some chicken and eggplant in it.

Last week:

I read:

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees #1 – #3 – Patrick Horvarth

Set On You – Amy Lea

I posted:

Library Loot (February 21 to 27)

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.