Travel: Memorial weekend in Boston

Where did I go for the memorial weekend? Boston!!!

My friend Qiao was planning to go to Boston for a while and since Star is not here, I decided to join her. I went to Boston twice, the first time was thanksgiving 2006 and the second time was April 2010 for the conference. The first time was too cold and the second time I didn’t leave the hotel of the conference, so going there with warm weather was attractive!

We had an early flight so we got our breakfast at the airport

the bump is more and more noticeable these days.. specially when I wear a tight shirt.

We got an egg cheese sandwich at Subway

We arrived our hotel, Omni Parker House, a very historic hotel in the downtown.

Qiao was the planner of this trip. Check-in for us.

And then we started the walk on the Freedom Trail, which was 2 blocks away from our hotel. And look what we found, a “plantation” of flags

we went to Quincy Market for lunch. The food is really not spectacular there. Qiao had a mediocre lobster roll, and I had some cheap greasy chinese food.

and then we walked toward Newbury, a high-end commercial street

We decided to watch the Blue Man Group show, apparently quite famous.

It was not as good as we expected. Maybe we don’t know how to appreciate it, but really… there was nothing particularly funny or creative in it.

After that, we went for dinner.

Qiao started with a grapefruit cocktail

followed by 1/2 order of onion rings.

and the grilled steak and portbella sandwich as entree. This girl EATS!

the cheap chinese food got me quite full and gross for the rest of the day, so I had a beet and romaine salad with garlic bread.

The next day we went to Harvard Square first thing in the morning. There was a memorial parade going on.

We had breakfast at Au Bon Pain. I had an egg-white cheese skinny sandwich. Like it very much.

And then we explored Harvard Yard

touched the famous shoe. Qiao insisted that I touched it for the baby! Maybe she gets accepted at Harvard in the future!

For lunch we went to a korean place

Qiao had a bibimbap and miso soup

and I had a kimchi tofu stew

I love spicy korean stew. A pot of this and a bowl of rice makes a perfect meal!

We wandered around a bit more before heading to Finale, a popular dessert place.

we shared a three layer chocolate mousse cake

I also had a decaf capucchino.

Continuing with universities tour, we went to MIT.

how lucky are the students there to get to have this view EVERYDAY!!!

And then we walked back to Newbury for dinner. We found a cafe on the sweet that looked quite promising

the bread basket was quite good, specially those rolls, just those in France.

Qiao had lobstor roll (better than the Quincy market’s one for sure)

and I had a crunchy salad made with shredded raw cauliflower, carrots, bell pepper, arugula and goat cheese, with a lemon dressing.

I love goat cheese in salads!!! Need to recreate it at home!

The last day we had an adventure waiting for us early in the morning. We were going to a WHALE WATCHING tour!!!!

We had a quick breakfast at Quincy Market. I had the turkey-bacon egg and cheese english muffin from Starbucks.

After 1.5 hrs on the boat we finally saw some BIG actions!!!

For like 30-40 minutes, we saw like 8-9 whales doing their things! It was amazing!!! Wild whales in their natural habitats!

When we arrived, it was pretty late for lunch, I was starving. We went to a japanese restaurant

I ordered seaweed salad as appetizer

as entree I had chili men,  stir-fried shrimp, zucchini, red onions, peppers, mushrooms and snow peas in a spicy tomato chili men sauce, served on soba noodles.

The combination of being very hungry and that it was really tasty, I finished the whole plate within minutes!!!

Then we walked toward little italy. Found a place called Mark’s that specialized in Canoli

the place was packed.

Qiao got a pistachio one

and an almond one.

I had few bites on this one and it was scrumptious!!! No wonder so many people stopped by

Before we went to the Airport to catch our 8pm flight, Qiao wanted to have her last lobster meal. So we went to a place by the harbor.

She had a 1.5 pound lobster and enjoyed every bite of it! It’s nice to watch a girl who can eat that much! I’m truly impressed!!!

And then we head back to DC. Our flight arrive at 10 pm and then I drove back home by myself, arrive home just before midnight.

It was a nice short trip. I liked Boston this time even more than before. It’s such a gorgeous city, walkable, beautiful and young. After DC, it’s my favorite city in the US.

Q: What’s your favorite city in the US and why?

Food: not creative but I like these

Last week I wasn’t creative at the kitchen… well… I haven’t been since I got pregnant. I had one breakfast combo everyday, two dinner combos that I switched up and I love them despite how boring they sound.

Breakfast: wrap with LC, steamed spinach, 2 fried eggs and mustard

and a smoothie made with 1 cup of almond milk and half cup of frozen strawberries

simple and tasty.

On Monday night I went to a graduation party of my friend Belen. She prepared quite a lot of finger food for the guests

and a lovely flower arrangement

I tried few of the food but didn’t dare to eat much because it was dinner time and I’d better stick with simple and low sodium options. So when I got back home, I made a soup and a wrap

a miso soup with bok choy and arame

a wrap filled with eggs, LC, spinach and roasted bell pepper

The two combos that I’m currently obsessed are

#1: tortilla pizza and kale stir-fry with coconut oil

I use 1 tbsp of coconut oil to sautéed onion, mushrooms, carrots and half bunch of kale

the sweetness of the coconut oil is really special for a savory dish. This tortilla pizza has roasted bell pepper, spaghetti squash, cheese and tons of italian seasoning and black pepper.

Every night before getting home, I’d think about what I want for dinner. I’d think many options and recipes that I’ve been wanting to make, but at the end this combo always called my name. It’s tasty, it’s ready in <20 min and I love it!!!

Dessert combo has been 1/2 cup of pumpkin topped with greek yogurt, 1/2 cup of fiber one (if I didn’t have that morning) and a special drink that I discover to avoid pregnancy-constipation. It’s made with black fungus and chinese red dates. Basically I cook them in slow cooker for 12 hrs, then blend it and drink 1 cup every night. It works like wonders!

Another combo

this time, I used spinach,, spaghetti squash and cheese.

and more…

2 small tortilla pizza, one with roasted bell pepper, broccoli slaw and cheese

the other one with spinach, tofu and cheese

and a miso soup with collard greens and celery.

YUM YUM~~~

The second combo I’ve been loving is stir-fry rice with veggies and tofu/egg

this one has 1 cup of brown rice, 2 cups of celery chopped thin, 1/2 cup carrots and 1/4 block of firm tofu. Seasoned with Goya Azafran seasoning, S+P.

Another combo was also very good

1 cup brown rice, 2 fried eggs, 1/5 pack firm tofu, 1 cup celery, 1 cup chopped red cabbage and 1/2 cup carrots.

I don’t know why I can never make a stir-fry rice that is rice based instead of veggie based. I think I just love veggies too much, so every time I prepare something, I load on veggies!

Snacks

1/2 medium water melon eaten with a spoon… old method… perfect for a summer day afternoon.

Mama Pea’s chocolate protein ice cream

I recently bought a new blender that can crush ice so I had to try this. It’s ABSOLUTELY amazing!!! No doubt that Mama Pea has it almost every night!!! I think I’ll follow her routine!

I’ve been drinking a lot of decaf ice coffee. Maybe it’s because it’s getting warm, or maybe I just love the experience of sipping through slowly! So I bought a Starbucks ice coffee mug and made it at home!

and to make it special, I add 1-2 drops of almond extract! What a brilliant idea!!!

So, that’s all for last week’s food. I haven’t figured out what I’ll be having for this week… maybe a little more lingering on these two favorite combos so far!

Q: Are you obsessed with any food lately?

Pregnancy: what I find surprising part I

When we discovered that I was pregnant, I started to read books and blogs about pregnancy symptoms and common changes that was going to happen. What I found surprising so far was:

• Life has not changed so much compared to pre-pregnancy. I’ve always imaging that those 9 months would change everything in my life. That I wouldn’t feel normal, I wouldn’t eat as I used to be or I wouldn’t be able to workout. None of these happened to me, except few weeks of common-food-aversion, continued to eat as I was eating before, I continued to workout almost everyday. Except for the growing belly, I am still moving around easily without any convenience.
• No cravings, no more appetite than usual! I found it really surprising that I didn’t have ANY cravings. You’d read everywhere that pregnant women would wake up in the middle of the night and run to the fridge to get ice cream, or she’d wake up the husband and ask him to get a specific food for her, like chicken wings. I’ve been waiting for this to happen, like it would prove once more that I’m pregnant. When I was in my first trimester, friends would tell me to wait until those cravings come. I waited for two months, nope, nothing! Not a single time I had any craving for any weird food. Instead of craving, I would say I’ve inclined more to real food, vegetables in special, in their most natural state. Meat (fish/chicken/beef) sounds so not appetizing, I’d eat them just for nutrition purpose. I think partly was because of the bloating issue, partly because my digestive track is just weaker and slower to handle any more complicated food. I’ve heard that some vegetarian/vegan people started to eat meat when they got pregnant and it was a body natural reaction to get the lacking nutrient. Well… I guess I eat a balanced diet so I don’t get any kind of cravings. In addition to body’s natural reaction to crave nutrients that are lacking (assuming that this is true), I think a lot of the time, pregnant women just use the pregnancy to overeat. It seems legitimate to have cravings, the mind tricks our desire to eat as real cravings. And it’s legitimate to over eat during pregnancy. However, every pregnancy book would tell you that you need only 300 calories more during the last trimester. So there’s really no physical reason to over eat during the first 6 months. I started the pregnancy with an open mind. Although I care about my fitness, I told myself from the beginning that carrying a healthy baby would be my priority number one. I would listen to my body and not afraid of eating more, exercising less and gaining weight. I stopped working out for two weeks in the first trimester because I got some cramps while doing it. But then when first trimester was over, I started again and it felt great. My body, during the last 5 months, told me to continue with the healthy life style. Furthermore, I think the healthy eating habit and exercising actually made this pregnancy to be a really easy one. Looking at my friends who are pregnant now, they all suffered from morning sickness and fatigue. I wouldn’t say that it was because they didn’t have a healthy life style, but I think I’m lucky partly because of that.
• You can hide pregnancy for really long time. I’m almost 23 weeks pregnant and most of the people at work haven’t noticed it yet. Yes, I do have a bump by now, but other parties of my body haven’t changed yet. I can still fit into my pants (unbutton though), all the dresses and shirts fit well. I’ve been wearing more lose or long shirts like this

or this

I’m sure in another few weeks, the bump cannot be hide with any trick. But I’m already very surprised that I could pass unnoticed for more than 20 weeks.

• You don’t read/think/talk about pregnancy or baby stuffs all the time. Well.. I have to admit that I was at first. I read 6 pregnancy books and one baby book. I was reading tons of blogs and websites to absorb all the information. Then I stopped. I felt I knew everything I needed to feel comfortable being pregnant and not to wonder every time I do or I eat something. But more information beyond that point was unnecessary and maybe even counterproductive. I started reading other books and “returned” to my usual leisure time entertainers. Sometime I don’t even feel or think I’m pregnant because my life continues to be just as before. Of course when I talk to my pregnant friends, we talk about being pregnant, but other than that, I wouldn’t mention pregnancy to other people. I even think it’s offensive to talk to a non-pregnant person when they don’t ask about it.
• People are expecting you to get fat! Maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised. Every time I chat with a friend (who I don’t talk in a daily basis), the first thing she/he would ask is: ” so, are you getting fat?” And when I tell them how much weight I’ve gained, they would be so surprised and concerned. I think some friends know me as a thin girl for a long time, and they would expect that I’d get fat when I get pregnant. It’s specially the case for chinese culture. Women would eat 7 eggs a day when pregnant. The family would feed the pregnant women with the supposedly  most nutritious food, mostly meat. That’s how most women ended up overweight, get pregnancy-diabetes, have big babies and ended up with c-section. It has been like that for thousands of years. With better economic conditions in China nowadays, most people can afford to feel “well” to the pregnant women. It’s only recently that people started to realize that over-eating does not equal over-nutrient. But it’s an ongoing process.
• Nesting symptom?  Not for me yet. Except for the crib and dresser, I haven’t bought any baby-related stuff. And we bought those for logistic reason rather than nesting instincts. When I saw Kath’s already fully bought baby clothes and necessities, I was shocked. She’s only 3-4 weeks ahead of me and she already has the full nursery set up, decorated and all the baby clothes and diapers organized! I don’t usually like to prepare things in a lot of advance. I don’t even want to research in advance. When I want to do something, I’d just do it, right there. We bought a house in one weekend, we bought a car in one afternoon, I decorated the house in one month, and we planned the pregnancy in one month. My friends consider me to be super efficient because I don’t waste time on looking/thinking, I just do it and do it fast. Obviously I do the necessary research before making the decision, but I’d do everything in very short period of time. I’d first research on a subject, decide what I want and decide the way to proceed, and then just do it. I think I won’t start decorating the nursery until months 7 or 8, when my mom arrives.

I’m sure the next 3-4 months I’ll have more thoughts about pregnancy. So this post will have a part II.

Thought: the power of our mind

Our mind dictates our body.

What we think we’re feeling can actually makes us feel it for real.

And when we stop that…. the feeling also stops.

Last week two things happened that proved the above to be true

1. I started have some coughing last week, some chest congestion. Nothing serious, just sporadic coughing. I called the doctor office to ask for a pregnant-safe medicine and got it right away. Although I’m very bad remembering to take it, only took it twice in 3 days instead of every 4 hours, I’m feeling better already.

On Friday, after sleeping for 7.5 hrs which was 1.5 hrs more than the average for the last two weeks, I thought I would feel great. Shortly after I arrived the office, my energy was down to the floor, I was feeling exhausted, dizzy and wondered if I had fever. Maybe the coughing was just the beginning of a cold or something serious. The more I thought about it, the worst I felt. And then I said: ” well, I’d better get checked before continuing with the worry.” I went to the clinic at work, after waiting for 30 min, the doctor received me. I told her my symptoms, she checked temperature, blood pressure, my chest and back, my ears. Apparently my ears have congestion and that could have caused the coughing. Everything else was fine. She just recommended to drink a lot of fluid. Once it was confirmed that I didn’t have anything serious, no fever whatever, I felt immediately better. My energy came back, I wasn’t dizzy anymore. So… it was all in my mind!

2. A very close of mine is pregnant, she’s almost at end of the first trimester. She had much more pregnancy-related symptoms that I did. And in addition to that, she has a fibroid in her uterus that is the size of a grapefruit, and currently it’s at least double the size of the baby. She knew it before she went through a complicated IVF treatment, she knew that with the presence of a fibroid, the pregnancy won’t be easy. She has been having some cramps here and here, but they were manageable, until last week. The pain intensified, she couldn’t sleep, stand, lie, nothing made her comfortable. She went to ER twice, the baby is okay but she couldn’t handle the pain for much longer. The doctor gave her some narcotic to relieve the pain. The pain subsided but the pill caused serious vomiting. Nothing she drank or ate could hold for more than 2o min, she would throw up everything. So she couldn’t eat for 36 hrs and she got weak. When she called me on Friday evening, she was in a really bad state. She said she didn’t know if she can handle this anymore. She wanted a baby but she wanted her life even more. I know how much pain she’s going through, but as a good friend of her, I couldn’t let it happen. So I told her: “Do NOT dare to think to quit on this! You’ve gone through sooooo much for this miracle to happen, don’t give up now!” (Believe me, for her to carry this baby, only a miracle could have made it happen).  She’s in a lot of pain now and probably for the coming weeks, but thinking in perspective, as long as the baby is safe and the pain is not killing her, she really wouldn’t want to quit (abort the baby) now. She will regret later on for sure! So I told her: ” I know you’re a lot of pain and you can’t eat anything. Why don’t you try to stop thinking “this alternative”? Stop having negative thoughts! Stop lying on the bed and think all this! Sometimes our mind can dictate how our body reacts and feels. Do something to distract you, otherwise you’ll feel more pain.” She cried as she listened to me, she knew I was telling her the truth, that she doesn’t want this pregnancy to end, that she’s still strong enough to bare this. She thanked me and hang up. For the rest of the evening, I prayed for her, to give her strength and start with a new mind set.

The next day she wrote me an email saying that after we talked last night, she ate an egg while she watched TV, and she didn’t throw up. Today she already managed to eat two meals and not throw up. She was feeling much better. And she said she will not let negative thoughts to empower her, and there’s no alternative than continue with this pregnancy.

I’m soooo happy for her!!! And once again, the power of positive thinking and how our mind can dictate our body proved to be true!

Pregnancy: week 21

It was an easy week, after I switched up my diet, I’ve been feeling much better. No more bloating and things are moving along very well.

I had the doctor appointment on Tuesday, everything looks fine. I’ve gained 2.5 lbs since the last appointment (4 weeks ago). The nurse looked at me and said:” are you eating? why are you not gaining (much)?” And the doctor was happy with my progress. He keeps saying that slow gain is good, good for the baby and good for the mom. I asked him about the incident I had in metro. He says it’s very common for pregnant women to have slow pressure. And just in case, he recommended me to take iron supplement. Although in my first blood test I was not anemic, he says I wasn’t abundant either, so just in case that I might become anemic, it’s good to take one. I followed Heather’s advise and ordered Floradix Iron + Herbs because this one is not constipating.

My belly continued to grow. Some days I feel I’m huge, others not so much. Still hiding with lose clothes at work, so far no one has noticed.

on this one, the belly looks sooooo round.

How I’m feeling at 21 weeks 4 days

• Baby size: pomegranate. Average size: 10.5 inches, 12.7 oz.
• Sleep: 6-7 hrs average. Not a good sleep week.
• Cravings: none.
• Appetite/hunger: Not much. After breakfast it takes usually 3-4 hours to feel a little bit hungry. I’d snack on bars or nuts. Then after lunch, I don’t usually feel hungry until dinner time. Maybe it is because I’ve been trying to eat more protein at lunch time. In term of appetite, still not much. Nothing really attracts me and I don’t enjoy food as much as I used to. Kath recently mentioned this too.
• Exercise: same as before. I’ve tried to jog few times, but I had to stop within 5 min. It was not because I was tired but because my bladder complained. I don’t know, I so want to pee when I start jogging. So I will continue with Ellipticals and incline walking.
• Symptoms: dry skin around my mouse. I keep applying lip balm, but it continues to be dry.
• Weight:??? forgot to weight.
• Maternity cloth? Not clothes but I got a belly band. My pants still fit well on butt and legs, but I can’t button them anymore. The belly band is very comfortable and if I use long shirt, it’s not noticeable. I don’t plan to buy maternity clothes as long as I can use my own clothes. Since summer is arriving, I’ll use more dresses to work.
• Stretch marks? No. I apply almond oil once every other day after shower. I know that it’s more genetic than anything I can do, but maintaining a slow weight gain and apply oil/lotions can only help. I don’t even have the famous niagra line.
• Gender: Girl!!! We’re finally sure about that!!!

Food: dinner

First let me show you what I cooked for Star and Adam last Sunday

the usual suspects: red sauced pork

bok choy. According to Star, I made the most delicious sautéed bok choy in the world, and I don’t even know my secret!

pork short ribs and chinese yam soup

sauteed mushrooms with pork and chili

I instead made myself a macrobiotic meal: chopped lettuce, tomato, tofu, butternut squash, brown rice and miso paste

and a soup made with daikon, arame and parsley.

Dinners during the week:

#1

brown rice, sautéed bok choy with mushrooms and shiitake.

#2: A daikon, arame, bok choy soup

with sauteed tomato, tofu, mushroom and green onions

brown rice with aduki beans

#3: macrobiotic plate: tomato, celery, butternut squash, tofu, brown rice with aduki

and steamed daikon greens with eggplant in a tahini/miso sauce

#4: brown rice with aduki

sauteed celery, bok choy, mushroom and yuba (tofu skin)

arame with daikon cooked in tamari

#5: Macrobiotic plate

#6

stir-fry couscous with celery and smoked tofu, seasoned with S+P and curry powder

sauteed bok choy with mushrooms

My sautéed method: heat sesame oil, add the vegetables, cook for 1-2 min, add shoyo, mirin and pinch of sugar. Add some water if needed, cook for another 1-2 min and serve. Sometimes I would top some roasted sesame seeds as well. A true asian flavor!

Q: Do you use sautéed method? What’s your favorite sautéed dish?

Life: weekend by myself

It was my first weekend by myself because Star left on Tuesday 5AM. It’s the first time we’ll be separated for more than 3 months!!! Compared to the 4 years separation we had before when I was in grad school, 3 months seems not a big deal. But we both know this is not true. After living together for one year and half, we’ve get used to live with each other and we’ve became more indispensable to the other. It was a hard decision for us to do this because this time I’m pregnant and it’s a valuable time to be together. But… tough decisions are still decisions one needs to make. We’re certain that although this is quite a sacrifice, it’s for the best.

The good thing is now that I’m working, so basically I’m literally “alone” only on weekends. During the week, I arrive home after 6pm and go to bed around 10pm, so it doesn’t feel so lonely. But at weekends, things get harder because usually we do things together. Fortunately I’m an independent girl by nature, I can easily find things to do by myself and not feel too lonely. In addition, I have good friends to meet with.

It was a 5-day week, four of them involved training, so I had to leave home early. I didn’t sleep well during the week, so over the weekend I had to catch up with sleep.

Saturday: I spent the morning working out/showering/breakfast and nap! And then by 11:45 am Sarah came to my place to go to check out the gender of the baby together. Well… it’s official. We’re having a GIRL!!! And I’ve decided to decorate the nursery in lilac! Very excited about the news! Can’t wait to dress her like a little princess.

After that, we wanted to watch the movie What to expect when you’re expecting, a perfect movie for both mom-to-bes. Due to some traffic issues, we missed the one we planned to see. Sarah was tired, needing a nap urgently (she’s suffering much more the first trimester than me), so I took her home. After having lunch at home and a short nap, I decided to go to cinema by myself. Why not? There’s nothing wrong going alone to the cinema. Other than some strange view of strangers (who I don’t care), it’s the most convenient thing to do, right? You don’t need to agree with anyone about what to watch and when. Just go and enjoy the movie!

The movie is just average, if I’m not pregnant, I’d say it’s a bad movie. It illustrates well the various situations of mom-to-bes, one that got pregnant accidentally and later on had a miscarriage; one that has the worst symptoms; the fitness guru that manages to continue her life when pregnant; the perfect pregnant lady that kept to be as pretty as before pregnancy and a woman waiting to adopt a baby from Ethiopia. These are all possible situations of the pregnancy. It could happen to any of us. But the end result is the same, no matter how easy or how difficult is the pregnancy, the moment the baby arrives, everything seems so irrelevant.

After the movie, I went to Tjs and WF to buy some necessities. By the time I arrived home it was almost 8pm. I had dinner and was exhausted for unknown reasons. Went to bed quite early for weekend standard (11 pm) but slept like a baby.

Sunday: I hired a cleaning lady to come every two weeks and today it was her first time. The least I want to do over weekend is cleaning, so having someone to do the work is extremely important. She spent good 5 hours cleaning the entire house throughly. While she cleaned, I continued to read a work-related book, which I find it so interesting to be worth reading for leisure.

I’m economist and have a vague idea of the problem of poverty, its possible causes and consequences. But this book is eye opening to me, there are so many small issues that one would ignore when designing policies to fight poverty, that would dampen any positive effect.

Oh… I started to read these girls before bed time.

so far so good. Nothing deep but entertaining.

After the cleaning lady left, I had lunch and another nap! I thought about going to do the remaining groceries, but I’m so lazy, all I want to do is lie on the couch and read. In addition, I have a dinner party at my friends house to celebrate their graduation. So I’d better rest and be prepared for the party!