New beginnings

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

We've officially moved in for approximately 1 week now. I unpacked the last box today!! It has been quite a flurry of activities- mostly just boring unpacking and organizing. It has been tremendously helpful to have my sister here, visiting. She's proven surprisingly, to be quite useful! :) She's always been "lil sis" to me (as she is 5 years younger), and it's a joy to finally see her grown into her own self. And more than ever, we can share more of ourselves equally. We painted Quoc's entertainment room from peach to warm nutmeg.

Furniture are still lacking, but it's finally starting to feel like home. My favorite part of the house is the kitchen. The previous owner was a part time caterer, so I'm in cooking heaven! We eventually will put in a hood over the gas stove, as most Asian recipes require high heat. As things are organized, I will put more pictures up. Here's just a preview of my beloved kitchen.

Sorry the lighting is poor.

During my sister's stay, we had the first snow fall. She of course, was ecstatic! We had to run outside to do a photoshoot in front of the new house. It was loads of fun, and the neighborhood looks beautiful in the snow.


And here's another few of us trying cross country skiing in Sun River during Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun as the snow/conditions were perfect, and I think we found our new snow sport!


We did not have much of a Christmas this year. Mainly, it's because of the move, and lack of decorations. Our official move in date was the 20th, and with boxes laying around for the duration, we did not have the energy to find garlands, tinsels and ornaments, let alone go chop down our tree. We did squeeze time in to get some Christmas cards, but did not have time to send all of them out. So we're sorry if you're getting yours after New Year.

Until next time. Have a safe and fun New Year celebration! Think of us as we probably will be cleaning and organizing...

Obsessions

Last week, I picked up the Twilight Saga from a friend, and devoured all 4 books in 5 short days. I surprised myself- shocked(!) that the hysteria that swept all readers of Stephenie Meyer's series applied to me too. So several thoughts, as I pondered why....

1. Romance: the books centered around this passionate, deep, intense, impossible love story that rings true and relates to a profound desire that most women have- to be wanted and loved completely (shown between Edward and Bella). Apparently, I am one of those women. It's fantasy, true, but is it a crime to wish, and long to be known in that way?

2. Hobby: reading used to be one of my favorite pastimes. Ever since I was little, I'd go through volumes of books, magazines, journals in my free time, escaping and dreaming, sneaking books to bed, reading late into the night by the hallway's light so my mom would not know that I'm still awake. I remember, in college, people who visited my bookshelf would ask if I'm a lit/English major. Medical school and residency interrupted that and other hobbies, replacing it with medical journal reading and studying. I'd feel guilty if I pick up a nonfiction instead of JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association). So there was a hiatus of 7 or so years- how did I do that? Hmph! Therefore, I assume when I picked up this series, I was making up for lost time.

3. Obsessions: I never thought of myself as the obsessive type; however, I must have some OCD trait to be (and survive) in my profession. Because I read continually with such..er.. ferocity last week, the characters were very real to me. I thought about them as real persons (props to Meyer for excellent character development), and continued to analyze about their reactions if such and such was to happen. Was it just this series? No...it happened before, in a subtler way. I remember reading all of John Irving books starting with A Prayer for Owen Meany to The Fourth Hand in a span of a few months. And there was my first favorites- The Bronte sisters, and Shakespeare plays and Hemingway's complete work. Hm... there is a pattern! Are all obsessions bad? Should I allow myself this one OCD trait? Until the next book... I'm taking suggestions :)

On another note, we are moving forward with buying a house in Washington. If every goes smoothly, we will be in the new house before Christmas! Will post pictures when we move in.

New endeavours

Today, I went to New Heights Clinic for orientation. It's been 3 years since I worked here last. Then, as a resident, and now, as the nurses say, a real doctor! The clinic is sponsored by New Heights church and staffed with Christian volunteers. And I'm proud to say that I'm their newest member. It serves the uninsured of Clark County and even Portlanders as well. I'll be spending Tuesday mornings there- excited to see how God will work through me.

A pot of Bun Bo Hue (Hue-Style Spicy Beef Noodles) is simmering downstairs, but I don't think we'll be eating it tonight, since I started it too late. Instead we'll be eating leftovers from my Ca Ri Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Curry) and Tom Rang Muoi (Shrimp fried with salt) that I made earlier today, which was excellent, btw. See picture below.


On another note, I met the instructor of my Spin class today. She called me "kiddo". Really? Hmph... don't really want to start wearing makeup to the gym! Guess I should enjoy it while it lasts.

Angel's Rest and Oregon's Fall

On Saturday, the sun was out, and it was dry all day. We took that opportunity to try a new hike. Angel's Rest is so close to town, and had amazing colors. It's now one of my favorite hike. It was so pretty that I hardly noticed that it was uphill all the way!

Leaves-lined path
Creek & mini waterfall
Shiny/sweating on the way up. The mighty Columbia in the background.

Crock-pot #2

Chicken tortilla soup (sans tortilla) was excellent today. This is giving me great hope that this crock pot thing is going to work out! Maybe I just had bad recipes in the years before. Forgot to take a picture before dinner so there's none to post. Sorry. It tasted really authentic even without cilantro (ran out and the ones in the herb garden died/burned when it was too hot last month), avocado (left out on the counter too long) or sour cream (didn't buy) or tortilla (cutting down on carbs). Imagine what it could be with all the fixings! Thanks Sherri for the recipe.

Tried spinning (gym resistance biking) today and it was a great work out! Note to Julie- this will be something I'm doing for exercising in the winter. I'm embarrassed to say that at one point, I even got slightly light-headed. Maybe because I didn't eat much for breakfast. Will change that next time. I'm just excited to find something active that I'll enjoy throughout the gray season.

My goal this week is James 3:9-10. It seems like I need a daily reminder. Until next time.

Tuesday once more

The weather suddenly got cold and rainy almost over night. We pulled out our down comforter, sweaters and wool socks (I know, I go a bit overboard sometimes). Fall always remind me of stew or something simmering all day. So, braving that world once again, I took out the crock pot. Now you may think that crock pot-ing is easy, cheater way to cook. But for me, I've always managed to burn, ruin and destroy all recipes tried, no matter how fool-proofed the authors/reviews say. Well, I really only tried twice but failed both times. Got discouraged and stowed the crock pot away for good. Now what possessed me to try it again? Maybe the thought of cooking after a long 8 hours of work is tiring or just wanting fall comfort food. I'm trying my hands at pulled pork! 4 out of 8 hours into the process and no burnt smell yet. I'm crossing my fingers. If it works, I may try to chicken tortilla soup next time. In the meantime, I made Vietnamese Lotus Stem Salad with Chicken to hold myself over. Plus, it's pretty to look at and yummy to eat!

Today's Dinner

Tortilla Espanola with aioli. Easy and delicious!

Tuesdays in the Kitchen

As you may know, I have Tuesdays off. In the past month or so, I've used this time to catch up on sleep, run errands, go to the dentists, etc. Now that all major chores that require daytime, working hour presence are done, I find myself looking for a meaningful project. And since we're selling the house, I can make too big of a mess on crafts, etc. Two weeks ago, I wandered onto a Holy Basil food blog and now am hooked. Christine (the author) is a brilliant cook (chef? I'm not sure if she is a chef by profession). I'm overjoyed to find recipes such as Bo Kho (Vietnamese beef stew), Ca Kho To (catfish in caramel stew sauce), Bun Bo Hue, and various goi (Vietnamese salads). For so long, I've tried to replicate my mom's cooking but never could. You see, my mom, like most moms, don't measure. Tough luck for me.

So the project: to make something yummy every Tuesday, preferably Vietnamese food- to get back to my roots, to get to know and cook the food of my childhood, of which my husband craves for. No doubt, there will probably be an occasional Italian or American dish because to me, they're easier to make. And I will try to post pictures of the dishes. So far, I've made Pho and Ca Kho To in the last two Tuesdays. (No pictures, sorry. The project wasn't realized at the time.) And today, I made this- Cucumber Salad with Shrimp and Shredded Chicken.

Yum!

October

October? Already? Where did the summer go?

I'm settling into the new clinic. Routine is good, I think. Patient panel building is slow, but I'm making progress I think. One of the best things about this so far, is that I can do as much OMT (osteopathic manipulative treatment) as I want. I need to keep it up to retain the skill. The organization is being very supportive and even getting me a new OMT counterstrain table in the new year!

We're moving to the 'Couv (Vancouver, WA- for out of state readers). Sad, but true. My job is in Battle Ground, and it simply makes more sense to us. Our current house is on the market and we hope to move in the winter. We'll still continue to go to the same church and do the things we love in Portland. After all, it's only 10-15 mins away!

Pulling out my sweater from the winter clothes box this morning, I'm reminded that fall is here. Although I love fall and fall colors, I'm reminded that we need to be stratigizing for ways to be active in the upcoming colder months. Sadly, we may have to put our mountain bikes away soon, and go back to the gym. I may take up swimming. There's always P90x, but we like to be outside, and will probably miss summer a lot. Would love your suggestions.

Johnny & Kelly's Wedding

We went to San Diego to attend one of Quoc's oldest friend- Johnny's wedding. It was in La Jolla and the weather was perfect. So much fun catching up with friends we haven't seen in a while. Everyone seems to be attached (finally!) or pregnant or more children. Time certainly flies by quickly; I feel so old hearing stories about kids we knew now in college and dating! We stayed at Quoc's brother's apartment, which gave us all a chance to catch up-- trying to convince them to move to Portland, as they would fit in and love it here. The weekend was full of good food, friends and family. We visited some old favorites as well as new ones to eat. I certainly had my share of yummy carbs, so I have to work hard this week to burn it off!

Here comes Kelly (the bride)
Sand ceremony
The kiss
Friends

And here's one of baby Florence.

Vashon Island

Over Labor Day weekend, we went to Vashon Island with the Sherwood Les and Sterretts for a bit of R & R. The house we rented was right on the water, and we had gorgeous view of the Sound from the big windows in the living room. My favorite part was the pool and ping pong table, where we had several Les vs. Les challenges- so much fun that we must have space for one in the next house. Outside the house grew several apples and plum trees as well as multitudes of blackberry bushes. We picked enough fruits for ice cream and homemade pies. On Saturday, my sister-in-law cajoled me into a 3 hour walk with her (she's training for the Portland marathon this weekend). Oh man, I was sore for the rest of the weekend. Here are some fun pictures of the kiddos.

Just cute as a button

Drew in the kayak, soaking wet from throwing rocks into the water.

Hey! stop taking so many pictures of me, co Chau! :)
Le brothers kayaking

I like this picture of Mr. Sterrett hard at work.

4 Day Work Week

Really? You want my opinion? My thoughts on processes, how I'd like things done? You want to pay me how much to work less than I've been working for the last 3 years? And 4 day work week? Is this real life? Lord, You are so good to me.

I have nothing to complain about lately... so refreshing! Current situation is just too sweet. I feel I can finally breathe, take it easy, do things my way. Clinic is slow but good and necessary for starters, and I feel like we're in transition again, but this time, it's a good one.

With a bit more free time now, I've been able to be more active, more frequently, as an effort to shed some poundage gained from the aforementioned gelato binge in Europe. It's working, slowly, with the combination of eating better, P90X, mountain biking, tennis and gym- good old fashion way.

This weekend, we're heading to Vashon Island in the Puget Sound near Seattle with the Sherwood Les and Sterrett. Will hope to have amazing weather and pictures to share!

Counting my blessing...

Roma

Our hotel (Hotel Gerber) was in a quiet residential neighborhood just outside of the Vatican city... so nice and modern with free internet access that we took refuge here often for longer than other cities.
Rome is to us a sprawling city, a mix of the ancient and new. And I marvel at how the locals just blend perfectly while living in both. It's incredible how old it is! We went from the Colosseum to the Roman Forum, imagining what it was like to be in the Senate and invited to Caesar's house for dinner.
The Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica was even more grand than I've imagined from reading/studying in the past. The pope was in his summer's residence; perhaps that explained why our line was not long, but the crowd through the museum was still massive. At the infamous Sistine Chapel, we stood elbow to elbow with likely a hundred other tourists, snapping illegal pictures of the ceiling. The poor Italian guard just gave up, knowing that people will just take pictures anyway, and it was a humongous crowd.
We love the night walk through Rome among the locals. From the pizza of the people to the Spanish steps, Rome really came alive at night- full of artists, entertainers, musicians, and local teenagers hanging out and tourists (me) licking gelato through the whole walk. It was here that I heard a German guy play the banjo and singing Sweet Home Alabama. So much fun.
We hopped the intercity train to Orvieto, Umbria, one of he hilltowns of Tuscany. Not like the book, but plenty quaint. Good food, wine and souvenir shopping- perfect day.

Better pictures are on the DSLR and not load-able to Blogger. Sorry.

Cinque Terre

One of our favorite cities.

We arrived at Vernazza mid morning and climbed lots of stairs to find Monica's rooms up atop the hills, next to her family's restaurant. We immediately felt like part of the family. She was so welcoming, introducing us to her family, walked us through her own house, offered us her boat to use whenever we wanted. Nice!

We hiked the Cinque Terre romantic path starting with Riomaggiore and ended a bit past Vernazza (we didn't have the energy to finish at Monterosso and it was getting late). The views are spectacular along the way. The towns seemed to be teetottle above these incredible cliffs that dropped straight down to rocky beaches, sprinkled with fruit trees, various green bushes, cacti, and grape vines. There were areas where one could jump into the pristine blue and warm water. It was at times a difficult hike, and we were glad that we wore our hiking shoes as I did see many with blisters and band-aids.

We took out Monica's family row boat that afternoon/evening after our hike to get a different view of Vernazza. A bit hesitant at first, but once Quoc was comfortable with the boat outside the harbor, we had lots of fun exploring, but still not too far from shore. We swam in the ocean briefly; the water was pleasantly warm and refreshing.

Dinner was at Monica's family restaurant. She reserved a special table for us, overlooking the ocean, at sunset. We could see Monterosso in the distance, lit up as the sun dropped below the horizon. Great food, perfect ambience. It was one of our best meals.

We were sad to leave Vernazza and its welcoming, warm, hospitable local hosts and its seafood. We definitely will return and stay longer next time. Next stop, Roma!

Vernazza, where we stayed

Florence, Italy

There was no line for the Academia! We quickly finished our gelato and walked straight in. August is apparently a slow month for tourism here. We couldn't photograph the ginormous and beautiful sculpture, and after several rotations around David, we left for the infamous Mercato. The outdoor market reminds me so much of Vietnam, but in Italian. Stalls and stalls of goods, bargaining is welcomed and the occasional commotion caused by the Italian police chasing down illegal vendors, selling fake Louis Vuilton and Gucci bags. I had fun bargaining here, and we bought some small things, as we have determined to travel with backpacks only, no check-in luggage. However, if I have the opportunity next time, we'd take less things and buy more in Florence!

We skipped the Uffizi museum as we didn't make reservations, but we are pretty done with art for a while, anyway. More gelato, pasta and table wine please. A walk to Ponte Vecchio and around the city in the evening ended our quick stop here. I'd come back I think, but only for the shopping...

Fake David where the real one once stood, as we couldn't photograph the real one legally.

Europe continued

Venice, Italy

The morning train stopped at what seemed like a dock on a wide river. We didn't sleep well last night on the couchette. Mine sloped towards the left and the French man above me was snoring. However, I was grateful to have mostly slept through the long journey through southern France and saved a night's hotel stay. We stepped out of the train, groggy, but my eyes were once again wide opened with amazement. To watch on TV vs. seeing Venice in person is completely incomparable. Mansions, theatres, museums, houses seemed to float on this winding body of water. It's old, some are even moldy, but so very beautiful.

We hopped on a boat-bus down the Grand Canal and checked into our hotel, a pensione just shy of the Rialto Bridge. Right outside, the mercato has just started, stands of fruits, vegetables, meats and loud chatters (as opposed to from the quieter mutters in France) of Italian rose gaily around me.

The loads of tourists that poured in from neighboring cities and cruise ships got the better of us, especially Quoc. It was thoroughly much too crowded. We skipped the Doge's Palace tour and didn't spend too much time in St. Mark's Square but opted instead to walk the back streets and find eateries, i.e., more gelato for me. We had squid ink pasta for the first time here, and discovered that Venice is more expensive than the parts of France where we've passed. The air-conditioned pensione proved to be more of a refuge than previously imagined.

After dinner, when most of the tourists have left, we took another stroll through the markets near the Rialto Bridge, where I bought a hand made leather journal, pondered about the Venetian glass but decided we couldn't travel very well with it. Around our hotel, a Venetian jazz band was playing - American and Italian songs alike, in front of a waterfront restaurant. People were dancing, licking gelato, drinking wine in the moonlight. We picked a spot near the water and joined in, pretended that we were locals. It was thoroughly romantic. I asked my husband what he thought about Venice now. "Well... you can't ignore all the water." I think he likes it, finally.

Europe Summer Trip Recap Continued

Beaune, Burgundy Day 5-6

We arrived in Beaune to find it small (compared to Paris!) but quaint and pleasant. The weather was perfect, and streets were filled with more locals than tourists. Wine and all things related to wine seem to be the town's livelihood. We knew we'd like it :) That night, we had one of my best meals (if not the best) of the trip in a Wine Cave (shop). Traditional southern French cuisine, escargot burguignon, beef burguignon and a tasty chocolate tart along with 3 different glasses of the region's red wine. I don't think I've had food like this ever, anywhere else! Quoc had a salad, and their version of the duck confit which he loved. We sat at a communal table, where we met an Australian couple who were extremely good company. The electricity went out momentarily during dinner, and suddenly, the whole restaurant burst into the same French song, as if planned. Later, it was explained to me that it's a well known drinking song, sang whenever someone drops a glass or an accident happens. Curious but fun!

We rented bikes the next morning, based on the recommendation of our guide book. Once again, Rick Steves was right on! The rental guy was a curious fellow, quiet, melancholic sounding but warmed up nicely after we mentioned we like Salvadore Dali. He recommended and drew out our route for wine tasting and got us free admission to the Dali exhibit in one of the vineyards.

Off we went. I had to remind myself that I'm not on my mountain bike. Once out of town, the view was breath-taking. Miles and miles of grape vines with little farm houses dotted the hills. Our route was for bikes only, and we stopped quite often to take pictures. After stopping at the first two vineyards and obtaining a premier cru bottle of Pommard pinot noir, we stopped along a bench to have our picnic. Having forgotten glasses, we drank out of the bottle (no one else seemed to mind), chewed on a freshly made baguette, along with goat and camembert cheeses and pate campagne (country styled liver pate) oh and a leg of chicken. Simple and delicious!

Onto the next town, sweeping views, cool air, and so we obtained another bottle- premier cru chardonnay. And we ran into that pleasant Australian couple again. It was a small town. They too were biking and drinking. Surprise we didn't get into an accident, drinking and biking :)


My friend Anne (an osteopathic physician from Lyon) drove down to meet us for dinner that night. I had frog legs with garlic and parsley- yum, and Quoc had some prawns dish and again good wine.

It was sad to leave Beaune. We were relaxed there, among wine connoisseurs, and where French food was perfected. People are nice and we were out of the self-imposed fast paced sight seeing frenzy. I wish we had more time there. But off we went, onto the only night train out of town. Next stop, Venice, Italy.

Europe Summer Trip Recap

As I didn't blog as I went along, here's my attempt to remember the details of our trip, with the help of pictures of course.

Paris Day 1-4
On the Roissy-Paris bus connecting CDG and city center at 7 am on Sunday upon arrival, the city was still quiet. The architecture shifts to what's old, foreign but beautiful. As I watched the scenery with my eyes wide opened, I realized it is Sunday and I need to come up with a plan as most businesses are closed.

Paris has one of the most efficient public transportation we've found, esp. the Metro. Our hotel is close to one of the stops and we can get anywhere in the city w/in 15 mins. We discovered Rue Cler neighborhood to be a quiet refuge (although we're only 10 mins walk to the Eiffel Tower) after a long day of sight seeing. Good affordable food among locals and savvy tourists, sampling fusion and very French cuisine, while sipping on house wine by the 1/2 litres- that's what we found ourselves doing most nights in Paris.

Our days were usually filled with sight seeing activities. The Louvre is way too crowded- we should have known as it is summer, peak season. However, I did not expect it too be this much! We breezed (still took 2 hrs) through the Louvre, spent more time at the Picasso, Rodin Museums. We enjoyed our walks through Montmartre, the Left Bank, Historic Paris, the Latin Quarter, the Champs-Elysee, with stops for crepes and pain-au-chocolat along the way. But we especially enjoyed our night time stroll to The Eiffel Tower, waiting for the light display that happens on the hour. There is always a picnic, and someone is playing the guitar. We played with our new lens on the camera and got some good pictures.

A side trip to Versailles was a definite plus. I'm glad we got the Paris Museum Pass as we did get to skip a lot of lines. Strolling through the Palace almost by ourselves as we got there early right when it opened, I imagined what it was like to be a noble person of the court, playing pool with the King :) The gardens to me is even more extravagant than the palace itself. It just keeps on going. We even made a side trip to Marie Antoinette's quarters and tired our little feet out. I highly suggest Keens and Smart Wool socks by the way.


Sorry, the photos we took exceed the allowed size for blogger. So I have to re-size them before uploading. In the meantime, see our Paris pictures on Facebook.

Activities

We are almost ready to leave for Europe in a few days. I'm tickled with excitement, thinking about seeing those pages in my art, architecture and food books in real life. This trip marks the end of an era, for me. In the past 11 or so years, I've been going and going non-stop. Between undergrad, medical school, then residency plus multiple moves in different cities and states, I look back and realize it's slowing down finally- surreal end and a beginning of a new unknown. But let's not talk about the new job yet. I'm on vacation :)
It has been a flurry of activity, getting ready for the trip. I think I've been to REI and Target too many times in the last week. Also, I got a new lens for our DSLR camera too! Hopefully, we'll get some good pictures in Europe with it.

Since I've been off, we've had time to do some more outdoorsy activities. See the pictures below.

On top of Chinidere Mountain, Mt. Hood in the back
Wahtum Lake (where we camped) from the top

Last week, I went hiking with friends to Tom, Dick and Harry Ridge, where the view was similar to Chinidere Mountain, although the hike up was easier. Beautiful hike- the wild flowers are vibrant and beautiful.

Reflection of Mt. Hood off of Mirror Lake.
Macros on bear grass- shot with my P&S- not bad.

And last weekend, we drove to Vancouver, B.C., Canada, mostly to eat good Chinese food, but ended up seeing a lot more of the city this time. We biked the sea wall of Stanley Park, walked Granville Island, went to Richmond's night market, and crossed over Lynn Canyon suspension bridge to Twin Falls. All the while, eating good food, almost constantly :)

Totem poles
Granville Island Market- better than Pike's Place in Seattle
Music, random goods, and tons of food while rubbing elbows (literally) with hundreds of Asians in one parking lot converted into the Richmond Night Market. Chaotic, must experience in real life sorta thing. Mmm... grilled squids, fried tofu, chicken on a stick, boba, dragon beard candies... Must. go. back.
Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge (free to cross- as opposed to the Capilano one)

Phew! That was a lot of pictures to load. I don't know why I do this all the time- wait a month then blog... more work this way, I realize. Next blog- somewhere in Europe. A bientot!