Just watched a video on facebook about a 2 year old toddler got hit by 2 vans, while 18 people pass by without offering any kind of help. The 19th person who pass by finally offered help but it was too late, the girl later die in the hospital. (http://shanghaiist.com/2011/10/16/watch_toddler_run_over_by_two_vehic.php)
After watching the video, I am speechless. Heart ache and speechless. As a Chinese, I always believe we do have good quality (Every person in the world is born with good quality). It's just the poor-ness that make people the way they are now - to come up with creative idea to cheat, to be a snob when they got money, to care only how to make money and look down upon building a person's moral value, etc. But this news just shock me. How, how can I still believe I would be able to see some kind of change in Chinese quality after seeing this video? How can people become so cold? How can the basic moral value be diminished to such an extend?
Totally sadden by this news and my thoughts and prayers go out to this family.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Cost of Spontaneous Luxury
All of a sudden I am craving for cake. To be more specific, I am craving for Hong Kong style fresh cream cake. But oh well, living in Austin Texas, there is absolutely no where selling a good tasting fresh cream cake that is close by to take care of the craving, so, I opt for cupcake.
I stopped by a food truck that is specialized in cupcake when I am on the way home after work. And it SHOCKED me, $3 for one cupcake. It's not any fancy favor, just plain old chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting! Seriously, I think the cost for the cupcake is probably less than $.50! If I were to make the fresh cream cake by myself at home, it would take me less than an hour, and cost around $3, for a whole 2 layers 9 inch cake! And the cupcake doesn't even taste that good. Hmm... I guess that's the price to pay for for a little spontaneous luxury. I guess during this difficult time, I should be very thankful to be able to pay for this little spontaneous craving. I should also learn my lesson to have whip cream stand by at home in case I have another cake craving attack!
I stopped by a food truck that is specialized in cupcake when I am on the way home after work. And it SHOCKED me, $3 for one cupcake. It's not any fancy favor, just plain old chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting! Seriously, I think the cost for the cupcake is probably less than $.50! If I were to make the fresh cream cake by myself at home, it would take me less than an hour, and cost around $3, for a whole 2 layers 9 inch cake! And the cupcake doesn't even taste that good. Hmm... I guess that's the price to pay for for a little spontaneous luxury. I guess during this difficult time, I should be very thankful to be able to pay for this little spontaneous craving. I should also learn my lesson to have whip cream stand by at home in case I have another cake craving attack!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Dolphin Tale
My husband and I brought our son to watch Dolphin Tale yesterday. This is our second attempt to bring him to a cinema for a movie. The first attempt is to watch 'The Cars 2' but Ansel got too scared of the dark and the loud noise, we didn't even make through the preview.
This time around, we start hyping him up since 2 weeks ago. Keep telling him about how we are going to watch a dolphin movie and how he is now a big boy, he will no longer be scared of the darkness. Seemingly, this tactic works.
I honestly do not expect much on this movie even though it starred 2 of my favorite actors: Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman. I guess I am just not too much of an animal person and never am too into any movie related to animals. I go solely because I know my son loves dolphin. And well, the tickets are free.
To my surprise, it is a GREAT movie. I love it and enjoy every single minute of it. A quick recap: It is a movie inspired by the true story of dolphin who got caught in a crab cage and severely damaged her tail. She rescued and send to a hospital. As there's too much dead tissue, her tail has to be cut. Then the story truly begin to focus on how a bunch of strangers banded together to save her life and how her story then inspire others.
I love how this movie is so simple that even my 3 year old son can follow the story line and know when the dolphin swim, it's a moment that worth applauding for (nobody else around him applauded so it's all his idea it's the right moment for celebration). Yet, it is engaging enough for adults to enjoy. It grabs onto your emotion so you rejoice when the tail-less dolphin learn to swim again, and gasped when it dislike the prosthetic tails so much to flip and destroy them. It is a beautiful story captured by a movie.
I am glad this is my son's first movie. It's inspiring, positive, loving and innocence. Yes, this movie is likely to have been altered somehow from the true story in order to make it more theatrical. But, it's not overdone at all. There not one place in the movie where I doubted, 'Is this too good to be true?' 'Is there really such wonderful people out there in our world?' All in all, this is a great movie that worth your time and money, with or without kid.
Check out more about this movie at: http://dolphintalemovie.warnerbros.com
This time around, we start hyping him up since 2 weeks ago. Keep telling him about how we are going to watch a dolphin movie and how he is now a big boy, he will no longer be scared of the darkness. Seemingly, this tactic works.
I honestly do not expect much on this movie even though it starred 2 of my favorite actors: Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman. I guess I am just not too much of an animal person and never am too into any movie related to animals. I go solely because I know my son loves dolphin. And well, the tickets are free.
To my surprise, it is a GREAT movie. I love it and enjoy every single minute of it. A quick recap: It is a movie inspired by the true story of dolphin who got caught in a crab cage and severely damaged her tail. She rescued and send to a hospital. As there's too much dead tissue, her tail has to be cut. Then the story truly begin to focus on how a bunch of strangers banded together to save her life and how her story then inspire others.
I love how this movie is so simple that even my 3 year old son can follow the story line and know when the dolphin swim, it's a moment that worth applauding for (nobody else around him applauded so it's all his idea it's the right moment for celebration). Yet, it is engaging enough for adults to enjoy. It grabs onto your emotion so you rejoice when the tail-less dolphin learn to swim again, and gasped when it dislike the prosthetic tails so much to flip and destroy them. It is a beautiful story captured by a movie.
I am glad this is my son's first movie. It's inspiring, positive, loving and innocence. Yes, this movie is likely to have been altered somehow from the true story in order to make it more theatrical. But, it's not overdone at all. There not one place in the movie where I doubted, 'Is this too good to be true?' 'Is there really such wonderful people out there in our world?' All in all, this is a great movie that worth your time and money, with or without kid.
Check out more about this movie at: http://dolphintalemovie.warnerbros.com
Friday, September 2, 2011
Ice Pops
I've fell in love with the Zoku ice pop maker (http://www.zokuhome.com/). My son love ice pop and it's so easy to use. Some nights if Ansel behaves, I will reward him with an ice pop. I can just whip out Zoku, add juices and in 20mins, we are all sitting down and eating ice pop. No planning needed. What can be more fun than having spontaneous sweet treats any time you wish?!
Some ice pops I've made using store bought juices. I will definitely try to make some even healthier ice pops from scratch when I find time:
Some ice pops I've made using store bought juices. I will definitely try to make some even healthier ice pops from scratch when I find time:
This is V8 fusion + Grape Juice with blueberry pieces
V8 fusion with Cranberry juice. Used apple pieces and Zoku character kit to make the face
Kids Birthday Cakes
I love to make kids' birthday cakes. It's just fun to see their expression when they see the cake. Here are a few I've made.
This is my first time making 2D chocolate decorations. Still using fresh cream cake as base
My son's 1 year old birthday cake. Love the cars cake mold from William Sonoma
My son's 2 year old birthday cake. First time making cake pops. It's easier to make as Big Bird and Elmo faces are both with texture. It would be harder if the cake ball needs to be smooth
This is my 2 sons' birthday cake. This time around my oldest is big enough to request what he wants - a Cars chocolate cupcake cake
Fresh Cream Cake
Other than having random thoughts, I love making dessert. Fresh cream cake is definitely one thing that I enjoy doing most as it's super easy and give a chance for me to think of fun and easy way to decorate using fresh fruits. And, usually I got praises on the cakes I made. What's more fun than getting lots of praises on something that is easily made?
There is no specific recipe but some basics. You can then tweak to make your own version of fresh cream cake.
Ingredients:
Sponge cake - You can make your own or use cake mix
Whipped cream - You can buy cool whip or whip up your own using heavy cream
Fruits - Any kind as your heart desire. I usually use canned fruit cocktail as the filling and fresh fruits on top or around the side
Method:
1. Bake the cake and let it cool completely. You will need 2 layers so divide the batter in half
2. Drain all the liquid from the canned fruit. Make sure the fruit pieces are as dry as possible. I use paper towel to blot dry them and put them in the fridge overnight
3. Mix about a cup of whipped cream with the dried canned fruit
4. Lay one layer of the cake on the serving plate
5. Spread the canned fruit/whip cream mixture on top
6. Lay the other layer of sponge cake on top of the mixture
7. Spread whip cream to cover the whole cake
8. Decorate as you wish (You can add more layers if you wish)
Here are some of the fresh cream cakes I've made to give some decorating ideas:
There is no specific recipe but some basics. You can then tweak to make your own version of fresh cream cake.
Ingredients:
Sponge cake - You can make your own or use cake mix
Whipped cream - You can buy cool whip or whip up your own using heavy cream
Fruits - Any kind as your heart desire. I usually use canned fruit cocktail as the filling and fresh fruits on top or around the side
Method:
1. Bake the cake and let it cool completely. You will need 2 layers so divide the batter in half
2. Drain all the liquid from the canned fruit. Make sure the fruit pieces are as dry as possible. I use paper towel to blot dry them and put them in the fridge overnight
3. Mix about a cup of whipped cream with the dried canned fruit
4. Lay one layer of the cake on the serving plate
5. Spread the canned fruit/whip cream mixture on top
6. Lay the other layer of sponge cake on top of the mixture
7. Spread whip cream to cover the whole cake
8. Decorate as you wish (You can add more layers if you wish)
Here are some of the fresh cream cakes I've made to give some decorating ideas:
ABC learning Chinese
As Chinese parents living in the US with 2 ABC (America born Chinese) boys, learning Chinese comes naturally to my mind from time to time. My husband and I have always been questioned about how do you plan to teach Chinese to your sons?
While some parents will enroll their kids in once a week Chinese class, or, like me, who bought some books to read and teach my kids Chinese and communicate with them via both English and Chinese, I know some parents who go to the extreme - They only speak Chinese with their kids. If the kid communicate in English, they punish them as they believe
1. Their kids will learn English eventually as they live in the states
2. They don't want their Chinese accent to affect the kid's English
3. The more you force them to speak, it will finally become their mother tongue
Even though some of the above thoughts are partially true, I rarely see a truly successful case. All the kids I know grow up with English being their mother tongue, at best, they can speak decently in Chinese when needed. Rarely would a kid also be able to read and write in Chinese.
Being raised in Hong Kong, I am bilingual. I can speak in Cantonese and English fluently and read/write in both languages. I can also speak reasonably understandable in Mandarin when needed. It is not because I am smart or what, it's because, in Hong Kong, most school teaches in both languages and we were being tested in both languages since kindergarten.
I just wish there's a school here in the US that does that. Where learning Chinese is not a once in a week thing, or some after school program, or some electives. When I talked to some mom friends, some of them would then say, 'Oh, that's too much. The kids already have so much school works, you don't want to push them to learn Chinese every day!'. But why? When all the kids in Hong Kong can survive it, and mostly grow up to be bilingual, why can't the kids here be the same? Why as a mom who go through this 'forced learning' to get proficient in English can't expect my own kid to be able to do at least the same?
As a mom, I wish my kids to grow up be better than me. I would love for them to be able to
1. Speak Cantonese, Mandarin and English
2. Read and write Chinese and English
3. In a career that make more money than I do
4. Have a healthier life style than I do
5. Live a better life than I do
Am I really asking too much?!
While some parents will enroll their kids in once a week Chinese class, or, like me, who bought some books to read and teach my kids Chinese and communicate with them via both English and Chinese, I know some parents who go to the extreme - They only speak Chinese with their kids. If the kid communicate in English, they punish them as they believe
1. Their kids will learn English eventually as they live in the states
2. They don't want their Chinese accent to affect the kid's English
3. The more you force them to speak, it will finally become their mother tongue
Even though some of the above thoughts are partially true, I rarely see a truly successful case. All the kids I know grow up with English being their mother tongue, at best, they can speak decently in Chinese when needed. Rarely would a kid also be able to read and write in Chinese.
Being raised in Hong Kong, I am bilingual. I can speak in Cantonese and English fluently and read/write in both languages. I can also speak reasonably understandable in Mandarin when needed. It is not because I am smart or what, it's because, in Hong Kong, most school teaches in both languages and we were being tested in both languages since kindergarten.
I just wish there's a school here in the US that does that. Where learning Chinese is not a once in a week thing, or some after school program, or some electives. When I talked to some mom friends, some of them would then say, 'Oh, that's too much. The kids already have so much school works, you don't want to push them to learn Chinese every day!'. But why? When all the kids in Hong Kong can survive it, and mostly grow up to be bilingual, why can't the kids here be the same? Why as a mom who go through this 'forced learning' to get proficient in English can't expect my own kid to be able to do at least the same?
As a mom, I wish my kids to grow up be better than me. I would love for them to be able to
1. Speak Cantonese, Mandarin and English
2. Read and write Chinese and English
3. In a career that make more money than I do
4. Have a healthier life style than I do
5. Live a better life than I do
Am I really asking too much?!
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