Ouch, I haven't updated my blog for almost a month...and it's already a new year!
I have been taking a vacation since Christmas Day. I had so many vacation days left for last year and could carry over only 5 days to this year. So I just decided to stop working for a while. I didn't have any plan for the vacation and actually I did absolutely nothing special. It's been so good.
What did I do?
Hmmm.... I went to
Buybuy Baby with my husband to pick up a crib and put it together. We also bought a car seat for baby Hana. I had a brunch with my co-worker from NYC bureau and her boyfriend. She gave me a Christmas present....a
Prada dress! Now I have a clear goal to lose baby weight after the birth. Thanks,
Maho!
I finished reading
Crónica de una muerte anunciada by Gabriel
José García Márquez...in Japanese translation. I have been reading a memoir of a Japanese journalist who passed away a few years ago.
I saw two movies. "Frost/Nixon" and "Milk." Both were good. Maybe I liked Frost/Nixon better. I also saw "Trade" on
Netflix instant viewing.
I bought a new vacuum cleaner and vacuumed....once. I should vacuum again tomorrow.
I and my husband went to have a lunch with his brother at his mother's house. His brother,
Ph.D candidate, was staying there only a day on the way from
Buenos Aires where he had been doing research for his dissertation to Mexico City to meet up with his girlfriend. He and his girlfriend broke up a year ago, but it seems that they are trying to be together again.
I did some shopping at a Japanese grocery store for New Year. I bought a
Kagami Mochi and some other stuff.
Kagami mochi (鏡餅, Kagami mochi?), literally
mirror rice cake, is a traditional
Japanese New Year decoration. It usually consists of two
[1][2][3][4] round
mochi (rice cakes), the smaller placed atop the larger, and a
daidai (a Japanese
bitter orange) with an attached leaf on top. In addition, it may have a sheet of
konbu and a skewer of dried
persimmons under the
mochi. (from
Wikipedia)
I also dropped by a thrift shop and bought a dress ($2!) and a leather jacket ($10). I love thrift shop. I made some
Kinton, a traditional Japanese sweet for New Year made from either sweet potatoes or chest nuts.
I, Steven, our friend Eric from Baltimore and Peter went to Nellie's for Happy Hour. Ray, our friend, joined us. There was a college basket ball game was going on, and some sports fans were shouting so loud. It was a little annoying. Plus, while Happy Hour vodka drinks were $2, my tonic water was $3. It's unfair. Next time, maybe I should order vodka tonic without vodka. On the way home, we dropped by Austin Grill to eat. Fun times.
On New Year's Eve, I went to
Steven's Champagne tasting party (I spelled Champagne correctly without looking at a dictionary for the first time! Woo
Hoo!). Although I couldn't taste any of the bubbles, I had a very good time. Next morning, my next door neighbor Peter invited us and other neighbors to a New Year brunch. Great neighbors, fun times. At night, my mother-in-law came over and we had a dinner together.
Today, I and my husband had a dinner at Mama Lucia, a Italian restaurant near Silver Spring station. Great pizza and pasta. Plus, because the waiter messed up a little bit with our order and the pizza came a little late, he gave us a free
tiramisu. Yum.
Tomorrow, I'm planning to bring my car to the emission inspection in the morning and have lunch with Steven. I need to go to buy a birthday present for my husband at some point....
Ahhhhhh....I have to go back to work on Monday! I want to be a housewife of a
millionaire. Seriously.
As you may already know, Hana the fetus is now a newborn baby. She was born on January the 23rd at 10:50am at Sibley Memorial Hospital. It was 10 days before the due date (due was February the 2nd), but she waited until her mom had finished covering the inauguration and doing an important interview, and her dad had completed infant car seat installation class. She is such a good girl!
