Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my ninth 25th birthday!! Happy birthday to me! If you're bad at math, that means I'm turning 33 years old today. Scary, huh? 

To mark this special occasion, I spent some time looking for photos from birthdays past to bring you a round up of my most memorable birthdays, so here they are in order of occurrence.

1981 - My first birthday

I was too young to remember it, of course, but look at that cake. My mommy made it for me. Isn't it awesome?

1982 - My first birthday as a jetsetter

I've celebrated quite a few birthdays overseas, and this one was my first. We traveled to Hong Kong this summer, and the trip coincided with my birthday. My parents started me off as a world traveler from a young age.

Mom, cousins, sister and me in Hong Kong

1986 or 1987 - Birthday Party at McDonald's

I'm not sure what year this was, but my brother was in some of the pictures as a baby so I'm taking a guess that I was turning six or seven. I remember begging my parents to let me have my birthday party at McDonald's and they let me! Oh, what fine taste children have!

I have to jump 15 years ahead now because I couldn't find any photos from junior high or high school where I'm sitting in front of a birthday cake. Unfortunately, I grew up in the age before digital so if the photo didn't have a date stamp or a birthday cake in it, I couldn't tell for sure if it was a birthday photo.

2001 - 21st birthday at Knott's Berry Farm

I was a good kid in college, so no binge drinking for me on my 21st birthday. Let's hang out with Snoopy instead!

2005: My (actual) 25th birthday at San Diego Comic Con and then off to New Zealand

When I lived in LA, I attended San Diego Comic Con on three occasions. I planned on attending the one in 2005 months in advance. Then, suddenly, a week or two before, I learned that I would be leaving for New Zealand that same weekend! What's a girl to do? Drive down to San Diego on Friday night and celebrate with my sister, attend one day of the con and drive back to LA on Saturday, and catch a plane to NZ on Sunday to go Canyon Swinging and glacier hiking! 

2006: Family and a Friend's Wedding

This one gets to be in the round up mostly because I miss that cake! It's the famous Paradise Cake from King's Hawaiian Bakery. *drool* We used to get it all the time for family celebrations. Also, my friend's wedding was the same day as my birthday, so I will always remember her anniversary!

2008: All the single ladies!

There was a time in my mid- to late-twenties when I went out A LOT! This was during that time. I am glad I have grown out of that racket! 

Birthday at Bar 107 in Downtown LA

2009: Hiking the Narrows

Raisin Bread and I started dating in January of 2009. For my birthday, he surprised me with an early birthday gift: a road trip to Zion National Park. We went hiking on one of the coolest trails of my life. For more on it, read my recaps here and here. 

2011: Painting and Bermuda

For my first birthday in DC, Raisin Bread surprised me (he loves surprises, in case you didn't notice) with a painting class and then a quick trip to Bermuda! For more on that, read my recap here. 

So many great memories! Here's to many many more amazing birthdays! 

Question: What are some of your most memorable birthdays?

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Business School Graduation!

After three long years, I graduated from Business School this past weekend with my MBA. My whole family came into town to see me walk across that stage. Thank you so much, family, for taking the time out of your lives to celebrate with me! 

On Friday morning, we all met up for brunch at Ted's Bulletin in Eastern Market. I ordered a couple of side dishes because I wasn't very hungry. I had biscuits and gravy and hash browns. The restaurant is apparently known for its housemade pop tarts, which I thought were a little too bready and sprinkely. 

Next, we spent about an hour at the United States Botanic Garden to see some beautiful flowers. 

Then it was time to head home to get changed for the School of Business graduation. I'm somewhere in there! 

We actually sneaked out of the ceremony after everyone in my degree was called so that we could take photos. Oh, the beauty of having cell phones. Definitely wasn't an option when I graduated from high school or undergrad!

There was a reception after the ceremony with some light fare, including cupcakes decorated with the GW logo!

For dinner, we went to Zentan for some very expensive Asian fusion. A few of the dishes we ordered were the escolar, pekin chicken and the panna cotta for dessert. 

The next morning my siblings and I took our mom to her belated Mother's Day brunch at the Tabard Inn, one of my favorite brunch places in DC. 

We shared a plate of their famous doughnuts and whipped cream. I also ordered the corned beef hash with poached eggs. Yummy!

 

For the afternoon, we spent a few hours at the National Zoo, seeing some of my favorite animals. We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the pandas!

One of my favorite areas of the zoo turned out to be the Invertebrates House. The sea creatures were so colorful. I could just stare at them all day. 

We rounded out the day with dinner at Village Bistro in the Court House area of Arlington. I ate here once before and didn't remember any of my first experience. Either that or it has changed considerably since then. They are very heavy on fish dishes and had varieties that I have not seen on any other menus in DC. Hello, opah? It was really cool. I ordered the monkfish and pistachio cheesecake for dessert. 

The family had to return to their respective homes the next day. It was so great to spend the weekend with them, and I hope they had fun! 

Ted's Bulletin
505 8th Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003

Zentan
1155 14th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005

Tabard Inn
1739 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Village Bistro
1723 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22209

Week in Review (April 29 to May 5, 2013)

Done with business school after 33 long months!! Now, I can get my life back. I can't tell you how good it feels to not have schoolwork.

My left foot has been feeling strange since the middle of last week and I was afraid that I had aggravated it more by running and doing that difficult yoga class over the weekend. I had an appointment with my doctor on Wednesday, so I decided to hold off on doing more workouts until I got the okay from her.

It turns out that I have a nerve contusion. Contusion is a fancy word for bruise so it will eventually go back to feeling normal without me having to do anything. My doc also gave me the okay to continue my workouts.



Monday: rest
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: rest
Friday: 1 hour yoga class
Saturday: ran 3.15 miles
Sunday: 45 minutes Pilates chair at-home

Total mileage this week: 3.15 miles
Total mileage this year: 126.1 miles

Before business school, I had a pretty decent yoga practice that completely disappeared once school started. I started practicing yoga on a casual basis almost ten years ago. It always made me feel so good and strong. One of my goals now that I am done with school is to build up a consistent practice again. For now, that means once a week.

*Images: Source*

Week in Review (April 22 to 28, 2013)

I'm entering my last week of business school and I can't wait to be done! What will I do now that I will "only" be working?

I was able to do a couple of things to relax last week. On Monday, I took advantage of SpaWeek and got a massage and foot scrub.

The week also wound up having a few firsts for me. On Wednesday, I saw an acupuncturist for the first time and it was an interesting experience. Not sure how I feel about it yet, but I have more appointments scheduled so I should be able to form an opinion rather quickly. On Saturday, I signed up for a Yoga for Runners class that wound up being a level 2 hot yoga class tailored towards runners. I had never been to a hot yoga class before. Needless to say, it was brutal and uncomfortable but for some reason, I am tempted to attend another class. Yesterday, I volunteered at my first race, the Inaugural DC Nike Women's Half Marathon.

I was handing out mylar blankets at the finish line from 10 am until the last runner came through.

I signed up to volunteer with a bunch of people from a Meetup running group, but this was the first time I had attended an event. We wound up finishing much early than we were expecting, and they were nice enough to invite the newcomer to lunch with them at Burger Tap and Shake in Foggy Bottom.

I had the house burger and a cookies and cream shake. Yummy.

  
Here's what my workouts for the week looked like:

Monday: rest
Tuesday: ran 2.9 miles
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: rest
Friday: ran 3.0 miles
Saturday: walked 3.8 miles + 1 hour and 15 minute hot yoga class
Sunday: rest

I was seriously considering signing up for another half marathon during Memorial Day weekend but have decided against it for a number of reasons. The main reason is that I just need to chill out and stop pushing myself so hard to constantly be doing more and more. Relaxing is very difficult for me and it is something that I hope I can work on this summer. So now, I am modifying my training schedule with Dumbo as my goal. Hopefully, that will give me some time to cross train more and focus on stretching.

Have a great week!

Burger Tap and Shake
2200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20007

Week in Review (April 15-21, 2013)

What a long, crazy week this has been. At this point, anything that I would like to say has already been said. So I'll just say my thoughts are with the people of Boston, West, TX and Sichuan province. 

I'm at the tail end of my MBA program and I have had a hard time being motivated to run or do schoolwork. I've pretty much felt like this the whole week: 

Source

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 2.46 miles
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: rest
Friday: rest
Saturday: rest
Sunday: 30 minutes at-home yoga

Total mileage this week: 2.46 miles
Total mileage this year: 117.05 miles
--------------------------------------------------
It's been a while since I checked in on my annual goals.

Goals Progress
1. Finish my MBA - 25 days until graduation!

2. Finish my first 10 miler - Yes! (recap here) 
3. Finish my first half marathon - Yes! (recap here)
4. Exercise three times a week - I fell off the wagon most of March.  
5. Participate in Meatless Mondays regularly - A definite no. 
6. Eat out less = save money - We've been grocery shopping more than we ever have, so I've been doing pretty well on this. 
7. Run 700 miles this year - Total Mileage To Date (TMTD): 117.05 miles (583 miles to go). 
8. Try out two new workout classes - Just self-defense so far. 
9. Post once a week - Yes!

Week in Review (March 25 to 31, 2013)

You may have noticed that I haven't done a weekly update in some weeks. I must confess that this is due mostly to the fact that I gave myself an extended rest that was entirely unintentional.

After the Princess Half Marathon (race recap will be up tomorrow), I sort of fell off the wagon. Now I'm kicking myself for it because in five days, I have to run my first 10 miler! Ugh, what did I do?

Graduate school is winding down for me, which means more time to do other things.

Saturday was the first beautiful day we have had in many many weeks. I think there has been one sunny day since we returned from Florida. That meant we had to spend some time outdoors this weekend. I really wanted to ride my bike to the National Mall but Raisin Bread's bike is no longer operational and he has not purchased a new one yet, so we had to take the Metro.

Where were we headed? The Kite Festival! This annual event is part of the Cherry Blossom Festival, but our weather has been so screwed up that there are no cherry blossoms yet, although a lot of tourists seemed to think the blooming magnolias were cherry blossoms and had no problem taking photos of them.

We stayed out for only a bit because we both had things to work on, taxes for me!

We tried out a new place for dinner: The Curious Grape in Shirlington. It was yummy! I had the Brussels sprout salad and half gnocchi and half penne.

On Sunday, we spent the majority of the day driving, waiting and having Easter brunch with family. For me, Easter doesn't have any meaning other than being a time when awesome chocolate candy is available that can't be found at other times of the year. I guess it has become a sort of Thanksgiving in the springtime now that I don't live in LA, as it seems that people here are very much into spending Easter with family.

We went to the Friendly Farm in the Maryland country. I don't know if it was because of the number of families having Easter brunch but the place seriously smelled like nursing home. Despite the smell, my fried chicken was still delish. The portion was a half chicken, which seems unnecessary.

 Have a great week!

The Curious Grape
2900 South Quincy Street
Arlington, VA 22206

Friendly Farm Restaurant
17434 Foreston Road
Upperco, MD 21155

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Three reasons why I need a style makeover #BlogHer12 #Windowstyle

I’ve been through a lot of change recently. Exactly two years ago this month, I moved from my beloved Los Angeles to Washington, DC to stay with the love of my life. Once I arrived in DC, we started living together. I began a professional MBA program and found a new full-time job in the non-profit sector. I am now two semesters away from completing my degree. Five days ago, I turned 32. Oh yeah, and another minor thing happened. I got married! We have now been married for 13 lovely months.

Despite all of that change, my style has stayed just about the same. So why do I deserve a celebrity style makeover from Windows? Below are three reasons:

1) Future MBA needs to look the part – Going back to school 10 years after finishing my undergraduate degree was an adjustment and working full-time on top of that was, I’m not going to lie, really, really hard. Planning a wedding and honeymoon at the same time was a lot of work. Still, I somehow have managed to do extremely well and earn a 3.8 GPA (so far). As I approach the end of business school, I anticipate my career to move to the next level, and looking like a competent, smart, accomplished and professional woman will be important.
 

Photo: Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images

Can I emulate Marissa Mayer?

2) Look my age (minus a couple of years) – I am regularly mistaken for an early twentysomething. I believe this is partly because I’m Asian. Hello, we look young! And partly because I’m still wearing the same clothes I was wearing when I was 25. While I don’t mind looking young, I find myself getting very offended by some people assuming they know how old I am (i.e. how much life experience I have). I don’t necessarily want to look my age, but it would be nice to get a little respect at work, at school and wherever else I go.

Going through my photos gave me a fright when I found two photos, one from three months ago and the other from six years ago, where I am wearing the same outfit. I can assure you that this isn't the only example I have.

Me on a visit to Williamsburg, Virginia in April 2012

Me at the Los Angeles County Fair in September 2006

3) 30 isn’t the new 20 - When I was in my 20s, I could eat anything I wanted and not put on any weight. Additionally, moving to a new city where I knew exactly one person sapped some of my self-confidence. I gained 20 pounds since moving here as a result. I've started to take steps towards losing some of those pounds like changing my diet and making time for exercise. Although I have accepted that my body will change as I age, I am still working to rebuild my self-confidence.

Winning a style makeover would give me the help I need to put my twenties behind me and get excited about the future. A future that includes days at the office in outfits like this:

J. Crew Origami Sheath Dress - $198

Tory Burch Simone Cardigan - $225

I've worked hard taking steps to build my career and establish a healthy marriage while neglecting my wardrobe and personal style. Now is the time when I should be rewarded with some pampering and pretty clothes! 

Disclosure: I am attending #BlogHer12 in August and Windows is giving away prize packages including a style makeover and new computer to five BlogHer attendees. Rules here.

In writing this post, I'm entering the Microsoft Windows Style Makeover sweepstakes for a chance to win a head to toe makeover!

Cupcake break!

Look what my honey brought for me as I have been finishing up my schoolwork all weekend. Thank you!

Work, coffee, paper

It's that time again: finals!!

Lots of work to do and lots of coffee to drink. Bought myself some porkcorn while I was at it.

Study Break

Taking a break from studying and writing papers to get into the Christmas spirit! Our first lawfully wedded Christmas. Also, the coming Friday will mark one year from when we were engaged! What are crazy but wonderful year!

Happy One Month Anniversary!

Fun with Animals and Robots

This is what happens when you leave your boyfriend in another city with an iPhone and stuffed animals/toys.

This piece is entitled "Eva, Wake Up."

This piece is entitled "Pre-Irene Arrival Party."

Easy, lucky and free - How I Met My Man

People often wonder how Raisin Bread and I met. (Raisin Bread and I formed a committee of two and decided that we could both live with this moniker.) The conversation usually goes something like this:

Inquisitor: How did you met?
Me: Online.

I: Oh, really??? Which site?
Me: eHarmony

I: Did you initiate it?
Me: No, he did.

I: So what happened?
Me: Well, we finally met after messaging online for a while and then talking on the phone, and then we went on a couple of more dates.

At this point, I don't know what else to say because really that was it. Well, that wasn't IT. There was so much more. There was laughter, kisses in the night, chasing each other down hotel hallways, conversations, greeting cards, and love limericks. I usually describe as it as "easy." I mean all relationships are hard and require effort from both parties. By "easy," I mean that I knew. I knew that I could love him. I knew that I could tell him how I felt and what I wanted and knew that he would still call me the next day, instead of falling off the face of the earth like some men in the past. I knew that he thought about me a million times a day. I also knew that I was lucky. Lucky, not confused, worried, scared, or upset. And happy. I was very, very happy.

Most importantly, though, I knew I was myself and he was okay with who I was. But not just okay, he also wanted to be my best friend and wake up next to me in the morning and would pout when I didn't cuddle the entire night.

What was different? I think it had a lot to do with me and a little to do with him. I finally felt free enough to say what my needs were from a man and from a relationship. I finally knew that keeping my mouth shut was worse than being afraid of how he might react to what I might say. It took about 9 months of therapy for me to fix this part of me, and I was lucky to have met Raisin Bread soon afterward. Otherwise, I don't think it would have worked anyway. 

In fact, one month after we started dating, we became a couple because he claims that I said, "I'm not going to Mexico unless you're my boyfriend." How is that for speaking my mind? I didn't actually say that, but that is what he heard and four hours later, he called me back and said, "Okay, we can still go to Mexico."

And that was it.  

Full of Thoughts

My mind has been mush lately, but here are a few things I have been pondering:

• which of Gwyneth's suggested fried chicken places I should go to when I visit Nashville. 
• how three days of The Fresh Diet is going to be next week
• how I'll do running my first 5K since I was in high school
• why my black work pants are so tight now. I still need to lose 3 more pounds