Something everybody should know

Here's a video taken today of my new friend Sheila D. (the Amy Elizardo look-a-like) showing everybody an incredibly important thing that you should all know....how to roll lumpia.

In case you don't know what lumpia are, wikipedia explains: Lumpia are pastries of the Philippines and Indonesia of Chinese origin and are similar to spring rolls. The term lumpia derives from lunpia (traditional Chinese: 潤餅; pinyin: rùnbǐng; POJ: jūn-piáⁿ, lūn-piáⁿ) in the Hokkien language. The recipe, both fried and fresh versions, was brought by the Chinese immigrants from the Fujian province of China to Southeast Asia and became popular where they settled in the Philippines and Indonesia. In the Netherlands, it is spelled loempia which is the old Indonesian spelling for lumpia and has also become the generic name for "spring roll" in Dutch. A variant is the Vietnamese lumpia, wrapped in a thinner piece of pastry, in a size close to a spring roll though the wrapping closes the ends off completely, which is typical for lumpia.

Shelia and her coworker Amy S. worked as an expertly cohesive lumpia-wrapping team and made about 100 of the tasty treats, which will be fried and eaten at the office holiday party tomorrow, which I was invited to even though I don't really work here (only in Biloxi, MS for a week).

Is that really the best you can come up with?

I travel a lot. Or as my friend Thu-Mai says, "A lot-lot." So I stay in a lot of hotels, and I've seen signs saying "Welcome to the best hotel in..." or "Free WIFI" or "Best hot breakfast in town!"

This is my hotel in Biloxi. Um, thank you?

Henderson Beach State Park

Some pictures from my trip last week to Florida. Here is Henderson Beach State Park in Destin, FL. No, the 3rd picture is not a tasy piece of sourdough bread...it's a broken piece of the biggest sand dollar I've ever seen.

Single Ladies

Oh, my god, I just watched this and I was laughing so hard I was crying. This little girl is dancing to Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video.



And the original video for reference:



I can't post this without including Austin's favorite version:



That damn song is so catchy.

Biggest Loser Finale

Congratulations, Michelle, the winner of The Biggest Loser...she was my favorite to win.

Did anybody vote last week's audience poll as to who should move on to the finale, Ed or Heba? When they were both begging for Heba to stay? I totally voted for Ed, twice, and him staying was the 2nd best part of the finale...no, wait, Heba's look of dismay was the 2nd best part.

Who else giggled when Heba and Psychopath Vicky slipped when they were walking? I hear somebody coated the floor in "Bitch Slip." Hee!

What a Difference a Year Makes (or really....9 months and 6 days)

It wasn't until I posted the playground pictures the other day that I realized how much Amelia has grown in the past year. I really miss the chubby, pliable, cuddly baby that she was, but, man....I LURVE the tall, skinny, sassy, kissy, madly-in-love-with-her-daddy two year old that she is now. No, really, I mourn the baby that she used to be, and I terrorize her by rocking her in my arms and saying she is my baby, which she secretly adores.

Maybe I will say this next year, when Amelia is three, but I really do believe that the biggest changes happen between one and two. And trust me, you won't believe how fast they grow up...so this is a message to the first time moms out there...(especially new moms Thu-Mai and Kyla)...seriously...I know it sounds silly, but savor every moment of your baby. It really goes by too fast. I remember wishing that Amelia was one, or two...so she would be easier, and more fun to play with, but, you WILL miss your baby. For me, it went by too... too fast.

Below is a picture of Mimi from February 2008, with short hair and chubby cheeks, and under it is a picture of Mimi from last month...long hair, sassiness, motormouth that is always running.

New words!

Amelia is talking and talking and talking...

About a week or so ago, Amelia gave something to Austin, and he said, "Thank you." Amelia responded with, "De nada."

What??? Did we hear that right? I told Austin to say "Gracias" to her, and she responded again with "De nada." Now she knows that when we say "Thank you" to her, that she should respond with "You're welcome" (or Keh-come), and to say "De nada" when we say "Gracias."

I know Amelia watches a lot of TV, even though we promised to ourselves that she would not be a TV baby, but she totally learned that from watching Dora and Diego. She can also say "Hi," "Grandpa," and "Thank you," in Mandarin Chinese. She's so awesome...and tri-lingual.

Her new words are "turtle," "octopus," and "crab," which are the animal shapes that her bath toys are in.

Today when I called home, Austin asked if she wanted to talk to Mommy. (She always calls me "Mama"). And she got on the phone and said, "Hi Mommy!" and since I'm homesick and I miss my family it made me smile hugely while also tearing up a little.

Amelia and Daddy

I miss Austin and Amelia!

Fort Walton Beach

Well, it's not Hawaii, but it's still pretty here in Florida. I'll be here for a week. I don't know why I possibly thought that Florida would be warm this time of year, but it's colder than San Antonio. And the water is freezing....I accidentally got my feet wet while taking pictures. Just last month in Biloxi, Amelia was happily splashing in the warm gulf water....and here, it's so cold that I've been wearing jackets and sweaters. And who would have known that sunset here is at 4:46pm???

Below are some pictures, some taken from the balcony in my hotel room, and some taken on the beach while it was raining.

New Video

Please scroll down a few posts to see a video that I attempted to post of Mimi last night, but for unknown blogger reasons, it wouldn't "publish" until today. Enjoy!

I love this little girl!

Here's the most recent pictures of Amelia, taken this morning before I left for a week of work in Florida. I am mad about this kid!

I am a FUN MOM!

I am such a FUN MOM that I wasted my expensive Wilton food gels to dye Amelia's bathwater PURPLE! Five minutes earlier, I was on the phone with my co-worker Bonnie, who has 5 kids, 10 grandkids, and owns a day-care center, asking her if putting food coloring in the bathwater would make my kid purple. I can say that adding food coloring did not turn Amelia's skin purple.

At the playground

My girl is so sweet. And cute. Here's some pictures taken recently at the playground on Brooks. Austin takes her when I'm TDY and after I came back from Colorado in November, the 3 of us went together. Amelia loves the slide...and was more than happy to go down it again and again, until I got enough pictures.

Amelia is such a *kid* these days...long hair and talking and counting and being such a little person that we have almost forgotten what it was like to have a baby. Here is Amelia, one year ago (about 14-15 months old) at the same playground, shortly after we moved back to San Antonio. So tiny!

Toodee!

Austin bought Amelia this Toodee (from Yo Gabba Gabba) sweatshirt a few weeks ago. In a time where we have a hard time keeping a shirt on Amelia (she just yanks it off or whines for help), it's really amazing that we can find something that she likes enough to not just keep on, but request that it gets put on. She loves this sweatshirt!

Amelia can count!

Amelia has been able to count to ten (or twelve) for about 6 months now, but this is the first time that I got it on video. And then we rocked out to the counting song from Schoolhouse Rock.

Be patient!

Everybody must see a pattern....I only have time to post updates and pictures when I'm traveling for work. Well, I leave again on Monday, so check back in a few days.

In the meantime, I'm busy making candy!