strawberry pretzel sticks

I found this "Otana no Toppo" (Adult's Toppo)... whatever that means. These are "double berry layer cheesecake" flavors, and they are so yummy! There are stawberry cheesecake flavor fillings inside pretzel sticks!

chinese checkers rock

I've been playing games on Games for the Brain. It's an addictive site.

I had never played this version of Chinese Checkers, where you make moves to eliminate as many pieces as possible. The goal is to have only one left. I tried and tried, and usually had 3 pieces left. Then I sort of figured out a "system" of moving the pieces... and I solved the puzzle! Yay!

eco packaging

I'm getting really good at recyling boxes for packaging my eBay shipment. I was going to sedn a vintage PYREX casserole dish and lid this morning but couldn't find a box that's the right size for it... so I made one out of a crispy treats box and half of a milk packing box.

I'm feeling proud. Talking about eco packaging huh.

hmm...

We usually mix a little bit of something "super yummy" with the dogs' dry food, so they are always happy and excited about finishing up their food, but I've noticed that Yama often leaves 2-3 pieces of dry food in his bowl after he "finishes" his meal. I'd pick those pieces up and place them next to him and he wouldn't even touch them. I wonder why.

strawberry horchata

I'm really diggin' Cacique strawberry horchata these days, but then if I drink too much the whole bottle is going out too fast. So I start bleding some of the strawberry horchata with ice cubes. Yummy... and the bottle lasts a bit longer.

KRCL Chinese

After getting some inquiries and comments from our listeners on the show, I decided to put together a simple little blog for the "mini chinese class" segment of our "Chinese Radio" show.

Chinese Radio is on 90.9FM SLC every Wednesday nights from 7-8:30pm, or on www.KRCL.org

I typed out the PinYin (spell of sounds) of the vocabulary and phrases we use in the show, so listeners can "see" and follow along the class easier.

fundraising cat

We saw this fundraising kitty at Pike Place Market. His owner runs a small cat rescue (supposedly) and he's one of the 12 rescued cats at the shelter. Apparently he's very well-socialized and he'd even shake hands with you. Amazing little kitty. We had to make some donations after seeing him perform. He was so cool.


Plus he had very smooth and shiny fur, and he was wearing a cool argyle sweater. Can't beat that.

pigs on parade

When we were in Seattle we saw a lot of "Pigs On Parade" pigs all over the city. They all dressed up differently, depending on where they are at (and/or who sponsored them). The pigs are in Seattle to help Pike Place Market raise money and celebrate its centennial.

There seemed to be so many of them I lost count how many I saw, but I did remember this lovely lady pig in front of the U.S. Courthouse. I later learned she was "Dolly the PR Pig." She's my favorite this year!

stretching jasper

I've noticed that Jasper has been sitting down and stretching his arms forward (like the pic shown below) when he's just hanging out around the house. He does this on the kitty tree, the carpet, our bed, and even on the wood floor. Hmm...

all those lattes

John and I usually go to Seattle for coffee related conventions or meetings, and while this latest trip out there was to relax, we had to have coffee as always!

Seattle is known for great coffee culture, and there are plenty of cafes and coffeehouses as well. There are a few that are more highly regarded in the coffee community, and we tried to hit some of them this time.

We were able to get to Victrola (on Pike), Vivace, Lighthouse, 7, Zoka, and Espresso Works, and I had the smallest latte in each shop (and something else in some of them), but I'm just going to write about the lattes this time.


I love the latte at Victrola. The Espresso was balanced, and the beautiful latte art as I expected.


The latte tasted a bit off. I usually love Schomer's espresso... so I thought it might have been because it was late at night and the barista was a bit tired.


The small latte at Lighthouse is served in a glass tumbler. Very unusual, and cool. The whole drink is very balanced and yummy. And I loved the chocolate pastry.


7 was the "new kid on the block" recommended to us by Keith at Victrola. The latte was smooth and calm. hmmm.


I was really hot when we got to Zoka, so I got a small iced latte. It was ok... or I coulnd't really make proper accessment because I was overwhelmed by the big shop and the many people and laptops. Did I mention the shop was very BIG?


Espresso Works supposedly brews coffee from different top roasteries in Seattle. Didn't know which espresso this latte was made of... umm. Let's leave it like that.

We had a great time talking with Keith the roaster at Victrola, and Sean at 7 (OK, John did most of the talking, and I was just mostly stealing his drinks). They are both great, knowledgeable, and passionate people... made me feel happy I'm in the industry.

6 years!

I realize I haven't been blogging much, and no I don't have good excuses for it. I do update my Mandarin Chinese blog slightly more frequently for some reason.

Anyhow, John and I went up to Seattle this past weekend, to visit some good coffee shops, eat at some fun restaurants, relax, and "celebrate" our 6th anniversary (on 07/07/07). Yes it has been six years, and it's been wonderful!

3700 lbs!

We ordered some bubble tea supplies from Taiwan again, and this time the shipment is about 3,700 lbs! It sounds crazy, but it's crazier when John has to meet with the shipper at our storage unit to load all the boxes and tubs!

But I'm sooo excited about this new shipment. I think I'm going to make myself some milk tea right now.