Judy Kim

EUGENE'S PENNONI A LA VODKA AND LISA'S ORZO SALAD

2008-12-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

This is an update to my post yesterday.

Eugene cooked some yummy pasta the other night. He made a cream tomato sauce with bacon over pennoni pasta. The second dish is a great orzo salad that Lisa had made for our company Thanksgiving potluck.

20 HO-DDUK'S

2008-11-20T10:57:00.000-08:00

A funny story, sad one actually. When I first told my Mom that I was pregnant, she advised me to rest up and eat well. And she gave me some money. I didn't need it, but I accepted it because I knew how important it was for her to know that she was providing something valuable towards the health of my baby and me. Then she told me a story about her pregnancy. It made me turn away and tear. I'm tearing even now as I'm writing this story.

The story is- When my Mom was pregnant, in her early 20's ( I don't know which one of us 3 she was pregnant with), it was during hard times. Everyone had it hard back then I guess. We were poor. She was working long hours teaching at a high school, then at an after-school academy to help support the family. She took the bus to work at dawn, then to another work, then back home late at night....in the dead cold of Korea winter...in high heels...til the week before she went into labor. She said one day she passed a Ho-dduk truck and wanted eat 20 of them all at once because she was that hungry. She decided not to in order to save money :( I know this is kind of a toss up- not eating is not healthy for the baby either, but I think not eating was actually a result of not having enough money.... I guess that's why she felt compelled to give me some money so I can buy as many Ho-dduk's or any other snacks as I wanted if I ever wanted to.

Our local dry cleaner ajuhmah said something similar to me. She said "You're so lucky to be pregnant at this time. When I was young, we didn't have enough to eat. My baby was 5 pounds and a few ounces- her skin was wrinkly, and she barely had any fat on her body. But nowadays, kids are born heavier, and healthier. They're fat (which is a good thing). They look 3 months old at birth!" Anyway, I'm not sure how many of your mothers had the same story, but this definitely was the sign of the times. They all had it hard back then. I'm so grateful I have a car to drive around in... with heating and cooling systems, enough money to eat whatever I want and whenever I want, a crib and a stroller, health insurance, and a job that will grant a leave for me and secure my position.

PLAY TIME

2008-11-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

Late afternoon- play time for our Unborn Baby Girl. Right around 3PM, she becomes extremely active. At week 17, which is when I first felt her movements, it wasn't as predictable. But now, it's like clockwork. At week 23, I can feel her rolling around and stretching in my belly. Yes, I can feel her streching because I feel her pushing out at one end, and the other. Last night, I felt moving across my belly either her arm or leg. At this point I can't tell what part of the body it is, but I do know what she is doing with it. When I get home around 6PM, I lay on the couch with Hogan for a good 15 minutes just enjoying her activity. Sometimes, she kicks and punches so hard it makes me giggle, or burst out in laughter because it amazes that such a little thing like her can be so strong. Other times, I have to give her a little nudge for her to react ( Eugene hates it when I do that because he thinks I'll bother or hurt the baby, but I've seen the Ultrasound Technician do it when she wants the Baby to respond, and it seems pretty harmless.

Week 23- I've come up with a list of "What to Buy" and almost completed purchasing or ordering big furniture items after weeks of research and window shopping and comparing merchandise and prices. I'm now detailing how many and what type of smaller items to buy such as diapers, wipes, bottles, etc. We've completed 5 books collectively and shared notes with each other. I'm a little burned out from reading so I'm think I'm going to just ask Eugene to finish BABY WHISPERER and highlight the key points and prepare an outline for me :)

So what do I do now? I've finished planning out how the Baby room is going to look like. I've been vacuuming and sanitizing the baby room and baby bathroom every week. I can't start exercising because I've stopped doing so months ago. Plus I'm feeling a few contractions a day already so any form of exercise other than walks with Hogan and walking and running around the office all day is out. Friends have suggested that I enjoy my time out with friends as much as possible now since I will be too busy to do so for months after the Baby is born, watch a lot of movies...and go out to dinners with Eugene. One thing I'd like to do before I get any bigger is to learn to bake. I love cooking but I've never baked anything other than Pillsbury already-made cookie dough. So I guess I'll start with some ginger bread cookies and work my way up to pies and cakes from there. Any other hobby or activities you think I should do before March?

YEAR'S BEST WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHS

2008-11-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

National Geographic's Best Wild Animal Photos of 2008 has been announced:

View all of the photographs at National Geographic.

BAD DAYS AT WORK

2008-09-30T18:57:00.001-07:00

I often vent by email to Eugene about my day at work. I rant on and on, furious....but then he replies with comments and pictures like the ones below, and it makes me laugh. Also makes me realize how unimportant my work problems are...

From: Judy Kim
Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 3:54 PM
To: Eugene Chang (DHL US)

Gosh, people freakn complain about the equipment around here all the time!

From: Eugene Chang (DHL US)
Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 3:58 PM
To: Judy Kim

There's nothing wrong with the equipment, it's the people who are using it.

"I didn’t break it...I swear..."

From: Eugene Chang (DHL US)
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 1:19 PM
To: Judy Kim

“You think you have it bad? Look at me”

From: Judy Kim
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 10:11 AM
To: Eugene Chang (DHL US)

ugh i thought i was gonna get a little break today but just got slammed with another web problem and IT problems and HR problems, and insurance problems. ugh, i knew it was too good to be true.

From: Eugene Chang (DHL US)
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 10:20 AM
To: Judy Kim

"I believe in you..."

PALINTOLOGY

2008-09-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

Haven't been following Palin? You can catch up by watching a video here.

PANDA SNEEZE

2008-09-10T22:25:00.001-07:00

STRONG AND BEAUTIFUL HEARTBEAT

2008-09-02T15:49:00.000-07:00

That's what the doctor told me last week. Music to my ears :) I had an extensive ultrasound performed last week as an initial screening test for genetic disorders. Everything appeared to be fine. Then the doctor told me to look over at the monitor to see that strong heartbeat of our 12 week old fetus, and listen to the beautiful heartbeat. Some doctors are not very sensitive, a few even really distant and cold, often only communicating hard facts, but hearing the doctor express that our baby's heartbeat was "beautiful" made me tear a little. I saw her kicking and punching, playing with her fist, and twisting her body like a contortionist.

I saw her heart, her limbs, and spine, eyes, nose and mouth and wondered about all of the other little organs i couldn't yet see. i thought about all the muscles and tissues already formed... and forming. Sometimes I have fears about one of those millions of things going wrong, but hope that everything will turn out fine. I think everyone will agree that having a healthy baby is the only real important thing we can all ask for.

No real point to this blog, just wanted to share....Actually I do have another topic I want to delve into....tomorrow.

THE FACE OF AN ANGEL

2008-07-30T16:42:00.001-07:00

Not all of you had heard this story so I must tell you.

Two things I hate most in life: putting gas in my car, and folding socks. The first always seems to get me in trouble. I know, I know. How hard can it be right? Just be diligent and always fill up your tank before you go dry. Well I had been lazy. I remember at least 4 occasions when I had been stuck on the road without gas. And again, immediately after I got my new car, it happened again. I was running late to work in the morning and did not make time to stop by a gas station. Then on the way home, I missed the nearest gas station, and as I was searching for the next one, right at the intersection of 6th and Commonwealth, I WAS STUCK! For goodness sake stuck at the red light, I was the first car on the first lane! ON AN INCLINE! At 6PM - traffic at its worst.

The light turned green and immediately people were honking at me left and right, passing me making all sorts of faces and finger gestures and staring me down like I was some stupid Korean ajumah driver. I knew there was no way I could push my car out of the way since I was on an incline, but I decided to fake the effort to save face. I climbed out of the car and began pushing the car (or was trying to) but it wouldn't budge. I actually had to slam on the brakes to prevent it from sliding backwards. I got on the phone (bluetooth enabled through my car speakers) and dialed Janet and my brother. Janet and my brother were the closest persons in the vicinity I could think of. This in itself was hard to do because I was still getting familiar with how to use it. I called them to get AAA phone #. Janet was scrambling to retrieve the #, calling me to make sure I was okay. On the other line was my brother calling me back trying to figure out exactly where I was. Of course during this time, I'm still being yelled at not only for causing a traffic jam but also because I must have looked crazy talking out loud in the car when no one else was in there. AISH. And every 2 minutes or so, I had to climb out of the car and pretend to push it so the crowd would understand that I was having car trouble. But I couldn't believe that no one offered to help me. Usually men get out of their cars and help you out, don't they? Well I wasn't looking too great that day, maybe that's why.

AAA guy was on his way, ETA 20 minutes.

I think 8-10 minutes had passed. I was sweating in the car, totally stressed out, not knowing what to do but just sit there and wait. Then all of a sudden out of the middle of the intersection I see this big guy with the brightest smile on his face running towards me, waving his arms and yelling "Judy Judy." It was the face of an angel. Haha it was John Oh! He came running, huffing and puffing and said "Judy I'll push the car, just steer right" I began trying to explain myself and before I was done with the story, he had already pushed my car out of the way and onto the intersecting street. I was so embarrassed, and of course so grateful. We exchanged a quick greeting and I sent him off because he had a dinner to go to. It all happened so fast, I think John came and went in less than 1 minute, he was like SUPERMAN!!! Did you hear that Nathan? Your Daddy is Superman!

KIMCHI BAHP

2008-07-17T10:03:00.001-07:00

New recipe in Food section:

FEATURED ON IKEA HACKER!

2008-06-27T23:47:00.000-07:00

A lot of ideas get featured on IKEAHACKER but it's still a nice feeling to see your ideas showcased. Eugene's custom-made banquette (my idea, he constructed it...hehe) was submitted several months ago and is now on the site www.ikeahacker.blogspot.com.

Good job, Gene!

MY LUNCH BREAK

2008-06-25T13:19:00.001-07:00

This is what I actually wanted to do during my lunch break today but I couldn't find a spare computer and tough shoes anywhere around the office...and so Ijust took a long stroll down 7th Street to Rite Aid to buy mothballs, body cream, and stamps, and some flowers on the way back.

Several times a week I do want to throw a laptop out the window from our 28th floor.....and/or crush the server dedicated to the numerous software we run at work. On top of the other stuff I have to do around the office, dealing with crashes, freezing and non-responsiveness from computers drive me nuts. Nevermind the bugs and incompatibility issues, that's a whole other animal.

What irritates me most are the explanations I get from vendors/consultants: IT'S A GHOST." Since when did the words "bugs" and "ghosts" become part of computer vocabulary? Yes, I've heard of "bugs" in new software which are identified and corrected with updates or newer versions or whatever, but what the hell do they mean when they say "the document can't be fixed," or the "computer needs to be replaced because even though everything else seems to run well, there's a GHOST! How convenient! I wish I could use THAT excuse for every problem I can't solve." "Oh Boss, I won't be able to complete the contract today cuz there's a GHOST in the document"....or...."Oh Boss, I need to take the week off cuz there's a GHOST in the computer which is stopping me from finishing my work."

I don't want to hear comments from you techies on this blog...including YOU EUGENE! hahaha. All vendors are the same. I've heard the same nonsense from everyone.

NEW RECIPES - (UPDATE)

2008-06-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Goat Cheese/Shrimp Summer Pasta - RECIPE HERE

KimChi-Bahp

Vegetable Jeon

Go-Deung-Uh Jorim

FRESH & EASY

2008-06-18T00:44:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much to talk about lately...The highlight of my week was....grocery shopping! I discovered a new grocery chain- fresh & easy. This store offers a lot of ready-made meals catering to people who are too busy to cook yet are still very health-conscious, offering everything organic- fruits, vegetables, dairy, meats, etc. I'd say that this place ranks up there among my favorite places to grocery shop with Trader Joe's. But Fresh n Easy (unlike Trader Joe's) also offers family size ready-made meals and family-size meat packages as well so you can get a better bang for your buck. One downside is that it lacks the friendly service...there's hardly anyone there. Self check out and bagging is something I'm starting to get used to, but it's kind of annoying when the machine refuses to scan an item and you're stuck waiting for help.

Ask for coupons when you go there. I've been receiving promotional $5 coupons in the mail every week for the past month, plus they'll pass out additional coupons after every purchase!

Click HERE for locations.

FOUR DOGS, FOUR HUMANS

2008-06-02T23:43:00.000-07:00

Eugene had two of his friends stay over this past weekend for their friend's wedding. On top of that, we were taking care of the groom's two Yorkies (Nori and Gori) and Lisa's maltese (Soju).

Below is a video of Soju doing his own patented trick.

HOGAN IN TROUBLE

2008-05-21T23:41:00.000-07:00

HOGAN TRICKS

2008-05-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

OUR TRIP TO COSTA RICA

2008-05-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

Eugene and I took a well-deserved vacation by taking a trip to Costa Rica. We had planned this trip for weeks, and it had turned out to be as adventurous and relaxing as we had anticipated. The pictures do no justice but here are some pics for you to view anyway. For those of you who have not visited Costa Rica ever before, consider this blog to be a resourceful guide to everything you MUST DO if you ever go down there. Here are some of my favorite moments of our trip:

Walking on white sand beaches of Tamarindo
Sleeping in a cabin at the bottom of the active volcano, Arenal, in La Fortuna - this volcano spews out molten rocks the size of houses which entirely break apart on the 5000 foot roll.
Waking up to the singing of monkeys and tropical birds outside of our cabins.
Rice and beans- rice happens to be one of my favorite foods, also a favorite of Costa Ricans too. Rice with shrimp, rice with chicken...yummy!
Rafting the Rio Toro - I ate it pretty hard when our raft capsized and i nearly drowned underneath the raft. I must have swallowed at least a half gallon of sulphuric water before being pulled out from underneath by a fellow paddler. This lifesaving paddler by the way was not my husband. Eugene was rescued and waiting patiently ontop another raft while i was drowning. Now that i've gone rafting once, i don't think i have to do it ever again.
Facing my worst fears of heights by rappelling down 200+ foot waterfalls and canyons
Walking in clouds in Monteverde - literally walking in clouds! This forest is situated in the midst of clouds with hanging bridges hundreds of feet above the floor. The bridges appear to be disappearing into the clouds!
Ending every adventure day with a nice cold can of IMPERIAL - Costa Ricans' favorite beer

Although the first 5 days were filled with exciting adventures, nothing could beat the relief of finally arriving at Four Seasons in Golfo de Papagayo after the treachrous 4-hour drive on dirt roads to celebrate my birthday. i guess i'm still a city girl - couldn't wait to go for a mani and pedi.

But our favorite moment was coming back home.....to Hogan

Okay honey, we gotta start planning our next trip!

STEAMED FISH WITH GINGER

2008-05-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

Sue, and the rest of you who are interested in the recipe below: It's so much simpler than it looks. For weeks I had been trying to replicate a steamed fish filet dish served at HOP LI- basic white fish filet steamed with a slight ginger flavor, topped with thin slices of scallion. It's a very subtle flavor, and it seemed so easy to make, but I had failed many times.

My first attempt, I steamed halibut sitting ontop of onions with minimal water in a stainless pot. The fish was first smothered with a light sauce comprised of soy sauce diluted in plenty of water, slices of ginger and grated onion and left sitting for a half hour, then topped with scallions before serving. Sauce was nothing like the one I tasted at HOP LI. Sauce was not good at all. My second attempt, I steamed another halibut except this time, I used a sauce comprised of miso/ginger/sugar- still no success.

SOLUTION- I purchased a bottle of MISO GINGER FLAVORED SALAD DRESSING and used it for flavoring the fish :) I added the sauce 5 minutes after steaming it first in salt and pepper, then steamed another 5 minutes with the dressing. This was the easiest way to do it, and the tastiest too. Try it! Go buy any bottle miso/ginger or soy/ginger dressing or Italian dressing for fish and shrimp!

PRETTY BOWLS

2008-05-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

Kat- I love your bowls. It's a great color. I'm not just saying it... you know how much i love kitchen stuff, and so i had to take a pic of last night's dinner :) thanks!

JEN BABY SHOWER

2008-05-04T22:38:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Jen, Steve and Madison! Baby Madison - we can't wait to meet you.

TONY'S RIDE TO END AIDS

2008-04-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

Eugene's cousin, Tony, will be participating in a SF to LA bike ride to raise money for AIDS research. Please visit his donation page below if you'd like to help out.

"I'm participating in a fund raising event where I get to ride a bike from San Francisco to LA. It's called the AIDS/Lifecycle and it's taking place from June 1-June 7. You can read more about the event on their website: http://www.aidslifecycle.org/.

As I mention above, it's a fund raising even where the money raised goes to support two AIDS clinics: the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. I'm still looking for some sponsors to get to the $2500 minimum that I need to raise to participate in the event. If you want to help me out, you can visit my donation page here: http://www.aidslifecycle.org/6308."

- Tony

UNICEF TAP PROJECT

2008-03-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, while Juanne and I were having lunch at The Farm, the waiter approached with information and an opportunity to donate to the Tap Project - a campaign that helps UNICEF provide safe drinking water for children around the world. I felt moved to donate to help children who live daily without such a basic necessity in life, something you and I take for granted. But I only donated $2. Yesterday I found out that a donation of $2 would provide clean and safe water to a child for 80 days. I just had to donate more.

This year, the Tap Project is working with restaurants around the country during World Water Week, from March 16 - March 22. Join the movement to do whatever it takes to save children's lives by participating in the Tap Project. We only have 1 day left. Go eat at one of the participating restaurants in L.A. listed at http://www.tapproject.org/restaurants/info or donate directly at http://www.tapproject.org/donate.

ERIC BANA, SO DREAMY

2008-02-25T18:02:00.000-08:00

The other day, I caught a trailer for a new movie coming out this weekend: The Other Boleyn Girl. The story of Henry VIII has always been an interesting one (and a disturbing one) but what was more alluring about the movie was that Eric Bana is playing one of the leading roles. If the name isn't familiar to you I'm sure the pics below are.
Eric Bana first caught my eye in "Black Hawk Down" (you should watch it). He also played Bruce Banner in HULK - surprisingly although he was filmed completely naked I wasn't much interested. He starred in Troy- although I was completely distraught by Orlando Bloom's pathetic role and his ugly hair, Eric Bana was pretty awesome (you should watch it). Munich, another great movie...in addition to the story and direction, I was captivated by the many beautiful Euopean looks he carried with his multiple berets and form fitting shirts and pants :P

Okay enough about Mr. Bana. I wanted to get ahead for the movie and started reading "The Other Boleyn Girl" yesterday. It's been a while since I found a book that I could not put down...and this book I could not put down. I am the last person who would be interested in reading literature on 16th century England, especially concerning one of the most (if not THE most) male chauvinistic pigs in history BUT what draws me to the book is not just the main ingredients of the modern day soap opera like sister rivalry, sex, and power, but it's got so much more- wit and passion, and the story is told from many different points of view of very powerful women. While the story is narrated by Mary Boleyn (sister of Henry VIII's second wife), it opens the eye of the reader to the minds of several powerful women in the story: Catherine of Aragon (wife #1) Mary Boleyn (object of his desire), Ann Boleyn (wife #2), Mother Boleyn (I forgot her name) and several Seymour girls (this is how far I've gotten). The book not only illustrates the power of Henry VIII but it illuminates the unspoken power and influence that these women have over the king. Of course you can argue that at the end of the day, Henry VIII holds ultimate power since 5 out of 6 of his wives ended up getting beheaded (if I remember correctly), but the story still helps me understand a little more about men - their character flaws, strengths and passions....and also women - their character flaws, strengths and passions (you should read it, or at least watch the movie).

HOME-MADE TOMATO SAUCE

2008-02-15T12:27:00.001-08:00

Every self-acclaimed chef must prepare her own tomato sauce, right? That's what I tried to do last weekend- make tomato sauce from scratch...well not completely from scratch, but from canned tomato paste. I guess next time I'll try making my own paste by boiling 3 dozens of tomatoes for 20 hours... but for now this will do. Click on the image if you'd like to view my recipe (actually it's Emeril's).

Here's the better part of my post: VALENTINE'S DAY- Eugene and I decided to celebrate by dining out on the 15th rather than the 14th (Thursday) because it was impossible for us to get home from work on time for a decent dinner reservation on a Thursday night. SO, for the evening of the 14th- I still wanted to make it celebratory by preparing a candlelight dinner. I got home way earlier than Eugene and called him to find out his ETA. I prepared ravioli with the tomato sauce I made the week previous, decorated the dining table with the flowers he sent me and spread out a dozen candles. I lit all the candles, turned down all the lights, and even put on the lingerie he bought for me (kekek).

I still had 10 minutes left before his arrival so I returned to prepping the dishes in the kitchen (in the dark cuz I didn't want to ruin the candlelit atmosphere when he walked in), and to my surprise, he arrived early... oddly though he knocked on the door. He never knocks, he just walks in. Hogan got all excited and sprinted to the door, peeking out the window and barking (we have windows that are floor to ceiling high next to the entry door). I can hear Eugene teasing Hogan and calling out his name and interacting with him through the window. I walk up to the door in my lingerie, peek out the window and see....omg I'M SO SHOCKED it's my DAD! what is he doing here? he didn't even call! i ran into my room and put on my robe, blew out all dozen candles, turned on all the lights and then let my Dad in. I don't think he noticed candles and flowers (he's not very observant). He hung out for a while and went home.