That day I almost didn't make it back..

It was Last day in Taipei and we were getting ready to head to Korea and then Japan. As Jess and I were browsing the night market in Taipei I suddenly started having coughs. At first I didn’t think much of it since I’m sensitive to dust and temperature so it came as a shock when I realized that little cough suddenly mutated into a full blown flu like disease. The next morning (about 5-6 hours before our flight to Korea), I started experiencing symptoms such as chills, fatigue, diarrhea, muscle weakness with the exception of fever and vomiting. These symptoms got even worst as we sat at the airport waiting to board the flight. I was literally a walking zombie, feeling weak and shivering everywhere I go. Once I boarded the plane, I immediately asked for a blanket and slept 3 hours straight till we got to Korea. My body did feel a little better after some rest and because I didn’t have a fever, I was lucky enough to not get quarantined from immigration.

Once we checked into our hotel in Korea, Jess and I went out for a quick bite and then I was basically knocked out at the hotel. During the middle of the night I had a nose bleed, I figure it was the combination of cold and pain reliever medicines I’ve been taking, the weather and how hot the room is. Jess canceled all our plans for Korea so I might as much rest as I can (I basically slept a good 24 hours). The symptoms persisted as we headed for our next flight to Japan (again no fever or vomiting).

During our flight to Japan I slept most of the way there and when I woke up, I suddenly an overwhelming heat in my body, I started having cold sweats and my lips started to turn pale according to Jess and it felt like my whole body is about to shut down. With my last ounce of strength, I asked jess if she got something sweet and she found some chocolate candy in her bag that she got from Taiwan (Jess told me later that she found that before the flight and was about to throw it out but decided not to) and gave me a few pieces. I was immediately better after that sugar had gotten into my system but the other symptoms continue to persist and my diarrhea had actually gotten worst. It was so bad that I need to frequently visit the bathroom to make sure I didn’t poop in my pants, it sounds funny but when you are traveling a long distance and feeling weak and exhausted, it’s definitely no joke. 

After a long trip, we finally got to our hotel in Japan. We took it easy that night and I made sure to drink plenty of fluid to make sure I didn’t get dehydrated from diarrhea. 

The next day I felt 60% better and most of the symptoms were gone except the diarrhea so I thought it would be safe for us to explore the local area. Well not true, we made it to our first destination and ate lunch with no problem but as we were heading to our second location, my nose started bleeding, it was minor bleed so we brought some tissue from the local convenient store and continue our way.

After dinner as we are heading to the Dotonbori area in Osaka, my nose started bleeding again and this time a little worst and came out really fast. I wiped the blood off my face and told Jess it’s probably best we head back to the hotel. Once we were back at the hotel, I changed into my pjs and was about to get ready for bed when suddenly my nose started bleeding again and this time worst than the last two. Both of us panicked as we know that this is not normal and something is wrong. But Jess sat by my side as I’m holding the bridge of my nose to try to stop the bleeding and she prayed for me. The nosebleed was bad, and took almost 15 mins to stop the bleeding.

Afterward I slowly climbed into bed and slept for approximately 20 mins when suddenly I felt another rush of blood coming from my nose. I got up and jess immediately got me tissues and at this point the two of us are basically breaking down. We were contemplating if we should go to the ER or call a doctor to the hotel and etc. 15 mins in and the bleeding still didn’t stop, Jess came by side and said we should pray together, so we did.  25 mins in and the bleeding continue, at this point I think the two of us were just extremely freaked out and once again Jess came to me and said let’s pray again, so we did. 30 mins in and the bleeding continues, at this point I told Jess I think we need to plan for worst case scenario and have someone take me to the ER cause the bleed just ain’t stopping. We stopped for a moment before taking any action and we prayed one more time together. After we finished praying, and as we were getting ready to call the hotel lobby and I told Jess to hold off cause I think the bleed just stopped. I sat on the couch with Jess, both of us shocked on what just happened, praising God and giving thanks.

I climbed into bed praying that no more blood will come out from my nose. And nothing, not even a little bit.

I spent the rest of the night trying to make sense of what just happened because I was quite sure that could have been my last day on Earth. I know it was no coincidence because there were just too many variables involved and for them to line up in that specific sequences seems improbable. If that kind of coincidence is possible, I would have coincidentally won the lottery by now. 

There was a God who answered our prayer that night and it felt so warm and comforting to know that He’s not just watching from afar. I felt His healing hands wrapped around me and embraced me, so and so that I broke down crying thinking about His love and how much He cared for me. 

I cried in the bathroom while I was trying to take a poop and out came - Solid Poop

Amen!

Amount of bloody tissues used

Size of bag for comparison

Size of bag for comparison

Kaohsiung, Taiwan: Day 4!

Get ready for a longggg post because today was a FILLED day! Because my dad’s side is quite large, anytime we ‘re in Kaohsiung it’s like a huge party and reunion with them all. They make sure you are well taken care of - and because Felix and I only had 2 days there, they made sure to pack this day to the fullest because it was the only FULL day we had with them.

We started off the day heading to Meinong and eating lunch. The family is a very intentional about all they do - if they know you like something, they make sure it gets done, and they’re very thoughtful throughout the process. We went to a Hakka restaurant (and my mom was Hakka) and it was delicious! We had some drunken chicken, pigs feet, etc.

I’m so sorry to my cousin for this horrible photo of him lmao.

We then went to the Paper Umbrella Cultural Village which was a great place for people all ages. We were such a big group from the youngest (my nephew who is 3) to the oldest (my dad who will remain numberless) but everyone had such a great time! There are many things to do from decorating paper umbrellas, to sandart and pottery or even making your own tea! Our first stop - we all decorated some paper umbrellas, which was fun but totally not fun because I was feeling lazy and not creative LOL!

Me and Felix with our paper lanterns!

We then continued on our journey to make some tea. The guy talked SO much about the history and products which got a bit confusing because there were a lot of chinese words that I didn’t know what he was saying haha. But then we ground up the different ingredients and got to try the tea. They also brought over some taiwanese style mochis and crackers to enjoy with the tea and it was such a fun little experience!

Before we grounded everything up!

Everyone in front of the cultural center!

Because we were all quite full after the food, mochi, tea and snacks, some of the uncles wanted to take us on a scenic walk. (in the HOT HUMID weather!) We went to the Meinong Lake which was such a beautiful sight — but over a mile of walking in the most humid weather was not ideal. However, we had a blast getting to catch up with our cousins and take a nice scenic walk while we were at it. (If you ever go here, go during cooler weather… and if not, bring bug spray!)

How beautiful, right!?

Just when we thought we were done, they decided to take us to the Pier 2 Art Center to walk by the water and to shop the little stores. They have some fun street art where some was silly and some were cool! They had a really cool shop called 無關 which was like a little book store but it was dark with individual lights to show each book and item. It was a really cool experience!

Then we went to Guo Jia Zongzi for a quick bite to eat some sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves. It was quick and delicious filled with flavorful meat and gravy on top. I had no veggies in that meal, but it was worth because so good LOL!

the little shop where they are making the sticky rice right in front of you!

You would think our day was done here, but alas, it is not… because after this, we went to go get shaved ices. It’s a staple here in taiwan to eat shaved ice with various toppings like fruit, red bean, condensed milk, jellies, etc. It’s much more refreshing and less heavy than ice cream! This place is known for their big sizes (you can get a bowl for 20 people to share!) and so we carefullly opted to buy one for 7 people and we STRUGGLED to finish it… but DANG it was delicious! We got mixed fruit with condensed milk and (asian) pudding.

how good does that look!!! Underneath all that fun is shaved ice with some liquid sugars.

Like… isn’t that massive!!?? That’s only for 7 people!!!

Of course, we had to stop by the night market — it’s what taiwan is famous for! Their nightlife is fantastic and let me tell you at 10:30pm on a Sunday night, this place was still booming! It’s like a street fair where there are many little carts of little bites or meals, and plenty of things to buy from clothes, to accessories for your hair or phone and even toys! I picked up a nail clipper (lol), some awesome hair ties and clips, and some fake nails. It all equaled less than $25! Such a great value (especially since the hair clips are SO GOOD!)

After walking around and shopping, we were on a high from all the fun (I shopped while Felix played games and claw machines). Then we headed home a little past midnight and finally were able to get some rest.

I can’t believe tomorrow is Day 5 already and it’s our last couple hours in Kaohsiung! It’ll be the end of our journey with family (which I’m SO SAD About!!!)… however, I’m excited for some new adventures ahead of us!!!!

Kaohsiung, Taiwan: Day 3!

Currently trying to get a little bit of a head start by writing this post. — Honestly, I feel like I’ve adjusted a bit better to jet lag because we’ve been staying up so late from our packed days that I end up sleeping at a regular hour and waking up at a kinda regular hour as well!

I’m currently typing this from the high speed rail because we’re now headed over to Kaohsiung, Taiwan! This is home to my dad’s side of the family. We’re heading down south where the people are a bit louder and our family is a bit more wild :P I remember back in the day we used to have to take this janky plane and it would be 45 minutes, but you’d have to take a plane and go to the airport which is just SO annoying sometimes! It also takes about 4.5hr by car… so when they developed this high speed rail in 2007, it was clutch! now there is a clean, spacious train that goes at over double the speed (up to 186 mph!) so we can get to kaohsiung in less than 2 hours. I highly recommend their HSR if you are traveling from place to place in taiwan!

the inside of the HSR - spacious and clean!

Just the little things - a lot of leg room. I can put my stuff comfortably in front of me without issues. IF you lean your chair back it doesn’t disturb the person behind you. You have a tray table. You also have a window covering if the sun is in your face!

Once we arrived in Kaohsiung, we went straight to my uncle’s family’s family restaurant to eat. They already prepared all this delicious food for us and we ate outside as it started POURING outside. A typhoon had just passed and it was supposed to be raining every day (the day before lots of places were flooded!)

The family restaurant and how it’s eaten in kaohsiung! :P

Afterwards, we had a bit of time before dinner and checking into the hotel, so our uncle took us to go finally try some Tiger Sugar. In NY, since it just came out, its been an hour wait to get it. So we wanted to see the hype! It was creamy, tasted like such a treat, with the yummiest sweet, plump bobas! Unfortunately, you can’t adjust sweetness level, which i wish we could!

We were then able to check into the hotel, which was SUCH an adorable place! It was the Holiday Garden Hotel situated right near Taroko Park. It’s a kid friendly hotel that i HIGHLY recommend if you have kids to take to kaosiung. The hotel rooms are painted so adorably and there are play places for the kids throughout the hotel. And then for me and felix, we were able to stay in a standard room ;P even though I’m sure Felix would’ve wanted to sleep in an airplane bunk haha!

Felix really wanted to be in the shot LOL!

We then had dinner with the family - and I would tell you where, but I really have no clue. LOL - but it was with our whole family. It was so nice to see everyone - their warm hospitality and complete rambunctiousness is something so unique and special to our family. Although being an introvert can make it quite intimidating, their warm hearts always make it easy to be back.

Taipei, Taiwan: Day 2!

I am writing on the third day to recap yesterday’s adventures! We had another awesome (but hot) day in Taipei and every time we are back, I forget how much I love this place!

We started off the morning, of course picking up local breakfast foods. Breakfast is always carb and egg heavy.. and SO delicious. They have lots of savory foods like noodles, chicken burgers, buns, etc. I think breakfast and snacks are my fave in Taiwan and today’s didn’t disappoint!

We then went the the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall which is just such a beautiful place to be. It’s not too overwhelming but has beautiful space and buildings that are for sure picture worthy and worthy to see! In the main building is his memorial which on the hour, they need to change the guards. They have a mini show for visitors to watch.

Inside the Hall there were two exhibits of really pretty sea creatures that were painted as well as a Garfield one. Then there was also the museum that documents Chiang Kai-Shek’s life. There is so much beauty and history here, it’s definitely a must see place in Taipei!

Me in front of the main Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial building!

Inside the main building, here is the Chiang Kai-Shek Statue that is protected by guards that change every hour.

Us in front of one of the exhibit dolphins! lol - look how beautiful they are!

After spending a couple hours there, we headed off to Addiction Aquatic Development which is kind of like a marketplace for all things underwater. You can shop, you can eat sushi standing, or you can eat hot pot upstairs, you can pick your own seafood… you name it they’ve got it. And they are seriously so fresh and delicious. We had made reservations for the hot pot upstairs because you can sit (and we were with two little kids) , but if I could recommend anything, it would be to order the sushi from the market instead. Although the hot pot was DELICIOUS, there is a minimum cover per person as well as things being incredibly expensive. Our bill ended up coming to around 7,500NT (around $250, for 6 adults and 2 kids - which is a crazy amount for a place like taiwan). This is another must go place if you love seafood, sushi etc - but definitely stick to the first floor!

Just a small bit of the spread we had. SO FULL after this meal!

Us waiting for our hot pot!

After, we went home to rest a bit. I was DYING to shower after walking around the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial. And we had to pack our stuff since we were leaving our airbnb the next day. Then we spent the evening at some fancy restaurant at a hotel (I forgot the name… and the food was good, as was service, but sometimes its just not as fun as local food!) to enjoy our last meal with my grandma, aunt, uncle and cousin from my mom’s side. It was such a short visit with my grandma, which makes me so sad, but I was so happy I was able to see her. Hopefully I will be able to come visit again soon! It also was so special to be able to see my niece and nephew with their great grandma. <3

Me, my sissy, dad and grams!

Overall, another lovely, hot day. I can’t believe we’re already done with day 2 — vacations and family visits always go so quickly! Now we’re done with taipei for now and we’re off to Kaohsiung tomorrow!

Thanks for reading! X

Chiang Kai-Sheck Memorial, Addiction Aquatic Development

Taipei, Taiwan: Day 1!

Hi Friends, from the other side of the world!

My intention for (trying so hard) to write about our travels is to not only share with you all the amazing fun things we do, but to give you a better idea of our personal itinerary to maybe better YOUR trip if you ever go to these places! Felix is very thorough in making his itineraries and we hope that it helps you better visualize a potential trip for you in the future! The only place that won’t be very as touristy will be in Taiwan (our first leg) because we are spending most of our time with family that we are visiting, so the schedule is a bit more sporatic with family visits and what not! Also to note - today I was HORRIBLE at taking pictures because I was pretty delirious from jetlag. lol I’ll get better I promise :P

ANYWAY! Tuesday (technically wed morning) we headed off to Taiwan, Korea and Japan for yearly summer vacation! First up — TAIPEI, TAIWAN! Home of my mother’s side of the family! We traveled here a day later than my dad, sister and her family, but we are all staying in the same airbnb that is near by the Chang Kai-Shek Memorial, walkable distance to the rail. It’s a great location with a lot to see and do without being too close to a lot of people.

We arrived at the airport at 4:30am and to the airbnb at 6am. We walked around the neighborhood to grab some food to take back to the apartment to eat. After we ate, I was able to shower and clean up, and Felix took a nap.

Around 10:45am-11, we headed over to Taipei 101 to eat the ever so famous Din Tai Fung! If you are EVER in Taiwan, YOU MUST EAT HERE! The lines get long, but at 11am when it first opens, we were able to snag a seat right away. Din Tai Fung is home of the original xiao long bao restaurant that was founded in 1972. If you’ve been to other DTF’s around the world, it doesn’t compare to the one in Taiwan, so you must try it! If you’ve ever eaten soup dumplings, they are delicious steamed dumplings that have a little spoonful of soup. There is a fine margin for making xlb perfect - the thickness and texture of the skin (to make sure the skin doesn’t break when you’re picking it up), the soup inside (to make sure its flavorful but not too oily), and the meat (another.. flavorful but not to greasy). DTF has mastered all three and they give you the PERFECT bite of clean but meaty goodness!

Where they make the magic happen! :P

They have a range of many different XLB including even chocolate, vegetable and chicken! You can tell what flavor you have by the little yellow cut out of the item — this one is chicken (denoted by the little chick lol)

Then we walked around Taipei 101 which has a lot of highend, pushy people, but we were able to sample some really delicious snacks such as bubble tea cakes, and sunny hills pineapple cakes. Felix was able to pick up salted egg fish skin (OMG so good!) and I was able to pick up my favorite face masks from the most pushy saleswomen ever in the world. Although Taipei 101 is a must see place, I wouldn’t necessarily set your day to shop here because this is a known tourist spot where workers KNOW they can try and convince you to purchase more. Definitely set your day here to take pictures of the amazing building and grab a bite to eat!

After Taipei 101, we walked around our neighborhood and got some bubble tea (which you HAVE TO!), stopped by some bakeries and our favorite place ever — 7eleven. This place is truly heaven which I think I need to do a dedicated post for because it’s just the best place ever! Then we went back to our place to rest for a bit (and for Fel to take his second nap)

Grabbing our bubble tea — with the huge Irvins Salted Egg Fish Skin bag LOL

When we were ready to eat dinner, we headed over to the Taipei Main Station which has a huge strip of shopping areas and we were able to get some shopping done. By this point, I was slightly delirious from the jetlag (12 hours ahead).. however this area has such cute little shops to buy fun souvenirs and what not. Then we went to the food court area to eat some dinner (asia food courts, another place where its AT!)

After dinner, we went to see my grandma for a bit which I was legitimately not able to even talk because I was now full on exhausted, but that didn’t stop us from afterwards going to get some late night snacks. Taiwan’s night life is booming with people eating late and night and enjoying themselves. We went to the Da-an district to Yong Kang Street and there were so many people! We picked up some mango ices from Smoothie House.. and then we looked across the street where there was a long line for scallion pancakes.. and according to our aunt, she said the line is usually around the block! Thus… we had to pick some up and it was AMAZING!!! Although I went to bed SO FULL, I have no regrets of eating delicious mango shaved ices with boba on it… and scallion pancake with egg. It hit the spot SO GOOD.

In front of Smoothie House!

The scallion pancake place — she got to WORK. this place was bumping and SO delicious. You know when the place is run by older women that are hustlin’ — it’s damn legit! LOL

It was really hard to adjust to today because we arrived so early and felt like we had to power through our day since we have so little time in Taiwan, but it was such a lovely day spent with family in the motherland!

Sega UFO Catcher Tips and Tricks Guide (Intro)

Hello everyone, I know I have abandon my UFO Catcher series for a little bit (little bit as in 5 years) but I have a very good reason for it so hear me out.  Back a few years ago, the only place where you can truly find UFO Catchers in the US are in Round 1 arcade which is only available mainly in California and since I live in NY, I really don’t have access to any UFO Catchers nearby to continue producing content.  Fast forward a few years later, Round 1 has officially expanded to the east coast (or rather nationwide) and this only means one thing- I’M BACK for more tips and tricks!!

We are back baby… Goodbye wallet!

This will serve as an introduction guide to the Sega UFO Catcher. I’ll start off by noting that I’m by no mean an expert or pro. Everything you read here is from my own experience, and from the sheer amount of money I’ve burned through in these machines. The true purpose of these posts are to document and share my experience and knowledge to those interested in the UFO Catchers, I’ve search on Google for this topic but had never found an in-depth guide on it. With this guide I hope it will help people understand the game better thus leading to smarter play, and maximize the odds of winning.

This tips and tricks guide will be a multipart guide and will be updated regularly and as things change.

what you looking at? gimme your wallet!

San Francisco Day 1: Exploratorium, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square

Wake Up, San Francisco! By the time you are reading this, we are on day 3 of being in the Bay Area! So far, it's been a ton of walking and sight seeing, but it's been fantastic! There is so much to see! Even though this is particularly broken down for us (since I have a couple of beauty business items to attend), we wanted to share with you how our itinerary went down! 

Today's day of business: 
Exploratorium
Pier 39
Fisherman's Wharf
Musee Mechanique
Ghirardelli Square

As a Side Note: Our originally plans were different, but because I had a beauty event, we had to split it differently. If you were to do the Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Musee, Ghirardelli Square, we would also lump that with Alcatraz and maybe Lombard Street. Exploratorium is a bit further below, so originally we had that with Chinatown and Union Square. 

Parking: We parked in the Pier 27 lot (it's open, not garaged), which is kind of in the middle of all the piers, which is nice. It's not too crowded and cost $20 for a full day (self service, put receipt on the dashboard). We parked at around 8:30 every morning and there were maybe only 15-20 cars there and although when we went to pickup the car (once at 3pm and once at 8pm) the lot was more crowded, but not full. 

Traffic: We are living in the Emeryville area, so we always had to cross the Bay bridge to go into SF. When we left around 830-9 on a week day, there wasn't too much traffic, only near the toll area ($6 cash). When we left around 3pm, we got stuck in a lot of traffic in SF en route to the bridge, but the bridge itself was a bit more smooth. You do not have to pay tolls leaving SF on the Bay Bridge. When we left around 8pm, there was hardly any traffic, only a bit heading onto the bridge. 

Exploratorium:
I wasn't anticipating enjoying this as much as I did. This was deemed as  great for "kids" so I was expecting to fight kids in lines and what not. lmao. When we arrived at 10am (when it opened), there weren't too many people, so we ran to go see the different exhibits we wanted to see first. Many of the exhibits land all on one floor, easily labeled with signs. By the time we were ready to leave around 11:15am (you can easily spend 2-3 hours here, but Felix and I are always super quick in museums lmao), it was quite crowded in many of the areas (especially near the entrance and the tinkering exhibit). Also, summer camps were all lined up ready to head inside (it was a thursday), so I can imagine any later, it would be PACKED. My personal favorite was 3: Seeing and Listening since it was probably the most visually appealing and had more areas for me to take pictures lol. 

Codmother Fish & Chips
Instead of continuing to see the sights, we figured to work our way to the top, then walk our way back down, so we bypassed Pier 39 + Fisherman's Wharf and went to go eat lunch first. This was located closest to the Fisherman's Wharf and is a little Stand shop with outdoor seating. Their Cod was delicious, fresh, and flaky. I really enjoyed eating this! Usually Fish and Chips leaves me feeling greasy and heavy, but this tasted really light and airy! Because we arrived around 11 something, there wasn't a line and there were some seats (no more shaded seats avail though), however when we left around 12:30, there was a line out the fence and people had started to share picnic benches. Also BEWARE OF BIRDS if you don't like them. They are not scared. 

Fisherman's Wharf/Musee Mechanique:
Before we took another hike further along the pier, we stopped by the the Musee Mechanique. This was definitely my favorite part of Fisherman's Wharf -- probably my favorite part of the whole day. It is an old school arcade with lots of fun little trinket-y machines. Some of these were so nostalgic and some were so retro, it was so cool to play and watch little teens / kids enjoying these old school games! Plus, they were all 25-50c! 

Ghirardelli Square: 
Then we worked our way up to Ghirardelli Square -- treated ourselves to a little ice cream. It was a cute little shop where you order with the host before you sit. I was so regretful of mine (expresso chip) - although the chips were yum, the ice cream was just mediocre. Felix's tasted so much more yums lol! 

Pier 39:
Then we made our way back down to Pier 39. If you have little kids, this is probably the best pier for them. The Aquarium is here (which we did not go to) as well as the sea lion center (which IMO was so boring because they just sat there lol). They also have a 7D experience that looked relatively popular. This pier also has a ton of shopping areas where you can get souvenirs and trinkets. They had an extremely cool, nostalgic candy shop with really overpriced sweets (but was cool to look at!) and even a lefty store -- a store of stuff for lefties! lol! 

If we weren't so incredibly tired from the night before (we arrived in the middle of the night and only had about 4 hours of sleep), we would've went to eat at Sotto Mare Seafood Restaurant, but we were so exhausted, we just wanted to go back and rest since it was a decent amount of walking. We opted to pick up something to eat on our way home and eat back at the hotel. PS. the place we took food out from was Monster Pho 2 -- it was DELICIOUS! Great bang for your buck if you're looking for good value and good viet food! 

Overall a great day! If I could give any advice -- get your day started early! I always forget west coast people just start everything a bit later than east coast, so when we arrived places early, there was never a rush! (ie. leaving at 8:30, dinner at 5:30, at the museum at opening etc). Just for your reference: all the walking we did was 18,519 steps (8.1 miles). 

Kin'd Review - Queens

Fel and I love finding new little gems - and there was a new thai restaurant in the area, so we knew we had to check it out! Near us, there aren't many great thai restaurants (you have to go deeper into queens for that), so I can understand the buzz! We've been here twice now, and both times were packed (even though one time we came at 9pm ish!) 

Although the outside looks kinda cheesy... and slightly like a mini golf course, the inside is spacious and romantically lit. It's a super cute restaurant -- and great date night spot. This restaurant is managed by a group of friends from Thailand, so what you are getting are authentic meals that they used to eat in Thailand! (thought that was a cool tidbit that I found off of yelp lmao!) 

Although many of the servers seem very nice, we had very mixed feelings about them with both of the times we went. The first time we went, the servers seemed stand-offish and didn't seem to care about us, whereas the second time, our server was very attentive and kind. I'm sure they are all very kind, but it was just something to note. 

Anyway, I usually don't opt to get any drinks because its usually SO expensive.. but they have extremely great value for their drinks! Their thai iced tea, which comes in a generous moscow mule portion is only $3! :D YAS!!! The taste was perfection and wasn't too sweet (which is what I always worry about!) 

This was the one and only appetizer we've gotten both times because it's SO GOOD. These are the chive pancakes. They look questionable, but I promise, you won't regret this! They are glorious triangular chive "pancakes" which are deep fried. The outside is crisp, but the inside is chewy goodness. Not even sure how to explain how it tastes, but my best explanation is a really soft mochi with chive flavor. The sweet soy sauce is the perfect compliment to these fried treats! 

Now onto the entree! Fel got the Garlic noodles with chicken. SO good. This is very similar to pad see ew, but without so much soy sauce and more garlicky. Although it was a bit on the greasy side, it wasn't any more greasy than any other pad see ew I've eaten elsewhere. The flavor of this dish was really standout. 

My friend got the Pad See Ew with Crispy Duck. Now I LOVED the crispy duck the first time because it  had a very crispy outside with a juicy duck flavor on the inside. This time, however, it wasn't as crispy, leaving it a bit more like duck with skin. However, the Pad See Ew was very flavorful and filling. 

Then I got the Pad Woon Sen - it's one of my favorite thai dishes that they don't usually have in all thai restaurants! It's glass noodles with lots of veggies and the meat (or protein) of your choice. It has a great peppery flavor and it was so delicious - I got this dish both times I was here! -will definitely be my go to! lol! 

So would I recommend Kin'd? Absolutely! I am actually looking forward to going back soon to try some other products (really want to try their curries!). Their extensive menu has something for everyone. Their price point is rather standard (noodles with chicken are $12) for a thai restaurant here. (They also have a lunch special: $10-$14 for a salad, app and entree.) We ended up paying around 20/pp with our appetizer, meal and drink. 

You can find Kin'd: 
192-03 Union Tpke
Fresh Meadows, NY 11366

A Funny Gem in Greece ;)

I know we haven't written here in over a month. but this picture just made me laugh so hard..!!! We were in Greece and if you know me, I'm one of the biggest closet pervs you'll find lmao.. so when I saw these weird manpart souvenirs, I couldn't help but die laughing. Unfortunately, I don't have many perverted friends, or friends that were recently engaged to buy this for, so Felix and I opted to take a photo of it instead. LOL!!! Can you spot them...??? ;) 

Anyways - these are some things to look forward to on the blog. I am posting these now, so I can't go back on my word: 
-Document our eats around our favorite city - Queens! We both grew up in the area and are always eating here, so we thought, hey we should probably document our favorite places! 
-July we are getting ready to hit the west coast to LA, San Fran and Napa! We'll share with you all our hot spots and what we're up to! I'm going to do my best to blog as I go so we don't get behind! 

Union Square Market - DC

So we're taking a little break from Barcelona because I have to try and gather photos since my phone decided to die on me and I lost almost all my pictures from our European adventure. Luckily Felix took some photos, so I'm going to compile the ones from his phone and my camera to hopefully piece together our beautiful trip! 

Anyhow, this weekend, my friends and I went to celebrate my birthday in DC. We only really ate 3 meals in DC, so we had to make use of our time there! The first place we went to was Union Square Market. It's such a fun place that has ample amounts of different eats (think fancy, trendy food court) to try. It is in the middle of a more "industrial" looking area - we opted to walk from our air bnb (15 min walk), but there was plenty of parking in their lot at 10:35am when we arrived on a Saturday. 

So after you grab your food, you find yourselves a cozy lil seat. At 10:45, we were able to find seating for 8 of us without a problem, even in the middle of our meal at like 11:30am, it still seemed pretty fruitful if you were looking for a seat! 

We ended up picking up a bunch of things to eat and I have a bunch of favorites. My favorite by far was the $10 Acai bowls from South Blocks. I definitely had to wait the longest when I was there - but it was well worth it. They have delicious Acai Bowls and smoothies - I got the PBJ bowl and it was so refreshing and the perfect treat, I could have just eaten that and been so satisfied! 

Felix ordered a delicious sandwich from Neopol. They have fresh fish chillin' around and their salmon BLT was KILLER. It was a huge, flavorful sandwich for only $10. We were definitely fighting for the last bite! 

I also picked up a Dosa from DC Dosa. It was pretty good and flavorful, but definitely not something I would get when I wanted to "try a bit of everything" because that thing is HUGE! I got mine stuffed with potato and veggies (another reason why I couldn't finish it lmao). However, it is packed with spiced and deliciousness, but is definitely something you want to share! lol! 

Lastly, we picked up some donuts from B Doughnut and YUM! My friend and I (were freaked that we might've all gotten too much food) decided to share a donut, so we got a donut filled with Ube... and it was SO GOOD.. that we went and got 4 more donuts... lmao! They had super delicious and super unique flavors. I only tried the Ube and Guava, but they had the "normal" ones like the chocolate glaze with sprinkles to really unique ones like lox!! 

Overall, I wish I had gone more than once because there is just so much you can try that one body can't fit lol! If I ever head back to DC, I would most definitely come back here to try more! 

PS. don't forget to go around back and take pictures in front of the heart wall ;P

Barcelona - Day 1

Our first time  traveling to Europe was confusing, yet so super fun! It was amazing getting a chance to explore culture around Europe and getting lost in the history of each place. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of the info on my phone that I had of our trip, but I want to be able to share the pictures and stuff that we do have! 

For your reference - we went on a Princess Cruise first where we went from Athens, Greece --> Santorini --> Montenegro --> Italy --> Barcelona. Then we spent a couple extra days to explore Barcelona :) I want to unfold our amazing summer trip for you bit by bit! 

When we got off the cruise ship, we were relatively early (9am), so no one in Barcelona was awake lmao. If you didn't know, Barcelona operates on a completely different time schedule! Pretty much no one is awake in the morning. lol... literally. Things start to open around 11am (except major sights will be open earlier). Lunch is probably near 1pm and then legit everything and everyone siestas in the late afternoon. Then dinner is late night around 9pm and people don't get home til who knows when (I don't know because I couldn't stay up that late). 

We tried to take it easy on the first day in Barcelona because it was our first day on land (lmao) and we were pretty tired from the travel the day before. Because our hotel room wasn't ready yet (still had about 3 hours to kill), we decided to drop off our stuff and explore the area. 

Because it was 9am, there were virtually no people out besides tourists like us. We opted to take some pictures and head to the famous La Boqueria Market. We loved this place so much (we were there almost every day) because of its vibrant, fun environment and your ability to crave EVERY single thing there. They have everything from tapas, to cured meats, to candies to juices. Everything was so incredibly fresh, you couldn't go wrong with any thing you ordered! Our favorite thing to order of course was their Iberico Jamon. I am not one to love cured meats - but HOLY COW. the high quality piece of heaven had us buying extra and throwing it in our bags for an extra snack later! 

The inside of La Boqueria 

Yes. We had some of these at 9am. 

Iberico Jamonnnn! 

Outside the Market

Then we walked around - we visited Las Ramblas, some other Gaudi buildings and walked around the Gothic Quarters. Let me tell you something though - early in the morning, be very careful where you walk and hold onto your wallets. Because the Gothic Quarters have a lot of super cute, narrow alleyways, they are great to take pics, but they are also great to get mugged and pick pocketed - especially early in the morning when no one is there. 

In front of Las Ramblas

Don't even know where this is, but saw someone getting mugged shortly after. :-X

We then finally had some food to eat, then checked into the hotel and had ourselves (like in true fashion!) a nice siesta. Around 7pm, we had reservations to see La Sagrada Familia, which is definitely a must see in Barcelona. Absolutely order these ahead of time and I also recommend seeing the towers (we opted for the nativity tower). This place is so beautiful - I could literally cry. The way the stained glass peeked into the building and the whole detail and architecture of it all was just so phenomenal. 

La Sagrada Familia! 

In awe of La Sagrada Familia! 

Up on the tower, you were able to see a view of the whole city as well as the gorgeous details of the top of La Sagrada Familia. Just be warned, that you have to walk yourself down narrow ass windy steps to get down! 

Top of the Nativity Tower

The View at the Top of the Nativity Tower

Afterwards around 8:30pm, we grabbed a bite to eat. We know, still a bit early, but we were exhausted! We ate ourselves many delicious tapas + of course a pitcher of sangria and then passed out. Don't worry, we'll have our favorite food posts soon! ;) 

Public Kitchen Review - NYC Lower East Side

Hey everyone!!! Wow, talk about it's been a long time, huh? However, thanks to the generosity of Garnier-- Felix, my girlfriends and I were able to enjoy an awesome brunch at the Public Kitchen.. and I wanted to share the experience with you. 

The Public Kitchen is actually inside to the back of the Public Hotel located in the lower east side (near Chinatown) at 215 Chrystie Street. It serves American food but describes itself as "the best of 'New York' food, 'World Food' and all the cultures that make up the eclectic mix and melting pot that is NYC.' They serve delicious brunch as well as dinner foods. Cost of brunch meals are between high teens to mid twenties. Cost of dinner I believe is slightly more expensive. 

At first walk in, I loved the modern, rustic look of the place. Everything is so beautifully wooden and bright. It also has a stunning smoker, wood-burning oven and grill by the bar where you can watch them putting finishing touches on their pizzas! 

They had a pretty unique cocktails list, so I got the Kumquat Mojito and my friend got the Raspberry Lychee Bellini (while my other friend got black coffee and hubs got coke). They were all deliciously fragrant and had the perfect ratio of alcohol and sweetness. Serious great start to the meal. 

lol, my friend wanting to photobomb ;) -- the left is the kumquat mojito, right is coke.. LOL

We ordered 3 appetizers (and fries), 4 entrees and 2 desserts. It was quite aggressive of us, but we tackled it with determination lol. 

First up were the apps. We ordered the smoked salmon over latkes (2), proscuitto wrapped broccoli rabe (2) and fontina cheese and the butternut squash (4) and basil dumplings. They were all in the mid to high teen price range and were all relatively small appetizers (thankfully since we ordered so much). 

The Smoked Salmon over latkes was by far my favorite as it had just the perfect blend of salty, crunchy, hearty, yet fresh. It was topped with some sour cream and caviar (?) which made it such a savory treat. 

The Butternut Squash and Basil Dumplings totally met my expectation. I was hoping it would have the perfect blend of savory and sweet.. and it totally did. It was crispy and creamy. I kind of wish it came with more than four... or that I ordered it myself because I totally didnt want to share them! 

The proscuitto wrapped broccoli rabe and fontina cheese was just okay for me. They were heavy on the proscuitto which made the actual appetizer very salty for me. Hubs and girlfriends still enjoyed it, but it wasnt incredibly unique or special to me. 

We shared the rest of the entrees because we have a friend that is obsessed with sharing food.. lol! First up came the black truffle pizza with three cheese and a farm egg. I am pretty sure we all died and went to heaven eating this pizza. The pizza was light but chewy and they did not skimp on the truffle. The fragrance was strong and perfect. Usually I dont like a lot of cheese on my pizza, but it didnt overpower any of the flavors, but complimented them nicely... and of course the best part of it all - the farm egg with the runny yolk which moved the pizza from delicious --> to perfection. The only thing that could make it more perfect was if there were an extra two eggs!! 

The other entrees that came out were the rigatoni pasta with basil-pistachio pesto with caramelized brussel sprouts, eggs benedict with smoked salmon and hollandaise, and the cinnamon spiced brioche french toast with caramelized apples and crispy bacon. So first up, the rigatoni was amazing. I actually applaud myself for choosing that one! If you like pesto, you will love this! It had such a lovely blend of creamy pesto with crunchy pistachios and the mustardy taste of brussel sprouts. You dont usually see these items mixed together, but it was seriously eye opening! this chef is quite the flavor master!

The eggs benedict was honestly just standard. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but wasnt the best or worst I've ever eaten. The potatoes were also disappointingly bland.. but they did have a nice crunch! 

Lastly that french toast was thick and custardy!!!! It almost had a crispy outer layer of cinammon goodness and the inside was a thick custardy layer of brioche. My girlfriends and I were obsessed with the almost bread pudding like texture of it, whereas my husband wished it was slightly drier! However, it was delicious and came with the cutest little bottle of maple syrup!

So... you thought we were done? So did we, until the waitress brough over the dessert menu! LOL! We ended up getting the tartufo and the carrot cake. 

The tartufo had a great blend of tarte and sweet and the tarte cherry sorbet mixed perfectly with the pistachio ice cream and the crispy chocolate shell. I thought I might not enjoy it, but when I blended all the flavors together - it was quite delicious! 

The carrot cake which came with a cream cheese frosting and coconut ice cream was also very normal for me. The carrot cake was slightly dry but made better with the frosting and ice cream... but I mean, it didnt stop us from finishing it... LOL. 

At the end if it, we left with great memories, full bellies and a new place to eat at! If we're ever in the area, we would definitely eat here again! Overall, I think the 'unique' sounding items on the menu are worth trying. You can tell that each of those menu items' ingredients were carefully chosen to create a party on your palette. I wouldn't reorder 'typical' items that you can order at other restaurants (ie. eggs benedict). Although they weren't bad, there are so many other delicious items on the menu that are worth a shot. 

My faves by far were: salmon over latkes, rigatoni with basil-pistachio pesto and of course the black truffle pizza with farm egg. Oh and don't forget to try out some of their cocktails! Mine was delicious! 

Public Kitchen
215 Chrystie Street
NY, NY 10002

If you're interested, please see our 'real time' vlog of the restaurant! :) 
 

How to deal with your spouse through stress

I have many couple friends that are either stressed themselves or have to deal with their spouse being stressed. And let's be honest, our relationship is no different. After being married for almost five years, we've been through our ups and downs of stresses. Outside stressors can sometimes be brought in the home and can cause tension between a couple (which has happened to us many times), but they don't have to be. I've compiled a list of things that I do to take proactive approach in dealing with stress in a marriage.

#1. Actively Listen: When Felix comes home and I know he's about to unload his work stress to me - I know it's time for me to put my phone away, turn the TV off and have him sit down and it is time for me to listen. I let him talk out and process his day's stresses, listen carefully, affirm him of his decisions, provide encouragement. Many times when I'm listening, I don't offer any advice unless it's asked... when I'm personally stressed, sometimes you just need to vent your issues. You know your spouse - only give advice when it seems like they need it. 

#2. Figure out how your spouse deals with stress + then let him/her deal with it: My husband when he's stressed out just needs his time alone to play games on the computer. When I'm stressed, I'll often cry and vent and want to get things done. So I know when Felix is stressed after a long day, I'll listen to his thoughts, and let him go off and play games. When Felix knows I'm stressed, he'll let me vent, hug me as I cry, and then help me with chores that I may want finished or drive to help me run errands I need to do. When your spouse is at their lowest, they need you to meet them there. 

#3. Find ways to care for your spouse: Just because he unloaded at the end of the day doesn't mean his stresses have disappeared. When Fel is stressed at work, packing him an extra snack with a little note, a text or making him an encouraging notecard has always reminded him that he's not alone in his stress and that there are better moments ahead. Similarly, when I am stressed somewhere - I'll often get a text or a picture of him with a thumbs up saying "you can do it!" LOL - it'll often make me smile and remind me that I always have someone on my side. 

#4. Don't take things personally: I've learned this SO the hard way. Many times when Felix is stressed out and he may take things out on me or he may ignore me. I used to internalize it as "Felix doesn't love me.. He doesn't care about my needs.." and I would resent him and bottle it up. Similarly, sometimes Felix will offer advice to me when I'm upset and I'm just not in the mood to hear it and he'll get upset that his words are not valued. Of course, in both situations because we took the reactions personally, it usually led to an argument that caused more stress to both of us. Know that stress sometimes takes a toll in different ways and occasionally, you need to just let things go and think less of yourself.. because right now your spouse needs you! 

#5. Communicate your own needs: Although it's important to not take things personally - that doesn't exempt you from becoming stressed as well. Sometimes spousal stress can lead to the other one getting stressed, especially when you may be getting the short end of the stick for many days, weeks or even months. I found that communicating my own needs really helped us deal with our relationship in a healthy way. For example, as I've said before, when Felix is stressed, he'll go off to play games and then when its time for bed, he's tired and literally passes out before I get to even say anything to him... so I'll ask him, hey, do you think you can end your game like 15 minutes early and we can just have some time in bed to chat? This will prepare him to serve me and it prevents me from getting all crazy mad before I sleep lol. 

#6. Pray for him/her: Being christians, prayer is an integral part of our daily needs. In times of stress and worry, (and excitement and praise), we rely on our heavenly father for guidance since we know that we're unable to do it all alone. We pray for guidance, courage, strength and peace in every situation we are dealing with. 

#7. Take a break together: Lastly, it's healthy to just get out of your every day environment. Planning a trip together, whether it's far or close, overnight or day can bring a different kind of excitement back into your lives. It changes up the pace and can give you a sense of renewal or maybe even give you a different outlook on your stressful situation. 

And that's our little list of how we deal with stress! Stress is never easy to deal with - but sometimes it helps when your spouse takes a proactive approach in helping you deal with it. Taking a bit of time off thinking of yourself to help your spouse -- isn't that what marriage is all about? Let me know if you have any other ones you'd add to the list! :P 

Residence Inn in Watertown, MA

Felix and I love staying in different hotels - not only for the luxury of it all, but just to get an experience or a little getaway. We recently went up to boston to visit my sister and the family, but we knew that by the time we got there, it would be so late that it would just be better to stay in a hotel and meet them early in the morning. 

We ended up staying in the Marriott in Watertown. (FYI, you are next to a shopping complex with a target) We arrived past midnight, so parking was pretty tight, however we did find ourselves a spot! The lobby was so beautiful - gave a slight tribal feel with the bright colors, the fire and the stripes. The front desk was very quick and accommodating and in a quick 5 minutes, we were off to our room.

I wish we stayed here for longer than the night because this room was stunning! It had a little kitchen area and living room area with a TV. It led to the bedroom area which was secluded to give you peace and quiet.

Off the bedroom, the bathroom was extremely well lit and was so luxurious! It had a long shower that was extremely spacious!  It was definitely the best part of the hotel room, especially for someone like me that likes good lighting when I do my makeup. 

The beds were plush, but firm and it was so easy to fall asleep and have a great nights rest. 

When we were leaving.. of course an even better part ... they had a delicious continental breakfast packed with iced coffee, eggs, sausages, cereal, yogurt, etc. A definite great end to a wonderful quick evening away!

We stayed at: 
Residence Inn by Marriott Watertown, Boston
570 Arsenal St, Watertown, MA 02472

Han Dynasty NYC - East Village

Our good friends, Sandra and Will introduced us to Han Dynasty ages ago by saying it was "some of the best Szechuan food in NYC!" Now, being Asian American, we tend to judge asian food - in particular - Chinese food a bit harsher than other since both of us grew up in the heart of asian food: Flushing. So when Sandra told us we had to go try this place, we were quite skeptical. 

There are 8 different locations - but we've only been to the one in East Village. It's on 3rd avenue between 12th and 13th street which is an extremely convenient location to get to. In the evening, it does get quite crowded, so we always opt to head in before 6 (which there's never usually a wait for that). In the past (a year ago or so), when we would arrive at 8 something - we would have to wait, so we would hop across the street to a local bar and grab a happy hour drink first! 

The menu itself has a wide range of Szechuan foods and doesnt stray away from what it knows. I love how it also labels how spicy each food will be with a number from 1-10. When we first came to this place, the 9 and 10 were so extremely hot, I couldn't eat it, but I believe that after some time, the spiciness has calmed down. If a food is at a 9 or 10, it's still spicy, but for me its bearable, where as Felix is disappointed its not spicier! 

In true NYC fashion, the place is quite tight. It fits a lot of people, but if you are sitting in the booth (like I am in this photo) and have a bit of a wide load (like I do lol), you'll have trouble getting between the tables. Often, I saw the waiters moving tables back and forth to allow customers to sit into the booths. If you reach our your arm to the sides of you, you can probably reach the guests next to you that are enjoying your meal lol. 

Fel and I also appreciated that they had hot tea in a kettle, just like traditional Chinese restaurants. Although it proved to be slightly more annoying than not since there wasn't enough room to have that and the food we ordered! :P 

We have three items we religiously get at Han Dynasty and then have a wild card where we just pick something random off the menu. The first item is (don't judge us!) the CUCUMBERS! As simple as it sounds, it has the perfect blend of sweet, savory and spicy... and then when you feel like the flavors may start to feel overwhelming, the cool crunch of the cucumber kicks in and it makes this such a refreshing treat. 

The dan dan noodles used to be way more spicy when we first came, but has definitely mellowed out to be easier to eat. Dandan noodles is a delicious dish that has noodles (obviously lol) and some sort of spicy meat sauce. Generally speaking, it has minced meat, and sesame paste. It's a delicious staple in Szechuan meal and this one doesn't disappoint! Don't forget to stir well, or else you will get very plain noodles on top and very salty toppings on the bottom! lol! 

I mean, can we just look at this pic LOL!. So good right? This is one of Fel's favorite dishes - the spicy wings. When we first ate these a year or two back, I could hardly down a bite because it was a 9 on the spicy scale and it was way too spicy. Now because the spice has cooled off a bit, I'm actually able to eat these and they are so delicious. Reminiscent of Korean fried chicken, it has a slightly sweet but spicy taste. The skin is super crispy, but has a sticky sauce on it that makes you feel addicted once you eat it! 

Other choices that we've eaten and loved are their wontons in chili oil, three cup chicken and their crispy rice! 

Definitely worth a try if you're in the mood for Chinese food and want some of that spice! 

The location we went to was: 
Han Dynasty
90 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10003

Osakana Ramen Class

So ages ago - there was a gilt city deal for Osakana Ramen class! I took the opportunity to purchase it for Felix's birthday? anniversary? christmas gift? who knows now at this point LOL! If you don't know Felix, he is the HUGEST Ramen fan [please let us know if you need recs!] so I thought it'd be a perfect little treat for him to know how to make it. 

Osakana is a cute little, unassuming fish market in brooklyn. When you first walk in, there is a small store front with delicious fish. When you walk into the back, there is a bar with people making fish based ramen in the back. It's quite a small space - up to maybe 8 people can fit at one time. 

haha - I wanted to make a note first of the extremely teeny tiny bathroom! It's very clean, but very japaneseque with how incredibly small it is! 

In any case, the class was literally just me and fel. We had a great instructor (I wanna say his name is... Jonathan?) who gave us a lot of history of Ramen and how it is prepared and cut. Although coming straight out of work to do this, it was a bit difficult for me to actually focus to answer his questions LOL! We learned about the different bases, broths, how to prepare the noodles, the toppings that go on it, etc. We were even able to go behind the counter to do the preparing! 

Of course, Felix's part was learning how to make a perfect egg and mine was putting the whole bowl of ramen together in a couple of minutes! It was a super fun learning experience! At the end, we got to enjoy our two bowls of Ramen! 

At the end of it all, we had such a blast making our Fish Ramen! It was super fun and rewarding to eat your creation! Our class lasted about 1.5 hours, so just know that each class differs according to how long you as a group may take. We thoroughly enjoyed this experience and I would definitely come back here to enjoy some ramen! Thank you Osakana for the fun date night experience! 

An Update!

It's been a wild, wild ride this past month. I feel like we've been updating you more than actually giving you any posts! BUT rest assured, I have my posts planned out! And promise to get on it soon! :) 

Felix has been very busy with work, so he's had a tough time making any posts. I just finished the school year and said goodbye to my students that I've had for 3 years. So bittersweet. I was busy making a video as a personal memory for all the families.. After three years of having these kids - you really feel like you become part of each of their families. You're involved in all of their successes as well as their hard times and it's truly been a beautiful journey. 

Wanted to share the video I made so you can get a glimpse of how wonderful and amazing my students were! :) 

What Corn Taught Me About Relationships..

Hey all! Sorry we've been a bit off our game. We're trying to get into the groove of things but having trouble managing our schedule since Felix has been super busy and I'm still managing my beauty channel and blog! We'll get the schedule down eventually -- bear with us :) 

So I had an incident yesterday with corn that taught me a couple of things about our relationship. So let me set the scene here: my dad bought me and Fel like 10-15 ears of corn (the world may never know why.) and so I decided to boil some. Because I started it kind of late, we decided to eat dinner first and then I was going to get my corn when it was ready. 

When I realized my corn was ready - knowing it was a huge heavy pot of boiling water - I quietly went myself to pour the water out. I didn't want to bother Fel while he was eating. The pot was heavy - but I am strategic with the way I always do things, so I had full confidence everything was going to be great. As I poured the water out. a surprise corn fell out of the top of the corn pile, causing the boiling water to spill and splash onto my clothes. I've never dropped boiling water on myself before... but BOY was it hot. I quickly put the pot back, dried my clothes and went about my business. 

I decided NOT to tell Felix because I knew he would lecture me about not being careful and I mean, I was fine... but soon, my stomach started to feel like fire. It burned a bit - but in my mind I was thinking, "OHHH it's fine!" Well... 20 minutes later, I figured, well if I get ice out - he'll ask me what happened... so I told him how I accidentally spilled the hot water on my skin. He lifted up my shirt and lo and behold was as huge red splotch that was slightly bubbled. Embarrassed, I let him use my frozen fruit bag to ice it. 

As I went along the next day - every time I sat down, I was reminded of my stubbornness and pride... and in the end, this stupid corn taught me two things. 

1. Don't be afraid to ask your significant other for help. I KNEW before I poured out the water that it was going to be annoyingly heavy... however part pride and part didn't want to be a bother landed me a nice lil burn. When you have a genuine need for help no matter how big or small, your significant other loves you and cares for you and will help you in your time of need. I know for me, I would never want Felix to have to go through his burdens alone. 

2. Be Honest. I wanted to hide the truth because I knew I would get lectured - but if I did #1, I wouldn't even be in this situation... so it's important to be honest. When you confront your s/o - you can solve the problem together and take care of each other. I didn't want to get lectured - but in the end, I felt so much better knowing that Felix could help me. And then he followed up with me the next day and laughed at my dark purple mark -___- Suffering alone is one of the loneliest feelings and its not worth it because of a little bit of guilt, pride or worry. 

As silly and little as it may sound, I'm thankful for these dumb little moments that gives me a reminder for more important moments. Ha. Ha. *eye roll* :P