Fisherman’s Hat Sunrise

6/10

(Note: I am still processing photos from my Hawaii trip. I am really enjoying summer and want to spend as little time in front of computer as I can.) 🙂

5/3

K & R headed out early at 5am for a sunrise shoot.

I opted to sleep in to get much needed rest. :ohzzz:

I got up at 7am, walked out to the garden and saw this spectacular sunrise.

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The island in the photo is called Chinaman’s Hat.

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Tranquility!

Facing the sun, I sat on the grass and meditated for while. The sun slowly warmed up my face and showered my body with energy.

On my way back to the cottage, I didn’t forget to tease the “shy grass” (mimosa pudica).

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Touch the compound leaves

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The leaves fold inward and droop, re-opening within minutes.

Hmm!! What a beautiful morning.

Migration

Finally! I have migrated my blog over to a new web hosting company that provides faster service.

No more trying to find things to do when waiting for the page to load after each click. :ohidiotsmile:

I just ~~ love it ~~ love it!!

Time to do a happy dance! :rtdance3:

Dumping da Unrealiable

Frustrated with my WordPress web hosting service.

The page loading time is inconsistent and could take up to a minute to load a page. That’s unbearable sine I am using fiber optic line!

I optimized the SQL tables and installed Super Cache. I saw improvement in page loading speed for a few hours and then back to the same inconsistent crap – driving me nuts! :ohfireevil:

After two complaints to the web hosting company and wasn’t offered the most impressive customer service, I lost my confidence in them and am ready to switch.

That’s the reality in business. There are so many web hosting options out there. If one is not up to my expectation, see ya!

So now I am looking for a reliable and fast web hosting company specializes in WordPress publishing. It needs to suppor Permalink feature (use Apache server?) and preferrable offer dedicated IP.

If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Thanks! Xie-xie. :kethanks:

Weekend Warrior’s Kai

Spent the whole Saturday helping out Karan with a painting project. My main responsibility was to prep the job site – and I have taped enough that if I see another blue painter’s tape, I would get a nightmare.

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The Weekend Warrior Crew taking a break- Jordan, Vishad, Sundar, Joni, Karan and myself.

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Deserve one more shot. Joni, look here.

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Perfect

Since the job site has a fenced yard, so I set up a play day for my dog.

“Soup (Jordan’s dog), meet Kai. Kai, meet soup.”

Since Kai usually makes friends with any dog and would play until the sun goes down, I had full confidence that this play day would be a success.

I left Kai and Soup in the fence yard and thought they would have a blast hanging out together for the whole afternoon.

Boy, was I wrong.

The second I closed the gate, Kai started barking! He wanted out of the fenced yard. I was surprised!

Soup was pretty chill, just hanging around.

Okay! I went back to the yard, to comfort Kai and to ensure him that he was at a safe place and I wouldn’t be far from him.

I stepped out of the fenced yard. Kai started barking.

Kai sure was determined to have his voice heard. Have you heard of non-stop LOUD dog bark? It was pretty annoying! :ohscold:

After spending one hour comforting Kai. I gave up. I told myself that he would just have to learn on his own. I let him bark and bark, and BARK, and B A R K!!!

Jordan tried working his Dog Whisperer magic. Didn’t work.

Karan tried using his Super Dad power. Didn’t work.

Imagine this, you child is the only child who throws himself on the floor, howling non-stop in the day care.

Felt like a failed parent, embarrassed, I couldn’t focus on my painting job.

Karan let the dogs in the house and finally Kai was at peace. He loves being with humans.

But then, watching Kai and Soup doing house inspection – sniffing the dry walls, paint trays loaded with paint, etc…, freaked me out! :ohafraid: I’ve heard horrible stories about dogs getting sick after smelling the paint fume.

After an hour of worrying, I’ve had enough. I led the dogs to the front yard and chained them there. I made sure Kai didn’t feel like he was confined. This time, no barks. HALLELUJAH! HURRAY! PRAISE THE LORD!

At the same time, I felt exhausted and somehow defeated. :ohgraycloud:

I kept doubting myself,”Do I really know how to raise a pet? When did Kai become such a mama’s cry baby? ”

“If I can’t raise a pet properly, how can I raise a child?”

At night, I gave Kai a bath in the bathtub. He was as calm and sweet as always at home.

Suddenly, a thought hit me. I remembered how nervous I was on my first day to school. I kept looking outside to see if the familiar face was still there. I didn’t know anyone in the class. I hid my crying face in my school bag.

Was Kai feeling as insecure and nervous as I was first day in school when I left him in the fenced yard?

I remembered that on the third day I adopted him, I left him in my office when I needed to get something from the printer. He put his paws up on the glass door and cried for me. :ohbluecry:

Today, I expected him to behave like an adult. Did I not notice that he is still the same baby four years ago?

A pet is definitely a reflection of its owner.

I have always treated him like a child and perhaps have never wanted him to grow up. How can I expect him to be obedient when I have never wanted him to be too obedient and enjoyed his occasionally rebellious behavior?

He doesn’t know any better than just loving his owner back.

A weekend warrior is ending her night immersing in an ocean of love (Kai means ocean in Hawaiian).

Smoothie Smooch

I am the type of girl who needs eight hours of sleep every night and will wait till the last second to roll out of bed every morning. :rtwakeup:

As you can imagine, my work day morning routine is never calm and peaceful. I am always running after time. Get up, take shower, get ready, feed the dog, etc. It has always been my fantasy to get up early and enjoy a proper breakfast at home before heading out to work.

So, how can I have nutritious but super easy breakfast every morning?

Hmm…

It’s gotta be a smoothie, hands down. :kehappy:

For a super fresh smoothie, I usually make it in the morning and take it to work. If I feel like I want to take it easy the next morning, then I make the smoothie the night before. It’s still way much fresher than the store bought version!

I’ve never checked out any smoothie recipes. I made my first smoothie my way and it worked for me. So, I have been just experimenting on my own. You are welcome to share your favorite recipes with me. 🙂

Here’s the simplest smoothie recipe from me. (Note: I don’t measure, I just eyeball. So, always add/subtract based on your preference.)

IMG_5038_m ~ 1 ripe banana
~ a handful of strawberries
~ 1 cup of yogurt
~ 3-4 dates (natural sweetener, optional)
~ electric hand blender

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1. Clean and cut the fruits (chunky cut is fine, doesn’t have to be perfect, since they will be blended in the blender!)

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2. Combine all ingredients, blend until smooth

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3. Done! (no kidding!)

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Optional: Garnish with raspberries. Sprinkle granola on top.

This is enough for 2 people plus little extra for an afternoon snack! I always keep a bowl of granola with me in the office. Granola goes well with smoothie and it’s substantial that will keep me full past breakfast.

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Pack and go

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Sambazon’s Acai puree is now available at Everybody’s.

I love my electric hand-blender (Braun 300 watts). It’s easy to clean and it’s portable. I take it with me when I go on trips. 🙂

Now, are you ready to make your first smoothie?

If summer is not the season to have smoothies, I don’t know when! A lot of fruits are and will be in season. Be sure to experiment with different combinations. If there’s any combination that you don’t enjoy, big deal, just take note and modify the recipe next time.

Some ideas:
~ milled flax seeds

~ tropical theme – pineapple, mango, papaya, coconut

~ allergy to dairy – how about substitute it with cracked ice

~ frozen banana and fruits

~ milk

~ honey as sweetener

~ juices: blueberry juice, orange juices, cranberry ,etc

The possibilities are endless! Explore and discover your favorites.