tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50453930297943783972024-02-19T09:06:09.204-08:00台美媽媽 Taiwan Moms Are US一位台灣媽媽在美國生活的點點滴滴!
A Taiwan Mom's Life in the United StatesTaiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-62290427357902671662010-12-11T15:30:00.000-08:002010-12-11T15:40:46.958-08:00《保庇》 Let the Greater Power Protect Us!<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_gWu5Y6yY4E?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_gWu5Y6yY4E?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />2010 已經接近尾聲。 在此希望所有的親朋好友能感受到神的保庇。 在此獻上王彩樺所唱的《保庇》 BOBEE! 好台喔!<br /><br />Since 2010 is near the end, I would like to wish all the friends and loved ones a happy and prosperous new year! May the greater power protect us all. Enjoy BOBEE (a Taiwanese adapted Korean song) which reflects the spiritual aspects of the Taiwanese life.Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-6594626329185690802010-11-16T14:09:00.000-08:002010-11-18T07:09:47.855-08:00公主與王子 Happily Ever After!<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ISuo54nSCGI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ISuo54nSCGI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Has it been 30 years since Princess Diana's wedding?! I remember waking up hours before school to watch Princess Diana's wedding. Of course, Princess Diana did not live to see her sons grow up. When Prince William announced his engagement to Kate Middleton this morning, I can't help but feeling happiness for him and his future bride. I will be up and early the day of their wedding so I can watch it on TV like billions of people around the world, wishing them the best to come.<br /><br />今天一早起來就看到這則新聞。 英國的威廉王子及女友 Kate Middleton宣布訂婚,將在明年春夏舉行婚禮。 這將又是一場世紀婚禮。 準新娘漂亮、身材好、有學識、有氣質。 好像一出生就是準備要來當公主的。 將來,當她先生登基之後, 她就是女王了。 不知不覺的,我也跟著高興起來, 好像看到自己的兒子選到好伴侶的一樣高興。 回想三十年前, 我還特別早起,為了就是要收看威廉王子的母親黛安娜王妃婚禮的現場電視轉播。 雖然母親的婚姻不甚理想, 希望威廉王子能有個平實、幸福的婚姻。 祝福他們了!Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-79769238787627709502010-11-15T12:00:00.000-08:002010-11-18T07:07:02.165-08:00台灣的查某人 Women of Taiwan<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/B5ss0JX9tA0?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/B5ss0JX9tA0?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>I grew up with the values expressed in this short docu-drama--selflessness, frugality, and unspoken love. Even though most of my female relatives never had to work like the women depicted in the film, they were discriminated nevertheless because they are women and/or because they only gave birth to daughters. My own grandmother's name is 罔市 which in Taiwanese sounds to mean "might as well feed her". She was the 4th daughter of a wealthy Taipei merchant. She grew up with servants, but my great-grandfather's obviously wanted a male heir very badly. I am sure that plagued my grandmother and her mother all their lives. <br /><br />My own mother had 2 daughters and, to this day, she feels insecure about her position in the family (or that my father would have a legitimate excuse to have an affair) because she did not have a son. My mother is in her mid-70s and went to Taiwan University. Being a truly educated and modern working woman in the 1960s and 1970s did not change the way she thinks about the pre-defined roles of men and women in Taiwan. Just to set the record straight, my father remained a faithful husband without a son.<br /><br />Even after we immigrated to Canada, my mother expected my sister and I to behave a certain way. Things didn't let up after we got married. When my mother found out I was expecting a baby girl, she told me I would need to have another baby, preferably a son, so my husband (and his family) would not have an excuse to divorce me. I told her if my marriage is based on me producing a son, then I would be the one divorcing my husband.<br /><br />So getting back to this docu-drama, Director Wu's short docu-drama touched me in a different way. I think he was trying to examine the value system behind the role of a woman (or a mother) in a traditional (or even modern) Taiwanese family. <br /><br />I would consider my own family fairly modern. We also live in the United States, thousands of miles away from Taiwan. But our value system remains the same. Children's needs always get priority. Of course, we no longer have to share a fish, but inevitably, the best part of the fish will be given to the children and the husband. Eating the tail part of a fish becomes second nature to me.<br /><br />When I was single, I would not hesitate to spend NT$50,000 on a purse or an outfit. But now, I would think twice before buying a pair of US$50 shoes. No, my financial circumstance did not change, but I changed. The frugal aspect of my upbringing kicked in when I got married and became a mom.<br /><br />Sure, many would criticize that Director Wu's docu-drama only represented a small segment of the Taiwanese population, but I believe the Taiwanese mentality have permeated all aspects of Taiwanese lives across the social-economic strata for over 400 years. Even those of us who have moved away from the island for over 35 years cannot get away from that so easily.<br /><br />我是台灣出生的查某人。 雖然我大半輩子都是在國外生活, 可是卻逃離不了台灣女人的宿命。 結婚生子是人生必經之路。 可是在我二十八歲那一年,我的 “真命天使” 還未出現,在台灣工作的我面臨了我一生當中最大的挑戰。 之後,我花了五年的時間不停的相親。 一方面安撫父母親的焦慮, 一方面我也試著在調整自己的價值觀及信念問題。 一位有高學歷、高薪、及良好生活機能的三十歲女人需要因為社會的壓力而結婚嗎? 我不知道我去過多少廟抽過多少簽。 每個簽都說我沒有尼姑命! 叫我要晚婚。 所以我是相信命運的。 時間到了,緣份到了,也就嫁了。<br /><br />婚後,定居美國,所以沒有台灣女人的枷鎖及負擔。 公婆是台灣人, 可是很開明, 我完全不用伺候他們。 他們只要我們小倆口高興快樂就好。 可是當人妻人母之後, 在那氛圍之下, 很自然的就知道要相夫教子、孝順公婆、省吃撿用。 我看到很多從臺灣嫁到美國來的媳婦, 每一位都是 "刻苦耐勞" (<span style="font-weight:bold;">克</span>服語言障礙、容忍離鄉背井的<span style="font-weight:bold;">苦</span>、 很<span style="font-weight:bold;">耐</span>心的學習美國生活的一切一切、以及很操<span style="font-weight:bold;">勞</span>的做司機和台傭)。 所以住在美國的每一位台裔媽媽都秉持著台灣查某人的特質及毅力。 台美媽媽們加油囉!Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-80582472860671612312010-10-22T16:52:00.000-07:002010-10-23T18:33:20.334-07:00超爆笑! LOL!!!<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1lvWd17bFXU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1lvWd17bFXU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
<br />2010【第45屆電視金鐘獎】 三大難高音: 高凌風、吳宗憲、康康
<br /></span></span>I haven't seen anything this funny on Taiwanese Television for a while. Enjoy!Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-20665401029832235872010-09-26T09:11:00.000-07:002010-09-28T20:47:04.307-07:00Silly Bandz!!! 今年美國最夯的玩具!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpLR-HK1ad1_ZvL0teA4VYnA2BJu5uy6WpLylBO5ybxb_4xRSnq5rOh_qiYTP1eNWd8uE9Sx2kI2E29pyHdsTMpb9HmJ2UcVAZD8Je-0WH4v3Crbguk1-LfEvezmAaPy5ZhMFBfYFc1Gb/s1600/silly+bandz1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpLR-HK1ad1_ZvL0teA4VYnA2BJu5uy6WpLylBO5ybxb_4xRSnq5rOh_qiYTP1eNWd8uE9Sx2kI2E29pyHdsTMpb9HmJ2UcVAZD8Je-0WH4v3Crbguk1-LfEvezmAaPy5ZhMFBfYFc1Gb/s320/silly+bandz1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521260608260826514" border="0" /></a>The hottest toy this year is Silly Bandz. If you ask any kids between the ages of 5 to 16 what their favorite play thing this year, they will all tell you "Silly Bandz" (http://www.sillybandz.com/). Silly Bandz are a brand of silicone rubber bands formed into shapes including animals, objects, and letters. They are normally worn as bracelets. Essentially, they are colorful rubber bands in various shapes. The company that markets this product is laughing all the way to the bank. They are usually sold in a pack of 24 Bandz (6 shapes, 4 per shape) that will allow the kids to collect and trade. I looked up the internet and they are being sold from $5.99 to $2.50 for a pack of 24. As in any popular items, there are now hundreds of imitations in the marketplace. Most are just colorful rubber bands that will likely melt together in heat or pressure. As Silly Bandz are made of silicone, these bands can withstand heat and maintain the shapes really well.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOvfW7xD10nIlkaEpwFZ2FMC1zENm2oKKRP4LjrlDe2iToUEu5ZOw_Vy9cZUMFyeHEacGDVwwb8jAZM0Q-sEek2INfjTSZDtRJ2RuOOpJe3cPDn7a75EmspzXik1CezuEA1_awvrEWvivg/s1600/silly+bandz2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOvfW7xD10nIlkaEpwFZ2FMC1zENm2oKKRP4LjrlDe2iToUEu5ZOw_Vy9cZUMFyeHEacGDVwwb8jAZM0Q-sEek2INfjTSZDtRJ2RuOOpJe3cPDn7a75EmspzXik1CezuEA1_awvrEWvivg/s320/silly+bandz2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521260734217453202" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I was resisting buying these Silly Bandz for my kids because I was not going to pay over $5 for 24 rubber bands, but reality hit last Friday when my 8 year-old son came home with many of these Bands around his wrist. He said a classmate gave them to him--he went through a long story of why this girl would give him so many Bandz. But now I have a dilemma. My 10 year-old daughter has been asking to buy these Bandz for weeks. I kept telling her no because it's a waste of money. But now that her brother has them, she felt life is a bit "unfair" to her. I did my research on-line and found out that there are so many different kinds of colorful rubber bands out there, but the quality of these bands vary. I decided that if I were to buy any for my kids, I might as well stick with the silicone kind.<br /><br />Anyways, to make a long story short, I went to Toys R Us yesterday and bought 3 packs of Silly Bandz. They only have two kinds of Silly Bandz available at the store--the Princess pack and the Dinosaur pack. It's not like we have a lot of choices, but they were on sale for $4.99 per pack and the promotion was buy 2 get 1 free. I'll probably go to another Toys R Us and see if I can exchange the extra dinosaur pack for a different theme pack. Both kids now think they have the best parents in the world!!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZvBLRwuCS9smL5OdDoFG9eNXdT2rpQ2DBpRhoMLbtVyKLCZyIY5b8xChj1fX15MrhdcG5I8AK-3BbryvS22ZE39zEBFFOCo2mC0syHQIIW0e5qZRQ4lYDUV6PcjPJwjaX9uptUxqdkzG/s1600/Silly+bandz3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 202px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZvBLRwuCS9smL5OdDoFG9eNXdT2rpQ2DBpRhoMLbtVyKLCZyIY5b8xChj1fX15MrhdcG5I8AK-3BbryvS22ZE39zEBFFOCo2mC0syHQIIW0e5qZRQ4lYDUV6PcjPJwjaX9uptUxqdkzG/s320/Silly+bandz3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521261832550906114" border="0" /></a>真的沒想到, 美國今年最夯的玩具是 Silly Bandz, 一種彩色橡皮圈手環! 這個東西真的是從幼稚園夯到高中! Silly Bandz 只是一家最先在美國販賣這種彩色橡皮圈的公司品牌。 因為賣得太好, 所以已經有上百種其它品牌流竄在玩具巿場上。 巿面上及網路市場到處在賣類似的彩色橡皮圈。比較便宜的彩色橡皮圈是橡膠做的。 天熱時, 這種橡皮圈都會黏在一起。 品質好的彩色橡皮圈手環是矽膠做的, 所以耐熱也耐壓, 可是就賣得比較貴。 Silly Bandz 這家公司(http://www.sillybandz.com/)賣的彩色橡皮圈就是矽膠做的, 但是一包(24枚裝)就要賣 $5.95。 當然我們都是要等到減價時才買。 這星期 Silly Bandz 在 Toys R Us 有在減價。 雖然貨色不多(只剩兩種),可是一包(24枚裝)才賣 $4.99, 然後買兩包再送一包。 這樣子的價錢我還能接受。 不過話又說回來, 這只是有色橡皮筋, 竟然可以賣到這種價錢! 業者真的是賺翻天了! 我想今年的聖誕節禮物少不了這個玩藝。 還有,如果近期內要去找親朋好友, 而那親朋好友有五歲至十六歲的小孩,這Silly Bandz 可是最好的伴手禮喔!<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-34960532869524201472010-09-12T18:36:00.000-07:002010-09-13T09:44:25.951-07:00台美僑胞有口福了! 好吃的豬肉乾! Yummy Pork Jerky!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXLPPb5LylLtTAH3rt3indvv5GqBlnxb8Zs9jSn3LVaRrI7cbalkkNRad6XXDE8BEFr2Gt63wOj7QWyAwsxkNHkGjxeeJnQGJ-inTbiHsoxBgWeU_00OIoCxigjaw68hrkZeCyHl8qpoHm/s1600/Copy+of+IMG_1109.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXLPPb5LylLtTAH3rt3indvv5GqBlnxb8Zs9jSn3LVaRrI7cbalkkNRad6XXDE8BEFr2Gt63wOj7QWyAwsxkNHkGjxeeJnQGJ-inTbiHsoxBgWeU_00OIoCxigjaw68hrkZeCyHl8qpoHm/s320/Copy+of+IMG_1109.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516345353627010498" border="0" /></a>My favorite memory of childhood in Taiwan was going on a school field trip. It was never about where we went but what snacks my mother would put in my backpack for our annual school field trip. Back then, snacks were not prevalent and were not sold individually packaged like they do today. Guai Guai were one of my favorites and I remembered they were NT$2. But what I wanted most in my snack bag wast those sweet and savory pork jerkies. I am sure many of us who grew up in Taiwan have fond memories of those square pieces of the pork jerkies.<br /><br />Over the years, when I visited Taiwan, I would look for pork jerkies to buy. But rumors of bad sources (or unknown sources) of pork made buying pork jerky a "risky" business. One summer I discovered a specialty pork jerky store on Chung Hsiao East Road (near Taipei University), but the pork jerky sold there cost more than a piece of rib eye steak oz per oz. I did buy some to let my kids try, but it wasn't something I can buy in bulk.<br /><br />Jump to September 2010. Last week while visiting a friend of mine, she excitedly showed me a bag of pork jerky. She said she bought it at Costco!!! She pulled out a piece and let me tried it. We let out a scream!!! It tasted the same as the flavor we had become accustomed to. My friend said another friend saw it at a Costco in Hawaii and bought 4 packages. So when she saw it at a Costco in Hacienda Heights, she had to buy some. She only bought 2 packages though because she wanted to make sure it has that Taiwanese taste before buying more. Well, it tasted exactly as we know it. So when my friend saw it at our local Costco, she had to let all her Taiwanese friends know about it. I had wanted to buy some all week. Today, I finally found the time to make the trip to our local Costco.<br /><br />So if you have a Costco near you, make the trip to Costco and buy those pork jerkies and re-live your childhood memories. I looked at the package carefully. This product is made in USA. So we don't have to worry about the source of pork. It also does not contain MSG. I can't say it doesn't contain preservatives, but I think it's within FDA standard, so unless one over-indulges, one should not worry about that. At $9.79 (14.5 oz), it's not expensive at all. If your local Costco doesn't carry this product, request it. Happy eating!!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-6dlCAeM2ZFFid0ei3f13R7-0HKFpl1saG4S28TI2sXVXUoabpnZMBPniaIZZBqZHfR9y5Q2RkXbYRfXwZwN1dsF3nBi-IeoDfN2isqnTsthgUQZJAWxclhFvJgoiSHxex8USO_lkBI-/s1600/Copy+of+IMG_1110.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-6dlCAeM2ZFFid0ei3f13R7-0HKFpl1saG4S28TI2sXVXUoabpnZMBPniaIZZBqZHfR9y5Q2RkXbYRfXwZwN1dsF3nBi-IeoDfN2isqnTsthgUQZJAWxclhFvJgoiSHxex8USO_lkBI-/s320/Copy+of+IMG_1110.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516345539750509074" border="0" /></a>上星期到朋友家去串門子, 她急著拿出一樣東西要給我看。 她說, “妳吃吃看, 這是在 Costco 買的。“ 我一吃, 不得了。 我倆大聲一叫,“哪有可能 在 Costco 買到臺灣味的豬肉乾!?!?” 我仔細一看,包裝上寫的是 Product of USA 和 No MSG! 我以前都不太敢買豬肉乾, 雖然愛吃,可是怕買到來路不明的豬肉乾, 所以已經有好久沒買了。 這下子我可高興了, Costco 在賣豬肉乾,我隨時都可以吃到物美價廉的豬肉乾 (US$9.79, 14.5 oz)。 今天特別跑了Costco 一趟, 買了兩包豬肉乾。 反正我們幾乎每個禮拜都會去 Costco 買東西, 吃完到時候再買。我準備明天給小孩帶一些豬肉乾到學校去當點心吃。 好幸福的小朋友喔! 我很高興我的小孩也願意跟我一起分享好吃的豬肉乾! 想當年我小學遠足時最常攜帶的零食就是豬肉乾! 如果你們家附近的 Costco 沒有賣豬肉乾, 你們可以要求 Costco 進貨。<br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-40494587859247561582010-08-17T15:48:00.000-07:002010-08-17T20:32:05.691-07:00開學篇 (第二篇: 初中篇) Back to School, Part Two, Middle SchoolMy 10 year-old daughter will enter middle school this fall. She is so looking forward to going to her new school. She does not want to miss any part of what middle school has to offer. If you ask her what she is most looking forward to in middle school. She will say LOCKERS. Go figure. I guess having her own locker at school makes her feel grown up. I remembered the locker I had in high school--it was like my home away from home. It was filled with shoes, clothes, PE stuff, books, papers, etc... It took 2-3 shopping bags to empty out my locker on the last day of school.<br /><br />One of those consistent nightmares I would have in my youth was to forget my locker combinations. Back then, I had to buy my own combination lock to put on my locker. The smart thing would be to write down my lock combinations somewhere. But the nightmare would go a step further--I would forget where I had written down the lock combinations. It had never occurred to me to just tell my mom what my locker combinations are and she could have helped me remember.<br /><br />That was then, this is now. I don't think my daughter will have the same kind of nightmares I had when I was in middle school. The lock to her locker is built-in the locker. Her school keeps each locker's lock combinations in the office. If a student forgets his/her combinations, all he/she needs to do is to go to the office and ask about it.<br /><br />Speaking of Middle School. In California, elementary schools begin in kindergarten and end in grade 5. Middle Schools include grade 6 through 8. High schools are grade 9 through Grade 12. My sister who still lives in Vancouver tells me that British Columbia no longer has Junior High Schools. My Canadian nieces will only have to attend Elementary School (kindergarten to Grade 7) and High School (Grade 8 to Grade 12). Junior High Schools (or Middle Schools) no longer exist in Vancouver.<br /><br />Way back in June, before the 5th grade Culmination (a small-scale elementary school "graduation"), all 5th grade parents received information about what we would need to prepare and buy for our new 6th graders. One of the biggest item we need to purchase is a three-inch zipper binder which will contain all the notes from the 6 classes a 6th grader will need to take in Middle School. One day in July, I took my daughter to Target, Staples, and Office Depot to look for one. Some were too small (1" or 2" zipper binder) or too big. Most were flimsily made. I did not want to pay over $20 for a poorly-made zipper binder that may only last a month. We didn't end up buying anything from the stores. We decided to go home and look for a suitable binder on-line. To my surprise, most of the reviews of the zipper binders on Amazon talked about how these binders were not sturdy enough to last a whole semester.<br /><br />Two weeks ago, at Costco, I found the exact zipper binder that my daughter and I have been looking for. Costco did not have this product in July. The greatest part about it was the price--$12.99!!! Not sure how sturdy this zipper binder is, so I bought 2 just in case one doesn't last a whole semester. Right next to the zipper binders were these Casio Scientific calculators. These scientific calculators were selling for $12.99 each. It was the last item on my daughter's 6th grade school supplies list that I have yet to buy for her. Initially, I was not sure how good a scientific calculator I need to get for her (at what price level?!) But $12.99, I wouldn't feel too bad if she lost it at school. Basically, she's all set for 6th grade.<br /><br />我那十歲的女兒暑假過後,就要上初中了。 在加州,小學是從大班上到五年級。 初中是六年級到八年級, 而高中是九年級到十二年級。所以在美國是有十三年的義務教育。 有的家長選擇讓小孩晚讀一年的話,還可以上二年的大班(等於是十四年的義務教育)。<br /><br />上初中對我女兒來講是件<span id="result_box" class="short_text"><span style="" title="">令她很興奮也很期待的大事。 </span></span>如果問她對上初中最響往的事是什麼, 她會說 “在學校有自己的鐵<span id="result_box" class="short_text"><span style="" title="">櫃櫥</span></span> (locker) ”。 好像有自己的學校 locker 就代表自己長大了! 想當年我讀高中時也把我比較重要的家當放在學校的 locker 裏。 誰會笨到把自己的日記放在家裏?!?! 我媽不讓我穿的高跟鞋以及不准我用的化妝品也都是放在我學校的 locker 裏。 學期結束時,我還得在家裏找個地方藏這些私密的東西。 誰會想得到一個小小 locker 對少女的成長過程會有如此的<span id="result_box" class="short_text"><span style="" title="">影響</span></span>力!<br /><br />女兒的新學校已經在學校的官網 po了下學期學生要用的文具用品。 最重要的一樣東西是一個有拉鍊的三寸活頁夾。 我帶女兒去了三、四家文具用品店都沒有找到適當的活頁夾。 不是太小就是看起來不是很<span class="dct-tt">堅固。 有些還要二十幾塊。我覺得太貴了。 小孩子用的東西不應該那麼貴。 反正離開學還要一個多月,我就告訴女兒我們再等等看,搞不好再一陣子我們要買的東西就會減價。<br /><br />八月初,她在 Children's Place </span>看到一個漂亮(耐看可是好像不太耐用) 1" 大的活頁夾,只要 $7.99。 我二話不說先把它買下來想說女兒一開學也還不需要用上三寸活頁夾。 結果後來再去Costco時, 竟然看到女兒正需要的三寸活頁夾, 才 $12.99。 我一口氣買了兩個 (怕不耐用)。女兒選了銀色及籃色的活頁夾,高興得不得了 (one step closer to Middle School)! Costco 也蠻應景的, 八月份也開始賣 back-to-school 的文具用品。 我還順便買了個<span class="wbtr_mn">科學</span><span class="wbtr_mn">用的計算機</span>給女兒, Casio 牌的才$12.99。 反正<span class="wbtr_mn">科學</span><span class="wbtr_mn">用的計算機也</span>是在她學校的文具用品清單上, 所以早晚也是得買。Costco 賣的產品<span class="dct-tt">絕對</span>比別的地方賣得便宜, 所以不買以後一定會後悔。 女兒好喜歡她的銀色活頁夾,看樣子有空我得去把她在 Children's Place 買的 1" 活頁夾拿去還。<br /><br />再兩星期就要開學了。 今年暑假過得還真快!<br /><br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-19468116253917071412010-08-13T08:50:00.000-07:002010-08-16T17:38:10.127-07:00開學篇 (第一篇: 課外活動篇) Back to School, Part One, Extracurricular Activities<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxwnZxf1X7tpcjP38WToxBVefhewPezJhij3XIl41VIFjlqeb7xUOh5_UOa5-q4K3QegIBSuoykmOp0tmMwuzoD3GrnoBVnanjwXCITnrckMpF5NMRdcRWrN9T-JOuD5ewq-wbj2JbcAS/s1600/back-to-school1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 89px; height: 78px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxwnZxf1X7tpcjP38WToxBVefhewPezJhij3XIl41VIFjlqeb7xUOh5_UOa5-q4K3QegIBSuoykmOp0tmMwuzoD3GrnoBVnanjwXCITnrckMpF5NMRdcRWrN9T-JOuD5ewq-wbj2JbcAS/s320/back-to-school1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505332521132686338" border="0" /></a>I can't believe the summer is almost over. It's time to think about the kids going back to school. Back-to-School means that my life will be "back to normal" and becomes more structured, dictated by my kids' after-school schedules. Now that the kids are older, they have a clear sense of what they like and what they don't like, so they choose the after-school activities that they want to participate in. My 10 year-old daughter will continue with her dance classes and Girl Scout. She had bridged over to be a Girl Scout Cadette in June. My 8 year-old son will do AYSO soccer (www.ayso.org) this fall and Little League Baseball in the spring. He will also do Cub Scouting. He will be a Bear Cub Scout this year. With both kids in Scouting, we will be selling lots of Boy Scout popcorn and Girl Scout cookies this upcoming school year.<br /><br />I <span style="font-weight: bold;">am</span> making both kids do violin. I let them choose between piano or violin and they both chose violin. I think they chose violin because they perceived that playing violin is EASIER than playing piano. Neither of my kids have inherited the musical discipline (or talent) from their father, so they will never achieve the kind of success that many Asian kids have exhibited in music performance. But I want my kids to be exposed to playing music, reading music, and learning about music theory. Mostly, I want them to appreciate music and musical performance. When they go to a concert, whether pop or classic, they will realize how hard those musicians have to work to get to where they are today. Unfortunately for me, getting them to practice violin is like pulling teeth, so they'll likely end their violin career the day I don't feel like nagging them about practicing their violins.<br /><br />時間也過得真快,八月中,快開學了。 開學後,我的生活也就能變得比較規律,可是會更忙碌。 我覺得除了要開車載小孩上下課之外,還要載小孩參加不同的課外活動行程。 當然還得弄便當及督導小孩的功課。 其實也沒什麼,有就學年齡小孩的父母都能瞭解我們現階段在做的事,也很清楚現階段該做些什麼事。<br /><br />我十歲的女兒將要繼續她的舞蹈課程以及女童子軍(www.girlscouts.org) 的活動。 我八歲的兒子會以秋季足球(www.ayso.org)及春季少少棒(www.littleleague.org) 為主,外加男童子軍(www.scouting.org)。<br /><br />為了能讓我的小孩文武雙全(可能嗎?!?!),我強迫他們一定要學一樣樂器。 他倆都選擇小提琴。 我想他們大概是認為學小提琴比學鋼琴簡單。 其實要好好學任何樂器都很難。 除了要有興趣之外,還要有恆心、毅力、及耐心。 我的小孩是比不上在美國的許多亞裔青年,各各都能夠拉或彈一手好琴。 除非我逼他們練琴,他們是不會自動自發的去練琴的。 想當年我媽也逼我練琴,逼到最後母女的感情也搞壞了,琴也越練越糟。 我覺得那時是我的心態問題,也正是青少年反抗期, 只要是我媽說的話我都會討厭。 最後我媽發現她真的是在浪費錢才在我十一年級的時候終止我的學琴生涯。 現在回想起來當然是我不對,可是我的那一段學琴經驗真的是一趟不愉快的人生旅程。 三十年後的今天,人生的輪迴,我又要來逼我的小孩學琴,感覺好像不太對。 也因為我的過去,讓我對我的小孩學琴這件事想了好久。<br /><br />我的老公很會拉小提琴。 從小沒人逼他學琴。 後來是因為我公婆無法開車載他去學琴而沒能繼續學琴。 跟我差好大喔! 他的想法是要讓小孩有學琴的經驗,讓他們對音樂有基本的瞭解。 因為練過琴才能體會音樂人的才華及辛苦。 學琴的出發點有了, 下一個步驟就是要如何激發(motivate)小孩的練琴意願,少讓我用“逼”的方式強迫他們練琴。 基本上沒什麼好方法,就是我得花時間陪小孩子拉琴。 不是練琴,而是陪小孩子一起拉琴。 想當年自己練琴的辛苦,原來就是用要來培育下一代!<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-70515255419205324252010-07-31T11:02:00.000-07:002010-08-08T09:22:46.029-07:00來美國玩一定要保險 The Importance of Travel/Medical Insurance<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizyjOSRA2NMEeKrw3UiyseZiwmLe3png4kCrBMs6KLUzF0qoJmbMneNIl88GFFb2ndVEuiNcrk1wyJ0AdPcBWV1zvtO9KtIggv81ALYgeDWgRsCi-GUWa6o7Ru7habpijJr41PkcGY_zNt/s1600/ti.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 274px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizyjOSRA2NMEeKrw3UiyseZiwmLe3png4kCrBMs6KLUzF0qoJmbMneNIl88GFFb2ndVEuiNcrk1wyJ0AdPcBWV1zvtO9KtIggv81ALYgeDWgRsCi-GUWa6o7Ru7habpijJr41PkcGY_zNt/s320/ti.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502984486422967954" border="0" /></a>July is typically the month when many of our Taiwanese friends and families come to the United States for their summer vacation. Inevitably, they will drop by Los Angeles and visit us. I am sure most of us who live in the United States have similar experience when it comes to visitors from Taiwan.<br /><br />I learned something important this year. Two unfortunate events happened to my family and another friend's family within a day of each other. On July 5 (a long weekend Monday), I found out that the friend's father-in-law passed away from a heart attack while visiting a city about an hour away from home. Her father-in-law came to the U. S. often, so they were on one of their family outings. I didn't ask her what happened afterward, but it's safe to say that many things financial and emotional would need to be addressed after the passing of her father-in-law.<br /><br />On July 6, a family friend visiting us had a stroke. He survived, but he was burdened with an astronomical medical bill. The ambulance trip between his son's house and the hospital (a total distance of 3 miles) cost more than US$1,600. The first day of emergency and ICU care cost more than US$65,000. Any doctor who visited the patient while he stayed at the U. S. hospital would be charged the doctor's regular hourly rate (at least US$350 per hour). Without medical insurance, the medical bill will continue to increase until this patient is stable enough to be air-lifted back to Taiwan for further medical treatment. This Taiwanese friend did buy travel insurance before he left for Taiwan, but most are accidental coverage for death and dismemberment, and not for catastrophic nor emergency illnesses. He had a NT$50,000 coverage for catastrophic illness. That's not nearly enough to even cover 1 day's worth of doctor's fees.<br /><br />So a word of advice. If you or your family wants to travel to the United States from Taiwan, please make sure that enough medical insurance is purchased to cover serious illness such as heart attack and stroke for your friend or family. I would recommend travel insurance that include medical care for serious illnesses for people 50 and over. The medical coverage should be around US$300,000 or more. The medical insurance should also include the expenses of air-lifting the patient back to Taiwan for further care. <br /><br />暑假是台灣親朋好友來美國旅遊的季節。今年也不例外。 可是今年七月卻讓我體會到旅遊醫療保險(重大疾病)的重要。 好朋友的公公來美國住不到幾天就因心臟病發作而過世。 我是沒有問好朋友如何辦妥她公公的後事,可是如果她公公有在臺灣買好旅遊保險,那肯定保險公司將會協助我朋友處理一些相關事物。<br /><br />在我朋友公公出事的第二天,我的一位親戚也在來美的三天後中風。 因為沒有醫療保險, 第一天的住院費用就高達六萬美金!!! 就連救護車的帳單也要美金一千六(醫院和他兒子家的距離只有三英哩)。 所以奉勸大家--如果你將有親朋好友到美國來探親或觀光,一定要叮嚀親朋好友(尤其是年紀較大的人)來美國之前在臺灣買好至少有三十萬美金的重大疾病旅遊醫療保險。 這旅遊醫療保險最好是也有包括把病人從美國運輸回台灣的費用。 當初林志玲在中國受傷時也是用專機運輸回台灣的,她或她的經紀公司肯定有買這一方面的保險。Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-35832742184443812632010-03-11T22:13:00.000-08:002010-03-31T22:27:53.317-07:002010 U. S.Census 美國人口普查<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mcFLfw73O30&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mcFLfw73O30&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />If you are of Taiwanese origin, when you fill out the 2010 U. S. Census, please don't forget to check off "Other Asians" and WRITE IN "Taiwanese" on Question 9. Please forward this information to all your Taiwanese friends and family living in the U. S. The deadline for mailing in the 2010 U. S. Census is April 1, 2010.<br /><br />美國的居民應該在這兩、三個星期內會收到2010年美國人口普查的問卷。 請大家不要忘記在第九題勾起“Other Asians", 並填寫 “TAIWANESE”。您這動作應該會讓美國政府瞭解台灣人在美國也佔一席之地!Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-23867475769837091372010-03-01T09:25:00.000-08:002010-03-01T10:20:57.000-08:00珍奧斯汀的男人Jane Austen's menJane Austen is my favorite author. When I read her as a teenager, many of the nuances of adult relationships kind of went through me without registering much empathy. The focus was always the romance part of her stories. But now that I am in my 40s, Jane Austen's brilliance--in her ability to observe human relationships (not just the male-female ones) and to write them down with such an insight never cease to amaze me. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0oDYGowvaB8tuytqP3LU3IxRrSSTTQ8dDz4YOscyDs7rfmbWfYII8YDWmB7dRDEEP3hwgc-cEKbyF4PmwKOReB6C_UkPwwLfNsmfbZsrgVLCM338LUvRg9werkLoiwo5dCV1b0O6uVC1y/s1600-h/darcy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 145px; height: 99px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0oDYGowvaB8tuytqP3LU3IxRrSSTTQ8dDz4YOscyDs7rfmbWfYII8YDWmB7dRDEEP3hwgc-cEKbyF4PmwKOReB6C_UkPwwLfNsmfbZsrgVLCM338LUvRg9werkLoiwo5dCV1b0O6uVC1y/s320/darcy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443719039476005890" border="0" /></a>So I was delighted to see PBS' Masterpiece Theater broadcasting TV adaptation of Jane Austen's novels--Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion for the last 4 weeks. It was a nice diversion from the hustle and bustle of watching the Winter Olympic games.<br />I actually found the TV adaptation of Emma slightly off. The book was better than the TV production, mostly because they focused too much TV time on the first half of the book and not enough with the second half. <br /><br />The major theme in any of Jane Austen's novel is for her heroines to marry well. Back in those days, women had no means of supporting themselves. Their financial well-being relied much on the inheritance that they will receive and who they marry. Life for women today is not so different from their counterparts 300 years ago. For a woman to have a successful work/career life, if she chooses to have children and family life, she cannot do it alone. The choice of a husband can make or break a woman's life--who needs to go through divorces?!<br /><br />The photo above is the famous Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice), portrayed by Colin Firth. <br />For years, Mr. Darcy was by far my favorite male character in Jane Austen's novels, but after watching the portrayal of Captain Wentworth by Rupert Penry-Jones in Persuasion, Captain Wentworth (photo below) is now my new favorite Jane Austen man. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnqd1yfve4hjkNOVHBNbIXPAXqpTlsVQ2rgt325TMyAre3gNk_sRV1qsEooB9TnSyZfmUnz0HrRbZfSF2hpsgVuVx3HrSg_eG5v6ikap_70RFvVs_tv87gnjOOUESQIX6tIIK1i56zditN/s1600-h/wentworth.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 157px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnqd1yfve4hjkNOVHBNbIXPAXqpTlsVQ2rgt325TMyAre3gNk_sRV1qsEooB9TnSyZfmUnz0HrRbZfSF2hpsgVuVx3HrSg_eG5v6ikap_70RFvVs_tv87gnjOOUESQIX6tIIK1i56zditN/s320/wentworth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443720397253531186" border="0" /></a> Men who inherit wealth and men who made their own wealth are different breeds of men. I prefer the latter. Also the fact that Captain Wentworth kept his feeling for Anne Elliot for 7 years even after she rejected him is worth the price of admission. I love a man who is reserved, disciplined, and controlled, but underneath it all, he is as passionate as they come. What woman wouldn't want that in a romantic fiction?!<br /><br />If you are a Jane Austen fan, go to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/menofausten.html, you can vote for your favorite Jane Austen men. There is a little write up on each man. It's a lot of fun!<br /><br />最近這四個星期天的晚上, 美國的公共電視台 (PBS) 連接著播出了由珍奧斯汀的小說所改編的電視劇--Emma, Northanger Abbey 及 Persuasion。 這三部小說雖然沒有比<span style="font-style: italic;">傲慢與偏見</span> 有名, 可是劇情提材出自於珍奧斯汀, 因此可看度很高。 尤其是對從小就很崇拜珍奧斯汀的我來講, 能看到珍奧斯汀的人物顯現在電視的螢光幕上,這真是一件很開心的事。 當然每個珍奧斯汀的男主人翁都酷和帥到不行! 大家有機會可以上網去投票給妳最心儀的珍奧斯汀男主角! http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/menofausten.html 。Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-74033634712806219992010-01-21T21:29:00.000-08:002010-03-11T22:51:23.952-08:00Sale at Hollister 大拍賣!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3RaQx_k9ucKFoTK3ERCEx0NBWEUPn0X4n5cYHaDzMhc2Lp4NRNEuCXnY2Em890BzNxzJlY9cVujXJ8r-W-DJqUxktVE20IESvJAvFFaOQxFR6V47nXGa1jmbWnF36S2mxz5VCz5BQ-CT/s1600-h/hollister.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 118px; height: 94px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3RaQx_k9ucKFoTK3ERCEx0NBWEUPn0X4n5cYHaDzMhc2Lp4NRNEuCXnY2Em890BzNxzJlY9cVujXJ8r-W-DJqUxktVE20IESvJAvFFaOQxFR6V47nXGa1jmbWnF36S2mxz5VCz5BQ-CT/s320/hollister.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430222718744602738" /></a>The last few days have been cold and damp in Los Angeles. My daughter needs a jacket she can wear to school (without worrying about loosing it). I bought her a ski/snowboard Burton jacket a while back, but I think it's too fancy for school. So today, I went to the mall to look for a jacket she can wear to school. I started at Gymboree, then to Crazy 8, Children's Place, and GAP. I don't think these stores stock jacket for cold weather in Los Angeles, so I didn't find anything that was thick enough for my daughter to wear on cold days like today. My daughter's favorite clothing brand is Abercombie and Fitch, but the mall I went to didn't have A&F, so I went to the Hollister store (www.hollisterco.com)instead. A&F actually owns the Hollister brand. There are so many similarities between the 2 brands that I think they are interchangeable, aside from the logo.<br /><br />To my surprise, a lot of stuff at Hollister was marked down. Moreover, there was a sale on whereby everything that was marked down already is reduced further by 50%. I found several wintery jackets for $25 (regular price $125-$149). Hollister hoodies were going for $20 each. I was surprised at the size of the inventory. I guess people haven't been to the mall lately because of the recent downpours. I quickly grabbed 6 items and lined up. I waited 1/2 hour before I got to the cashier. They didn't have bags big enough to fit all 6 items. They were going to bag it one item per one small bag. I told them not to bother, I easily draped 4 jackets over my arm and carried the other 2 in bags. <br /><br />Unfortunately, my daughter did not like any of the 6 jackets I brought home. I think stylistically, Hollister is still a bit old for my daughter. Once the weather clears up, I would have to return all 6 items. It's too bad that I have to return those jackets because they were really good deals. But I guess my fashion sense isn't on the same wavelength as my 10-year old daughter. She said she still likes A&F better!<br /><br />UPDATE: I returned all the items I bought for my daughter. Luckily my friend gave me some of her daughters' hand-me-down jackets a few days after my shopping trip at Hollister. My daughter loves her semi-new jackets!<br /><br />如果您家裏有 13歲 至 18歲的小孩, 趕快去 Hollister 買衣服 (www.hollisterco.com)。 Hollister 是美國青少年喜愛的名牌。 平常它的服飾價位訂得很高, 但是只要有減價就很划得來。 Hollister 現在正在打折。 折價後的產品再打五折!!! 一些原價要 $125至$149 的冬天外套只要 $25。 本來幫女兒買了六件不同樣式、顏色的外套, 只可惜她沒有一件喜歡。 再過幾天等到天氣轉晴後,再去店裏辦退貨。 真是麻煩! 女兒說她還是比較喜歡 Abercombie & Fitch 的衣服。 Abercombie & Fitch 是一家服飾上市公司(NYSE: ANF)。 其實 Hollister 的東家就是 Abercombie & Fitch。 這兩家店賣的服飾還非常類似,只是品牌標識不一樣而已。<br /><br />說真的,我覺得只要衣服的品質好、價錢公道, 買名牌服飾給小孩穿是 OK 的。 最主要還是希望小朋友能融入美國人的社會。 在美國長大的小女生很辛苦、壓力也大, 就連穿的衣服也不能太奇怪! 在女兒的五年級班上, Abercombie & Fitch 的服飾就好像是女孩們的制服喔! 當我發現這學生潮流時,我就先告知女兒 Abercombie & Fitch 牌的衣服我一定會買給她的,只是不會馬上買。我會等減價再買給她。我給女兒訂的原則是上衣、褲子、裙子不能超過十元,外套、洋裝不能超過二十元。 這樣就保證不會給小孩子買到太昂貴的名牌服飾了。<br />************<br />白忙一場! 搞半天我女兒一件 Hollister 的夾克也不喜歡! 好在我的一位住在附近的老朋友在一星期後送了一大包她女兒穿不下的衣服給我。 其中有一伴夾克大衣我女兒好喜歡! 剛好派上用場!Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-90121354681559133482010-01-09T17:43:00.000-08:002010-01-24T00:18:04.767-08:00Little League Tryouts 少少棒選拔賽<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIcO0uaf3o7Gm-wnqtgWRAc7lkyKotEsv8NNC_riaw7B1Rw0sdwCAlqYQkmqU1NbVTXqK1oxTIL-rapZwv2jaevpBfYMJrsxX8lmQGwS4vNAdOA9XjU8Jhpgx7FSQ-gpGufDDF1pcaP-FU/s1600-h/Little+League.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 103px; height: 103px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIcO0uaf3o7Gm-wnqtgWRAc7lkyKotEsv8NNC_riaw7B1Rw0sdwCAlqYQkmqU1NbVTXqK1oxTIL-rapZwv2jaevpBfYMJrsxX8lmQGwS4vNAdOA9XjU8Jhpgx7FSQ-gpGufDDF1pcaP-FU/s320/Little+League.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429996581262515266" /></a>Now that my son is 8, with 2 years of Little League experience, he is qualified to enter the minors team in his little league. But the caveat is that he has to try out for the team. Parents received flyers for baseball camps before the winter break and because we were going on a cruise, I couldn't sign my son up for it. The boy hasn't played baseball since May, he was a bit rusty at the try out today. Both my husband and I thought our son is a borderline kid--meaning he may or may not make the minor team. He can hit and catch, but he's weak in throwing the ball. One thing going for him is that he is a fast runner between the bases. Like I said he is a borderline kid. If the try outs are for coaches to select the best players, he will make the minors if they need more players to form the teams. So we were keeping our fingers crossed.<br /><br />The morning started at 9:45AM with his first winter soccer game. There were 2 other boys on the team who were also going to the baseball tryout, so we all left the soccer game early at 10:15AM. They changed into their baseball uniform, then we drove 15 minutes to the Little League field. There were many kids and families roaming the area, either watching, socializing, or practicing. They have sign in first and get a number. Unbeknownst to us, the number did not mean the order in which you will be trying out. The boys were suppose to line up near the home base when it's time for your age group to try out (10:45AM). My son was walking around and watching (I think he was nervous) and didn't know to line up. When I told him to line up, he was near the end of the line. He didn't get to try out until past noon. It was a long wait. Had I known about this system, we would not have left the soccer game early.<br /><br />At the tryout, each boy gets pitched a ball to hit. He gets 3 tries. Once he hits the ball, he runs the bases. Then after 5 boys have done the hitting, they line up to catch a ground ball, then throws the ball to first base. Once the 5 boys did that, they line up again to try out pitching. Then the next 5 boys is up at bat. <br /><br />While waiting for my son to finish the try out, I talked to a few moms and realized that the try out wasn't aimed at weeding out the less skilled boys. The coaches from all the teams rate each boy so they can make the teams more balanced. They are trying to avoid putting all the best players in one team.<br /><br />I think my son did the best he could at the tryout. He was worried that he wouldn't make the minor team. I said he will make it, but the minor teams are harder than farm teams because the boys will be hitting balls pitched by another boy, not by a pitching machine. The chance of getting hit by a fast ball while at bat is very common. <br /><br />For a boy, growing up in America, playing team sports is a major part of his life. It is where all his social life begins.<br /><br />話說兒子的少少棒選拔賽,聽起來好像很隆重,可是事實上只是讓所有球隊教練有機會觀察所有小朋友打棒球的能力,好讓教練可以依照小朋友的能力平均分配球員到每個球隊。這樣每個球隊比賽時,輸贏不會差太多。 這也是我後來跟其他比較有經驗的媽媽聊天後才知道的。<br /><br />兒子已經參加了兩年的少少棒,從 T-Ball隊 到 Farm隊, 今年他8歲,所以要參加 Minor隊。 在 Minor隊 發表隊員名單之前,每個希望加入 Minor隊 的小男孩都要參與年初舉辨的少少棒選拔賽。 知道兒子必需要經過選拔賽的考驗其實我和老公也蠻緊張的。 我們兒子的運動神經還算不錯,可是棒球這種東西還是平常得練習。 兒子是從五月的棒球季節結束後就沒有再碰棒球了。 寒假之前,學校發了一些有關冬令營的資訊, 其中一項就是少少棒冬令營。 很多小男生趁放寒假的時間參加少少棒冬令營,一方面在放寒假時有地方去,另一方面可以在少少棒選拔賽之前有所準備。我們利用寒假期間去玩(坐了一趟遊輪),所以無法參加任何冬令營。因此一月開學後,我們對於這少少棒選拔賽也有趨之若鶩的感覺。<br /><br />今天一早九點就出門。兒子的冬季足球賽今天是第一場。同隊的有其他兩位小男生也要去參加少少棒選拔賽。 所以我們 10:15AM 就提前離開足球場,開車前往少棒棒球場。 兒子在車上換制服。到了棒球場拿了號碼就等上場。 因為這是我們第一次參加少少棒選拔賽,不知道要到本壘後面排隊。快十一點才輪到 Minor隊 的球員上陣, 可是兒子因為排在最後, 輪到他時已經中午了。早知道是用排隊上陣的方式, 我們也不用那麼早就離開足球賽了。 兒子就一邊排隊一邊看別人怎麼打。 我也在一旁跟其他家長聊天。 那時才知道這少少棒選拔賽事實上只是讓教練評估每位小朋友的能力。 基本上每位來參加這次 Minor隊 “Tryout” 的小朋友都會被分配到 Minor隊。 知道後, 我們做家長的就不用那麼緊張了,可是我並沒有把這情報告訴兒子。 我想讓他盡力的表現自己。<br /><br />選拔賽一開始就每五個小孩一組。 教練投手投球讓小朋友打。 擊不中有三次機會。 打中後往一壘跑, 一直跑回本壘。 五個小朋友都跑完後,輪流在二壘後面接滾地球,接到後要丟給一壘手。 最後一項就是做投手,把球丟給在本壘的補手。 這一組的五個小孩都評估完後就歸下一組人馬。 兒子也很順利的完成這三項比賽。<br /><br />原來美國大連盟的球員就是這樣訓練出來的!Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-45416729010149064562010-01-07T23:29:00.000-08:002010-01-09T17:06:25.662-08:00有錢人Wealth<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qO14ollKUdM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qO14ollKUdM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />哇! 1410 坪耶! 就算只住一層也有 470 坪! 在台灣,貧富的差距真的很大! 大部份的臺灣人如果有四十坪的房子可以住就要偷笑了! 當然有錢人可以花自己辛苦賺來的錢, 不過低調一點不是比較好嗎? <br /><br />One of the richest man in Taiwan, Gou Tai-Ming (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Gou), just bought the top 3 floors of a residential highrise (yet to be built) in the Tamshui area of Taiwan. Each floor is about 470 ping (or 16694.825 sq. ft.). That's almost the size of an official NHL ice skating rink. The average Taiwanese people live in apartments that are about 30 pings. It's hard to imagine the mindset of a multi-billionaire. I always thought rich people would want to be low key. It's not like Mr. Gou doesn't have beautiful homes already. This significant real estate purchase sounds like his ego speaking. To each his own.Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-19621515353740966882010-01-06T20:51:00.000-08:002010-01-09T16:28:45.447-08:00KOST 103.5I have been a faithful listener to KOST 103.5 for a long time. Now, when I drive my kids to school, they also enjoy listening to Mark & Kristin's Morning Show. One drawback about listening to these radio shows is that my kids would constantly try to tell me to call-in to win whatever prizes are offered. It's hard to drive and call a radio station these days, especially in areas where radio reception is extremely bad. Over the last 10 years, it's not from my lack of trying, but I've never succeeded in winning anything from calling in. I was never at the right place at the right time.<br /><br />Well, I was driving to work today and I heard someone on the radio announcing a 4-pack tickets to Disneyland offered to the 20th caller. What the heck, I will give it a try. I called KOST 3 times and I either got a busy signal or a not-in-service signal. The 4th time, the phone got connected and when someone pick up on the other end, I had to say hello several times, but no one said anything on the other end. I finally said, "am I the 20th caller?" The person on the other end said, "have you won anything from us in the last 60 days?" I said, "NO!" The person then said, "you are the 20th caller! Congratulations, you won the Disney 2for tickets!" I said, "I DID?" The person said, "YES, can I have your telephone number?" I gave him my number and he said, "can you stay on the line?" I stayed on the line and heard Kristin talk a bit and she even mentioned my name, but before I know it music was playing on the station again and the person got back on the phone and took down my address and telephone number. He said their promotional department will be in touch with me shortly about the tickets. I mentioned something about how excited my kids will be when they find out about the Disneyland tickets. Although I didn't get interviewed by Kristin, I was still very happy that I won these tickets.<br /><br />On a side note, someone from the radio station called me in the afternoon and said that they don't have the tickets yet, but when they have the tickets, they will contact me again. I put this person's name and telephone number on my Outlook Agenda for the next 30 days. I will call her in 30 days if KOST doesn't contact me by then.<br /><br />I told the kids at dinner that I have something great to tell them. They eagerly waited for me to sit down. But my husband spoiled the fun and said it's about the radio station. My daughter immediately guessed that I must have won something from the radio station. The kids continued to guess what I might have won. They were really excited when they found out we got Disneyland tickets. <br /><br />My son wants to go to Disneyland next weekend. I had to tell him that I don't have the tickets yet and if we go, it would probably be closer to the Spring Break. At least now we will have some place fun to go to for Spring Break.<br /><br />我最常聽的廣播電台是 KOST 103.5 (FM)。 我只要開車就一定會聽這電台。 現在連我的小孩也跟我一起聽。 雖然他們還是比較喜歡聽 Radio Disney, 可是 AM 的收訊不如 FM, 所以我們常聽 KOST。 小孩子大了, 當然也聽得懂廣播內客,尤其是可以得獎的活動。 例如,只要是第二十個打電話進去的聽眾就可以贏某種獎品。 今天一早開車上班,因為有點感冒,所以上班的意願不高, 可是還是得去。 在途中, 聽到 KOST 早晨節目的主持人宣佈第二十個打電話進去給她們的聽眾就可以贏四張迪士尼樂園的門票。 心血來潮就開始撥電話。 KOST 的電話號碼早就已經儲存在我的電話裏了。撥了三次電話都沒接通,本來想放棄, 可是又撥了一次。 這次電話通了....<br /><br />我 "Hello"<br />KOST (電話是通了,可是沒人在線上。) "....."<br />我 "Hello"<br />KOST "......Hello..."<br />我 "我是第二十位打通電話的人嗎?"<br />KOST "妳在這六十天之前有在我們這電台贏過任何獎品嗎?"<br />我 "沒有!"<br />KOST "那妳就是第二十位打通電話的人!恭喜妳,妳贏了四張迪士尼樂園的門票!"<br />我 "真的?!?!"<br />KOST "是的。 請妳給我妳的連絡電話。 麻煩妳繼續留在線上。"<br /><br />這是我生平第一次贏到這麼好的獎品。 回家後告訴小孩, 他們也興奮不已! 只是現在還無法敲定什麼時候去迪士尼樂園, 因為 KOST 也還沒有拿到迪士尼樂園的門票。 他們說票收到後會再通知我! 反正今年迪士尼樂園是去定了!<br /><br />我認為沒有偏財運的我,在自己開工的第一天贏了這些票, 是個新年好兆頭!Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-86663828530147029552010-01-05T17:45:00.000-08:002010-01-10T09:30:42.616-08:00Target Christmas 90% Off Clearance 聖誕節後大減價!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXIDPA5Sed9UaJCTkamDGRsyd4c_pixadik4M2UHTZcoLDPvKn6Uew8Neg0dFBLslzeUWVHbE1Q3tujySfbztdasfEyxQRHojo53FMYMYQ0H78W-9_waqBKjG-JmRu3iR_nomvkeKC-Nq/s1600-h/Target.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 114px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXIDPA5Sed9UaJCTkamDGRsyd4c_pixadik4M2UHTZcoLDPvKn6Uew8Neg0dFBLslzeUWVHbE1Q3tujySfbztdasfEyxQRHojo53FMYMYQ0H78W-9_waqBKjG-JmRu3iR_nomvkeKC-Nq/s400/Target.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425154102417375506" /></a>If you can't be at Target when it opens at 8AM the day when they markdown seasonal items to 90% off, basically, you will miss out on all the good deals. I had a feeling the 90% off markdown happened yesterday and because of my car trouble, I had blocked Target out of my mind. Since I don't have to work today, I did 3 loads of laundry, got gas, returned some stuff at Sam's Club, and then I decided to go to Target anyway knowing full well that there may not be any Christmas clearance stuff left, at 90% off. <br /><br />Indeed, the 90% markdown of the Christmas items happened yesterday because by the time I got to Target at 1PM, only 1 endcap worth of Christmas items were left. Things go fast when it's only 10% of the original price. I had wanted to buy some Christmas t-shirts for my son, Christmas cards, and ribbons, but they were all gone. Here are what I ended up buying:<br /><br />1. A clear plastic oval serving plate ($0.39)<br />2. 2 infant boys (sizes 12M & 18M) short-sleeved PJ set ($0.89). I would prefer it to be 100% cotton, but it's 100% polyester. Apparently, it's law that children's PJ cannot be 100% cotton anymore because it's a fire-hazard.<br />3. 1 roll of green ribbon ($0.19)<br />4. 1 adult-size (size XS) Christmas t-shirt ($0.99) Perfect for my daughter to wear next year.<br />5. $5 black legging. It's on sale (reg. $6.99), but not on clearance. It flares out at the end so it's perfect as my daughter's jazz pants. Most jazz pants in dance store would cost $20+.<br /><br />Although my total Christmas clearance purchase was insignificant this year, I still managed to get $3.35 worth of Christmas clearance items. I just had to get that clearance bug out of me.<br /><br />每年一月初(通常是一月三、四或五日), Target 會把聖誕節的產品減到一折。 其實聖誕節一過, Target 就會從減半價開始, 慢慢的減到一折(五折、二五折、然後一折)。 重點是我們一定要在八點開門之前趕到搶“頭香”, 要不然可能八點半以後,一折的東西就被搶購得差不多, 東西也所無己了! 昨天因為車子出點問題,而且還要送爸媽去機場, 我沒有心情去 Target 搶買聖誕節的產品。 今天剛好不用上班, 就忍不住得跑去 Target 看了一下。 一折的聖誕節產品只剩下三個小架子那麼多。 我還是找到東西可以買。 一折後的清單如下:<br /><br />1. 一卷包裝用的綠色緞帶 ($0.19)<br />2. 二套小男孩(12M & 18M)的睡衣 ($0.89)<br />3. 大人(小號)聖誕圖型的T卹 ($0.99)<br />4. 橢圓形的透明塑膠盤 ($0.39)<br /><br />我又順便買了一條黑色的 legging 褲子給女兒,做她跳爵士舞時穿的褲子(100% 綿褲)。 因為這星期特價才賣五塊錢 (平常價格是 $6.99)。 如果是到舞蹈專賣店去買爵士舞褲子, 那一條褲子最少也要賣美金二十元以上。<br /><br />我對我今年 Target 聖誕節後大減價的收穫還算滿意!Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-19529585524536425032010-01-01T22:40:00.000-08:002010-01-08T11:15:12.881-08:00新年快樂!!! Happy New Year!!!I haven't blogged much lately. My new year's resolution is to blog more. But my real wish is to de-clutter my house and really make it nice. <br /><br />I thought the stores are not open today, so I stayed home. Well, Target is open, but I can't go there everyday. I am waiting for it to markdown its Christmas merchandise to 90% off. I have a feeling the markdown will happen tomorrow morning. Hopefully, someone on the Mycoupons forum will post something about it. <br /><br />January 1 has been a quiet day for me. The winter holiday is winding down to this weekend. All the visiting relatives will be gone and the kids will be back to school. Everything will be back to normal until the next holiday.<br /><br />Happy New Year everyone!<br /><br />今年的新年新希望是....把自己的房子整理好。 我想把囤積在家裏的東西都處理掉! 可是真的是很難割捨自己買的東西。 我曾經看過一篇教導主婦如何整理房子的指南。 基本上,任何東面只要在妳購買後兩年之內都沒有被用過,妳就應該把那東西扔了。 要我把好好的東西丟掉真的是好難喔! 以前的新年新希望都是圍繞著減肥計劃。 我也不知道什麼時候變得比較實際。 不管是減肥計劃還是整頓房子,對我來講,一樣都是高難度的願望。<br /><br />今天是一月一日, 我本來以為商店都沒開, 結果發現只有我常光顧的 Trader Joe's, Costco, 及 Sam's Club 沒有開。 我本來想去 Target 逛逛, 可是想想再過一、兩天 Target 的聖誕節產品就要被減價到一折了, 到那時候再去逛 Target。<br /><br />我會再向大家報告到 Target 血拼的結果。<br /><br />祝福大家新年快樂!Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-46024350634968831962009-12-07T23:00:00.000-08:002010-08-14T12:33:41.826-07:00H1N1 疫苗篇 Getting H1N1 Vaccination<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2cK8hWF2-AW7XprNnY92ur_ysAsvXj1aFoZwktwXIvcIQyLvoGsByQnMXtsSYdyBU8tksy03KuZJyOdpW9Ma-NdUpniicvIjui-wKEa1JrpxAS0_2BagmFQB9FRzls4u43JE5MjkYqh79/s1600-h/H1N1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 123px; height: 97px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2cK8hWF2-AW7XprNnY92ur_ysAsvXj1aFoZwktwXIvcIQyLvoGsByQnMXtsSYdyBU8tksy03KuZJyOdpW9Ma-NdUpniicvIjui-wKEa1JrpxAS0_2BagmFQB9FRzls4u43JE5MjkYqh79/s400/H1N1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412876508514248530" border="0" /></a>I have been trying to get my kids H1N1 vaccinated since end of October. My kids' pediatrician said the U.S. government allocates the H1N1 vaccines to various pediatric clinics when it becomes available, but for some reason, my kids' pediatrician never received any allotment of the H1N1 vaccines. We have been on our pediatrician's H1N1 vaccination waiting list. Meanwhile, I have heard that kids at the school have been getting their H1N1 vaccination. I am not sure where these kids are getting vaccinated, but the fact is that our pediatrician will probably not get any H1N1 vaccines before everyone goes on the Christmas holiday. I had thought about getting the H1N1 vaccines through the Los Angeles County Health Department, but like anything free offered by the government, it means long waiting and long lines at the county health offices. <br /><br />The last time the County Health Department offered any H1N1 vaccination to the public was in October and it was a drive-through event. The organizer underestimated the amount of people showing up to get vaccinated, so the traffic was so congested that a neighboring city complained of providing extra police force to control the crowd and traffic congestion. People had lined up for hours and by noon, the organizers ran out of H1N1 vaccines. So when last Wednesday, my children's school district sent out a mass email informing the parents of a County-sponsored H1N1 vaccination event on December 7, I took notice, but I wasn't so keen of the possible long lines.<br /><br />But at my son's 8 Year-old annual check up a day later (last Thursday), the pediatrician indicated that they have not received any H1N1 vaccines. So now, that County-sponsored H1N1 vaccination event becomes our only option if I want my kids to be H1N1 vaccinated before the holidays. However, there is a scheduling conflict. My son's 8th birthday party was to be held on December 7 from 2PM to 4PM, so if I want my kids H1N1 vaccinated, we would have to leave directly after the party. Luckily, the Chuck E. Cheese's at Torrance is not very far from the H1N1 vaccination location, so I arranged with my husband to meet us at the party so we can all drive to the Wilson Park's Sports Center in Torrance together.<br /><br />The birthday party ran late, so we didn't get to the Wilson Park until 4:40PM. I was worried that we might be late and the vaccines would run out. However, today had the biggest rainstorm in recent years, so I am guessing that the crowd for vaccination didn't gather until the rain let up a bit in the afternoon. The line was long and we were at the tail end of it. There were less than 100 people behind us as the organizers promptly closed the line at 5PM.<br /><br />There was police presence to control the crowd. The city had volunteers and city workers to show us where to go. We were directed to enter a skating rink about 500 yards from where we parked our car. Then the winding line looks like we were waiting for a Disneyland ride. My kids did not enjoy the anticipation of getting the shots, but at least it felt like a "family" outing. After 20 minutes in line, we were told to fill out 2 forms per person. The line moved quickly, but there were many people ahead of us, so we waited another 20 minutes before reaching a row of tables where people checked our forms. My husband and I were worried that we were not qualified for the H1N1 vaccination because we did not belong to the priority groups for vaccination. But I guess with the low turn out in the morning, they had plenty of H1N1 vaccines left to vaccinate everyone who was there.<br /><br />The ice rink was outdoor and it was cold waiting there. I didn't expect it to be waiting outside, so my daughter was cold in her thin jacket. Another 10 minutes, we were ushered into a gymnasium where tables upon tables of people were getting vaccinated. Once we were inside, we didn't mind waiting, but soon it was our turn to get vaccinated. All four of us got vaccinated. My daughter was fearful of the shot, so my son volunteered to go first. Because it didn't hurt (it felt like a tiny pin prick), my son was able to tell my daughter that it didn't hurt. That put her mind at ease. The woman who did our shots seemed to know what she was doing. The whole process was quick and painless. It was exactly an hour later when we got back to our car.<br /><br />What a load off my mind to get the family H1N1 vaccinated! To top everything off, it was free! If we had received our shots at the doctor's office, it would have cost us $20 co-pay per person for the visit and who knows how much the pediatrician will charge us for the injection itself (the H1N1 vaccine would be free) because the act of injection is considered an "invasive" procedure. Our insurance pays 80% of most invasive procedures.<br /><br />The city of Torrance made this H1N1 vaccination event a painless endeavor. Although it was cold, wet, and windy outside, well-organized events like this showed what the Americans are so great at doing -- public service.Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-81192446126514280892009-11-12T23:40:00.000-08:002009-11-13T03:25:52.154-08:00暴笑篇: “梁”家婦女 Quanta Women<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ANcNa2YryJY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ANcNa2YryJY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />自從廣達電腦公司的副董事長梁次震先生在台北的信義計劃區幫太太及三位千金蓋了一座精品購物中心 (Bellavita) 以後, 這四位梁姓婦女在一夕之間變成媒體的焦點。 她們四位自然而然的成為模仿節目喜愛的題材。 日前, “全國最大黨” 表演了一段有關她們四位的滑稽短劇,非常好笑!! 上面這則新聞就可以看到四位本尊。<br /><br />Many have said that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. But in the world of television and parody, this may not be the case. A recent opening of an high-end mall in the most exclusive neighborhood of Taipei brought to light a family of wealthy women. The head of the family, Liang Ci Zhen, who is the Vice Chairman of Quanta Computer, bought the land and built a spacious mall from scratch simply because his daughters had the idea of opening an European-style cafe. Unfortunately, they were unable to find a place big enough to fulfill their dream, so they asked their father for help. The result was Bellavita (http://www.bellavita.com.tw/) where many exclusive European brands situate their flagship stores. Most of the Taiwan public were not aware of these women until the opening of Bellavita. With a bit of envy, the press didn't have anything bad to say about the mother and her three daughters. At least they work when they didn't have to. With a proud husband and father looking on at the Bellavita grand opening, the four women became instant media sensation.<br /><br />With press came notoriety. People are curious about who they are, what they wear, and how they live. But they are really rich, so they can afford to show to the public only the parts they want to show. The rest remains private. Because these people are indeed rich and they dress and look different from the norm, they are the obvious targets of parody shows in Taiwan. The show "Country's Largest (political) Party", an actor and three actresses imitated the four Liang women. It's very funny. Apparently, the Hermes Birkin bags that these actors were carrying were made from paper! There are 2 parts to the Liang parody:<br /><br />PART 1<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dOpqBSsKaj4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dOpqBSsKaj4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />PART 2<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2DiG6SCGPfQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2DiG6SCGPfQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-26740027242450595202009-11-08T23:50:00.000-08:002009-11-09T10:14:59.974-08:00孤狗 = Google<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0ulv6M9aY0pTOXI3vnQim8SZi_nf1JnslkPNJP-Ms5rezjye2dZ_pErXAbP2sNaDRYcf5hy-62b15laVaWNNwinrushdn4-NSggPLFNT6R0ITFawufLWnn_ZJA6qkekgqK69KY_cy52F/s1600-h/google.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 60px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0ulv6M9aY0pTOXI3vnQim8SZi_nf1JnslkPNJP-Ms5rezjye2dZ_pErXAbP2sNaDRYcf5hy-62b15laVaWNNwinrushdn4-NSggPLFNT6R0ITFawufLWnn_ZJA6qkekgqK69KY_cy52F/s320/google.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402016111101636082" /></a>我今天才知道原來 Google 的中文俗稱是<span style="font-weight:bold;">孤狗</span>。 太有趣了,順便跟大家分享一下中英及英中翻譯所衍伸出的故事。 我就曾經看過一本以翻譯失誤為主題的書。 書名是 “Are you kidding?你是凱蒂嗎?”。 作者是呂安琪。 下面這故事是我從BBH的雯雯媽媽家中的日記裏看到的。懂中英文的人一定能瞭解這笑話:<br /><br />老外學中文的第一堂課就昏倒! 據舊華社報導,一位老外在中國準備長期居留,於是,他報名了專給老外準備的中文課程。 第一堂課,中文老師教了兩個英文單字的中文解釋--Wife 和 Husband. <br /><br />老師的要求是必須記住以下解釋:<br /><br />Wife=<br />1.妻子,<br />2.老婆,<br />3.太太,<br />4.夫人,<br />5.老伴,<br />6.愛人,<br />7.內人,<br />8.媳婦,<br />9.那口子,<br />10.拙荊,<br />11.賢內助,<br />12.對象,<br />13.孩他媽,<br />14.孩他娘,<br />15.內子,<br />16.婆娘,<br />17.糟糠,<br />18.娃他娘,<br />19.崽他娘,<br />20.山妻,<br />21.賤內,<br />22.賤荊,<br />23.女人,<br />24.馬子,<br />25.主婦,<br />26.女主人,<br />27.財政部長,<br />28.紀檢委,<br />29.渾人,<br />30.娘子,!<br />31.屋裏的,<br />32.另一半,<br />33.女當家,<br />34.渾家,<br />35.髮妻,<br />36.堂客,<br />37.婆姨,<br />38.領導,<br />39.燒火婆,<br />40.黃臉婆<br /><br />Husband=<br />1.丈夫<br />2.愛人<br />3.那口子<br />4.當家的<br />5.掌櫃的<br />6.不正經的<br />7.潑皮<br />8.不爭氣的<br />9.沒出息的<br />10.該死的<br />11.死鬼<br />12.死人<br />13.傻子<br />14.臭不要臉的<br />15.孩子他爹<br />16.孩子他親爹<br />17.哎<br />18.老公<br />19.豬<br />20.親愛的<br />21.先生<br />22.官人 <br />23.相公<br />24.大人<br />25.挨千刀的<br />26.老伴<br />27.男客 <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FoIPm8fUbX35NeUV2fvxd90lPU_GytmnAvinfy3I0zx948ZGGMbLZJgp-ivW7ZTH02-EPWgFmGxCHz0jRaI6SBms1tNj9e_5Y_5rwBWg3Yott02UqQKXt5um1sLu3nA5i1Au1rSn9Nrz/s1600-h/Are+you+kidding.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FoIPm8fUbX35NeUV2fvxd90lPU_GytmnAvinfy3I0zx948ZGGMbLZJgp-ivW7ZTH02-EPWgFmGxCHz0jRaI6SBms1tNj9e_5Y_5rwBWg3Yott02UqQKXt5um1sLu3nA5i1Au1rSn9Nrz/s320/Are+you+kidding.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402021115425978898" /></a><br /><br />I just found out today that Google's Chinese nickname is 孤狗 (goo-go) and its literal translation is "Lonely Dog". Being bilingual, the process of translating English words into Chinese and vice versa always fascinated me. BBH's "Kirsten & Charlene's Attic" wrote in her Diary that there are 40 ways to say WIFE in Chinese and 28 ways to say HUSBAND in Chinese. Pretty amazing if you stop to think about it. <br /><br />Many years ago, I came across a book on Chinese-English translation faux pas. The book, "Are you Kidding? 你是凱蒂嗎?”, written by Anchi Lue, showed many examples of Chinese translations of English gone wrong. It's a fun read if you are fluent in both English and Chinese.Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-16597384633862915122009-10-18T23:00:00.000-07:002009-10-19T01:23:07.443-07:00王雪峰事件 An Acquaintance From the Past<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RlonbUdRDdI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RlonbUdRDdI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />This piece of news shocked and saddened me. The woman at the center of this news storm is Wang Xue-Fong. In her heyday, she was once the star Taipei City Councilor, and later, a top Legislator. In April, news surfaced that Ms. Wang was collecting garbage for living. She came out and said that her husband's family is in the "recycling" business and she was just helping her mother-in-law occasionally. Since there is nothing inherently wrong with this line of work, and she said she's very happy and content with her life now, who is to argue otherwise?! I was nevertheless shocked with the disparity in her lifestyle between the time I met her and now. What kind of man can lead a woman down a path of such a degradation of lifestyle change!?<br /><br />I met Ms. Wang in 1996. One day a friend of mine called me up and asked if I want to have dinner with Ms. Wang. A little naive (and new in town), I had no idea who Ms. Wang was. I readily agreed to the dinner date because the Japanese restaurant my friend chose sounded great (the set menu started at about US$80pp)! There were 4 people at this dinner and 3 of whom were Cornell University alumni. Ms. Wang came with her then boyfriend. Her boyfriend and my friend were buddies. The dinner conversation was pleasant and Ms. Wang was as nice as anyone can be. After dinner, she invited us over to their apartment for a night cap. I knew she entertained us because we were her boyfriend's friends. She was a wonderful hostess. In any case, our paths never crossed again. I left Taiwan in 1997.<br /><br />The next time I heard about Ms. Wang was on the news. The news of her collecting garbage for living. But soon, with her explanation to the media, everyone left her alone. So when I turned on my computer yesterday, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the headline "Domestic Violence" with Ms. Wang's name next to it! Now, not only do we have to contend with the fact that she collects garbage for living, she is also a victim of domestic violence. The woman fell from heaven to hell in a matter of a decade! Can the situation be any worse?! Yes it can! The latest news is that Ms. Wang had gone back to her husband and they had reconciled. Nobody knows how to decipher the progression of this story. But I have a feeling, this is not the last time we'll hear about this couple.<br /><br />真害! 王雪峰她又回家了! 夫妻倆之間的事,外人真的無法評論。 可是以她的身世、學歷及經驗,她要離開,甚至遠走他鄉也不是難事。 那為什麼她不願意離開呢? 我想她一定有她的原因。 只是那原因真的是讓人匪夷所思!<br /><br />十幾年前我曾經在台北安和路上一家有名的日本料理店和王小姐一起吃晚餐。 她那時應該是陪她當時的男友 (不是現在這位先生!) 一起出席這場飯局。那時大概是民國八十五年左右吧 (王小姐那時候應該還是立委)! 那家餐廳的套餐是 $2,500 起跳的。同桌有三人都是美國Cornell 大學的校友。 大家聊得很開心, 王小姐一點名人的味道都沒有。講話和藹可親, 非常 nice 的一個人。後來她還邀請我和朋友到她家坐坐 (我的朋友和她男友很熟)。 王小姐是位很客氣的女孩。 她的年紀跟我差不多。 當時的我們都有點嫁不出去的感覺。可是我的直覺是,就算嫁不出去, 自己一個人也可以生活得多采多姿。 見面一兩次後我就沒有機會再和她碰面了。<br /><br />再次聽到她的消息竟然是在媒體上--說她在撿破爛! 讓人無法相信人生會有這麼大的轉折! 想說她如果生活得開心、幸福,做資源回收也不是什麼見不得人的事。不偷也不搶,她高興過什麼樣的生活是她的自由及選擇。人世間裏有太多不快樂的有錢人, 但鮮少有像她能從有錢到無錢的還能生活的那麼自在! 我由衷的祝福她!<br /><br />沒想到事隔不到半年竟然爆出她被老公家暴的新聞!<br /><br />驚嘆後, 真的無法讓我理解一個女人要如何從天堂掉進地獄裏, 是宿命、人為、還是人的選擇呢?!Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-42460857109323480392009-09-10T11:47:00.000-07:002009-09-10T12:10:56.475-07:00臺北巿動物園沙畫完整版 "The Zoo" Sand Art by a Taiwanese Artist<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Oyy1iAeLkOw&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Oyy1iAeLkOw&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Art comes in many formats and this one impressed me tremendously. Who knew sand art could be elevated to such a form?! This piece of animated artwork is done by a world-renowned Taiwanese sand artist, Zhuang Ming-Da. Enjoy the video!<br /><br />藝術是沒有限制的。 如何發揮某種藝術形式也需要藝術家本身的個人風格。真的沒想到沙畫也可以提升到如此境界。 這個動態沙畫是台灣沙畫藝術家莊明達先生的作品。 這位國際級的沙畫大師所畫出的作品真的是讓人嘆為觀止!Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-70085282309749852092009-08-25T09:24:00.000-07:002009-11-09T11:02:33.629-08:00快要開學了! The summer is almost over!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNbrgHZL62o1A9nr5tl6FE6tE4ptkp3OOeL6DENLWAvJ2mh3vjed0rUnlMMptEL3uUn7rnU8S5AcMDQ65w3tpl1OlspmIENomXRJ9ePGKbaoUC2mapHH64Yb3k4PB8hqvfqeS8nvsLQcJg/s1600-h/beaconstreetgirls1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 104px; height: 139px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNbrgHZL62o1A9nr5tl6FE6tE4ptkp3OOeL6DENLWAvJ2mh3vjed0rUnlMMptEL3uUn7rnU8S5AcMDQ65w3tpl1OlspmIENomXRJ9ePGKbaoUC2mapHH64Yb3k4PB8hqvfqeS8nvsLQcJg/s320/beaconstreetgirls1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374315323737298338" border="0" /></a>My children's school will begin the 2009-2010 school year exactly a week from today, on September 1. This is the first time in our school's history to have the first-day of school before the Labor Day weekend. Typically, schools begin the day after the Labor Day long weekend, on a Tuesday. So many of our neighboring school districts are still following this traditional and will begin school on September 10. My kids are mourning the end of their summer. I am worried about their morning regiment once the school begins. How am I going to get them to wake up at 7:30 AM again when they have been sleeping until 10 AM, and sometimes even until 11 AM?!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV3YIk3ayMVD-l2BxnN-VrmGAswL6w68D8rTOeUJWZ1AardDqRIomsybLAsS4CKK_WugondsgfrNKetyG_oeVA_T2yUyPvjP6iU-GZBnqcZ7fmH3iHNAge9ainfjbDPul7ZCvRxVSJLp24/s1600-h/campconfidential1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 144px; height: 158px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV3YIk3ayMVD-l2BxnN-VrmGAswL6w68D8rTOeUJWZ1AardDqRIomsybLAsS4CKK_WugondsgfrNKetyG_oeVA_T2yUyPvjP6iU-GZBnqcZ7fmH3iHNAge9ainfjbDPul7ZCvRxVSJLp24/s320/campconfidential1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374315464143586866" border="0" /></a><br />To get them into the swing of things, I took my kids to the library after lunch today. They have been reading over the summer, but nothing really challenging. My 9 year-old daughter have enjoyed the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Beacon Street Girls </span>series by Annie Bryant (http://www.beaconstreetgirls.com/) and the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Camp Confidential</span> series by Melissa J. Morgan. She has read all of the Beacon Street Girls books, except the two latest books (<span style="font-style: italic;">Sweet Thirteen </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;">Ready! Set! Hawaii!</span>). As for Camp Confidential, she also has read all of the Camp Confidential books that have been published so far. Two more Camp Confidential books are scheduled to be published in the next 7 months--<span style="font-style: italic;">Extra Credit </span>(September 3, 2009) and <span style="font-style: italic;">Politically Incorrect</span> (March 4, 2010). My daughter is waiting anxiously for our library to purchase these books.<br /><br />Unfortunately, schools don't usually assign these books as reading material. <span style="font-style: italic;">Beacon Street Girls</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Camp Confidential</span> are fine for summer readings, but as my daughter is heading into grade 5, these books are not difficult enough to be on the grade 5 reading list. And hence a trip to the library was necessary today. I want her to pick out some books that are more appropriate for her grade level. I steered her towards the Newbery Award winning books (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newbery_Medal), but she wasn't going for them. Instead, she borrowed some Nancy Drew Mysteries. Those are books that she thought I would approve, but realistically, I still think she should go beyond these books as well. At this point, I am not going to push her too much. As long as she gets into the habit of reading, I am happy.<br /><br />Going back to our library visit. I actually saw 4 families from my children's school at the library today. During the school year, once in a while, I would see only a family that I know every time we visit the library. So it was rare to see so many parents from our school at the library in one visit. I got to chat with them about their summer break and how everyone was doing. I guess all the parents are trying to get their kids back into the swing of things before the school starts next week.<br /><br />時間過得好快喔! 再七天就要開學了。 兩個小孩已經開始感覺到開學後的壓力了。今天帶他們去圖書館借書。 我希望女兒能借一些有點深度的書, 符合五年級的小朋友該讀的書。 在美國, 沒有教育局指定的閱讀課本。 都是老師採用現有的兒童讀物來教學。 小孩子上了五年級之後, 老師就會陸陸續續的介紹西洋英文文學名著給小朋友做為上英文課的題材。 所以只要看得懂, 小朋友自己就可以到圖書館借一些西洋文學名著來看。 當然這種事, 我的女兒不可能會自願去做的。 從五月中, 加州政府的基測 (STAR test) 結束之後, 老師就不再積極的教學生新的課程。 小朋友就自由的等著暑假的到來。 就在那時候, 我幫女兒在圖書館找到二套系列的書-- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Beacon Street Girls </span>(Beacon 街的女孩), 作者是 Annie Bryant (http://www.beaconstreetgirls.com/) 以及 <span style="font-weight: bold;">Camp Confidential</span> (露營密事) 作者是 Melissa J. Morgan。 這二套系列的書籍非常適合閱讀能力較強的小三女生, 或者是給小學高年級的女生做為輕鬆簡單, 閒暇時可閱讀的書籍。 不愛看書的女兒就靠著這二套書過了一個愉快的暑假。Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-51705596988331958772009-08-21T13:14:00.000-07:002009-08-21T19:24:53.508-07:00好康逗相報...蛋篇 Great eggs!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYOBKqB8sBNMLYuwliSmZrk6ytI-ZqwgYS0N2vnWCPP-W9RuV6dwd1t_dHm_lfyymDFZyucXAd0y-MZlwY3oiB6RWpIpWGXSJhSOq5GzU_ajNLHTQBfKU3VVMBrC0qHQTnsYN9Dmy44gXJ/s1600-h/egg1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYOBKqB8sBNMLYuwliSmZrk6ytI-ZqwgYS0N2vnWCPP-W9RuV6dwd1t_dHm_lfyymDFZyucXAd0y-MZlwY3oiB6RWpIpWGXSJhSOq5GzU_ajNLHTQBfKU3VVMBrC0qHQTnsYN9Dmy44gXJ/s320/egg1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372606780242178946" border="0" /></a>Our family has a history of cholesterol problem, so when I eat my eggs, I always just eat the egg white and throw out the egg yolk. Unfortunately, my kids see how I eat my eggs and they imitate me, to my chagrin! My son loves hard-boiled eggs, so we always have hard-boiled eggs in our fridge (easier for him to snack on). One day, we ran out of eggs and my husband happened to be at Trader Joe's, so I asked him to pick up some. He came home with these Sunshine Farm Grade A Jumbo eggs. I was mad at him. I said these are more expensive than the ones I normally buy. Why spend more money for something that's not going to make a difference?! My husband told me those eggs were the cheapest ones left on the shelves. Well, we did need eggs, so I let it go. It was really a $0.30 difference per dozen eggs!<br /><br />But to my surprise, these jumbo eggs had the greatest amount of egg white and the smallest egg yolk I have ever seen in an egg. Since we only eat egg whites, these eggs proved to be a better deal for us. For $0.30 more per dozen eggs, I'm sold.<br /><br />I took some photos of these Grade A Jumbo eggs from Trader Joe's. That's a roll of quarters ($10) next to the single egg, so you can see the actual size of each egg. These eggs are a great deal at $1.79 per dozen!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNfT4xvbAXVV9bxvs6r2Fg-P8ehpp-rRSyPFh6ldQ0yTGbP5chFmS440HY_h94I6EFJrPL_6agMOGq8r4Y6y6asDlmqlOgyg1dZQVNb7xTH5Xwan5DDiG9brEJbBpKlbjav7qd8HMZDiex/s1600-h/egg2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNfT4xvbAXVV9bxvs6r2Fg-P8ehpp-rRSyPFh6ldQ0yTGbP5chFmS440HY_h94I6EFJrPL_6agMOGq8r4Y6y6asDlmqlOgyg1dZQVNb7xTH5Xwan5DDiG9brEJbBpKlbjav7qd8HMZDiex/s320/egg2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372607048855812962" border="0" /></a>我們家 (老公除外) 吃蛋時都只吃蛋白, 不吃蛋黃。 小孩子長久以來都看我只吃蛋白, 不吃蛋黃。 有樣學樣,他們也養成這“不良”習慣 (我老公很不能認同)。 可是我娘家有高膽固醇的基因存在, 所以有高膽固醇的食物能不吃我就不要吃。不愛吃肉的兒子喜歡吃水煮蛋, 所以我就時常放水煮蛋在冰箱裏給兒子當點心吃。<br /><br />有天老公正好在 Trader Joe's 時, 他打電話來問說要順便買些什麼東西回家。 我說蛋, 家裏沒蛋了。 結果老公回家後,我發現他買錯蛋了。 他沒買最便宜的蛋。 正要問他時,他說我要買的蛋已經賣完了,所以他只好買貴一點的蛋。 沒辦法了,也只好這樣了。 結果沒想到, 陰錯陽差老公卻買對了。 這打Sunshine Farm 的 Grade A Jumbo 的蛋只有小小的蛋黃, 蛋白卻很多。 讓我這個只吃蛋白的人吃得很過癮。 其實這些蛋只比我平常買的蛋多 US$0.30, 一打蛋才 $1.79, 真的是物超所值! 好康逗相報!<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5045393029794378397.post-61758027127529792072009-08-20T18:54:00.000-07:002009-08-24T02:24:44.152-07:00台灣加油! Devastation of Typhoon Morakot<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q0C-d9eQm40&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q0C-d9eQm40&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Being a Taiwanese, one can not ignore the landslide disaster caused by Typhoon Morakot on August 8, 2009 in southern Taiwan which obliterated many remote hillside villages. The death toll from Typhoon Morakot stands at 160, with at least 500 people missing, presumed dead. This was the worst weather disaster to hit Taiwan in recent history. The political blame game has started and all the rescue operations have ceased and it's now in the phases of recovery and rebuilding. The tasks at hand are daunting and no one has any idea how this aftermath will resolve. <br /><br />I feel tremendous sadness for those who lived (and suffered) through this disaster. Listen to the first-hand account of 3 survivors in a town where more than 400 people had vanished. It is a testament of the human spirit at its best! <br /><br />今天看到8/20 的國民大會(天災無情劫後餘生), 非常感動。 于美人邀請了在這次受災最嚴重的小林村裡面倖存的47個人裡面的三位村民來節目中描述災難當天發生的事。 聽了之後,真讓人動容! 讓我非常佩服台灣人純樸、刻苦、耐勞的精神! 台灣加油!Taiwan Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15516562155515872774noreply@blogger.com0