Stooooopid Highspeed Network

These few days, the highspeed internet at my house keep giving me problem. On and off, on and off, on and off. Instead, the admin notified us about it... all they said was
"The internet will have some problem starting September 27. Date problem will end -Don't Know"

Well, if you are surprised with this, there were even more things that surprised us with the way how they managed things.

They changed all the washing machines not even with an early notification. The only notice we got was the day before the changing. By the time we realised that, not only all the washing machines have been changed, but also we need to pay extra 50 cents for each load.

Then, the phone. They changed all the phone numbers in this village all of sudden. The funny thing was, not even a notice telling us the number have been changed. It was when a friend kept calling me for the whole night and wrote me an email telling me my phone number was not available then I knew about it.

I had to call the office in order to get my new number. Another friend situation was even worse, two weeks after my phone number changed, when I asked about her new number then she knew about it.

Since I could not use the internet for the whole day time, I decided to go to watch a movie. Tranformers finally was on show. ^_^ I went to watch alone. Nice way to spend a slow Sunday evening.

I have been going to work every weekends for the past whole month, and my stress was building up. I am so glad I do not have to do it this week though tomorrow will be a busy day for me. On Saturday, I was supposed to do volunteer work for pouring wine in a Muscadine Harvest Festival, but ended up having a lot of fun there (details will be coming up in later posts).

Then today, a fun movie, a relaxing shopping and a good homecook dinner. Sometimes, happiness is just as simple as this.

So I guess stoooopid network is not all that bad, as long it is not lasting for too long.

Tubing is fun, Fun, FUN!!!

Pre-talk : Oh gosh! Dancing with the Stars premium is starting today! This first night is the females night. Oh man~~~ so far I have seen until the 3rd person, Oolala~~~ even as a female, I am feeling hot now. This is going to be a very exciting season!! Woohoo!

Ok... back to my talk of the day - TUBING!

My boss has a lake house. Every year, it is an annual thing for him to invite all his crews to join him at the lake house for a whole day party during hot summer day.

In the handouts, he especially mentioned about tubing. I have never heard of tubing before this, so it was a really exciting day for me to looking forward to.




This is my boss's speed boat. It looks new, but has been with him for 9 years. Yes, he is very good in taking care of his stuffs.





This... is the inner tube for our water tubing.




It is pretty big.



My good looking, cool and very sporty boss. LOL

He is into marathon and usually he completes his marathona aroung 3.5 hr.

Everyday, when the sun is really bright in the midday, he will go to run for around 2 hr. Rain or hot sunny days are just not an issue for him.




Oh yes, you just have to admit I got a bunch of good looking people in the same roof as me. ;)

There were 5 of us for tubing on the 2nd batch.




First was Mallory. She northern Michigan's girl has quite a lot of experience in tubing, so it is a good thing that she demonstrated to us how to do one. :P





Oh yes, she was just so enjoying her first southern lake tubing.




Next, was the husband and wife combination. Two in one tubing.

Hehe... both were still able to give great smile in the beginning.




Next thing you know, they were already sliding gracefully on the water surface.




Oh oh~~~ too much for Xin to handle. She just burried her face when the movement were too much for her to handle.




Tristan was all cool and relaxing in the beginning.




She was pretty constant through the whole process...




... despite some of the move were quite rough.




Her victory signs after the tubing. Great job Tristan!


Woolala~~~ fish fish first tubing in her life! It was really great! Exciting. It made me realised that for a good tubing, your upper limbs strength are very important.

That ended our first session. None of us was thrown into the water during the tubing. V(^_^)V

After a short rest and some light snacks, we headed for a second round.




This time, Tookta who didn't try it during her first time, decided to take the challenge in her normal outfit.

She is only going to be in U.S. for 6 months, so after a deep thought, she didn't want to have any regret while her stay.




Oh oh... to late to draw out, might as own a bright smile. ^_^




My boss decided to give her a safe ride to avoid her from falling into the water with her outfit. Still, there were a few tough turns that needed quite a strength to hold on that.

Tookta survived! Not even a single splash of water wetted her. Good job lady!

However, after the tubing, she told me her hands were just kept shaking.




Next was my friend who I invited to join us that day. Sang Mi too did not try during her first session. However, after our "pushing", she decided to give it a try.



It was quite a tensed moment for her in the beginning. She couldn't even smile.

But then slowly, she started to feel the fun of it. The next moment you looked at her again, she was smiling back.

She too, under our boss good wheel controlling skill, she remained dry till the end.

"Sang Mi, are you going to join the party again next year?"

"Yes!" Woolala~~~ she is into tubing too, obviously. ;)




During Yifat 1st session, she was sharing with her honey, who is 6 feet 6, who ended up thrown into the water.

This time, they decided to go on solo.

It was Yifat's turn first. She was the only person among us who wore sunglasses. She had to as she was wearing contact lenses and did not want anything unnecessary went into her eyes.




Hmmmm... I have to admit that she looked really sexy while tubing in her sunglasses.

I almost wanted to try that too, but I just didn't want to take the risk of my favorite sunglasses dropped into the lake and never to be found again.




Next, the 6 feet 6 good looking bf was on action.

"Neal, we just have to get someone fall into the water, it just has to be you!" My boss said to him when he settled on the inner tube.

Oh man~~~ when you heard the boss made that kind of statement, you know something really nasty was going to happen.




If you think a round inner tube like that was hard enough to be controlled by a 5 feet 3 fish fish, imagine a guy who is 6 feet 6 on it.

It was definitely the roughest ride of the day.




*SPLASH!!!* Holy cow! There were a few moments he was almost lost grip, but he managed to get back into the position.




Even when the wheel controller purposely created some very rough wave.




These wave even brought his leg high up the sky before it landed on the water. It was painful for him when his legs splashed those vigorous water movement.

Despite all that, he survived!!! Way to go Neal. You were awesome.




Next, it was fish fish turn to go for her 2nd round.

Before it started, my boss looked at me and asked, "Do you want to try a rough one?"

Seeing what Neal had gone through, I took a couple seconds before I replied, "I can try."

Me and my big mouth, too late to regret.

It was definitely much more rough than my first ride. I was able to control myself during the 1st few rough bumps and turns, but my arms were getting tired...




... at last, I was defeated and was thrown into the water.

*Splash* *Swallowed some lake water*

*Bottom dropped until my knee*

*Hairband dropped a meter away from me*

*Speed boat stop a few meters away from me*

"Are you alright?!" My boss yelled.

"Yeah! I'm okay!!" I screamed back with a big smile while pulling back my bottom back to the original position.

Oh no, no way I was going to say, "No boss, I dropped my bottom!" Luckily, it was not a strong current sea... or else... *shudder*

By the time they got near me, I was all cool back to my original outfit. Haha!!




Tristan was the last one to have her 2nd round water sport. This time, she decided to go for knee boarding, a sport she has not been playing for 4 years.




Knee boarding is a more challenging water sport.

One actually needs to get ready to climb on the board and kneel when the boat starts to move. Tristan did a beautiful job on that.




The next thing you know, she was having a graceful ride across the lake.

Awesome!



It is the best to show what tubing really is with action...

So here you go... my first ever vlog! Hopefully it will turn out right.




A 15 second close up tubing by Tristan. It just kept moving from side to side, hard for me to focus on it with the strong sunshine.




A longer 1 min tubing action by Mallory. This time, I managed to focus on her as the natural lightning was so much better during the late noon.

I truly enjoyed my 1st tubing experience, with a bunch of fun and great people.

Oh yes, I am so looking forward to having the next tubing fun! ^_^

Oh, one more thing, I love lake water.

Vlog is difficult!

Woolala~~ for the first time, I tried to upload videos to my photobucket because I want to do a vlog. It turned up taking much longer time than I thought. Now, it is already 2.00am, and I still have a long day at work tomorrow.

Just to let you all know, my next post will be about 30 pictures and 2 videos!!! Hehe... that will compensate my whole week of silent. Been working long hrs everyday for the past week, so both body and mind were just too tired.

Tata~~~

Muscadine Grapes - fruit of the South

Today, I want to introduce one fruit which is indigenous to North Carolina.

Muscadine grape.

How many of you have heard about it? For me, I only knew about it after I came to North Carolina.

Let me quote about its origin.

The muscadine grape is native to the southeastern United States, found in the wild from Delaware to the Gulf of Mexico and westward to Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Many older varieties were selections from the wild, but the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture have introduced a number of improved varieties that have become standard cultivars. The earliest named variety was Scuppernong, found growing wild in northeastern North Caroline in 1810 by Dr. Calvin Jones. Scuppernong has become another name for all muscadine grapes. Commercial production of muscadine grapes is essentially limited to the U.S. Southeast.
(source from here)

Woolala~~~ how cool is that? I am in the state where muscadine grape was first found!

I saw them last year and tried to pop one into my mouth, unfortunately, it was sour and astringent. Since then, muscadine = not a yummy grape to fish fish.

Luckily, my boss's wife saved me from missing out this great fruit.




Tralala~~~ she bought a pack to the Lake House Party as she thought some of us from outside North Carolina might have not tasted it before.

My first reaction was a bit surprised with its dark purple look as the one I saw one year ago was greenish with some light purple.

Not waiting any longer, shamelessly, I volunteered myself to take the first muscadine from the pack. LOL

*suck* The flesh just slipped into my mouth with a few hard seeds.

OMG~~~ I was so high. This was much better than any kind of commercial grapes that I am familiar with. It was so sweet, and very fruity aroma. I am loving it.

Muscadine skin is thick and hard, not edible. The flesh is not a big portion of the whole fruit, but it is super sweet. Imagine some of the varities are more than 24% sugar content!

If you never tasted a muscadine before, you should really try one.

It does not grow in bundles like grapes although it is also a vine plant. I am proud to know this Southern Fruit.

Oh yes, my boss's wife told me there is Muscadine wine too. Next party, she will bring one for me to try. Wooooo~~~ I am excited now.

So, the next time if you come to North Carolina, don't just think about North Carolina BBQ, think about its Scuppernong too. ;)

I have sore upper limbs now...

... due to too much fun with the tubing yesterday.

Oh man~~~ tubing is really a lot of fun. I know it sound too early, but I am actually looking forward to going for next year Lake House party again. I love my boss lakehouse especially the lake... and... er... the bathroom. :P

Arms still stiff and painful. Hopefully tomorrow will be better as I want to go to the gym. *pray*

Report about the party will be in the coming posts. ;) It will be a lot of fun pictures. Including the one that someone was thrown into the lake. LOL

Spending my whole day in Neopets and replying emails today. Arm sore, hands tired.

Tata.

*muak*

Super easy and truly yummy Brownies

Ding Dong!!

I am going to my boss lake house for a party tomorrow with my co-workers.

He has a boat and will have tubing. We will have great dinner, all will be prepared by my boss and his wife!!! Am I lucky or what?

Ooooooo~~~ I am excited now. I never did tubing before so I am really looking forward to playing it.

I'll need to wear my swimsuit... errr... I have decided to go for 1 piece rather than the 2-piece I bought a while ago. Tristan told me her bottom almost got off last time, wow!! Too risky, hehe...

Ok... I am supposed to show something related to my title.

BROWNIES!!!

One thing about being one year in U.S., I am starting to like brownies. Sometimes, when I tasted some really nice brownies made by friends, I was amazed yet surprised at the same time most of these brownies were made from ready-to-use brownies mix.

I heard Duncan Hines is good. I tasted one, it was very good.

So, last week, since weather is getting nicer now, and not a bad idea to start to heat my oven...




...I got one pack of Duncan Hines Family-Style Brownies. I chose Dark Chocolate Fudge as I am a big fan of dark choco.

It even printed there... "Premium Brownie Mix". Woolala~~~ what a tempting quote.

This was a very cheap pack as I got it during offer time. Only $1 per pack. Truly a good deal.

So, tomorrow I am going to let my co-workers be my guinea pigs. LOL




All I need for extra ingredient was an egg, 1/3 cup of water and 1/3 cup of vegetable oil to make fudgy brownies. I used corn oil. If one wants to make cake-like brownies, then 2 egg will be needed.

First, I preheated my oven to 325 degree F as I used coated pan. Then, I greased the bottom of my baking pan with shortening.

Next, I emptied my brownie mix into a large bowl with egg, water and oil and mixed until well blended.

After that, I spreaded the mixture into the pan and baked for 30 min.




Tralala~~~ a Brownies was born!!!

My whole kitchen was fumed with the buttery aroma of this fresh from oven brownies. Too seductive that I have to eat one piece first while it was warm. Mmmm~~~~ soft, chewy, yummy and... I felt a guilty pleasure.




Oh yeah~~~ it may be simple and easy in preparation and cooking, but it is definitely not a simple piece just to be forgotten easily.

I love pre-mix. I am going to use more pre-mix from now on. ;)

With Duncan Hines, anyone can bake. Tee hee hee...

I love gift cards! ^_^

Today, I received another $10 Harris Teeter gift card. It was a reward for me taking my 30 min to do a sensory evaluation for 8 types of mac n cheese.

Well, the mac and cheese was my breakfast. Some good, some yucky.

But what I like the most in becoming a sensory panelist, are those irrisistible gift cards. Because of these gift cards, even sometimes I know the things that I'll taste are extremely gross, for the sake of... ehhem... "Money"... I'll endure it.




Tralala~~~ these are the ones I have used.

Hehe... I am still not throwing them away. Sometimes I feel like a trash collector. :P

These gift cards are a good source of extra pocket money for me to get those more luxurious yummilicious that I am just too stingy to pay with my own cash. :D

Ooooo~~~ I think I'll get some good cheese with this time $10. ^_^

Side note : I received a few emails from my readers these few days. Please be patient if I have not replied. I'll do it on this Sunday. I need a clear mind when writing emails. ;)

Time to cure my Neofever

My life for these past 4 months have been truly messy due to one thing - Neopets.

I didn't hit my gym for the past 2.5 months.
I put on 10 lbs. *gulp*
I slept average 4 hr per day.
White hair grew out from my black hair from time to time.
My face lost the shining shade I used to have.
I ate all the junkies.
I really didn't mind if I didn't blog for a whole week. (I used to blog everyday, a full length blog, not just blah blah blah...)
My camera main function was to record the result of my experiments.
The first thing I got home was to connect to internet so that I have more time for more Neoworld.
I was eager for weekends so that I could play Neopets for the whole day.
I sat for 16 hr, except to the restroom, took a bath and grabbed some foods to munch.
My stomach and leg cellulite were too yucky to even view by myself. My shoulder was painful and stiff all the time.

I have to admit, I am seriously addicted to Neopets.
Too addicted that I even studied html so that I could create a Durian Petpage to do my dailies.
If I continue this way, Neopets will overtake my real life.
I will be a body without soul.
*shudder*
It is scary to think about it.

It is time to change.
To cure this long term Neofever of mine.
I will still be playing Neopets, but in a moderate way.

I shall declare my "new life" here.

Eat healthy and well-balanced meals.
Sleep 8 hrs per day, which means go to bed before 12 midnight.
Hit the gym at least 4 days/week.
Blog at least 4 times/week.
Slow down on my Neopets.
Stop thinking about Neopets in my dream.
Accept that Neopets is just a virtual world, not something real in my life.

It might be hard in the beginning, but I believe in my own will.

WISH ME LUCK!

Ok, time to play Neopets before I go to sleep in another 1 hr.

I have did my gym, ate my dinner, prepared tomorrow's lunch and taken my bath.
Yes, these are something normal for majority, but for friends who know how addicted I am in Neopets, they will be amazed with this changing of mine. :P

Long queue for movies

It's good that this year Labor Day is on Monday.

On Sunday, I went with 2 friend to watch Pirates of The Caribbean 3.




As usual we went to our favorite $1.50 Carmike Cinema. ^_^

We decided to watch the 4.00pm slot. It was nice. Not too hot, shiny yet windy day to walk relaxingly to the cinema.

Even at the ticket booth, there was only a short line before our turn to get the tickets.

The movies was quite long. Longer than normal movie. Some story lines were quite confusing for me.

The part I like the most about this movie?
Hehe... the song. Love it!
Also, I like the scar on Captain Sao Feng's face. Cool.

The movie gave me less surprised and excitement than Pirates 1 & 2. Still, I enjoyed it.

By the time the movie ended, it was already 7.00pm.




Oolala~~~~ look at the line of people waiting to get their tickets. This is only one side, the other side was the same.

Worse, the waiting hall was so packed with people waiting to go into one of the 14 theatres in the premise. I actually had to squeeze myself among the crowd before I finally got out. *wipe cold sweat*

Hehe... I guess we just love the $1.50 Cinema. ;)