My Life On The Move – Current Location: Houston

If someone said to you ‘Give me a couple of those cups please’ how many of those cups do you think he/she wants? I think - more than one but not sure how many. If you think like me, you are WRONG! It actually means 2.

Couple means 2 items of the same kind

About half hour ago, I was at home with Adam picking a wedding gift online for his cousin. We really liked this round frame we saw on the Pottery Barn website.

Adam: This is nice, can you please get a couple from the store?

Me: Ok, how many?

Adam: A couple would just be nice.

Me: A couple means 2?

Adam: *laughs* Yes darling.

Me: Since when a couple means 2? A couple means more than one.

Adam: *laughs* Was that what you were taught in school? A few means more than one, a couple means 2

Ooops… Did you know that? If no – Good! Neither did I, but we do now!

Alright, am off to Pottery Barn (for some very last minute shopping) to buy a couple of patterned silver round frames.

To show my support for ENGLAND, here’s Beckham for the ladies (yeah, that man who married Ugly)

Enjoy!

Yay! Time for a vacation! This is our first vacation of the year together, my first real vacation this year (do not count visiting Houston and its surrounding areas and the Mardi Gras a vacation).

We are heading to Vancouver tomorrow (29 July). Main purpose of the trip is to attend Jemma’s (Adam’s cousin) wedding, and so we thought it would be great to extend a week for some sight-seeing. So this trip is a mix of family time (Adam’s family) and some personal fun time.

We have briefly planned our itinerary.

• 29 June – Arrive at Vancounver around 9pm and will attend the pre-wedding BBQ
• 30 June – WC (Ger vs Arg) at 8am and pick up rental car
• 1 July – WC (Eng vs Por) at 8am and wedding in the evening
• 2 July – Time with family
• 3 July – Whale watching trip
• 4 July – Camping at Stawamus Chief Park
• 5 – 6 July – Camping at Garibaldi Provicial Park
• 7 July – Rest in Vancouver
• 8 July – WC (3rd and 4th place) and some time with family
• 9 July – Back to Houston

Yes, I do know now that the WC Finals is on 9 July… I didn’t know when I booked the tickets. Adam is not too impressed with my ability in booking flights which clashes with an important game. I told him I doubt England will be in the finals, so it’s better not to watch it, but he’s not convinced (NO! I didn’t do this on purpose!)

Camping in Vancouver would be fun! Am looking forward to is, especially at the Garibaldi Provincial Park. Here’s a trail map of it.

From the park’s parking lot (at the left of the map), we have to hike 9km (about 3-4 hours) to the Garibaldi Lake campsite (Battleship Island). We will stay 2 nights there.

From here we will follow the trail to Panorama Ridge. It’s a 5km (about 2 hour) hike each way. We would love to go to the Black Tusk but that’s a very streneous hike, so I am not up for it. And no to Cheakamus Lake as well cos it’s a very long hike and there’s a park warning that bears are in that area!

The weather at Garibaldi is very cold now. We have to be prepared for winter camping (as of park update on 26 June) as there’s 0.5m snow. I just hope the weather isn’t too extreme that we have to cancel our plans.

We planned what we are wearing to the wedding and will be packing our suitcase tonight. We also have all our camping gears ready and packed into our rucksacks (tent, sleeping bags, warm clothes, hiking boots, GPS, stove, freeze-dried food, pots, pans… etc). Will do a last check tonight and we are ready to go!

Will not blog til I get back, try not to miss me too much yeah – I know you will

• Match: Mexico vs Argentina
• Date: 24 June 2006
• Time: 2pm
• Venue: Paparruchos Bar Parilla Mexicana

Saturday morning a Mexican friend called and asked us to join him with some of his Mexican friends to watch the match at a Mexican pub. We were more than happy to watch the match and have some fun.

We paid a $10 cover charge each and entered the pub filled with Mexicans. 98% of the patrons support Mexico. We got to our friend’s table and took our seat. Everyone was wearing green and the atmosphere was great.

I started chatting with the girl next to me. She asked who I was supporting, I said ‘Mexico of course!.’ I then realised I was wearing blue! Damn it, of all days I picked a blue top today!

The pub serves very yummy nachos with salsa. The salsa they served is very different from what I have had before and is very very yummy. I want to go back again for that.

I ordered Margarita and I have to say the Margarita they serve is very potent. I had 2 drinks and I could feel the alcohol in my system! It gives the same effect after you have 3 Presidente at Chilli’s. I like my frozen Margarita potent… yummy!

So, the girl in blue who supports Mexico was enjoying her snacks and Margarita and the game began. The atmosphere at the pub was amazing. Everyone sang to Mexico’s national anthem at the beginning of the match and then they were chanting and cursing throughout the match. Some examples? Here you go: -

1. Ole… Ole ole ole… Mehiko… Mehiko (yeah, it means Mexico)
2. Mehiko! *clap clap clap Mehiko! *clap clap clap
3. U-ke-te! U-ke-te! U-ke-te (loosely translates to a jerk)
4. Pu-to! Pu-to! Pu-to! (means sissy or fagot)
5. Si-sep-Puey! (means Yes! We Can Do It)

It’s funny when the cameraman took a shot of Maradona on the stand, the crowd started chanting ‘Coco!’

This is the 2nd time we are out at a place packed with Latin Americans (1st was at Juanes’ concert) . I have to say the girls and guys are a good looking bunch of people and they are fun too. They sing and dance really well and they are always up for a fun time.

There isn’t a TV crew at the pub this time, but if I have to comment, I’d say ‘I think Mexico did very well and they could have won if they didn’t entered the first goal for Argentina’ – Yvonne.

This will be my last WC match in a pub in Houston. We plan to catch England vs Portugal this Saturday in Vancouver (if we manage to wake up early and get to a pub).

Lets hope England makes it to the semifinals!

SuAnn, these are for you… Ole… ole ole ole…

License is usual in American English

In British English, licence is the noun form, and license is the verb

Did you all already know this or is it only me?

Anyway, I am now licensed to drive in Texas!!!

I was not in the mood to update my blog this week because I need to study the Texas Driver’s Handbook for my written test. I need to understand the traffic rules here, what every sign means, speed limits on different roads and penalty or fine for different offenses.

To get a licence, I have to pass a vision test, written test and road test.

I went for my vision and written test on Wednesday. The written test is actually PC-based. You will be assigned a computer and you just answer the questions via the touch-screen. They ask 26 multiple-choice questions and you have to have at least 70% correct to pass. I got 81%.

Yesterday was my road test. I have to be at the test centre by 7am to queue up to make a test appointment! I woke up at 6am and arrived at 6.50am. By the time I got there, there were at least 50 people in line!

I stood in line for more than an hour, waiting for the test centre to open. Finally at 8.15am a lady came out and took down our details and gave us a time slot. Mine was at 4pm.

For the drive test, you have to use your own car. The test centre does not provide any test vehicles like Malaysia. Before the drive test, the examiner will check your ID (my passport), the car’s insurance and an inspection to ensure that the lights (headlights, signal lights and break lights) and horn work. This is the preliminary test, failing either means you can’t take the drive test.

Once all these checks are completed, the examiner will get into your car and give you some instructions and tells you things you need to remember, like stop at a stop sign (complete stop, not slowing down and going when there’s no car) and remember the right-of-way (at a junction or different scenarios, you must know which car has the right to pass first). After all that, you drive out of the test centre and the examiner will give you directions on where to go.

After driving around the streets for 10 minutes, we got to this carpark where I have to do a parallel park. I am bad at this, but I managed to get in without knocking the poles, but I was abit far from the side curb. Examiner says I have to practise more =(

Off we went driving again, we got to a quiet lane and I was asked to stop my car and reverse in a straight line. The key thing here is, when you reverse your car, you have to remember to turn and look backwards, if not you will fail.

Then it was back to the test centre, parked my car under a tree. She passed me some papers and said ‘OK, you pass’

Yay! So happy! Can go home and celebrate, not before going into the test centre to have a photo taken for my new Texas Driver’s License, which will arrive at my home in about 2 weeks time. Yay yay yay!

Sample # 7 – Haagen Dazs Limited Edition German Chocolate Cake (Cost $2.50)

This is for those who loves dessicated coconut and caramel.

A blend of chocolate ice cream with caramel, coconut, pecan and pieces of moist chocolate cake

Verdict: I tried this because it’s a limited edition flavour (Jan to Oct). Creamy chocolate ice cream which blends really well with coconut and caramel. I like the pieces of choc cake in the ice cream. Although it says there are pecans in it, I don’t see or ate any. I am not a fan of dessicated coconut, so I am not going crazy over this flavour.

• Match: US vs Italy
• Date: 17 June 2006
• Time: 2pm
• Venue: Richmond Arms

6 people made plans to watch this game (2 Brits, 2 Americans, 1 Columbian and 1 Malaysian) at our usual British pub. The Malaysian was the only one supporting Italy.

The atmosphere at the pub was great. The pub was packed by 1pm and 85% of the people there supports US (naturally). Everyone was having fun watching the game. They were constantly cursing the Italians while enjoying their beer or bitter and eating good English food.

When Italy scored their first goal, you could only hear some cheers but alot of cursing. When US scored, the pub was rocking! US supporters would chant ‘U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!…’

Then the 2nd (supposed) goal for US came. Italy supporters were heart broken, but the rest of the crowd was cheering and hugging each other, they were full of joy until they realised it was a no goal! Then all you could hear were vulgarity.

There was a TV crew on location shooting the atmosphere at the pub and was interviewing people at the end of the game, asking for their opinions about the match. "I personally think Italy played like shit (sissy farks). They could have done so much better." – Yvonne.

That’s my first WC experience in a pub in Houston. I had a great time. Looking forward to the next one.

I received a complaint this morning, from Carmen. She said my blog has too many entries on food and shopping. She said she wants to see some hot men.

Sigh… babe, do you think there are really hot men roaming the streets of Houston? Of course not! There’s one at home and I can’t show too much of him… hehe…

Since it’s WC season (and also cos I have been receiving some emails from Cindee on hot players) I will blog some pics of hot footballers (even if they can’t play, you have something attractive to look at!).

Alessandro Del Piero – Italy; Ricardo "Kaka" Dos Santos Leite – Brazil; Gianluigi Buffon – Italy; Freddie Ljungberg – Sweden

Roque Santa Cruz – Paraguay; Petr Cech – Czech Republic; Fabio Cannavaro – Italy

*Note: I didn’t include Beckham’s pic on purpose.

Ok that’s enough of hot footballers… we have to pay tribute to our popular TCG guys too…

And the babes…

Oops… PC is blocked! It’s OK, here’s another shot of the babes.

I read a chicken recipe online and got inspired (and a little creative). I made this.

Chicken Dinner Menu

• Chicken Breast Stuffed with Mushroom and Rice
• Steam Vegetable
• Creamy Cheese Gravy

Recipe

Chicken Stuffing: Seasoned brown rice with creamy buttered swiss mushroom.

Rice: Boil brown rice with light chicken broth.

Mushroom: Heat olive oil with butter. When it splutters, add sliced mushroom. Season with some salt and oregano. When mushroom has soaked up all the butter/oil, add cream. (If you do not have cream, you can add milk and thicken sauce with corn flour).

Once rice is cooked, mix the mushroom with the rice. This is what it looks like.

Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper. Cut a slit/pocket into the chicken breast and fill with this mixture. Secure the slit/pocket with a toothpick. Pan fry chicken.

* You can make this ahead of time if you wish. I filled the pockets when the mixture cooled off and refrigerate it til it was time to cook.

Creamy Cheese Gravy: After I pan-fried the chicken, I used the same pan (with what was remained in there) over low heat and added some milk. Once milk starts to bubble, add shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat as soon as cheese melts, you don’t want burnt gravy.

Top chicken with gravy. You can serve chicken with rice or salad. We had it with steam vegetable and the remaining rice and mushroom stuffing. Cheesy cream on steam vegetable – YUM!

Review

Adam: Everything taste good, though there’s too much food on my plate.

Me: Chicken is still juicy and it goes really well with stuffing and gravy. Chicken with veg or salad is more than enough.

Glossary Information

Googled the difference between sauce and gravy, and thought of sharing it here (in case you didn’t know the difference like me!)

Gravy: A thickened sauce, usually made from a base of the juices and extractives that run from meat during cooking

Sauce: A flavorful liquid, usually thickened, that is used to season, flavor, and enhance other foods.

Happy cooking!