still adjusting...hmm.

I've been procrastinating with sorting and processing photos...75% of the reason is because I'm trying to get back on a routine...25% is because I find myself confused as I'm walking around as to why I am here and not in South Africa.  Anyhow...

Took this last weekend when I dragged ICM to the Farmer's Market.  The colors of the bunch of chard is so pretty, especially against a wintery drabby back drop.  Who knew chard could be so beautiful?? I did buy a bunch and made a vegetable soup from Cookbooks 101, link right here: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/green-soup-with-ginger-recipe.html.  Only now did I realize I had forgotten the ginger, oops.


Heading out of town tomorrow and hope to really get back in the swing of things.  Photos from SA to come, promise promise promise.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mentally adjusting.

Hello!

It's been exactly a week since I've returned from my trip to South Africa...and I miss it A LOT.  Mountains beyond mountains, safaris, beautiful coast line, nice people, great food, grilling all the time, cheap but awesome wines...what else can we ask for??  The danger in taking a three and a half week vacation is that it starts to feel like reality after a while, so it becomes an even bigger shocker when you find yourself sitting in your no-sunlight cubicle.  That was me on Monday...yuck.  Since then, school started, real life started back up..not to mention the fact that Christmas is just around the corner, ahhhhh.  I am not prepared for 2011 to end.  Maybe that's a sign of a great year?  :)  Excited for some down time to think about 2011 and sort out all the photos I want to post to show you!

Anyhow, a short post as I mentally adjust to being back and getting back into the routine.  This is a place called "Beach Camp" in Paternoster, SA that we stayed at.  This is taken inside our A frame hut right on the beach.  Very hippie commune like but boy is it a beautiful location.


Good night.

I am a hypochondriac?...and more.

Lately, I've been feeling somewhat like a hypochondriac.  Do you ever feel that way?  Let me tell you, having the internet, health forums, and websites like the WebMD, and the fact that my primary care doctor sucks (which makes me not want to go to the Doctor), has led me to make pretty ridiculous assumptions about my health...all based upon pretty generic search terms like swollen lymph nodes and a cough.  For a while I was convinced that I had lymphoma.  Luckily, I was and am comforted by the fact that the swollen lymph nodes were tender and had appeared suddenly.  If it was cancer, then it would have been more gradual and hard...that's what WebMD said!  So scratch cancer, what about lung issues, why won't my cough go away, etc!?? And it goes on. 

Even though I am almost certain it's not something terminal and that swollen lymph nodes are a sign that your body is fighting back, I will honestly admit that thoughts like "oh crap, am I going to die?" or "oh no, there are so many things I haven't done" have crossed my mind.  Ridiculous I know and I plan on getting it checked out by a professional.  But all in all, what I learned was that while I used to think that I wasn't afraid of dying,  I realized that I am.  Maybe when I am older I won't be...but right now, very much so.  While I've always had an appreciation and admiration of the strength of people who are/have been fighting their illnesses, through my self imposed experience, I gained an even greater appreciation. 

Anyways, just a bunch of random thoughts.

It's been cold here in DC and the metro definitely isn't helping.  Came across this and somehow it really appealed to me..


Oh yeah kiddies, T-Minus 5 days till we leave for South Africa!  So excited to explore and experience a beautiful country with one of the biggest reasons of why I wouldn't want to die any time soon! :)

Is it bad that...

...I want to ditch class tonight, so that I can make steamed egg custard, brown rice, and veggies with oyster sauce?  Oh yeah, our new oyster sauce has no MSG, it's not the same!!!!
...I wanted to pull a girl's hair out at a concert last night for being extremely extremely rude and inconsiderate? (don't worry, I didn't beat her up! I do actually have self control.)

Hmm...I guess we all have flaws! Or as Rick Perry puts it, "we all have our human moments!"  :)

My first WVU game!



I went to my first WVU game this past Saturday!  It was great spending time in the sun and playing with the 70-300 lens that ICM's mom is lending us for our big trip.  It was a beautiful day, everyone (except me) were decked out in full WVU gear and tailgating all day - they really have some very loyal fans.  I also got to see the Mountaineer (their mascot) receive a new musket from a generous alumni donation (see pictures below)!

Unfortunately, WVU lost to Louisville 35-38..Bummer.  Oh yeah, and the guy behind us was yelling/pretending he's the coach the whole game...Don't be that guy, ok?

Had a great weekend, hope you did too.

Here are some photos!


Oh yeah, I love Fall!


Bye Bye.

Thanksgiving in October!! That's right!


Yup! We had Thanksgiving in October last Saturday!!! And yes, we still have a lot of turkey left! Delicious :)  For reasons I cannot remember, I didn't have turkey for Thanksgiving last year.  So this year, when I realized that we would be in South Africa during Thanksgiving,  I decided that perhaps we could have Thanksgiving dinner early.  Thanks to good friends who love food and are open to strange suggestions, we pulled together an awesome Thanksgiving dinner:  brined turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, roasted winter vegetables, green beans with shallots and garlic, spinach salad, home made rolls, AND pumpkin pie!

It was my first time ever cooking a turkey and after a lot of research, I decided to brine it with water, salt, and herbs, both fresh and dry.  I was really nervous about overcooking, undercooking, and/or screwing it up somehow.  BUT I think it turned out pretty well and I was happy about it.  I am now a true believer in brining!


We did have a small incident where we thought we were roasting breast side up (even though I really wanted breastside down).  But because ICM apparently can't tell which side the breasts were, somehow it worked out to breastside down...yeah, don't ask.  The reason for roasting breastside down is so the juices would flow towards the breast and keep it moistened (since no one wants to eat super dry white meat)!  Overall, our turkey was moist and yummy! 


My dinner that night..well, first round :)


Oh yeah, and this is what happens after Thanksgiving dinner...even in October :)



I had made my own pie crust and pumpkin pie filling from scratch about a week ago...the crust sort of failed, so even though I had said I'd make the pie, I decided that the pie master (miss A) should.  And I am just in awe of this perfect pie crust that she made... it puts me to shame!

So lastly, since I like to blame ICM for both things that he should be blamed for and maybe things that he shouldn't, I decided to give him a shout out.  Apparently it is important that they get positive feedback every once in a while.  Because I threw such a huge/child-like fit about not being able to go to the pumpkin patch twice, he got me a baby pumpkin one day! AWWWW. 

Ice cream and dominoes. Good night.

Po Chi Fung is a Ventura County based Photographer specializing in children portraits in studio, professional headshots, and branding and documentary photography for businesses. Po Chi Fung Photography is located in Ventura, California and serves Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, and Los Angeles County - Ventura, Ojai, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Santa Monica, Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, Pasadena, San Marino, and other surrounding areas.