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These don’t count
Posted by: | January 8, 2020
| No Comments
| Personal

One of my new year’s resolutions is NOT to buy more than 3 pairs of Italian shoes. Today I received 2 pairs of Italian shoes in the mail – one pair of Oxford with full brogue and the other pair of suede sneakers. (FYI: The tag says Lactae Hevea. It’s a French company that makes natural rubber soles.)

But I ordered these shoes in December 2019. So, these shoes don’t count on my new Year resolution. I still have 3 pairs of Italian shoes to buy this year.

Anyway, why don’t Americans make shoes like these? I have two pairs of Allen Edmonds, but…mm~~ They don’t sing my name.

Costco Delivers Valentine’s Day Flowers
Posted by: | January 4, 2020
| 4 Comments
| Costco Blog

2nd Costco Shopping in 2020 – $53.62 today / $267.49 this year

Costco sells Valentine’s Day flowers, mostly roses, with free delivery. A typical arrangement contains 50 roses, and it will cost you about $54 after tax. I believe this is an excellent price. Visit Costco for all Valentine’s Day floral arrangements. Below are a few key points.

  • Because of the large volume of Valentine’s Day floral orders, your order will deliver on or one day before your preferred arrival date.
  • For Valentine’s Day flower delivery, you must order before February 11, 11 AM PST. I guess that February 14 delivery option may max out soon. I recommend you order as soon as possible if you want Valentine’s Day delivery.
  • You will choose your arrival date when you check out.
  • Shipping is free. Tax will be added.

Dozen Roses at Costco (in the past)

Costco usually sells roses on Valentine’s Day.

Costco Shopping – January 3, 2020
Posted by: | January 3, 2020
| No Comments
| Costco Blog

1st Costco Shopping in 2020 – $213.87 today / $213.87 this year
Member Only Savings – $49.50 today / $49.50 this year

Sardines (#180973) were not on my shopping list. Canned sardines are usually gross. But I never tried sardines from Costco before, and they were on sale, so I gave it a try. To my pleasant surprise, they were enjoyable. They are skinless and boneless. Maybe I will buy them again if I see them on sale.

Snapdragon’s Vietnamese Pho is relatively new at Costco. They are bad for you, but also so tasty. I bought 2 boxes (18 bowls total). I will try not to eat them too often. They were also on sale. ($3 off each box).

All supplements were on sale.

Member Only Savings saved $49.50

#180973 Season Skinless & Boneless Sardines in Olive Oil
6-count. $6.99 with discount.
Happy New Year – 2020
Posted by: | January 1, 2020
| 4 Comments
| Personal

Happy New Year. I have a big Costco shopping coming up tomorrow after work. I am excited about my first Costco shopping in 2020. Roaring 20s is here. I am more excited about the ’20s compared to Y2K we had 20 years ago. It’s good to be alive and healthy.

I may cancel my executive membership this year. I think I spend less money at Costco now. I am running out of things to buy. Shopping doesn’t excite me as much as it did 10 years ago.

I still feel awkward talking about my improved financial situation. That’s why I didn’t blog about my car shopping trip to San Francisco. It’s awkward to talk about things that used to make me feel jealous in envy (sometimes painful). Anyway… now I have two cars; a Prius for commute, and a convertible for weekend pleasure. Driving my convertible has been indescribably satisfying. I shall continue enjoying weekend driving this year.

For next Christmas (2020), I would like to learn how to play at least one classical Christmas tune with my guitar.

I would like to get a California real estate agent license this year. I don’t plan to work in real estate, but… we’ll see…

I would like to travel some more. I would like to visit different cities and experience normal everyday life. I like American cities, but I have no problem flying anywhere in the world.

I wish to lose 1 inch around my waist and hips. I have about 80 pairs of pants in 30 Inch waist. I would like to fit in them comfortably.

Oh, and I will try not to buy over 3 pairs of Italian shoes this year.

Happy new year. Take care.

Happy New Year!
Posted by: | January 1, 2020
| 1 Comment
| Ti's Kitchen
This traditional Indian savory item was given to us by a customer and my husband can’t remember the name of it, but all we know is it is fantastic with a spicy kick made from cream of wheat.
Bon Appetite
Test Your Kitchen Thermometers
Posted by: | December 28, 2019
| 2 Comments
| Kitchen, Personal

My Thanksgiving Turkey was a disaster due to my faulty kitchen thermometers. I had three digital meat thermometers and all three of them were trash. I tested those thermometers on both ice water and boiling water. All three of them failed miserably.

It was my fault for not testing the thermometers. Now that I look back, I was naive to trust cheap kitchen thermometers without testing them on my own.

Thermometers that I threw out, two Mavericks and one Taylor
I’m not sure if I will ever buy another Taylor or Maverick.

I trashed all my thermometers and bought 3 new ones. I also bought 2 extra probes. They all passed my test. Moving forward, I will use two thermometers with probes at the same time to double-check my progress. When I’m done with cooking, I will use the third thermometer to confirm my work.

And I shall test my thermometers every year, at least 1 month before Thanksgiving Day, rather than 1 day before Thanksgiving, so I will have time to buy a new thermometer if I have to.

To test the kitchen thermometers, I shall…

  • Take the temperature of ice water – Temperature should read almost 32 F (0 C).
  • Take the temperature of boiling water. – It should read 212 F (100 C), or very close to it.

To redeem myself from the Thanksgiving turkey disaster, I baked a Christmas turkey with my new thermometers. Finally, my turkey came out super-fantastic.

New thermometers – all tested.