Like Butter!

Last night Jojo, Atsi, Mark and I, had dinner at a place that is sure to make it to our all-time favorites list. We went to Sansui-Tei which is a smallish Japanese grilling place located in the Rolling Hills Plaza complex, next to Nijiya Market.

We were excited to try the food since we had read that Sansui-Tei serves WASHUGYU Beef which is a crossbreed of Japanese Wagyu and American Black Angus. We browsed the menu and made our selections - we had to pass on some of the more exotic stuff like beef heart, tongue, liver, intestines, etc. and we settled for more taditional fare. While waiting for our food, our server turned on our table-side grill. We whetted our appetites with kimchi and hot green tea. We noticed that all the other tables were filled with Japanese customers. We took that as a good sign. Our meat orders arrived soon after. The raw meat was served on little plates and was just lightly salted and not marinated (like in Korean bbq). The marbling on the beef was gorgeous ... but made us feel slightly guilty about what it would do to our cholesterol levels ... we decided though that this meal would be worth an extra few minutes at the gym!

We started grilling. The chicken was nothing great. The pork sausages were tasty but bordering on the salty side. The real star of the evening was the beef. IT WAS DIVINE. You know how some people say that perfectly grilled beef is just like butter? I never quite got that - how could meat be like butter? But last night, I totally understood. It was indeed like butter! The meat was so succulent, juicy and tender - it really felt like it melted in my mouth. It was so good that we were kind of speechless for a while and were all just concentrating on eating. We had three kinds of beef - the ribeye, the short ribs and the flat-iron skirt steak - I can't decide which one was best.

We also ordered some veggies for grilling. I figured they would be sweet peppers, onions, asparagus, and zucchini, etc. but was surprised when we also got mushrooms, squash and cabbage. I've never had those grilled before - surprisingly the squash was good - there was a caramelized texture and taste once it was grilled. The mushrooms were also slightly sweet but with a more woodsy taste. I didn't particularly enjoy the grilled cabbage though.

After dinner, we all agreed the Washugyu was awesome and even if the service was a bit slow (there were only 3 servers and it was a full house), we would definitely recommend this place to others. Our bill came to $80.00++, with tax and tip included. Not bad for a really good dinner =)

Del's Day

Yesterday we celebrated the birthday of my sister-in-law, Edel. She turned 35 but does not look a day over 25! We had dinner at the Grand World Buffet in Torrance. Too much food for dinner - yummy that night but not so good the morning after! It was a happy and noisy affair - which is quite typical with Ordinario gatherings.

The birthday celebrant, Edel, with her family =) My nephews, Jorel and Elroy, always make funny faces for photos!

Jojo and I (with Sydney behind me). Picture taken by my niece, Meredith. I'm not sure why the pictures look so orange! And yes, I had my hair cut. =)

My sister in law, Marik, and her husband, Roy. (Jay and Lee and Lee's family in the background).

Here's a partial group shot. It's really hard to gather everyone together and to fit everyone in one shot! I'm the one holding Faye up =)

Here's Edel (with the help of Marik) opening her presents! Lots of really cool stuff!

Happy Birthday, Del! May you have lots more to come =)

Saving Money

One of my former bosses liked to constantly remind me that in business there are two ways to “make money”. The first way is to increase sales (or in some cases to find alternative revenue streams). The second way is to cut costs and decrease expenses. With the job market the way it is and me not yet working, we are still a single income family. So without another “revenue stream”, the best way I can contribute to our household income is by cutting costs. Here are some of the things we’ve done lately:

1.) If your home is mortgaged, now is a good time to refinance. Interest rates are still low and there are lots of good options to consider. Just be careful about who you choose to broker the refinancing. We had to shop around for someone that really wanted to help us and was not just interested in making their company money!
2.) Write to your local/state tax review board and ask for a reduction in your property taxes. With property values at an all time low, many areas have also lowered property taxes.
3.) Switch to a prepaid phone plan rather than one with fixed monthly charges. Now we pay only for the minutes / services we actually use.
4.) Make competition work for you. In our case, we were offered a lower rate to switch our home security system to a competitor’s. When I brought it up with our current home security provider, they offered to match the competitor’s price.
5.) Being a good and loyal customer pays off. Since we’ve never missed a payment and have not been in any accidents, we have requested and gotten a discount from our car/home insurance company.
6.) Use coupons when buying groceries or things for the house. They may seem like a small savings but they really add up. Also, I plan our menus more carefully (it really helps to go the grocery when you are not hungry and when you have a shopping list on hand!).
7.) Avail of service promotions. For example, I have found that when you get your car’s oil changed on a Wednesday (instead of the weekend), you get 30% off.
8.) Surf the internet for savings. I’ve joined Restaurant.com and Groupon.com that sends me discounts for restaurants, shows, and other services around LA. For example at Restaurant.com, you can purchase a $25.00 certificate for $10.00, which you can use it at many local restaurants. There are some restrictions though (some places only allow certificates to be used for dinner from Sunday to Thursdays and with a minimum amount ordered), so read the fine print.
9.) Eat out less. Because we’ve been trying to eat healthier and since I have more time to cook these days, we’ve reduced eating out from 3-4 times a week to maybe once or twice a week. We’ve also cut down on take out from once a week to maybe once a month. It also helps that I have time to pack Jojo lunch every day.
10.) Shop smart. When making a large purchase (in our case we are on the lookout for some new appliances, vacation deals, and getting our kitchen renovated), it pays to take your time and look at all the possible options. Ask for quotations from different competitors to compare the pros and cons of each. Most of the time, we miss out on savings when we buy in haste.

Side note on "Shopping Smart": Buying at store sales and in bulk does not always equal saving money. Sometimes it is tempting to buy the 5 lb. box of multi-grain cereal, on sale at Costco, even if we don't really eat cereal all that much. It may be a great deal, but we need to keep in mind that 5 lbs is a lot of cereal and it ends up going stale after a while.

With the economy still in recession and while we wait for the light at the end of the tunnel to get brighter, all of us could stand to tighten our belts and be wiser with our money. By doing so, we can still lead very satisfying and quality lifestyles without giving too much up =)

Can You Say "CAT"atonic?

Let me start by saying this: If you are planning to watch CATS and have not yet seen the show, don't read this post. I give away the ending during this review.

If you are still reading, well, don't say I didn't warn you! =)

The evening was full of promise as Jojo and I headed off to the Pantages Theater. I was looking forward to watching CATS. Before the show, I have been warned that the show is "boring" and that this is the kind of musical that you either really love or really hate - there is no in-between. I figured I would probably be one of those that really loves it since I am a big musical theater fan. Also, I thought how could I not like this production when it is music by the great Andrew Lloyd Weber and when this is THE longest running Broadway musical ever???

Here are Jojo and I while waiting for the show to start.
Two and a half hours later, I have to admit I am not one of those that love this show. Maybe I don't hate it but I do harbor very strong feelings of dislike.

Let me start with the good points. To be fair, the music was fantastic. Andrew Lloyd Weber is a genius. Also, last night's production spared no expense. The stage set was utterly believable and the props and effects were professionally prepared. The strobe lighting, dancing colored lights, the fire-crackers and the fog machines blowing smoke were all nice touches. And yes, the cast was top-notch. Everyone gave it their 110% - such incredible singing voices and fabulous dancers. It was entertaining to see such lithe and yet agile dancers prancing the stage and tumbling to music.

But sadly, all that could not hold my interest and attention. The first 10 minutes of seeing 20 or so actors in imaginative cat costumes singing, dancing and prancing is great - but 2 and 1/2 hours of the same thing was pretty tedious. Each song seemed to be about the same thing and had the same choreography. I could hardly tell when one song ended and the next one began. Also, even if we tried, we could not make out a lot of the words to the songs. I don't think it was the sound system since I've been to the Pantages several times before and never had any complaints. I think it's just that the songs themselves had no meaning. At least none that I could comprehend.

And there lays another sad fact, the whole musical had no discernible storyline. I had read that the whole production is based on poems by T.S. Elliot - but I thought there would be some sort of story or at least a plot to follow. Sadly, that is not the case. It is just a bunch of Jellicle cats (still not sure what they are) singing song after song about what else ... CATS! Fat cats, old cats, magical cats, glamorous cats, wily cats, pirate cats, and all sorts of cats. There was certainly not much humor or drama. There was definitely no romance or mystery. There was totally no heart-warming story with a moral lesson in the end. In fact, it was hard to tell when the whole thing ended since again, there was no real story.

Jojo was in misery - not only was he bored to tears, he was fighting a cold and had to keep from sniffling and coughing all night. In my case, this was the first time I have watched a show wherein I completely felt the intermission came too late and when the 2 & 1/2 hours seemed to drag on and on. I am sorry to be giving such a bad review. Of course, this is just my personal opinion. (Although several people seated around us seemed to agree since a lot of yawning was going on and some folks even left half-way). Anyway, it is safe to say that this is definitely not going on my list of favorite musicals. Perhaps I am not sophisticated enough to enjoy every type of musical theater (I never claimed to be!). It's just so disappointing since the reasons that I love musical theater are for the excitement, the heroes and villains, the plot lines and the over-the-top productions, the feeling that I am part of the show, and the wonderful feel-good feeling I get after the curtains go down. Sadly, last night, I did not get any of that at all.

Thanks Everyone!

After my last post about having PCOS I had a huge amount of support and encouragement come my way. THANK YOU, EVERYONE that sent comments, emails, and phone calls. I was a little overwhelmed - but in a good way, of course. The reason I wrote the post was because I was trying to put into words how I felt that day. I know my last post may have sounded like I was pessimistic, or sad, or feeling hopeless ... but hopefully, it also sounded like I was positive, and accepting, and determined. You see, I have been going through a myriad of emotions the last few days which quite frankly included all those feelings and more. But suffice it to say that, I am fine. Jojo is fine. We are both completely, 100 percent okay with where we are now and we are completely open to what the future holds for us regarding this. I think the most important thing I have learned through this process is to know the facts, not to give up, and most importantly how much the support of my family and friends means to me. So, again, thank you all for the outpouring of support and love. =)