Almond "Dark" Chocolate Cupcake

Chuperman is gonna kill me. I couldn't resist trying Sprinkle's new cupcake flavor - almond dark choc cupcake=P I'm not a huge fan of Sprinkles, however, I was impressed with the deliciously moist almond cake. The almond essence in the cake reminded me of the popular Chinese jello dessert "almond tofu" or "almond pudding" ("xin nen dou fu"). As usual, the frosting was way too sugary and did not satisfy my dark chocolate tastebuds. In fact, the claimed "dark chocolate" frosting tasted more like milk chocolate (booo!!). I think Zov's makes the best cupcakes in recent memory - I love their red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting haha.. I know, I have major problems. I need to go to a Sugar Addicts Anonymous meeting or something. Thanks Bootie for getting me into trouble! I blame you for informing me of Sprinkle's latest creation. haha. Anyway, 2 doors down from Sprinkle's sits Gelato Paradiso. And across the way is Bristol Farms. The devil is here. I'm finalizing my thesis at the kick-ass Newport Library, which as locals would know - is dangerously close to all the good eats/good sweets. I'm also an arm's length away from Teuscher Swiss Chocolates in Fashion Island. Everyday is such a struggle! I comfort myself with thinking that going on long walks at night might counteract my glucose spikes. I'll prob be reporting my pregnancy weight gain in kilograms now on haha. Okie, back to more fun at the library.

Back on Track!

(above is a pic of Cupid's gigantic stray arrow - striking the Pier/Embarcadero near the Ferry Building - Farmer's Market. photo taken by Chuperman. click on photo for link to pix from the Bay Area)

Yesterday I hit a wall while trying to finalize some statistics using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) (Please don't ask me to explain this). I decided to go on a long walk to de-stress and to re-gain my momentum, instead I came back from the long walk pretty tired and decided to take "a short power nap" that turned into a whole night's rest plus more! I guess I didn't realize that I've been pushing myself a lot lately.

We've all seen plenty of pregnant women walking around the neighborhood, mall, grocery store, etc... but, have you ever seen a pregnant woman with a belly a size of a canteloupe RUNNING around in the neighborhood? This was me last night. Don't fret, I only ran like 50 meters at the end of my long walk. I couldn't help it, I was super stressed from my thesis and needed to exert some energy. I've forgotten what it's like to run! It sure felt great though! I wonder what the baby thinks of me running... haha.

I've been going full steam ahead this entire pregnancy so far (past 5 months) with moving households, my thesis, pregnancy, traveling, working, entertaining house guests, etc. No wonder I felt so exhausted last night and konked out for 12 hours. I felt much better this morning =D And after an informative 50-minute meeting with my stats professor today, I'm armed with the know-how to finish off the results and discussion chapters of my thesis (at least I think I am - my committee will be the judge of that). Then all I have left is to finalize my references and appendix - ok, I still have kind of a lot to do but at least I'm making progress!

As predicted, I woke-up in the middle of the night at 2:58am for a bathroom break - even though I remembered there was a lunar eclipse going on outside, I figured it wasn't worth stepping outside in the middle of the night - a solar eclipse would be much more worth it.

Labor Day Weekend - pretty much open! I'm so excited to have a long wkend where I can just relax. All I have set is a prenatal massage and perhaps dinner with friends & relatives. I plan to sleep, shop, sleep, eat, sleep, hike around Crystal Cove, sleep, read, sleep, cook, and maybe even catch up on some movies! Btw, the other day my visiting cousin from Taiwan asked me to help her turn on my TV, get this - I actually FORGOT how to turn on the TV. It's been so long since I watched TV. I had to call Chuperman for help. Granted it's a lil more complicated than merely pressing Power On/Off button, but still!

"Umbrella...ella..ella..bella..bella.."

Played on Star 98.7 FM, Youtube sensation Marie Digby sings a damn good acoustic remix of Rihanna's "Umbrella". Not only does she have a sweet "Jewel" like voice, she happens to be Japanese/Irish-American and a total knock out.

Chuperman and I like this remix so much that we're learning how to sing/play this song on the guitar... haha.. pathetic and a total distraction from my thesis.

Click on below to hear Marie Digby's acoustic version of "Umbrella":

"A total eclipse of the heart"

Tonight: For any insomniacs, jet-laggers, momma's with crying/hungry babies, procrastinating grad students, pregnant ladies that need to go pee in the middle of the night, and night-owls - given that it's a clear night, if you happen to be up at between 2:52am and 4:22am Pacific standard time, then you might catch a glimpse of a lunar eclipse! Woohoo! I'll most likely be making a run to the bathroom and hopefully NOT still working on my thesis at that hour!

About 1/2 way there!

This morning I got a 20-week U/S. The baby must take after her momma, b/c during the U/S she was swimming, chilling, or sleeping on her belly! haha... She must have been swimming because I swear I saw her wave at me:) Two weeks ago, she was chilling on her back which afforded much better pictures. It was harder to see her this time but we still managed to see her heartbeat, 2 kidneys, spinal cord, brain, eyes, nose, thighs, hands, etc..;) I will post U/S pics later on...

Review of how momma piggie is doing at 20-wk mark:
movement felt from baby: since week 12! yes really!
weight gain: aproximately 5 lbs
cravings: japanese food (Kitayama and Bento boxes) & the people's food (chinese/taiwanese)
week 5-10: mild nausea, never threw-up, felt sea-sick
week 11 - present: feeling pretty good! a tad moody haha... thanks chuperman for being super patient. i'm so glad you hardly take things personally. i hope lil porkie gets your temperament.
exercise: shopping, shopping, shopping, walking, hiking, swimming, yoga
fleeting beauty moments: i've noticed that my nails are super strong and grow super fast now, before i had the flimsiest nails. i've also noticed that my hair is growing super fast and is really shiny. i also noticed that my mammaries are growing to pornstar status. i'm gonna enjoy this VERY short-lived period haha.
bouts of clumsiness: i had a close-call the other day where i spilled about a 16 oz mug full of ice and water on my desk - luckily my laptop and my thesis got spared from the drench fest.
i'm always banging my knee's, shoulders, hands, arms into a door, desk, wall, car, etc.

Stats of lil porkie at 20-wks:
heart rate: 151 bpm
weight: 11 ounces
length: approximately 6-7 inches
(the nazi U/S lady who was old and super grouchy, didn't want to measure the baby, claimed that the baby's position was unfavorable for measing *whatever*)

Kick-boxer:

Dancing Queen: she was dancing to the tunes of Abba when I saw the show "Mamma Mia"

World Traveler: lil porkie has been on 5 plane-rides in the past 20 wks and zip-lined through Costa Rican rain forest ..."thanks mom, no more please" haha
She was kicking like crazy when we descended into the Bay Area.
Lil porkie was thrilled to be out in Napa wine-tasting with mommy. haha... i only had a few very tiny VERY TINY sips of the most delicious wine haha.
Lil Porkie was excited about getting her pic taken at the U/S this morning and was kicking vigorously prior to the photoshoot.
She falls asleep when I'm working on my not-so-exciting thesis. No kicking whatsoever... "B-O-R-I-N-G.... thesis writing is super boring. mommie, quickly finish up so we can go shopping for me". okie, im trying!!!

I'm going to have some taro cake to celebrate my 1/2 way mark! I'm also going to work on the "results" section of my thesis (yay) and hang out with my cousin's 2 babies and other relatives tonight (5 staying with us!).

Have a great weekend!

Crunch Time!

It's crunch time for momma piggie! I'm taking a quickie break from my frickin' thesis.... After a beautiful long weekend in the Bay Area, it's back to good-ole reality.

Some Bay Area foodie highlights (pix coming soon):

• sumptuous porcini ravioli and lobster fettucine dinner at La Siciliana Trattoria in Rockridge (Berkeley)
• fried green tomato BLT and spiced rubbed quail at Mustard's Grille in Napa
• soft-shell crab sandwiche and prosciutto soft egg scramble with arugula at the Ferry Building's farmer's market
• halibut and scallops at Boulevard Restaurant
• dark choc bailey's irish cream and red raspberry truffles from Joseph Schmidt Confections (Ferry Building)
• home-made bisteca milanese w/ delicious twice cooked potato poppers: compliments of chuperman's auntie at their beautiful 5-acre lot new home in Fremont
• super creamy super smoothy Green Tea Matcha Freddo from Peet's coffee... I'm addicted to this stuff!
  

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED HOTEL:

• Hotel Vitale is an amazing boutique hotel which is part of Joie De Vivre Hotels. Hotel Vitale is hip, modern, clean, luxurious and extremely convenient. I hope to stay at a JDV hotel soon again. I was in charge of booking our super duper last minute hotels and I luckily stumbled upon Hotel Vitale which happened to have vacancy! Thank God! Little did I know that Hotel Vitale is quite literally across the street from the landmark Ferry Building. I used my usual charm and of course the pregnancy card, to get us upgraded to a killer room with wonderful views of the Bay Bridge, Ferry Building, and the surround Embarcadero area.
  side note: key difference b/w Chuperman booking hotels and when tiramesu booking hotels..... CLASS. Staying at Hotel Vitale was somewhat of a point of contention for us. Of course Chuperman wanted to stay in Hayward at his friends house so that we can save $, etc etc... I was all for it UNTIL on the first night, the boyz decided to play the loudest war videogame on the PS3 on his new 58" plasma... with the volume on FULL BLAST to of course get the full effect until 2am! Of course the pregnant lady literally in the next room did not appreciate this. I was then forced to make an executive decision and booked Hotel Vitale for the remaining 2 nights. When we got to the hotel, Chuperman was actually pretty happy with the hotel and its bomb-ass location and even said he was "glad" that we stayed in the hotel. HMPH.
• complimentary yoga class at the hotel. after I'm done with this beeeatch of a thesis I'm going to take prenatal yoga classes for surez!
  
• prenatal massage at the hotel spa (not complimentary) haha. I was actually really surprised that the masseuse knew what she was doing. After getting the world's best massages in Thailand for $6 for 2 hours, I'm always doubtful of the masseuses here in the States...i hate getting ripped off for sub-standard service but b/c my back was killing me, I thought it wouldn't hurt to try out a prenatal massage. She had me lie on my side with plenty of pillows. I flipped once, then she had me lie on my back and reclined the massage table. She did a great job with my lower back and even gave me a scalp and face massage to address my TMJ. Prenatal massages are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I have much more to expound upon including the, oh yeah, friends and relatives that we met up with in the Bay Area... including the cutest lil munchkin (Coral) getting into my purse or "bao bao" and trying to get me to open or "kai" the box of choc truffles I was hiding in my purse... but my thesis take priority for now hehe...

Upcoming: for the next 4 nights - 5, yes FIVE, of my relatives from Taipei are staying with us, including a 2.5yr old boy and a 5 month yr old baby girl. This will be good practice for us. I hope the toddler doesn't go through my underwear drawer and doesn't destroy my thesis.

On Friday AM, I get to have a 20 week U/S!

Thank you Lord for everything :)

Shows & Upcoming Spontaneous Trip up to SF!

It's been insanely busy! In a period of 8 days, I saw the musical "Wicked" at Pantages Theater, "Mamma Mia" at OC Performing Arts Center, and the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach. All three shows were amazing but I would have to say that the Pageant of the Masters had the biggest wow factor. God is awesome. I will post pictures later on.

Yesterday, we booked a super last minute trip up to the Bay Area leaving tomorrow late afternoon and staying until Sunday afternoon. I have so much to do including my damn thesis, going to work, packing, and cleaning up! I'm really looking forward to this food-filled trip..haha! We have reservations at the Boulevard Restaurant in Embarcadero. Can't wait. Love the Bay Area :)

Btw, this stuff is amazing. Need more need more:

Champagne?!

I feel like downing a couple of flutes of champagne - I'm so happy and distracted!!! I'll settle for a shirley temple, ginger ale, or rhubarb soda;)

My Dream Literally Came True!

Yesterday afternoon I saw my new OB and he was super nice and not to mention HILARIOUS, he granted me my wish of finding out the sex of our baby! I am SO GLAD I changed OB's. Even Chuperman was super happy with my new OB.

First he used a doppler to hear the piglet's heart beat, which is 145 beats per minute! The heart is beating so fast because the lil body is working so hard to grow each and everyday.

Then without much warning, he busted out the ultrasound machine and proceeded to gel and then scan my belly! OMG I was so thrilled to see the baby's big head, big belly, heart fluttering, legs kicking, arms moving - ALREADY at 17 weeks!

The baby was lying on the back side, then turned to the side - facing us - and BOOM, the OB announced that we're having a lil girl piglet!!! =D Chuperman could immediately tell also. I could tell as well, but wanted the OB to double check! But he told me, "You've already seen it (privates) one time, don't keep looking at her privates" hahaaa.. then he added, "Michelle is bad huh?" Hilarious OB.

Keep in mind that Chuperman and I were not ready to see an u/s quite this fast b/c I was always told that we won't find out the sex of the baby until week 20. I asked him when I can find out, and he told me "maybe today".. hehe... that's one of the perks of going to a doc that has a private practice - the U/S machine was right next to him. At my old OB's office, there wouldn't have been a chance in the world that they would have granted me this wish. The new OB rocks! I got to find out the sex a lil earlier and he has excellent bed-side manner. When I first met him, he said, "it's the end of the day, you must be tired. Are you feeling okay?" Talk about welcoming:)

And best of all, my new OB is NOT concerned that I have gestational diabetes (GDM). He was like, "You don't look diabetic" hahaaa. Chuperman might have a different opinion, especially because of all the bday celebrations lately.... can we say - CAKE, ICE CREAM, RED VELVET CUPCAKE, PEACH PIE, ICE CREAM, ICE CREAM, ICE CREAM, ICE CREAM, ICE CREAM, ICE CREAM, ICE CREAM, ICE CREAM, & CANDY. I have had the BIGGEST craving for red velvet cupcakes and carrot cake. It must be the calcium and protein in the cream cheese frosting that is necessary for the baby to survive. D'oh! Btw, we saw the new Simpson's movie. HILARIOUS!! Go watch it - They really pulled it off!

Thankfully, I happened to throw my camera into my purse in the AM! Chuperman recorded some of the u/s on video;) There are 2 videos. The first one is of the her heartbeat - look closely, you can only see her heart valves jump up and down for the first 2-3 secs before the doc freezes the panel to measure the baby. The second video is longer, toward the end of the video you can see the baby turning on her side, kicking with her legs up, and her arm extending to touch her feet!

2 U/S Videos

She is lying on her back. Her head is on the right and her belly is in the middle/left. Legs on the very left (harder to see).

Recap of some stats:
Due Date: January 15, 2008
This makes me approximately 17-18 wks pregnant as of today, so I'm 4 months pregnant;)
Weight Gained By Mommy Piggie so far: 3lbs
(keep in mind, that mommy piggie was already of healthy weight to begin with so mommy piggie doesn't need to gain too much weight and also mommy piggie is suspected of having gestational diabetes -GDM - so she can't go too crazy at the dessert buffet and always fighting off cravings for sweets.. so sad.. haha)
CRL: 12 cm long already;)
Heart Rate: 145 bpm
Weight: approximately 7 oz
Mommy Piggie's psychic ability: I had a dream 2 wks ago that I was getting an u/s and we found out the piggie was a GIRL!
And whatya know! VOILA!
Gender: GIRL!!

It has been a very active, extremely stressful, and long week, hence, the lack of posts. I listed "mood swings" as one of my symptoms of pregnancy at the OB's office yesterday. haha. Sorry Chuperman for being a psycho-pregnant wife. Thank God you're going to be a doctor and you have an extremely high tolerance for psycho patients. It really is the hormones I say!!! My mood, everything changed when I saw the u/s. Seeing our baby move around completely obliterated all of the stress I was dealing with. Thank you lil baby girl piglet for being our big blessing:) You make momma piggie & Chuperman very happy:)

Thank you God for blessing me with our growing baby piggie and for the most wonderful and PATIENT hubby.

I'm 29 today!

My birthday really came up fast this year! It has been such a crazy day! I started off my day at the DMV. My DL expires today, so I figured today was a good day to go in and get my DL renewed finally. I never got a renewal in the mail and then I just forgot altogether until recently. For those of you who have seen my DL know that the pic of me at age 16 looks NOTHING like me now. Back then I was a super tomboy and was really really dark (we're talking filipina maid dark here). Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting my new license so that when I get carded (hopefully many many many times more) that I won't get multiple double takes. The DMV experience today was actually quite brief - it took me only 20 minutes to get in and outta there. FYI: The DMV does not take CC yet. However, they do take debit card, check, and of course cash.

Shortly after the DMV, I went straight to work and learned that both my assistant and my mom we're gonna bail for the day for various reasons. GREAT. So pretty much I was juggling 3 phone lines (including my cell phone haha), doing lab work, handling client visits, and OH my stats professor emailed me back for a confirmation on appt to meet next Monday. SCORE! So happy that she can help me. So, I've also been looking over some stats today... busy busy.

Being an August baby, I'm very accustomed to having ppl forget my bday altogether - b/c many ppl take vacations in August. But this year, ppl actually remembered! This is the first time I felt somewhat popular haha.

Thanks to all of my buddies for sending me birthday wishes via text message, phone, emails, VM's, and my first dessert of the day - PEACH PIE from Marie Callender's!! Boy am I screwed today! Oh well, it's my bday, next week I will fast for sure to make sure that glucose level stays down! I feel all warm and fuzzy inside - and the day ain't over yet! Love you guys! Thank you for making me feel so special!

Happy August!

I love August because it's my birthday month - woohoo!! Leos RULE. The world revolves around Leos. We are the life of the party. That's pretty much the stereotypical way of thinking for my sign. However, I think I'm more laid back. I actually don't mind getting older. I have lots to look forward to:) The glass is half full, baby!

Actually, August is not my favorite month. August is too damn hot. I think I like March, April, and May better.

I don't care if my doctors think I have gestational diabetes (GDM). I'm going to have cake tomorrow =D. Depending on how I feel, I'm going to make chocolate cupcakes with whip cream or I'm going to arrange for a red velvet cupcake or a Chinese cake. We're going to be celebrating my mom's b-day too. She's a Leo - it must be the reason why we get along so well. It's our magnetic personalities that easily win us friendships - however, sometimes our decisive and spontaneous nature gets us into trouble. Chuperman specifically did not want our baby to be another August baby hahaa... well, so far he got his wish - the baby ain't coming out until the winter:)

I never thought that I was going to have a winter baby. Since I was born in August, I just always thought my baby was going to be a summer baby - when most babies are born right? Good logic. I'm kind of glad that by the time I hit my 3rd trimester in October-ish, the weather will be nice and cool :)

Even though my mom does not have any stretch marks from either of her pregnancies from me and my bro, I'm still going to take extra precaution. Thank God for on-line shopping - I just purchased Mustela Double Action Stretch Mark Cream (2nd from left) from Sephora. Thanks Toronto for referring me!

Does anyone know how to use SPSS, a statistics program for grad students? Or better yet, can I recruit anyone with mad writing skills with expertise in scientific research? I'd pay Chuperman to finish off my damn thesis b/c he so happens to have 3 peer-reviewed articles (MCB and emergency medicine) under his belt, but of course he refused. He probably wouldn't help me anyway even if he weren't so busy. He says that paying off other ppl to finish my thesis is unethical. Pooey. My stats professor hasn't emailed me back yet and I desperately need to finish of the stats analysis. My lab mate on campus is nice, but doesn't know enough to help me.

Last night, Torosushi, Kare-bear, and Toronto dropped by to visit! Only, I was on a walk with Chuperman when they arrived - oops. I failed to bring my cell phone with me (typical absent-minded pregnant momma symptom). When we got home, I noticed 3 extra pairs of sandals in the foyer AND I heard Mah-Jong tiles clinging and clanging. I thought - OH NO - my parents have trapped my friends into playing mah-jong with them hahaaa. It was a hilarious and fun night. Thanks girls for coming over and bring over goodies:P I actually went to Mitsuwa for lunch today for eel bowl with egg. It came with side salad, miso soup, and eggplant:) Pretty tasty stuff for a food court. I also got a Diet Calico drink - not bad.

I haven't figured out how to upload my profile pic on this site yet haha. Blogspot definitely isn't as userfriendly or dummy proof like Xanga.

This is me, almost 6 wks ago, at 10 weeks pregnant on our last day of being in Costa Rica:

Now, 2 days shy of being 16 wks pregnant, my belly is indeed poppin' out! Stuff(2) a lil north of my belly have gotten bigger too- yipppeeee. I've been doing a lot of shopping lately. At V-generation, some of the Large shirts I tried on couldn't fit me. How sad. But I know V-generation has tiny stuff to begin with, their sizes are all jacked up, and they don't have specific maternity clothes. At Old Navy, I'm still a Small in maternity - I need to hit up Old Navy at the Spectrum.

FYI for the locals, the only Old Navy w/ maternity clothes in the vicinity of OC is at the Spectrum and I think Westminister or something. I went to South Coast Metro Old Navy and was disappointed that they didn't carry maternity clothes. But I didn't care b/c I was hungry and got myself a french dip sandwich at Lawry's Carvery shortly after :P I don't like their french roll as much as the previous bun they use - was it ciabatta or something of the like?

Happy Hump Day!