Beach Hike at San Onofre

My husband wanted to spend our Sunday outdoor and thought we should try a new hike in San Onofre, which is a beach community in Northern San Diego.

The hike is called Loop to Christianitos Fault.  I also thought it would be cool to see a fault live and in color! So we quickly pack up our outdoor gear (consisting of hiking snacks, our camel-backs, sunscreen, and hiking shoes) and off we go!

First we made a stop for a quick lunch at Umami Burger in Costa Mesa.  This place is known for its gourmet style, handmade burgers.  My brother had mentioned this place on several occasions so we decided to try it out.  When we got there people were lined out the door!  Luckily there was a hostess who also took orders for "to-go's."  We ordered the Truffle Burger and got our food within 12 minutes.

The burger was Ahhhh-mazing!  We decided that will will try to replicate this the next time we have a cook out at home :)

So on to San Onofre.

The parking was $15 for the day.  We found Trail 3 and began our ascend to the beach.  This beach path was unlike anything I've seen or been to.  The majority of the beach was covered in pebbles and stones.  Very interesting and in my opinion, beautiful, stones.  Along with the stones, there are washed up seaweed, lobster and crab-shells, and the most fascinating find - a skeleton of a ..... I don't quite know what it is.  Maybe an old sea dinosaur?? :)  What do you think?

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Overall, the 3.1 mile hike was fun and I would definitely recommend this.

July Bonfire

 a day of family, friends old and new!

Baked Parmesan Almond crusted Tilapia

I just wanted to post tonight's dinner... directions to follow!

My husband is a sweet and thoughtful man.

I am so lucky to have a partner who thinks the world of me!  Today I got a sweet surprise in the mail.  Good things DO come in small packages and it's the simple things in life that are the most precious.  Like this greeting card... sent by "Bookie Bear."

I love that he used a photo of our trip to Yosemite with a note saying : I'm excited to continue making wonderful memories with you and look forward to our life together!"

I LOVE YOU BABE!

Our Wedding First Dance

It was a surprise!

Tyler had no idea I did this.  He always told me how much he love my singing and encourages me to sing more often.  So I decided to honor my new husband with a song that is both meaningful and loving; sung by me!

It took exactly one hour to sing (multiple takes) edited, and recorded onto a cd.  It was such an exciting experience for me to have done this!  

The funny and ironical thing about it is that later that night, Tyler was humming the song in the shower.  I freaked out thinking he had checked my email and saw that I had done this - thus ruining my surprise!!

When asked why he was singing this song which is unusual for him, he simply shrugged and said that he was getting excited for the wedding and was just thinking about that song because I like it.  Hmmm, not convinced, but I didn't want to be even more suspicious by making a big deal out of it.

I was able to "keep it a secret" until the day.  Here is me singing From this Moment for our first dance..

From This Moment by Shania Twain, cover by Sophea Winter

Special thanks to Vandra K. for recording this video!

(that's my wonderful and generous brother and partner who is taking photos of us!  Thanks so much, we love you guys!!!)  

What's for dinner tonight?

Stir fry chicken with fresh ginger
Before you begin, first and most important - tune into your favorite music on Pandora or put your favorite CD on.  I love to listen to Girl From Ipenema and have a glass of chardonnay when I'm cooking :)

Stir fry chicken with ginger, which is also called "Cha Kney Sach-Mon" is a traditional and favorite dish of Cambodia.  It's flavor consists of sweet, salty, and spice from the ginger.  You will need about 25 minutes to cook up this amazingly flavorful dish.

Let's begin!

You will need:

Ingredients
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 whole fresh ginger, sliced in strips adjust amount to your liking
2 stalk green onion, sliced in strips
4 chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
Olive oil

Seasoning
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
3 tablespoons chicken stock or water
one teaspoon of chicken bouillon









I usually serve this dish with rice (brown rice as a healthier alternative).  Start cooking your  rice (not included in this recipe, so calculate it on your own).

Directions
Cut the scallions and ginger.  Slice the ginger thinly, then cut them into fine strips.

Because fresh ginger is very potent and spicy, you can make the flavor more mild by soaking it in water for 10 minutes.

Cut the chicken breasts into cubes:

Heat up a large pan or wok on medium-high and add the olive oil. When it's hot, add the ginger and the garlic and stir until the garlic is a golden brown. Add chicken and stir well. Add in the sugar and stir. Add in the salt and stir. Add the bouillion and stir. Add in the oyster sauce and stir. Add in the fish sauce and stir. Once all the ingredients are mixed in together, cover the pan or wok with a lid and let the chicken cook for a few minutes.

Once the chicken is cooked, give it a quick stir and add in the onions. Break the onions apart and give it a good stir a few times.  Finished! Serve with Jasmine rice.

Number of Servings: 6

Final product!  Serve with rice and pair with your favorite wine.

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