Weekend Highlights 4/26

As the month of April comes to an end, some exciting things that happened this month are:
Best Friend got engaged and it was her Birthday, hint a couple of weeks ago I went to a pedal party.

This month, I also tried two new restaurant/brunch places. The first one being Dish Society and the second being Liberty Kitchen & Oysterette. As an added bonus, we also tired a food truck called The Burger Joint. For me, the enjoyment of eating and being able to talk and bond with someone is a true treasure. Nothing like some good ole' quality time! If you would like to see more about my food ventures, be sure to check out my Instagram account or search for #gwenfoodventure.

Yummy deviled eggs & fried oyster w/ bacon jam 😊 @lkoysterette

A photo posted by @gwennguyen on Apr 26, 2015 at 3:34pm PDT

This weekend, we ate at Liberty Kitchen & Oysterette, and it was over the top delicious! I am not a big fan of fried oyesters, but on top of deviled eggs with some bacon jam....on my!

AND YES, bacon jam is a real thing! (Martha Stewart Bacon Jam) I will most defiantly be trying to make this sometime soon!!!

The most important/moving topic that occurred this weekend was the powerful message at church today...WORK. Today's service truly reminded me of the importance and respect that everyone should place given any type of occupation. If it is for a paycheck or if it is for a volunteer opportunity, everyone should do their best and give their full focus and attention. For me personally, I have been slacking at work, currently there has been a significant decrease in the amount of workflow. I often find myself focusing on personal task instead of focusing on tasks that would help the company as a whole. Hopefully after today’s service, I will be more motivated to work harder in everything I do, especially at work.

Weekend Highlights 4/19

This past weekend, I attended the Japan Festival in Houston. (http://www.houstonjapanfest.org/) It was a last minute outting, and it was so much fun to spend some quality time with a good friend. The weather was so beautful, it was sunny and cool, perfect outdoor weather. 

We parked at a local golf range and grabbed some burgers at a local food truck, The Burger Joint. (http://www.burgerjointhtx.com/coming-soon/)

We decided to split The Market burger, it had some lettuce, tomatoes, fried egg and GOAT CHEESE! From a person who own goats, goat cheese was not as appetizing for me. I felt like I was tasting the actual smell of billies. (its not a pleasant smell) Overall the burger was satisfying.

Then we noticed this beautiful garden where we ate our burgers. The garden has been around for a year or two. It has a nice field with some tables and chairs setup, that looks out to a pyramid hill structure where you can walk around to the top to get a full 360 degree view.

Not the best picture

*I know, I need to up my camera game!*

Here are some views from the top:

We got to say hello to Confucius...

The we finally made it to our destination, the Japan Festival. I was not sure what to expect, but it wasn't too crowded, and there where some people dressed up in Japanese anime characters (note exhibit A).

Exhibit A

The festival worked off a ticket system, roughly a dollar per ticket. You then used your tickets to play games and purchase food. Below, I am playing a game common among younger children, consisted of catching fish with tissue paper essentially.

And here I am, with my broken fish catcher, fish and bobo tea in hand. 

The day could not be complete without some cotton candy!

Weekend Highlights 4/11

Have you ever been to a pedal party, or even heard of one?

Think pub crawl meets mountain bike adventure.

This past weekend, I helped celebrate my friends 27th birthday. This year, she decided to gather her closes friends to engage in a pub crawl via a pedal part. I was a little skeptical at first, but was so glad to have experienced this special event.

The night began a little rough, considering I missed my turn and had no idea where I was going. (thank goodness for GPS Systems!) I found some great parking at Little Woodrow's, parking was $10. Ever since my little towing incident, I am more willing to pay for parking, then to pay for a towing bill! 

We visited around 3 bars, some a little bit lacking in the entertainment department, but its all about the company that brings entertainment. 

To sum things up, you pedal around to your bar destination, you stop for 20 to 25 mins, grab some drinks hang out, then back to the crawl. 

Down side

• Some things to keep in mind, is your height, you might not be able to comfortably reach the pedals. 
• Pricing vs time spent 

Plus side 

• Less walking, more time spent having fun
• Captain was fun, exciting and helpful - made suggestions about stops and drinks to get

Current Workout Plan

People have different motivations and goals for their workout plan. Some want to lose weight while others want to be healthy. Some are motivated by others and some are self-motivated. I would like to think that I am a little bit of both. I want to be healthy but I also want to look good, as for the motivation, I am motivated by others.

Most recently I was motivated by my brother to run 3 miles a day. For me, 3 miles a day is A LOT! I am not very healthy or physically fit, I hate running and I eat all the junk food I like. But as I get older, I realize that I don't move as much, and I can't eat however much I want.

I use the Nike+ app to track my runs, it's always fun to see your progress and your improvements. I would like to start using the NTC app from Nike, but I am not quite there yet.

This past week, I have made it my goal to eat a healthy breakfast every morning, which includes a cup of yogurt. I have also ran 3 miles every day (except Wednesday, due to a meeting). I has been difficult for me to run everyday, especially finding a way to distract myself from focusing on the time. One thing that I have found beneficial are Spotify playlists and audiobooks.

Currently I've just been listening to the Viral Hits on Spotify and "The 5th Wave" for audiobook.

I've actually been listening to this book before I go to bed. It is such a long book, roughly 12 hours. The beginning of the book, I really got sucked into the world, but then the book changed a little by having different sections and different writing perspectives so it was a little harder to follow, for me, though an audiobook.

They are actually going to turn this book into a movie, staring Chloe Moretz, I am looking forward to seeing that trailer.

Looking forward to spending your refund?

Well look no further!

The average federal tax refund was$3120   as of Feb. 20, 2015, about 83%   have qualified for a refund. If you are one of the lucky few who are able to get a refund this year, CONGRATS!

Now if you are thinking, "what should I do with roughly $3,000?" I have suggested a few solutions below:

• Save, Invest or pay off debt  -  The responsible choice

• For the Travelers - You can purchase a ticket from Texas to Hawaii 

• For the Fashionista -  A nice pair of shoes and maybe a bag to go with?

• For the Foodies - 

• For the Techies - apple watch, gold mac book, Galaxy S6

• Those in need of some pampering - 

New TV-pleasure and more

Now that I have more free time, I am able to look into more/new tv shows. Most recently I have caught up on the new E! show, The Royals. Even before the show had aired, I had a feeling that I would like the show, because it was a little similar to Gossip Girls, in the way that you where able to get an insight into their lives and a little on the high society. Plus there was so much fun clothing going on!

The show focus on a “fictional British Royal family set in modern day London”

Two of the characters that drew me in were:

Merritt Patterson

From Ravenswood – sort of a PLL spin off if you will?

Elizabeth Hurley

Who could forget her as Diana Payne from Gossip Girls, one of Nate’s love interests.

*also, if you are a AT&T cable customer, be sure to download their u-verse app, they have the shows on demand with less commercials all in one place*

So, I have always struggled with finding cloths that fit my body type. I have a tall torso with short legs. I am flat chested with chubbier legs. I often have to buy medium size dresses to fit my hips, and end up altering the top. I lean more towards dresses and skirts because I always have a hard time finding the right fit of jeans.

This brings me to my next/more section. I found a great website that shows you where you can purchase clothing items that you have seen on your favorite tv shows. Worn on TV, they do a great job of showing a picture of the actor/actress wearing the item and where you can purchase them. I wish they had more picks from The Royals. Although this does not solve my clothing problem, its always fun to look at clothing you wish you could wear.