New York
POSTED ON Friday, December 27, 2013 AT 11:36 PM \ leave a comment (0)
Our flight to JFK was supposed to be on December 22nd but somehow, the two of us messed it up and thought our flight was on December 21st instead. We only realized our mistake on December 21st itself, and thankfully that was in the afternoon so we didn't go to the airport and make a fool out of ourselves.

It was so difficult saying bye to maomao. I was so tempted to just bring her along and the mummy instinct kept kicking in every time I try to walk out of the door. I kept going back to the room to give her a hug, a kiss on her forehead before walking to the door and then turning back again. It was such a dramatic exit for me, clutching the tissue paper in my hand and walking to the car sniffing. I'm just being an overly attached mama.

Pepper spray. It was in my trench coat and I didn't even realize it until I was on the shuttle to LAX. I had to throw it away and I didn't even use it once. What a waste. Subsequently after checking in, the two of us were camping outside Starbucks, waiting for the clock to strike 7 so we can login to Corsair and sign up for Winter Class. I remembered us praying that some idiot will forget to pay for his/her Winter Class and we will be able to snap the position in the class. Then, the website had to undergo some stupid maintenance and only at 4am then will we be able to add classes.




Some mandatory pictures while waiting for the flight.
The wait was unbearable, so was the flight itself. Note to self: I will not take the last row unless really necessary. It was so difficult to fall asleep, especially when I can't recline the seat at all.

We finally reached JFK after 5 unbearable hours. By then, I was too exhausted to even take any photo. All I wanted was just to add my class and take a short nap. And yay, I got my class for Winter!

The first day went by really quick because we slept all the way till 4pm. By the time we woke up, it was too late to go anywhere.



Dinner at Landmark Diner: Grilled Chicken Souvlaki. The portion is so huuuuuge I felt bloated after finishing 1/2 the portion of fries and the grilled chicken.

The next day, we took the subway to SoHo. Kinda confusing but thankfully there were people who could help!




See that guy in the white t-shirt in the pic above? I don't know how he survived. It was so so so cold that we were wearing thick winter jackets within the subway station. I'm pretty sure the temperature that day was around 3/4 Celcius. We actually went into H&M to grab a scarf each to keep ourselves warm.

The rest of the day was spent on shopping, walking around and of course, eating!


Coconut rice pudding with mixed nuts.
We went to Rice to Riches to try some rice pudding and it was delicious! It reminds me of  黑糯米 back home. However, after a few mouthful, we started getting sick of it. Maybe because it was so thick and flavorful. It would be great to have this in the west coast though. I seldom see rice pudding on the menu or maybe it's because I seldom ask for the dessert menu.




We had Ox Tail Soup at a Korean restaurant that night. I queued for almost 35 minutes but it was worth the queue! The soup didn't smell and I actually finished a bowl on my own.


Little Harlan smiling so happily. He was smiling most of the time. He is most likely the happiest baby on earth.

Christmas was spent at home, playing with kids. Tiring but worth the time.





There was snow (though only a little) on Christmas!


We didn't managed to take many photos with Chloe throughout the trip but I managed to get one!



I had difficulty (but so much fun also) trying to decipher her language.

During evening, we went to the shooting range. It was my first time so I was so nervous and worried the gun shots might be too loud for me. Some were so loud it sounded like canon.


I had a great time even though it was so cold in the room or maybe I was just scared lol.

Now that I'm back in LA. I was so happy to see my little baby but then... her excitement upon seeing us didn't last for more than 5 minutes.

Goodbye, New York! See you soon.