If we were having coffee, I would tell you good morning and thanks for joining me for another lovely weekend chat. I would tell you I had a fun time being alone last weekend.
Last weekend began with a Toastmasters meeting. Yes, after 3 years, I’m finally rejoining Toastmasters. I think it’ll be a great way for me to learn to converse with people in English as well as practice my public speaking and writing. It’ll be fun and a healthy distraction from work.
After Toastmasters, I went to the grocery store and bought the one thing I’ve been craving ever since I returned from China in April – Cheese! That’s right, I bought a pound of sharp cheese – my favorite – and guess what I did with it?
I made my favorite Baked Mac n’ Cheese with tiny hot dog pieces I bought from my trip to the grocery store. After satisfying my hungry stomach with Baked Mac n’ Cheese, I took a slightly long nap on the couch. It felt so good especially with the AC keeping the house cool at 78°F. It’s so much better than the 100+ degrees outside.
Sunday was more or less a repeat of Saturday. I baked two cakes which, in the end, was kind of a failure even though it was soft and moist. The bottom stuck to the pan and I essentially ruined the cakes when I tried to remove them from the pans. However, when I posted the photos on WeChat, my aunt in China immediately gave me a new and self-improved version of the recipe. She had made this cake a few times using her own recipe and came out successful. I can’t wait to try her recipe.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you I will soon be a homeowner. To be honest, this was my mom’s idea. Get a house, pay it off in 15 years, wait for the price to increase, sell it, and retire around 45. After that, I think I’ll buy a RV and tour the country. The plan sounded wonderful if you let it play through your mind even though there is more stress than leisure in real life.
To tell you the truth though, I have never ever planned to buy a house. I was just going to rent a place that’s suitable for me so I don’t have to worry about doing too much cleaning and if I rent, I won’t have to worry about repairs.
However, with the housing prices going up, the money I need to rent a suitable place will eventually catch up with what I need to pay for a mortgage. So why not? Beside, the more I look at it, the more I think it’ll be a good investment. And I do know the owners and the house is in very good shape. Why not?
If we were having coffee, I would tell you I think my carpal tunnel is getting worse. My fingers are getting numb faster and I can’t even lower down to tie my shoes with pain searing through my left hand. When my fingers go numb, I lose the sense of touch in my left hand and that’s not good. I’m talking about I can’t feel the roughness of the desk, I can’t feel my own skin, I couldn’t even feel the bread I was holding this morning.
This caused me to had to wear a wrist brace to work yesterday. It made everyone worry. Mr. COO wondered whether I had hurt my hand during work. When I told him it was carpal tunnel, he suggested I go get an injection. I assured him I have a doctor’s appointment at the end of the month where the doctor will administer the injection which will loosen the space around the nerve.
If we were having coffee, I would thank you for joining me and hope I can join you again next weekend.
This is Another Story 
Congratulations on becoming a homeowner! That is the best investment you can make!
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Thank you. 😊
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So sorry to hear of your problem with carpal tunnel. I hope that the wrist brace helps enough to get you through the day. The Mac & Cheese sounds good. I am inspired to try that, this week, if I can get out to buy some gluten-free pasta. I would use turkey Polish Sausage. Also, I have been enjoying Cabot’s “Seriously Sharp Cheddar” and might want to mix some of that in with the regular Sharp Cheddar we’ve been getting at the local butcher shop. Thank you for your blog post. I am not good at coming up with new food ideas. I look forward to trying out yours. 😀
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The wrist brace did help me get through the day even though it was uncomfortable to do computer work with it.
Thank you for stopping by and reading. I’m glad to inspire new food ideas. Let me know how it works out. 🙂
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Congratulations on getting your own place…home sweet home. We’ve had our place for 16 years and it’s great to have a place to call your own on this planet and not be moving around all the time.
I had trouble with carpul tunnel when my kids were small. I would try wearing the brace to bed and as much as you can at home to rest it. I had two splint made…a soft some with a metal strip on one side and a firmer cast. I haven’t needed them for at about 9 years. My sister in law developed it from milking cows and had surgery on both arms. I’d also be looking out for what’s bringing it on and whether there’s something you can change to bring relief.
Good luck with it.
xx Rowena
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I agree, after not moving for almost a decade though, I have a feeling this will be a difficult move even though it is just to the next house. Mostly because the furniture will be heavy and I don’t want to be lifting them in this blistering heat.
I find wearing a brace at night to bed very uncomfortable because I tend to sleep with my hand beneath my head and the splint is like having an additional bone. 😀
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All the best for the move and with your wrist. Hard to imagine heat from my end at the moment. It’s the middle of winter here, not that it gets that cold. Hope your week goes well xx Rowena
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Thank you. 🙂
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Congratulations on owning a house! It’s so difficult in recent times, you should be proud. The Carpel Tunnel sounds like a nightmare. Fingers crossed that the doctor can help a lot.
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Thank you.
Carpal Tunnel is a nightmare, I’m surprised I tolerated it for so long. I’m crossing my fingers as well. 🙂
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Hello Yinglan. I lived in Guangzhou for a year, 7 years ago, and oh my goodness I missed cheese! I didn’t even think I liked cheese that much until I couldn’t have it. I’ll never forget one day, going into a Tescos Supermarket in China, and thinking I had found pizzas. My friend and I were so excited! We could see them behind a glass counter, and bought them immediately. When we returned to our separate apartments, we agreed to text each other when we’d eaten our pizzas.
Well…the dough was a sweet bread, and the ‘cheese’ was a sweet mayonnaise type substance…we were so upset 😛
Enjoy your cheesy meals!!
Carly
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A year? I was crazy for cheese two months into my four-month stay in China earlier this year. Fortunately, I withstood the craving until I got home or else I would’ve bought those expensive European cheeses at the supermarket. 😀
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Yes, a year! When i was there, i didn’t ever see any cheese in supermarkets!…If I had done, i think I’d have bought a supply for my apartment 🙂
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Haha! 😀
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