Setbacks

Does anyone remember Paula Abdul’s song lyrics for Opposites Attract? The chorus went like this “I take two steps forward, I take two steps back…”

Well, if I did this, I end up at the same place I started. That is a setback. I feel like I am back at square one. For all of my accomplishments at Crossfit, one moment of a lapse in judgment caused a major setback.

I had bid farewell to my PT less than a week ago, but I may have to run back to him. I haven’t decided yet, but the eight ball is telling me the chances are high. Maybe I secretly love going to PT. Ok, maybe it’s not really a secret after all.

This past Tuesday, like most mornings, I grabbed my laptop bag with my right arm. As my elbow bent inwards to support the weight of the laptop, I instantly knew I had bent it too much, too fast. My nerve reacted by sending my brain pain signals. My elbow does not want to be in this position whatsoever. Something I’ve done for well over 10 years boiled down to this one moment, this one dreadful moment. I had a daunting realization – my shoulder is about 80% recovered, but now I have this new elbow issue that could possibly hinder my shoulder recovery.

I’ve had setbacks before & for the most part, I’ve overcome them. But, getting to that point was always a struggle. My first reaction would be denial. I would assume a few days rest would fix the issue. When a few days become a few weeks, and then a few weeks become a few months, that is when I’d fall into a mild depression. I would start to blame myself for the injury. Why didn’t I do it this way or that way, so that I wouldn’t be in the position I am in right now?! Hindsight is always 20/20. I’d get so frustrated at menial tasks that I didn’t have to think about before. I’d get so mad because all the hard work & progress was all for naught. I would have to start with baby steps again to build back up to the same level. Along with rehabilitation, it could take months, even years, to get back to this point.

Plagued with so many injuries from the past, you would think I would have smartened up a bit now that I am older. I should know better. I do know better. I am no longer invincible. But, somehow, we all want to revert back to who were in the past – the super humans of our youth. Oh, how I long to be that again, but I digress. I do know better now. I refuse to work through the pain. I stop when I feel something isn’t right with body & I request to have the movement modified. I have to consciously ensure my position is correct after each rep I do at CF because I don’t want to risk further injuries on my already broken body. See, I’d smarten up just a teensy bit, not a lot, just a little itty bitty bit.

How we deal with the setbacks will determine how far we can go or how far we can fall. It’s really your choice. Yes, it is a choice. You can let the setback rule your life or you can grab the reins & take back control.  My shoulder injury set me back for a long time. I can’t even begin to describe to you what the last 2 years have been like living with it. But, I put in my time & effort with the PT (who is amazing btw) & I’ve made so much progress. I refuse to let this new setback define me.

I’ve decided to take a few weeks off from CF to see how I feel. It’s always good to take some time off to heal your body, as well as your mind. An orthopedic visit might be in my future if the elbow doesn’t feel better, but I’m hoping it won’t be necessary.

I’d prefer to hover over my setbacks!

Setbacks are roadblocks in your life. How you handle them will determine how successful you will be. This is something we can apply to all facets of our life. How will you handle your setbacks?

Walnut Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates Recipe

The Bro, SIL, Hubby & I had brunch at Olea in Brooklyn, NY awhile back. We had ordered the Almond Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates from the menu & they were delicious. They were a little sweet, a little salty & oh so simple to make. I’ve decided to re-create this at home. Since I didn’t have any almonds, I substituted with walnuts. I’ve also used pecans before & they all work similarly well together. This is also Paleo, so you won’t feel so guilty eating them.

Walnut Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates – adapted from Olea

Ingredients:

This makes approximately 18 pieces.

Walnut (9 whole pieces, halved) – substitute with Pecans or Almonds. Almonds do not need to be halved.
Bacon (6 slices)
Whole Pitted Dates (18 pieces)
Toothpicks (9)

Take your dates & use a chopstick to open up the hole in the middle.

Slice the Walnuts in half & insert into the dates.

Put 6 slices on bacon in a frying pan & fry until it is no longer raw. Turn off heat. Remove bacon from pan & blot out excess oil with paper towel.

Roll date in bacon & cut off excess bacon with a knife. Insert toothpick to hold bacon in place. You can use one toothpick per 2 pieces. Each piece of bacon can make 3 pieces. Repeat with the rest of the dates.

Put all your bacon wrapped dates back into the hot frying pan & continue to fry until they are nice & crispy. Make sure to flip them to the other side to get all sides crispy.

Transfer the bacon onto a plate with a paper towel to remove excess oil.

ENJOY!

Blue Ombre Nails Tutorial

Ombre Nails are really fashionable at the moment. From ombre hair to ombre clothes, this is a great way to do ombre without being too obvious. This is also a great way to use a bunch of colors in your stash at one time. This tutorial may look easy, but it took me quite some time to get this right since it was my first time using nail tape. I cannot reiterate how important it is for you to have the base color completely dry before attempting to put the nail tape on.

First, cut 40 pieces of Nail Tape. You will use 4 on each nail. I stick all of them on a plastic shoe box so that they are easily accessible. Pick out the 5 coordinating colors you want to use. Pick shades that go from light to dark & arrange them in that order on your table so you don’t forget later on.

Apply your base coat. Then, apply a layer of white nail polish. The white doesn’t have to be perfect since only parts of the white will show up later on.

When the white is completely dry, use 4 pieces of nail tape to divide your nail into 5 even sections. This will be the tricky & time-consuming part. I would suggest applying nail tape to all 10 fingers before beginning.

I painted the darkest color first to all my nails on one hand, & then moved onto the next color. I finished one entire hand before moving on to the 2^nd hand.
When the paint is dry, carefully pull off the nail tape. This might take some practice because there is a chance the tape will pull off your top color, so do this slowly & carefully.

Finish your nails with a top coat & you are finished.

Where to purchase products:
L.A. Colors Nail Polish – Blue
OPI – Yodel Me on My Cell
NYC Color – Pier 17
New York Color – East Village
Sally Hansen – Blazing Blue
Wet n Wild Wild – French White Creme
Nail Tape – 10 rolls last a long time.
Nail Tape – 30 piece so you’ll never have to worry about buying tape ever again!
Nailtiques 1 – used as my base coat to help my nails get stronger. Here’s the larger bottle.
Nailtiques 2 – you’ll use this every day for a few weeks for brittle nails to get stronger.

Banana Snatcher

The case of the missing banana.

This is a tale about a girl named C² who loves her bananas (get your mind out of the gutter, this is a G-rated tale). She also has a fondness for a special Munkie who shares the same banana eating passion as her. They met in 2009 & have been inseparable ever since. They eat bananas just about every day. Many times 2, as a special treat. Bananas have loads of potassium which they both know is a critical electrolyte. Potassium allows your muscles to move (well, only for C² because Munkie doesn’t have muscles), your nerves to fire (again, only for C²), and your kidneys (do I have to repeat myself, again?!?) to filter blood. The right balance of potassium literally allows the heart to beat (now I’m thinking Munkie might be dead).

Munkie celebrating NYE with one too many bananas.

Things were going swinging-ly (punny) for them until one day C² went to work. She has her routine of bringing a bunch (literally) to work on Tuesday & rationing her supply up until Thursday. She always eats one for breakfast because it’s so filling & keeps her tummy happy in the morning. One Thursday morning, she leans over to reach for a banana, but there was nothing there! Hungry & confused, she scratched her head (in the typical monkey fashion) & thought long & hard why there was no banana. It didn’t make sense to her. She always made sure she saves at least one per day.

It was a long night of banana chugging & boozing for this little Munkie.

Apparently someone was hungry & that someone ended up being C²! How rude (in Michelle Tanner’s voice). Munkie went bananas (how fitting)! And then he went ape poop (keeping it G-rated). He wanted to go all Donkey Kong on whoever stole his banana. The banana was there the night before, so whoever stole it did it in the morning.

No banana makes for a very, very angry Munkie!

The incident of the missing banana was reported to the building manager along with other missing items from other co-worker’s desks. The manager replied saying he can’t do anything, but filing a report with the security group might be a better option. C² & Munkie knew that really meant nothing will happen. They won’t put up security cameras just to find a banana thief.

C² & Munkie have learned their lesson. They have decided to lock up their banana stash in the desk drawer. However, they are afraid they might have a lapse in memory one night & forget the bananas & end up leaving them in the drawer for 4 days to rot. That would be a hot mess.

Munkie had a brilliant idea to leave the bananas out like this. What do you think? You think it will deter them from stealing the bananas again?

Eat Him! No Eat Him!
Let’s Make a Shake!

This story doesn’t have a happy ending. The culprit was never found. This incident only made C² & Munkie more vigilant about the safety of their precious banana supply.

THE END.

Bun-ker Vietnamese Review

Happy Memorial Day! Thank you for all those men & women who have died serving our country. Make sure to spend time with you family & loved ones.

BUN-KER Vietnamese
46-63 Metropolitan Ave.
Ridgewood, NY 11385
Hours: Tue-Wed 5 pm – 10 pm, Thu-Fri 5 pm – 11 pm, Sat 12 pm – 11 pm, Sun 12 pm – 10 pm

Bun-ker Sign Outside

I saw a friend’s FB posting for this restaurant, so I decided to save it to my list of Restaurants to Try.

After an unsuccessful time house-hunting, we worked up an appetite. We decided to head over to Bun-ker. The location was less than ideal. It was right across from a scrap metal yard. It was probably the only restaurant we saw in the vicinity. I guess it’s good for those that work in the area, but it’s definitely not a destination I would normally venture out into.

The menu is small but they offer 4 appetizers, 5 Banh Mi (Vietnamese) sandwiches, 8 main entrée dishes, 4 sides, one dessert & some beverage. They might have specials up, but that varies from day to day, week to week.

Bun-ker Menu

Hubby opted for the Suon Nuong Xa – grilled lemongrass pork tenderloin, fried egg & rice for $10. Hubby liked the tender pork with the char-grilled, smoky flavor & the fried egg was a nice touch. Was it spectacular? Definitely not, but it was good. Would we come back for this dish? No, especially considering I’ve learned to make the same pork tenderloin at home now with this recipe.

Suon Nuong Xa – grilled lemongrass pork tenderloin

I opted for the Tom Thit Ram – caramelized shrimp, bacon, ginger, garlic, basil & rice for $14.50. A few past patrons have recommended this online, so I had high hopes for this dish. When you’re presented with it, it doesn’t look like much food, but when mixed with the rice, it was pretty filling. Everything on this dish was caramelized. The shrimp was juicy & succulent, the bacon had a sweet nuttiness to it, there were caramelized bits of ginger & garlic, which I don’t think I would normally eat, but I ate it all up. This dish is on the heavier side with the bacon & grease, but it was so tasty that it was worth. I would definitely eat this again.

Tom Thit Ram – caramelized shrimp

Overall verdict, the bill including tax & tip came out to about $35. This was more expensive than our normal Vietnamese restaurants that we frequent. Bun-ker is worth a taste if you are in the neighborhood or if you are passing through, but this is definitely not a place I would go out of my way to get to (unless I start to crave the shrimp again).

Grilled Pork Tenderloin Summer Rolls

I made this recipe twice already. It’s so tasty & really easy to make. This is a keeper!

Pork Tenderloin Summer Rolls – adapted from Corinne Trang

Ingredients
1/4 cup fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 stalks lemongrass, outer leaves and tops removed, root ends trimmed, & stalks finely grated
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 pound pork tenderloin, thinly sliced (I used 3lbs because the marinade is salty)
2 bundles of Rice/Mung Bean Vermicelli
1 small carrot
1 small cucumber
1 small bunch of Thai Basil Leaves (optional)
1 bag (7oz) of Enoki Mushroom (optional)

Fish Dipping Sauce: Nuoc Cham – Recipe courtesy Corinne Trang, Authentic Vietnamese Cooking, Simon & Schuster, 1999
5 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons water
1/3 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup lime or lemon juice (~1 lemon)
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 or more bird’s eye or Thai chiles, seeded and minced
1 shallot, peeled, thinly sliced, and rinsed (optional)

If you’ve never seen lemongrass before, this is what it looks like. It’s sold in Asian groceries. My mom told me they sell powdered lemongrass at the Vietnamese stores as well. Those are easier to use & stores better, but not as strong in flavor. Lemongrass, when cut, looks like green onions/scallions, but its texture is much rougher, even when you cook it down. It’s a little woody in texture. My MIL mentioned that if I crush the lemongrass, it’ll be even more frangrant. I’ll have to try that next time I make this recipe. The entire family enjoyed this meal, so I’ll be sure to make it again.

Cut off the tops & bottoms of the lemongrass & remove the outer layer (it’s probably a little dirty). Chop or grate it into little pieces. Add into a bowl with the fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, olive oil & garlic. Mix to ensure the sugar is completely dissolved.


Wash your pork tenderloin & dry with a paper towel. Cut them into 1/2 inch slices. Put the pork into a bag & add your marinade. You can marinate it for an hour or even overnight in the fridge for more flavor.

When ready, heat up a grill pan & brush oil so the pork doesn’t stick. When it’s hot, put your pork on top & grill for about 2-3 minutes on one side, then flip it over & cook for another 2-3 minutes until it’s done. This depends on your stove top, as well as what pan you use. You can also use a frying pan with hot oil & pan fry the pork. It’s just as tasty.

Look at those grill marks & how juicy that pork tenderloin looks! YUMMY!

I prepared the summer roll ingredients while the pork was marinating in the fridge. The ingredients can be found at any Asian grocery store.

Place 2 bundles of vermicelli into boiling water. Stir & make sure it cooks for a few minutes until tender (~2-3 minutes). Strain the water & cool the vermicelli with cold water to stop it from cooking.

Cut the dirty ends of the Enoki mushrooms. Wash them under cold water, while separating the strands because they tend to stick together. I seasoned it with a little salt, pepper & olive oil & cooked it in a frying pan. It will release a lot of water. When the mushrooms are cooked down (no longer stiff), they are ready. Discard as much water content from them as much as possible.

In a clean pot, boil 4 cups of water. This will be used for the summer roll skins (although they call it spring roll wrapper on the cover of the package). Turn off the heat once it starts boiling.

Cut your carrots & cucumber into matchstick sized pieces. Take 10 basil leaves & chiffonade them into smaller pieces. Take 10 pieces of your grilled pork & slice them up (you will have a bunch remaining). Now all your ingredients are ready to assemble your summer rolls.

Remember that pot of hot water you had boiled? Pour that into a round shallow pan. A round pyrex dish would do, preferably slightly larger than your spring roll wrappers. Be careful, the water will be hot. Gently immerse the spring roll wrapper in the hot water, making sure water touches the entire wrapper. You’ll see it miraculously soften into a pliable sheet. Carefully pull the sheet out & put onto a dry plate.

Here, you will start building your summer roll. Add the vermicelli first, then carrots, cucumber, mushroom, basil & then your pork. Roll them up like a burrito, making sure you roll them tight. It took me a few tries to get better at this. I rolled the bottom over the filling first, then folded the right & left sides in, then tightly rolled the bottom up to the top. Put the finished product on another dry plate.

For the Fish Dipping Sauce, just add all the ingredients listed above together & leave in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.
Now you can enjoy your Pork Tenderloin Summer Rolls. Looking good!

I made approximately 12 summer rolls until I ran out of vermicelli. You can definitely make more, but the remaining pork tenderloins are awesome by themselves, over rice, or over vermicelli. Don’t forget to add some of the sauce.

I used the remaining pork tenderloins to make noodle soup, which was just as delicious. The possibilities are endless.

ENJOY!

I’m So Over You

I’ve self-prescribed my release from Physical Therapy. I told my therapist after this morning’s session that I was leaving & I never wanted to see him again. We’re breaking up. We’re going to cut this off cold turkey. No more phone calls to make “appointments,” no more early morning romps on the therapy table, & no more man-handling my shoulder & arm. I’m through with this. It was a great 6 months while it lasted, but I’m done. Adios, Ciao, Sayanara!

The shoulder pains began in March 2011. Years of volleyball, among other athletics took its toll. I was still feeling young & invincible, so I stopped volleyball in July 2011, & headed straight into Crossfit. That might not have been the smartest idea. I told you, I was feeling young & invincible dumb & reckless. Doing CF didn’t bother me until the end of the year when I noticed tightness in my shoulders that never went away. I went to a chiropractor who kept cracking my back & neck. I didn’t see how this was benefitting me. Then, I went to Active Release Technique (A.R.T.) chiropractor for 2 months. The A.R.T. made me feel better for a day or two, but the pain never went away. This was not a long-term cure.

In March 2012, I entered my first Crossfit Games Open, which was one of the most exciting moments of my CF career. I had recoreded numerous gains in my performance & strength. The adrenaline died down shortly afterwards, but I continued to push my physical limits. I was at the point of a major burn-out Crossfitting 24 out of 31 days that month. In May, I did a WOD with chest to bar pull-ups unassisted. Somewhere along the way, I felt pulling from the nerves on my right shoulder. That was the last time I did anything overhead. It was the beginning of a slight depression for me.

Crossfit Games Open 12.3
75lb Push Press – 03.08.12

From that day on, I focused on lower body movements. Modifying everything was aggravating. I’ve never done so many lunges, squats, box jumps, sit-ups, v-ups, & running in my life. It was getting dull; I was feeling unmotivated & frustrated with myself. Most of all, I was mad, upset & disappointed at myself for even getting to this point. If I had only listened to my body & visited a doctor a long time ago, I would never have been in this position. Hindsight is always 20/20. I took 2 months off from CF in the hopes the rest would aid in the recovery of my shoulder. It didn’t.

It could have been my pride or fear, whatever it was, it took me a long time to see an orthopedic. I expected dreadful news. What was I to do if I couldn’t play volleyball or Crossfit ever again?!? Oh the horror! I know, I know, there are worse things in life, but anyone who knows me know athletics/sports are a big part of my life. It’s like telling me to stop eating bananas….forever. Blasphemy!

The orthopedic roughed me up. He moved my shoulder in ways I didn’t think was possible. My shoulder has never hurt so much as it did the next 2 weeks after my visit. He insisted I get an MRI with contrast to confirm a right shoulder labral tear. I spoke to numerous medical professionals, as well as hubby, to see what my next step should be. I decided to opt out of the MRI & start Physical Therapy first. If possible, I want to avoid surgery, but I have to admin, there was a huge part of me that thought surgery would be the quick fix. However, I failed to think of the consequences of surgery. I would still require PT & even then, it might never get back to 100%.

I made a PT appointment. After 4 sessions, I dropped him. He was awful. I told him I had pain after the 3rd session & he basically dismissed me by telling me I wasn’t feeling the pain where I thought I felt it at. Ummmm….okay. Peace out!

I tried another PT, who was better & more attentive, but somewhere along the way, she started over-booking appointments & had less & less time for me. 11 treatments later & I wasn’t where I wanted to be..

Injured Right Shoulder taped up
09.11.12

Finally, I let go of my pig-headedness and I reluctantly went to hubby’s PT in Dec. 2012. I had little expectations, especially since I came from 2 very unspectacular PTs. He would always spend 20 minutes or more doing manual work. January 2013 came & I was still weary. I just want to be fixed right now! I cried to my hubby. It was so frustrating going to PT every week & not see the instant results that you so desperately want. My exchanges with the hubby went something like this: Was I doing the exercises at home? No. Then how will I ever get better? I don’t know. Keep going to PT & do your exercises at home. Fine! *humph* Whatever. I slumped in the corner of the bed, crying into my stuffed Munkie, my annoyance with hubby was obvious. I’ve never felt so defeated in my life.

FINE! My response rang in my ears, over & over again. I’m NOT fine. The talk with hubby was definitely a wakeup call. It definitely boosted my morale & gave me the motivation that I lacked at the time. I started proactively going to the gym every day just to do my PT exercises & at home on weekends. 3 months flew by & I started noticing changes, I was feeling stronger, I slept better.  Even I was surprised by my progress, although slow & small, but it was definitely an improvement nonetheless. 4 months in, I started doing unassisted pull-ups at CF, which I haven’t done in almost a year. 5 months in, I was hitting PRs (Personal Records) left & right at CF with weights that I never thought possible.

Crossfit Games Open 13.1
45lb Snatch – 03.08.13

At my lowest point, I thought I would never do another pull-up or overhead movement again. I tried to convince myself that I would be okay with that. This lessened the blow in case my arm didn’t improve. It is very much a mental struggle when trying to overcome an injury. I’m so glad I continued to push myself with the help of my hubby by my side, even though sometimes it felt like a thorn in my side. I’m also grateful for all my coaches who accommodated to my injury & continue to inspire me to do everything with proper form so I do not re-injure myself.

I really didn’t think I would ever get to this point if you had asked me 6 months ago. I’m ready to let my therapist go & he was more than willing to let me go. Our time together has come to an end. The relationship was rocky at the beginning, but then trust was built & progress was made in itty bitty baby steps. We’ve outgrown each other, but we’ll stay friends. I know he’s only a phone call away if I ever need him. So, today, I say good-bye.

Ego Waffles

Ego Waffles, it’s what’s for breakfast!

Many Crossfitter have heard the saying “Check your EGO at the Door” when entering a Crossfit box. Most people adhere to this rule, but there will always be those few that can’t quite get over themselves. We all know the type. They think they’re faster, stronger, but most of all, better than you. *gasp* To be honest, yes, they may be faster & stronger than me, but in no way are they better than me with that stinky me, me, me attitude.

Wall Ball Misery

Crossfit is a community of people doing the same thing, albeit modifying everything to each person’s own abilities. Everyone tries their hardest. I’ve had days where I had finished dead last. It really does a number on your confidence & you start to question your abilities, or the lack thereof. But, the most amazing thing happens as you go through this internal struggle with yourself & are ready to admit defeat, your coaches & peers are rooting for you, they want you to keep pushing, keep trying & to never give up. These people want to see you succeed. They’ll provide you strength when you feel like you have none left in you. This is one of the most wonderful things about Crossfit. This is what Crossfit is all about.

One of my favs – Box Jumps!

Doing Crossfit makes many a men & women humble. It makes me humble. I know I’m good at certain movements, but I also know there’s so much more for me to learn & improve upon. I’m willing to listen to someone give me constructive criticism so I can better myself. And, I also know even if you excel at something, there will always be someone else who can do it better than you. It’s just a fact of life. And I am okay with that.

Where did everyone go?

What gets under my skin is when someone is constantly trying to best you. They want to beat you at every WOD, by finishing before you, or run faster than you. There are other people in the class, but they target you. They deem you as their competition, even when you are not aware of this so-called competition. This may push that person harder & they might end up with higher reps or a faster time, but I can almost gaurantee you they cheated themselves in the end. Many times they rush though with improper form, or they went with a lighter weight so that they could do faster reps, or used a heavy band to make pull-ups/chin-ups/ring rows easier. My take on this is, go ahead, do whatever makes you feel good, but I know I didn’t cheat myself. I know I don’t want to injure myself by compromising my form to finish the WOD faster. I can be proud of myself by using a heavier weight & finishing last because I truly challenged my abilities.

Even girls can Rope Climb!

Another case in point involve guys that just can’t stand getting bested by a girl.

First thing first, I’m not a big girl. Secondly, I’m Asian. Okay, that has nothing to do with anything, I just wanted to say I’m Asian & proud of it. 🙂 Anyway, most people see me as a little girl, & they are constantly surprised I can clean & jerk 80lb, push press 85lbs, deadlift 175lb, do kipping pull-ups unassisted & do 104 consecutive double unders. I can do all that because I’ve invested many hours of time, energy, sweat, frustrations, whip lashes & tears to accomplish my goals.

Double Under Blues

Back to my point, so the other day I suggested we do extra credit after our WOD by ending it with 100 DUs. The coach suggested we time it, so we (4 guys & lil ole me) all agreed. I finished in 1:17 mins. Not my best but it’s pretty darn good. This is my forte. One of the guys finished not too long after me, but he was not a happy camper. He insisted on a re-do. He messed up at the beginning, blah, blah, blah, excuses, bs, blah, blah, blah. We all have off-days, so how come he couldn’t accept the fact that I had finished before him? Well, I think it’s because 1) he thinks he’s better than me & 2) I’m a girl, how could I possibly beat him?!? That’s unheard of. Some guys just can’t stand a girl being better at something, especially when that something involves strength or speed.

What do I say to this? Check your friggin’ ego at the friggin’ door, you friggin’ girly man. Suck it up & be happy for me while you eat a piece of humble pie. But, I have a feeling he has secretly vowed to beat me next time. Ha! Some things can’t be changed so easily.

Boys & Girls climbing rope in harmony.

Ego waffles – It’s what’s for breakfast, but make sure you poop it out before walking into your next Crossfit box.

Mian Review

MIAN
18402 Horace Harding Expy
Fresh Meadows, NY 11365
347-732-9365

Hubby & I worked up an appetite after attending Michael’s Grand Opening (it was a madhouse, but we scored some freebies)! Mian was nearby & we’ve been meaning to try it out, so this was the perfect opportunity on a rainy Sunday. We read some good & some bad reviews online, but it’s cheap Chinese food, what do you really expect, right?!?

The inside was reminiscent of Saint’s Alp Teahouse in Manhattan. With the tables & the uncomfortable little chairs, but I can see this as a cute little hangout if you want to get some tea or dessert with friends. Btw, they offer Eileen’s Cheesecake here, which is great if you don’t want to trek out into Manhattan for it.

Inside of Mian

They have a small menu, which in my opinion, is good. It makes deciding easier, plus we’re hoping they excel in those few items they serve.

A quick background, Mian means Noodles in Chinese. So we’re expecting them to at least make good noodles. Hubby ordered #9 –  Mian Soup Noodle.

You pick a Noodle (Broad Rice Flat Noodles, Egg Noodles, Udon, Rice Noodles).
Then, you pick a Topping (Roast Pork, Roast Duck, Shredded Chicken, Beef Brisket Stew, Homemade Wontons).

Hubby went with Egg Noodles & Homemade Wontons.

#9 – Mian Soup Noodle – egg noodle & wonton

I decided to order one of my all-time favorites, #26 – Pork Chop – Deep Fried Pork Chop Served with Pork Sauce Over Rice.

#26 – Pork Chop

The verdict: The hubby thought the noodles were cooked well, the broth wasn’t too salty & the wontons tasted fresh. And the price point of $6 was on par with other cheap eats Chinese restaurants, so he had no complaints. If you like spicy, don’t forget to ask for the Chili sauce. That was the star of the whole meal. It looks to have been made fresh & with the right amount of spiciness.

You see the chili sauce on the right side. That was the star!

As for my pork chop over rice, I was pleasantly surprised when I moved the pork chops. I didn’t realize they had minced pork sauce covering the rice. Yeah, yeah, I know the description said “pork sauce” but I honestly didn’t even know what that meant! Oh, I slathered that pork sauce all over my white rice & enjoyed every bite. Hubby liked it too, but the pork chop over rice at 66 Lu’s Seafood still reigns supreme. At $6, it was decent & it will do on a rainy day & if you don’t want to trek into the heart of traffic-filled, human-filled Flushing, NY.

Look at the brown pork sauce! Mumm…

We thought the place wasn’t bad. I wouldn’t make a special trip out here just to try this place, but if you’re in the neighborhood, it’s a decent place for decent food.

Geometric Grey/Pink Nails Tutorial

The Geometric look is actually quite simple to do, but you’ll need a little patience. I chose hues of pinks & greys for my nails because I had those shades on hand. You can do whatever color combo you want. It’s really up to you to decide.

Always use a base coat before applying any color on your nails. This will prevent yellowing of your nails. Dark reds, purples, blacks & blues can cause major discoloration. The stains are not pretty & you’ll definitely regret not using a base coat.

I applied a light grey color over all my nails. You must wait for this layer to dry completely. It should not feel tacky to the touch.  This is probably the most important step for this nail design.

Next, you will cut 28 strips of Nail Tape. You will use 3 on each nail (the pinky has 2 since it’s just a cross). I like to make all the boxes different sizes. For the ring finger, I did 3 stripes as my accent nail.

Tape both hands. Once your tape is on, you will now carefully apply your 4 colors to each box. Instead of switching nail polish 4 times on each nail, I started with the darkest color & applied it to all the nails, then went to the 2nd color, etc. I used one color for the accent nail.

I am a secret perfectionist. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone. Anyway, I was being geeky & created this table for each nail if you really want a different color in the same section of each nail. Does that even make sense? Well, I hope you understand once you see the table. Even geekier, I had to google to get the code to create a table. I’ve totally forgotten how to create a table with HTML! *sigh*

Nail 1		Nail 2		Nail 3		Nail 4
A	B	C	D	D	A	B	C
C	D	A	B	B	C	D	A

A, B, C, D representing the 4 different shades you’ve picked out. I was in Chicago when I had to write down this color combo. Even on vacation, I think of my nails. Good grief.

Let the polish dry & then carefully pull off all the tape. Apply a top coat to preserve your nail design. Look at how pretty this came out! I couldn’t stop looking at them once I was finished.

Who says you can’t be fashionable when you Crossfit?!? Always look your best even when you’re a sweaty mess. 🙂

Where to purchase products:
Nail Tape – 10 rolls last a long time.
Nail Tape – 30 piece so you’ll never have to worry about buying tape ever again!
Nailtiques 1 – used as my base coat to help my nails get stronger. Here’s the larger bottle.
Nailtiques 2 – you’ll use this every day for a few weeks for brittle nails to get stronger.
Harbinger Workout Glove – I love these gloves. They keep my hands callus free!