Top 3 Group Buying Sites

Online group buying sets a new trending in buying and saving. The business model is simple: The group-buying sites find local businesses willing to provide large discounts in return for spreading their names to new customers. Consumers log on daily, check out their hometown's deals and either sign up or ignore the deal. 


Groupon:  The pioneer of the group-buying sites, serving more than 140 markets in the world. Members receive the coupons by email and, if a pre-set quota of takers isn't reached, the deal is off. No harm, no foul -- except everyone involved is a bit sad.


Living Social: The biggest competitor of Groupon. Living Social runs its business in a smart way. In order to scale fast, it offers incentives to encourage members to share deal links on Facebook, Twitter or through email. 


Tippr: Tipper offers deals in 25 major cities. Unlike Groupon or Living Social, Tipper gives users a choice of three deals on its home page, with at least one new deal each day. Incentive discounts get larger as more people sign up for the deal, though there's a limit to how much the discount increases.


There are a few more regional players, such as Plum District, 8coupons (offers 8 deals a day, instead of 1), BuyWithMe, GiltCity, Juice in the City, We Give to Get (worth mentioning that when you buy a go-go coupon, 10-percent of the money you spend while using the coupon is donated to the ActOfGood charity of your choice), Crowdsaving.com

Fun things to do on a hot day

It seems that the entire world is in extreme heat these days. Don't let the heat confine you in your air-conditioned home. Go out to have some fun. Here is a list of things you might enjoy doing on a hot day like today. 


1. Go to the beach - Discovery Park, Bainbridge Island, Lake Washington all have public beaches you can relax or swim
2. Kayak on the lake - Lake Union and Lake Washington have kayak rental. You wouldn't mind getting wet, would you.
3. Practice snorkeling in the pool or in the lake or in the ocean. 
4. Go to aquarium - even the thoughts of watching marine life swim in the water can cool you down. 
5. Wash your car - make sure to check your local water restrictions
6. Go ice-skating  at Key Arena (Seattle Center). Yes, the skating rink opens even in summer
7. Water balloon fight at your back yard. Just be gentle and friendly to each other.
8. Water melon seeds spitting contest. It might sound gross, but it IS fun. Find a spot you don't need to do massive clean up after the contest. 
9. Make frozen lemonade pops. Get ice tray, lemonade mix (or any other flavors) and water. 
10. Play in the sprinklers. Economic fun at your backyard. 


What am I still doing in front of the computer? Time to head out to enjoy the hot day. 

Inception

Hmm, another Hollywood disappointment, to Robert and me at least. Luckily I got the tickets at half price from Fandango :)

We walked out the movie theater, confused and disappointed at the plot of the movie, and tired of its length. We don't understand how it got all the amazing reviews like the ones below:

"Amazing Directing, Captivating Plot, Overall Great!" 

"Insanely Brilliant ! Nolan has outdone himself !! " 

"Inception - A benchmark in all cinema to come"

We don't get it. We just don't! The movie is as complex as a labyrinth. Maybe we aren't intelligent enough. 

I'm not going to spoil your interest in Inception. I actually want to encourage you to go see this movie yourself and tell me how you like it. I trust your taste, my friends. Please do let me know if I'm too dumb, or other reviewers are out of their minds.   

How to get free music in the US

Who says there is no free music in the US. Here are a free resources I'm using.

For downloads:

www.isohunt.com

This is a user-generate platform. You can literally download any song, any movie, or any software from there. We make isohunt download work, you will need to install Azureus or BitTorrent on your macbook

For online listening:

Pandora Radio

Simply type in the name of a singer you like, Pandora creates a music station of songs of various singers based on the style and popularity of the singer you typed in. For example, I typed in Katy Perry, I got a station of top hits of Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Pink, B.o.B, KT Tunstall... Listening to music is never so easy!

Jango

Jango is similar to Pandora. It offers you more options to customize your online radio stations. So you can be specific about the genre, singer, year of the songs you'd like to listening to.

For iPhone:

Pandora

Hands down choice! Pandora app works the same way was Pandora radio only with more mobility. You can listen to your Pandora station through wireless network or 3G network, which means you can listen to non-stop, no repeating songs at home, at work, at airport, on the beach, in the mountains wherever you get your cellphone signals or wireless signals!

Follow my suggestions and let fresh and free music brighten your days!

Grand Canyon Trip Tips

My family just had a fabulous week in Arizona, visiting the Grand Canyon and the surroundings. I've always felt a connection with the Canyon. 4 years ago at my company's Christmas Party, Gary gave William a travel book as Christmas gift. He asked us to randomly flick a page and the destination on that page should be the next place we travel to. Guess which place I got - the Grand Canyon of course!! Traveling thousands of miles to the US just to see the Grand Canyon sounded quite unrealistic back then. Not surprisingly, I didn't go, but I did mark the Grand Canyon at a special spot in my heart. 

So this was a belated trip! This was also a perfect one, because finding a place that none of my family members have traveled to isn't that easy.  But the Grand Canyon happened to be one! We really had a great time there. We loved the scenery, the sunshine, the hikes, the bike ride, the local art, the delicious steak meals... the list can go on and on. I strongly recommend you, my friends, to go see this natural wonder in the world in person. On one of the travel books,  I read that "There is of course no sense at all in trying to describe the Grand Canyon. Imagine ... the very heart of the world ... laid bare before our eyes! There is nothing between you and the undertaker except six thousand feet, more or less, of dazzling Arizona climate".  I know I won't be able to describe the beauty of the Grand Canyon very well. All I will do is to show you some pictures, write down tips of the trip and encourage you to go there in person! 

Things to do before the trip:

1. Buy a good travel book and get a brief idea of the layout of the Grand Canyon. The one we used was Fodor's Arizona & the Grand Canyon 2010. It's pretty good. You can also look at Frommer's Grand Canyon National Park. Both of the books include good description of the history of the Canyon, route suggestions, hotel suggestions, restaurant suggestions and pullout maps. 

2. Decide on which rim to go. There are 3, South Rim, North Rim and West Rim. Before I went to the Grand Canyon, I was so bummed that we wouldn't have enough time to go all three of them. After the trip, I can confidently tell you that one is enough!! South Rim is the most popular one. 90% of the visitors go there. Along the rim, there are many beautiful lookout spots, quite a few resorts and hotels, and even camping sites. However, there is only one hotel on the North Rim. Both North and South Rims are along the same stretch of the Canyon, so you have more or less the same views. But  the North Rim is about 1000 feet higher than the South Rim. It's only open from May to Oct., and is harder to hike down too. You might make the choice based on your own interests and physical status. As for the West Rim, it's about 5 hrs drive away, at a less popular stretch of the Canyon. What makes the West Rim famous is the mega structure - SkyWalk. It's a horse shoe shaped glass lookout platform. We heard it's pretty cool but very pricey. It cost $80 per person to get on the platform, and you are not allowed to bring camera with you. The service people will sell you pictures at $30/picture. The view of the Canyon from the West Rim is less classic, because he Canyon is less orange/red there. But if you like to experience white water rafting, and the native American culture, the West Rim is a great place to go. The West Rim is the only place that offers one-day white water rafting at the price of $380/boat. At the South and North Rims, you will have to sign up for a minimum 3-day white water rafting trip. 

3. Book hotels ahead of time - way ahead of time. The hotels in the Canyon are usually booked out half or 1 year ahead of time. Read the pros and cons of the hotels from your tour book and pick one. I suggest either Bright Angel Lodge or El Tovar Hotel. Both are historic landmarks of the Grand Canyon and are well-positioned in the center of the Canyon.

4. Book hiking trips with local travel company. You can of course do all the hikes by yourself, but a good guide can take you to the best spots and tell you a lot of things you don't know about the canyon. They can carry food, water and hiking equipment for you as well. This is definitely money worth spending!  The one we used is called Angel Gate. Our guide Molly is totally awesome. She recently graduated from the University of West Kentucky, majoring in Geology!!! A geologist is the best type of guide we can ask for. She is very knowledgeable about the history of the Canyon, the hikes, the rocks, the plants ... Feel free to call Angel Gate and ask for Molly if you want a great guide.

5. Swing by Sedona if you an extra day. This beautiful red-rock city has appeared in over 50 Hollywood movies. There are many art galleries there if you need to look for a souvenir. The 45 minutes drive from Flagstaff to Sedona is the most scenic mountain drive I have ever get on. You will see cliffs, red rocks, green valleys, creeks along the way.

I went to the South Rim, if you go there. Here is my suggested itinerary.  

Make it a 5 day trip.  

D1:  

Flying in Phoenix in the morning, and drive to the Grand Canyon (2 and a half hours). The plane tickets to Phoenix is a lot cheaper than to Flagstaff (a town that's 1 1/2 hrs away from the Grand Canyon), and the scenery along the road is just beautiful. You will see the distinctive change of landscape, vegetation and weather. Phoenix is at the bottom of a valley, so it's very desert like. You will see lots of cactus along the highway - tree like cactus!! As you ascend, you will first see sage grass, and then pine trees. The Grand Canyon is about 6000-7000 feet above sea level and is about 20-30 degrees cooler than Phoenix. The best part of the drive is the speed limit is 75mile/hr, which is 15 miles higher than most other states. If you miss drive high speed, this is definitely the way to go.

Stay the first night at one of the hotels along the Rim. In the afternoon, drive along the rim and stop by lookout spots. It will give you a brief of how big and long the Grand Canyon is. Find a good spot for  sunset and a gaze at the stars at night. 

D2-3:

Choice 1 

Hop on a mule and go down to the bottom of the  Canyon through Bright Angel Trail - the most popular trail - 9.6 miles each way, and spend the night at Bright Angel Camp ground. 

Choice 2

Hike down to Colorado River through South Kaibab  trail on foot - the 2nd most popular trail - 8 miles each way, and spend the night at the Phantom Range. Note that this is a quite steep trail. Every step going down, you will need to climb back. Be sure you have good hiking boots!

D4: 

See sunrise at the Grand Canyon and then head over to Sedona. There is a Hyatt Hotel there. A great place to stay for sure. After you check in, drive to Coffee Pot for breakfast. It serves 101 types of omelets. Afterwards, drive over to Bell Rock, rent a bicycle from the bike shop nearby. Get on Red Rock Trail - 3.5 miles each way. It's a great way to see the red rocks. 

After the hot ride, you might want to cool down. Drive over to Slide Rock State Park. You can plunge down a natural rock slide into a natural swimming hole. Make sure to bring your swimming suit and towel with you. We didn't bring, but we still plunged in! 

Afterwards, time to just relax. Treat yourself with a nice spa at the hotel. Before you head out to the central shopping complexes and then a delicious dinner at the Cowboy Club. 

D5:

Sleep in, and then drive back to Phoenix to hop on an afternoon flight to go back home!

Enjoy the Grand Canyon, everyone!

For more pictures of my Grand Canyon trip, click on http://www.flickr.com/photos/shnatalie/sets/72157624706285628/

Where were we?

Hey folks, take a guess where Robert and I were in these pictures below? 

We were not taking a vacation on the beach. Both of us are working really hard now - one brings home bread, and the other gets herself prepared to bring home bread :)

What's in this picture? Nice guess. Yes, it's a volcano. But we weren't not in Japan at the foot of Mt. Fuji. Our trip back to China to see EXPO got canceled because we heard that it's overcrowded.

Here is the answer. We were in Seattle, at the west tip of Seattle - Discovery Park. I blogged before that it's a huge tree-covered park15 mins away from our apartment in downtown Seattle. The volcano in the picture above is Mt. Rainer. Many of my friends in China probably don't know that there are quite a few huge volcanoes within driving distance of Seattle. On a clear day like this, if you fly into Seattle, the pilots usually will give you a flying tour of three gorgeous volcanoes - Mt. Rainer, Mt. Baker and Mt. Adams.

A lot of people ask me how I like Seattle. I love it! I might have had a small complaint on the cloudy and rainy weather one month ago, but I have no complaints now. It's been sunny, warm and dry everyday since July 5th. Welcome to visit us. Summer definitely is the best season to come!

College Football Season Tickets - Go Huskies!

One really good thing about going back to school is to be able to get discounted student sports tickets! University of Washington has a variety of sports teams - football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, tennis, golf, soccer, cross country, rowing, gymnastics & track, which means there are always some sports events going on around the year. Washington Huskies is a nickname for its sports teams. Harry the Husky is the mascot. 


Among all the sports, we are particularly interested in men's football. Both UW and Stanford are members of PAC 10. They are playing in Seattle this year on Oct. 30th! Robert and I won't be stand for the same team this year for sure. Should be fun to watch together.


UW was a power house in football in the 90's, and has always been having a fairly strong team. Its quarterback - Jake Locker is among the best quarterbacks for college football. The biggest news this year is he  made a shocking decision to give up the opportunity to go to a pro team and to stay with UW to finish his senior year, which makes this year's football games even more anticipating. I just got us season tickets - 6 home games in total at the price of $125. It is an incredible deal compared to non-discounted price $375. Seats are great, in the middle session, plus a free t-shirt. Wahoo!

To get students' tickets you will need to call Huskies ticket office at 206-543-2200 and register an online account with your student ID # & your uw email address. With your account set, you can buy another sports event online at students' price. 


Each student is entitled to get one set of student tickets. If you want to get another set for your spouse or domestic partner, you will need to go to Huskies ticket office at Graves Building at Montlake Blvd in person, and present your marriage certificate or domestic partner certificate. Cheap deals come with strict rules, uh :)


We're very delighted to have got our football tickets nailed. The first two games are before the school begins on Sep. 11th and 18th, UW vs. Syracuse and Nebraska. Both of the teams are good ones, especially Nebraska. The game will be broadcasted by ABC. Don't forget to look for us on TV. BTW, as you know we go to Mariner's games sometimes. At the Mariner vs. Yankee's game last month, the TV broadcaster gave us a close-up shot. Many of our friends saw us on TV and sent us phone messages.  Yippee! 

Are you going to watch Salt?

Angelina Jolie was gorgeous in the movie, but the movie itself isn't so much. David Letterman commented at his show that: "The movie goes so fast that you won't realize it doesn't make any sense until you walk to the parking lot". 

He was exactly right! The movie went fast. It compacted all the so-called thrilling elements - Russia, North Korea, nuclear bomb, assassination, CIA, FBI, terrorists, spy, cheesy love story, action, car chasing in a 1 hour and 40 mins movie, which is way too busy. Salt was depicted as an American spy then Russian spy and then a hero that saved the world single-handedly. That's a lot of drama. In a word, the movie is twisted in a clumsy and thoughtless way. 

I wouldn't recommend anyone to watch the movie in the theater. Save your money and time for Inception - a much smarter movie by Leonardo DeCaprio. 

Getting a Visa to UK

US green card holders DO need visa to go to UK. You can choose to work with an agent or apply by yourself. I usually just do it by myself. Here is the step-by-step guide.


1. Decide on your visa type. Click here to find out all the visa types and application fees.  6-month General Visitor visa seems like the most straight forward and cheapest type (68 pounds). 


2. Online application. All the application is processed online. Go to Visa4UK site to fill in online form. 
    A couple things to note:
    2.1  You don't have to fill all the forms in one setting. You can always save and go back to them another day.
    2.2  You will be required to fill in your UK travel itinerary and where to stay. So think about those before your start the process.
    2.3  Print out the application form in the end and SIGN. You will need to send it to the British embassy/consulate.
    2.4  Pay your application fee online and print out the receipt. 
    2.5  Pay $12 courier fee online and print out the receipt - for mailing the visa to you


3. Biometric data collection. At the end of the online application, you will required to make an appointment with UK visa ASC (application service centers) to get your finger prints collected and picture taken. Click here to find ASC near you.  


4. Supporting documents. To prove your travel purposes, if you have enough funding to fulfill the trip and if you will return to your residing country, you will need to provide supporting Ma. For checklist, click here.


5. Mail out application documents within two weeks after the biometric data are collected. Here is the list
        5.1 A valid passport that contains at least 1 blank page on both sides so your visa can be inserted. Your passport should be signed by you and the name and signature should correspond to the details given on your visa application form.
        5.2 Previous passport/s (if available)
        5.3 Your completed, signed and dated visa application form
        5.4 Online payment receipts 
        5.5 Receipt given to you when you enrolled your biometric data
        5.6 Supporting documents relevant to the category you are applying for with photocopy of each original document and translations.
        5.7 One recent passport-sized (45mm high x 35mm wide) color photograph of yourself. The photograph should be:
              5.7.1 Taken against a light grey or cream background. It should be in sharp focus, clear and of good quality, free from shadows.
              5.7.2 Printed on normal photographic paper.
              5.7.3 Taken with nothing covering the face, without sunglasses or tinted spectacles, or a head covering unless worn for religious or medical reasons. The subject should have their mouth closed (no grinning, frowning or raised eyebrows) and the applicant should be facing forwarding, looking straight ahead.
              5.7.4 The photograph should be a recent true likeness and taken within the last 6 months


There is 1 embassy and 9 consulates in the US. Here is where you should send your documents to.

Residing State	Mailing address
Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and US Virgin Islands.	New York The UK Border Agency British Consulate-General 845 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022
Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington State and Wyoming. Additionally Guam and the Trust Territory of The Pacific.	Los Angeles The UK Border Agency British Consulate-General 11766 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1200 Los Angeles, CA 90025-6538 Note: Please write the proposed date of travel on the reverse of the envelope.
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin.	Chicago The UK Border Agency British Consulate-General The Wrigley Building 400 North Michigan Avenue Suite 1300 Chicago, IL 60611

6. Visa processing period. It takes between 7 days to 90 days, depends on how difficult your background check goes. Usually within 2 weeks, your visa will be issued. Within another week, it will be sent to your doorstep. Before you get too excited about the visa, check two things right away:
      6.1 Your green card. That's your identity in the US, and you will need it to return to the US. Make sure your green card is included in the package. 
      6.2 Check your name, passport #, visa type, entry date on your visa. Make sure everything is correct. 
      6.3 You will mostly like get a multiple entry one year tourist visa, which means you may go to UK anytime within the next year for as many times as you wish. But each stay is within 6 months. 


A UK visa allows you to travel to not only England but also Scotland & Northern Ireland. Make the best use of it! Enjoy your trip in the UK.

Party Rock Jump

Who is that man in the picture? My darling husband Robert.

What was he doing? Jumping off the Party Rock at Lake Cushman. 

Why was he doing that? For fun and adventure. 

Where was Natalie? Sitting on the rock nearby taking pictures.

Did she jump too? Nope. She was too much of a wimp to jump off from that high.

Did she get wet at all? Oh yeah, she was thrown in the lake with full clothes on by her darling husband. 

Oh man, that lake was cold!! 

That was our past weekend. We had a terrific time with our friends - Marc & Jeanne at their beautiful cabin at Lake Cushman - the gateway to the Olympic National Park, where the Twilight movies were shot. 

The Olympic National Park gets a lot of rain every year. It's famous for beautiful lakes and moss-covered forests. We also did a 4.4 mile easy hike along rambling mountain creeks. The water scenery was totally gorgeous, and reminded me of the Tiger Leaping Gorge in Yunnan Province in China.

If you're looking for beautiful and less elevation mountain hikes, Olympic National Park is the place to go.

Panorama Shot of Seattle Night

After many months of tedious waiting, summer finally set foot on Seattle yesterday. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. High at 80 degree, sunny, no humidity at all. I spent half of day sitting in the sun reading. Life is good. We can finally use our spacious outdoor patio - I've been thinking what a waste of space for the last 6 months; I can finally pull out all my short sleeves, shorts and sandles - I was nervous I never get to wear them in Seattle; we can finally go out to explore nature a lot more - it wasn't that fun to have to brave the rain and cold all the time.

Every Seattlite is cheering for the summer. King-5 news talks about the gorgeous weather every 30 mins; Shop assistants greeted me with "have a good summer"; my friends writes to me about "hope you're enjoying sunshine"... This late summer makes everyone appreciate it even more.

I took out my camera and documented the 1st sunset of this summer. Here is the panorama shot of Seattle after the sun set. I just love the colors along Olympic Mountains. The left patch of water is Pudget Sound and the right Lake Union. Enjoy!

Silhouette Machine

If you like crafting,  a silhouette machine is a good friend to have. It saves your time and makes your craft look more professional. 30 day trial kit @ $29.9. I'm tempted to give it a try.

Kooza - Cirque du Soleil is Performing in Seattle

Kooza: Magical Box. As all the other Cirque du Soleil performances, Kooza contains all the important elements - acrobats, clowns and magicians. It's a collection of singing, dancing, acrobatics, humor and interaction between audience and performaners. 

We took Tyler to the show, while Sofia enjoying her Eclipse premier. The tickets were expensive, but the performance was well worth the money. Parking at the designated area is $15. Don't do it. It's not worth the money at all. You can park one parking lot away - 0.5miles at only $1.

Among all the performances, we loved the Wheel of Death & Tight Rope Walkers the most. I gasped through the performances.

I've watched quite a few circus performance in both Beijing and Shanghai, but Cirque Kooza is by far the most amusing and dramatic one. A must-see!

U-pick Strawberries

Yes, we did it! We picked strawberries by ourselves. On our way to Winthrop, we stopped at Arlington and picked 5 pounds of juicy sweet strawberries, and ate probably another 5 pounds while we were picking them. The strawberries are sold at $2 per pound. Great deal for fruit eaters like me and Sofia. 

Arlington is only an hour away from Seattle. Take I-5 north, take exit 208, and get on highway 530. Strawberry fields are on both sides of the highway. Go crazy!

U Pick Farms

Inspired by my cousin, who just satisfied her cravings for cherries by going to a cherry farm only a few miles away from Stanford. While she was describing to me how fresh the red cherries are, and how sweet the white cherries taste, I couldn't help but notice that I was swallowing my saliva. 

It's funny that my friend Tiffany buzzed me yesterday, saying how much she missed her Stanford days and juicy US cherries.

So today, I did a quick research on the Internet, and here is a great orchard/farm info site for all the fruit fans who would enjoy picking your own fruits

http://www.pickyourown.org/statelist.htm#statelist

According to the website, there are many blueberry farms near me. Yay, I just found my weekend activity! 

Mount Si Trail. Check

Although the spring of Seattle has been disappointingly cold, it doesn't stop us from going outdoor. We're trying to get back in shape after the long winter and the long cold spring. Thanks to my friend's Betty's recommendation, we went to Mt. Si last Saturday.  

Mt. Si is to the east of Seattle at North Bend. It's only 25-30 mins away from downtown Seattle by car. We had a late start at 2:30pm on a  misty "wintry"day.  Despite the weather condition, there were a lot of hikers there already and the entire parking lot is really packed. Mt. Si is covered with hundred year of pine trees and hard rocks. There is only one trail going up and down. It welcomed us with a beautiful flower decorated smooth slope.  We thought, oh this would be an easy. We were wrong! It wasn't EASY, at all. The trail is only 4 miles, but the elevation is about 4000 feet.  We hadn't exercised much, so it was pretty challenging to go upslope constantly. We were taking water breaks, scenery breaks and mileage breaks along the trails, and finally dragged our dreary legs and dehydrated bodies to the top of Mt. Si. There wasn't much to see on a misty day, but it added some Twilight atmosphere to the mountain trail. We heard that on a sunny day, you have a good view of both Seattle and Bellevue.

I wouldn't recommend first-time hikers to start with this trail, because it's difficult and it can be crowded (Seattel crowded, not Shanghai crowded). 

Hiking tips:

1. Bring enough water, 2 bottles per person. You will sweat a lot going up, so you will NEED water. 

2. Bring some healthy snacks. After consuming so much energy, you will feel hungry for sure. At the top of the mountain, while we were hungry, we saw a hiker pull out a bag of carrots. The only thing came out of my mind was, "Oh man, he is wise!" After we completed our hike, we were so starving that we ended up going to a fatty burger restaurant and compensated all the calories we just burnt.

3. Start in the morning, so you will have time to go check out the Snoqualmie River and Snoqualmie Falls nearby. 

4. Wear very comfortable shoes. The steep slopes can easily cause blisters on your toes when coming down. 

5. Do NOT use the rest room at the trail head. Believe me, you would rather go natural after you open the door. 

6. Mt. Si is NOT Little Si, which is a lot shorter, less steep and easier than Mt. Si. Make sure you're heading towards the right one. 

7. Do NOT sleep in the parking lot at the trail head. It is dangerous. When we returned from the hike, we saw two women passed out and sound asleep on the ground of the parking lot, while cars moving around them.  If you're tired, sleep in your cars.

8. Try out a few easier trails and get youself in certain shape before getting on Mt. Si. It's a tiring one for sure. 

Okay, if you're ready, enjoy Mount Si.

Miata putting a smile on my face

Hey everyone, meet my sexy, sassy & spicy new car - Mazda Miata. After weeks of research and test drive, I vetoed Mini Cooper and VW bug and picked this little hardtop sports convertible. Every time I sat in the car, I noticed a big smile appearing on my face. This is the magic of Miata.

It's a small sports coupe, which is very easy to manuvour for a new driver like me; yet being a sports car, it's very fun to drive, especially along the winding mountain roads to Winthrop. The retractable hard top is a huge plus for Seattle, which rains so much in winter. A hard top is so much quieter and easier to maintain than a canvus top. Ask me what I don't like about Miata. NONE! :) 

Fancy a ride? Just let me know. Get in Miata and I guarantee you a smile.

绝代只西子，众芳唯牡丹

Ever since I started to recite Tang poems when I was 3 years old, I have learned that peony is a beautiful flower. It appeared repeatedly in many famousTang poems, regarded as the queen of all flowers and the national flower of China. It's a shame that I have never come across our national flower in person, because they typically grow in northern China. I'm excited to have found them in a local farm market in Seattle. Here is my $5 bouquet of peonies. Aren't they beautiful?

Gorgeous Weekend in Winthrop, WA

We picked a great weekend to go up to Winthrop. It was sunny and hot - high at 84 and the sun didn't set down until 9-10pm. It was great to spend two days in the cabin, and to watch trees streching, flowers blossoming, and listen to birds chirping, bees humming and deer grazing in our yard. We loved our 48 hrs of sun break from Seattle :) and warmly welcome you to visit.

It was a short trip and we had lots of chores to do in the yard - getting rid of tumble weeds and other stuff. But we still managed to squeeze in a 4-hour hike alongs two trails close to Sun Mountain Lodge. The scenery along the trails is absolutely amazing. For more pictures, please check out my flickr account.

Football Fan's Carnival is on...

FIFA World Cup South Africa will kick off in 13 hours 56 mins and 22 secs by the time I'm typing in this blog. How do I know it so accurately? I've got ESPN 2010 FIFA World Cup application on my iPhone. The entire schedule of all the matches has been converted into your local time no matter you're on the east coast or West, in China or USA. Besides game schedule, this application gives you update on game scores, news, videos, teams, venues ... You can even predict the winner of each round and win award through ESPNsoccernet. What a handy-dandy application! Download it now and enjoy the games the Apple way!


Forget to mention, I'm an ardent football fan! I was a striker/forward of the football team of my elementary school and I watched my first world cup back in 1994!! My favorite team is NOT China:) I'm sure you agree that being a fan of the Chinese football team is one of the most painful thing in the world. 


If you are at work and won't be able to watch the game on TV, please support Qiming's portfolio and use PPS - http://shijiebei.pps.tv/#  


Enjoy FIFA World Cup everyone! Cheers! 

Candide - a Must-see Musical

To memorize one of the greatest contemporary composer - Leonardo Bernstein, Seattle's 5th Ave Theater brought one of his most famous musical masterpieces - Candide on the stage.  Bernstein is most known for his broadway musical - West Side Story, which later produced into a musical film and received sensational success. Robert used to play French Horn for orchestra and he had great fun play Bernstein's musical pieces every single time! 


Candide, under the shadow of West Side Story, didn't become a hit until the 1970s. It tells the story of a young man - Candide looking for his love around the world.  Robert and I went to watch it last night and were fascinated by the energy and sparks of the music and the performance. We were impressed by the intricate stage set-up and light coordination as well. We give it two thumbs up. If Candide goes to your neck of the woods, please go see. You will enjoy it for sure! Tickets start from $22.5.


BTW, the 5th Avenue Theater itself is a piece of art. It is in glorious/royal Chinese style and looks just like a palace in the Forbidden City. Pretty cool. I'm afraid I've never see beautiful theaters like it back in China.

iPhone 4 Unveiled Today

One month and a half ago, a so-called Apple's next iPhone was found lost in a bar in Redwood City. Apple never came out to claim if that was the next model. After many months of speculation, the truth finally came out today. Yes, that was the new iPhone - iPhone 4. Steve Jobs is speaking at the launch press conference right now. It's not a 4G phone, still 3GS, but there are many new features, which have already made me fall love with it!! Here are a few new features I'm particularly interested.


* Front and back cameras, making video calling possible
* Back camera flash
* Multi-Tasking
* Fold creating
* 40% longer battery life
* Even better screen display
* Thinner and Sleekier


The video link below says it all about the phone. Click and watch by yourself.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/design/#design-video


iPhone 4 pre-order starts on Jun. 15th and is available on Jun. 24th. But the folks who have owned a iPhone 3GS like me,  should you update your phone now? I would probably say hold on. 4G wireless is just around the corner. It doesn't hurt to wait a bit. 

Online movie resources

DVDs are expensive here, but I've found some free resources. Most of the sites listed below are in Chinese. Knowing Chinese becomes handy now.

Option 1: watching online, no download at all.

TV series site:

http://www.tudou.com

http://www.youku.com

Movie site:

http://hd.openv.com

http://powerapple.com

Option 2: download player, and then watch online.

http://www.ppstream.com/

http://www.xunlei.com/

Option 3: install emule, or bit torrent, or azure; download movies/TV series from the Internet and then watch offline

http://isohunt.com

http://www.verycd.com

US State Quarter Coins

US dollar bills might be a bit boring in design, but US quarter coins are definitely interesting. The US government issued 50 states commemorative quarters in 2000, features George Washington on one side, and the design of each state on the other.  I can show you an example. The design of Washington State Quarter is composed of Salmon fish, Mount Rainer, the year Washington joined the USA,  and the nick name of the state.

Since these State Quarters are so well received by the public, the US government continued to issued 6 new territory quarters -  District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands & US Virgin Islands.

Our nephew Matthew is 7 years old and he's collecting these fancy quarters. He's already got all the 50 US State quarters + 5 new territory quarters. So he's only missing ONE - Guam. If anyone finds a Guam, please let me know. Matthew would be excited to complete his completion.

Fabulous Week on the East Coast ...

I'm not talking about the weather, although it was gorgeous for the entire week when we were there. I'm talking about family time, friend's time, city fun & country fun. Top of this fabulous week list goes to me meeting Robert's close relatives and high school friends, including extremely nice uncle & aunt, a delightful cousin, 2 beautiful nieces, 4 lively cats, 7 distinctively different yet funny friends and a few wives. It was overwhelming in the beginning and I noticed myself stagger when speaking English :) Thank god. There is a magic potion called ALCOHOL. After a few drinks, I realized that I started to talk up storm just like when I speak Chinese :)

Visiting my in-laws in Delaware was a lot more relaxing. I just loved curling in the couch flipping through the old family albums & listening to mom & dad tell family histories & childhood stories of Robert, Jon & Diana. We definitely need to do it more often!

The wedding of Adrian and Holly was lovely. It's wonderful to see a good man with a good heart finally finds his true love. The after party "hosted" by the Summit group was incredibly fun. These Summit boys known each other for over 20 years, and their friendship still stays strong.

Watching Sex & the City II Premier with my BFF Bonnie & my new friend Jing at Time Square NYC was so much fun! We put on our beautiful dresses and high heels, and looked as fabulous as the girls in the movie :)  (movie review will come soon)

...

It was a fabulous week with family and friends!