College preparation

6/21/2020
WeChat seminar
5 new high school graduates from Raleigh area who got accepted to top colleges share their tips of college applications. Most of them from Enloe high school (a NCSSM magnet school), and two of them go on to NCSSM.

1. One of the students talk about building the good relationship with teacher by talking to them after class and also ask them a lot of questions by showing the interests to the class. This needs to remind both kids. He also teaches for 3 years either volunteer or something.

2. Consider NCSSM is one of the option for our kids.

3. One girl who got into MIT is a swimmer. Melody Wen, she has future time. I could have asked her that if the swimming helps with her college application and if she continues to swim for MIT swim team.

My Memo of learning iPhone photography

iPhone model: iPhone 6S plus
Learning hours: 20 hours
So far learned: 6 hours

Learning approach:
a. Copy the great work and take one photo a day.
b. Learn the post-editing tool: Snapseed (3 hrs) and Camera + App
c. focus one hour a day, so I need to require this skill in Feb.
d. Obtain the tools: tele-lens, gorilla-pod,
e. Post on the wechat/flickr to receive the feedback.


Graduation: Take 5 good photos on each category:
Scenery View: 5 (1)
Architecture:  5 (1)
Nature: 5 (1)
People: 5 (1)
Event: 5
Action: 5
Night view: 5 (2)


Tools I need to purchase:
a. Tri-pod/gorilla pod, iphone mount
b. tele-lens, wide angle lens.
c. Camera +, slow cam for being able to manually adjust the shutter speed and aperture.


The tips I learned from youtube:
1. iphone has a long exposure effect without 3rd party apps.
2. You use a white board on the side of the subject and it can reflect the light when you take the still picture.
3. As a photographer, you want to present to the people the angels that they don't normally see. So try to shoot with some unusual angels.
4. When you take a night view photo, decrease the exposure can make the picture clear without grainy.
5. Focus on the high light of the object in the low light.
6. Use tripod for long disposure shot and remote or earphone.
7. When you wear earphone, use it's volume control as the shutter button, you can get closer to the people as they would think you are listening to the music.
8. It's recommended to use HDR mode at night time to reduce grainy.

Try something new for 30 days

1. Take a photo a day. 

2. Give a compliment a day.

3. Speak to someone new every day.

4. Keep a thought journal.

5. Write your dreams down every morning for 30 days.

6. Spend five minutes meditation every day.

7. Learn something new every day.

8. Talk to Parents every day.

9. Cook or bake something new each day.

11. Keep a laughter journal. Write down one thing a day that made you really laugh hard.

12. Go for a 15 minute run every day

13. Do 50 sit-ups a day.

14. Write down a positive thought a day

15. Before you go to sleep, think about the best thing that happened to you that day for five minutes.

16. What have you always wanted to do but never have? Spend 30 days writing down ideas for accomplishing your goal.

17. Give up bitching for a month or saying anything negative about people.

18. Write a book in a month with help from National Novel Writing Month

19. Wake up at 6am to meditate every morning

20. Face a new fear a day — talk to a stranger, push yourself put of your comfort zone

21. Learn to love yourself just a little bit more each day. You deserve it.

22. Watch a film a day

23. Take a photograph of your food every day — it might force you to prepare nicer looking meals.

24. Plant a flower a day — in your garden or just in random places.

47. Take up a new interesting hobby —photograph, piano

50. Text, write, message…people you care about and tell them why they’re important to you.

53. Learn a new instrument in a month — the ukulele, cello, flute — whatever takes your fancy.

57. Create a postcard sized piece of art each day and have a work of art to display at the end of the month.

60. Read about a different period of history every day.

62. Do one thing each day that makes you feel inspired.

64. Revamp your house in a month and learn one upcycling trick a day.

65. Learn a new word every day.

68. Do an hour of exercise a day.

72. Learn to lucid dream in 30 days

74. Spend 30 days being a vegetarian or vegan

81. Read a chapter of a book idea

86. Be positive for 30 days — even when things go wrong, look only for the postives.

87. Try out polyphasic sleep (sleeping multiple times within 24 hours).

90. Spend 30 days eating (healthy) raw food meals.

92. Feel beautiful in your own skin every day.

93. Create a bucket list of 30 items in 30 days.

94. Write down something you love about your partner／daughter every day and give them the list after your month is up.

95. Read a poem a day.

96. Write a poem a day.

97. Dance every day — whether you’re good at it or not.

99. Sell 30 things you don’t need, use or wear anymore and see how much money you make at the end of the month.

100. Spend each day being as ‘present’ as possible and making the most of simple acts and routine tasks. 

Disney Magic 4-night Bahamas cruise review and tips

Preparation:

Booked the trip 3 months in-advance. Avoid the spring break peak time.

We'll be driving 8 hours from Charlotte, NC to Titusville, FL. Make sure your vehicle is in good condition. DH changed two front tires and changed the oil of the car before the trip.

I made Beef-jerky for DH to eat in the car. He loves it and it's spicy to keep him awake while driving.

I downloaded 30 eposides of TV shows to the iPad for kids to watch in the car so they won't be too bored on the road.

I downloaded Disney Cruise Apps to the cell phone. It's very useful guide to use on the cruise.

DH booked the hotel a week ahead online. It's $156 a night at Marriott Hotel @ Titusville, FL. We might get a better price if we book earlier.

Inform school teachers about vacation and asked if they can give them the next week's homework earlier. The Chinese teacher did. AIG reading teacher gave Emma last reading assignment earlier because it's the end of grading period. Next time I could inform them 2 weeks earlier if it's close to the end of the grading period so teachers could give them the test earlier then they won't get an incomplete grade.

Review:

Food:  5-star

We ate our breakfast & Lunch mostly on Cabanna's buffet except the debarkation date you have to go to the assigned restaurant to eat breakfast. We love Cabana's buffet. Plenty of food choices. I would say it's even comparable to the food that served at our assigned restaurants.

Breakfast: oatmeal topping with lots of nuts, seeds and dried fruit is my favorite. Sometimes they even serve smoke salmon slices.

Lunch Buffet you can eat good amount of seafood choices: stone crab, snow crab, shrimp, cod, mahi mahi, salmon, snails etc. My favorite is the desert. Not too sweet, it's made in a bite size, top with fruits.

We ate one lunch at Castaway cay by the beach. They served  hot dogs, burgers, drinks. It can not compare with the food on the ship but still meet our expectation.

On Deck 9, there are several places serving the foods through out the day. You can get them whenever you feel hungry. Pinocchio's Pizza place serves thin crust pizzas. They are wonderful snacks, kids love them!

 Daisy’s De-Lite near the AquaLab family pool area serves breakfast, lunch, and early evening snacks. You can get fresh fruit, salads, sandwiches, wraps, cookies and Bagels from there.

You can get ice-cream, soda drinks, coffee, teas all for free. The smoothie($6) and the wines you have to pay for it. I can tell kids would rather eat at Deck 9 than those fancy restaurants. 

Tips: You can order whatever you want for the dinner. You can order two main courses if you like two of the menus. You can also order from adults' menu for your kids, doesn't have to go with children's menu. On first day's dinner, my in-law got seabass  on her menu and she said: I wish I could have this on my last day and the waitress brought her seabass on her last day's dinner even it's not on that day's menu.

 

Total cost: $3000

Cruise $2300, tips: $200, gas: $100, hotel: $200, miscelleous (souvinier): $100

Reading notes of "a girl's guide to manners"

Good sports:

Don't show off when they score.
Congratulate one another on their good play.

Doors:

Hold doors open for older people...
Saying "thanks" is a way to return the kindness when someone holds a door for you.

Good impressions

Stand tall

Hold your head up, pull your shoulders back. Talk in a strong voice. Walk like a girl who's ready to meet the world, and you'll begin to feel like one. You'll find that others will see you that way, too.

Make eye contact

Look people in the eye. It shows that you are friendly and honest. It also tells others that you are interested in them and in what they are saying.

Say hello


Use names
Greet people by name. It shows that you care who they are, which makes them feel good.

I had a bad Car accident and things I learned

On Friday afternoon around 4pm, I planned to take kids to Costco and on the way I'd drop by library to return/borrow books. When I was approaching the traffic light at Stonecrest, the light turned green and the car line were moving slowly but then stopped again due to the traffic jam so I hit the brake to slow down the car. All of sudden I felt the force from behind pushing my car into the car in the front and all I heard was two loud bang sound before I realized what happened. I got hit by the car behind me causing me hit the car in the front!

Lesson learned: Avoid the rush hour. Don't go out unless you have to. The more traffic, the more accidents. Don't ever take your eyes off the road, even just a split second.

I was in shock at that moment. The driver behind me got out of the car to talked to me and the driver in the front, he politely apologized. We all pulled over to the parking lot around the corner. The driver of the front car was a tall guy in his sixties. He had two dogs in the car too. Somehow he didn't think it's needed to call the police. I wasn't quite sure so I called my husband and he suggested me always call police to file the report. So the gentleman (the driver at fault) called police. (I learned here that if no injury occur and the accident happened in the rush hour, you might have to wait 2 hours to get the Police come). Fortunately, it only took about 20 mins for police to come. While waiting for the police to come, the driver at fault showed us his insurance card, so I took the picture with my iPhone. Later I learned I should gather their phone numbers too.

Police asked some information and handed each of us the accident report. The driver in front actually drove someone else's car. (Maybe that's why he didn't want to call police?)

The policeman noticed the fluid was leaking out from the front of my car and he told me I need a towing service. I didn't expect it was that bad that I couldn't drive my mini-van any more. I called my insurance company, they helped me locate the towing service near me. The driver at fault was a nice guy. He stayed there with me until my husband came. Turned out his car also needed to be towed. The old guy in the front car left, his car had the least damage so he still could drive his car.

After the mini-van was towed, we decided to get the rental car right away. We went to airport to rent a car from Hertz. Later on I learned if you call insurance company first, they will arrange the rental car for you and you don't need to pay it out of your pocket and reimburse later.

The mini-van was towed to Honda dealer, the 2nd day they called and asked if they can start the repair. My DH asked them to wait for the adjuster. The mini-van was 10 years old, so we didn't carry the collision liability. That means we have to deal with the other car's insurance company ourselves. It was a pain in the ass. It turned out our car was total so we have to negotiate how much the other car's insurance company will have to pay. The negotiation coming back and forth for several weeks. They tried to cheat us by pulling some invalid comparable cars data. My DH did a deliberate internet search for the car value himself.  We finally settled a price that we can accept, about $5700. A friend of my DH was a car dealer who buy and sell the cars from auction. He found a same year Honda Odyssey for us with some upgrade features: leather seats, DVD, GPS. (We barely used the last two features but leather seats are good)

When we got the replacement, we added the collision insurance to this car so we don't have to deal with the negotiation in the future.

30 days of meals

沙茶鸡翼，菠菜，酸辣汤，pecan pie

I messed up with the salt for pecan pie, it was 1/4 tsp, but I added 1tsp. It tastes a bit weird but still eatable.

红烧肉蛋，Broccoli

我不知道怎么才能把红烧肉颜色做得漂亮点，Brocolli炒得清脆点。

30 days of photos

Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center (iPhone Pano)

"Mommy, we are home..."

Dawn

Morning

Foggy

Rainy

出神

琅琊阁前几集点评

这个剧比其他国产剧好的地方是：剧情紧凑，摄像优美，配乐也好。
第一集

开头梅岭赤焰军战场，场面惨烈。林帅的大旗下，赤焰军死伤无数。人群出现了一张血肉模糊的脸（要看到后面才会知道这就是林殊）他被一个面目不清的将士砍中，林殊倒下前看着砍他的人脸上现出一副无法置信的表情（这集后面梅长苏住进宁国斧见到谢玉时，这个砍人的镜头重现，表明这个砍他的人就是谢玉）。然后是林殊的爸爸林shi在悬崖上抓着林殊的手，跟他说为了赤焰军要活下去，接着林殊呼喊着父亲掉下悬崖。。。镜头一转，梅长苏从噩梦中醒来（原来是一场梦）长发掩盖的脸露出一双布满血丝的眼睛，盯着远处的群山，手里下意识地摩挲着银色的赤焰军手环，可以看到上面一个“林”字。。。

这个开头很赞，只用画面来交待故事的起因前情，埋下各种伏线。

然后是仙境一样的景观，随着鸽子的眼睛，飞越群山，流水，瀑布，一片亭台楼阁出现在这个世外桃源，这就是赫赫有名的琅琊阁。据说这些美景不是实景拍摄，而是后期用特效加上去的。鸽子给琅琊阁少阁主蔺晨带来了北燕传来的消息：北燕六皇子当上了太子。少阁主的脸上露出了一丝不易察觉的微笑，喃喃道：他果然办到了。（这里的他，指的就是梅长苏，这也是要往后看才会知道的）。

接下来皇帝，越贵妃，皇后，太子萧景宣先后出现，简短的对话就点出了誉王和太子，越贵妃和皇后之间的矛盾。

北燕归来的使者告诉誉王萧景桓北燕六皇子是在得到琅琊阁的指点才当上太子的。接下去誉王遭到了太子派来的刺客袭击，更促使誉王迫不及待地去拜访琅琊阁，寻找能够辅佐他对付太子的高人“麒麟才子”。琅琊阁给先后来拜访的誉王和太子都提供了一份相同的答案：琅琊榜首，江左梅郎，麒麟之才，得之可得天下。（瞧这生意做的，两边坑钱呐）。镜头切换地出现了两派（太子和誉王）之间的谋士，誉王谋士秦般若，太子谋士谢玉。（奇怪如果请来梅长苏做谋士，这两个人岂不要失业了吗？）。而两个皇子的这些动静，老谋深算的皇帝是知道的。

然后是梅长苏（胡哥）玉树临风，一叶扁舟上吹着笛子在水汽弥漫的江中飘然而现。（？）不要太帅吧。

卓家父子暗中跟踪誉王队伍的对话也点名了他们跟誉王的对立关系。这集出场的还有言侯儿子言豫津和长公主之子萧景睿，这两个人是好哥们。这两个人不参加政治斗争，梅长苏选择跟他们一起进京。
这集还讲到皇帝派夏冬去调查庆国公一案和皇帝要给霓凰选婿。因为霓凰镇守云南，战功赫赫，让皇帝有点害怕，想把她嫁了以防她的势力持续增长。

第二集
不是很明白为什么梅长苏要偷偷进京。飞流和蒙自（大梁第一高手，琅琊榜上第二高手）过招，只是输他一点，为什么飞流没上琅琊高手榜呢？电视剧里对飞流的背景没有交代，小小年纪功夫就这么高，肯定是有特殊的背景的。飞流那么高的功夫，也引起了侯爷谢玉对梅长苏产生了一丝疑惑。梅长苏故意放风让太子和誉王两边都来了。高公公一开始就一直在帮靖王了，这个高公公真是厉害啊。侯爷就是个两面派，表面上保持中立，实际是太子的谋士，暗中又派儿子谢弼为誉王效力。这点被梅长苏马上就看出来了。（谢弼的扮相有点土，相比起其他公子，缺少点贵族气质。）太子也演得有点笨了些。

两个皇子竞先讨好梅长苏，很好笑。太皇太后一下子就认出了梅长苏就是林殊，可是大家都以为她是老糊涂了。霓凰心里却留了疑窦。

第三集
庭生（后面知道是祁王的遗腹子），这个演员选的也不好，没有灵气，祁王是何等人物，怎么儿子这么一般。这集不明白的地方是蒙挚这之前一直都有跟梅长苏联络。为什么梅长苏选择他，而不是霓凰？蒙挚毕竟只在赤焰军待了一年而已。霓凰对梅长苏感兴趣是因为几年前他帮她化解了南境危机。为什么豫津和景睿也参加了霓凰的选婿比试?
霓凰选婿比试上出现了一个百里奇，武功甚好，但是粗人一个。
小王爷对姐姐真好，弹幕里有人说这小王爷是现代人穿越过去的吗？真好笑
这集还提到了景睿的身世
卓班主排行第四
第四集
梅长苏利用百里奇救庭生
静妃偶然间听到有人要让郡主喝情丝绕的事情，想办法见到长公主求她传话给郡主。（因为长公主以前也被人下情丝绕). 长公主转而求救于梅长苏。

历年感恩节晚餐

2020 

This year Aunt joined our dinner, together with Brandon's gf Toma, we have 7 Adults and 2 kids.

Dennis found a smoke Turkey from Aldi, $2+/lb, and it's already cooked. Just need to heat up. It takes pretty good and big time saver.

Dennis made:

1. Turkey with stuffing.

2. Lobster small Hawaiian sandwich appetizer

3. Crab cakes

4. MacCheese

I made:

1. Enoki dish

2. Bachoy

3. Sweet potato casserole

4. Mash potato

Toma and Brandon brought:

1. Beet smoke salmon

2. Kimcheese type Carrots

3. Baked corn cobs

4. A piece of Coby beef

Emma made:

Pecan cheese pie (It's pretty good actually)

Dennis also bought Donuts for Aiden's birthday.

Dennis's mom brought:

Sweet rice you(2) fan(4)

It's pretty good dinner. Was going to do it on Friday but Brandon and Tomo were booked on Friday so we moved to Sat.  I dont work on Thursday and Friday so it gives us plenty of time to do some cleaning and prepare the dishes. So I dont feel very exhausted for preparing this time. 

This year is special and challenging with pandemics. Dennis' Dad got really sick and almost died, that's a challenges for Dennis' mom. My sprint MM project ended so I was out of job for a month before I got on the Sprint MIT team which is much harder job than I can imagine. So that's a challenge for me. Brandon got a job and his relationship still doing good, so it's a good year for him. Both kids got to the new school and do remote studying for most of time. It was challenging for them and me also.  

It's a election year, with pandemic still out of control, it's challenging for the country. 

2019 Hot pot thanksgiving.

2017

今年准备感恩节， 5 个大人，两个小孩。不错。

准备食物如下：

Appetizer:
做了这个，我们买了那种salty的rip whole wheat cracker, 我觉得有点太咸。因为smoke salmon 也是咸的。感觉一般。
https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/easy-springtime-ritz-cracker-canapes-recipe/

crab pie, 现在costco都不卖can crab meat了。买了两罐fresh crab meat, 今年crab meat 涨到$21一罐。明年一罐就好了。因为做了8个，还剩很多。因为是婆婆喜欢吃的，成了保留项目。

Main course:
1. Turkey: 感恩节前一周多在Aldi买的，$1.29/lb, 买了个12lb的。 到了周末就降至0.99/lb。烤起来很漂亮，但是还是有点干。本来不想买Turkey了，但是Emma要。这次Dennis烤得不错。
2. 炒Bachoy

3. 婆婆的油饭

4. Green bean cassrole: 这次用了另外的recipe, 加了French Onion在上面，但是我烤的时间有点太长了。上面的Fried onion 和cheese都有点硬了。下次不做这个了。
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/18379/best-green-bean-casserole/
5. Dennis买了条龙虾和一些king crab放小面包上当成小sandwich

5. 酸辣汤：不错，销了一大半。

Side dish:
Macaroni cheese: 孩子们最喜欢的。

Candied yam casserole : 还是一样好吃
http://www.kincommunity.com/episodes/candied-yam-casserole/

Dessert:
pumpkin pie：这次Emma坚持做，味道其实比costco的好，又不会太大。
我做了十个大的红薯sesame ball, 都给婆婆拿回去了，因为吃不下了。
还在costco买了盒mozi-icecream.

2016

今年准备感恩节， 5 个大人，两个小孩。感觉比去年好。

准备食物如下：

Appetizer:
crab pie, 现在costco都不卖can crab meat了。买了两罐fresh crab meat, 一罐$17.

Main course:
1. Turkey: 感恩节前一周在costco买的，小的都被买走了，只剩下大的，最小的都有17，8磅。但是太早买冰箱又没地方放。烤起来很漂亮，但是还是有点干。
2. Garlic sauce egg plant：还不错。没吃光但是基本上消灭。用了四个茄子。

3. 婆婆的油饭

4. Green bean cassrole: 我觉得味道不错。不过只消耗了1／3. 觉得要用新鲜的green bean做也许比较好。 
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/13717/grandmas-green-bean-casserole/

5. 排骨汤：只有我和Aiden喝。菜太多了。

Side dish:
Stuffing: 剩一大堆。只有Dennis喜欢。
Mashed potato: Aiden, Brando, I like it. Emma doesn't like it.
Macaroni cheese: Emma & Aiden like it.

Candy yam: Dennis's Dad, Brando, Emma like it.

pumpkin cheese cake：Not bad.
http://bbs.wenxuecity.com/food-thanksgiving/1491686.html

A busy day

今天两个小孩的计划表有点忙。
3:50 到4:30 Aiden 在MSA游。
送他到小区游泳池游，从4:45 到5:30。
5:00回家接Emma到MSA游，5:20-6:20
5:30接Aiden, 他说肚子饿，所以跑回家给他弄了一包爆米花和一瓶gatarade, 送他去球队，结果找不到人，等了10钟，没法再等了，只能回去接Emma回家。

回家一查，原来训练场地改了。这前一天计划得好好的，就差这一点没看清，就破坏了一场球赛的训练。

很多事情可以凑在一起：
1. 刚好我跟Dennis两个人都没注意到邮件里注明的场地信息。
2. Dennis的手机里没存教练的电话。后来在信箱里翻到了，打了没打通。（估计那时教练已经开始训练了，不可能接电话。）
3. Dennis 的手机里没有另一个教练的电话。
4. 新的训练场地离原场地很远，（我让Aiden在周围看了一下，没看到教练）。
5. 我那时情急之下，没想到去找邮件出来确认一下场地。主要是心理上还依赖Dennis, 他都没怀疑场地有改。
6. 教练转发训练信息时没有强调场地改了。

这些因素加起来就导致我们无谓地浪费了一场训练。
所以一步都不能忽略。

Reading note of "Amazing tips to make you smarter"

• Use dryer fabric sheets as dust rags. They pick up dust much better than cloth does.

• If your little Picasso has used the wall for his crayon artwork, just dip a damp rag in baking soda to clean it off. You’ll have to work at it, but it works.

• Use dryer fabric sheets as dust rags. They pick up dust much better than cloth does.

• Next time you get a splinter, place Scotch tape over it and gently pull. The adhesive should take the splinter right out.

• To make your carpets smell fresh, sprinkle some baking soda over them, let it sit for about an hour, and then vacuum.

• Before you clean your toilet, pour a can of Coke into it and let it sit for a couple of hours. The acid in the Coke will get rid of most of the stains!

• When you need to fill some nail holes in your wall, gently rub a bar of white soap against the hole until it’s filled in. The soap works as a quick Spackle.

• Stick cupcake papers in your car’s cup holders to keep them clean.

• Clean your blender by filling it about halfway with warm water. Add a drop of dish soap and then run it. Rinse and dry—all clean!

• Put an open box of baking soda in your refrigerator to absorb unwanted odors. Change it out every three months.

• To keep your drains clog-free, squirt some liquid dish detergent down your drain, let it sit for 30 minutes, and then run hot water for several seconds. Do this once a week.

• Try a mixture of Mountain Dew and water in a vase to keep roses fresh.

• After painting a room, place a couple of bowls of vinegar in the room to help absorb the smell.

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• When you boil corn on the cob, add just a pinch of sugar to the water. This will help bring out the corn’s natural sweetness.

• Place an apple in a bag of potatoes to keep them from sprouting buds.

• Use a clean ketchup or mustard squeeze bottle for your pancake batter. After a little practice you’ll have perfect pancakes every time!

• For fun fried eggs, crack the eggs into a cookie cutter.

• To keep brown sugar from clumping, toss in some marshmallows.

• To keep cake from sticking to your knife, place the knife under warm water before you slice.

• If you need just a small amount of lemon juice for a recipe, don’t cut the lemon in half—it’ll dry out too soon. Instead, poke a small hole in the lemon and squeeze out just what you need.

• To keep radishes, carrots, and celery crisp, place them in a bowl of ice water 

• Store cottage cheese or sour cream upside down in the refrigerator. (Make sure the lid is on tight!) This forms a vacuum that inhibits bacteria growth.

• To rid your soup of excess fat, toss some ice cubes into the pot as it cooks. The grease will cling to the ice cubes. Retrieve the cubes and throw them out before you serve the soup.

• To ripen your fruit faster, place it in a paper bag with an apple.

• Freeze extra pancakes or waffles in a plastic bag. When you want to serve them again, just pop them in the toaster.

• Book your flight at least a month out. Insiders say that you’ll find the best fares 45 days before your departure. That can save you serious money.

2 Check out every online discounter you can find. Everybody knows about Priceline and Expedia, but have you looked on Orbitz, HotWire, or CheapOair?

3 While you’re at it, check out your airline’s website. Sometimes they’ll surprise you by giving discounts if you deal directly with them.

4 Sign up for travel alerts. When a fare goes up or down, you’ll get a text alert. Check out BestFares.com, FareCompare.com, or Airfarewatchdog.com for details.

Repairing our Jenn-Air oven - Hood fan broke

Our Jenn-air hood fan has 5 speed control, recently the first 4 speed controls were not working, it would turn on for a split second then cut off. The maximum speed fan control is the only one that is working. It rules out the motor problem though. Also the two brightness setting on the oven light was not working either, the brightness can only be set to bright, not dim.

After searched from internet, I found this service manual (it didn't come with the manual when we purchased this oven 8 years ago.)

http://applianceassistant.com/ServiceManuals/16023510_maytag_jenn-air_jxt_vent_hoods.pdf

My hood model is JXT9048CDP. After read through the service manual, I knew the problem was either touch pad or control board. I disassembled the hood to expose the wiring.

I removed the touch pad, use multi-meter to test the continuity. The switches on touch pad are special kind, they need to be pressed down and hold when performing the test. It took me a while to figure it out. At first, I thought it was just on/off switch, so I press it once, test it, it was open state, then I pressed it again, it was still open. The correct way to test them is to press the switch and hold it down until the reading is shown. The touch pad turned out to be fine. After all, they are just some simple switches.

There was no much you can do to test the control board. The service manual only tells you to test if you can get the 120V of input voltage to control board which I did. So input voltage is right, the control board must be defected. There is no model # printed on the board, so it took me a while to find out it's part no. from internet, which is #49001238. On some big company's website, it is sold for $228. I ordered it from the site below for $148. Not the cheapest one from internet but it's more reliable seller from the review.

http://www.centralapplianceparts.com/Whirlpool-Corp-Electronic-Control-49001238-p/49001238.htm?gclid=Cj0KEQjw5ti3BRD89aDFnb3SxPcBEiQAssnp0qSNURkaR-N-MYg784ZWSEDKd4O7fB2TILmm-9CixIoaAsfi8P8HAQ&Click=37826

After replaced the control board, the problem solved!

P.S. After a month, the control board stop working. Called the company, they agreed to send another part. Got the part in a week, installed, nothing works, there was a crack on the PCB board, same cracks was also found on the first shipped one which I didn't notice before. Called them again, they sent another one, this time the part looks much newer and no cracks. It worked but I hope this one will last longer time.

生病的一周

星期二DH从牙医那里回来，就说很不舒服。一量体温，发烧，没法上班，只好躺下休息。这中间各种难受，肌肉痛，头痛，各种症状像flu。到星期四，烧下降到98，99度之间，他跑去上班。他们公司的护士给他检查，说不是flu. 但他还有点发烧，还是具有传染性，就把他送回家了。这一天早上，我也觉得喉咙有点异样，一測，我也开始发烧了。Emma 回家，说不舒服，測她，她也发烧了。从星期四到星期六，Emma就缺了三次游泳训练和一天的课（星期五没去上课）。我和Emma一直到星期一早上, 烧才退了。

虽然不是大病，但生病起来真的是很不舒服啊，也很耽误事。退烧之后还咳嗽了一个星期左右才算全愈。Emma则错过了5次的游泳训练。这次的教训是我觉得以后像这样一人得病，要想办法杜绝传染到全家。生病的人头两天是最具有传染性的，这时跟病人接触最好要戴口罩，防止他咳嗽，打喷嚏溅到你（这是流感之类传播的主要途径）。嗯，就像护士那样戴个口罩。

Aiden是这场病灾中唯一躲过的一个。

Repairing our Jenn-Air Oven - Oven no heat

A couple of days before thanksgiving, the small oven of our Jenn-air oven/range broke. When the oven was turned on,  the oven light was lit but no any heat or noise came out from inside the oven. Imagine I need it to host the thanksgiving dinner for the family in next few days!

I open the small oven, removed all the shelves and the bottom cover to expose the inside, I saw the igniter lying on a metal rod. When I turn on the oven, the igniter does not lit up at all.

I flipped the breaker circuit of the kitchen area (it's hard to reach the power outlet of the oven which is located behind the oven, so we have to power down the whole thing).

Then I tried to unplug the igniter to test the continuity but it's really hard to reach the socket. After struggled quite a while, I managed to remove the black wire on the upper part of the socket but just couldn't get another one out. I even broke the plastic cover of the wire by pulling and squeezing too hard.

Igniter in the oven

That's when my husband stepped in and pointed out that I might try open the front bottom cover and gain access from there, which I did.  Thanks god, it's much easier to do from there, I unplugged the igniter, get it out, ask my husband to test the continuity with multi-meter. He told me no continuity. I feel lucky that we knew the igniter was the cause. (I learned that most of the gas oven problem are due to the defect of the igniter from internet.)

Remove the front bottom cover to access the wiring of igniter

Next, we will need to search the part online. There was no part no. printed on the igniter. I found the model no. of my oven from the sales contract which is Jenn-air PRG4810NP. After some search, we found the part we need from amazon for $22 (that's universal one, the authentical one cost over $200)

The broken igniter

The new igniter arrived after 3 days. My husband test the new part, the continuity reading is 0 Ω,(According to the youtube video, the range of working igniter resistance reading is 0~1300 Ω). We replaced the igniter and it worked! Horray!





I learned how to test the igniter from this video:

and how to test safety valve from this video

6/20/2020
一个月前小的oven又开始不正常了。预热很慢， 并一直达不到预热温度，并且也没有开oven 后“轰”地一声响。ignitor 有变红，温度最终也能挺热（二十分钟以上）。查了一下网上，应该还是igniter 又不好了。正常情况下应该加热六七分钟就能达到预热温度了。又在Amazon上订了一个igniter, $25 before tax. 这次修理不到一个小时。补充一下细节。

只需要拿掉两铁架下边靠门口的螺丝就可以了，不需要移除上边和里边的螺丝，就可以把下面的tray取出，看到igniter.

买来的部件没有配夹线插头，需要自己有。

才知道这是第三次换ignitor 了，大概每五年换一次。

读 “The life-changing magic of tidying up"

我是一边读这本书，一边马上动起手来清理房间.

首先清理的是衣服。我是不常买衣服的人。家里很多不穿的衣服都是Dennis的舅妈给的Ashley的衣服，还有婆婆给我的她以前买了不怎么穿的衣服，号码都不对（我穿size 4, 给的是size 10)。Ashley的衣服适合的不多，常常是一大纸箱里只能挑出两三件适合安玫穿的。以前还想留着以后也许还能再挑出些穿，现在想想安玫根本不会去穿那些厚厚的牛仔裤和花花的衬衫。

干了一天清理出来的不要的衣服，全捐到Good will了。

Books, magazine, papers

Get rid of all magazines, tear the pages I like and discard the rest.
Donate Dennis' outdated computer books.
Donate some baby books, children's books.
Get rid of a lot of papers, notepapers, statements.
Get rid of boxes.
Get rid of CDs.

Toys

Donate or pass along some stuff animals

Clean, High Protein Meals recipes

From 10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse by JJ Smith

Baked Salmon in Spicy Lime-Cilantro Dressing

1 pound salmon fillet, skinned

1 chili pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

2 green onions, sliced

1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1 tsp canola oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Combine chili pepper, limejuice, onions, cilantro, oil, and salt in a food processor and puree

3. Place salmon in a baking dish just large enough to fit fillet. Pour sauce from blender over salmon, turning fish to coat on both sides.

4. Bake, uncovered, until fish is cooked to your liking in center, 20-25mins depending on thickness of the fish.

5. To serve, slice fillet into pieces and spoon sauce over each portion.

Almond-Crusted Baked Chicken

3 medium chicken breasts

2 egg whites

1 cup almonds

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp thyme

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Place almonds, oregano, parmesan cheese, sea salt, and thyme into a food processor and process until well blended.

3. Place chicken on one plate, egg whites in a shallow bowl, and almond mixture on a second plate.

4. Gently roll each piece of chicken in egg whites, then in the almond mixture, and place on parchment-lined baking sheet.

5. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Baked Lemon Chicken

3 pounds chicken breast

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1. combine chicken, basil, lemon juice and olive oil in a large bowl and toss together

2. refrigerate and let marinate for 2 hours

3. Bake at 425F for 50-60mins.

Mushroom Steak

4 5oz top loin steaks, all visible fat trimmed

1 pound of mushrooms cleaned, trimmed, and cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth

1 tsp low sodium soy sauce

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

4 cloves garlic

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium-high

2. Season both sides of steaks with sea salt and pepper

3. Add steaks to skillet and cook until done to taste (3-5 minutes per side). Let sit for 5 mins.

4. Meanwhile, place same skillet on medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.

5. Add mushrooms and thyme; cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender, about 3-5 mins.

6. Add broth and soy sauce, deglazing pan by scraping browned bits from bottom of skillet with a spoon or spatula.

7. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced to a thin layer, 1-2 mins.

8. Serve steaks with mushroom mixture over top, dividing evenly.

9. Garnish with additional thyme sprigs.

Glazed Salmon

4 salmon fillets

1/4 cup tamarin soy sauce

2 tbsp raw honey

1 tbsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp ground pepper

1. In a large bowl, combine the soy source, honey, vinegar, ginger, cayenne, and black pepper.

2. Add the salmon and marinate in a food storage bag for 2 hours.

3. Preheat the broiler and place salmon on a broiler rack for 8 to 10 mins, until flaky with a fork. Serve.

Tuna Salad

3 cans water-packed tuna

1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

2 tsp lemon juice

1 carrot, grated

1 hard-boiled egg

1 small tomato

1/2 small white onion, minced

1/2 tsp dried dill

1 tsp dried parsley

1/4 tsp Dijion mustard

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1tsp agave

Dash of sea salt

Black pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients in one large bowl and serve.

Green Smoothie Recipes

From 10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse by JJ Smith

Anti-Aging

Peach Banana Greens

2 handfuls greens

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups frozen peaches

1 banana, peeled

2tbsp sunflower oil

2tsp spirulina

Berry Coconut

2 handfuls greens

1 1/2 cups coconut water

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup frozen rasberries

Watermelon Ginger Greens

2 handfuls greens

1/2 cup ice

4 cups watermelon chunks

2 tbsp chia seeds

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled

Banana Nut Greens

2 handfuls greens

1 1/2 cups almond milk

3 bananas, peeled

2 tbsp chia seeds

Athletic Performance

Berry Protein Greens

2 handfuls greens

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries

1/4 cup frozen blueberries

1/4 cup almond butter

1/4 cup cacao powder

1/2 cup plant-based protein powder

Banana Rice Protein

2 cups chopped celery

2 cups ice

1/3 cup cashews

3 bananas, peeled

1/2 cup plant-based protein powder

1tbsp spirulina

Berry Seeds

2 handfuls greens

2 cups water

1 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup chia seeds

6 dried figs

2 pitted dates

1 cup cacao powder

Berry Pumpkin Protein

2 handfuls greens

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 cups water

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup goji berries

4 pitted dates

1/2 cup plant-based protein powder

2 tbs maca powder

Beauty (Healthy Hair, Skin, and Nails)

Mango Banana

2 handfuls greens

1 cup coconut water

1 banana, peeled

1 1/2 cups frozen mango chunks

Papaya Lemon

1 handful parsley

2 cups water

1 banana, peeled and frozen

1 cup papaya chunks

1 lemon

Orange Spinach

2 cups baby spinach

1 orange, peeled and seeded

1 kiwi, peeled

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 packet stevia

Banana Pear

2 handfuls greens

1 1/2 cups water

1 banana, peeled and frozen

2 pears

1/3 cup almond butter

Apple Pear

2 handfuls greens

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 cup water

1 pear, seeded

1 large apple

1 banana, peeled and frozen

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Green Berry

2 handfuls greens

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup green tea

2 cups mixed berries

1 banana, peeled and frozen

Carrot Apple

2 handfuls greens

3 stalks celery

1 cup water

1 small beet, peeled and diced

1 cup ice

2 carrots

1 apple

1/2 lemon seeded, peeled and sectioned

Cranberry Berry

2 handfuls greens

1/2 cup ice

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup blackberries

1/2 cup cranberries

1 tbsp ground chia seeds

Cucumber Strawberry

2 handfuls greens

1 cup water

1 cucumber

1 cup frozen strawberries

4 dried figs

2 tbs ground flaxseeds

Diabetes/Blood Sugar Control

Orange plum

2 handfuls greens

1/2 cup ice

2 oranges, peeled

1/2 cup plums

1tsp cinnamon

2tbsp ground flaxseeds

Pear Banana

2 handfuls greens

1 cup almond milk

1 banana, peeled and frozen

1 pear

1 apple, cored and seeded

1tsp cinnamon

Kiwi Almond

2 handfuls greens

1 1/2 cups almond milk

1 banana, peeled and frozen

2 kiwis

1 cup frozen strawberries

2 tbsp ground flaxseeds

Berry Banana

2 handfuls greens

1 cup water

1 banana, peeled and frozen

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

2 tbsp ground flaxseeds

Mango Almond

2 handfuls greens

11/2 cups almond milk

1/2 cup frozen mango chunks

1 cup frozen strawberries

Mango Orange

2 handfuls greens

1 cup water

1/2 cup frozen mango chunks

1/2 lemon, peeled and seeded

1 orange, peeled and seeded

2 tbsp sunflower seeds

Avocado Greens

2 handfuls greens

1 cup ice

1 medium banana, peeled

2 cups frozen strawberries

1/4 avocado, peeled

Orange Berry Seeds

2 handfuls greens

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 small orange, peeled

1/2 cup frozen mixed berries

1tsp goji berries, soaked for 10min

1tbsp ground flaxseeds

1 scoop of plant-based protein powder

Energy

Strawberry Grape

2 handfuls greens

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup red grapes

2 bananas, peeled and frozen

11/2 cups frozen strawberries

Minty Pears

2 handfuls greens

1/2 cup water

2 pears

1/4 inch section of fresh ginger, grated

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

Pear Orange 

2 handfuls greens

1/2 cup ice

1 pear, cored and seeded

2 oranges, peeled and seeded

1 tbsp of ground flaxseeds

Peachy Mango

2 handfuls greens

2 cup water

1 1/2 cups frozen peaches

2 nectarines, peeled, cored and seeded

1 cup frozen mango chunks

2 plums, cored and seeded

Coconut Berries

2 handfuls greens

1 cup water

2 nectarines, peeled, cored and seeded

1 banana, peeled and frozen

1/2 cup goji berries

1/2 cup shredded coconut

Kid-Friendly

Orange Apricot

2 handfuls greens

1 cup water

2 oranges, peeled and seeded

6 dried apricots, pitted

1 banana, peeled and frozen

1/2 cup almonds

1/4 cup almond butter

Berry Banana

2 handfuls greens

1 cup water

1 large banana, peeled and frozen

1 1/4 cups frozen blueberries

1/4 cup ground flaxseeds

1packet stevia

Chocolate Nut

2 handfuls greens

2 cup water

1/2 cup cashew nuts

1/2 cup raw cacao powder

6 large pitted dates

1 packet stevia

Chocolate Banana

2 handfuls greens

1 1/2 cups water

2 bananas, peeled and frozen

1 cup hazelnut butter

4 large pitted dates

1/4 cup raw cacao powder

Blackberry Almond

1 handful greens

2 cups almond milk

1 banana, peeled and frozen

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup frozen blackberries

2 pitted dates

Berry Almond

1 handful greens

1 1/2 cups almond milk

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 cups frozen mixed berries

1/4 cup goji berries

6 large pitted dates

1 packet stevia

Berry Medley

1 handful greens

1 1/2 cups cashew milk

2 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries

4 large pitted dates

2 tsp vanilla extract

Weight Loss and Fat Burning

Fat-Burner Smoothie

2 handfuls greens

2 cups cooled green tea

1/2 can coconut milk

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup pitted dates

1/2 avocado, peeled and pitted

1/2 pink grapefruit, peeled and seeded

Orange Banana Greens

2 handfuls greens

1/2 cup water

2 oranges, peeled and seeded

2 bananas, peeled and frozen

Berry Pears

2 handfuls greens

1 1/2 cups almond milk

2 cups frozen mixed berries

2 pears, seeded

Banana Berry Almond

2 handfuls greens

1 1/2 cups almond milk

1 banana, peeled and frozen

1 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

Berry Cantaloupe

2 handfuls greens

1 cup water

1/2 cantaloupe, peeled and seeded

1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries

Cherry Orange

2 handfuls greens

1 1/2 cups almond milk

1 cup cherries, pitted

2 oranges, peeled and seeded

1 tbsp ground chia seeds

Raspberry Orange

2 handfuls greens

1/2 cup water

2 oranges, peeled and seeded

2 cups frozen raspberries

Peachy Vanilla

2 handfuls greens

1 cup water

1 1/2 cups frozen peaches

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mango Lime

2 handfuls greens

1 1/2 cups water

1 orange, peeled and seeded

1/2 cup frozen mango chunks

1 lime, peeled and seeded

1 packet stevia

Green Rasberry

2 handfuls greens

1 cup water

1 banana, peeled and frozen

1 cup frozen raspberries

2 tbsp ground flaxseeds

Chia Pear

2 handfuls greens

1 1/2 cups water

1 banana, peeled and frozen

2 pears

2 tbsp ground chia seeds

Pineapple Orange Greens

2 handfuls greens

1 cup ice

1 cup pineapple chunks

2 oranges peeled and seeded

Watermelon Greens

2 handfuls greens

1 cup ice

2 cups watermelon

1 tsp ground flaxseeds

Grapefruit Pineapple

2 handfuls greens

1/2 cup coconut water

1/2 cup ice

1 cup pineapple chunks

1 pink grapefruit