daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
Today I treated myself to a trip to a neighborhood café for a fancy coffee drink and a little journaling and blogging time. It felt nice to step out of the house and switch up the scenery while I worked. After about an hour, though, I was more than ready to head back home, coffee buzz and all. Sometimes a short outing is the perfect reset.
Tonight I went big and made an extra-large batch of Spam Fried Rice. Since we don’t own a giant wok (which would have been ideal), I had to split it up and cook with two pans. The rice ended up a little crispy in spots from overcooking, but the kids still gave it two thumbs up and said it was delicious!
We rounded out the meal with gyoza and broccoli. Gyoza and fried rice are a classic combo, and then the broccoli added the greens.
FYI, we used the Japanese Fried Rice (Yakimeshi) recipe from Just One Cookbook. It’s so easy to substitute a protein, in this case, almost a full container of Spam (cubed).
Today we got to watch the Dodgers lock down first place in the NL West! Now it’s on to the playoffs!
Tonight’s dinner was a big pot of spaghetti and meatballs, and my plan is to make it last for a few meals. We’ll see how that goes! I’m still deciding what to cook for the kids next, but I’ve got a few ideas swirling around. There’s also been a request for shrimp tacos, so those might be making an appearance soon. Hopefully I can recruit some help with the shrimp when the time comes!
I just finished watching The Story of Pearl Girl, a 2024 Chinese drama, and wanted to share a few thoughts.
The first thing that stood out to me was the costumes and jewelry. They were stunning and added so much beauty to the show. The story itself was only okay, but I really enjoyed the characters. Zhao Lu Si, who played the title role, completely won me over, and I’ll definitely be looking out for more of her work.
The ending, however, left me a little unsatisfied. The final episode felt awkward and a bit rushed, which was disappointing after investing so much time into the series. Still, it wasn’t terrible. I’d give the drama a 7 out of 10 overall. One highlight I can’t forget is the title and ending sequences. They were stylish, full of energy, and paired with fantastic music.
Even with its flaws, I’m glad I watched it, and now I’m excited to dive into my next C-Drama adventure!
