Doan Chung-Hernandez

What can I say, I like to get my way.

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Got this book at the airport coming home from California after Christmas so I would have so reading material for the flight. After the holidays I needed a little extra encouragement to start eating better.

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Good morning Christmas. I don’t know if it’s because we’re in California or because it’s Jesus’s birthday but it is a gorgeous morning. I woke up early and finished my book. I’ve been obsessed with reading lately.

We started our Christmas morning off with a family hike.

How pretty is it here!

It was a perfect 3 mile hike around the lake.

My dad was explaining to me that he loves mountains and lakes.

And then my mom chimes in and says she loves cars and money. She’s such a comedian.

We had to stop at least once for a group photo.

And of course I had to get one with my baby.

After our hike we were all so ready for some dim sum.

And tea.

After dim sum we made our way to Ranch 99. Oh how I wish Austin had a Ranch 99.

And then back home we go. I love this photo of my dad that I took.

I also love this photo of my mom checking out my dad be a photo-whore.

Selena and my dad goofing off after dinner.

Lana and Kevin are such a cute couple and this photo describes their relationship perfectly.

So the next morning Ray and I felt guilty for not working out the whole time while we’ve been here so we went out for a morning ride. It was ca-ca-ca-cold.

And when we got back we all went to Star Bucks.

I love my dad.

Afterwords we went out in search of some Uggs for my mom because tonight we are throwing my mom a surprise birthday party. Her American birthday is December 29 and since they are driving back tomorrow we decided to celebrate it tonight. We also got her a couple of Star Bucks gift cards and made the boys make a secret stop by The Cheesecake Factory to get her a cake.

All that shopping built us up an appetite. Pizza is the next stop and Lana knows the perfect place.

Hi dad.

So since we are celebrating my mom’s birthday tonight we decided to do up a special dinner for her, hot pot style. I miss hot pot meals. We use to do them all the time but I don’t ever remember having this grill in the middle of the hot pot. How cool is this.

A total Asian meal. I love love love it.

A special dinner for my beautiful mother.

Ray is tweeting about his first hot pot experience.

Hot pot dinners are fun, interactive, and healthy.

My favorite part of this photo is Kevin’s chopsticks skills in the background.

After dinner we sang happy birthday to my mom.

I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time.

Make a wish.

Look at that, she got Star Bucks gift cards.

And Uggs. Even though she knew we got her Uggs I still wrapped them up because there’s just something magical about unwrapping a gift.

Her hard working hands are filled with blood, sweat and too many tears. I wish I could give my mom more happy days like today.

My mom and dad are leaving today. Boo.

I’m not going to lie, I got my photo-whore gene from my dad.

One more meal before they leave.

My dad stuffed a bunch of quail eggs in his mouth and got scolded my Lana. She’s like, “dad, you better not put those back in the bowl. Now you have to eat them all.”

After lunch my parents and Selena packed up the car and headed south back home and since it was our last night we headed for the city. Ray was determined to get a burger from In and Out but never got a chance since we were so busy all week. Lana heard he wanted a burger so she drove us to Mels Diner for a “real” burger. Ray being too nice didn’t want to say anything and I just thought it was funny.

After Mels we got some drinks.

And after drinks we got some donuts.

And the next day Ray and I packed our bags and headed to the airport. Wow, what a fun and busy week. I miss my family already.

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Reading has always been one of my favorite pass-time activities. I don’t really have any favorites but the books that I usually gravitate towards are financial books. This is the book I am currently reading. The title basically explains it all, a book about a 20 year study about the typical millionaire. A lot of people you know could very well be a millionaire, just a modest one that lives below his means and most people that you think would easily be a millionaire aren’t. They’re what the book calls “big hat not cattle.” (I love that expression by the way). They’re pretentious people living in extravagant homes, driving flashy leased out cars and wearing fancy suits but when it comes down to it the bank owns them and they ain’t got shit. This book hasn’t really taught me jack. Growing up with a frugal ass mom has taught me a lot about the secret lives of millionaires and how they really operate. Just take a look at any Chinese person living in a high populated Chinese community, the more impecunious they seem the richer they are, I promise you. The only people I’ve ever known to pay for cars right off the lot in cash is Chinese. This was the way that I thought cars were suppose to be bought when I was a kid. You buy it when you have enough dough to claim it. Make sense right? Every single Chinese person I know that owns a car has bought it with cash, in two to three separate payments so they don’t get audited and it’s the only reason they make house payments but I don’t know a single Chinese that kept making a payment on a home longer than 5 to 10 years, 10 years is pushing it. If you do know a Chinese and none of this applies to them then I promise you they are Americanized. Am I right? It’s the American way to pay for things on credit. We’re trained to be “big hat no cattle.” Take a look at me. The longer I live in American the more Americanize I’ve become, especially living in communities where I am the minority. I’ve own 4 cars in my life. The first two was paid for the “Chinese way,” 3rd car had a large down payment and basically was the beginning of me letting the “American way” put her leash on me. The down payment on my fourth car, the one I currently drive, but share ownership with the bank with, was so shamefully Americanize that I dare not ever tell my mother the real figures. It’s been 3 years I’ve been making payments on this car and my mother still can’t believe that her daughter chooses to “throw money out of her pockets,” and she never fails to remind me every time we meet. The thing is the older I get and the more credit card debt I try to dig myself out of and the more payments I have on material items I share with the banks the more I come to realize that mom’s really are almost always right. So the moral of my long rant is, take a look at your neighbor, are they Chinese because if they are they just might be a millionaire and you should make proper arrangements to befriend them.

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The book I’m reading right now.

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