Gasparilla Party in Tampa

Gasparilla Mardi Gras Party!

Pirate ships and Mardi Gras beads!

Restaurants in Washington D.C. area

Top 10 Chinese Restaurants from WTOP news:

1. A&J Restaurant -- 1319 Rockville Pike, Rockville.
2. Foong Lin -- 7710 Norfolk Avenue, Bethesda.
3. Grace's Fortune -- 15500 Annapolis Rd., Bowie.
4. House of Dynasty 7550 Telegraph Rd., Alexandria.
5. Hunan Delight -- 18220 Village Center Drive, Olney.
6. Jasmine's Chinese Restaurant -- 110 South St. Market Station, Leesburg.
7. Mark's Duck House -- 6184 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church.
8. Meiwah -- 1200 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.
9. Peking Gourmet Inn -- 6029 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church. (Among the favorites is Peking Gourmet Inn on Leesburg Pike in Falls Church, a restaurant known to be frequented by former President George H.W. Bush and his son, former President George W. Bush. The "Bush menu" often included the restaurant's signature Peking Duck. )
10. P.F. Chang's -- multiple locations
    
    

Our favorite Thai restaurants are:

- Sawatdee 2250 Clarendon Boulevard, at Courthouse Road, Courthouse Plaza (703)243-8181 Court House Metro.Open 11.30am-10pm Mon-Thur; 11.30am-10.45pm Fri; noon-10.45pm Sat;4.30-10pm Sun.

- Thai Pilin 8385 Leesburg Pike (pass Tysons Corner Mall)Vienna, VA(703) 556-9191 lunch price is a better deal. Close Sunday.

- Thai Square Restaurant (703) 685-7040 3217 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA

Chinese:

Chopstix at Rockville - Taiwanese breakfast starts at 11 AM on the weekend. 4 N Washington St. Rockville, MD 20850 (301) 762-8810

Chopstix at Gaithersburg - family style meals. Also breakfast on the weekend. 820 Muddy Branch RdGaithersburg, MD 20878(301) 330-8886

Peking Village - good authentic food
2962 Gallows Rd. Falls Church, VA 22042 (703)698-9220

Good Fortune Restaurant
2646 University Blvd W. Wheaton, MD 20902 (301)929-8818 M-Th 11:30a-1a Fri 11:30a-2a Sat 11-2a Sun 11-1a

Weekend Dim Sum at Oriental East Restaurant, 1290 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 301-608-0030

Yuan Fu Vegetarian (301) 762-5938 798 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD Sun-Thu 11-10p, Fri-Sat 11-10:30p

Sunflower Restaurant 2531 chain bridge road, vienna VA 22181 (703) 319-3888 11:30a-10p Sun 12a-10p Micro Center Computer Store is down the street.

A&J Restaurant 1319-C Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 301-251-7878, or 4316-B Markham St. Annandale, VA 703-813-8181

Eden Center (a little run down, but authentic Vietnamese food)
- Huong Viet Restaurant, 6785 Wilson Blvd, Falls Church,VA 22044, (703) 538-7110, bubble tea is good here too. Fri-Sat 10-11p, Sun-Thur 10-10p
- Bubble tea at Kim Phung Bakery (703) 534-4525
- Thanh Son Tofu - fresh dou-hua, tofu, and soy bean drink, made daily. 6793 Wilson Blvd, Falls Church, VA 22044 (703) 534-1202

CAKE - Stella Bakery 11510 D Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD (301) 231-9026 Tu-Fri 8-7, Sat 9-6, Sun 9-5, close Mon. Call ahead during summer, they usually take the whole Aug. off! Grand Marnier, chocolate mousse cake are the best in the U.S.!

Buffet
Todai - Sushi, Japanese noodle, salad, hot food, barbeque, fruits, cake. about $16/lunch

Grocery stores:
- Maxim 460 Hungerford Dr. Rockville, MD (301) 279-0110
- Kam Sam Supermarket, 300 N. Washington St., Rockville, MD 301.315.9558
- H Mart - Grand Mart Grocery, 5900 Centreville Crest Ln., Centreville, VA 703.266.2220

Other recommendations

Reviews

Guidance in Life

In times of difficulties and discord, I turn to Joel Osteen. I grow up as Buddhist and raised to be a good person and productive member of our society. Then one day, I saw Joel Osteen on TV. I was just listening to his advice, motivation and guidance in life, and it really helped me through difficult things. I try to be more patient, understanding, compassionate, and look at the big picture and relationships in life. This doesn’t mean that I’m a perfect human being, but I’m working hard toward it. I believed in spiritual guidance that good gods want to help you live a happier life, regardless of which god, so God and Buddha can substitute for each other. I guess now I’m a Christian Buddhist J If you’re interested, check out his free broadcast on-line or TV. Thought I share this with you in case you’re looking for more ways to live happier! Have a happy life together!

U.S. Policy on Asia

My new found respect for Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC), and Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI).

Here's a little history about the political unstability in Asia that can influence global economy...

Other Famous American from Taiwan

New York Yankees baseball team's starting pitcher, Chien-Ming Wang

Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo!

Other businesses run or co-founded by Taiwanese Americans include Yahoo!, Viewsonic, Nautica, Nvidia, Garmin, Newegg.com, and YouTube.

Elaine Chao, U.S. Secretary of Labor

Founder of Garmin is from Taiwan

One of the most popular technology gifts this year is Garmin GPS. After looking at the company, the co-founder, Dr. Min Kao, is from Taiwan! Here's an interesting story of how they got started.

2006 Year In Review

Happiest of New Year to you!

Peace, joy and love to you and your family!

2006 Year In Review

- Wesley is working for Bailey Family Foundation, an organization that gives out college scholarships.
- Mary is working for LMI, a not-for-profit consulting firm.
- Sold our VA house finally!
- Moved to Tampa, Florida where Wesley can play a lot of tennis matches :)

Travel
- Trip to Hawaii, Taipei, Las Vegas-Grand Canyon-Sedona-Scottsdale, and NYC.
- Attempt to watch the space shuttle launch at the Kennedy Space Center.
- Busch Garden, Discovery Cove, Sea World, and Universal Studio.

Births - 4 girls and 2 boys, but not from us! :)
Our friend Jennifer & Ming had Jessica (Jan), Rachel & Chris had Christina (Sept), Angela & Leo had Julianne (Aug), Cristina & Marcel had Mark (Dec), Jin-Ee and Chuong had Andrew (Dec), Sue & Alan had Tiffany (Dec).

Wedding
Our friends Nguyen & Trang got engaged. Karen Maley got married. Cousin Jessica got married. College friend Yoko is engaged to a lucky guy :)

We look forward to hearing from you throughout the year!

Movie of the Week: Invincible

If you're looking for a good inspirational movie, check out Invincible with Mark Wahlberg. This movie also shows me football can be like going to battle with your team mates. Be tough, play rough. Friendships are formed. Tactics are played.

It's a true story about how a man went through a really tough times during the 70's and his wife left him. But despite the risk of failure, he took the chance to pursue his dream and his passion with his talent. He had a group of family and friends who believed in him and supported him. If you have a dream, give everything you got. It's kind of like the Rocky Balboa. You may fall down, but you get up. Be generous, kind, tough, play rough, play with heart and passion!