The Heusens

I love bun. I am not only referring to Kris' cutie pair of buns (and seriously, he has the cutest buns in the world)...I am referring to bun. That's right, it's italicized, because it is the Vietnamese word for vermicelli rice noodles.

I am totally obsessed with Vietnamese food. I think there is nothing better than awesome Vietnamese food, and I really, really want to go to Vietnam and eat my way through the country. Vietnamese cuisine is full of great flavor, it's healthy, and light and filling at the same time.

One of the few dishes I could eat for any meal of the day is Bun Thit Heo Nuong, Cha Gio. Which is Vietnamese vermicelli rice noodles with charbroiled pork and egg rolls. Wrapped in a little rice paper or lettuce leaf with basil, peanuts, fried garlic and shallots, and a drizzling of nuac nam fish sauce, and you have reached nirvana (unless, like Kris, you find a worm in your bun at a sketchy place on Post...again, not those buns!).


I am on a mission to perfect this recipe before I move to Indiana. I found a recipe for the grilled pork on Wandering Chopsticks and can't wait to try it.

Right now, I'm in paper-writing hell. I have a roundtable and panel proposal due on Tuesday for this year's APPAM conference - and oh yeah, I'm still trying to recruit people for the roundtable since like 45 different people have fallen through. I also have to get my freaking paper revised (including re-doing like 25 different charts) and submitted to my panel by Friday for AEFA...which is in, gulp, less than two weeks.

And, did I mention, I am going to LA on Thursday night, to go to some meetings (L.A., Friday morning) attend my aunt's retirement party (San Diego, Friday night), meet Brian's family - my future in-laws - (Carlsbad, Saturday afternoon), throw an engagement party for Maryn and Brian (Pasadena, Saturday night), and run a 5k with my in-laws (L.A., Sunday morning), and my hair and nails look like witch hair and witch nails, AND I don't have anything to wear to any of these events, so I have to get that all taken care of beforehand?! STRESS! And then board a plane next Wednesday for AEFA in Nashville?

I'll be able to breathe on Sunday, March 22nd when I get back from Nashville. At which point I will run a 5k with Eileen and then MAKE BUN THIT HEO NUONG, CHA GIO, B*TCHES. That's right. Who's in? Anyone who lives in the area is invited to our place. If you don't live here, then maybe you can make some at your own home, as an act of solidarity or something.

I'm still not allowed to go to Mayfield Bakery & Cafe until I finish my JPAM revise and resubmit. That's not gonna happen until at least mid-April...sniff!

Posted by Ashlyn at 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

I know I'm biased, but I have some truly fabulous friends. Not to brag or anything (okay, okay, I am totally bragging) but in my opinion, they are super smart, super cool, super hot, and lead super interesting lives. You might disagree with me, but only if you are (1) stupid; (2) not cool; (3) not hot; (4) boring; or if you like George W. Bush.

As an example: Yesterday, I got off the phone with one of my girlfriends who works for the World Bank. She just got back from a trip to Afghanistan. During her trip, she interviewed some big government official...on national television...when she had a "wardrobe malfunction" and her veil fell off. She now refers to herself as the Janet Jackson of Afghanistan. How awesome is that story?

Unfortunately, said friend does not have a blog. But I have many fabulous friends who do. Allow me to introduce you to one another:

Maryn: my sister, fabulous, obv! Read about her adventures in eating and making life beautiful at Le Cupcakerie.

Erin and Dave: two of our closest friends, a fabulous married couple who lived a hip life abroad in Berlin and are now embracing academic life, political awareness and doggie raising in a Denver loft. Read their Dispatches from 5385 Feet and enjoy the post Erin did about our recent weekend together here.

Michelle: dear friend, partner in crime, and hilarious ranter. Enjoy her antics with her lovely family at A Mishy's Perspective.

Monica, Rishi, and Roshan: Pictures of one little beautiful boy and his adoring parents, not updated frequently enough at The Little One. (Ahem! what are you guys doing instead of updating your blog? Brushing your teeth or something?)

Paula: My favorite person in the state of Arizona and my favorite banking colleague, ever. Read about her cutie baby girl Riley (and baby on the way!) and their adventures in the desert here.

Clarice: my sister's business school friend. If you like professional basketball, food, and very sarcastic, very smack-talky LOL goodness, visit My Heart Beets.

Jenn: a rock-star, tenured(!) economist who doesn't look old enough to drink, yet serves as an expert witness in school finance litigation and writes about life and love from an economic lens at Quirky Economist.

Ben: a rock-star, tenure-track economist and modern-day Michelangelo who blogs about anything that occurs to him at his eponymous site.

Kim: my most outrageous economist friend (well, except for maybe Ed), she provides tax and stimulus package advice on NPR while undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Read her thoughtful, hopeful and hilarious blog at A Taxing Year.

Do you need outdoorsy travel information - on anything from where to eat, what to pack, what to see, and what to do with kids? Check out Doreen's Water Bottle Weekends!

Posted by Ashlyn at 1:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

Today, March 3rd, is Hinamatsuri - Girls' Day - in Japan. If you're of the XX chromosome persuasion, today's your day!

I mentioned before that I had a very festive, culturally rich childhood, thanks to my awesome mom. In our house, March 3rd was no exception to this rule.

The day typically involved a little Japanese gift of some sort and special senbei made especially for Girls' Day (essentially green, pink and white balls of rice and sugar).


Hina Matsuri means displaying your Japanese imperial court dolls (my Uncle Chris refers to them as "Japanese Barbies" but these dolls don't have huge boobs like Barbie...they are Japanese, after all!).


On Girls' Day, we sometimes went to Lil' Tokyo in LA's J-Town. Once we watched a ceremony at the posh New Otani Hotel (now the Kyoto Grand Hotel) where we floated the dolls down a little stream to pray for children's safety (read more about this custom here).

My sweet mom always took us out for a proper English tea on Girls' Day. Sometimes we went to Rose Tree Cottage, and sometimes we went to the high English tea at the Ritz-Carlton. We were always made to feel special (and spoiled!) and my mom made us feel like she was celebrating us.

Today has me feeling nostalgic for my childhood. I want to eat some good Japanese food and enjoy a high tea with my own little girl for her first Hinamatsuri.

Anyone up for a field trip to J-Town (either in San Jose or SF) this weekend? Tea, crumpets, and sushi?

Posted by Ashlyn at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

Once my dad told me that being an academic is like being paid to state the obvious.

Sometimes I have to agree. I just got an invitation to attend a talk on campus. Check out the paper description:

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WAIT...WAIT. I cannot BELIEVE that people who are more attractive have more sexual options! Earth-shattering.

I have to give this paper props for using the term "hookup" as a technical term, though.

Posted by Ashlyn at 12:31 AM | Permalink | Comments

We took off on Thursday for a four-day weekend in Tahoe to celebrate Kris' 28th birthday. You might refer to a trip like this as "vacation." I refer to it as "Schlepfest '09."

We spent ALL DAY on Thursday packing, driving to San Francisco to meet Monica and Roshan, and caravaning to the condo we rented near Heavenly (on the south shore/Nevada border of Lake Tahoe). We left our house at 11 a.m., packed to the gills, and arrived in Tahoe at, like, 5 p.m. What the heck?! I was totally one of those people who told themselves that they wouldn't change so much after having a baby. But why does it now take me six hours to drive to Tahoe? Here are two reasons:

1. Crying
2. Poo

Have fun guessing whether I'm referring to Saya or myself!

We met up with Rishi, who was already in Tahoe for a Google retreat. Our condo was pretty cool, except it was like a death trap for toddlers. Two stories, with the second story overlooking a landing through a slatted balcony situation that babies can easily crawl through. It made for some very interesting furniture rigging to ensure baby safety.

That night we ate our fabulous cheddar soup and the Barefoot Contessa's Orzo with Roasted Vegetables, which you MUST make and eat immediately if you haven't done so. It's fantastic. I was really happy because I made it with Mt. Vikos feta (something I randomly picked up at the market) and it's my new favorite feta...super creamy and delicious.

Not so bad, right? But then, nighttime: Saya had a difficult time falling asleep and transitioning her nighttime routine in a new setting. She woke up constantly, each night we were there, and went to bed, like, WAY later. I spent the four days incredibly sleep deprived, and super stressed about a paper I'm writing, and we had no wireless at the condo, and it was very very dry. Even when Saya wasn't waking up, I kept waking up to drink lots of water.

On Friday, Kris skied all day. I was going to join him for the afternoon but thought better of it when I realized how much work I had to do. So I went to Starbucks for wireless while Monica and Rishi watched Saya. I pretty much had a meltdown when I couldn't get in touch with them after two hours (no cell phone reception on the mountain!) and my boobs started leaking. Sorry, Monica and Rishi!

Dinner on Friday was at an interesting Hawaiian place called Freshies, which was surprisingly good given how schizophrenic the menu looked (I ordered a seaweed salad and a baked brie platter). BUT. It took FOREVER to get seated, FOREVER to order, and FOREVER to get served. Babies were CRANKY and it was past their bedtimes. As we walked out, I asked a young couple at the restaurant whether we'd provided them with good birth control for the evening. The guy emphatically nodded his head and said "YES!"

After another terrible night of sleep, we woke up on Saturday (Kris' birthday). We gave Kris his birthday gifts - a pair of dark wash jeans and a new belt - and headed out to go sledding at Adventure Mountain Lake Tahoe, ostensibly so that Saya and Roshan could experience it for the first time. They were only semi-amused:


We all know who really loved it the most:


This same person screamed like a banshee every time she went down the mountain. Not because she was scared. Oh, no! Of course not! But because (and I quote): "Other people need to know that this is dangerous!"

After a fun lunch at a brewery, Monica and Rishi headed off for some blackjack at Harrah's, and then we cooked a birthday dinner for Kris. We made our standby recipe, Zuni Cafe's Roasted Chicken and Warm Bread Salad while successfully making everyone feel uncomfortable through an argument - and some tears - over the chicken skin. Chicken skin = tears?! Sleep deprivation or insanity?

Saya foiled all attempts at drinking and playing Taboo by waking up before we could even complete a full turn. So we celebrated instead by putting her to bed way too late, getting up and cleaning the condo for two hours, and driving six hours back home in the rain/snow. Boy am I glad to be back.

Does having a baby mean that I get an "F" in vacationing? Am I so high strung and sleep deprived that I have become a crazy biatch? Stay tuned for more exciting updates!

Posted by Ashlyn at 12:36 AM | Permalink | Comments