http://vickypham.com My Blog Mon, 07 Jun 2010 05:08:49 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The fondest memory I had as a child was when my mom took me and my siblings to the nearby creek to catch crawfish with our homemade fishing poles, or flown our homemade kites in the front yard, using them as a mean to “send messages to God.” Cost of ... http://vickypham.com/archives/219 I love Vietnamese sandwiches. You have your choice of grilled pork, chicken, meatball, ham etc on a warm baguette that’s perfectly toasted on the outside and soft and airy on the inside. Topped with a thick slice of cucumber, some pickled daikon and carrots, a few sprigs of cilantros and ... http://vickypham.com/archives/214 For the past eight months, I’ve been trying to do a loan modification for my parent’s house through Bank of America under the “Making Home Affordable” program. Although my parents qualify, I have had absolutely no success in making any progress towards a loan modification. I have come to the ... http://vickypham.com/archives/207 Interest rates are at their all time lows, and it’s unfortunate that people can’t take advantage of that. Why? The whole subprime mess caused by banks have drastically reduced home values. Reduced home values have raised the loan-to-value ratio way over 105%. Who gets punished? The good homeowners who are ... http://vickypham.com/archives/204 Pho is pretty much all about the beef broth. Master the beef broth and you got yourself a smashing dish. To master the broth, you need to give yourself a couple of hours. Slowly simmering the beef bones is key. After that, everything else is pretty easy. ... http://vickypham.com/archives/201 Not too long ago, I was craving Vietnamese beef noodle soup, pho. What better way to warm myself up on these cold rainy days than a hot bowl of wonderfully delicious bowl of pho? So during lunch at work, I decided to try a new restaurant and headed to Mama's ... http://vickypham.com/archives/192 I have so much stuff on my plate. Sometimes I feel like pulling out my hair. Not only do I have my own personal matters to take care of, but I have to deal with other people’s personal matters as well, particularly my mom's. For some strange reason, I am the one ... http://vickypham.com/archives/185 I was browsing through the refrigerated section of Costco and found that they carry an assorted selection of pre-cut fruit. Initially, the thought of pre-cut fruit couldn’t be better. I’m always looking for ways to save time and having someone else cut up my fruit, well…there must be a ... http://vickypham.com/archives/181 The stock market took a pretty big hit today, all week actually. It was down almost 2% in early morning trading. I took that opportunity to jump on some stocks. Many investors probably jumped ship but must keep in mind to buy low and sell high. Everything else ... http://vickypham.com/archives/177 We thought it would be completely cute (or completely dorky) to dress up in plaid. You decide. Our first family photo for 2010. We wish everyone a great and happy 2010. Now, some reflections. I can’t believe it’s already 2010. I remember when I was in ... http://vickypham.com/archives/171