Coveted Downtown LA Baby Sample Sale

I miss LA for several reasons and despite never taking full advantage of the downtown LA baby sample sales, now that they're not longer an option, I miss 'em!  You never know what you have until it's gone ...

Where: Los Angeles and 9th, California Mart on the 6th Floor, parking is $10 (cash only) but you can always bring coins and hope for some street parking around there.
When: Last Friday of every month (may be earlier in December)
Why: Because people in LA like to dress their babies in Diesel and other too expensive brands, but in all honesty you can find some nice designer diaper bags which have been labeled "sample" on the inside, may be missing some pieces (like a diaper mat or water bottles) but are all the same otherwise and over 50% off!

I am, however, extremely grateful for LA friends who always offer to get me some cheap stuff at the sales and then mail 'em to me.  You're the best!!!

Food That Jordan Will Eat

I guess it's no surprise that since Jordan is 3/4 Asian, he prefers Asian food above all else which is funny considering his own daddy wouldn't touch Chinese food until his senior year of high school.  It probably also doesn't help that I moderately consumed Asian foods while pregnant or that I'm the one who feeds him during the day.  Don't get me wrong, he'll still eat mac'n'cheese, pasta, casseroles, chicken nuggets, french fries, and loves his milkshakes (cuz they bring all the girls to the yard), but he definitely won't touch mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, or stuffing, and if given the choice, he'd pick the shrimp chips over the regular chips.  It makes me so happy that he loves the stuff I liked growing up too!

Among his favorites are noodles, rice, Chinese style chicken soup, Asian snacks, and dumplings or frozen dim sum from Trader Joe's (cuz where else would we get it here?!)

I always meant to make some teriyaki sauce to mix with his veggies, protein, and rice, but I never actually got around to it until last night.  What a success!  He sat in his high chair, fed himself, and ate a hearty meal of shrimp, broccoli, and rice all slathered in teriyaki sauce.  This will definitely be a consistent staple going forward.

I got the teriyaki sauce recipe from YourVegan Mom, but I didn't have any garlic powder, so I substituted with onion powder.

Teriyaki Sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup water
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Mix the above on medium in a pot until it simmers.  Reduce the heat to low, then add a mixture of 1 cup water, 1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch and continue mixing on low heat.  After a few minutes, move aside and let it cool.

I used a child sized pair of scissors gifted to me from my cousins in Taiwan (cuz that's where they sell stuff like this) specifically made for the purpose of cutting your child's food to make all his adult food edible (size-wise).  The scissors even came with a cute cover so you can take it with you to restaurants (however, I seem to have lost that during the move) but I'm sure any pair of scissors would work.

It never ceases to amaze me how happy and proud I am when he eats what I cook.  It's the best self affirmation ever.

Hormonally Challenged

This pregnancy, I cry at absolutely everything.  Church is a nightmare.  Everything someone says at the pulpit has me tearing up, even when someone gets sustained, because that's just so awesome that they get a calling.  Television shows ranging from the Mindy Kaling Project to Dancing With the Stars to Downton Abbey to Beauty and the Beast.  Yes.  I know it is absolutely incredulously ridiculous, but it's the truth.

I am super sensitive.  I can tear up just from thinking about my little baby.  I can tear up eating a really good sandwich I made myself mocking Panera's Mediterannean Veggie (it was that good).  I can tear up thinking about how much laundry I have to do.  I can tear up thinking about how bad I am at Bejeweled Blitz.  I can tear up watching commercials.  It's pretty insane.  

Jordan doesn't seem to realize.  He still is having fun, watching Mickey Mouse, trying to ride his motorcycle toy, and throwing balls around.  

Laundry Day

Today is laundry day.  After doing four loads of laundry, I've decided that I may never go back to working out daily or showering daily.  My reasoning: a few weeks ago, I worked out three times and that resulted in 6 more large pieces of clothing to wash.  I shower less than I should, but that just means less laundry and less work for me.  Andy, on the other hand, tries to work out everyday, which means a lot of work out clothes, scrubs, and the normal clothes that he changes into when he's off work and we go out.  Jordan doesn't spit up on himself all the time but he goes through about 2 outfits a day with his PJs included.  Yes, there's no reason to go back to working out consistently.  Nor does a daily shower seem necessary.  Life's better with less laundry.

More Evidence That I Can't Cook

Today, I was ambitiously adventurous.   I decided for the remainder of the week, we'd use the Martha Stewart Food Magazine's set weekly menu, minus one day when we should be eating out (for a recruiting dinner.. free food, thank you ma'am!).  With that, Jordan and I were off to get some groceries and my first ever, whole chicken.

Monday's recipe called for me to cut the chicken into 8-10 pieces.  Whole chickens were on sale, and I got one for less than $4!  Score!  So I thought...

A frustrated hour into youtubing "how to cut whole chicken" videos, jumping back when I accidentally pulled the wing out and I thought my chicken stood for a second, wishing I was vegetarian more than ever, and wondering how one small chicken could produce so much chicken juice, my chicken was cut, but not into 8-10 pieces.  I had about 4 whole pieces consisting of legs and wings, and then a bunch of substandard and messy strips and breasts.  I probably threw away more chicken that was necessary, but I was done.

Dinner wasn't so bad, but Jordan wouldn't eat it and had Trader Joe's frozen Chinese dim sum instead.  That, in my eyes, is always a fail.  *le sigh.  At least he ate the chicken broth plus shredded cabbage and tomato soup I put together with his dumplings for lunch and the french toast I made from breakfast.

Left: How it shoulda looked.  Right:  How it looked.

If there's one thing I've learned from me not knowing how to cook, it's how sweet my dear husband is for eating it all, and even telling me it's good sometimes.  They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  Well... I'm still working on that.  

My Gap Baby

I'm not a huge fan of shopping for baby clothes.  In fact, Jordan was probably about 6 or 9? months when I made my first baby purchase.  I'm also lucky to have a mother and mother-in-law who shower Jordan with oodles of cute clothes as well as a thoughtful sister-in-law who brings us cute basketball shorts, tons of cute sports outfits and of course, A's baby gear, and my cousins who always give Jordan Baby Gap clothes whenever they are in the States.

Now I'm not one for brand names, but I must admit, there's something about Baby Gap quality that just exceeds the rest of the baby world stuff.  The stuff never gets holes and are the perfect combination of stretchiness and comfort that Jordan has been able to wear some of his outfits for longer than the average 3 month size span.  And, the best part is that every now and then, when you find some quality sales (like Thanksgiving weekend stuff), you have to just take a deep breath and spend the money.

After leaving the Firm, I received a pretty sizeable gift card from Gap from all the Corporate credit card points I had accumulated over the years.  That said, we visited Gap frequently with high hopes of spending some free money, only to leave with me complaining about how over priced their super dang cute stuff was.  *le sighs were heard all around.  The few times we did find a few choice items on sale have resulted in Jordan sporting the same few Gap threads because really, they just last. I knew sales were the key to shopping at Gap, but when to go was the issue.  I could never figure it out and the sales were never good enough for me to spend the money.  I even followed them on Twitter, hoping I'd get insight into when sales were (if you get the timing right, it's amazingly cheap and comparable to Wal-Mart - I know, I frequent their baby section often these days), but no such luck.  

So when we went shopping yesterday out of desperation from the lack of winter clothes our poor son has (and how when laundry isn't done, he simply has no clothes to wear), the wonderful sales at Gap made me so happy.  We left with a bag full of clothes for Jordan and a big grin on my face.  We went to Children's Place next, another favorite of mine, but all the stuff was comparable in price to Gap and none of the sizes I wanted were there. But after some thought, the huge bag of clothes we got from Gap seemed enough, so off to game stores and Orange Julius we went.  Hooray!

Being Grateful

Thanksgiving 2012 was spent in Spokane, and boy oh boy was it fun.  I have so much to be grateful for but Thanksgiving day is always just a nice constant reminder of all those things.

Andy got the day off (hooray!) so we took Jordan to his first movie ever (Wreck It Ralph) with four other families who brought their kiddos as well.  We took up an entire row and a half and my oh my were our kids excited.  Jordan especially.  We lounged around outside while the trailers were playing in anticipation of an attention span we could not fully estimate but wanted to maximize.  He could hear the sound coming from the open doors of all the nearby theatre rooms and he became so excited, pointing to every room, wondering when we could go in.  When it was time, we went in and he sat in his big theatre chair, like a King finally back in his throne after being gone for a long time, relaxed and completely comfortable, as if he had been missing his chair all his life.  I'm unsure what to attribute him making it through the movie to - the movie nicely coinciding with his naptime, a small head cold coming on and the desire to just lie on mommy and zone out to a Disney movie, or an actual interest in the movie, but he was awesome!  He made it through the entire movie, barely snacked on all the many things we brought and received (a goody bag with Swedish fish and malt balls from our friends who invited everyone), and stayed in his seat or on my lap the entire time. And might I add, the movie was spectacular, two thumbs up and sooo creative!  

Following the awesome movie which I highly recommend everyone go see, we came home and Jordan napped while Andy and I lunched and caught up on The Voice.  Jordan woke up about 2.5 hours later, had some milk, and then we got all our gear ready to head off to our friend's church building where we were going to potluck with five other couples and a ton of kiddos.  

The food was delicious, the company was amazing, and the wives even got a chance to play Hokie Six (fun new game I just learned about!) while the kiddos ran around in the gym with their dads.  From time to time, some of the kids would run back into the room we were in, wanting to play with their moms, but my son never came.  He was perfectly content with a bunch of balls, a large space to run, and his daddy nearby.  It was glorious.  The only unfortunate part of the night was Jordan's utter excitement at being with the big kids' at their table, pushing mom and dad away when we tried to help him eat, wanting to be independent and eat himself which translates to a few bits and a lot of running around.  It wasn't until we were home that Jordan ate dinner (around 9 PM) because at the Church, there was just too much going on for him to stop and eat.  

We miss all our family who we were unable to spend this Thanksgiving with but are grateful for all the new friends we've made here.  Happy Thanksgiving!  Hope everyone had a bomb diggity Thanksgiving full of delightful food, extra calories, and sweet yummies.  

Smacked by the Toilet Seat

Morning sickness was definitely a term coined by men to deceive women from the awful state of mind, fatigue, and constant nausea that is the first trimester of pregnancy.  The last three months were a daze, tasting the aftermath of everything I consumed whether it be just a leftover taste in my mouth, regurgitated burps that were swallowed before they made it out of my body, or puke into the sink (oops) or toilet.  Smells have plagued me wherever I have been whether it be the aisles at Costco, the Chinese food court in Canada, Jordan's poopy diapers, dish soap, or even worse... food preparation.  Ugh.  Food preparation.  In addition, nothing sounds good to eat.  Thanksgiving scares me.  Food in general sounds disgusting to me, commercials for food on the television make me want to puke.  This time around, I have only minor cravings for burgers and huckleberry lemonade (or any flavored lemonade for that matter), but mostly food sounds gross and the idea of eating makes me sick.

Yesterday, feeling completely nauseous in a prelude to what I thought what be a puke fest, I murmured on the couch under my baby blanket (I have a pink and yellow and Jordan has assumed ownership of my yellow so I'm stuck with the pink one that is falling apart) as I kept swallowing, hoping it would keep everything down.  At the peak of my discomfort, I ran into the bathroom, confident I was about to puke.  I lifted the toilet seat, gathered my hair in a ponytail in the back, and as I leaned forward.... the toilet seat smacked me on the nose.  Shocked, taken aback, and completely repulsed by the fact that Andy has not cleaned the bathroom in more than a week (despite my constant kind reminding nagging).  Andy followed me in to make sure I was okay, but he could not hold back the laughter that will surely ensue in the next coming days.  "Is it too soon to laugh?" he asked as tears streamed down my face.  On one hand, I was grateful that the smack in the face had somehow reversed the urge to puke, on the other hand, a toilet seat just hit me in the face.  I would feel the sting of the hit in the face for the next hour.  I nodded, and tried to hold back the tears.  Andy tried to hold my hair for me, but it was too late. There would be no puke this night, only a smack in the face by the toilet seat.

I cannot wait for second trimester.  And I know I don't have it as bad as some girls, so I should really be grateful, which I am.  But it still hurts.  My nose and pride that is.

How Would I Cook Without The Internet?

"whip until peaks form"  I'm sorry, what the HECK does that mean?  What peaks?  It took some googling to figure out that it means the mixture looks whipped, texture is kinda thicker and for the record, I still don't see the peaks.

Do you know how to get pomegranate seeds out?  Apparently, you cut it in half, put it into a bowl of water, and then start to remove it in the water - the membranes will float and the seeds will sink.  Genius!  And to think I almost bought a pomegranate seed remover tool.

For the record, the internet also taught me how to cut an onion, a pineapple, and what yeast should look like when it's been proofed correctly (apparently I can't do that either).

Despite how much I know the internet can be a harm in our lives and how much more work we need to do to ensure it's safe for our kids, I am truly grateful for its existence.  Without it, I'd be a more horrible housewife than I already am.

Never Say Never

Motherhood has taught me that things we say never to actually become occasionally or quite often.

For example.

I'll never have pasta leftovers for lunch.  Unless Jordan is having some and then he asks for more, I heat more and he decides not to eat it.  It doesn't take much effort to put it back into the fridge, but somehow, I find myself eating it.  Scratch that.  Grubbing down on it.  I inhaled it.

I'll never consider cloth diapers.  Though I'm still on the no, probably not going to happen side of things, I've begun researching it.  No, I don't care about the environment (sorry, but if we're going to argue about diapers, I'd like to also suggest we stop using toilet paper and begin using re-usable towels.. why do babies get the grunt of things?!)  I also do not care about the cost savings which I'd argue are not there despite what everyone says because I think in the long run, it evens out but I'm also of the party who buys all my diapers on the cheap from Costco with a coupon (that's less than 19 cents per diaper).  The reason I looked into it was my son's poor bum which is sensitive and rash prone.  We use facial cleansing pads and water to wipe his bum, lots of baby powder afterwards, and rash ointment as necessary, but I wondered if cloth diapers might help his bum a bit.  As I was looking into it.. a thought came through my head.  If cloth diapers are so dang good for babies, why don't women use cloth feminine pads whilst on their period?  Completely disgusting food you just semi-puked up inside your mouth aside, it's a fair thought!  Seems like the vegetarians who wear leather jackets to me.  But I'm not a cloth diaper enthusiast just yet so those who are can correct me.  I feel pads have come a long way as have diapers.  I mean it's pretty amazing what they can hold.

I'll never tuck my sweat pants into my boots.  In California, I thought this was a fashion no-no.  But girls galore would go around sporting their Pink Victoria Secret sweats inside of their super Ugg boots. In my humble opinion, it was ugly.  But lately, that's all you'll see me wear.  It's actually necessary here to keep your long wide legged comfy fat pants from getting wet (from snow or rain or both).  I don't have Uggs, I have wannabe ones (Stuart Weitzman mind you), but I thoroughly enjoy going out and about in absolutely comfortable clothes, coming back, and not having my pants wet.  It's genius.  Brilliant.  And now... I am one of those girls.  And now Andy is married to one of those girls.

I'm a bit of an English snob.  Not having had the best English myself and understanding people do not check their comments for grammatical and spelling accuracies, I still cannot get around when people use the wrong your vs. you're and their versus they're vs there.  It seems basic.  Simple.  Expected.  But time after time, even the smartest people I know make the mistakes (and do not immediately correct themselves, though I would argue our family is more of the snotty will correct ourself right away even if it means more comments right away).  Well... the other day thinking I'd never make a stupid English mistake... I realized my labels for pregnancy are spelled pregnacy.  ALL throughout this blog.  I have tabled it for a rainy day activity, but it seems like a lot of work.  Idiot.

Well, one thing is for sure.  I've learned I can never say never.  At least not for the unimportant things that don't matter.  There are definitely things I'd argue I can definitely say I will NEVER do.

Single Momming It

Part of being a doctor's wife are the inevitable working weekends that you'll likely encounter.  Well, I guess part of being any working professional who may work weekends (busy season still sucks, sorry if you're an auditor's wife).  I can't complain much about being here, we get to see Andy quite often and frequently before 4 PM, but those few Saturdays that he does work drive me insane.

It's Saturday!  Oh right.  You have to work.

We could do our normal weekday thing.  But somehow, the weekends seem special and special times warrant special attention.  The gloomy weather outside doesn't help.  Nor does the messy house we failed to properly clean throughout the week.  Fail.  And everywhere we go on Saturday, we seem to be the only mom and kid duo.  Everyone else has their family in tow.  It seems like a big family town we live in, which is normally a great thing - but when it's just us two.. not so much.

We started today with a big hearty breakfast of eggs scrambled with tomatoes and spinach, and then I had a bowl of chicken soup while Jordan had a waffle drizzled with butter, whip cream, and syrup.  We watched two episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (one in English, one in Mandarin), and I unloaded the dishes and put in a load of laundry.  Now, we are patiently awaiting the laundry to finish so we can make our weekly trip to Trader Joe's and go buy some Hostess products because Andy thinks bankruptcy is the end all.  I tried to tell him otherwise but he didn't believe me.

Hopefully Daddy comes home soon!

Dear Family...

This is how we announced the news to our family.  

(cuz the baby will be born the year of the snake!)

Me Right Now...

I don't normally do stuff like this but I'm emotionally in a different state of mind, so I thought.. why not?!  It is our blog that only I write for anyway, thanks for the idea Paige!

Age: 30

Height & Weight: 5'8" & 126 pounds (but that doesn't matter since size wise, I'm not where I was pre-prego, stupid baby flab)
Married: Finally eh?
Children: Jordan and one on the way (oh!  I spilled it online!)  Wait for the announcement tomorrow please. 
Favorite color: Purple, like obsessed.  Not as much as in my youth when my walls were purple, my rugs were purple, and everything you could imagine, but despite my decision to go pink for my wedding, I found purple dresses for my bridesmaids and well... the rest is history. 
Drinking: Coconut water which my mom told me is all my brother's girlfriend drinks now.  First she takes my place at family outings and now something I've done for years is labeled as "just like her" - ugh.  LOL, just kidding - she's a sweetie and I'm glad she likes what I like.  
Working on: Going to shower, fold laundry and watch television, then do some fun operational and finance stuff for work and our family budget.  
Talking to: Hmmm, my mom on the phone everyday, Andy through text or Vox (when he's responding), my BFF (who just got a year's worth of Chic-Fil-A after camping out overnight at the new Encinitas location in California), Kate, the mother of Jordan's best buddy who he sees often, co-workers for hours every Wednesday for our conference calls, and a lieu of online buddies on gchat who are the best!!
Favorite book: Hmmm, I don't have one favorite but the one I just read which was fun was Twenties Girl and Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling which I HIGHLY recommend.  Oh Mindy, you're the best.  
Wanting: A bigger house and a maid. 
Eating: Mickey D's for breakfast, making chicken soup, had leftovers for lunch, fruit, and an almond roca.
Thinking about: What class to go to tomorrow at the Y.  
Excited about: Book Club with resident wives and female residents tonight!
Favorite Movie: It was Old School but lately it's Elf.  I think Will Ferrell is hilarious and I want to be his friend.  
Worried about: Messing up at work.  Prego brain is real and it freaking sucks when you forget stupid things.  
Had enough of: Snow. 
Might try: Making a pie.  Who am I kidding, I'm buying it.  
Waiting for: Christmas trips to LA and Salt Lake!
Listening to: Florence & The Machine
Last movie you saw: Skyfall. It was clausterphobic and hot, and I didn't enjoy it because I was too hot to focus.  
Wearing: Lululemon purple pants, two black yoga shirts, and white socks (it's really cold)
Lovin: All the chicken soup materials my mom brought.
Tattoos YES or NO?: For the longest time throughout my 20's this was all I obsessed about - what kind, what size, where?!  But after contemplating on one permanent thing forever, I realized we as people change too much and there was nothing I loved that much to have on my body forever.  
Happy to be: Have free time to do this and my list of other things since Jordan just went down for a nap.
Favorite song right now: Too many to name.  Probably that Anna Sun Walk the Moon song that I've tagged a million times on Shazam.  "Do you know this house is falling apart?!"
Canon or Nikon girl: Who cares?  Ha.  I have a point and shoot that's Canon.  
Ready for: a much needed haircut (the last time I got my hair cut, Jordan was just born... he's 18 months). 
Toes painted or natural: When I have time and money or want to impress somebody, painted - most of the time natural. 
Glad I have: the gospel.  Not sure where or who I'd be without it.  Oh yeah, not as happy and a lot more bitter than I even am now.  
Not ready for: Baby #2. Yikes!
Healthy YES or NO: Yes, but I could be better.  
Still cool as you were 10 years ago?: At 20, I had just begun going to all my college classes and was super into ballroom dancing, so umm yes, definitely.  Duh.  

The only photo I could find from 2002, this was BYU ballroom dance camp exactly eight years before I got married.

I don't take many photos of myself now so ... sorry.  Here's a photo from the BFF's wedding back in July with me and the groom's brother.

You Don't Have To Love It

I had an epiphany yesterday about being a mom.  You really don't have to love it to be good at it.  Like any job, it's helpful to love it - obviously you'll be more positive, motivated, and a nicer mom to be around, that said - I don't always love it.  Like any job, it has its ups and downs.  Of all the jobs, I think it truly is the most fulfilling, challenging, and fun, but that doesn't mean it's all giggles and hugs and smiles and awww moments.

Yesterday, I was talking to my dad and he kept reminding me to have my own personal interests and passions besides being a mom.  He asked me what was going on with that aerobic certification I had hoped to obtain while in Spokane.  I told him it was put on hold since I had to teach classes and didn't have the energy to figure out where or who I could teach or even what.  I remembered the "cardio dance party" I attempted to teach in California to church girls, and recall it being a disaster since I couldn't quite gauge the level of experience everyone would have and spent so much time mulling over how to make it harder or easier and ended up just looking unprepared.  Ugh.

Anyway, as my dad was lecturing me, I told him, "Dad, you might think I love motherhood above all else, but it's not always that great."  He seemed taken aback.  My normal positive attitude has him thinking motherhood is all I want to do.  As if I do not have any other personal interests, desires, or need for me time.  "Dad," I continued, "it's kind of like any job.  I do like it and find it more valuable than working working, but obviously, it's not always so fun, but a positive attitude helps - that doesn't mean I've forgotten about everything else that makes me me."  He told me I used to be a "career woman" and this is when I had to laugh out loud.  "Dad," I started, "just because I try to be good at something doesn't mean I love it.  I think people often confuse effort for love, obviously whatever I do, I want to be good at, but it doesn't mean I love it."  He was surprised, but as I explained more, he understood my perspective.  "I don't like cooking, but if I'm going to do it everyday, I might as well be good at it or what's the use, right?!"

After I got off the phone with my dad, I had a tough day.  One of those, dang, wish I could take a personal day today type a days.  We all need a break sometime and normally, my break is in the form of work during Jordan's naps.  On days he decides not to nap (like yesterday), it can be really difficult to have a conference call I set up during his nap, or finish fulfilling deliverables I meant to send during his nap.  And once he's up and about, he's not exactly all smiles or a bundle of joy.  Instead, the smallest thing will have him throwing a tantrum on the floor, cheek against the rug, crying and thrashing his arms.  Normally, a few minutes of no attention seems to do the trick, but on these fatigued I refuse to sleep days, it is prolonged a few minutes longer, and those minutes feel like pure torture.  Add to that the work doesn't ever seem to get done and a horrible day is had.

I know everyone should do something they love, but we all don't have that lucky opportunity.  Sometimes reality such as supporting a family or doing the right thing gets in the way.  Alas, you really don't have to love it to be good at it or to even try to be good at it.  You just have to want it bad enough.  For those who can find jobs they also love, more power to you.  Duh.  I love both my jobs on some days and some days, I don't love it so much.  I figure as long as I normally love it more than I detest it... I'll be okay.

Movember and Some

Well, for all those mustache retro loving geeks, it's finally Movember.  For all those wondering why all of a sudden, men everywhere are sporting staches, it's to support prostate cancer.

Being that Thanksgiving isn't even here yet, I feel like it's a tad bit too early for snow (in my California opinion), but what do I know?!  My mom brought me about 6 sweaters, so that's probably my winter gear for the rest of the year.  I'm not sure if it'll be enough, I might need some scarves, but Andy doesn't seem to be too phased by the cold.  He's still sporting jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket only.  Maybe I'll adapt too?

We woke up to this last Friday.  Yikes!

Jordan's not amused with the extra layers 

 The library's great in this weather.  Free computers to bang on.... free books, DVDs, CDs, and a place to run around (sort of...)

 We sadly bid my mom farewell this morning but not without eating out last night first! 

 The stache just looks creepy at this point in time. 

 At least Jordan's cute!

Wai-Puo Visits

My mom decided to come see us for a week for the sole purpose of cooking for us.  She came armed with two suitcases (one large, one small) full of Chinese snacks (Hello Pandas, Pocky, dried squid, fish snacks, crackers, Chinese jellies, etc.), noodles, as well as things I am unsure of in English (think dried mushrooms, dried scallops, dried fish, dates, soy beans, dried fruit, etc.)  So far, we've had noodles, red bean soup, brussel sprouts with lamb, mochi, soup, and we are set to have curry for lunch today.  Yummy!

 i really have no idea what any of this is

 pocky and squid

 seaweed

biscuits and jellies

We also went shopping and got Jordan new winter threads from H&M, TJ Maxx, and we all enjoyed a nice dinner at Twigs Bistro courtesy of wai-puo.  And then all our plans were ruined once snow fell.  I am apprehensive to drive in the snow and as I look out the window into the forest of white that is now my balcony view, the bits of snow falling that I only saw a mimic of at the Grove during Christmastime doesn't make it any better.

Thoughts Thoughts Thoughts

Do you ever have thoughts that go unanswered, unattended to, and unheard?  Yeah, me too.  Good thing I have a blog!

I used to plan a weekly menu of dinners, but lately, it's been... it's 3 PM ... SHOOT!, what to make for dinner?!  Ugh.  I wish I could go back to planning a weekly menu but let's face it... I'm pretty lazy lately focusing my free time and energy on my work product.  And, I've come to realize that me planning a menu for a week means a lot of grocery shopping and a lot of exceeding our budget, whereas cooking with what I gots has resulted in cost savings galore and trimming down that canned good cabinet of ours.  Too bad my freezer continues to loose room as I do this at Costco: a massive bag of ORGANIC sweet peas for $5.68 or a small bag from Wal-Mart for $1.99?!  a ginormous bag of frozen pineapple chunks for $5.99 or a small bag from Trader Joe's for $3.99?!  Need I say more?  Our freezer is dying for more space.

I always wonder who orders things from Pottery Barn Kids.  What kid really needs a $200 vintage airplane to ride on or a $200 digital scroreboard?! But then I look at the description for a life size Christmas tree advent calendar with pockets - stitched to look homemade - and I actually think, for $69 (FREE shipping on all orders today except furniture! - go buy something expensive at Pottery Barn Kids) and for something that would take me more than 2 hours (to search for the supplies and to sit down and make it - which I'm not even sure I'm capable of doing), I actually thought - that's a really good deal and completely worth the time I would expend to attempt to make it, and so I proceeded to fold the corner of the catalog that I am consistently shocked at receiving since the prices are beyond belief, and have since ordered my Christmas advent calendar!  And come to think of it, that really expensive $100 buck Pottery Barn chair that was a gift from my cousins upon Jordan's birth, is probably one item Jordan plays with, jumps on, or sits in, EVERY SINGLE DAY.  Depreciate it, it's worth a lot.  I think my goal is to buy a LOT of Christmas stuff this year so that our family will get the most out of it for the next 20 something years.  That means careful consideration of what's out there now, and a lot of December 26th shopping for the leftover stuff. 

I used to think parents who let their kids play with iPads were idiots.  And then I got a free iPad from work (our 2011 Christmas bonus you could say), put it into a thick and ugly gray case, and eventually acquiesced and gave it to my son to play with.  At 18 months, he knows how to unlock the screen and find his game apps and just recently threw his tiny plastic water gun at it, creating our first official scratch on the expensive and coveted iPad.  Parents who let their kids play with their iPads are indeed idiots, just take it from this idiot.  But this just in - there's a "kid mode" you can go to!  Yeah, that mode wouldn't have kept our iPad from the long diagonal water gun slash, but hey, at least he's okay, right?  At least it was safe enough that it didn't shatter and hit us both in the face.  And, there are more important things.  Like my iPhone which he has not thrown anything at quite yet.

And most importantly, it's Election Time!  Regardless of who you vote for, go out and VOTE!  VOTE VOTE VOTE!  The downside to voting in small town Washington where it's all by ballots in the mail?  No "I voted" stickers.  For shame small town Washington, for shame!

Drama in the Form of What to Wear?!

Contrary to popular belief, I am low maintenance when it comes to certain things.  Like being comfortable in PJs all day long.  If I could get away with wearing my baggy gray lululemon pants and my old 1999 Orchesis t-shirt everywhere, you bet I would.  Alas, my nagging mother would reprimand me all the way from California about letting myself go and I would feel bad about all those clothes that never do get worn and feel pretty insecure and regretful once out and about.  But I really do detest getting dressed.  I love making the bed, but I hate getting dressed.  

It's a battle everyday when Jordan and I finally decide to leave the house, what oh what to wear.  I feel like girl clothes are complicated in that they warrant careful decisions about shoes that go with the pants  and the length of my pants get in the way as most of my jeans are specifically designed to be worn with heels (I only wore jeans with heels as I only wore jeans to go out as most of my days were spent in corporate business casual or work out clothes).  It's really a complicated enigma of sorts.  I just want to wear socks yet most girl shoes do not allow for socks.  Take my Sperry Topsiders or my Nine West flats.  Only boots warrant socks but wearing boots means finding the right jeans to go with the boots, especially if they are ankle or knee boots.  Decisions, decisions!  It's time like these that I actually value my skinny jeans that I so reluctantly decided to wear in the first place. But even despite that, sometimes, a girl just wants to wear her straight legged jeans, but everyone knows you cannot wear jeans with sneakers!  Even if the sneakers do keep the extra long jeans from hitting the floor.  ...

I'm coming to learn that those things you think you will never do or become... like never wearing nylons and a work outfit with sneakers on the bus or any form of public transportation for that matter, disappear when you are desperate or walking up 100 flights of Angel's Flight stairs and already married, so really.. what's the harm?!  Likewise, I have worn my jeans with sneakers recently as well.  I have felt embarrassed every second as I did so.. but times change you and motherhood calls for certain sacrifices to be made.  Wet jeans don't make anyone happy so one sacrifice I have made is wearing my too long jeans with sneakers to prevent them from dragging and getting wet.  It was disgusting.  Oh how far I have come.  I never thought I would .. yet here I am.  Yes, I know I can alter my jeans, cut them, or something... but that would call for an availability of time which is at a shortage these days.

Motherhood changes the game.  That's my drama for today.  Now if only I could get dressed so we could make our way to Costco as planned.  ...

Confidence Boost

My old college buddy Malcolm used to venture off to Weho every time he needed a confidence boost because he would, without a doubt, get hit on by gay guys.  Heterosexual himself, Malcolm enjoyed the affirmation that he always got.

Similarly, we got that same confidence boost when we sported our Halloween costumes over to Chipotle for $2 booritos on Halloween near the Gonzaga campus.  The compliments were endless.  "That's the best costume ever!"  "He's so cute!"  "Oh my goodness, that is so creative!"  It was fabulous.  Made all the time, money, and effort we put into our costumes so worth it.  And, people were snapping photos of us from every single angle.  The paparazzi couldn't get over us.

 

Capitalizing on the perks of Halloween, we headed over to Krispy Kreme with the Harrisons for some free donuts!  We were shocked there was absolutely no line and barely anybody there.  Jordan and Parker still had fun running around, jumping on the booths, and knocking down "slippery" signs.

 Halloween is great, especially when you get dinner and dessert for $7.48!