poway woobie

love you

2012-01-26T02:11:00.000-08:00

YES, he finally said it to me! Cole has mastered repeating practically everything we say immediately after we say it except, of course, the one phrase he's heard from me about a kajillion times since he was born. Tonight, the three of us were lounging on the living room floor watching George when out of the blue, Cole runs over to hug me and said, "love you." He just made my ~~day~~ forever!

bye bye no more

2012-01-21T01:15:00.001-08:00

Cole has a tendency to burst out short exclamations in his sleep which gets me to the baby monitor to make sure he's okay and able to get back to sleep. Tonight, he blurted out that he needed his boat back. Um, no boat in sight. Another outburst woke him up enough that he sat up and asked for more milk. Nope, no milk around either. Both times, I went into his room to tuck him back in. The third time I was there was to pick up the milk cup I gave him. I thought he was back in Dreamland until he said, " You go bye-bye no more, Mama. You lie down." Even when he's half asleep, he melts my heart. Yes, I am sleeping in his room tonight cause I can't resist listening to him breathe and getting wafts of baby Cole scent.

{this moment}

2012-01-20T07:39:00.000-08:00

{this moment} A Friday-ish ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama

{this moment}

2012-01-02T17:14:00.001-08:00

{this moment} A Friday-ish ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama

{This moment}

2011-12-10T19:37:00.001-08:00

A Friday-ish tradition.

{this moment}

2011-11-28T05:11:00.000-08:00

{this moment} A Friday-ish ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama

2011-11-19T07:41:00.000-08:00

{this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama

{this moment}

2011-11-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

{this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama.

frozen

2011-11-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

We went all out for breakfast this morning - pancakes, bacon, and eggs. We put a piece of bacon on Cole's plate to see if he would like it. No sale. He picked it up and flung it onto my plate. Hmm, how do you think he really feels about bacon? Instead, he walked me to the freezer and said,"frozen...peas...frozen". Sounds like a good alternate choice to me.

{this moment}

2011-11-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

{this moment) A Friday-ish ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama

{this moment}

2011-10-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

{this moment) A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama

{this moment}

2011-10-14T22:42:00.000-07:00

A (new!)Friday ritual.

A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama

red is green

2011-08-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

Cole's color vocabulary continues to expand, but he consistently identifies red things as green. At first I thought he just wasn't learning new color names, but recently he learned "puhpuh" (purple). We'll have to ask our pediatrician on our next visit to check out if he's colorblind. Elmo, one of his favorite characters, must look like Oscar's relative! One thing's for sure, he knows "yewoh".

sleep regression

2011-08-03T00:51:00.000-07:00

Oh, the terms I've learned in the past 20 months!

Cole hasn't been the best sleeper, but we did get a brief glimpse of what it was like to have a baby who slept through the night. For the past two and half months though (which happened to coincide with a ridiculously busy time at work -- it's just a phase, right? the work thing.), he's been waking up during the night and nothing seems to console him for about twenty minutes or so. Also, he only wants me. Lucky. He'll want "out" of his room, pointing from one room to the next of where he wants to be which is anywhere different from where we're currently standing. "Milk.No milk. More milk." He's fickle. "Elmo. Gabba. No." I did just post how cute baby talk was, right? I forgot to qualify that with "during the day when we're not sleeping." In addition to the comforting words like, "You're okay" or "It's night night time", "You're delirious" is another sweet nothing I pat him back to sleep with.

We felt bad for the little guy because during the time, he had four teeth come in and two rounds of ear infections. Once we were out of the woods for both, we went back to sleep training which bought us about a week. This week, we're back to wailing around 11:30. At first I thought it was another ear infection -- they were red this weekend when we took him to get checked -- but since he's been waking up at the same time for three nights now, I think something else is up. So, tonight he and I stuck it out in his room. He screamed while sitting next to the bed holding his milk cup in one hand with his blankie pinned against his body with his elbow while reaching out and grabbing my arm to get me up and "out" with his other hand. Door's closed, Buddy. We're in it for the long haul. After 20 minutes or so, he and I came to understanding that he wanted "more milk" (even though he hadn't finished drinking his milk). Once I agreed to get it, he agreed to lay down in bed to wait for me to come back with the goods. Do I have a lawyer in the making? A few sips later, he was out. I'm still up with the ears ringing from the screams. joy.

It's just a phase, right?

He's still the best kid ever!

yewoh

2011-07-31T22:15:00.000-07:00

There's something about baby talk that is just so darn cute. Today, he expanded his color vocabulary with "yewoh". Earlier in the day, he said "banana" -- his first three syllable word. What a coincidence that the words are related. But the prize goes to his early morning request after finishing his milk, "I want more, please." Brian and I have learned something new practically every day about what our little one understands and can recite. We're thrilled and usually look at each other and say, "whoa" in amazement. In this picture, Cole wanted to "see! see!" the preview screen on the camera in my hand. I told him that there was nothing to see and that he had to "stand over there" so that I could take his picture to "see". He took a few steps away from me, turned around and said, "cheese." (whoa.) So cute though, right?

blue and two

2011-06-19T23:50:00.000-07:00

This morning, Cole got the dvd in the Xbox to play. A coincidence of random buttons being pushed by a toddler? Maybe, but I couldn't figure it out with Brian showing me how to do it. Proud dad (Happy Father's Day!) sat next to his son later that day and asked, "Do you remember the sequence?" Thoughts of Cole searching the internet, or whatever the medium will be in his time, for cheats and maps for video games popped in my head. He checked out the controller a little bit then said, "blue", as he pointed to the blue button. This is big stuff, you guys. During story time this evening, he followed my cadence and said, "two" for every number I counted out loud of the fruits The Very Hungry Caterpillar ate that week. Wowzers! This kid is a super genius in the making.

le bebe wordle

2011-04-01T23:38:00.000-07:00

Life gets busy, but I always find time in the day to slow down to spend time with le bebe.

happy turkey

2010-11-26T21:03:00.000-08:00

Ah, we're catching our breath this holiday weekend with no plans and four days of doing whatever comes to mind. Correction, I had one thing planned -- having an untraditional Thanksgiving meal at a nearby brewpub. Unfortunately, it was closed for the holiday and will have to happen another day.

After a series of failed attempts to do other stuff around town which were also closed due to the holiday, we headed home and prepared what ended up being a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner, from the roasted bird to Brian's marshmallow delight. We also had a very special holiday character gobbling around the house -- our very own turkey!

one year old

2010-11-15T06:06:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful journey it's been to reach this milestone!

It doesn't seem that long ago when I approached Brian with a dumbfounded look on my face (so he says!) to let him know that I was pregnant. Since then, we've had new experiences every month.

This past month, Cole has become very mobile. He's not quite walking, but if he has something to hold onto, he's off. Three days after his birthday he stood up on his own in the middle of the room. Not quite sure of what he just accomplished, he sat down and did it again right away. This time, he looked straight at me with a huge smile.

I love that he wiggles his little body whenever he hears any kind of music -- from his toys, commercials, one of us humming...oh, and he hums to himself -- or if you simply ask him to dance. He's a pro with his tambourine and maracas and can turn anything into a drum (even his dad's belly!).

Two days ago, Cole discovered how to nod "yes". He also learned how to spit out food he doesn't like. Coupled with a raspberry, each meal time now requires a thorough wipe down of our entire table. And who taught Cole how to tickle mom!?!

It's all really too cute for words! Thank you, Cole, for such a wonderful year. You are my sunshine. Happy Birthday!

treats and treats

2010-11-01T21:39:00.001-07:00

Halloween is the last of Cole's "First" holidays since our baby boy will soon turn one.

We started our holiday weekend carving pumpkins. Our carving ambitions were high, but quickly turned to tried and true jack-o-lanterns when the little spinny wheel in our carving set didn't quite follow the outline of our designs. Our Halloween day started off with a spooktacular breakfast! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) Cole helped measure out the ingredients for our pumpkin pecan pancakes. They turned out yummy! Even Grandma enjoyed them and she's not a pumpkin fan. After naptime, we headed out for a photographer's studio to capture this last first. We just got the proofs today, but they've got nothing on the classic shot we captured at home when his costume arrived in the mail. Surprisingly since then, he's tolerated the headpiece and we were able to take our little monkey trick or treating at the neighbors'. Here's a pic of him ready for his first treat with a very friendly witch, Maryann. At our last neighbor's house, one of the kids pulled a fast one on Brian and trick or treated out of Cole's bag and took my Now & Later! hmph. At least he didn't get the Smarties. We'll have to keep the goodies away from Cole especially since he now has seven teeth!

Cole shares the next "First" with many of you...watching the Giants win the World Series! Congrats, Giants!

eleven months old

2010-10-13T22:38:00.000-07:00

Today is a double celebration day because it's Daddy-O's birthday too! Unfortunately, I'm away at a conference and will have to wait until the end of the week to celebrate with my two guys.

This month, Cole has been expanding his vocabulary. He's got "mama" down pat. Most of the time he uses it to call out to me, but sometimes, it means box, chair, or whatever is in front of him. He added "dada" last week. Once in a while it sounds like he also says "hi". His favorite sound to make seems to be dribbling his fingers against his mouth. At lunch with grandma this weekend, Cole discovered how to use a straw to sip water.

During our recent visit to the Bay Area, Cole met his great-grandma, great-aunt, and our SF posse. We spent one afternoon at the Children's Park, then had his first ride on a carousel. Later that week, he squealed and laughed at the fish at the CA Academy of Science. We also learned just how good of a traveler he is that week from the plane rides and zipping around the Bay Area throughout the week.

little bird

2010-09-27T22:10:00.000-07:00

We had an unexpected house guest this morning. My mom came up to me this morning while she was holding Cole and said, "I think there's a bird in the house." Random. But there he was huddled under our dining room table.

He looked a little under the weather with his eyes closed and head cocked to one side. Brian scooped him up into our makeshift birdie triage -- Stone IPA box with bread, water, and a package of pot feet to weigh it down. Shortly after, he perked up and fluttered up to the top of the box, then to the wisteria pot where he took another little nap in the sun.

Suspecting he was still a young bird, Brian said, "He can't fly." On cue, our little friend flew off into the trees. Perhaps he also had a little chick in his nest who was crying all night and just needed to catch up on some zzz's before going about with his day. I totally understand, little bird.

hamburglar

2010-09-21T21:05:00.001-07:00

When I got home from work tonight, I was greeted by a very talkative Cole. "Mum" has now become a very common word for him, plus he introduced a series of "rah-bah, rah-bah, rah-bah" which sounds like some sort of hamburglar-speak. He was very animated during our conversation and had a lot to share of what he did today. I think we was especially excited to tell me about his new EyePet monkey friend his dad introduced him to. If he could remember back to the other week, I'm sure he'd be using his words to tell me how much he disliked being a monkey.

ten months old

2010-09-13T21:36:00.001-07:00

Last week, Cole took his first steps and tonight he said, "Momo". That's close enough for me!

His menu of food is expanding again now that he's able to chew chunkier food. Chicken and stars seem to be a new fave. This weekend he literally bit off more than he could chew of his teething cookie. I watched his head shake and body wiggle when he swallowed a piece of cookie that probably could've been chewed up a little more before going down the pipe. It's kinda funny to watch and scary at the same time.

Our baby proofing effort went into full swing over the Labor Day weekend -- shortly after we discovered that he could climb the entire flight of stairs on his own. Now, we live in a house with a series of gates. Maybe it'll be good early training for slalom skiing for Cole. After all, I was half joking about naming him Bodhi.

He's also growing into a great play mate. This morning, he and I had so much fun playing under our blanket fort. Grandma always giggles when Cole crawls through the round window of his play tent. He's also starting to strum and pluck the uke strings (even with his toes!) which is making his dad very proud. Up until now, it was a percussion instrument he banged on.

The funniest thing he did this month:

Cole likes to "sing". The Sound of Music was on in the background while we were rearranging furniture in our family room. During one the scenes Cole belted out a duet with one of the nuns! We were all so surprised and awesomely entertained!

He continues to fill the house with screams, loud cries, and most importantly his infectious laughter!

pop, pop, pop

2010-08-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had a few false alarms when I thought Cole was able to sneak something past me and was chewing on something. Turns out he was just making the motions of chewing, but didn't have anything in his mouth. Maybe this is what one does when they have FOUR teeth coming in at the same time!?!

It's been over a week since the top two front teeth first broke through. We're just about able to see the tips of them now whenever he smiles. This morning, I freaked out when I noticed the other two! Though I've been sympathetic through the sleepless nights, I'll have even more patience when trying to comfort him when he wails in the middle of the night and early morning.

Despite the teeth coming through and the congestion he's had because of it, Le Bebe has been an absolute sweetie with our guests these past two weekends. He especially loved his play date with Yoko, Uncle Dave and Auntie Tess' little puppy.

nine months old

2010-08-13T20:32:00.001-07:00

He's mobile! Last weekend, Cole took the plunge from reaching out far for his toys and started to crawl. He still has a stronger interest to pulling himself up and learning to walk than to crawl, but I'm suspecting once he realizes the power of being able to quickly scoot away from us or go beyond the boundaries of his pillow fort, he'll take to crawling a lot more.

This past month, he also learned how to pick up and feed himself puffs, yogurt melts, and other small food pieces. It's been so great to watch him progress from just pushing around the mashed food on his high chair tray to actually being able to pick it up and put it in his mouth. Cole also went on his first flight to visit the fam in the Bay Area.

My favorite thing we do together these days is play a game of monster. When I'm the monster, he gets tickled a lot while I nosh on his tummy making nom-nom sounds. When he's the monster, he makes the cutest roar-like sound then lays a sloppy slobber on my face. Thanks, son.

first laptop

2010-07-28T22:03:00.000-07:00

I've been holding off on getting this for Cole 'cause I didn't want to be that geeky mom, but each time I'm on my laptop it seems so unfair to tease him with the key tapping noises that make it seem like a big toy. However, when I thought it was harmless to let him play with my keyboard, I lost my left shift key. Those little fingers sure do get in there quite easily! Auntie Winn learned this lesson the hard way when she chose not to heed my warning when we were in the Bay Area for a visit. At first, she thought it was the cutest thing to watch Cole type away on her laptop until she lost the enter key.

Now that he's a lot more curious and determined to reach out for the things he wants (read: my things), I arrived home with his first laptop.

He couldn't contain his excitement with his first keystrokes. His reaction ranks up there with the best so far. He couldn't even use his "words" and just kept humming "mmm, mmm, mmm". Occasionally he'd stop and just give a big toothy grin. Adorable!

I'm sure if there was an internet for babies he'd have blogged, tweeted, and updated his status about his new device before bedtime.

eight months old

2010-07-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

We have one monkey in a barrel. When I bought this ottoman I thought it'd be a nifty source of extra storage. I just didn't think we'd be storing Cole in it. Leave it up to Cole and his dad to come up with fun games. The other game they showed me this morning was Cole as a Scone where he wears our (acrylic) cake dome as a hat.

who dat?

2010-06-30T08:14:00.000-07:00

The other day, Brian surprised us all with his annual (yes, annual) haircut. He mentioned that it took Cole about fifteen minutes to figure out who he was when we got home. ha.ha.

We've been getting lots of close encounters with baby "monkey bird" lately. (Brian says baby monkey bird is Cole's kindred. aww, sweet.) He and mama have been coming down from the eucalyptus and have been perching on our fence. It's their new fave lunch spot.

Often times when we're hanging out in the backyard and baby monkey bird calls out, Cole looks for him. Yesterday, I finally put it together...he responds to that sound 'cause it sounds like his squeaky toys!

seven months old

2010-06-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

Big milestones for Cole this month. Two weekends ago, his first tooth broke through and the second one's been coming up right next to it. A little extra cuddle time and teething gel seems to soothe things for him. Though he has several teething toys, he seems to really like my finger the most. youch. Cole's also learned to sit up on his own. He still refuses tummy time and has gotten really good at rolling over just to avoid it. He's been reaching for things while sitting up, so we'll see if it will lead to crawling. The week before his tooth showed up, he also discovered that banging on his piano made sounds. That night, Brian and I were treated to Cole's first piano recital.

six months old

2010-05-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

He's a happy baby and a natural yogi. His gyan mudra must be working. Cole and I went to Baby and Me yoga the other week where he also showed off his happy baby pose and forward bend. (hee.hee.)

He's learned a lot of new skills this month with reaching out for things being his most practiced one. He reached out for the camera today and leaned very close toward the edge of the couch. We definitely have to keep a close watch on him these days.

He's also learned to roll over both ways but, he mostly rolls around in his sleep. I used to think his crib was a big space for such a little boy. wrong. He takes up practically every inch of the crib throughout the night. Boy, am I glad we've moved him to his own bed. Otherwise, I'm sure I'd be getting kicked and scooted over to a small sliver of the mattress.

On Mother's Day Cole and I were up early and chatting when he cooed "mum". Oh what a lovely gift on a special day! I told Brian when he woke up. Of course, he didn't believe me until he heard it himself. Okay, okay, so it was a happy coincidence that was the sound he made when he rubbed his seemingly itchy gums together. I'll take it!

pool lounger

2010-05-08T21:34:00.000-07:00

After a busy day at the Farmers Market then an Arts and Craft Fair at Bernardo Winery, it was time to relax. We put Cole in his floatie and flipped up the canopy. This is the position he slipped himself into. He didn't make any effort to move for a while and just drifted along with us. He's a natural.

w.a.p.

2010-04-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

w: With the rainy days (and hail!) behind us, we blew off our chores and spent the day at the Wild Animal Park. It was Cole and Grandma's first time. Both really enjoyed Lorikeet Landing where one birdie decided it liked perching on Grandma's head.

a: New item on the menu - avocado! yummy. Good thing the high chair that'll be arriving tomorrow is green.

p: Started off with a foggy, cold morning, then turned into a bright, sunny day. The crystal waters of the pool have been taunting us for months. The first time we dipped Cole's toes in the water last month, he cried. Today, he was ready to jump in it seemed. It's still a bit too cold, but was warm enough for all of us to wade around waist deep.

leaning over

2010-04-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

This has been a big week for us.

We're tackling having Cole learn to sleep on his own. I thought I'd buckle the first night hearing him cry but, as others who have gone down this road have assured me, it's getting better (but not necessarily easier). For every minute he cries, I cry twice as long it seems. Tonight, after a short bedtime story and a few fussy cries to let me know he was sleepy, I set the little guy down in his crib. He stirred a couple of times, gave me one last wide-eyed glance, then tilted his head to the side and fell asleep. Hooray! Now, I don't have to cry myself to sleep either.

We've also introduced rice cereal to his menu. The first couple of times, most of the cereal ended up on the tray, him, or me. Once he got it though, he finishing all that was in his bowl. It still gets everywhere, but most of it does end up in his tummy. This morning, I pulled my laptop out of my bag and it was splattered with cereal from yesterday's meal time. I was so proud.

Earlier this week, Cole wanted to be upright more often. When propped up with his arms in front, he was able to hold himself up for a little while. Shortly, he would lean over, but was content with that position. He's getting the hang of it a little more and isn't tipping over as much.

Whew, lots going on. No wonder he fell asleep so easily.

baby rattle-r

2010-04-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

I was in the living room feeding Cole shortly after work when Brian walked in from the backyard looking aimlessly into the air holding the golf club we inherited from the previous house owners. He was thinking of ideas for a vessel to capture...a baby rattle snake. eeks! We keep the golf club near the pool pump 'cause that's where the pool guy found a rattler last summer right before we closed on the house.

After several attempts to contact an animal control agency on a Friday afternoon, he ended up calling our local fire department. Since the fire station is just a few blocks away, a pumper truck (which we learned from our adorable three year old neighbor, Simone) pulled up in front of our house in a few minutes. The captain and two other firefighters headed out to the pool pump and handled the situation in a jiffy. Unfortunately, for the little rattler, they aren't allowed to catch and release venomous snakes. Apparently, it's that time of year when rattle snakes come out. This was their second call today.

Cole's picture has nothing to do with today's incident. I just happened to take pictures of him right before this all happened to capture him doing his two favorite thing these days -- gnawing on his burp cloth and grabbing his toes. Soon, his toes will be making it into his mouth. I've seen him get close the past couple of days.

l is for lumpia

2010-04-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

I love this shirt. It was a present from Auntie Michelle who recently delivered Baby Kealani. (...still waiting for pictures)! When we received it in the mail, Cole was just a few weeks old and Grandma just finished making a batch. The mound of perfectly rolled lumpias towered over little Cole. Not any more.

Today's program was brought to you by the number 5. :-)

five months old

2010-04-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

Is it me or did this past month fly by? Might have something to do with that big distraction called "work". We've been adjusting to my schedule and I feel lucky to be able to come home for lunch every day to hang out with Cole.

We've also had lots of visitors this month. Every week brought someone new. Lucky us! Cole was always ready to impress showing off his new found skills to everyone. When the Mayekawas and Auntie Winn were here he was reaching for things, pushing off against Uncle Bobby's hands during tummy time, grabbing his toes, and eager to stand when propped up. The week after, he rolled over! He showed Auntie Jen how well he could hold things with both hands. More rolling when Auntie Virgie was here. Auntie Lissa missed out 'cause she only stopped by for a short while close to his bed time. That'll teach her. On Easter, we had a nice lunch with Grandma in sunny Del Mar.

Cole's also moved into his crib in his own room this month. The first week went well, but this past week he's been waking up more frequently. We think he's teething, though our ped says otherwise. Yes, there's more drooling. He also prefers to nurse over the bottle and wakes up more frequently to do so throughout the night. He really likes to bite down on my washcloth-covered finger. Though his fave continues to be stuffing his burp cloth in his mouth, except nowadays, he's really biting down on it.

He's growing fast, but I still find ways to keep him in duckie feet. Love these things!

four months old

2010-03-13T20:55:00.000-08:00

I can't remember when I moved away from counting Cole's age in weeks, but I feel like I've been saying he's three and half months old for about a month. Today, I get to reset my accuracy 'cause he's exactly four months old.

Though he still wakes up several times during the night, thankfully, the times in between are longer. Sometimes I'm able to get him to go back to sleep when he wakes at 4 or 5 am and get a couple of extra hours of sleep, but today wasn't one of them. So, we were off to an early start on this milestone day! Since the rest of the household were still snug in their beds, bright-eyed Cole and I shared an early morning play time with his favorite toys...which he slobbered all over. I think he's an early teether.

He's holding his head up well, but wobbly at times. He's also got a firm grip. His vocabulary of coos continue to grow. (I love our chats!) And he's a wiggle worm while he sleeps. He's my little baby and I'm tickled that I can still clothe him in outfits with giraffe, bear, and puppy dog feet.

pure honey

2010-03-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

I'm back at work this week. (sniff.sniff.) Since Cole's night time routine to wind down starts early, I'm in the room with him shortly after arriving home. I usually read a magazine or play my DS while he dozes off. Tonight, I was stuck with a freshly dozed off baby on my lap without something to flip through, nor an interest to play BookWorm. By some stroke of luck, my cell phone was on the bedside table...

B (upstairs playing a video game): Hello.
K: Hi.
B: You need something?
K: My laptop and a refill of my tea.
B: Okay.

Minutes later, I'm online and enjoying a freshly brewed cup of tea. I love room service!

powegian in bumbo

2010-02-24T12:27:00.000-08:00

In the recent issue of our local paper, the Poway News Chieftain, we learned the official moniker for residents is Powegian.

New this week for our little powegian -- tears! (Seems mine have been flowing this week too, dreading having to leave him to return to work next week. boo.hoo.) Cole's getting better at sitting up and holding things too. Most of the stuff he grabs ends up working their way to his mouth, but he still prefers his hands and burp cloth.

pirate monkeys

2010-02-17T17:21:00.000-08:00

There are a handful of outfits I've been waiting for Cole to fit into and this one with pirate monkeys is one of them. (Thanks, Ann!) I know you can't see the print too well in this picture, but I figured the main subject, Le Bebe holding his head up during tummy time, was more interesting to showcase.

sweethearts day

2010-02-14T12:10:00.000-08:00

Lucky me, I have two valentines this year! As you can see from the picture, the little one has a much higher ratio of valentines. Happy February 14th!

three months old

2010-02-14T11:02:00.000-08:00

Last week, it seemed like he was ready to eat right after we finished cleaning up after his last meal. Then, on Thursday, I looked at him as I was dressing him and his face was fuller, as well as the rest of his body. I'm always surprised how much Cole's appearance changes after a growth spurt. I love squishing his drumstick legs!

He's a lot more mobile and alert these days too. He and I start our day with an exchange of smiles followed by a mother-son "chat". He knows exactly how to charm me. He usually has a lot to say, so I'm guessing he's telling me about his dreams from the night before. As his engines get revvin', he kicks and flails his arms for his morning calisthenics. He's especially active under the canopy of his jungle gym, watching his mobile in the crib, and even on his changing table where I taped some black and white images under the hutch shelf above it.

Cole's also found his hands which he stuffs into his mouth a lot. It's like dessert for him. As he continues to learn his skill to grasp things with his hands, his new pal, Sophie the giraffe, or burp cloth makes it into his mouth too.

queen redux plus one

2010-01-31T15:21:00.000-08:00

We had another Grandparents' Weekend. The original plan was to spend the day at the Wild Animal Park, but an unexpected growth spurt feeding schedule on Friday night called for a change in plans. Having been up every hour, I probably would've been the roarin' crankmeister louder than any of the animals at the park before we could reach Lorikeet Landing.

A short drive up to Kit Carson Park with a short walk on a trail led us to Queen Califia's Magical Circle. The last time we were here I was 24 weeks preggo. This trip gave us a chance to take an updated picture with the little one held in our arms instead.

Our day out ended with a late lunch at the Elephant Bar, one of grandpa's faves. Hmm, we stayed within the wild animal theme after all.

midnight sunshine

2010-01-17T15:19:00.000-08:00

A few times last week, Le Bebe treated me to bouts of laughter as he dozed into baby dreamland. Makes you wonder what's going on in his young mind. Probably goes something like this, "Hey, remember that time Mr. Penguin was bobbing his head up and down? Then, he flapped his flippers. ha.ha. What a joker!" (No Batman puns intended.)

Yes, he's wearing a cape. He's my favorite little super hero.

two months old

2010-01-13T18:12:00.001-08:00

Our house was abuzz this past month with holiday activities and many, many visitors who were anxious to meet the little one. Lucky boy! It was one of those time periods which seemed to span a long time yet flew by in a flash. During that time blip, Cole outgrew his newborn clothes, started cooing and flashing his sweet smile, and began to recognize high contrast objects. He's become good pals with Mr. Penguin. (Brian is convinced Cole's scared of his black-framed glasses...I think it's the loud, scary noises he makes when they're playing.) Cole is two months old today!

one month old

2009-12-14T08:01:00.000-08:00

I've been told by so many people to enjoy these early days 'cause it all goes by so quickly. It's true! A few days ago, I changed him into his homecoming outfit and it was too small. (sniff. sniff.) Earlier this week, he shared with grandma his first little chuckle. I can't believe our little one turned one month old yesterday. There are times when it feels like we just arrived days home ago. Maybe because several days seem to mesh into one long day with our new round the clock schedule? Happy First Month, Le Bebe!

our first week home

2009-11-22T14:36:00.000-08:00

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, there's a light breeze, and all is well in Poway!

THANK YOU to Grandma (x2), Grandpa, Chris, Nic, and Diondra for your help and support! There is no way we would've been able to be here, in our new home, without you.

Day 1:

Welcome home, Cole! yay!

Day 2:

8:00 am - Moving day. (Because we didn't think bringing home baby as new parents wasn't challenging enough...) Boxes everywhere.
First visit with the pediatrician. Jaundice is coming back. Need to get checked again tomorrow.
Feeding times every two hours...really?

Day 3:

Jaundice is back and we need to use a biliblanket. Though it was tough to have a layer of separation between us, I was glad to be able to have him home with us instead of under the bright lights in an acrylic box back in the hospital.
Brian and I are delirious from lack of sleep, but are honing our note taking skills. Does it matter that we don't remember writing down most of the stuff we logged?
Unpacking the kitchen -- Chris, Nic, and Grandma have been unpacking? Wow, thanks! I didn't even notice the activity in the house.

Day 4:

Hormones are taking me for a ride - I cry alligator tears of joy every time I look at Cole and/or Brian (how'd I get this lucky?), then have a giggle fit when I mistakenly think a security guard is a fireman at Target (Virgie: Think back row of the 29 Sunset)
Continue to try to fit in errands/tasks between feedings

Day 5:

Yay, poop! I know this will be the last time we will ever be thankful to see poop.
Whew, our first day without any dr. appts or errands/tasks on our plate. I can't remember what happened this day though.
Still delirious - Things we find while unpacking disappear again before we reach the destination for that object. "Can you call my wallet?" Too bad this only works for phones.

Day 6:

Beginning to get my head out of the sleep deprived fog...feeling somewhat alive again
Another yay! -- lab results are good and the biliblanket is history! I get to hold my baby close to me again!
Bye, Chris and Nic! Thanks for coming over to look, just look, at Cole :-P

Day 7:

Our first somewhat normal day. We actually have a table cleared and ready for dinner and watch tv together. Correction, I sit in front of the tv and fall asleep...only to be woken up by the little one's desire to feed.

I'm the happiest gal alive and have SO much to be thankful for!

we're "powaiians"

2009-10-31T19:27:00.000-07:00

Yay, the deal is done and we closed on our house yesterday!

It's been a long journey which tried both B's and my patience. Can't even count how many times we've had to switch off on our tag teaming and said, "I'll take care of it this time". It took a lot of work on our side to keep on top of everything during the process, but we knew it'd be worth it in the end.

We will definitely grow into this house. The timing is cutting it right down to the wire, but we're SO glad to know that we'll be bringing our little one "home" when he's ready to make his appearance to the world.

The house is in Poway and is minutes from my office. We think folks of Poway are called Powayans, but we feel more da kine. Aloha!

womb sounds

2009-10-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

Another trip to L&D due to high bp last night. This time, our OB (Dr. Dunn, a.k.a. "Double D" as we like to call him) was on call, so I got to skip the part about giving the doc my history. So the drill goes like this: Go into a room, provide a sample, lie on a bed, have the fetal monitor band velcroed around my belly, wait for the lab tech, "youch" a needle, bp goes down to levels lower than any I record at home, wait for the lab work, bp lowers even more, labs come back normal, "whew", head back home.

B theorizes that they're pumping something in the air ducts that lowers my bp. Since Double D was there, we got to joke around and run it past him. He actually beat us to the punch line and suggested there's a certain zen in the room that calms me down.

Curious to try to figure out what the magic formula is, my theory is that hearing the baby's heartbeat is the missing factor at home. Since then, I've been listening to the CD of womb sounds which I picked up anticipating the need for an arsenal of sleep aids for the baby. Seems to be helping! We got a two-fer on the CD - works on mama too. ha!

mr. big brains

2009-10-27T15:10:00.000-07:00

Today was the first of a series of twice weekly visits for the remainder of my pregnancy since I'm considered to be in the "high risk" category. During each visit, I'll have an amniotic fluid index (AFI) ultrasound followed by a non-stress test (NST).

The tech's first question during the ultrasound, "Has he been measuring big?" "Not that I know of", I replied. She mentioned that his head is measuring large, about two weeks ahead of what she was expecting. great. First thing I thought of was, "What will this mean for my delivery?" Oh well, nothing I can do to control this. As long everything else is progressing well, that's all I'm concerned about.

The way I see it a larger head means more brains!

room to breathe

2009-10-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was noticeably short of breath. It didn't matter if I just walked up the stairs to our front door, was talking in a meeting, or was simply sitting still. I know it's a common experience, but it was uncomfortable nonetheless. It didn't help that I just started taking meds to lower my blood pressure about the same time. Made it hard to determine what was causing the breathlessness. Maybe a combination of both?

Last week, after another visit to L&D to monitor my bp after another high reading, I was placed on modified bed rest. Eeks. At first it was hard to come to terms with having to stop working so abruptly (and three weeks earlier than expected!), but always knew where my priorities laid. Baby comes first.

On a call with my mom later in the week, she commented that I sounded like I was struggling less for breath while talking. She was right. I was able to take deeper breaths again. ah, lightening. Just another sign that we're coming along the final stretch...

We're on the final stretch on the house hunt as well. We've got a couple more checklist items left to complete this week, then will hopefully be able to close this Friday(!). The house has plenty of room and we're looking forward to having family and friends come for a visit.

merbaby

2009-10-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

This week was baby week for us. We started taking childbirth classes, took a hospital tour, registry gifts are trickling in, and got to end the week with a belly painting!

I found out through my multi-talented prenatal yoga instructor, Shelly, that the UCSD Midwife Services is celebrating their 10th year and is offering a week's worth of free events. Of all the events, the belly painting/dance party sounded like the most fun. My co-worker, Mikala, thought the same, so we went together.

For my belly design, I wanted an underwater theme. I even wore my favorite mermaid/ocean-themed socks for inspiration. Shelly, who happened to be my belly artist as well, and I tossed around a couple of design ideas. When she suggested a merbaby, I was sold! Lots of women with fabulous belly designs. Mikala's "Bean" painting was adorable.

Following the painting, we had fun doing prenatal belly dancing. I felt a little hippy-dippy doing it at first, but after a few hip circles and shoulder shimmies I realized how good it felt. What a nice way to loosen up the joints and encourage movement and creating space for the little one in the belly.

The event was fabulous!

one down

2009-09-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

When I found out I was pregnant, I didn't know what to expect, but always thought it was going to be tough to adjust to an ever-changing body. After an entire summer of house hunting in this ridiculously tight market and looking for a minivan, turns out the pregnancy is the easy part.

I have lost far too many hours of sleep, nearly pulled my hair out on multiple occasions, and shed buckets of tears over the houses we didn't get, the ones on which our offer was accepted and spent hundreds of dollars on inspections only to cancel over some weird buyer contingency at the 11th hour, making arrangements to test drive a van and finding out it was sold right before leaving to get there, etc.

Today is no exception to this experience. We're in escrow for the third time. This house is a fixer and is being sold as is. Unfortunately, the inspector we used totally screwed us and placed us in a very vulnerable position. He didn't check the plumbing...didn't check for leaks 'cause "faucets tend to leak in older homes." huh? So, here we are scrambling to find out more about the house...and, of course, shelling out more $$ for more inspections to determine if it's worth our $$ to continue with the sale. Thankfully, we'll have our go/no-go decision by Thursday. Our inspection contingency ends on Friday...talk about cutting it close! So, we'll table this drama until then.

This past weekend, the universe was on our side (finally)! Since the market for used Siennas is just as competitive as housing, we decided to broaden our search to include Odysseys as well. We met the seller at our mechanic's and took the Odyssey for a drive. Instantly, it was clearly much more comfortable to drive. Fortunately, it was also in pristine condition -- both physically and mechanically. The sellers were a dream to work with too. Our mechanic came out of his garage and told us this was "a good one" which would provide us "many years without big problems". whew.

We sealed the deal later that afternoon. When we got home, we sat in the van in our carport and watched the demo DVD using the wireless headphones without feeling an ounce embarassed. This van has more features than we really need, but I'm sure we'll grow into it very quickly...and I'll be able to reclaim the hours I've been spending scouring car ads.

hiccups

2009-09-10T06:54:00.000-07:00

When B came into the room to wake me up yesterday morning, I was already awake. The little bun woke me up a while earlier with lots of activity. B placed his hand on my tummy to check out what was going on in there and felt a rhythmic pulse. We were baffled. I motioned that maybe the little guy was punching around like a boxer in training which made us laugh at the silly scenario.

Later that evening, I took a look at a baby site my co-worker mentioned and read about what to expect at 27 weeks. Turns out the little guy had hiccups this morning! Ah, now that makes more sense than him training for a boxing match. So cute. Well, as cute as you can imagine a small being hiccuping in a sack of amniotic fluid.

My surprise for B arrived in the mail yesterday. Good timing since he's been so immersed in the PS3 these past couple of days. Guess I better be prepared to be outnumbered in this household by gamers.

back 'n belly

2009-09-07T14:20:00.001-07:00

I like when I can post about a sewing project. It's been months since I've touched the sewing machine.

A little while ago, I bought a back 'n belly pillow as a splurge to prepare for the days I'd need the support while sleeping. I ended up using it much earlier than expected 'cause it was so comfy. It feels like sleeping in a cloud of pillows. One thing I don't like about it is the pillow covering which came with it is hard and scratchy.

It's been so hot lately that I abandoned the pillow 'cause it was too hot to be blanketed by polyester fiberfill -- even with a fan blowing directly on me all night. Propping pillows around me has been the alternative, but it's doesn't do the job as well. Last night was the first night in weeks that we slept without a fan which means the pregger pillow will be back on the bed soon.

I spent the afternoon making a new pillow case for it. I bought the fabric shortly after the pillow arrived in the mail, but hadn't gotten around to it. By coincidence, it happens to have turquoise in the pattern which goes with a comforter cover I just picked up at Ikea the other week. I'm thinking my color choices might've been subliminally influenced by the little boy blue I've got kicking around in my belly.

Looking at the scraps on the ground, I realized I had enough fabric left over to make a woobie cover for B. bonus.

Next project of the day: avocado ice cream.
Another splurge since I'm going for the real deal, not froyo. All weekends should be long weekends.

lake poway with kojo

2009-09-06T16:02:00.000-07:00

Something about weekends makes me wake up earlier than usual. Our original plan was to head out to a flea market, but scratched that for a lazy breakfast...until I pulled up the weekly ad for Tarjay and blurbed out that the PS3 was in stock. I don't know why I encourage B's hobbies (not that he needs any help from me to keep it going), but I saw it on the ad and off we were as early bird shoppers.

Since our next errand wasn't going to be until an hour and a half later, we brought our small collection of bread heels to Lake Poway to feed the ducks. The lake was misty because of the marine layer that blanketed the area earlier. (Made for a very humid morning. I hope relief is on its way for this heat we've been experiencing this summer.)

B made friends immediately with a statue of a mountain lion by the concessions stand who he named, Kojo.

We sat on the rocks by the water and fed the ducks. I was okay with this until the geese came by and stood right next to us. I'm not a fan of geese. Bay Area folks know of the aggressive ones at Stow Lake who attack people on the walkway. Those guys ruined it for all the geese for me. I made sure we threw the bread pieces far away to discourage them from sticking around. A family with a little boy and a bag of feed arrived at the beach area and the geese moved on to them. whew.

Home from our excursions, B set up the PS3 and played his game. Looked like all the other games he plays. I don't get it. Why did we need another console in the house?

nutella froyo

2009-08-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

I do it because I can...and because I love, love, love nutella. My next attempt at making frozen yogurt was supposed to be a healthier choice with blueberries, but it seems the Blueberry Monster hit up my fridge. Actually, my nephew stopped by yesterday, so there were two Blueberry Monsters.

My heart was set on making frozen yogurt, so I scanned the fridge and pantry for ideas and spotted my old friend, nutella. The first bite was a bit surprising 'cause I expected that familiar creamy, choco-hazelnut flavor, but got something less sweet and tangy instead. The second bite was much happier. It doesn't taste like nutella, but more like chocolate yogurt. I like it!

This almost turned into a rocky road, but the marshmallows in my pantry were past their prime. It's a rare thing for me to have marshmallows in stock. I bought them following a trip to NYC when I fell in love with the cornflake marshmallow chocolate chip cookies at momofuku milk bar. The intention was to try to recreate them at home, but I think planning another trip to NYC is a better choice.

Here's a simple recipe I threw together for my nutella froyo:
1 c. whole milk
2 c. nonfat vanilla yogurt
3/4 c. nutella

I mixed everything with a spatula in a bowl, then poured it into the ice cream maker. 25 minutes later, voila. The end product fit into the 32 oz. yogurt container and was placed in the freezer to "ripen".

magical circle

2009-08-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

Our house hunting continues and we've broadened our search to Escondido in North County. Though it's been work to familiarize ourselves with the neighborhoods, it's been a good way to find hidden gems. (We found out that escondido means "hidden" in Spanish.)

While viewing a few houses last week during a lunch break, hunger pains hit me while we drove past Nayeli's Taco Shop. It was a hole in the wall and the carne asada was fantastic. B found out about Peterson's Donut Corner nearby which will come in handy since I've acquired a fondness for donuts these past three weeks. The reviews we've read sound promising. Too bad I haven't been in the mood for a donut whenever we've been in the neighborhood.

This morning, we decided to check out Queen Califia's Magical Circle in Kit Carson Park, another B find. There's a mosaic sculpture in Balboa Park which we think is by the same artist. These sculptures are in the back corner of the park down a dirt path. Once you see the circle of trees, you do enter a magical, whimsical place. There was so much to look at! Definitely worth another visit.

oh right, the beach

2009-08-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

I'm sure my MN friends got sick of me saying how much I missed the ocean during the years I lived in the Midwest. Yet, I've been living just up the hill from the beach for a while now and I have yet to go diving or surfing and have only gone boogie boarding once. It's days like yesterday that are a good reminder that, "oh yeah, I'm so close to the ocean. I should go to the beach more often!"

My brother's family is in town and it was a perfect reason to bail on work and spend the day in Del Mar. He and Ashton (Del Mar code name "Jeremy") spent some time on a surfboard until I was able to meet up with them with our boogie boards. Me and my "plus one" waded in the waves while Jeremy caught the whitewash on the bb. It was nice to be buoyant, but I couldn't resist jumping up and over the waves and had to resort back to the blanket after jostling the little one in the mini ocean inside me.

We met Nic for lunch a few blocks in town and I got to have my fave fish tacos at Paci fica Br eeze Cafe. Yummy, chipotle sauce! I always associate this place with fish tacos and a cold beer, but this Beer Friday, I opted for an Arnold Palmer. In a few months, my hoppy beverage and I will be reunited.

The chill out vibe continued through the night with pizza and video game night at our place. Jeremy painstakingly strained fresh pureed raspberries and blackberries of seeds while everyone else started off a game of Boom Blox so that we were able to enjoy fresh very berry frozen yogurt a mere 25 minutes later. mmm. A healthier alternative to rocky road ice cream.

Bonus: Nic and I got fancy haircuts by Auntie Jenet in the kitchen/frozen yogurt shop/salon!

rocky road

2009-08-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

Though I haven't had my usual pre-pregnancy sweet tooth cravings, my vices of chocolate and ice cream have stayed with me. It's been warm and humid lately...perfect ice cream weather! Last week, I discovered Breyer's Rocky Road and it's D-licious! It's got a malted flavor and the almonds are covered in chocolate.

I don't usually eat ice cream everyday, but have been helping myself to it for the past two weeks. So, I made an effort to stay away. This lasted for two days. Last night, I couldn't resist and had some ice cream last night. This stirred up quite a lot of activity from the baby in my belly.

As he was stirring around, B felt lots of his kicks as he placed his hand on my belly. A little while into it, I started feeling a new sensation with the baby's kicks. Wouldn't say it was comfortable...

More kicking, but this time it was on the other side of my belly. Ah ha! What I was feeling earlier was him moving around! Cool.

scoping out the 'hood

2009-07-17T22:47:00.000-07:00

More good news! Today, our offer on the house we wanted was accepted! We decided to drive by the house this evening to check out the noise level of our soon-to-be cul-de-sac. Must've looked odd for the neighbors to see us sitting in our car with our windows down and not talking...just listening. Joy, the sounds we heard were the neighbor's kids hanging out with their dad in their front yard, our future neighbor getting something out of his garage (lots of good tools to borrow!), birds, and crickets! whew.

Tried out a local taco shop, El Ranchito. It's hard to get past the front door 'cause there's a balloon lady who sets up shop at the front table twisting animal shapes out of balloons which all the kids swarm too. Good place for food too. We'll be back, I'm sure.

It's been hot and humid all week, but this evening felt like a mild summer night with a warm breeze.

This pic is for you, Auntie V! Don't get your hopes up for weekly photo posts though...

and so it begins...

2009-07-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

Last night, Auntie V and Uncle D drove down to SD for dinner after a sunny day at The Happiest Place on Earth. Auntie V and I greeted each other at the door with a big hug. When Dave stepped up, I had to hug him 'cause his hands were full of bags. "Um, hi. What's all this?"

In true V-fashion, our quick hellos turned into an instant baby shower with a "windfall" of gifts. Seriously, I think she gave us enough clothes and blankies to last us through the first year...and this is only her first visit!

I think it was unanimous that the overall favorite piece was the Super Snapsuit, complete with cape. Too cute! We all wished in came in our sizes.

Needing sustenance from oohing and aahing over all the adorable things, we headed to Fidel's (yum, baby likes enchiladas!) where we laughed like old times. With a full belly, my bump was prominent and ready for it's first close-up. So, here it is! I can't believe how much I've popped in the past week...and I've started to feel "flutters". aww.

open season for shopping

2009-06-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

We've been slowly leaking the news out about our bun in the oven. Due to my "advanced maternal age", our discussions with the docs have typically included identifying risks. Though I'm trying to enjoy my first experience, as you can imagine, this has caused a lot of anxiety as we wait for screening and test results. This week, we crossed one of our big hurdles and have received "good news" about our amnio results. whew.

To celebrate this milestone, I broke out my first preggo wear -- a pair of shorts from Tar-jay. They're still a bit big for me, but my regular shorts have gotten tight. There's no point in being uncomfortable, especially while lazing around on the weekend.

We also made our first baby purchase this morning, whoo. I found a listing for a Frog stroller on craigs. After researching the specs and reading reviews, it sounded like a good buy, esp. at a used price. It appears to be very gently used, practically new. score. We probably won't be buying much else until we can find a new home (another big life change!) since storage space is at a premium in our current abode. It'll add to our dining room decor for now.

Auntie V has been waiting patiently with great restraint to start her shopping spree of baby clothes. Ready, set, go! Actually, we'd love it more if she diverts the funds toward plane tickets so that she can come and spend more time with us once the little one arrives. Those visits will be priceless.

where the wind blows

2009-03-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

We're just days away from the TEAM Survivor San Diego's first dragon boat race at the Arizona Dragon Boat Festival in Tempe. This team has come a long way from our first days together when the dragon boat team was put together last Spring. I have no expectation of placing at the race and feel getting there with a strong, dedicated group of cancer survivors enthusiastic about a new found sport (for us) is a self-proclaimed victory.

To commerate the event and honor those who aren't able to be with us in the boat, Becca, our team captain, and I got together for a quick craft project to create our TSSD Dragon Boat Team prayer flags which we'll hang along our tent at the event...and hopefully, every event thereafter for as long as the flags last.

Traditionally, the colors of the flags represent all of the elements and the Five Pure Lights, however we used hues of our team color, purple, which commemorates awareness for all types of cancers, similar to how pink is used for breast cancer awareness. We kept the edges frayed since the tradition is to let the prayer flags dissolve into the wind so that the mantras, or in our case, words honoring our loved ones, are carried to all beings. Poetic, eh?

These flags will be written on by our team members this week, but we've also prepared additional fabric squares which we'll make available at our event for others to share their words. We hope they'll donate some money toward our cause as well...after all, we're a volunteer-run non-profit and want to continue to provide programs such as dragon boating to women cancer survivors in our community.

The concept of these prayer flags has really touched my heart and hope that it's the beginning of a new tradition for my team.

itchin' for the kitchen

2009-03-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

I've returned to Lady of Leisure status and recently got back from my trip to NYC to help my BFF get ready for her big move -- six blocks away from her current apartment. This was one of my favorite trips to NYC. I think it's 'cause I'm finally becoming familiar with the different "sides" of Manhattan.

I arrived with my list of restaurants and bakeries locked in my mind and had a plan. It was nice to visit my long-time fave, Angelica Kitchen, where I was reminded of their Dragon Bowl. This was a staple of mine back in the days when I was following a macrobiotic diet. I don't think I'll be going macro any time soon, but have started re-introducing the dragon bowl to my regular menu. I've already had my version of it twice since I got back!

Since I've returned, I've been on a cooking spree, inspired by my culinary holiday in NYC, making whatever comes to mind. I borrowed this book from the library and started my batch of no-knead bread right away. I've read raves about it on many blogs for some time and now I know why. The bread was so easy to make and was SO delicious. I think I have to ban myself from making the next batch 'cause I've been baking fresh bread every day ever since. We have been devouring each piece! B is boycotting the bread now because it's too easy to eat it all and he doesn't want to suffer the consequences of consuming all the extra carbs. One morning, he said he woke up with a bread hangover. ha.ha. I can't imagine not making this bread again, so I ordered the book.

While looking for supplies, I gravitated toward King Arthur flour. Originally, I was on their site for a plastic container to store the dough in the fridge, but ended up with their baking book as well. I'm planning on baking sandwich bread for B.

chumbama

2009-01-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

I've been laid up on the couch for the past three days with the latest cold/flu bug that's been going around. I'm grrr-ticked off that I'm sick because people have been coming into the office when they know darned well that they've got something. So, their over it by the weekend and back at work while I miss the unseasonable summer-like weather on my days off, stuck inside taking over-the-counter drugs like clockwork. (I think the pseudophedrine is making me cranky, eh?)

Last week, one of my co-workers and I planned an inauguration viewing party (yes, during work hours...it's history in the making!) with cupcakes. I made the Obama-esque toppers with our logo thanks to a nifty app from Paste Magazine, but may not be able to enjoy the sea of Lilliputian rally posters on toothpicks (they are so cute!) because I may have to take another sick day. I'm considering dropping them off in the morning for the office crowd to enjoy, but I've been having slows starts in the morning with this cold and may not make it there in time. If we don't make use of these toppers, I just might head out to Legoland and sneak them onto the parade route of their inauguration replica built out of legos.

i won

2009-01-11T20:23:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, I received a call that my raffle ticket was the winning ticket for an opportunity quilt from the Country Loft. I've purchased so many raffle tickets for quilts that I really couldn't remember who they were or when I even entered their raffle, but I was totally excited to have won whatever it was. Turns out they had a booth at the past Race for the Cure in Balboa Park.

We picked the quilt up this weekend from their adorable shop which is a converted quaint house behind a white picket fence. The shop was chaotic and full of quilters. No sign of a recession in there. Turns out they were holding an Open House and the quilt enthusiasts were abuzz signing up for classes and buying supplies for new projects.

When I let one of the ladies know that I was there to pick up the quilt, the ears of the shop workers perked up and they all peeked in from various doorways to get a look at me. They seemed more excited than me!

The quilt is beautiful and filled with vibrant colors! They mentioned the quilt maker and quilters names, but I forgot them a few seconds after hearing them. Fortunately, one of the ladies suggested that they contact the quilt maker and have her create a label for me including the quilt pattern name too. They seemed happy to hear that I completed my first quilt last summer and made sure I had their class list in hand before leaving with the quilt.

lord have mercy

2009-01-02T19:11:00.000-08:00

Holiday breaks spent with loved ones typically include mindless hours in front of the t.v. watching marathons of shows you didn't watch during the season (most for a good reason) and movies which didn't make the must-see list earlier in the year.

As I baked my test batches of Barefoot Contessa's pecan shortbread cookies, Steven Seagal's direct-to-video Kill Switch was playing in the background. This movie is priceless! I think his on again/off again accent is supposed to be Southern, but it sounds more like he's trying to channel his inner Isaac Hayes (who plays the Coroner). Now, imagine Steven Seagal referring to people as "Baby" using a Marky Mark intonation. In one scene, he used his long drawl to exclaim, "Lord have mercy!" three times. At one point, I almost thought he was going to call out to the po-po, but it was only half-baked as " the poh-lice". Not too surprised to find out that multi-talented Seagal wrote the script. (He's in a blues band too.) The fight scenes are just as awesome. While the stunt double is getting pounded, they splice in shots of Seagal throwin' punches and slicing the air with a knife.

Most memorable scene for me? When B pointed out that the bad guy and his soon-to-be victim enjoyed tea time before the crime and we noticed that we had the same exact tray. The tray was a thrift store find back in our old Hillcrest neighborhood and was featured as the background on one of my older posts.

What a way to start off my viewing experience for 2009. Let's hope I get back to sewing before I can get my hands on a copy of Above the Law when his accent changes to portray a master of Aikido.

Happy New Year!

flirty skirty

2008-09-10T06:20:00.000-07:00

When I got up on Saturday morning, I headed straight for my sewing machine to finish this Flirty Skirty apron. I had to get it in the mail that day in time for my sister's birthday today.

We all flew out to Austin for her graduation from Texas Culinary Academy in July. We were so surprised when we read on the program that she was graduating as Suma Cum Laude! Way to go! She's starting a new job with a bakery soon. I thought it would be nice for her to have a bright, cheery apron to wear to start off her work days...at 4 a.m. Baker's hours, yuck!

This is my first hand-made gift. I'll definitely make this apron again, but will have to rethink how to apply the pockets. Hope she likes it. Happy Birthday, Sis!

press and sew

2008-09-02T07:06:00.000-07:00

Even pressing the seams before sewing will take more practice for me. For this project, I had to press 1/8" seam, followed by a 1/4" along the waist and bib of the apron. The curved area was a bit forced and I the seam wasn't consistent in width. I thought it wouldn't matter too much, but when I used my machine's guide lines for 1/4", the fatter part of the seams didn't catch the fabric turned over for the 1/8" fold. In the future, I'll keep an eye for all straight lines for the pattern.

I completed the body and attached the pockets yesterday. I decided to minimize the rick rack to the top of the pockets. I was planning on lining the perimeter of the apron with the rick rack but when I laid it out on the table, it looked a bit too crafty.

how sweet it is

2008-08-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

After a long break full of distractions, I'm finally getting back on the sewing track. During my weekend-long birthday celebration, my family and I found ourselves in Carlsbad and I had to show them the fun fabrics at Sowing Sisters. Barb, my instructor for my first quilt was there and got me excited about taking another class. The others were also caught with the bug, but delegated the projects to me and my mom who are the only ones who know how to sew (though I'd barely call myself a sewer yet). We left with patterns for an Amy Butler purse and two aprons with fabulous fabrics to work on the projects, of course.

Yesterday, my Sowing Sisters sewing sister, Linda (we were in the same quilting class), and I went to the San Diego Quilt Show. We spent the entire first half of the day at the show, leaving with more projects for ourselves. I found an easier apron kit and she's going to take on an Amy Butler quilt kit. We were walking down the aisle commiserating about our rookie quilting woes of lining up seams, so we were both so excited to find the quilt pattern she chose which didn't require lining up any seams! I was tempted to buy one as well, but figured I had plenty on my plate already and needed to get started on those first...it took a lot of restraint to pass up the fabrics/kits I saw. After lunch a yummy garlicky shrimp burrito from Tin Fish across the street, we headed into the scrapbooking event back at the Convention Center which she had passed for.

I'm going to start cutting the fabrics for the Flirty Skirty apron tonight, after my next bass lesson from B. Learning how to play the bass is about as on track as my sewing progress...

I indulged in a summer day of plans to nowhere with B (it's Labor Day weekend after all!) before jumping back onboard the sewing train. We started the day hunting at the swap meet, then found ourselves on a long country drive to Julian. One of our great finds was this original painting titled "How Sweet It Is"...very fitting for our day!

fair henna

2008-07-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we went to the San Diego County Fair with B's parents who are annual visitors to the garden, wood working and fine arts exhibits. They seemed a bit disappointed with the garden exhibit. Maybe they were less elaborate this year due to drought concerns? I really liked smelling the roses (so fragrant!) and was surprisingly drawn to a red rose with just five petals, the Paul Ecke, Jr. rose. It looked delicate, yet vibrant. Not a very rosy name though, eh? I later found out that he was a local horticulturalist.

We wandered by the animal pens -- floppy-eared bunnies, hornless baby goats and cows, lots of cows -- and were headed toward the wood working exhibit when I saw the henna booth. I've always wanted to have this done at other street fairs, but the lines were always too long. Luckily, my timing was right and I was able to sit in right away. I was really impressed by the symmetry of the free-hand design the henna artist completed. I think it looked better than the picture in their sample book!

They suggest you keep the henna paste on for at least 6 hours. I made it through the fair, then as we sat down to wait for the shuttle to take us back to our car in Solana Beach, I crossed my legs at my ankles and yup, you guessed it, I smudge some of the paste off. Fortunately, it was dry and that part of the design was already absorbed into the skin. I'll just have to wait and see if that area fades sooner than the rest. I'm sure it'll be fine. It's survived about a work week now and is still looking good!

gaucho grad

2008-06-16T16:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we drove up to Santa Barbara for my nephew, Nic's, graduation from UCSB...but not before hitting a few thrift stores in the surrounding area. I found more vintage flower pins and need to get crackin' on projects to actually use them. I also found a small vase with blue birds on a birdhouse which I'll use as a pen holder on my desk at Chumby where I started a new job last week. The vase is a bit much, but I am working at a place called Chumby now...

We took a stroll along State St. and popped into Off Leash, a pet apparel store we saw on an episode of The Dog Whisperer. Leave it up to Cesar Milan to let the humans know that they need rehabilitation just as much as the dogs. Turns out, the dog was just being a dog. Neither of the whippets were in the shop...maybe they were napping. We couldn't resist buying a potent smelling catnip cigar for Kirby (I'm a sucker for fun packaging!) which he rolled around with in the backyard the following day. He was surprisingly calm post-catnip, unlike the time my nieces' cat, Pikachu, who ran laps throughout the house during his catnip high.

The marine layer burned off just in time for the graduation which allowed us to enjoy the sun on the beautiful campus grounds as the young, hopeful, talented College of Engineering graduates sat patiently through a less than inspiring commencement speech by Wes Bush, CFO of Northrup Grumman. I'm certain this write up on Nic's senior project for ATK Space Systems is a sneak peek of one of many successes to come in his future career. (okay, just a smidgen of Proud Auntie coming out...)

Following the ceremony, we all hopped onboard the Sunset Kidd which cruised along the coast. Our guesses of the long, single-story structure next to the coastal mansion of the Beanie Babies creator (as we were told by the crew) ranged from an extravagant garage to ballroom to greenhouse. Guess we'll have to wait to be invited over to confirm.

The evening ended with dinner at Olio e Limone where the graduation crowd waiting outside for tables were surprised by a Baldwin brother stumbling into them. Sorry, none of us had any idea which Baldwin he was and were more interested in our celebration and menu choices.

my little pony party time

2008-06-07T16:55:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to fly a kite for the past three weeks or so. One afternoon, I was determined to buy a kite at the next dollar store we passed. I saw a Big Lots, doubled my budget to $2 and walked out of there with a My Little Pony kite with a long pink tail and "Party Time" printed on it. (Looks someone else has the same kite.) Today was the day for it's maiden flight.

On our way to Balboa Park, we decided to stop in at the zoo and take a peek at the elephants since we hadn't visited them yet. Zoo membership is nice 'cause you can stroll around, see a few animals and come back another day. We stayed longer than expected and checked out Cat Alley, but left before we got tired. There's still kite-flying to do...

We headed down the dirt path in the canyon between Park Blvd. and Florida Dr. just across the street from the zoo. Surprisingly, this was a great place to fly a kite. Lots of wind and no power lines or tall trees to get tangled in! With little effort, it took off and we quickly let up the 50' string. Our first nose dive landed close to cactus and the string got tangled in the tall, dry grasses, so we moved down the path a little ways. Too much of a good thing would've given us neck aches and called it quits after a short while. The kite will stay in my trunk on the ready for future impromptu kite adventures.

$4.45

2008-06-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I walked to my hair appt. and noticed the price of gas at the station around the corner. $4.45 per gallon.

Here are other items $4.45 can buy you today:

coveralls
chain lubricant for your bike
duck track replica for your cement walk
Yakima rack wrench - on sale

rock 'n' roll marathon

2008-06-01T07:54:00.000-07:00

Of all days to wake up "late" on the weekend, it had to be today. I woke up and took a look at the clock and it was 6:37 a.m. Darn, I missed the start of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon! I was really looking forward to seeing the running Elvises -- or is Elvi? There was supposed to be a record number of 'em this year.

I heard the T.V. helicopters and screaming just out our window and quickly got dressed. We live just blocks from the start line. When I reached University Ave., the source of the screams were evident...a bunch of, um, cheerleaders in front of Flicks bar. If I was feeling nostaligic for being back home in San Francisco, this would've done the trick to cheer me up. I wasn't feeling nostalgic nor needing to be cheered up and was purely amused by the start of my morning.

Our dragon boat practice was earlier than usual this morning, so I wasn't going to be able to follow the marathon or check out any of the bands. However, my path seemed to follow the course. It was strange to drive down the freeway and have the Southbound lanes of Hwy 163 filled with runners. (ha! caught some Elvises.)

We had quite a workout today. We've never been past the basin in our practices and our substitute coach, Susie, took us twice around the island just off of the Youth Aquatic Center. She mentioned that if we're paddling right, we'll feel it in our muscles tomorrow. great, something to look forward to as reinforcement of doing something right.

One last look at the marathoners at Mile 22 as I turned onto SeaWorld Dr. back onto Hwy. 5 on my way home.

last-minute pincushion

2008-05-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, I decided to shorten the Barcelona skirt I made last week. I'm 5'3" and the extra length from the pattern was making me look shorter. I sheared off about 6", most of the last tier. I think it might be too short now...part of the learning process.

I had lots of scrap fabric from it and felt like being productive, so I pulled out my Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts book. I'm in need of a pincushion, especially since the plastic magnetic case I've been using has been slowing falling apart. The feet which keep it upright have both fallen off and the case rolls whenever I pull a pin out of it.
During my grocery run, I was pleasantly surprised to find my fave, PEONIES!, greet me in the floral buckets near the store entrance. I do miss buying bunches of these for a buck or less each at the Nicollet Mall Farmers Market in Minneapolis. Since I'd buy them during lunch, my desk looked like a mini floral shop every Thursday afternoon.

Peonies at the market were an indicator that summer is just around the corner. Throughout their blooming season, practically every room in my house would be filled with peonies. The best is seeing them bloom in my yard...I wonder how they're blooming this year. I hope the new owners are enjoying them as much as I did. Almost summer!

skirt of choice

2008-05-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

It was a good thing we went to the beach on Friday 'cause this weekend was a scorcher and the beaches were packed. On Friday, we had a large surrounding area all to ourselves...maybe it had something to do with being in the flight path of the military base nearby. We actually thought it was cool to be able to see the underbellies of the jets flying by.

I retreated to the air-conditioned shop at Sowing Sisters for the Skirt of Choice workshop yesterday. Great instructors and service at this shop! Plus, they carry lots of Amy Butler fabrics. I chose the Barcelona layered skirt and used the fabric I picked up last weekend in L.A. I wear A-line skirts all the time and figured it'd be more fun searching for fabrics for a skirt rather than the skirt itself. This skirt is so easy to make especially since the dark printed fabric was so forgiving of not showing any of my stitching flaws.

I don't have a zipper foot (that I know of), so Kerri showed me how to put it on using one of the shop's Janome machines. I want one! They're so smooth and quiet with so many stitch options. I figure I'll learn a bit more on my Brother XL-5600 I picked up at Target a couple of years ago, then upgrade my machine when I can actually put all the bells and whistles to work.

We simply followed the instructions for the zipper from its package and on the pattern and...it worked! My first zipper installed and demistified. Kerri also showed me that my machine has a built in threading system. No more squinting to get the thread through that needle. whoo-hoo!

Making the muslin lining was a cinch! It's the same pattern for the A-line skirt. I don't think I'll have a shortage of skirts this summer.

coronado beach day

2008-05-16T20:12:00.000-07:00

While watching the morning news yesterday, we heard that today would be the hottest day of the week and would reach the mid-90s. We decided to have a Beach Day and take our boogie boards out to Coronado Island. It took a while to get acclimated to the 65 degree water sans wetsuits. After a few dunks underwater, we were hanging out past the surfline for any rideable, though smallish, waves. We left when our sand structure was engulfed by the incoming tide. I called it an oceanfront spa since the water pooled behind our sand wall was warmer and relaxing to wade in, but B called it a fort with spires. Imagination at work! It sounds like the heat wave hit up North, in the Bay Area, more than it did here since it was only in the low 80s, but it was perfect beach weather for me.

give a hoot

2008-05-04T13:00:00.001-07:00

The early bird catches the worm. In our case this morning, we caught the first couple heats of the Crystal Pier Surf Classic in Pacific Beach ("PB"). We were just heading out for a morning on the beach in search of breakfast along the way. The road we took today ended at Crystal Pier which conveniently has Kono's Beach Cafe on the corner. We sat on the patio above the beach as we filled our bellies with tasty breakfast burritos. They're generous with their portions and we could've easily shared one...doggie bags for lunch, I guess.

While waiting for our breakie, I walked around the corner to Pacific Bean to grab some coffee. I looked at the menu behind the counter and asked the guy if they make mochas. He pointed to a black board which covered the side wall which listed about a couple dozen different mocha flavors and said, "It's kinda what we're known for." d'oh. I tried the Mexican Chocolate mocha. It was exotic, but safe enough...and good.

They make their mochas with two shots of espresso, so I had a lot of energy left even after our beach playtime. When we got home, I came across this tutowlrial (Thanks Moonstitches!) and put my energy to work. I drafted a quick pattern and in a bit over an hour finished this little guy. I used a couple vintage buttons which give him a spooky look. I also added a few top feathers on his head.

I made it for B since he's been cuckoo for owls since he saw the video of the shape changing owl, but might end up keeping him for myself as a pincushion. His belly is perfect for it! I plan on making another one with some alterations on his belly so that it's not so angular...that one can be his.

my first quilt

2008-05-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

Something I started about a month ago is now done. My very first quilt! I love it!

When I first started cutting out the blocks, I thought, "This is going to take forever!" In this case, forever took about a month of three hour sessions at Sowing Sisters and about a couple of hours working on it on my own.

There are so many fabrics out there catching my eye. I'm tempted to go out and buy more fabric for a new quilt, but think I'll try to get that monkey off my back and make that A-line skirt from Sew What! with a zipper instead.

borders without boundaries

2008-04-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

I'm gettin' there with my quilt. Last week, I added the big border to the top panel and it's coming together. I'm still surprised of the color scheme and fabrics I picked out for this quilt. They're muted, but bold. The stripes add an interesting contrast, but again, not something I would typically put together. This weekend, I did some homework and sewed the back panels together. I chose the seagreen coriander pattern...um, surprised again! I've always liked this fabric. I keep hearing that if you choose things you like, they'll come together well.

It sounds like all but one person will be taking the optional extra class session this week. We're the "late bird" group as one of the ladies put it. Hopefully, we'll all be done by then.

This morning, I went out for my first paddle with the Team Survivor San Diego Dragon Boat team. I'm glad to have found a local affiliate and can totally relate to the growing pains (of slow growth of the group, that is) the founder, Angie, is going through since I experienced it while putting together the Minneapolis affiliate.

The San Diego Dragon Boat Team was in the water before us, running heats for qualifying times for the upcoming National Dragon Boat competition. We met three women from the Long Beach BCS Dragon Boat Team who were up for the trials. In between heats, a few of the members paddled with us as we learned how to stroke...doing it in rhythm will come later, I'm sure.

I came home feeling refreshed and enthusiastic, mostly because it was such a fresh breath of air to be around positive, fun people. Work's been a big downer for me lately. Today was a nice reminder to do what you love, focus on things that are important to you and don't sweat the small stuff. I've been missing a connection with a community -- not being involved in diving, hockey or Team Survivor this past year since we've been on the move -- and am looking forward to rebuilding it here, with this team.

last stop, magnolia

2008-04-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

It was my first time to fly JetBlue to JFK and was glad to hear that their seats are bigger than most other airlines 'cause I was flying the red eye. Too bad their seats are harder too! Youch, not so kind to the tush when you're trying to get comfy for some shut eye before arriving in the big city.

Linda and I are here for our girls weekend celebrating Virgie's birthday. We started the day with about 5 hours of sleep collectively, so our expectation of crashing midday was close to our actual schedule.

We had a good Spring walk through SoHo (blossoms in bloom throughout the city!), stopping for lunch at Manhattan Bistro (not recommended...it was just the closest door to The Mercer Kitchen where we weren't able to get a walk-in table)...to our final destination before crashing from lack of sleep to the famous Magnolia Bakery for cupcakes! We scooted in and out of small boutiques to work off the lunch calories which will soon be replaced with our upcoming tasty treats. The little bakery was abuzz with after lunch cupcake frenzy and had a line out the door.

We were too tired to bite into them right away, so Linda packed 'em up in a box where they stayed safe during our jerky, stop and go cab ride home. Our doorman noticed that our cabbie had a newspaper laid out on his knee and asked if we saw him reading while he was driving. That would explain the less than smooth ride. Only in New York!

melted idea

2008-04-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

Whenever I'm heading up North toward L.A., I'm reminded of the cupcake specialty store, Sprinkles, in Beverly Hills. I keep meaning to make it out there, but by the time we make it to P.V.E., the traffic keeps turns me off.

I've always been a big fan of cupcakes and am excited that the recent cupcake craze is making them easier to come by. My favorite cupcakes are still the chocolate ganache cupcakes from Franklin Street Bakery, with lemon vanilla bean a close second. (Oh, Minnesota, who knew I'd miss you so much?) One of my favorite last-minute birthday gifts was a small assortment of cupcakes from there. I ordered a bunch and set them on a tiered stand for my pal, Ann's, wedding rehearsal I hosted last year. They're that special.

The last time we drove past BabyCakes Baking Company, I thought it would be a fantastic idea to create ice cream cupcakes. It seemed like the next natural progression in the trend. They'd be great for parties! I really thought I was on a roll with "my idea", but it looks like they've been out there for years, from Maggie Moo's.

gummy pancakes

2008-04-05T17:11:00.001-07:00

The search continues for a good neighborhood breakfast place. (I sure do miss Birchwood Cafe! I was so lucky to live around the corner from it.)

We headed out to the Big Kitchen in South Park. Last time we drove around in that area there was a long line to get in, so we figured it was worth a try. The big kitchen spans across two separated eating areas which have respective entrances from the street. The first space is a U-shaped, cramped bar and the other is lined with tables...both with kitschy photographs and paintings. Unfortunately, the Big Buttermilk Pancake, which we hear is supposed to spill over the plate, was rubbery and a bit sour. B seemed to salvage it with a good dousing of syrup. The best breakfasts are still the one which are homemade.

On our drive out, we saw a sign for an estate sale in Kensington and headed out there after our so-so meal. The sale was in a small, Spanish-style house which recently sold. Our finds were a pyrography Flemish Art wooden box, which I'll probably use to store sewing notions, vintage hen and rooster souvenir salt and pepper shakers, cherub-adorned pill box and birds perched on a branch shakers. They had so much stuff in there, it was like entering an antique store.

We saw a guy in there with eBay up on his phone. He had a few Murano lamps stashed in the hold area. Kinda takes the fun away when you know you're competing with people who make hunting into a living instead of adding it to their own personal collection or use. Seeing the prices for some things, I guess that's who the owners were hoping would attend. One lamp we saw was over $900.

belle rows

2008-04-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

My new motto, "If you're having a crappy day, sew!" If I'm loyal to that motto, I have a feeling I'll complete many projects in the near future. I've been taking my job too seriously lately...correction, I've been allowing negative events (read: dealing with people) from work linger in my mind after I the leave the office too often...and it's really wearing me down. Why? Hmm, no good answer. So, I'll try to stop and refocus on things I like and spending time with people I like after the whistle blows at the rock quarry and I slide down the dinosaur's back. "Wilma!" I've put the blocks together and here are my first two rows. Yay!

las floras

2008-03-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

After a maze of freeways to avoid the big Dodgers 50th celebration, and a U-turn in Glendale for missing the 5 North, Tracy, Bob (B's parents) and I made our way to the Glendale Quilting Guild's 2008 show at the Marriott in Burbank yesterday.

Tracy noticed that there were a lot more quilts displayed which were quilted professionally than in past shows. She also noted that the quilts appeared to be more complex as well.

By far, our unanimous favorite quilt was the "Las Floras" quilt by Pat Rollie. It seems we weren't the only ones in awe because there always seemed to be a crowd in front of it, trying to comprehend the amount of work put into the piece. The judges must've also agreed since this quilt won First Prize for Large Applique. A lot of attention was put into the backside of the quilt as well, which we were able to see with the assistance of a white-gloved quilt show volunteer.

for pins and things

2008-03-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we were off to our usual early start on the weekend. I don't know why it's so much easier to wake up and get out of bed at 5:30 a.m. on the weekends. I wish I could sleep in, but it just doesn't seem to happen any more.

Since our plans to go hunting at the flea markets were foiled on Saturday morning due to matching pounding headaches from a long-needed margarita night at Baja Betty's a few blocks from our apartment, we headed out to be among the first arrivals at the swap meet on Sunday. Of course, there were lots of folks already there, but we were still part of the Early Bird crowd, getting there before 8 o'clock.

My find for the day were a couple of saucer-type ceramics from Japan. I like to use small dishes when crafting to catch loose threads, scraps or pins. My work station is still the dining room table and it helps to have something on the table to collect the loose threads which would otherwise find a new home underneath the table.

The only tasks I have left before my next class is to cut the strips for the inner border and binding. Can't wait until we get sewing again. I don't mind the free time though...had my first bass lesson yesterday. My pinky is supposed stretch how far?

first blocks

2008-03-22T14:38:00.001-07:00

What a day I had on Thursday. Work has been really been demanding the past few weeks and I decided to treat myself to a leisurely lunch at Whisknladle in La Jolla Village. At the top of the hill, on Torrey Pines Rd., my clutch lost pressure for a split moment. At the bottom of the hill, my car halted when I tried to go when the light turned green. uh-oh. Turned the key and it started up again, so I continued driving to the village. Thought I'd let the car settle in a parking spot while I ate lunch. I didn't quite make to my destination...the car decided to stop running right across the street from the restaurant. I barely made it out of the line of traffic and into a red zone.

This was supposed to be a break to relieve some of the stress, right? Plan B. I got on the phone to arrange for a tow truck and also let my mechanic know that I'd be dropping the car off. I was getting hungry, but couldn't leave my car, so I stalked one of the servers at the patio of Karl Strauss Brewing and basically created my own take-out window. Great buffalo turkey burger!

I was determined to still make it to my second quilting class. I arranged for a rental car and later that day was on my way to Carlsbad with my sewing machine and supplies. I arrived an hour late, but made good time catching up cutting my blocks for my Just Can't Cut It quilt.

The fabric patterns looked good when I was picking them out, but now that I'm sewing them together, they're throwing me off a bit. I did get some help from my instructor and the helpful staff at Sowing Sisters, so maybe I just need to be patient and see it all come together.

Oh yeah, the first time I got back in battle mode with Slash, I "rocked."

waking up to hail

2008-03-16T06:05:00.000-07:00

We were woken up by loud, clanking noises against the window at 5:15 a.m. It was hail! We realized this would be a short-lived passing during the storm, so we headed down to the pool to check out the layer of ice pellets on the ground.

Back on the crafts front, I've started taking a quilting class at Sowing Sisters in Carlsbad. Choosing fabrics for our project (anchored by an Amy Butler print, of course) was a nice diversion from the "unfun" past few weeks at work. I'll be washing the fabrics this weekend to remove any residual dyes on the fabric before starting the project during our next class.

I haven't started my bass lessons with Brian yet, but we did put in about three hours by his estimate of Guitar Hero III yesterday afternoon. I stopped after being knocked out of a guitar challenge against Slash. How does he keep the same hair style for decades? What if he wears one of those hats with fake hair attached -- like the caps with attached dreadlocks at the tourist shops?

snowy valentine

2008-02-15T06:40:00.000-08:00

Be careful what you ask for. I've been mentioning how much I've missed winter living here, in sunny San Diego. Yesterday, I was rudely faced by the cold weather after a record-breaking warm weekend. Okay, relatively speaking, it was cold...in the 40's, which is a drastic change from the high 70's just two days before.

About an hour East of where we live, Palomar Mountain was covered with snow which stranded drivers and caused many accidents. No snow plows around here, I guess. A good excuse to stay safe and warm at home with your Valentine.

winter morning in la jolla

2008-02-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

Surprisingly, I miss the cold weather -- thinking it's a nice day to play broomball when it's zero degrees, rushing into the ice rink to be warm, shoveling myself out of the alley after a snowy night and of course, my favorite, frozen car locks because I insisted on regularly washing my car even when it was below thirty degrees outside.

I have no concept of winter this season. Headed out for Saturday morning breakfast in La Jolla Village this morning wearing shorts and flip flops. It's supposed to be in the 70's today.
My down jacket and shearling boots are still in the boxes they were packed in from my first move in April and won't get any wear for a long time.

Sending warm thoughts to my North Country (and East Coast) friends and a picture from La Jolla Cove to remind you of what unfrozen water looks like.

happy 2008

2008-01-01T12:57:00.000-08:00

It seems my crafting has been placed on the back burner, but cooking has been in full swing for the holidays. Spent a week back in the Bay Area during Christmas and learned my mom's version of pancit palabok and igado. I'm not a big fan of liver, but she had me try the igado before adding the liver and it definitely made a difference in the flavor. She skips the other organs in traditional recipes I've seen online (thank goodness!), but adds pimento stuffed olives. It's so good! We made a big pot of it and had leftovers for days. It's one of those dishes which seems to get better each time it's heated up.

Rung in the new year (well, almost...only made it to 11:30 p.m.) with more of my fave choc-oat chip cookies. We brought our last batch to the parents in PV, so we had to replenish our freezer supply. We also tried out a new recipe for chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies from MS. They're a bit too gingery for me, but I'll probably make them again.

Today was my first attempt at char sui bao, Chinese steamed barbecued pork buns, out of the never failing Chef Chu cookbook from my mom/sister. They turned out really, really, really good! I can't believe I've waited this long to try this recipe. I thought it would be a lot of work, but it isn't much more effort than other special dishes I've made. Just have to be patient and wait for the dough to rise. So, it's similar to when we made pizza (another first!) last Friday.

We were planning on visiting Zhen Zhen, the new panda cub at the zoo, but the parking lot was, well, a zoo. So, we closed off the year by playing tourists along the San Diego embarcadero at the Maritime Museum. The Star of India is probably the more popular ship to visit, but I thought the B-39 Soviet submarine was just as interesting to check out. Such cramped quarters next to torpedos! I haven't quite figured out who's on this poster in one of the compartments.

SoCal winter

2007-12-16T20:50:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, we drove up to PV to attend a holiday party. It's still not registering in my mind that it's actually winter since we spent the afternoon walking down the Manhattan Beach pier watching surfers catching rolling waves. I caught myself complaining about the "cold" as we walked across the street to the party later that evening. Sorry, Midwestern pals...I'm quickly wimping out and returning to my California roots.
Going back to work has really cut into my sewing adventure. I'm hoping I can start a project soon since I'm taking Christmas week off. This week, I have to try to finish crossing things off my shopping list. Happy Holidays!

not so easy breezy

2007-11-05T21:25:00.000-08:00

After my first week back to the grind, I got a chance to try out the Sew What! Skirts book this weekend. I decided to make the Breezy Beach Skirt 'cause it's a wrap skirt. (I don't think I'm ready for zippers yet.)

I started off very optimistic, creating a pattern and sewing the waistband on. I even got through stitching in the ditch (I always wondered how that was done). Unfortunately, the final product was too big in the waist. When I tied it together, I looked like I pulled a sack on and cinched it with a Huck Finn rope belt. I thought I measured well, but I guess I must've miscalculated somewhere along the line. I was bummed 'cause the book and its reviews sounded like it was foolproof. I was bit relieved to read that someone else had the same gaff. Misery loves company...

The overall project took less than a couple of hours, so I'm encouraged to try again. I've been learning a lot about sewing these past few weeks with each project I do. Maybe I'll try to salvage this skirt with darts.

cuffs and covers

2007-10-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

Last summer, my hockey pal, Barb, taught me how to hem pants. I don't think she believed that my excitement was genuine when I finished the first pant leg. Being 5'3", I've taken many pairs of pants to the seamstress and at roughly $15 a pop, it sure adds up. Since then, I've hemmed a few more pairs and, today, evolved to adding a tailored cuff to my slacks. It was easier than I expected and added a little flair to otherwise, plain ol' slacks. Today's fun project was a new cover for woobie using the Modern Petal fabric by Westminster Fibers which I've been wanting to use since I brought it home. I was also able to fulfill a promise of an Xbox cover for you know who with a cute outer space motif fabric from Joann.

tray magnifique

2007-10-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

After all the unpacking this week, it's finally beginning to look like a livable space again. So, I snuck a quick, fun project in last night while watching a Resident Evil movie. (In prep of Halloween, of course. Plus, those zombies are no match against me and my glue gun.) I picked up an old breakfast tray during one of our early SD hunts, mainly to use as a comfy surface for my laptop. It was dingy and an awful bright yellow. I was able to spray paint it a clean, satin cream during one of my lazy afternoons and it just needed some finishing touches. I glued a striped ribbon around the edges and affixed new foam on the bottom surfaces. Et voila! Just in time to enjoy breakfast in bed on my last day of leisure: my fave match a steeped with lemongrass and honey, which I got hooked on at Muzi in Vancouver and steel cut oats, which is ready when I wake up and is a perfect batch every time thanks to my fancy, new rice cooker. You can see the pile of books forming on my bedside table. The top is stacked with Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts and Bend-the-Rules Sewing, fresh from the mail box this week.

we're safe, thanks!

2007-10-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the calls and emails...sorry we didn't send out notification earlier. We're safe from the fires going on down here. They're North and East of us, at least half an hour away.

Traffic has been light since a lot of offices (our apt. parking lot has been full during the day) and schools have been closed. There's been an air quality advisory to stay indoors since Monday. The sky is really hazy from the smoke and you can smell it in the air. Our pool is littered with ash.

We'll send an update if anything changes, but we aren't in the path of danger.

taking a breather

2007-10-21T19:47:00.001-07:00

Friday, I took a "day off". Sounds funny since every day has been a day off since we moved from Vancouver, but that day, I consciously took a day to relax and just enjoy myself. No thoughts of to-do lists, laundry, sewing projects and, thankfully, job hunting. It's been a nice luxury to take time off between jobs, however, the time has come for me to rejoin the workforce.

I started the countdown of time off remaining with a special day to myself. Of course, I had to indulge in a stop at Anthropologie. Then, I treated myself to a sit down lunch on the patio where I'm sure I paid too much for a Mexican lunch this far South. The margaritas on the other tables looked refreshing, but going solo meant being my own designated driver. I wasn't envious for long 'cause once I was seated, I was immersed in my own little sunshiney world with my headphones on, flipping through Sew What! Skirts, my latest goodie which arrived in the mail. The reviews have been positive for this book and it sounds almost foolproof (read: up my alley). Once I got my fill of fajitas and skirt designs, I hopped over to Sowing Sisters in Carlsbad for even more inspiration. They had a few skirts displayed which looked familiarly like the ones in my book. It must be a sign of my next sewing project. Last stop was a visit to my cousin's in Oceanside where I was delighted by the cutest toddler twins, Maya and Evan. So adorable(!) and so inspiring for a sweet handcrafted surprise in the future, I'm sure.

Now that we're a bit more settled in our plans to stick around here, we're faced with the task which has been looming over our heads for the past six months...unpacking. It's a welcomed improvement to be able to reclaim the other room as livable space and especially to have our things out of boxes (and find out what I didn't sell during my mad rush to meet my move date). It sure was nice to take a break before doing so though...that's how we were able to capture a glimpse of this hummingbird on our walk around the 'hood who looks to be taking a little break of its own.