Happy Thanksgiving! Want to spend more time with the fam than on the computer, but I'll be remiss if I don't mention how thankful we are this Thanksgiving...
I have to admit I was skeptical if Bryson will respond to any of the meds and therapies we've thrown at him. He is almost 10 after all, and with his Addison's Disease, he always seem to be a bit fragile, teetering on the finest balance where the slightest shove might send him down the drain...
I do believe in the power of healing beyond what we can scientifically "prove", but even then I was surprised at how much he has responded to his laser therapy. It could be coincidence or placebo effect, but we can't deny the fact that after his first treatment, he was so frisky he busted out of his tent for the first time since he was sentenced to confinement and started walking all over the deck (something I wasn't too happy with at the time, and has been remedied since).
Look at him at his first treatment, which is a Class IV laser beam shone over his injured vertebral disc (we all have to wear sunglasses), just a few minutes at each session. We have 3 treatments this week, 2 the next, then weekly afterwards. If nothing else he does look pretty relaxed, doesn't he?
It probably helps too that they give our liver treats to bribe their patients. That makes one happy corgi who's very hungry on steroids :) For that alone he'll be going back faithfully.
Speaking of feeding the hungry, we're excited to embark on our yearly Thanksgiving meal delivery with Salvation Army this morning.
We were lucky this year we got a route consisting of apartments in one elderly housing complex (no driving around/ getting lost/ getting tickets for double parking). Most recipients are these sweet grandparent types (all Chinese and Russian), who love having young visitors and freely handed out candies, little trinkets and hugs (you can probably guess which one Eva likes most and least)...
Even Fufu the Bunny came to help out this year.
Hoping this little bit of good deed helped earn some karma points that can be deposited into Bryson's health bank, so he doesn't have to spend his day staring longingly outside...
Once you have kids, it seems like there are 3 inescapable constants every year as we start detecting that chill in the air...
(1) The mandatory kids with pumpkin pictures. I guess it's just one of those hallmark of childhood I feel they (yes, I mean the 2- and 4-legged kids) should have memories of.
This year it's with quite a bit of hilarity that we noticed we have a picture of Bryson and Eva on the exact same bale of hay, in the exact same pumpkin patch (Farmer Joe's, Half Moon Bay, in case you're curious), on almost the exact same day as one from 3 years ago. I blame it on the fact that we don't have enough dog-friendly pumpkin patches in the Bay Area.
Now...
And then...
Looks like someone learned how to pose. I swear I didn't teach her that.
(2) Princess dresses for Halloween.
Remember the days when we could dress the kids up as anything (e.g. pharaoh and sphinx, remember?) for our own entertainment? Well, those days are long gone. Last year was the first year Eva requested to be a princess. A fairy princess to be exact (with Bryson as her trusty magical steed). This year? What? Princess again??
I know I had to come up with a more creative idea (I'll die if I have to sew the same princess dress in a different color tulle 2 years in a row). So after much fabric shop perusing, brainstorming and negotiating, we zeroed in on this pair of whimsical characters from a children's book we both love:
Jon Muth's Zen Ghosts. It's one of the books in the Stillwater series, where the main character Stillwater, a zen master who happens to be a panda, instills wisdom (often in haiku) to 3 sibling children. Eva is enamored with this character Addy, the girl sibling, who in this book chose to be a Moon Princess for Halloween.
I don't think Eva gets the message of this book (and frankly there are bits that go above my own un-zen head as well), but she's convinced she wants to be Moon Princess when she saw Addy's flowy gown, covered with butterflies that seemingly jump off the page (the artwork in this book is simply amazing, you have to see it to believe such exquisite art exist in children's book). And I'm convinced as I see the opportunity to dress Bryson as a kimono-wearing panda bear... (*evil chuckle*)
I can't find a pattern for a dress that looks like the character's, but found one for a kimono-esque dress that can be sewn by attaching 2 rectangles that I can modify to give it butterfly "wings". Smells like a winner...
And it is! Super duper easy- you fold up a piece of fabric, sew 2 lines to create the body, cut a neck hole, cut and hem the sleeves (and other unfinished edges), and add a elastic waist. That's pretty much it. Even I who haven't sewn in eons managed to whip it up in a day. And during the course discovered that this narrow hem foot is my new best friend.
But of course it wouldn't be complete without the butterflies. I toyed wth the idea of stenciling them on (if I can find/ make the stencils), but after some trial and error, decided it's actually easiest to just paint them with diluted acrylic paint for a water-color effect. I probably can't wash it, but heck it's probably going to be worn a grand total of 3 times (if I'm lucky), and acrylic paint is what I have at home, and so acrylic paint is what goes on...
Ta da! Not too shabby I must say.
But a few unexpected business trips later, Stillwater is embarrasingly naked, and now suspiciously resemble a cheap Pablo-Sandoval knock-off panda...
Thus the super grumpy look... Doesn't help that his sister looks so put together, with a lantern as her nifty little candy basket to be filled with all sorts of goodies that's completely off-limits to him...
It also doesn't help that the darn panda kept falling over his face, but on he trudged without a grudge (while bumping into a few things along the way...)
You gotta give him the best sport award, to have gone on the entire parade with us in the village without complaint.
And of course this is another opportunity to throw some face painting on that little face! It's really pretty fun, some day if I win the lotto you may find me as the face painting lady at a street fair in your hood...
So, wrapping up #2, P for Princess, that leaves us with...
(3) Pneumonia.
Yep, you read it right, someone had her second pneumonia. Those of you with kids will be familiar with this: your kid has the runny nose, which seems to be perpetual almost the entire season, so you don't think much of it. Then she develops a cough, and she looks kinda irritable. Then she has a low grade temp, you give them some children's Advil and send them off to bed, thinking it will pass, only to be awaken at 2 am with a child screaming by your bedside, while hurling her entire stomach's content into your hair...
That's us. Except that this time the fever was up to almost 105. We could feel the heat radiating off her head without even touching her. I was skeptical when the advise nurse on the phone said we should just keep her home, cool her off and keep up with the antipyretic. Really, at 105?? But miraculously, even before I could decide what to do, she fell back asleep with the ice pack on her head.
Long story short, a doctors visit the next day and a course of antibiotics later, she's good as new again. I just hope this really isn't going to become a yearly ritual. And now I've said it out loud (at least electronically), I've officially jinxed it and it wouldn't happen, right?
Anyway, wish you all a happy, healthy (pneumonia-free!) fall this year!
Guess what, I didn't forget this time around. That is my promise to write you every year on your birthday... and yes, it is that time again! What? What? Someone turned FOUR?? Yes, that's you, Eva! Happy 4th Birthday!!
And what a crazy year you've had. I feel like I say this every year since you're born, but somehow every year does seem crazier than the last. Let's see if we can recap...
You lost a full-time dad and gained a full-time mom all of a sudden last summer. Then you got thrusted into an exciting but at times scary place called preschool one September day AND moved to a new house later that same week. We spent a wonderful holiday together, only to see your mom gobbled back up in the working world with a new job that takes her away from you most days of the week. You have a new nanny whose name you couldn't even pronounce (but now you correct me if I didn't say it with the right intonation).
And through it all did you not only survive, you've risen up to every curveball we've thrown your way, proved to us that you're more flexible than Gumby, and have blossomed into a happy, self-assured, sociable, and emotionally in-tune little girl.
To celebrate that, we've thrown what you called "the best BEST birthday party EVER!" (oh and you've picked up that and other language that we didn't think we'd hear from you for a few more years...)
This is the first birthday party where you've crafted your own guest list, and we can see from these pictures of you beaming with your friends that the days your world evolving solely around your mom and dad is dwindling... we're proud that you're growing up, just please don't grow up so fast if you could help it, OK?
Speaking of growing up, one milestone that caught me by surprise one day was watching you scribble your name for the first time, I mean other than on the Elmo alphabet game on the iPad...
Which speaks to my love/hate relationship with your iPad. Did I say your iPad? I mean MY iPad, which possess a evil magnetic force aiming straight at your little swipey fingers. *Sigh* Technology schmechnology... by the time you can read this though you might be saying "iPad? that's soooo 2010...". Lol...
Fortunately unlike those "future humans" in Wall-E, you still enjoy getting outside and bouncing around, especially if it involves frilly outfits, twirling around and giggling with friends...
And you never miss a beat when it's time to break out in song... "Oh Susan Blue, How do you do..." I have to admit when I travel and get home sick I just have to look at this video and I'll feel a little better :)
You also enjoy it when we bust out low-tech games like giant floor puzzles (which you're actually quite good at), and home-made sand boxes where you can create entire fantasy kingdoms for hours on end...
And helping me tend to our little front deck garden... remember these radishes you grew from seed and watched sprout and bloom? And those cilantro, wow, you went from refusing to touch cilantros on your plate to plucking one from the plant to taste every time you pass by (and pronouncing "YUM!")
Speaking of yum, I guess nothing beats making smores for the first time, yummmm...
Of course you had your partner in crime, Bryson, with you every step of the way. At almost 10, you like to tell people he's an "old dog", but fortunately 4 years since he's diagnosed with Addison's Disease, we seem to have found the right mix of meds and diet for him and he seems to be doing better than ever...
And he was ever faithful by your side when you had pneumonia for the first time, running temps of >103 for 3 days straight...
We're lucky this year we're able to travel up to Seattle to see your cousins. The last time you saw them you weren't even a year old yet... I'm just so happy that you and your Cousin Chloe took all of 5 seconds to warm up when you met at her front door, and have been bff's since...
And you thoroughly enjoyed Gong Gong and Po Po's annual visit from Hong Kong, this time accompanied by your favorite cousin's family... and it's funny when I take you to their hotel near the airport you think you're visiting them in Seattle, and that their favorate restaurant is the Jack in the Box across the street...
Sorry we have such a spread-out family that you don't get to see as often as you should...
But again you seem to take everything in stride. As we look back at another year of your childhood, I can't help but feel so fortunate that despite of all the craziness, we're surrounded by friends close to home, families from afar, and so much love and awesome memories that I hope this blog post will remind you of when you're old enough to appreciate it.
And to conclude, I'd like to borrow your motto of the year: you're "A-OK"!
Ho ho ho! Hope you all had a wonderful X'mas with your friends/ families. Today, at our household, we've witnessed a significant milestone- Eva is officially converted as a santa believer.
Recall not long ago (well, exactly 2 posts ago if you care to flip back), X'mas was just a fun day to rip into gift-wrapped toys. There was no expectations whatsoever. But since we loaded up on X'mas-related books @ Borders' 50% off post-holiday sale last year (yeah, back when Borders still existed, sad...), we have been VERY prepared for this guy called Santa this year.
To prepare for the big day, we excitedly wrote Santa a letter (she tried really hard to sign her name correctly)...
And left out cookies and milk by the fireplace (that's 3 fingers for only 3 cookies for santa, I love you but please don't eat all my cookies...)
Look at her reaction this morning when she discovered the plate of crumbs and empty cup and Santa's "response" to her letter... (everything was put behind the fireplace screen overnight, so we'll know that if the food was consumed, it's DEFINITELY Santa, and not Bryson).
(Pardon the technological glitch, I'm not sure what happened with youtube, but you'll have to enjoy a video of Bryson gnawing on his X'mas present before Eva's santa-discovery video. Yes, it's a bully stick, yuck, but he sure enjoys it)
OK, hope you were able to watch Eva's video. If her face wasn't precious enough, check out @1:10 again, where she said with that little voice while covering her mouth "He came." (actually she said "he comes", I guess we haven't quite mastered tense of irregular verbs yet).
And we tried to stay basic in the presents department, sticking to books and board games and wooden toys. I think she's had enough stimulation/ couch-potato time given how much high-tech media she comes across every day, and also I find myself quite nostalgic about these toys, maybe I'm just getting her what I thought I would have loved as a kid...
And she's going through a total Nutcracker phase, in fact, the one thing she asked from Santa this year is a "big nutcracker doll". I had to tell her that it's too big to fit down the chimney, and persuaded her that a nutcracker paper doll activity book is even better... (so far she's buying it, whew)
And our little ballerina finally got her first pair of ballet slippers...
Bryson helps opening gifts too! And he's getting very good at knocking down wooden marble runs that I painstakingly built... thanks, Bry...
And I hope we've hammered in Eva's head how lucky she is, and the holiday is as much about giving than it is about receiving, yada yada yada... In fact, I've sat down with her to watch a number of documentaries about kids who don't have enough to eat or a roof over their heads, as a preparation before our annual Thanksgiving holiday meal delivery. So much so that one morning, upon climbing into our bed in the morning, she stared at the ceiling and said "I'm very lucky... we have a little bit of money, so we can buy food, and hot water". Both Jacques and I rubbed our eyes and looked at her like "hmm...?"
Since even my 3 year-old understands how lucky she is to have food and hot water, I guess I also have to take stock of how fortunate I am this holiday... it may sound corny, but what makes every holiday special is inevitably the friends (who for us really is family) who we get to spend time with...
And extra lucky for us this year, real family who came to visit (hi Uncle Allan and Auntie Sue!)
And extra-super-duper lucky for us this year, not only old neighbors whom are still near and dear to us, but new neighbors we're just getting to know, who're turning out to be some truly wonderful and special people... like our neighbor's teenage daughter below, whom Eva absolutely adores (and begs to play Princess game with every time they're together).
While I'm happy that Eva is old enough to appreciate holiday spirit and is so full of wonder and fascination about Santa, part of me also can't believe that I have spent so much energy to lead her to believe something that's fabricated, which makes her think that all the toys we've bought with our hard-earned money come from this fictional guy from the north pole whom she's never really met, and this whole lie is something that we'll have to perpetuate for years to come just so we won't break her tender little heart...
Oh well, guess that's all too late now. You can see in her eyes that Santa is now as real as the toys he's left with her. But perhaps that will give us more ammunition for the "if you want to stay on Santa's good kid list, you gotta be good" argument. Ho ho ho!
And here are other pictures of what we've been up to this holiday season, coz god knows when I'll have time to update the blog again (hopefully not another year...):
Yummm, holiday cookies baking! Especially "useful" when it's a rainy day and you need some activities to keep your 3 year-old occupied. They're quite good at sprinkling at this age ("some for cookies, some for me...").
My latest fad is planting succulents. Aren't they so cute? Hope to grow a green thumb now that we live in a space surrounded by greens. Planted these little ones in pots that Eva helped decorate for her teachers at school.
Another one of the 2- and 4-legged kids. Just coz they're adorable!
Ooh... a real fireplace! First time in my life, stuff of my dreams... and apparently Eva's now too, since Santa finally has a way to get into our place.
Hope everyone's enjoying their holiday, and wish you all a very happy new year too!
Mommy has to confess. I've broken a very important promise to you. It was with fanfare that I declared your birthday as the "Annual Write my Daughter a Letter Day" just a little over a year ago, and as you can see, this blog has seen nothing but cricket chirps since, and I have written you jack, zip, nada... this whole, entire year.
So where have I been? By the time you can read this, you probably won't recall any bit of this whirlwind of a year we've had. 2011 was the year we took on an adventure around the world, and in 2012, we took on a different adventure, the kind of journey that took our lives to a different place in an unexpected way...
Let's see if we can sum it up in pictures (and videos)... be ready, it'll be a looong one, here we go...
After having spent 2 and a half precious years with you at home, your Super Dad decided it's time for him to go back to work. It was bittersweet, there were tearful goodbyes and exciting late night excursions to the hotel to pick daddy up. With some difficulty, mommy has to quickly grow up and learn how to be mommy again, but it was evident that you were ready to let go and grow up yourself. And grew up you did...
You were 2 going on 15...
OK, calm down, we didn't actually let you drink that delicious glass of chardonnay, well, at least not that time...
You've also grown a lot more physical this past year. It looks like when daddy let go of his white-knuckled grip nurturing hand, your inner dare devil was unleashed.
And now, you like to tear up the asphalt on your balance bike...
And enjoy exhilarating sleigh ride courtesy of Bryson (at almost 9 Bry Bry is still going strong!):
But it doesn't matter how many blue and green outfits I put you in (which seems to be a lot), there is a girly side of you that is dying to burst out and show the world your pinkest, fluffiest, twirliest ballet moves (and check out those expressive hands)...
Well, it'll be a few more years before you go to Julliard, so in the mean time, let's remember you actually turned 3, and with that comes the momentous passage from toddlerhood to the next phase...
First day of preschool.
Even though you looked a little unsure here, we were pleasantly surprised how quickly you warmed up to school. In mere minutes after this photo was taken, you were off in their playground, climbing, swinging, digging in the sand, and never look back (all the tears belonged to your daddy and I on this first day). Your teachers at school says you're one of the most joyous, exuberant (I think they mean "loud" in a nice way) and kinesthetic (physical?) kids there. And we're just amazed how you learned all the kids (and their parents) names in the first weeks of school. You've even made some "best friends", Miles, Camilla... Words just can't describe how proud we are of you.
And to make up for the lack of a real birthday party last year when we were in China, we celebrated your 3rd one BIG this year, and yes, with a REAL fairy... Ooooh... you're still talking about "Daisy Fairy", and other moms are still cursing reminding me of it, LOL...
And you're always the good sister to Bryson, making sure he's well groomed and photo ready on your birthday.
And mommy is glad to have the excuse to break out my new laser cutting machine to craft your party invite. It took some trial and error and many trips to various paper stores, but I absolutely adore the final product, and the creative process is so therapeutic...
And creative therapy is something I unexpectedly had a lot of time for this year. Your daddy and I took a 180, as he re-embraced his work life and I left mine behind this summer...
Yay for my right brain! The luxury of being able to learn something new (laser paper cutting), catalog my archives of paper and fabric (whew!), whip up projects whenever I want (well, when I don't have my hands full taking care of you)...
Allow me to indulge myself in a not-so-brief recap of my creative endeavors...
Every fairy needs a hand made fairy wand, this one made from a huge mass of gingko tree clippings mommy diverted from a dump truck outside Emeryville city hall...
This is how much tulle goes into one little girl's tutu... absolutely nuts. And all of us exuded glitters from every orifice (uh hmm) for the next few months...
Crayon roll, just coz I feel like using some pretty fabric. Of course the crayons still prefer to roll around under the couch, behind bookcases and other general nook and crannies visiting dust bunnies.
Another project I get to use my laser cutting machine, Auntie Van's baby shower invite with a tea party theme. As you already know, you and Baby Austin are forever tied together by fate, when he decided to meet the world early so he can have the exact same birthday as you.
And let's not forget the 20 party favor bags the Senakam sweat shop mommy lovingly hand sewed in 3 days, while whipping you through potty boot camp (you were a total champ, no accidents after 2 days, woo hoo!)
And no, I didn't part time at a tattoo parlor, but did pick up face painting for fun, since you love getting your face painted at fairs, and mommy is, well, frugal, why pay someone to do it when you can do it by yourself, right? Don't ever forget you're half Chinese, frugality is in your blood.
Wow, that was a lot of fun stuff we created together this year. And if you still wonder why mommy didn't have time to write you, well, remember when we dug up every single little thing in our loft, shoved them in boxes piled all the way to the ceiling, and one day hauled everything to this strange little house in the woods?
Yeah, we moved.
I won't miss the crazy, endless days and nights of purging and packing (that's your daddy reminescing in the old US Marine hat he dug up from the Crypt, you'll have to ask him about it)
But I'll miss sunsets like this from our windows...
The quiet little moments we shared in our home...
And the neighbors who have filled in as families since you were born...
And now, as we're just beginning to settle in our new abode in the woods, with Thanksgiving coming up in less than a day, I can tell you how truly thankful I am of having you in our lives.
Even though you're little and have to hold my hand when we cross the street, in so many ways you're the one guiding us through life in chaotic, turbulent times...
You remind me where my priorities should be when I'm confused and overwhelmed, you show me the beauty of a quiet moment between just you and me, you teach me that I still have lots to learn in the departments of patience, generosity and letting go, you remind me to own up to my emotions, and remember when to say "please", "thank you" and "I'm sorry"...
This post is going dangerously long already as it is, so I'm just going to conclude with some photos of our adventures this year. Love you, baby, looking forward to many, many more years of adventure with you, your daddy and Bryson.
Happy Christmas! Does the last month of the year always seem to go by faster for you too? The month between Thanksgiving and X'mas feels almost non-existent. Between holiday prepping, getting work wrapped up, and other miscellaneous things you've meant to do all year but never got a chance to (should I clean out the 2000+ junk mail or make a mad dash to the mall to use up that expiring gift card...). Thus the month-long hiatus from the blog. *sigh*
But now I'm back, I can tell you all about our holiday. As picture says a thousand words, here's the mostly-pictoral account of our month:
An instant-gratification sewing project- the modified sandwich wrap! I thought I was pretty smart making my own pattern tracing the cracker-wich and adding the "wings" for wrapping. But I forgot that the finished cracker-wich is 3-D, and thus the wrap was a tad too small... oops, lots of crumbs in the lunch bag. It still works and is still cute, right?
Riding at the Tilden antique merry go round- it's one of those old-school, low-tech childhood things that I miss. And this is the first year where Eva's actually into it, so it was pretty fun. Not so much into the Santa at the back though. The idea of Santa- great; the actual big fat guy in a red suit- eh, no thanks.
Yes, I broke down and bought her a huge thing of art supplies... and thus begins our adventures laundering washable paints out of clothing, socks, hair, etc... (yes, it's washable, but you still gotta wash it). I have to admit though, it's been fun watching her wield that big paint brush with abandon (that's Chorizo portrait, by the way). And it was kinda cool making gift wraps this year that we can use. It'll be even more fun if we can train Bryson to be part of the clean-up crew...
And ever since we got this Olivia book ("snow! presents! stocking!") that we've read probably 100+ times, I knew I have to make Eva and Bryson stockings this year. I was all bleary-eyed when I put them together 2 nights before X'mas, and of course one stocking has upside-down birds, and the other one has a hole somewhere (hope you can't see it...)
And on X'mas morning, after a power breakfast (thanks, dada, for the yummy mini pancakes!)...
It's time to open... presents!
Beep Beep! Stroller and baby coming through (she is in the playing-mommy phase).
Oh, wait, are we forgetting a certain someone? (Looking grumpy here...)
No worries, his sister wouldn't let him miss any of the fun!
Do you know what tops all the fun this holiday though? Look (below), look... LOOK! (borrowing from Eva).
A significant milestone! A first success! If you don't know what you're looking at, it's probably TMI anyway. And if you do, this needs no further explanation.
Hope everyone had a good Christmas as well (and not necessarily involving celebration over above yellow fluid...).
We'll probably see you again in 2012. Happy holiday!
P.S. Thanks for all of you who are cheering for my friend mentioned in the last post. She's still in the hospital, but steadily getting better. Keep the positive thoughts coming!
It's always shocking when you learn that someone you're close to is dying. Now imagine one minute being someone's "just in case" contact for a routine surgery, and the next standing alone in the Intensive Care Unit, shaken to your core while trying to make life and death decisions, praying to whoever will listen that you are doing the right thing, and the stars will somehow align and yank this soul back from the cliff...
And listened did he, she, it or they. It almost seems trite to say thank you, but there, it's Thanksgiving, and that's what I'm thankful for (plus everyone around me who's helping take care of me so I can take care of her).
All those days and nights hovering by the beeping machines and getting entangled in endless tubes and cords, trying to eavesdrop on conversations among the hoards of faceless doctors filing in and out when I'm not stalking them, watching the EKG and mean arterial pressure (above 65, please, just 65... you can do it)... and the rollercoaster ride of emotions, highs when the first word is uttered after extubation, lows when the fog of ICU delirium roll over and I became a menacing stranger...
All these are worth it when what I hear these days are "thanks, and did you find my nail file?" and "wow, this 7-up tastes so good". You know life is back when you can once again appreciate the simple joys of living.
I'm not a superstitious person, but I do believe that good karma has a way of perpetuating itself in this universe.
And on a lighter note, we're so psyched that we're able to resume our tradition of volunteering to deliver Thanksgiving meals for the Salvation Army this year (we stopped since Eva was born, it's just hard imagine schlepping an infant in and out of the car through the city).
Since both Hubby and I didn't grow up here, "traditional" Thanksgiving traditions are kinda lost on us. What I really hope to impart on Eva on this hoilday is the importance to be thankful for what we have. I guess she's a little too young to appreciate it, but I hope that by seeing how little some others have, that she'll know how lucky we are.
Oh and to deliver meals in style, I made her a little turkey handpuppet (I saw the tutorial online a while back and can't find it now...).
I traced her hand on felt, cut out two pieces and glue-gunned them together, then fashioned some feathers with different color felt, a beak and a waddle. Glue those on, and voila! Gobble gobble!
Hi! I'm Eva Senakarn, reporting to meal delivery duties (notice Gobble Gobble on her hand).
And yeah, it was raining, but even better as she loves wearing the strawberries rainboots PoPo got for her in Hong Kong... It was pretty funny that the seniors are so delighted to see Eva, they often came after us and stuffed our hands with all kinds of sweets (Russian ladies gave us chocolate, Chinese ladies gave us oranges...)
An evening with friends celebrating with a semi-traditional dinner (ham, yam, lettuce wrap, seafood stew, pumpkin pie and cupcakes, yummm...) with screaming kids running around, banging their heads on things and each others, and Thanksgiving is complete.
To be completely honest, I've been dreading Halloween all summer... how could I ever top the Pharoah and the Sphinx? *sigh*
I almost made them hippies (inspired by some of our neighbors, which would have been a bit unfortunate...), when I came across this super adorable fabric at Stonemountain one day and thought, hey, that kinda look like Bryson...
And a couple of yards of flannel and lace, a pair of thrift-store reading glasses, and a few hours of quality time with my sewing machine later...
Voila! Red Riding Hood and Big Bad Wolf aka Grandma materialized:
Nothing will ever top the pharaoh and the sphinx, but I have to say I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.
Bryson's "outfit" is basically a lacy-shower-cap-type-thing, plus a coat with more lace (he has to channel "grandma"). I used the same flannel as the inside of Eva's cape, and based it loosely on a few shower cap tutes I found online.
For the best Big Bad Wolf Posing as Grandma look, you want the ears to show. I contemplated making a bigger cap and cut holes for the years, but I wasn't sure if I had enough lace, so I made a smaller one that sit between the ears.
For this effect, you wanna eyeball the amount of real estate between your doggy's ears, and cut out a piece of round fabric a few inches bigger (for the rim and puff-factor). Then cut out a piece of lace (the more grandma-sy the better) and pin it all around the flannel:
Sew the lace on near the inside edge, then another line about 1/2" on the outside. Then, I was supposed to have 2 pieces of elastic, one threaded through the 2 lines of stitches to cinch it, and another that'll go around his chin to secure it. I was lazy and just used one continuous piece, and I didn't even bother sewing them in place... they were all safety-pinned (shh...). Oh well, it's a pile of lace on top of a dog head. It's good enough.
Oh, and for optimal puffiness, stuff it with tissue:
And for Eva's cape, I looked and looked and found mentions of a couple of patterns in a 2 sewing books. I looked through the reviews, I compared the projects, I debated which one's better...
I broke down and bought both.
I can't help it, look how adorable they both are!
First is the Oliver + s book by Liesl Gibson. You may be familiar with their super adorable kid's clothing pattern. I love the retro twist. Sooo cute...
Then I got the Growing Up Sew Liberated book by Meg McElwee. So many beautiful and practical projects for babies and kids.
See, both capes are on the covers! I browsed through both, and based on the time I have (not much) and how much the cape I think will be used (not much), I opted for the easier one from the sew liberated book.
As you can see, it's basically a semi-circular piece (or 2 if you want it lined) of fabric with a hood attached to it. This is my first time making anything with a hood. One trick I found out is that if you use thicker fabrics (like I did, I used 2 layers of flannel, I imagine fleece or velvet would be the same), see how thick the seams get? Make sure you clip the curves really well, and I clipped the seams a little too to make it less bulky.
Another trick to up the cute-factor? Find a really gorgeous button! It's really front and center in this outfit, so make sure you choose well. For the sweet fairy-tale look, I chose a really big and woodsy button.
Oh, and one more thing I've observed from this pattern. The hood is really pointy. I've rounded it off just a litte, but it's still gnome-ish. If that's what you want, that's great. I'll probably use a round plate to round it off some more next time (if there's one).
So there. Another Halloween! Now that my sewing brain is tickled, I'm really looking for more time to whip up a few more things this holiday... We shall see.
I think our experience living in sensory-overload China has driven me over the edge for a moment.
When I visited my uncle and aunt in Pennsylvania last month and saw how the good Amish folks lived, a part of me think maybe I should try out the Amish lifestyle as a form of spiritual detox.
And why not? They grow and make their own delicious, organic food. Here I'm getting my full-fat, homemade vanilla milkshake made with milk that probably came from the same cows we were smelling in the air, though foul, strangely enriches the experience:
And if you're a sew-ist and have seen the racks and racks of absolutely stunning hand-sewn quilts I did, I think you might be tempted to "convert" too...
This is my aunt, not Amish (duh), but sews beautiful quilts nonetheless. I'm amazed and inspired by all the hand-quilting she does, and even she said she's in awe with the Amish quilts...
But I snapped myself out of it as quickly as I downed that yummy milkshake, after seeing how they get around (or not) with their one-horse-power ride (aka horse & buggies) and their hardworking way of life (you should see the calluses on these women's hands).
Oh well, there goes my Amish dream. But I tell myself I will try to do my best to enjoy the simple things that happen around here. For one, I've taken my sewing machine back out from storage, dusted it off and have started sewing again :)
Here's a little preview of the Halloween costume I'm making for the duo, can you guess what Bryson is? (Hint: Eva's character wears a red cape and has an elderly relative who got eaten by a predator)
Ha ha, isn't he such a good poser! Good Big Bad Wolf Bryson...
And we took full advantage of the nice fall weather around here, and took a couple of short weekend trips for some simple R&R: 2 hrs north to Pointe Reyes/ Nicasio for a romp in the pumpkin patch, and 2 hrs south to Monterey/ Carmel for the beaches and a trip down memory lane (we were married in Carmel 7 years ago...).
Here are some highlights of the trips, and for the full albums, see here for Pointe Reyes/ Nicasio, and here for Monterey/ Carmel. Enjoy!
See the beautiful waterfall tumbling into the beach? It's the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, about 45 min. south of Carmel. Totally worth a visit.
This is Mission Ranch, Carmel, the meadow behind Eva is where we got married, and the honeymoon cottage below is where we stayed our first night as newly-weds (little did we know... 7 years later, one little monkey...)
Even before I set foot in China, I realize that I’ll be going through some sort of identity crisis. I thought that I have a good answer to this “What are you?” question.
It’s a simple and truthful one, and I’ve rehearsed it well: “I was born and raised in Hong Kong, I moved to the United States to go to college when I was 18, and have lived there since.”
Simple, right? Apparently not. To that answer, the most usual response I get is the initial narrowing of the eyes, followed by a moment of silence when people more carefully scrutinize my face and mince over my words- which may have been spoken in Mandarin, Cantonese or English.
This conversation could go in any direction and typically lasts much longer than needed, this one below was a real example of one that took place over a business lunch that’s fairly representative of how it usually meanders:
Colleague A: Oh, so you are Chinese (dubiously)... but wait, you’re so tall, you must be Northern Chinese.
Me: Not really, my family is actually from Guangdong (the south), but I think my mom’s family has a touch of Manchurian blood.
Colleague B: Ha! That explains it! When I saw your last name 金, I thought you’re either Korean or Mongolian. You proved me right.
Me: Uh, not really.., (did I say Mongolian?!) I meant Manchurian, you know, Qing dynasty and all that (rambling about some story how my grandpa’s grandpa got sent by the Qing government to Guangdong to rule over the southern barbarians....) But really, I’m more of a Han Chinese, just like you.
Colleague A: (Further narrowing of the eyes) That’s not possible, your last name is 金, you’re tall and big-boned (they don’t hesitate calling you big in China), unless it’s all the American food you people eat, ha ha... And your face says you’re from the north. You’ve got to be Mongolian or Korean, you just don’t realize it.
Colleague B: (nods enthusiastically)
Me: (defeated, and realizing this conversation is going nowhere) Of course, I’m sure you’re right. I should go back to Mongolia to search for my roots...
At first I was a little surprised by these conversations, by the amount of interest people display over my identity. But when I thought more about it and back to my own childhood, I guess I can understand it. Over 90% of China is comprised of ethnically Han Chinese, apart from some regional differences and the frequent use of regional dialects, people by and large look the same and most if not all speak Mandarin (with the exception of Hong Kong and Macau, where most people's mother tongue is Cantonese).
I, on the other hand, is a curio- not a foreigner, but also clearly not Chinese, and people aren’t quite sure what to make of me.
I fully experienced this one day when going on a visit with my Chinese colleagues to a physician in a local hospital. This doctor was clearly swamped, with lines of patients, nurses, students streaming in and out of his office, while we patiently wait to see him. At last, his door flung open, and he staggered out to greet my colleagues, and excitedly asking in Mandarin, “So, where’s the laowai?”
Well, the word “laowai” is slang for foreigners. At that, I looked about myself, thinking “Oh, foreigner? Where?” And when all gazes fell upon me, I realized what just happened, and I felt myself blush... My colleague must have told this doctor that they’re bringing in a special guest, a colleague from America, and this doctor was fully expecting a white, and probably male, visitor. He tried to be polite and motioned me to join them, but I could tell from his face that he was confused and probably a tad bit disappointed.
Having been here for a few months, I've grown used to these type of encounters, and honestly I've grown tired of defending and apologozing for who I am not, and I'm slowly regaining my ability to explain who I am. I represent the values that are uniquely me, a reflection of the multiple identities I possess.
I value family, friendship, trust and integrity.
I believe in myself, but I also believe in karma and serendipity.
I savor my independence, but I also understand that we're all connected.
I believe in the pursuit of happiness, but I also believe in respect in everyone and everything around me.
I am American, and I'm also Chinese.
And if I may borrow Dr Seuss, next time I'm asked the "what are you" question, I'd like to proclaim at the top of my lungs, "I AM I! I AM I! I AM I!"
P.S. And because no post is complete without pictures, here is a photo of the lunch I had last week in Wuhan. You are right if you don't think it looks edible; and yes, those are ALL chili peppers. I made the mistake of ordering "medium spicy" in a Sichuanese restaurant (had a brain fart and forgot where I was)... a mistake I'll NEVER make again.
And last weekend, we joined a trip organized by our apartment to Baomo Garden in Panyu, near our home in Guangzhou. Eva enjoyed hanging out with other kids in our group, and splashing in the water, pretending to be catching fish...
Something I've gotten used to here in China: strangers taking pictures of Eva, whether she's awake or asleep. I've learned to take it as a friendly gesture from people who find her interesting, and hey, I guess that means I also have permission to take a photo of them taking a photo of my daughter, right?
Anyway, we just arrived in my hometown, Hong Kong yesterday. I can't wait to show Eva where I grew up, and share all our experiences here on our next update. Stay tuned!
Yes, we're in the final countdown: 10 days to go before we jump on the plane and embark on our journey to Middle Kingdom!
As you can imagine, these days I switch rapidly from frantically-trying-to-check-things-off-the-to-do-list mode, to complete-freak-out mode, to missing-the-Bry mode...
Oh, Bry Bry... it's been a week now since you've driven off with your daddy and uncle to Texas, and I can't tell you how much tears I've shed in those first few days when you and daddy were gone... I look at your empty bowl, I cry. I pick at all those hair you've shed on my black dress pants, I cry. I found that random (rotten) piece of carrot under the couch, I cry.
But seeing your happy face and reminescing our good ol' days together will always cheer me up :)
Actually, seeing you happy butts makes me smile even more (Eva: don't worry, Bryson, I won't tell people about that plumber thing going on...)
I'm so relieved when I heard you're doing quite well with your extended family in Austin. In fact, sounds like you're being spoiled rotten from having full couch privilege, to being fed carrots and apples by your grandparents around the clock, to enjoying long walks with your fur-cousins in the balmy Texan evenings.
For more photos of our precious family time with the Bry, visit our album here.
Having gotten this intense Bry-Bry missing sentiment out, I can go back to freaking out now. Oh, and you know what else is so fun when you have 10 days to go before moving out of the country?
Getting laryngitis and losing your voice... CHECK!
Finding out we don't have a place to stay on the day we arrive in China... CHECK!
Standing in pharmacy line for an hour and couldn't get our refills... CHECK!
And here's the best one...
Locking your child in the car at Target's parking lot when your husband's out of town... CHECK!
*Hyperventilate*
*Breathe in from brown bag, breathe out to brown bag*
Dear friends, family, blog-friends, and those who stumbled upon this post,
I know it's incredibly dorky to quote Forrest Gump, but heck, sometimes life is like a box of chocolate. If a year ago someone told me we're moving to China, I'd have said "pooh pooh", or simply think you've lost your marbles.
But guess what, folks, you have NOT lost your marbles.
We ARE moving to China.
What???!! YES!!
When?! This May!! (Yes, which is 6 weeks from now!)
For how long?! 3 months!
Are you insane? Isn't that the hottest time of the year there? Aren't you afraid Eva will get kidnapped/ contract some deadly disease/ fall into a squat toilet? And what are you gonna do with Bryson??
I'll have to admit, this is no small decision; and yes, sometimes I feel that we've gone nuts to pull our little family out of our comfort zone, and embark on this journey full of unknowns across the world.
And to make matters worse, we've thought long and hard (and shed some tears along the way), and made the decision not to take Bryson...
*sniff sniff* It breaks my heart to even think of being without him for that period of time, but with his Addison's, I just don't know if it's worth subjecting him to the stress of this international relo. Compounding with the amount of time he has to spend in quarantine, and the status of his fellow canines in China (I really don't want someone to look at him and visualize dinner), we decided that it's probably better for him to stay put.
But look, I am every bit as Chinese as my sister...
(Sorry, Bry Bry... *sniff sniff*) In regards to what we're doing with him, we've spoken with a lot of friends and family members, and thanks to everyone who's offered us help, we're now evaluating the various options. Let us know if you want a free corgi for 3 months (ha ha, remember there's no such thing as free lunch, people).
So, back to the other questions. Well, first of all, I think I should explain why we're going there to begin with.
Some of you may know that I was born and raised in Hong Kong. I came here at 18 to go to college, and one thing led to another, ended up staying here in the States. Even though I'm now thoroughly acculturated (my waistline or the lack of would indicate so), I've always felt a pull to my homeland. And it's not only because it's now the fastest-growing economy in the world, but also, corny as it may sound, I've always felt that some day I'd have something useful to give back.
So when an opportunity at work for a short stint in China came calling, I answered.
Long story short, after many months crossing my fingers, I learned that I got the position in the city of Guangzhou. So where on earth is Guangzhou, you ask? Take a look for yourself:
The red dot indicates that it's in the southern province of Guangdong (or Canton, yes, where Cantonese originates from), and a very short 1.5-hr train ride away from Hong Kong, where my parents and extended family currently live.
Even though I've spent the first 18 years of my life in that part of the world, I'm beginning to realize that there will still be plenty of culture shock and faux pas awaiting me.
For starters, I had my first taste of different social norms today as I was filling out our Chinese visa applications.
I can get used to calling last name "surnames", I can also understand why you may not want someone with a "serious mental illness" enter your country, but this one got me thinking:
If you can't read the micro-print, Section 1.13 asks for your occupation. It's easy for me (company employee) and Eva (other: child), but for hubby, I can't quite find the right bucket to put him in.
See, he's a stay-at-home dad, the closest ones would be "housewife" or "unemployed". I guess the concept of a househusband is just a bit too avant garde to be included in official documents. Maybe I'll make him a badge that says:
"Proud househusband. Ask me about it!"
Anyway, I know a lot of you have international travel experiences, and probably have more questions for us (so do we).
So shoot us some questions, I'm sure there are plenty of things we haven't thought of that could result in dire consequences... and we'll thank you some day for saving our lives/ sanity/ wallet.
And I know I promised a post on the lovely quilt in the previous post, that's still coming. In fact, I have so many finished/ semi-finished projects I haven't written about, I've gotta get through that back log before we head to China.
So stay tuned, my friends. In the mean time, 祝君早/午/晚安.
p.s.: thinking of those who lost everything in Japan.
Yep, people, you read it right. Tapeworm- or the empirical assumption of it- is the pleasantry that welcomed us to 2011. Looks like my wish for a smoother-sailing 2011 isn't off to a great start...
Don't read this if you have a weak stomach or if you're eating- a certain canine house guest of ours (to protect his identify, I'll call him by the alias of Cube Log, ah hmm...) gave us a good scare by shedding these "rice-like" granules in his poop (ewww... click at your own risk). He has a history of this unfortunate parasite (he is in great shape, probably just happened to have ingested another dog's infected flea at some point), and so we wasted no time in bagging the "specimen" and rushing him to his vet (double ewww...). After a thorough exam of the specimen including mushing the "rice grain" manually (triple ewww!!), the vet can't say for sure but her suspicion is that it is not tapeworm, but decided to treat him anyway since the treatment (Droncit) is relatively safe. I was also relieved to learn that it's not passed directly from dog to dog (or to human, say, little toddlers who aren't too discernible in their diet).
And just as we think crisis averted, Hubby did something to his elbow, and he's semi-out-of-commission (hence the ice in the title, I gotta find something that rhymes with "nice"), and the timing is just impeccable as Eva is hit by a double whammy this week, having a cold and horrible teething pain with 2 molars coming through at the same time. Bryson of course couldn't let everyone else have all the fun, and gave us a run for our money with diarrhea on and off all week.
Seriously, 2011, that's mean.
In a show of defiance, I'm going to say that unfazed by this series of unfortunate events, I'm able to conjure up something nice (yep, that's the something nice in the title) that hopefully will mark a year of beautiful creations.
Here are some felt flowery barretts I fashioned out of paper clips for Eva using this tutorial:
If I may say so myself, so friggin' cute! This is one of those moments that I'm really glad we have a girl.
The hair clips I use look like this, and they have a "no-slip grip" design (that little plastic tubey-piece, I assume). I can't say for sure if it works or not against slippage, since the main reason for them coming out of her hair is what all toddlers do- pulling them out as soon as they realize there's something in their hair, not accidental slipping.
Oh geez, I need a manicure. Or at least file my nail. And according to my mom, who along with all Chinese moms claim to be well-versed in Chinese medicine, the white crescent at the bottom of my nail means that I have "bad digestion". Hmm...
Anyway, please ignore the completely irrelevant side bar. Back to barretts. If you want to know how I fashioned the beautiful yarn flowers, listen up- I cheated. Just head over to Anthropologie and grab a bag of these paper clips like I did for $10:
I mean $10 is kinda steep for 12 paper clips, but for 12 toddler barretts that sell for $3-8 each? What a steal!
The funny thing is (and all of you 30-something moms will appreciate this) when I excitedly explain the prospect of turning these paper clips into toddler accessories (thereby saving a ton) to the 20-something sales person, she looks at me as if I was speaking a foreign language. For a few seconds I couldn't comprehend that blank look on her face. Then it occurred to me.... I used to be this woman: young, childless, and blissfully naive of the future ahead of her where she'll weep for joy upon finding bargain children items.
*Sigh* Anyway, onto barrett tutorial. I started by disassembling the flower from the clip by undoing it and sliding the flower out, as such (the stitches that hold the flower on the clip also hold the beads in the front, something I found out through trial and error. Oops):
Unwinding 12 paper clips will do that to your finger too...
And once you have the flowers freed, just follow the tutorial above. You basically create 2 pieces of felt the shape of the hair clip (a shorter piece for the back), sew them together, attach the yarn flower, and stick the hair clip in. The only modification is that I also glued the clip to the felt cover, coz I know in the hand of a toddler, there's no chance it will stay put.
A seriously easy, peasy one-afternoon project! By the way, with regards to the felt, for some colors I use this really nice 100% wool felt I found on etsy, and some others I use this bamboo felt I got at a local store. I like the eco-friendiness of bamboo felt, but it's thinner and not as "luxurious-feeling" as the wool felt. And the wool one is thicker too. And you only need this micro amount of leftover from other projects, so it's totally worth it to use the nicer material (if you have it in your stash).
Here are all the clips in their full glory (actually, if you're astute, you'll notice that there are only 11... one less than what there should be. Let's say that trying to find one of these little clips in a sea of toys is like finding needle in a haystack...)
The split second I caught her smiling AND not having noticed that foreign object in her hair (yet).
And here's a precious out-take: prehistoric ape-girl. Love it.
Here's to hope that there will be more positive crafting karma for 2011 (and never to have to think about tapeworm again)!
Go ahead, call us crazy, reckless parents. Yes, we lugged our 15-month old toddler downtown to party with 1.5 MILLION of our good friends at the Giants' victory parade yesterday.
I know, that defies all common sense of being a responsible parent. Loud scary crowds? The danger of being trampled? The risk of losing your child? Yes, we've considered them all, in fact, I did get separated from hubby and Eva for almost an hour, it was kinda scary and unnerving at the time (and how we got separated is another whole blog post- perhaps one entry from each parent). But how can you resist?
The Giants winning it all is truly a historic moment. It was over 50 years ago that we won the last World Series, and if history predicts the future, I may not see another one in my life time (especially if I keep polishing off those leftover Halloween candies...)
Plus, it was hubby's birthday (happy 21st, hon!), and coming from the man who's a lifelong, die-hard Giants fan, who schlepped a 9-month-old by himself to a spring training game in Scottsdale back in April (I was in a meeting in Phoenix), this is the holy grail of holy grail, the day he'd kiss the ground any Giant walked on (I don' doubt that).
And I guess I've always wondered what it really looks like being rained on by confetti (it was beautiful, by the way, and of course I took home a few pieces for keepsake).
Eva, on the other hand, had no comprehension of why we were there. I just hope that some day she'll find these pictures meaningful/ amusing in some way.
Just look at this crowd- this was taken at Montgomery and Market, where the crowds completely jam up every inch of asphalt, spilling into stores, onto scaffolding and even traffic lights. And where this was taken was considered a "front-row" seat; for every person you see here in front of us there are probably another 10 behind us.
In the end, it was a blur of sights of the back of people's heads, random folks waving from floats, deafening cheers and chants, smells of Prop 19, excitement mixed with panic (while looking for husband and child) all rolled into one... but the electrical energy, the pride and the sense of the entire city as one, it was one heck of an experience I'll never forget.
And while we're on baseball theme, I have to post these pictures from Eva and Bryson's first baseball game together this past August at the Giants' Dogs Day of Summer. This is the one day you can bring your dog to parade on the field and watch the game with you. We did it a few years ago with just Bryson, remember?
This year things were a bit more "interesting" with an Addison dog and a restless baby (we triple-dosed Bryson's steroid)...
Yes, that's a real cable car parked at the ball park you can climb on for photos. You can also watch the game from there. How cool is that?
I can't believe it took me 2+ months to post these pix (which actually has been on my flickr album for a while now).
And you know what else was unbelievable? Right after this game, the then 13-month old Eva shocked us by finally achieving independent bipedal locomotion that same afternoon. I tell you, there is magic in the air with these Giants.
Hope everyone had a great Halloween! Especially if you're a Giants fan, I'm sure the sight of orange and black is making you feel extra festive (World Series... I can smell it, but don't wanna jinx it!).
Anyhoo... it's extra difficult this year deciding what to dress the duo up as, as they had this super smash hit last year as pharaoh and the spinx that you may remember.
I was completely out of inspiration when it occured to me that our life has been dramatic enough as is- what with Bryson's recent hospitalization and frequent visits to the vet- that we really don't need too much dramatization for our inspiration for this Halloween:
Bryson will play "himself", aka one sick puppy, and Eva, inspired by our excellent new vet, Dr. Jenny, will play... a vet.
Admittedly it's much less exotic or creative compared to last year's outfits. I bought this $15 vet outfit on amazon (that feels like it's worth 50 cents), spruced it up with some fancy pocket for her stethoscope and a new name badge that says "Dr. E, DVM" (yes, I stole that animal cross clipart that still has some copyright watermark on it. What can I say, a mom needs to be resourceful)
For Bryson, I wrapped him up with some gauze (hubby says it looks more like a white headband, sorry, Bry...), tied his paw up with some more gauze and a pink elastic, and "attached" him to an IV bag, and voila! We have a semi-realistic re-enactment of Bryson-the-patient (I think the grumpy expression helps too).
We attended a friend's block party, and here are some more pix of the rest of our day:
Dr. E is very diligent, making sure her patient's med is always titrated to the right dose.
Dr. E: Excuse me, you'll need my permission before petting my brother my patient
Check out our flickr album if you wanna see more actions from today.
On a completely separate note, in my oodles of spare time this past couple of weeks, I sewed Eva a couple of headbands. My hands were just itching to sew something (haven't done anything creative for ages), and I needed some project that can be completed in a couple of hours (or they'll just fall into the unfinished project pile that's dominating my work area).
Here's the first one, made by wrapping a 3/4"-elastic with fabric, with a couple of fabric flowers and burgundy felt leaves sewn on. I don't want it to be super girly, but I'm really sick of people asking if she's a boy even when she's Pepto-Bismol pink from head to toe. I think this combo looks cute but not too frou-frou.
I'll post about the other headband (hopefully) soon when I get some decent pictures of it.
By the way, did you notice that Eva looks more like a little girl than a baby almost all of a sudden? I think since she started walking (the day we took her and Bryson to the SF Giants Dog Day game back in September, which I have yet to blog about *sigh*), she seems to have grown overnight as a little person. As we fiddled with her outfit today and trying to get her to sit still many times in vain for pictures, I realize she really isn't a baby anymore. Feeling a bit nostalgic...
And check out the cover boy, Gibson, whose mommy Kelly is the mastermind behind this project. If you go through her blog, you can see how much work she's put in to the creation of this calendar- and she isn't making a dime from it- 100% of the profits go to corgi rescue. What a way to give back to the corgi community. You go, Kelly!
But to be perfectly honest, it is not without some mixed emotions as I look at Bryson as Mr. March in this calendar...
As some of you know, Bryson has been diagnosed with Addison's Disease for a little over a year now, just before Eva was born. It must have been such a tumultuous year for him- being demoted in the pack, having to deal with a condition where you have no ability to fight off stress (a baby in the house probably doesn't help with that), and despite being constantly medicated having flare-up's every so often that results in spectacular episodes of bloody diarrhea (not pretty, definitely not calendar material).
Below is the Percoten shot I have to give him every 25 days, it's a subcutaneous injection (just under the skin) between his shoulder blades. Without this he wouldn't be able to regulate his electrolytes, and he could die from it (as he almost did last year). In addition, we give him a daily dose of prednisone to simulate the body's normal response to stress. But since we can't always predict what stressful event happen in the day, it seems like we're always playing catch up.
As I looked over his photos this past year while choosing ones to submit to the calendar, I was shocked when I realize I hadn't noticed (a) we have so few pictures of him (Eva is a show-stealer); and (b) he looks like he has aged 10 years in this short year. This is when I realize this disease has really taken a toll on him, and I felt so guilty that we hadn't spent more time helping him get healthier this past year... I bawled my eyes out while scratching his head next to my feet.
So, over this past holiday weekend, I've made a resolution to myself and to Bryson, that this coming year we'll try our best to do whatever it takes to get him back on the healthy path again.
I started by finally making him an appointment to this naturopathic vet that our neighbor recommended. I know, it sounds hocus pocus, but I'm a firm believer (being a pharmacist) that there are limitations in allopathic ("regular") medicine, especially when it comes to these chronic immune-related diseases that there's so little it can offer other than treating its symptoms. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in ditching his life-saving medicines, but I do believe that there are other ways that you can help coax the body to restore (or at least move towards) its balance. Sounds philosophical, but reading Dr. Pitcairn's New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats (he's considered the grandfather of naturopathic veterinarian medicine), it helps me understand small changes in their lifestyle can amount to big improvements in their health.
This naturopathic vet is so popular (I think someone in her practice consults with the Oakland Zoo), that our first appointment isn't till October. They told me to prepare for a review of history at this first visit, and potentially treatment at the time if deemed appropriate, which could include *gasp* doggie acupuncture *gasp*. I'd love to tell you how that goes and have a picture of Bryson the pincushion posted on the blog when it happens. And that one probably won't make the calendar, either.
I know you're probably thinking, "Huh? where's part 2 of Eva's party goodies??" No worries, that's forthcoming. We recently took a uber-fun day trip to the Russian River area to celebrate my birthday, and I know if I don't post the pictures now, they will be forever lost in the archives...
First off, here's a geography lesson to get us oriented:
The Russian River area is a super popular vacation spot because of its proximity to the San Francisco Bay Area. It's about an 1.5-hr drive from us, very doable as a day trip.
We first stopped by the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve just north of Guerneville, which brings back fond (and some not-so-fond) memories of our road trip to the Redwood National Park when Eva was 11 weeks old (what a difference a year makes, more on that later).
Bryson was not too happy to find that like most CA State Parks, Armstrong is not exactly dog-friendly. He's not allowed on any trails, but this park actually offers a decent paved road that runs through the park and takes you inside the redwood forest, unlike some parks that confine your poor pooch to the parking lot.
Bryson's such a good boy- whenever we get to a spot where doggies aren't welcomed, we'll tie him to the stroller and he'll just wait there, probably hoping for treats from the random passerby's (he's probably used to his demotion in the pecking order by now. Poor Bry Bry...)
At last, we found a tree stump that's close enough to the road that we could hoist him up for a photo op. Now he has proof that he was actually there with us. Say cheese!
Eva had a great time practicing her "one-finger" walk (she's ultra-cautious, and even though she could walk quite a few steps at home without holding onto anything, she would not let go of that one finger whenever she's out).
And here, look what difference *almost* a year makes:
Eva @ 2.5 months:
And Eva @ 13 months:
Our next stop was to dip our feet in the Russian River itself. We drove around quite a bit, and to Bryson's dismay, we couldn't find a public beach that allows dog access, so he took a nice nap while Eva got her feet wet.
Pooped... Mama, I need one of those baby neck pillow thingies...
We've heard a lot about Fort Ross, an old Russian fort up the coast from Guerneville that's now a designated historic park, and since Eva's napping, we decided to make the 45-min drive up to check it out.
I have to say it was nothing like I expected- it was a nicely preserved compound nestled in this most scenic, serene coastal location. It's pretty remote and thus not very well visited, which adds to its air of mystique (honestly, a few of these buildings were a slight bit eerie, I would never visit it after dark). But at dusk when we were there, it was beautiful.
The rooms inside all the buildings are so well-staged, you really feel like you're immersed in a different time and place. I can almost see someone dressed in full-on period clothing jumping out at me. OK, it was a bit spooky.
And Eva, this is the part where people throw misbehaving children into the oven.
For more pictures of this fabulous day, check out our flickr album.
Yes, Eva baby girl, today is indeed your day, it's your very first birthday!
It's hard to imagine that just a year ago, you lived inside of me and we were still attached by a cord. Next thing we knew, you popped out of me (well, it was slightly more complicated than that) and there you were. Our very own newborn baby, all swaddled and precious and fragile...
From that helpless little blob who can barely latch on to nurse to that toddler who ate bananas, cookies, chicken nuggets and french fries for her first birthday (only on birthdays, mind you), you amaze and surprise us every day by the new things you do...
You smiled for the first time the day you turned 4 weeks old:
You sat by yourself for the first time when we were on our Redwood Park/ Oregon road trip (supported by your bff Hoo Hoo):
You thoroughly enjoyed dressing up (well, I guess I should say "we thoroughly enjoyed dressing you up") as the pharaoh with Bryson as your sphinx during your first Halloween (what good sport!):
You squealed so loud the whole town probably heard you the first time we put you in a swing (ok, this pix was not from the first time, we cheated, but you always have this biggest smile plastered on your face when you're in a swing):
The first time you pulled yourself up to standing in your crib, caught on spy camera baby monitor:
The first time you fed yourself (you looked so proud of the mess you made):
The first time you swam, it was in our hotel pool in Phoenix, you were hesitant at first, but you really got into it after the first 5 minutes clenching onto your daddy, here's a pix of you sun-tanning afterwards (I love you in this little bucket hat):
Your first time visiting Disney in Orlando- you surprised us a few days before we left on this trip by all of a sudden mastering that trademark one-legged crawl- which you used to your full advantage exploring our one-bedroom suite in Orlando.
And here you are, just before your first birthday, learning to push your radio flyer wagon and doing laps up and down the hallway outside. Everyone tells us you'll be walking in no time.
Even as I type this post and look back at all these milestones you've achieved in one short year, I'm in awe. I'm already looking forward to writing another recap a year from now and think about all the fun things you're going to do this coming year. I'm so proud to be your mom, baby girl. Sweet dreams, tomorrow your toddlerhood adventure begins.
TGIF!! I'm completely exhausted, but this is too funny I had to share.
So, you know we live in a converted steam engine factory building, where we have this huge freight elevator, right? Yeah, this one:
And yes! A crime has been committed against Bryson right at that spot marked "crime scene". You see those miscellaneous junk and variety of shopping carts in there? Well, our elevator has sort of evolved into a communal space for our building over the years, where people leave useful stuff (i.e. stolen shopping carts from Home Depot across the street) and useless junk (i.e. your old cat litter box) for neighbors to use/take. It's generally understood through unspoken rules though that unless something is marked "free!", that when you're done, you bring it back to the elevator so others can enjoy them.
Well, last weekend, we were moving 2 big rubbermaid boxes full of Bryson's clothes, costumes (including his 2 amigos outfit and the Harry Potter costumes), medicines, toys.. basically all his belongings using the elevator. Hubby came back to our place to pick up Eva as she woke up from her nap, went right back to the elevator, and the boxes are gone.
WTF?! These boxes look brand spankin' new, full of midget dog clothing some with "BRYSON" embroidered on the back. Who would have taken those?
We waited a whole day thinking someone just mistakenly took them, but they never reappeared. Desperate, I put up this sign below in the elevator and on our building's notice board. No one can resist Bryson's pleading face, right?
Well, the very same evening, we found this at our door:
Yay! Everything's still in there, and I love the personal note to Bryson :) There is faith in humanity after all. I mean I don't really care about the other stuff, but I'll be really upset if we lost his hand-made costumes, there are a lot of sentimental value in those...
On a separate note, little Miss Eva turned 10 months a couple weeks ago, and she's picking things up so fast at times it's a little scary...
For example, she's learning to "feed herself" (and Bryson):
I still have to help her scoop the food into her spoon, but she can generally guide it to her mouth area, stick it straight in like a toothbrush, and suck up some of the food on the spoon while splashing the rest around all over herself, me and the floor. Good thing is Bryson's the best clean-up crew ever. He's learned to station himself right by her high chair whenever she's eating, and I have not ONCE had to clean the floor when she's done eating. He's that good.
And see those little kibble of fruits and crackers on her high chair tray? She loves picking those up and feeding herself. Except when she's kinda full, she'll start giving those to Bryson, an activity they both enjoy immensely. She'll pick up a piece, look at Bryson, look at the piece, then reach waaaay down since Bryson's so short, and Bryson makes up by stretching his neck (I won't let him climb on her high chair) and taking it gently from her little fist. But sometimes she'll change her mind half way, after Bryson thoroughly slobber over her hand and the tiny morsel of food, she'll decide for some reason that she wants to eat it... she'll then take it away from a very disappointed Bryson, and jab the dog-slobber covered piece of food in her mouth. Ewwwww!! Good for her immune... good for her immune.... is all I gotta say.
So, I'm finally home after a couple of weeks of traveling, just in time to celebrate my first official Mother's Day with Eva :) She's even got me peonies, my favorite, awww... (thanks, dada!)
But it was a slightly different picture while I was gone...
First, there's the mystery pooper who left a small package next to Eva's play mat:
"Happy Mother's Day, Auntie! I left you a precious gift. xoxox, Chorizo"
*sigh* I guess it's stressful being away from your mommy for almost a week and having this strange small person crying and fussing around you. You're forgiven.
Then there's this new development (why does your child always have to reach these milestones while you're gone?):
Pardon the scary looking infrared eyes... this is a shot of the baby monitor, she's learned to pull herself up to standing in her crib when she's supposed to be napping! "Hmm, maybe if I climb up there I can pull the camera off its plug and they couldn't spy on me anymore..." Hubby has since lowered her crib and put in other safety measures. She can now stand and cruise around in her new-found freedom for quite a while. Thankfully, most of the time she'll tire herself out after 5-10 minutes, when she'll collapse and fall asleep (I'm so worried about her hitting her head though, what can you do about that?).
Speaking of sleep, I gave myself the best Mother's Day gift today- a nice, long nap. Ahhh... a luxury that I haven't been able to enjoy for what seems like eternity. I actually felt pretty guilty about it, but as I feel re-energized afterwards, I could enjoy more quality time with the kids, taking their photos and blogging about them (at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it).
Love to hear what some of your Mother's Day guilty pleasures are!
Yes, this is the same little sister who overtook me and had her first baby, Chloe, a whole 2 years before Eva was even thought of.
And she did it again! Giving birth to their second child, Cyrus, a healthy 6 lb 7 oz baby boy last night in the Seattle area:
Awwww! But don't you think all newborns got that Benjamin Button thing going? They're practically born looking like grumpy little old men, and somehow over the next few months, they gradually fill out and look more like those cherub-y angelic babies you see on TV commercials.
We're gonna go visit them later this month, giving them some time to settle in first. Can't wait for Eva to meet her new cousin though!
I've been sewing a couple of blankets for Cyrus, here's the working progress:
Don't you love these "Wheels" fabricsby Riley Blake? I love that not everything's blue but it still screams boy. And yes, that's the super lazy person's way of doing the binding, I was thinking about a proper mitered corner but decided a newborn infant probably isn't that discerning (don't tell him, shhh....)
And before Eva gets to get some buddy shots with her new cousin, here are some super adorable recent pix with her brother (these two are really becoming buddies):
Well, now I got started posting pictures, here are a few more from a trip to Carmel/ Monterey a few weeks ago. While Bryson enjoyed the offleash Carmel City State Beach as usual, Eva also got to play on a beach for the first time and discover she can rake wet sand and pile them into her pants, oh fun...
Bryson makes a very good watch dog for your stuff on the beach too, by the way.
Seriously, where did this month go? Oh, yeah, forgot I've got that thing called work and that other thing called baby.
I'm so hopelessly behind on updating the blog, I'm not even gonna try to re-create this past month. Just want to post some of these random snapshots of our lives, coz I hate to look back some day and feel like I forgot how fun life is when she's this age.
Here's Eva rocking what I call the "I'm-a-Girl" headband. I made her this head band coz most strangers on the street think she's a boy (and I can't always fault them since I don't like to dress her in overly girly frou-frou stuff). There I thought a pink and orange headband will no doubt solve this gender mystery, right? Wrong. In fact, the very first person that saw her the first day she wore this head band remarked "oh, what a cute boy!". Plain futility.
As she's sitting more steadily on her own, we started putting her in restaurant high chairs (usually covered in layers of leftover food/grime/germs *eek*) She's totally psyched that she's finally "on the same level" with us at the dining table, and we have to admit it's kinda fun to have her graduate to table-sitting status, partially coz we can mess with her like decorating her head with fresh flour tortilla and she can't quite escape yet.
Daddy swears this "Little Stinker" onesie is jinxed. Every single time she wears it she's had a full on blow-out. For those of you who don't speak baby-ese, a blow-out in infant term means a major leakage of fecal material, in her case usually all the way up her back, occasionally making it as far as her armpits. I'm not joking. And yes, this day was no exception. When I bought this cute skunk-themed onesie I had no idea that it's literal. And we keep waiting for her to outgrow it so we won't be tempted to put her in it again, but I swear, this onesie seems to grow with her (she's been wearing it since she's 3 months old and somehow it still fits). You know what, hubby's right. It's jinxed.
Meet Shu Ren (Chinese for "Tree Man" literally, but it means something deeper which I can't quite explain), the first felt softie I've made, yay! It's based on this uber cute Softie making book, great projects, clear instructions, highly recommended (and Amazon's selling it for like $4! Crazy!) Sorry for the fuzzy iPhone picture, but I must say he's kinda adorable. Eva doesn't find him so attractive though (even though I tugged in a jingle bell), can't blame her, it's not exactly a huggable shape, should have thought of that.
Eva is a funny little thing- at 7.5 months, she doesn't want to roll over, she doesn't want to crawl, but she's very intense when it comes to her hands. She can play with a bottle for what seems like an unnaturally long period of time (in baby time, that is). She can already pick up a skinny crayon with ease. When she lay in her crib in the morning waiting for us to go pick her up, she's often spied (on our baby monitor) playing with her hands. And just last week, she started waving "hi!" to everyone out of the blue. It's so fascinating watching them learn.
A precious photo of Bryson's great great great great grandpa, circa 1972. Here's how we obtain this rare find. (Gotcha!)
And now that we're on a roll with crazy iPhone photoapps, here're more masterpieces:
"I wanna be cupid when I'm all grown up" (OK, I admit, slightly freaky)
And last but not least, my fav, where she just snatched hubby's glasses off his face and is totally mesmerized by this new toy:
Many of you have asked how Bryson's been with Eva, now that she's been with us for 7+ months (Yes! It's been 7 months already, crazy, eh?) Apart from all these forcedposedbuddy shots, in their everyday interaction, is he scared? Is he jealous? Does he know that she's the (other) "alpha" lady?
Well, a fellow corgi mama posted a question on mycorgi this past week along those lines- they're expecting a new 2-legged baby and Sam from mycorgi referred her to me to share our experience (thanks, Sam, for thinking of us as "experienced" parents, ha!) And here's my 2 cents on how to prepare a corgi for a baby.
But that's not what you're interested in, of course. You wanna know how our dear boy Bryson is doing now, right?
Well, first of all, I'm happy to say that he has continued to grow more comfortable with her every day. We've continued to enforce Eva's "alpha" status, with her (i.e. her stroller) leading the pack during our family walk, giving him his dinner (we have her pretend to put down his bowl and give the "go!"), and doling out treats for tricks, as such:
This video was shot during Christmas time, so it was almost 2 months ago. Eva has since advanced to getting out of our grip and full on lunging at Bryson while screaming on the top of her lungs, scaring the bejesus out of Bryson. We are still working on curbing her enthusiasm ("Gentle, gentle...").
It's actually my turn to ask questions now- once you've trained your dog to be good with your kid, how do you train your kid who doesn't even know what "no" means to be good with the dog?
P.S. On a completely unrelated note, a teammate of mine at work passed away unexpectedly this past weekend. It's been a really rough week, we've just all been reeling in shock and sadness... I wasn't even sure if I was in the mood to write a blog post, but then I remember that Joe had always been big about family. In fact, the very last time I saw him a couple weeks ago, I showed him Eva's photo and told me to "really enjoy these times with her when she's small". So, in Joe's memory, remember to tell your loved one how much you treasure them before you go to sleep tonight. To love, friendship and family, RIP, Joe.
As we had a break in the rain and suspiciously spring-ish weather (humidity, woo...), we took the little fam to Point Isabel this morning to stretch our legs.
As soon as we got there, we were immediately taken by this unusual sight- a gynormous (seriously, look at the photo below!) soap bubble floating lazily across the street over our heads!
I felt giddy like a little kid as I watch this guy carefully dip this loop into a bucket of soapy water, skillfully raise and open it to the wind, and out spit this rainbow-hued giant bubble that morphs its shape constantly to the oncoming breeze.
To Bryson's dismay, we stood there quite a while to ooh (when a bubble successfully form) and aah (when a bubble pops) and snapped like a thousand photos on my iPhone before we could begin our walk.
I giggled so much I felt 10 lbs lighter as we walked away. Who knew watching someone blow soap bubble could be so therapeutic?
(Some photos are obviously not from the walk, consider them your bonus material :D):
Our family loves your cute animated movies, and has generally tolerated you as a neighbor, even though you don't care to share any part of your beautiful campus with us.
But this... this horrible (HARRRIBLE!!!!) construction noise is just about to push me over the edge:
Well, that was 47 seconds of it, multiple that duration by about 500 times (i.e. 8 hours a day) and you know what we've been living with for these past few weeks on a daily basis.
Seriously, Pixar, can you hurry the &*%# up and be done with it soon? What?!I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!
And then imagine being almost 8-months prengnant, sleep-deprived, and dealing with a sick puppy (as diagrammed below) on top of all of these:
This is our dog, poor Bryson, who has a "hot spot" in his groin area that makes him super irritated, thus the neck guard to prevent him from reaching and licking it. Vet says it could be stress-related. Pixar, hear it? You're even STRESSING OUT OUR DOG. Not to mention the damage you've probably already done to our unborn child.
Mr. Pixar, this is our desperate cry for help. JUST MAKE IT STOP!!!
Sincerely,
Your disgruntled neighbor
P.S. We were really looking forward to see your movie "Up", but now we only wish that our home will fly away to a quieter place as in your movie... Care to provide us with some balloons?
You may remember quite a while back, I blogged about our company giving us new hybrid vehicles as company cars.
I couldn't tell you then what our choice was, coz it was largely influenced by the fact that we're expecting a new addition to our family (it really tore me up to have to keep secrets from y'all, you know?)
But now the cat's outta the bag, and the loooong-awaited vehicle has finally arrived at our door step! Check out Bryson's (and his soon-to-be-sister's) new ride, the Ford Escape Hybrid:
Bryson immediately jumped in to check out the conditions of his living quarters:
Uh oh, is it too cramped?
Not! Even with that baby car seat adaptor (that we inherited from my boss) strapped to the back of the backseat, there's still seems to be plenty of room for Bryson and friends and his private water bowl. I just hope the bungee cord holds up so Bryson wouldn't get an inadvertent concussion...
Ooh, look, and the glass backgate opens up for a bit of fresh air too, great to air out all that doggie smell...
We've even put the infant car seat in the back to try out the configuration. Seems like it'll work well with enough space for all the baby junk stuff we'll need to start hauling around.
As exciting as this all is, I can't lie to say that I'm not a bit (OK, a lot) unnerved the first time I looked back from the passenger seat, saw this set up, and realized there'll be a newborn infant (probably screaming and kicking) in that seat in a couple of months, plus a dog that is easily spooked by loud noises (eh, like crying babies...) and sudden movements with nowhere to escape to...
Anyone with dogs and babies/kids, any tips on keeping everyone safe and sane in this transportation situation? Do I always let hubby drive and sit in the back to keep an eye on the baby and Bryson? But what if I'm alone, how do I know baby's OK (with her facing backwards) and Bryson not being whacked around by all the baby gear that'll probably end up in his quarters?
I know I'm probably being a worry-wort, but any advice would be much appreciated!
So, I was tagged for this "8 Things" meme (thanks Infrared Goggles!) last week, but apparently was too slow to respond, which earned me a kick in the butt by Julo who double-tagged me (thanks! :P)
OK, without further ado, here we go:
8 Things I'm Looking Forward to:
A quick, no-tear no-drama no-complications labor enhanced by a perfectly-timed epidural
Holding a beautiful, healthy baby in my arms at the end :)
Beginning of my maternity leave (in 8 weeks, can't come soon enough!)
Being semi-decent at sewing
Teaching Bryson how to burp and change baby especially in the middle of the night (wouldn't that be nice?)
Eating more sweet, sweet mangoes this summer (yummm...)
My baby shower :)
Another potential life-changing event this year... (I'll have more to tell you in about a month)
8 Things I Did Yesterday:
Learned how to tell the grain of a fabric in my second sewing class (i.e. snip and tear crosswise from selvage to selvage) and many other neat tricks
Went to the inaugural East Bay corgi meet up at the Berkeley Marina (where Bryson once again played anti-social fugitive...)
Ate an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia FroYo (it was an accident, I swear)
Regret eating above said item *sigh* (but it was really really good...)
Watched the San Jose Sharks narrowly escaping 1st-round playoff elimination
Read another few chapters of the fascinating book The Female Brain (do you know your brain actually shrink physically during pregnancy? That explains a lot...)
Signed up for another belly dancing class (8 weeks down and another 8 to go!)
Finished sewing another baby project (see below):
Ta-dah! Another set of baby burpies, bibs and blanket with this super springy Park Slope Fabric
Blankie with a super soft minky-like microfiber backing. A much-dumbed-down version of a hooded towel project found in Amy Butler's Little Stitches (sans hood and belt and different shape)
Bibs, bibs and more bibs! Backed with flannel/ chamois (which disappointingly isn't very absorbent. Oh well.)
More burpies. Another rookie mistake- backed one with flannel (very absorbent) which is great, but for some reason decided to back the other one with this minky-like fabric, which turns out not to be very absorbent, plus I heard that baby will end up eating fuzz with anything fuzzy near their mouth. Great.
8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
Swim! (I could sort of float and doggie paddle. But I want to really swim, like a mermaid)
Retire early
Whistle the proper way (somehow I learned to whistle sucking in instead of blowing out air. I know, super weird)
Have super learning abilities so I can pick up new things with a snap of my finger (sort of like Sylar in Heros, but of course I won't do anything evil... Mwah ha ha.....)
Sew and do crafty stuff all day
Stop worrying about things I can't control (but according to The Female Brain book, that's what women are programmed to do. Guess I'm genetically doomed)
Travel the world with my family (including Bryson who can always fly in the cabin with us)
Lose all the baby weight quickly (and a few pounds more :>)
8 Shows I Enjoy:
Heroes
Jon and Kate + 8
American Idol
America's Next Top Model
Deliver Me (TLC)
Groomer Has It
Project Runway
Amazing Race (And other trashy reality shows I'm too embarrassed to admit I'm watching...)
8 People I'm tagging:
OK, I'm once again not following the rules, since most of my cyber buddies have been tagged already. If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged! The more the merrier, right? :)
To honor Earth Hour last night, we turned off all the lights at home from 8:30-9:30 p.m. (OK, we cheated and left one on so the clumsy pregnant woman wouldn't trip and fall), and that's during dinner when we had Tube Dog and his human over.
We were so proud of our moment of tribute to the environment, but were immediately disappointed when we looked out the window (where we can see a good part of the city we live in) and saw that we're pretty much the only one (except for the Pixar campus) who turned their lights off... Boo...
But we did have a pseudo-romantic 3-people/2-dog candlelit dinner, and I have to say the peacefulness of it was quite nice.
On a completely separate note, an update on my sewing endeavors. After much spring cleaning, I've finally cleaned up my craft area and was able to bring out my machine again to see if it's still functioning (or jamming like it was on my last project).
Well, surprise surprise, with some adjustments to thread tension, it seemed to be sewing just fine with just an occasional loose stitch (see arrows). Oh and the notation is just the machine settings I've changed so I can keep track of whatadjustments I've made:
But of course when I thought everything's fine, trouble started rearing its ugly head...
All of a sudden, there were more and more loose and kinked up stitches, so with the help of Picasso's mommy (another sewing maven), we adjusted the tension and the stitch settings, re-threaded everything, checked the bobbin, cleaned off all the lint and dust, lubricated the moving parts, even changed the needle, and it only got worse... Just look at those super loosy-goosy stitches near the bottom in the photo above (and below, showing the reverse, bobbin thread in red):
At some point the machine completely jammed and stopped moving all together. Arrggghh.....
I can't think of anything else to do except to bring it back to the Viking/Huskvarna center when I got it from. It's still under warranty, hope they can fix it so I can start sewing soon! And any other suggestions are most welcome!
Oh, and by the way, speaking of Picasso's mommy's sewing talent, she totally surprised me today with this super cute knotted front top that she sewed:
And you know what's even more impressive? She didn't even measure me, and it fits like a glove! Which is especially hard these days when I seem to be growing by the minute...
A few of you commented on the way I look (or "glow", as you've so kindly put it) on the last post. I'll have to admit that the "glow" was probably a combination of my oily skin (courtesy to all the pregnancy hormones) + sweatiness due to Bryson's growing girth (this boy gained 2 pounds this winter!)
This is what I really look like (with carefully applied makeup and a flattering top, no less) at 21 weeks:
Thanks to 18 weeks of constant nausea, I haven't gained much weight till about 3 weeks ago, when my appetite seemed to have crept back overnight, which has caused some worries on the scale since... I'm using that baby gate as a gauge. We'll see how many more weeks it'll be before I can no longer fit even sideways through it. I'm sure it'll be sooner rather than later...
But the one encounter that truly made me feel gynormously pregnant was something that happened at the Berkeley Marina dog park last week...
This little boy of 4 or 5 came running and screaming happily towards me, with his dad following close behind. "I caught the woman!", he excitedly proclaimed once he ran up next to me. Slightly puzzled, I looked at the dad, who explained, rather sheepishly, "Oh, I was trying to motivate my son to run across the park, and you in your bright orange top was the only landmark we can see from afar, so we made you our target..."
Seriously, I need all the help from strangers so I can feel like a whale. Thanks.
Here's the mothershipthe whale me trying to lure Bryson to pose for a "Say hi to baby in mommy's belly!" photo with a sweet potato treat, which I'm sure you could tell... Next time I'll tuck the treat inside my top for better effect.
I was reading through some of our recent posts here, and noticed that Bryson has been horribly neglected in this space lately.
Part of it is probably due to the obsession we have towards this new creature brewing in my belly (don't tell Bryson...), and part of it is probably related to the lack of motivation to do anything due to this foul weather. This is what he ends up doing most days, which seems hardly worth reporting...
Are we ever going out again? *sigh*
So, when there was a break in the rain this past Saturday, we took the opportunity to dust off our walking shoes, brave the gray skies, and headed to explore the old batteries and one of the most "scenic" beaches around San Francisco...
It was fun in a slightly eerie way weaving through the many levels of the an abandoned battery that guarded our coast at the turn of the 19th century. There are plenty of dark and hidden nooks and crannies to explore (and if it starts raining there're plenty of good places to hide). Pretty fascinating stuff.
"Look, Bryson! There's the famous Golden Gate Bridge!" "Golden what? Who cares... ooh, look, there's something dead and stinky to roll on right over there. I'll be irresistable." "Say cheese, Bryson! Whoa, wait... what's that smell?!"
Just look into my eyes... You can't possibly be mad at me... *twinkle twinkle*
Nothing beats a good romp on the beach to round out the day. And not just any beach, but the (in)famous Baker Beach, San Francicso's premiere nudist beach. As if the GG bridge isn't enough of a jaw-dropping backdrop, if you're "lucky", you'll also have a few of these au naturale folks in your frame. Fortunately for us, it was a very breezy day.
(Disclaimer: even though you can't see us in these photos, rest assured that Bryson was the only one dressing to the beach's protocol here. Trust us.)
OK, the title actually refers to 2 separate things- one funny (hilarious, actually) and the other related to my Valentine's Day. Completely unrelated.
Now, with that disclaimer out of the way, here's what's funny. It's actually equal part funny + disturbing + embarrassing (as a Hong Kong'er).
So, on our local evening news today- with apparently not much notable going on- they showed this friggin' hilarious video of this lady who missed her flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco and threw a huge, stinking fit at the airport. Seriously, I've missed flights before, it's quite distressing, but thrashing around on the floor like a child?!
But then maybe she wants to be a YouTube sensation, which she has succeeded. A hint if you wanna become an internet superstar (don't blame me if you get detained by Homeland Security/ get tasered).
On a completely separate note, just want to wish everyone a belated Happy Valentine's Day :) Hubby Chef Jacques of Chez Senakams has outdone himself again in throwing me a gourmet 3-course dinner. He called it a "modified surf and turf". This is what we had:
Everything was soooo good, but I was so stuffed that I had to save dessert for the next day... Yep, I was served an organic hot fudge sundae in bed for breakfast Sunday morning. What you can get away with when you're pregnant, ha!
And yes, you read it right, that's a bottle of merlot. But no, I haven't gone all euro enjoying wine during my pregnancy (wish I could but too chicken). It's a bottle of dealcoholized (?) wine. What does it taste like? Two words: STAY AWAY. That's about the only bust of our evening, should have opened that real bottle of zin and have just a teeny-tiny sip... *sigh*
As you can tell by the absence of it (or just that tiny morsel left), the meatball that Chef Jacques made from scratch was excellent. I give it 3 Michellin stars! If you wanna know his secret, here's the recipe, aptly named "Nice to Meat You" (he used all 3 kinds of meat, and even cutting it down to 1.5 lb of meat, we got something like 25 meat balls. It really could have fed an entire Familia Italiano).
Finishing up with sparkling berry lemonade and an assortment of sweet things. Still polishing these off today *burp*.
It's been another hectic work week- went to a conference over this past weekend, travelled to Jersey for 3 days, came home for 12 hours and flew to Orange County for a 45-minute meeting, and got home only in time for a very late dinner with hubby.
Whew! I'm sorely in need of some "work-life balance"! But to be totally honest, I've just been one lazy slob ever since I got pregnant- if I'm not working, I just feel so tired all I want to do is vegetate on the couch. But as my nausea and general malaise gradually improve in the second trimester (mind you, not disappear, just ever-so-slightly improve), I feel like I need to peel myself off of the couch and do something to (1) feel like a human being again, and (2) prepare myself for the rigors of childbirth. *shudder*
So, what kind of physical activities sound appealing to me right now? Let's see...
I've never been a fan of the gym, I only go because I had to. Even less appealing when you're carrying extra baggage.
I can't run (bad ankles, plus I hate feeling all jiggly).
I can't bike (something about pressure from the seat being incompatible w/ pregnancy...)
I can't rollerblade (which I enjoy but I'm a super fall hazard now, best to avoid)
I can't do normal pilates (laying flat on your back is discouraged during pregnancy).
Thought about doing pregnancy yoga, but this one day, while driving around the hood, I saw this new and shiny belly dance boutique that just had this friendly, inviting vibe about it...
Hmm, now that's something interesting... all those jingly coins and mesmerizing hip-shaking (a la Shakira). And belly is one prominent anatomical feature I sure sport these days. I remember hearing something about belly dancing being a good form of exercise during pregnancy- in fact, apparently it was used as a way to prepare women for childbirth to build flexibility and strength in the hips and abdominals. *shudder, again*
So, I went online, did some research, and read some more about this new belly dance studio. Here's their website:
Make sure you check out that video! Don't you wish you could shake your hips like that? Dang. I've always been conscious about my mid-section (which is completely disproportionately large, even before I got pregnant), but now that I'm pregnant, I feel like I have a standard excuse for my overgrown belly and can indulge myself in a bit of shameless belly-baring hip-shaking.
And can you take your eyes away from those jingly coins? I can't. For that reason (and maybe some other health related ones), I signed up for the one-day workshop at the end of the month to see if there's some belly dancing in my future.
If you've tried belly dancing, love to hear what you think about it! Will keep you posted once I've taken that workshop. Wish me luck (and hope I don't sprain my hip ligaments!)
First of all, thanks everyone for your suggestions on our babymoon! There are definitely some great suggestions there that we would consider (and many that are already high on our list... great minds think alike, ha ha!).
I'm in Miami this whole week for a meeting, but I had this incredible conversation the other day that I have to share with you before I forget (my mind is like a very shallow bowl these days).
OK, a little bit of background. If you live near us around the Berkeley area, you'd know that Elephant Pharmacy is not your regular mom-and-pop drug store. Elephant Pharm (as they'd kitschy-ly like to be called) has in addition to its "normal pharmacy" this huge alternative/ complimentary medicine department completed with its own library of resources. In other words, totally hemp-wearing Prius-driving tree-sitting Berkeley.
So, when I needed something other than my trusty Ambien- drug of choice for my horrible jet lag that I can't use anymore due to my current condition- I went to Elephant Pharm hoping for some guidance on alternative therapies.
Knowing where I'm going, I really should have been prepared for this conversation below, but somehow I was still struck speechless with the brilliantly simple advice I got.
(Hubby and I approaching alternative therapy section tentatively, grundgy yet helpful looking man came up to greet us)
Grundgy storeperson (GS for short): Helloooo ma'am! How can I help you?
Me: Eh, hi. Can you recommend something for jet lag? I'm pregnant and can't take my usual prescription medicine.
GS: Hmm, first of all, if you're pregnant, I'd probably recommend that you stay away from any oral therapy.
Me: Ehhh.... OK. But I need something. Last time I travelled for work without my Ambien I ended up in the emergency room with an irregular heart rhythm caused by exhaustion.
GS: Oh, hmm... (looking thoughtful) In that case, I'd recommend that you rise with the sun and go to sleep with sunset.
Me: (What are you smoking?!) Hmm, that sounds nice but the sun sets at like 5 p.m. when normal people I would still be working.
GS: Oh (looks surprised), then at least spend a few minutes watching the sunrise and sunset, then contemplate the beginning and end of each and every day... (looking irritatingly serene)
Me: (Speechless, and kinda waiting for him to say "I'm just kidding!" which he never did). OK, forget that scenario where I'm pregnant. Can you just show me the aisle where the homeopathic sleep aid is?
Now that I'm 4 months pregnant, we're reconsidering our choice of New Zealand as our next vacation spot. Well, that and hubby being laid off complicated by a serious lack of cash would be another reason.
I've received numerous serious warnings from women who have recently given birth that we HAVE TO go on a "babymoon" before becoming parents. Their disheveled and sleep-deprived appearance makes this warning difficult to ignore.
So here we are, trying to come up with a short-ish trip we can go on without breaking our bank. One place that came to my mind was Baja California in Mexico, a short 3-hr flight across the border from us. Seemed like a good idea as we're one of those odd birds out there who live in a border state who's never travelled to Mexico. And if you've seen the Sex and the City movie, I bet you too were drooling over that gorgeous oceanside Mexican resort the girls stayed in, see below (which I later found out to immense disappointment that it was just a movie set in Malibooo...).
But when I mentioned it to a friend (who's obviously either very travel savvy or a total hypochondriac) asked me, "But wait, don't you need shots to visit Mexico? And eh, aren't you pregnant??"
Oh yeah... Forgot about that. I checked out the CDC travel website, and lo and behold, they advise a ton of vaccines for travellers to Mexico, and most of them are pregnancy category C (i.e. things I wouldn't touch unless I absolutely need to).
And even though some friends swear that they've never gotten a shot before traveling to Mexico and has never gotten sick, heaven forbid if I contract any diarrheal disease (as in Charlotte in Sex and the City) WHILE being pregnant in a foreign country? Not a pretty picture.
So, we're now considering alternatives, probably something within US soil so vaccinations and exotic tropical diseases won't be an issue. We've considered other parts of California (easy and we can bring Bryson along but not so exciting), the Pacific NW (nothing like a constant drizzle on a vacation...), Hawaii (we were there TWICE last year)...
Any suggestions for us? Somewhere good for a weeklong vacation that's fun but low-key, with some outdoor stuff to do (suitable for a somewhat rotund, pregnant woman), preferably with good spring weather... is that too much to ask?
And by the way, even though we're not going to Mexico this time, just curious, for those of you who've been or are going to visit, did you get vaccinated before your trip?
First of all, thanks everyone for sharing our excitement and for your well wishes! We'll keep you all posted as things progress.
So, what's my latest obsession? You'd be partially correct if you guess baby-related stuff.
That's obvious, but it's more of a necessity than a real obsesesion, really. All these baby stuff is really over my head, so I've got tons of studying to do. Between all the books Hubby and I bought and what friends and family passed on to us, we've amassed a small library. Don't worry, I won't bore you with that (unless you're interested in the gazillion different ways you can hold a baby while nursing... who knew??).
Anyway, the real reason I've been absent from blogging is due to another new obsession...
Recently, since I realized that our days of "freedom" is numbered, I suddenly devloped a longing to indulge in all things juvenile. Somehow I just feel like if I don't do it now, I'll never get a chance to do it once I become a mom. One of them (don't laugh), is playing video game all day all night.
I know, crazy eh? But I recently bought this game, Animal Crossing, on our Wii, and I've been hopelessly hooked.
It's a pretty simple role-playing game, in which you live and interact with animals in this idyllic little village where you fish, plant flowers, and trade gossip with your fellow residents among other things.
I know, it sounds totally pointless and like a complete waste of time (when I probably should be spending time reading about the 10 stages of labor). I wondered about that too when I first bought it, but now I just can't put my Wii remote and nunchuk down!
I guess after hours poring over the many volumes in my pregnancy library and feeling completely overwhelmed, it's nice to be able to take refuge in this virtual world, where all you need to worry about is if you've remembered to water all your flowers and sell your turnips before they go bad.
It's totally relaxing. Or I'm just totally in denial.
OK, I know I have you all waiting waaaay too long for our 2009 surprise, without further ado, may I introduce...
Huh?! A lima bean? An alien?! I know it's hard to make out, but...
Dear blog friends, friends and family... *are you ready?* It's our pleasure to introduce you to our 8-week-old embryo! (who wants me to remind you that (s)he has since graduated to "fetus" status. Eh hmm)
Yep, I have a bun in the oven, I'm expecting... I'm PREGNANT!!! (OMG OMG OMG!!!)
I know some of you are pounding your fists right now and screaming "AHA! I KNEW IT!!!".
Yes, all the heartburn and nausea (by the way I didn't actually take Pepto-Bismol since it's pregnancy category C), extreme fatigue, musculoskeletal instability, are little clues I've sprinkled in here and there in the past couple of months. Trust me, it was hard for me to not spill my own beans!
I can't even begin to tell you about all the emotions I've felt since we learned of my pregnancy, but here are a few I'm able to verbalize:
I feel elated when I see how adorable other people's babies are.
I freak out when they start throwing tantrums.
I get teary-eyed... well, pretty much at everything these days (and not only because I can stare at people eating sushi and drinking sake but CAN'T TOUCH THEM anymore).
I feel excited imagining strapping the baby on our chest and going on our favorite hike (with Bryson, of course).
I feel overwhelmed when I stare at the aisles and aisles of gadgets I cannot identify at a baby store (seriously, I can't imagine needing this and I have no idea what this is for)
I feel hopeful to think of how a new administration will make our world a better place for our child to grow up in.
I feel panicked when I look at my yet-to-be-employed husband.
Yeah, that kinda sums it up. I know there're a lot of negative emotions, but I can't lie. I know we're blessed beyond words to be able to have a child when we want to, but like I said before, I've always been kinda kiddophobic, and I still am.
But the fact that I used to be afraid of dogs before Bryson, and how I somehow found this place in my heart the day he showed up at our door and now can't imagine loving anything else more, helped me believe that I am capable of being a mother. Anyway, too late now since I don't think there's a return policy on this. :P
Can you believe it's another year already? My magic 8 ball tells me that 2009 will bring some HUGE changes to our lives... hmm... but before that, let's do a brief recap of some up's and down's this holiday season:
Holiday Up's:
(1) Had fun with the boys, aka Bryson, Chorizo and Picasso at our friend's super-duper doggy-friendly X'mas party! Including us there were 7 doggies there :) And amazingly, everyone behaved, well, except that Chorizo invited himself to open a present under the tree, which turned out to be a bar of chocolate that he almost sunk his little hot doggie teeth in... thank goodness he's saved from this near-death experience!
(2) On Dec 28, we celebrated Bryson's 2-year anniversay with us! Yay!! It's hard to believe that we met Bryson for the first time just 2 years ago. I really can't remember what life was like before having him...
(3) Spent some quiet time at home, not doing much, which was relaxing.
Holiday Down's:
(1) Spent a little too much quiet time at home, because I caught a stupid cold :( It wasn't super severe, but combined with the cold and wet weather, rendered me debilitated and useless for days. Ugh.
(2) Bryson developed this strange flaky, crusty skin issue. We noticed since he got sick a couple weeks ago, that his hair started coming out in clumps. No, not the normal corgi shedsabalooza, which of course we're all familiar with, this is tufts of hair coming out with dead skin and scabs attached to it, ewwww....
This is just one little example, the other day I furminated him literally hundreds of these came out... *shudder* He didn't seem bothered by it at all, but we took him to the vet anyway, since you can start seeing "bald spots" on him and I'm afraid it's some weird infection. The vet examined him and did a skin-scraping, and said it's not mites/fleas (whew!), but probably a bacterial infection on top of some allergy issues.
Who knows what he's allergic to (we haven't changed anything except that his groomer moved to a new store). She prescribed oatmeal baths, an antibiotic and some antihistamine. We'll see how these work. In the meantime, I think we're gonna stop taking him to the groomer for now since we'll be giving him regular oatmeal baths anyway. We'll see if that helps.
(3) Hubby got laid off from work yesterday *sigggghhhh*. No notice, no nothing. At the end of his shift, the HR manager (not even his own manager) came to him, and said "Today's your last day. Goodbye." When he came home and told me (while I was busy blowing my Rudolph nose), my mind just went blank...
I hate to whine on the blog. This is supposed to be the sanctuary away from the woes of our daily lives. Which is why I didn't mention that this is actually the SECOND time he got laid off this year. But at these hard economic times, like it or not, this is our new reality. We still have each others, nobody died. I'm sure we'll pull through.
Enough downers already!!
OK, back to my magic 8 ball... It's telling us that something exciting will be happening in 2009... We can't wait to tell you about it, but since we're not officially in 2009 yet, that'll have to wait, for now. If you already know, don't spill the beans! A short announcement will follow shortly, promise!
This is one of those rare X'mas that we're staying put at home. Which for us means one thing- we're the designated pet sitter for all our friends and neighbors this holiday :)
Today we received our first guest, Tube Dog, who'll be with us for a week. Picasso will then check in on Christmas Eve, staying for about 2 weeks. And in the meantime, one of my other neighbor has to leave town on a family emergency, so we're also taking care of her 2 cats.
Yep, that's 3 dogs and 2 cats! I do feel like a Menagerie Keeper. Maybe I should dress them up in circus costumes, take them all out to Fisherman's Wharf, have them perform tricks for tourists and make a few bucks while we're at it (they could be the "Fantastic Five!", ha ha!)
But for now, we need to focus on taking care of our first guest, which has been made easy for us as he comes with his own Operator's Manual:
No joke! This's got to be the most technically-accurate and entertaining manual I've ever read! In fact, it was such a joy I read the entire thing at one sitting, almost splitting my side at several instances, like this one (I know the print is small and the photo is grainy, but do try to read it):
I say every dog owner need to hire Tube Dog's Human to draft up a user's manual for their pooches!
And of course, no guest could escape a stay with us without a mandatory picture in front of the infamous dog-poisoning X'mas tree:
We know how much our guests enjoy gourmet food, so first activity of the day is treat appreciation:
"Do they torture you like this every day?" "Err, pretty much."
Followed by observing our world-renowned Chef de Cuisine prepare a gourmet dinner at the most-coveted table of the house:
And finally, gourmet dinner (he hem, peanut eh hem butter, eh hem) served by hand:
Just a quick note that Bryson and Picasso's "Hope Corgis" photo made the final cut in the mycorgi.com calendar! Yippee!
They're featured as Mr. and Mr. January :) I have a sneaky suspicion that it's the "Hope" rock which coincides with the theme around our new presidency that got them the January spot. It looks like we have a good looking bunch this year (with Gibson on the cover!), but sadly with the glaring omission of Theo :(
On a separate note, I got an e-mail from REphilosophy, a fellow Etsian from Milan, Italy that she had chosen to feature my "These Specs are Made for Reading" gocco card on her Treasury! I'm so psyched as this is the first time I make it on someone's Treasury, double-yippee!! And I have to say, this bunch is almost as good-looking as the corgis in the calendar ;)
By the way, a Treasury on etsy is basically a list of someone's "favorite things" on etsy, it gives the featured artist more exposure (especially if the treasury is chosen to be featured on the etsy's home page). I just feel so honored to have my little creation showcased among all these other great pieces (in fact I have purchased from the seller just below my "square"!). Thanks, Paola from Milan!
Believe it or not, it's SNOWING here in San Francisco today! We woke up to a huge hail storm which left everything white outside, I don't think I've ever seen anything like this since moving here 9 years ago. It was quite festive :)
But the cold weather's another story... We don't have central heat in our loft here. Instead, we have this:
The way this heater keeps part of the place feeling like the tropics while the rest (mainly my work desk where I'm sitting right now) feels like Antarctica makes me believe that it probably traces back to the days when our building was headquarters of the Doble Steams Motor Co in the 1920's. (Yes, steam-powered planes and cars were actually cranked out from our unit some 80 years ago, neat, eh?)
Anyway, now warmed by my little space heater, I can share with you more photos of our X'mas tree (yes, that X'mas tree) that help me feel festive despite of the inclement weather.
I grew up with a 3-foot tinsel tree that's all the colors of the rainbow (and more). I used to think it was so cheesy and gaudy as a kid. So all the trees I've gotten as a grown-up has always been decorated in gold, silver, and white. No color, whatsoever.
But this year I thought, what the heck, what's Christmas if it's not gaudy and cheesy? So we went out an got all these candy-colored ornaments, oh what fun! Included is this nutcracker dude, isn't he so cute?
Of course there's our boy.
Now I can't quite decide if I like the tree more during the day (when you can see all the candied goodness) or at night (when the lights are all warm and glowing)...
I just can't resist! He's such a poser! And notice the "fake presents" under the tree. They're wrapped empty shoe boxes set up around the tree so that he couldn't get to those toxic water anymore (and we changed it to plain water as well, but you know, just in case).
Thanks to all your concerns this past week for me and Bryson!
My back got a lot better over the rest of the weekend when I didn't do anything, but as the busy work week started, it hasn't been too happy... I have a lumbar pillow strapped onto my back (I'm like a camel), but it helps.
Bryson on the other hand is almost back to his usual self now. After we got all the test results back, it was apparent that he was having some sort of an infection. A doggy cold or something like that. Can you imagine just having ingested toxic X'mas tree water THEN having a cold on top of that? I might have to rearragne his furnitures to improve his feng shui.
Sunday was a tough day, as I was practically immobile, hubby was at work, and Bryson was so disoriented he could barely walk down the stairs. Thanks goodness my neighbor Tube Dog's Human was kind enough to walk Bryson along with Tube Dog that morning.
But since Bryson wouldn't walk down the stairs by himself (we live on the 3rd floor), we have to resort to a make-shift "wheelchair" for Bryson (this is taken from Tube Dog's "Daily Weiner" blog):
OK, Bryson and Tube Dog aren't turning homeless. There's an explanation.
We live in a converted warehouse loft, complete with a huge vintage hand-operated frieght elevator. There's also a Home Depot across the street. Over time, these Home Depot carts just show up in our elevator, and residents' been conveniently using them to transport stuff like groceries, garbage, and dogs who wouldn't walk (and their friends who just want a joy ride out of it).
My poor neighbor ran into just about everybody in the building that morning wheeling these 2 around, all of whom gave her the "What the...?!" look. I think she just shook her head with a "Don't ask..." look in return. OK, we owe them another BIG one. :P
I know I have invited you all to come visit me at the Berkeley Open House today, so I'm bummed beyond words to tell you that I won't be able to make it to the event today... :(
Long story short, I threw my back badly yesterday trying to lift Bryson at the vet's office. I couldn't sleep all night, could barely walk today, and it pains me to even sit here to write this. And Bryson isn't doing too hot either, he's lethargic and not interested in food (for corgis you know that's a big deal). The vet ran a bunch of tests, and we're waiting for results today. In short, we're a pile of mess :(
If you still want to stop by the Open House and check out the stuff (my cards and collages as well as others' will still be there, just not me in person), please feel free to swing by. And if you do visit, make sure you leave your name and contact info with my friend Mitsuko at the cashier desk, I'll mail you the little free gift as promised on the blog as part of the giveaway.
Hope you all have a better weekend than we do, and if you're going to the Dixon Corgi Fair, have fun!
Remember, be one of the first 10 to come say hi to me to win free stuff! I'll be there from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. (For you corgi folks going to Dixon, swing by before or after, love to meet your corgis!)
I finally finished all the holiday goodies I'm going to put up for sale tomorrow. Now I just have to sort, package and label them all, which will probably take a whole day in itself. I also have to put them up on etsy, so my cyber friends don't feel slighted, hee!
Here's a sneak preview:
OK, I know these cards above may look familiar, it's a twist on an old design I had a while back. But this time I found a greater variety in feathers and couldn't help having more fun with them! The first photo almost reminds me of a science classroom project (match the bird to its feather), fun, eh?
And these last 2 are part of the ever-growing SimpleLife series, simply named "Simple Holiday" :)
This merry little lamb helps remind you what's truly important during the holidays. The rest is all background noise.
The background is printed in silver ink on the gocco, and the lamb and text is letterpressed in 2 colors for a bit of holiday pizazz.
If you're interested, here's what the background noise says:
"Have you seen these doorbuster deals? Make sure you get in line before 3 a.m. to get that HDTV that also microwaves. But try not to get caught in a stampede. Oh, and be sure to get mom that GPS that can tell her where the nearest bathroom is that also rates it for cleanliness. And for Aunt Bertha, let’s get that theater-style popcorn maker that comes with a lifetime supply of butter and a free Richard Simmons video, she’ll be ecstatic. I’m soooooo getting myself that all-in-one fuzzy-logic washer and dryer that automatically sorts clothes by color and material AND folds everything when it’s done. Dad probably has enough socks for the next century, I’m thinking of the Swiss Army Knife with an LED flash light and nose hair trimmer attachment. And are you going to re-gift that rock hard fruit cake you got from Cousin Vinny? Just change the wrapping and give it back to him, he’ll never notice. And have you seen the latest Jack Lalanne commercial ? Do you know that man is 94 years old? Got to get that juicer for grandpa. Your nephew’s been begging for that Destructive Lunatic video game, make sure you get on the wait list for him. Don’t forget to pick up that tempurpedic temperature-regulated dog bed with treat dispenser attachment for Bryson, I’m pretty sure he wants it in the microsuede finish in royal poo color."
It's December! Which means I have official license to play X'mas song all day and be in a jolly mood for no particular reason, yippee!
Adding to my holiday cheerful mood is the purchase of our X'mas tree today. I just love the smell of fresh pine around the house (which, I know, can also be achieved by mopping your floor with Pine Sol for a lot less).
Bryson, on the other hand, isn't too fond of the tree. I guess it just seems strange that all of a sudden there's a tree in the middle of the house. Plus it's not edible.
But then he wouldn't really be a corgi if he didn't try...
No, he didn't try to eat the tree, but he kept wanting to lap up some of that water in the tree stand (which has this tree preservative thingy added to it):
And we think while we weren't watching, he probably succeeded, coz 10 minutes later, he was retching and throwing up violently all over the car while we were driving on the freeway!! We had to pull over to check on him coz it just went on and on and on... I'm gonna save you from all the gory details, suffice to say that we almost drove straight to the vet.
But as suddenly as it came on, it just stopped after he's apparently emptied the content of his stomach after many nerve-wrecking minutes. We were so relieved that we didn't accidentally kill our dog!
We came home to check the label of the bottle, and this is what it says:
I wonder if it's the dextrose or fertilizer that attracted him in the first place. He seems fine now, but with all the iron, I wonder if we should call animal poison control anyway... Guess I have to research more into it. Anyone with experience to share?
I was going through Bryson's old stuff the other day when I came across this photo below. His breeder kindly gave it to us as a momento when we "adopted" him almost 2 years ago...
That's Bryson, oops, I mean Ch Faerie Glen Ben Rabba winning one of his conformation things when he was just 9 months old! And below was Bryson's own webpage as a stud dog before he was *quote* "retired in a wonderful forever pet home" (Awwww....)
Can you believe that's our little bee-eating squirrel-chasing roadtrip-loving goofy boy?
It's just strange to think that he's had this whole life that we weren't part of before we had him, that we all ate, slept and carried on with life without knowing each others existed. It's just so weird.
And look at that pencil straight hair on his back in that show photo, I swear it was chemically straightened. Just look at the way his hair normally is now:
Some people call it cowlicks, we call that his "butt muffin", it's just tufts of hair that stand up and in all directions he looks like he just rolled out of bed and need to comb his hair (but look at Picasso's hair in comparison- his hair IS naturally bone straight).
There are days when he's laying next to me when I'm doing my hair, that I get very tempted to try the straightening iron on him... Hee hee! Don't tell him though.
On a separate note, it's with mixed emotions that I announce that today is the last day of my NaBloPoMo daily blogging adventure for this month! Thanks to JuLo, Lynn and Sara, my constant companion and support group in this blogging marathon thing, without you I may have pooped out at Mile 3. A HUGE thank you!!
