The Senakams | Corgi + 3

In Need of R&R

I've had such a hellacious week. Where should I begin...

Well, it all started last weekend in Seattle. At my friend's fantabulous big fat Vietnamese-Jewish wedding, after a few drinks (and maybe a few too many), I was encouraged to join the hora, which (to my horror), was a ghastly mistake. I came home and realized I had a twisted and swollen knee the following morning (I swear I wasn't that drunk).  

We got home to San Francisco OK (coz hubby was carrying every piece of luggage), but the following morning, I couldn't walk. If that's not bad enough, I have to cover a medical conference that starts at 7:30 that morning. Argghh... I hobbled all over the sprawling convention center all day- in crutches.

And later that afternoon, my throat started feeling scratchy. Uh oh. I knew it! I forgot my Airborne on the way back coz I was so preoccupied with my knee. And the one time I forget, I get slammed with a nasty cold (not that I necessarily believe in this stuff, maybe it's all in my head but somehow it does work).

All I can say is bummed knee + raging infection + over-air-conditioned conference hall = hell.

Somehow I managed to survive the week, and actually started feeling better on Friday. Which was important coz Bryson has a playdate with Wally today :) We hung out at Los Gatos (just south of San Jose), and spent a balmy afternoon having brunch, drinking coffee at a streetside cafe, sampling yummy sorbet/gelato, and visiting this gargatuan candy store (puts Willy Wonka to shame, you have to see it to believe it). 

Yes, in summary, we ate continuously, all afternoon. A perfect way to provide some R&R (recuperation and recovery) to my ailing body. I feel much better now :)

Oh, and I forgot to bring my camera's memory stick. Duh. Photos courtesy of mrjoro will follow shortly. (Thanks in advance!)

And since I am lame and don't have photos from today, I'll resort to cheating and post some old photos of Bryson and Picasso (figure this duo could never disappoint!).

The one above was when Picasso was staying with us last time. These two would not leave Jacques' side when he was cooking. The entire time he probably dropped one flake of onion skin and a piece of cilantro. But that was enough to get them back the next time.

Here's them in a rare tug-o-war (Bryson usually couldn't bother with games that don't involve food):

Added 6/18: Click on the photo below to see more pix by mrjoro on Flickr from our outing:

A Cherry Blossom Wedding in Seattle

Hello from Seattle!

Yep, we're in the Land of Perpetual Drizzle, my old stomping ground while attending college. We got here yesterday jetting through that familiar, grayish sky.

I don't know why, but the weather is invariably warm and sunny here whenever my Californian friends come up to visit, which of course never happens when a one-time native like myself is here. This has caused my friends to accuse me of  "always exaggerating about the foul weather here". Someone who lives in Seattle (uh hmm): please help me explain this conundrum!

Anyway, we're here to attend an old college friend's wedding in Bothell later on today (Sat), and since I've mentioned the Thank You cards I was letterpressing for this friend previously, thought I'd post some pictures of the finished product here.

By the way, these pristine cards travelled with me under my watchful eye all the way from San Francisco to Seattle (it just doesn't seem to make sense to mail them since I'll be flying up here, plus this way I can watch them like a hawk).

But of course, the perfect plan is never perfect. When we got to the security checkpoint at SFO, the X-ray lady had to practically pry them from my protective arms- and really, can you blame me, for the second she got it from me, she somehow felt the need to shake the darn box!

It wasn't until my husband stepped up to her, leaned slightly forward with that apologetic look, and whispered to her, "it's WEDDING stationary", with a sideway glance at his neurotic wife as if to say "if you don't give it back, she will explode into a tirade that will make us regret ever having this encounter", that the security person gave the slightest nod of understanding, and let my box go.

So, without further ado, here they are:

(1) Fresh off the letterpress. These are printed on the beautiful Italian pearlescent paper, Stardream, in opal. The raspberry color is chosen to compliment the red/gold theme in her invite, and to match the color of her gorgeous ao dai (Vietnamese gown) in the photo (see last photo).

 

(2) Putting all the elements together (note: the separate "thank you"s are also letterpressed, these on a matte paper, then torn into little pieces, then affixed to the letterpressed body with a gold acrylic medium).

(3) Ta da! All done! Oh by the way, the cherry blossom is my sketch, and the photo is adapted from an original by Mind Castle Studios. All copyrighted stuff, of course. Feel free to contact me if you'd like your own cherry-blossom themed wedding stationary!

OK, gotta go get ready now so we can actually attend this wedding. By the way, the sky's still gray. Oh well, ciao!

Sex and the City Movie- it's Here!

This past few weeks we've seen some historic moments- same-sex marriage is finally legal in California, the spacecraft Phoenix found ice on Mars, the Democratic party presidential candidate race is coming to an end, but...

Who on earth cares?! After a 4-year hiatus from the HBO show and months of anticipation, the Sex and the City Movie is finally here!!

I swear that the universe ground to a screeching halt this weekend, so me and my girlfriends (along with just about every woman who lives on this continent) could drop everything we were going, grab a cosmo, and head to the movie theater and indulge in a couple of hours of unadulterated SATC porn.

And boy, was it delicious. We laughed, we shrieked, we cried, and we shared napkins to dab away those tears that we knew we needn't feel embarrass about.

I know, those of you who aren't familiar with the show (i.e. men, the emotionally-challenged, or those who don't own a TV set) are probably thinking Gimme a break... 

What's the big deal, right? You know why it's a big deal? 

It's a big deal coz women of our generation "grew up" in our adulthood with this foursome. 

When the show first aired in 1998, I was in my twenties, and I have yet to meet my husband. Through the years, we've watched these 4 women experience lives in eerily familiar (well, and slightly exaggerated) ways mirror our own:

We watch each others fall in (and out of) love.

We talk about our men. And then we talk some more about men.

We spend inordinate amount of time and energy juggling career, family, friends, responsibilities- only to spend just as much time contemplating if we've done the right thing afterwards.

We go shopping for things we probably don't need, then complain our closets aren't big enough.

We debate which side of the bridge to live on (different bridge, same idea).

We have brunch on weekends and chat until the cows come home.

And, at a moment's notice, we will drop everything and go to a friend's rescue just so there's a shoulder to cry on.

Yep, that's about it. Oh, but also it doesn't hurt to live vicariously through others once in a while, watching Carrie and Co. wear thousand-dollar shoes, sip fancy cocktails and flirt with devlishly handsome men when you're home alone with a sea mud facial mask and curlers in your hair.

Oh, and this last photo is one of my favorite moments in the movie- any woman who can use a bouquet as a weapon while wearing a blue bird in her hair AND do so with such grace is my idol any day.

Memorial Day Extravaganza!

For some reason, 3-day weekends always feel shorter than a normal one.

I think it's because we always start out being overly ambitious, planning to do too much that at the end, we completely exhaust ourselves and feel like we didn't even have any time off.

Such is the case this Memorial Day weekend (some people just never learn). To recount events, we'll have to start from that gloomy Saturday morning...

It had rained all night and the morning was still sprinkly. We were disappointed coz we thought we might have to cancel plans to meet up at Point Isabel with Bryson's corgi half-brother, Wally.

Oh no, you forgot? It's Wally! Recall that we met this handsome boy at the SF corgi meet up last year, and one look told us him and Bryson are related- and upon chatting with his people, we realized they are indeed half-brothers, sharing the same mommy and probably just one litter apart! Remember this?

Anyway, the day eventually cleared up, and we were able to hang out and let the brothers reunite. You can tell from the photos (all taken by the very talented mrjoro) that they had a fantastic time!

It's pretty funny that even though Wally is younger and smaller, he's the more outgoing one that often end up "protecting" Bryson when doggie brawls break out around them. What a great brother!

And you won't believe who we ran into halfway into the walk... Picasso! The day just keeps getting better :)

We ended our day with a yummy brunch at Sunnyside Cafe on Solano in Albany. Their breakfast sampler menu changes every week, and they give you 1/2-orders of 4 of their specials + 2 mimosas + fruit cup for 2 to share, AND they're uber dog-friendly. You don't get a breakfast place better than this :)

 
Left: Peanut butter caramelized banana french toast, yummmmm!!
Right: Wally or Bryson waiting for scraps? (Try to resist clicking on it and cheat...)

And after laboring for 5 hours at the letterpress studio on Sunday, we headed out for another short day trip to old town Benicia on Monday. 

Benicia is small town fairly close to us (30 min. to the northeast), but for some reason, we never head that way and thus have never been there. But after reading a few articles about this charming little town, we decided it's time to hop into the car with Bryson and go check it out.

And Benicia is just as advertised- quaint, historic, and smells like the ocean.

We greatly enjoy a stroll on the main drag- First Street, having lunch at a streetside cafe, browsing the ubiquitous antique shop (some closed due to the holiday though), and snapping some pix of our boy (these Benicia photos are taken by moi).

And that's what we love about where we live, it doesn't matter how long we've lived here, there always seems to be an unlimited supply of little coastal towns waiting for us to discover- and plenty of unspoiled hydrants for Bryson to lift his leg at.

  

See our Flickr album for more pictures from our Benicia day.

The 80's Rock!!

Watching this last week's American Idol finale, I was shocked to see an almost-elderly George Michael perform... But... but wait... George Michael should always look like he did in Wake Me Up Before You Go Go! Was the 80's really that long ago?

The sad truth is, of course, it really was THAT long ago. Big round glasses, high-waisted tapered-leg pants are out- AND back in again.

When you see a trend in a magazine that makes you go "Hey, look, I used to wear that when I was in high school!"- you know you're officially OLD.

Sigh. Guess I might as well embrace it. To start, this is a picture of me "graduating" from my Outward Bound class in the summer of 1989. I hate to admit that nerdy, discheveled, disproportionate chick with zero fashion sense was me. But alas, it was.

And now, to celebrate my teenage years (LATE 80's/early 90's, may I clarify), I've put together this mixed tape (kudos to Heather Future) as a tribute to the years when you were allowed to and often do completely reckless and stupid things that you'll later regret. (You know you and I are in the same age group if you recognize any of these songs!)

And here are some more snap shots from these carefree yet moronic years:

 
Above left: Contrary to the photographer's intent, I was not picking my nose, uh hmm. This is our classroom in our secondary school, SPCC in Hong Kong. We just came back from lunch and waiting for class to resume. I haven't even changed out of my sneakers (our basketball team practiced during lunch). It is a funny combo with our traditional Chinese dress (cheung sam) uniform. But somehow we thought it was cool then.

Above right: Our Form 5 (equivalent to 11th grade) graduation. It was a big deal, coz having spent every school hour (in Hong Kong you stick to the same group of people for every single class) together for 2 whole years, some of us will be leaving to study abroad, and this would be the last day some of us would ever be standing together in a photo (but I'm very glad to say that 4 of these folks were at our wedding just a few years ago :>).

 
Every summer, our group of friends would ride an inter-island ferry and go "camping" (staying in a rental village cottage) in the "countryside" for a week or so. We relished these days away from our parents, when we'd play poker until 2 in the morning, then rise at the crack of dawn and ride our rental bikes out to watch the sun rise at the beach and lay there all morning.

OK, I have to admit, for each photo I posted here, there're probably 100 more that's too embarrassing to let in the public domain. For those of you who knew me back then and possess some of these black-mail material- well... Try me :P

Birth Announcements- They're Here!

I've finally recovered from the shock of losing a little piece of myself from last week, and was able to enjoy quite a lovely Mother's Day with hubby and Bryson.

By the way, I'm still patiently awaiting my Mother's Day gift from Bryson (size 39... uh hmm).

And I bet it's an extra special Mother's Day for one mom- my cousin, Irene, in Boston- not only because she gave birth to my beautiful niece, Mia, last month, but probably also coz she finally received the slightly overdue but still fabulous baby announcements I letterpressed for her! Woo hoo!

 
   

Overall, I like the way they came out. They're kinda like the invites I did for my sister's baby shower last year before taking this letterpress class.

I think these are sweet and playful without being too frou-frou. Well, fact is girls in our family just don't do frou-frou, we can't even if we try. But it does kinda coordinate with the thank you cards I gocco'd for her. OK, maybe it's just a little frou-frou.

In case you're curious, these are the steps involved in producing these announcements-

1. Sketch out the design on paper, do a mock-up (inspired by the pink chiyogami "ball" paper and lemongrass Midori ribbons to match, both from Flax, a art/craft megastore that has sucked my wallet dry over the years)
2. Scan in the chiyogami paper, extract and process the "balls" on PhotoShop, gouge eyeballs out repeatedly when I couldn't get PS to do what I want it to do
3. Lay the text and balls out on InDesign, which involves moving each ball by a few microns obsessively over and over again to get the right composition until eyeballs finally fell out
4. Send the completed InDesign file out to a vendor to produce the film (same as a photo negative)
5. When film comes back, make photopolymer plate from which the announcement will be printed off of (this process requires a lot of zen to get right. Say my Omm...)
6. Cut the paper (and some finger nail) on the guillotine, mix ink
7. Set up the Vandercook press, print (finally!), pray that the press doesn't fall apart half way
8. Admire the "naked" letterpressed announcements, cry a few tears of joy
9. Cut the chiyogami paper and ribbons
10. Select photo, process, print (but not before printing a thousand trial prints with wrong shade/ wrong size/ wrong resolution, etc)
11. Pour myself a generous glass of choya plum wine
12. Assemble the chiyogami strips, tie ribbons, affix photo, repeat 80 times or till fingers start bleeding, whichever occurs first (or, chug down the glass of plum wine and scream like a crazy woman so your husband is forced to help out)

And voila! You've got a set of lovely Japanese-themed letterpress birth announcement! Piece of cake.

Let me know if you're having a baby (or wedding, or any other momentous occasions) coming up, love to tackle it all over again! (And don't forget to send some plum wine along with your order)

What to Give for Mother's Day?

Since my parents moved back to Hong Kong a couple years ago, it's been quite a challenge shopping for birthday/ Christmas/ Mother's/ Father's Day presents for them.

First of all, taking them out to shop is kinda difficult when they live some 6,000 miles away. And there's the whole mailability factor (try packing a birthday cake).

And even if you do find something you like, chances are it's made in China, which means they can probably find the same thing 10 times cheaper somewhere down the street from where they live.

So, after dragging myself around 4th Street in Berkeley for hours this weekend and got a couple of knick-knacks (all sporting "Made in China" stickers on the back), I gave up.

I ran home, rubbed my sore feet, made myself a cup of tea, and decided that I'm just gonna throw something together, call it a piece of "heartfelt" "artwork", and hope my mom won't despise it (she's a hard critic, that one).

And going through my boxes of spare fabric and bits of paper and various ephemera for ideas, I came across this lovely pack of cherry blossom stickers my mom got for me while visiting Japan years ago that I had forgotten about...

They're these cutesy little things that I imagine Japanese school kids stick on their bento lunch boxes. And since working on my friend's wedding thank you card this past month, I've been having cherry blossoms on my mind... 

And about an hour (and many stains that ruined another pair of pants) later, this is what I got:

And yes, it was so much fun I actually made 2! I'm gonna mail my mom the smaller one on wood (in the upper right photo), and I might put the canvas one up in my etsy store. But I kinda like it, hmm... maybe I'll keep this one.

(P.S. Daddy- if you're reading this before you receive it in the mail, please don't show this to her- it's meant to be a SURPRISE...)

And the Blog Award goes to...

Moi!

Who would have thunk, eh? I was pleasantly surprised when the very kind and talented Lily of XueOriginals (based in Tokyo, Japan) informed me that she has chosen me as one of 5 recipients of the Arte y Pico Blog Award! Awww.... I feel all warm and fuzzy :) Thanks !

Part of the "rule" of this award is that I have to pass this award to 5 other bloggers, and command that they send it to another 5 bloggers, and so on and so forth.

Well, guess what- I feel like living on the edge today, and thus I'm going to recklessly abandon all rules, award this to 5 blogs that I truly enjoy reading, and leave it up to them whether to pass it on or not. How's that for a rebel!

The blogs I picked are ones that I read on a regular basis, and each of them enrich my life in a different way.

And now, in no specific order, the award recipients are... *drum rolls*:

Craftstew! One of the first blogs I read regularly, as I'm drawn to many of our common interest: being craftsy (aside of having a fairly cerebral "day job") and love of our corgis (hi, Lucy!). You gotta see some of the quilting projects she's involved in, they're so beautiful and intricate. She inspires me to be a more patient person.

Corgi Tails! One of the most dedicated dog person I've ever met (in person or cyberspace)! We share the common thread as being first time dog owners, and there I thought that we're fairly responsible dog owners, but JuLo totally put us to shame! Her blog shares all the technicalities as well as emotional ups-&-downs of being a dog owner, must read for dog lovers (especially if you're newbie).

Rhymes with Spoon! What do lawyers do in their spare time? If you ever wonder, read Sara's blog! And you'll see that evil lawyers are just like normal people too (sometimes). Totally kidding (about the evil part, not the just-like-normal-people part, of course). She reminds me that clothings doesn't just come from a store, and inspires me to dust off my neglected sewing machine and take a stab at it (pun intended).

Psilology! I have only recently started reading this blog, and have learned a great deal about navigating a craft business in cyberspace from her. She also makes the most adorable hemp clothing for kids! I think we'll have a baby just so she (it's gotta be a girl) can wear those pretty dresses.

Heatherfuture! Another wonderful blog I've just recently begun reading. A neighbor from across the border up north (eh?), a fellow lover of all things fun and creative and vintagy, a do-gooder (see her Acts of Kindness blog), and a die-hard hockey fan (Go Sharks! :P). I read her blog to keep myself visually and creatively challenged and amused (what's up with the moustache?)

A round of applause for the above 5 bloggers for making blogworld a kinder, richer and more beautiful place!

Road Trip Part II- Family Time

Ola! We've spent these past few hot and humid days here in Austin (or more accurately, Pflugerville) with Jacques' family, eating, chatting, playing with the kids, breaking up kids' fights... and then eat some more.

Everybody ADORES Bryson and constantly want to hug and pet him, which sends him scurrying around the house all day trying (usually without success) for some quiet "Bryson time".

As the only dog in our little family of three, he's probably a bit overwhelmed by the warm reception from his large extended family in this household... I just counted and there are 14.5 of us under this roof! That is 6 adults + 2 kids + 4 dogs + 2 kitties + 1 fish (fish counts as half).

Whew! Now that's a family.

Cousin Nitro the greyhound, Auntie Jessie and Cousin Tyler all want to shower Bryson with affection (Bryson: your love is suffocating me...)

Cousin Toby the golden retriever (who just got shaved for summer for the first time!)

Feeding turtle with Tyler, Sara and Jack at the back of a restaurant (there were literally hundreds of hungry turtles there fighting for the few morsels of bread we were tossing in. I think they were actually eyeing the kids...)

A typical dinner time- everybody (of drastically various heights) patiently waiting for their bowl, surprisingly well-behaved

Cool Cousin Tyler- gotta love those pouty lips!

"I say go poop, Toby!!" Jacques' mom looking quite menacing as she waves the plastic baseball bat in the backyard, trying to get Toby to stop playing and do his business. She was actually one of the first few female cops back in Thailand in her younger days, so she does have a lot of experience with baton-waving. (She really spoils the dogs rotten)

Look! There's a treat RIGHT NEXT to his mouth and he doesn't even notice it! I don't think I've ever seen him this pooped.

A White Christmas

Just as we were complaining about the weather in Seattle, we were showered by an unexpected flurry of snow on Christmas day, bringing us a very appropriate white X'mas. It was quite lovely.

It's our niece Chloe's first X'mas, and there must be a Rule Book for Infants they all secretly read that tell them to "ALWAYS look the other way when they gather you around and make you stare at a black box standing on 3 metallic legs that emits this horrible white flashing light- you could lose bowel control"

Check out our Flickr album for more X'mas pix!

In store now- Paper Elixir holiday cards!

The Paper Elixir holiday greeting line have officially hit the shelves at Make My Day on Nov 23, 2007! Woo hoo!

Again, I have to thank Rita, friend and owner of Make My Day, not only for agreeing to carry my cards, but also designing such a wonderful display for them, right at the front of her store. She even put some in the windows (sorry the pictures didn't turn out too good so you won't see them here- you'll have to go check out the store yourself). For all the work she put in, I just hope she would actually sell at least a couple of them before they hit the dollar bin on boxing day.

Honestly though, I'm pretty happy with the 2 lines produced for the season. First, there's the "Metallics" line, which features a mix of richly-colored Stardream metallic paper and vellum, depicting falling snowflakes in graphic multi-layered designs- the 3-dimensional layering is pretty cool, but of course you can't see that in the pictures, so, again, you'll have to visit the store to check out the real thing yourself. :)

The other line is dubbed the "Natural Elements" line, made of interesting suede and cork paper. These papers cost like an arm and a leg, but they have such a warm and tactile texture to them- they invite you to touch them- that when I saw them at Flax, I knew I had to own them all *sigh*.

And to top it off, my dear friends (after spending a festive but chaotic Thanksgiving together just the night before), got up bright and early and dragged their husbands and pooches to celebrate the launch of my cards with me.

There's no better feeling in the world to have people you love around you to celebrate the birth of your child- or greeting card line for that matter, same thing.

Check out our Flickr album for more pix of of the cards and the big day.

The Amigos Make Headline News in Dixon, CA!

OK, it wasn't exactly headline news (I have a tendency to exaggerate if you haven't noticed yet), but Bryson and Picasso were indeed mentioned in ths Sacramento Bee article this past weekend as the "mariachi musicians" who attended the Dixon Corgi Faire! (Check it out, how cool is that?).

We were totally psyched as we took the hour-long drive to Dixon, a small town close to Sacramento, on that bright and sunny morning this past weekend, as this was our first time attending this annual fair that we've heard so much about.

When we arrived, we found the place buzzing with at least 100 corgis and their people, we were in total corgi cuteness overload! And right at the entrance, you can have a picture of your corgi taken with "the Queen". How appropriate!

And as we soon learned, the idea of this "fair" is quite simple- there's one big ring in the middle of this exhibit hall where all the exciting "contests" happened, surrounded by rows of spectators and a few booths from vendors and breeders.

The contests go from the fairly standard, e.g. Cutest Costumes, to the fairly outrageous, "Your Dog Can Eat WHAT?!", where corgis were offered things like raw jicama among other atrocities. The winnning dog actually ate jicama (and possibly asked for seconds). Corgis, go figure.

When the costume contest came around, we put the boys in their "famous" 2 Amigos outfit that Rita so talently sewed from scratch. They were super duper cute!! But so was their very stiff competition- a little schoolbus, a little pony, a pirate (Grrrr), etc etc... 

And guess what... they narrowly beat out their competition and snagged the title!! Woo hoo! We didn't have a ribbon to show you (and what's up with giving ribbons for herding instincts and not for Cutest Costumes?! Err...). Anyway, bragging right is probably all we need :D

And just to prove that being cute isn't their only forte, they also participated in the Limbo Contest. You guess right, exactlylike the human version, where they have to go under a bar without tipping it over. As you can imagine, the smallest corgis (aka puppies) won hands down, while both Bryson and Picasso gave it their best.

But by the 3rd round, Bryson all of a sudden decided it'll be more fun to jump over than to go under... People bursted with cheers and laughter, and I swear I've never seen him look so proud... Just leave it to Bryson the creative attention-seeker!

All in all, we had fun meeting other corgis, their people, and participating in the various games. Bryson and Picasso got gobs of attention, we won the much-coveted costume contest, everyone went home happy :)

Yes, we had fun! Just glad that we didn't have to eat jicama.

For more photos of the day, see our Flickr album.

The 2 Amigos Celebrate Halloween

Bryson and Picasso learned a very important lesson this past weekend at a Halloween Costume Contest- Life isn't always fair. They handled the injustice with great sportsmenship, but we people were totally crying foul!!

Just take a look at them in their matching "2 Amigos" costume (hand-sewn by Picasso's very talented mommy). I mean, how could anyone with eyes not give them the Best Costume title?!!??

This poncho costume is literally a work of art- every trim, every detail (just look at that guitar- it even comes with a strap! You don't get a lot more attention to detail than that). It puts my Harry Potter outfit to shame...

Granted that they did get come home with Second Place, we just couldn't help but suspect there's some conspiracy brewing behind the scenes here... just check out the competition, there's really no competition though...

(Woo... Special Report... Just as I was writing this, a 5.6 earthquake hit the Bay Area at 8:04 p.m.. The jolt was significant enough for me to drop the laptop and run to find Bryson so we can duck under a desk. But of course the shaking stopped as soon as we found a safe place to hide. No harm done, but seismic events like this always rattle a nerve.)

OK, back to the costume competition:

Left: Mummy-dog, 1st prize winner (told ya, no justice) Right: Fishy Chihuahua

Franken-dog, 3rd Place winner, actually quite well done, we wouldn't mind losing to him

Left: "Epicenter" of festivity (pardon the pun); Right: Graciously accepting 2nd Place

It's a bit crazy but we're having fun! (Prison Dog- hmm, not so much for me)

P.S. Sorry the pictures are kinda sloppy, didn't have time to edit them, been buried in work but want to post something before they start growing mold. Want more fuzzy pix? Check out our Flickr album.

Dogs R'Us

I still can't believe that just a year ago, none of my friends/myself could even begin to imagine being dog owners.

And here we are, chatting about organic dog treats, exchanging training tips and sharing funny videos on our cell phones of our pooches doing tricks (Download gizmo_bang.3gp)

So proud of all of us. Go, doggie mamas!

An (almost-)perfect day in Sonoma

I'm still feeling too lazy from our spa day yesterday in Sonoma to write much, just want to post some pictures of this gloriously beautiful day before this becomes last week's news...

(If you're looking for pictures of the spa, sorry you'll be disappointed. The Rebel just wasn't the right piece of accessory to lug around with a plush cotton robe. The spa at the Sonoma Mission Inn was quite nice though.)

We started the day visiting the Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen, 15 minutes north of Sonoma. The park currently sits on "Beauty Ranch", where legendary writer Jack London called home and got inspiration from for most of his later work. We were hiking down the Beauty Ranch trail in the photo here, where I thought we were all absorbing the beauty of nature and thinking some zen and quiet thoughts, only to find out when I caught up with my girlfriends that their neurons were all firing about what business we should go in together... "SERENITY, people!!!" Let's say I didn't feel so serene after lecturing my friends that we should all be feeling serene.

I have to thank my friends for trying to get into the Jack London-nature-serenity thing. See, they're even reading about Jack London's study here in "the Cottage", which is his old residence on the Ranch, now a museum showing glimpses of his colorful life as husband, writer and traveler. What can I say, I love my friends.

Rolling autumn vineyards viewed through an old wall of the ruins of the Kohler and Frohling winery on the Ranch, damaged first by the 1906 great San Francisco earthquake, then by fire in 1965. If this photo doesn't conjure up some serene thoughts, I really can't help you.

I'm not a quoting person, but this quote from Jack London (probably inspired by a scene just like this right out of his windows) describes quite accurately how we felt after an (almost-) worry-free day soaking in the beauty at the ranch and getting pampered at the spa with some of your best friends:

"...I have everything to make me glad I am alive. I am filled with dreams and mysteries. I am all sun and air and sparkle. I am vitalized, organic." - Jack London

For more pictures, take a look at our Flickr album.

Beginning of the Rest of Your Life

It's been a blur of a seemingly endless cycle of breast-feeding (or attempts of), burping and diaper-changing in the past 24 hours since I got to Seattle to join in on my new niece, Miss Chloe's Welcoming Committee.

I've heard plenty of cautionary tales, but the experience has been even more exciting and exhausting and puzzling as I could ever imagine. One minute you look at the angelic little face and that fuzzy feeling gushes from the bottom of your heart, the next minute milk gushes from her mouth all over your hair and you wish you were somewhere else.

Thank goodness they have a supporting cast the size of a Broadway production, with notable veteran Baby-Raising award-winners, namely her mother- and sister-in-law. What a difference experience makes.

One thing you learn quickly is after the whole birthing process, women lose all sense of modesty and everyone becomes impervious to bloody and fecal matter.

This afternoon, my sister in a rare moment of lucidity remarked that she felt like she's in some kind of a parallel universe these past couple days where reality doesn't exist. I welcomed her to the beginning of the rest of her new life, and made a mental note to self to refill my birth control as soon as I get home.

Look, I have one dimple, just like my mom

 
Left: The nameless dad...   Right: Presentation of Chloe the Trophy

This is a sign to leave me alone. Adios!

 

Sneak Preview

Here's a sneak peek, Chloe's first pix from my dad's camera:

 

Sleep tight, Chloe, Dai Yee Ma is coming to see you tomorrow!

Labor Update: She's HERE!

9 months of brewing, 18 hours of labor, and a few timely suctions, Chloe is HERE!!!

Weighing a modest 6 lb 1 oz, Miss Chloe Chan was born at 4:35 p.m. PST, September 17, 2007. My parents sound relieved over the phone, but you can still hear the chaos in the background of nurses and doctors busy shuffling around doing their thing (which I have no idea what that would be).

My mom is obviously happy to have her first grandchild, but she also reported with a slight hint of worry that the first thing she noticed on Chloe's face was a pair of thick, lucious "Donald Duck" lips. I explained to her these days people actually pay to get those. It's a good thing.

My sister is apparently doing just fine, tired, but fine overall, only needing a few stitches. After hearing about her experience, I think I'm gonna go get the "Ab Master" and start doing it every day starting pronto, even BEFORE we TRY to get pregnant. I know that's no guarantee that the some-day-labor will be shorter, but hell I'm gonna try everything I can to avoid an 18-hour labor and having my baby sucked out of me (*shudder*).

So, tomorrow, I'll hop onto the first flight in the morning and head to Seattle to see my new niece. I'll have to rearrange my work schedule and miss Bryson's first Obedience Rally class.

So Miss Chloe, if you're listening, you'd better act every bit the adorable no-fuss baby that I hope you are, welcome me with a "Auntie Ivy, so happy to finally meet you!", and tell me how much you appreciate me coming all the way up the coast to visit you! And oh, it doesn't hurt to pour me a cup of tea while you're at it.

I hope you look forward to meeting me as much as I look forward to meeting you! I promise I'll only pinch your cheek a little bit.

4:30 p.m. Labor Update

The phone just rang and my heart almost jumped out of my chest! I thought I'm a new Aunt!

But as soon as I heard the tone in my dad's voice, I knew it's a false alarm.

What a Prima Donna, come out and meet us already!!

OK, so the latest update is that after almost 3 hours of pushing, little Chloe still doesn't want to leave the comforts of my sister's womb. My sister's exhausted, and little Chloe doesn't realize that she needs to swim out face down (I guess she's a backstroke swimmer).

So, suction cup is next. And hopefully we'll have our Little Miss Conehead soon! More to come...

PUSH! Hoo Hoo Hoo Heeeee...

The long-awaited moment is finally upon us! My sister is in labor right at this minute (Sept 17, 4 p.m. PST), as reported by my anxious parents over a tightly clutched cell phone in the maternity suite in Seattle.

The anxiety has really been building for days, if not weeks, as she was told by her ob that she could deliver "any time now" 2 whole weeks ago. We were all holding our breath upon hearing that news, but hours turn into days, days turn into weeks, and finally, when we thought the baby's never gonna come, she started having contractions last night at 11 p.m., and she ended up in the hospital at 2 in the morning.

And of course, I had no idea any of that was happening in Seattle last night. I only found out this morning when I turned on my computer and saw my dad's e-mail:

"Your sister's in labor, but please don't bother calling since it's 5 in the morning and we're trying to catch a couple hours of snooze. We'll call you."

Imagine the agony!

Sitting in front of my computer, screaming at the top of my lungs "OH MY GOD!!! She's in labor! She's in labor!" with no response (other than a sideway glance from Bryson). All I could do was wait, when I know all kinds of drama is taking place with the rest of my family. I just couldn't take it. I went to the gym. It helped.

And when the phone finally rang, my mom reported calmly that her labor was slow, and after 9 hours and only going from 2 to 5 cm, they had to break her water. She also got her epidural (thanks goodness).

That was 10 a.m.. No words for another 4 hours, and I just couldn't take not knowing any longer. I picked up the phone and called my mom.

This time, my mom picked up and there's no sign of that calm collected woman of 4 hours ago. "Aye ya! Why are you calling now? She's doing the whole pushing-and-hooo-hooo-hooo-heeeee-ing thing, I can't talk right now! Call later...." (hang up)

15 minutes later, my dad called. "Hey, I think I heard your sister just started pushing." "I know," I said, "she's doing the hooo-hooo-hooo-heeeing thing, I heard it."

"What? How did you know?", my dad inquired. Apparently, my dad got left outside of the maternity suite all by himself, being the only man who's not the husband. I can imagine the confusion and chaos. I wish I could be there.

Anyway, that was 2 hours ago, which means 15 hours (or more) into labor. I don't wanna call and interrupt the labor again, so I'm just sitting here biting my nails, stewing in my own nerves and excitement...

Maybe I should do some hooo-hooo-hooo-heeing myself.

Son, Before You were Even Born...

For those of you who participated in the "Finding Bryson" game in the previous post, Bryson wants to thank all his fans for their interest and support. He has posted the answers in the comments section of that post. Go check it out.

And speaking of taking a stroll down Memory Lane, I discovered that Memory Lane's in fact one long slippery slope, once you head down, it's not so easy to stop.

Looking back at the blog and photos from many significant events of our lives through the years, we almost can't remember what life was like before we had Bryson, even though that was only 9 months ago...

But what if Bryson WAS with us the whole time? We sometimes wonder what life would have looked like, what if he was there? (For one, he'll definitely be the ring bearer at our wedding...)

The good news is, with the aid of modern technology, we don't have to wonder anymore!

Here's the artist's rendition of "What Life would have Looked Like if Bryson were there...":

This is us one October day 4 years ago, having our engagement pictures taken at the beautiful Baker Beach by one amazingly talented photographer Sharon Dawson (who also took our wedding photos). But even then we thought something was missing... Isn't the digitally enhanced picture so much more perfect?

You may not know this, but Bryson was also there at our wedding 3 years ago at the picturesque Mission Ranch in Carmel.

OK, we made all that up. But really, how did we manage all those years without seeing this happy face every day? I seriously don't know. All I know is we look forward to having him with us- and our future children- every single day, for a long, long time to come.

Marital therapy

Jacques came home last night with this beautifully arranged bouquet. Said it's for me, no special reason, just thought I'd like it.

I'm guilty to say that the first thing that came to my mind was "what do you want?", and the second thing was "how much did you spend on this?!".

He turns out to be quite the legilimens, without me asking, he went on to explain, while he was taking his lunch break from work, he saw a man walking by the florist across the street, did a double take, turned around and walked into the florist, and re-emerged a few minutes later with a huge bouquet. And that made him think of me. He said he even tried to get a bouquet with peony- a flower I recently mentioned I liked- only to find out it's out of season. To top that off, he beamed with pride when he announced that he got this for the rock-bottom bargain price of $20 since this florist works quite frequently with his hotel (instead of the $60-80 it retails for).

I have to say that despite of all the complaints I constantly make about him leaving dirty dishes around, his lack of interest in power tools, not being practical with money (etc, etc, etc.....), I'm impressed with these little romantic-esque gestures he pulls out of his sleeves (but trust me, he's also pulled out some "it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time" junk before, this process took years of trial-and-error).

And with this simple bribery, the dishes piling up will be tolerated for one more day. Isn't this what marriage is all about? :)

Happy Labor Day!

Crashing a friend's brand new abode +
Yummy "home-cooked" brunch +
Mimosa (the more-champagne-less-juice variety) +
Cupcakes (from Teacake Bake Shop) =

Happy Labor Day!

   
"How much juice goes into this?"
"Someone says 3:1... 3 parts champagne and 1 part juice, I guess... that sounds good, right?"
"Sure, but top it off with more champagne, just to be safe..."

Bryson meets Xena the Warrior Princess

A couple weeks ago, Bryson met a new puppy friend, Xena (yes, as in Xena the Warrior Princess, you can tell what her parents' ambition for her are). Xena is a super-adorable 5-week-old mixed puppy, who literally fell into the lap of my friend Van's family. They weren't prepared to have a dog at all, let alone a needy little puppy. But they took one look at her and fell in love promptly (just look at that face, awww...) How could you not? But still, it takes a pretty big heart (and tons of patience) to take in such a young and helpless pup. Thanks goodness she's learning fast, just look at the intense sitting lesson below...

Bryson demonstrates a sit as Xena's mommy gently coerce her to do the same

Bryson: See! You got it! It's not so hard, eh? Here's your reward... oops, I mean mine, you'll get yours later

Just look at that focus and determination on her face: "MUST... learn....... SIT!!"

Just eat it- it's good for you

We Cantonese are famous (or notorious, however you look at it) for throwing exotic (or bizarre, again depends on your perspective) ingredients into elaborate recipes of slow-cooked soup, each purportedly harbors magical medicinal properties that guarantees health and longevity.

My mom has always been a self-proclaimed authority in this area (as most Chinese moms are), and on my recent trip to Seattle, has imparted the wisdom of "fish maw" ("Flower gel" as a direct translation) on me.

"What part of the fish it this and what is it supposed to do?" I asked, as my mom handed me a box filled with this questionable-looking, gelatinous material to take back to San Francisco. She rattled off on its collagen content, how it's good for women, how expensive it is, and inevitably, the vague conclusion that just about sums up all questionable contents in Cantonese cuisine: "just eat it, it's good for you".

So what does one do when one's mom tell her "just eat it, it's good for you"? You look up what it is on wikipedia, and you find some way to eat it. The one way that seems to involve the least amount of work is throwing it in a slow-cooked soup. It's almost fool-proof- all you need is a few choice ingredients- in this case, I threw in whatever I can find in my fridge (as depicted above): dried red dates, dried scallops, a big hunka pork, Gei Chee (Chinese wolfberry), and Wai San (some kind of dried yam), and of course, the plastic-sac-like fish maw.

After 3 hours in a slow cook pot, I have to say that it does taste pretty good. And guess what, I could feel that my ovaries are stronger already.

My Baby Sister's Baby Shower

"Surprise!", or at least that was the idea behind it...

You see, I've been planning this baby shower for my sister with my mom for the past couple months, but I've told my sister that I was just doing the remote planning but couldn't be there (they live in Seattle). Everything went as planned, I packed up all the goodies for the shower (filled a large suitcase), hopped onto the plane, got picked up at the airport by my accomplices (my parents), got to their place before she got back, even diverted her plan to go shopping to come straight home (not an easy task).

I was pretty smug that we're about to pull off the Surprise of the Century, but, my sister proved to be more astute than I give her credit for... As soon as she stepped through the door as expected, my mom went up and covered her eyes and asked her to guess who has come for her shower as rehearsed. I heard from my cover my sister's voice saying, "what, is Ivy here?". I was like, "Huh? How on earth did you figure??" "It's your shoes, dummy.... who else I know wears weird shoes like that?!" Damn, with all the painstaking planning, I forgot to hide my shoes and blew my cover... Lesson here? I should never work as a spy.

Anyway, spoiled surprise aside, the shower was a blast. Here's how the day went:

 
Left: My 8-month pregnant sister and her 5-month pregnant friend (man, that pregnancy glow does look nice)
RIght: Sisters! And Brother-in-law, of course

Don't ask me what she's doing here... maybe practicing giving birth and praying to the labor goddess for protection at the same time...

I got the idea from my Planner-Extraordinaire friend Aimee for this game, just a little friendly competition of "Paint a Bib or Onsie" for the new baby. It was an instant hit with all the guests especially the kids (although maybe not so much with the parents who have to rub the paint off of their face/hands...)

 

 

 
I think the hormone is getting to her...

Favor boxes that I slaved over, which coordinated perfectly with the invites.

Check out the photo album for complete coverage of the day.

Birthday brunch with the girls

We had a girlfriends' birthday brunch last weekend at this funky place in the Mission District called Foreign Cinema.

It's a defunct-cinema-turned-industrial-chic restaurant featuring sophisticated Californian dishes. True to the nature of the original establishment, there is a movie screen in the courtyard that screens silent indie movies.

I have to say that when we first drove by, we weren't sure if we should get out of the car. The neighborhood is just... a tad bit... well, ghetto. Let's say after we found parking around the corner, it took some persuasion for me to leave Giselle there alone (oh, forgot to mention, my Audi is Giselle now, you know, German and kinda lithe and sexy).

The front of the restaurant doesn't inspire a lot of confidence either- it really just looks like a defunct cinema. There are homeless people pushing their carts just around the corner. But once you push through those doors, you're greeted by a cool breeze from the courtyard filled with swaying bamboos and a smiling hostess (with acid green hair, no less).The decor is modern and inviting, and I happened to sit under a sky light which bathes the room with a bright and cheerful glow, but also left me feeling a little fried at the end of brunch (it could also be the bellini though).

The food was tasty and the service friendly (you can see our server doubling as our photographer in this picture). We tried a bunch of standard brunch fares, including something that looks like soy sauce over poached eggs (it's really balsamic vinegar) and tastes reassuringly more sophisticated than it looks. The French toast also really stood out as something to remember. With birthday candles blown, gifts exchanged, champagne glasses emptied, followed by some retail therapy, the perfect low-key birthday celebration with your gal pals is complete. (I do have the best gal pals in the world, what can I say...)

Oh, and in case you're concerned, Giselle is just fine after being left on the street corner for a couple of hours. So, never judge a book by its cover. We'll come back to Foreign Cinema again for sure (maybe with covered garage parking next time).

The Real Shanghai 1930's

As you know, we visited my 92 year-old grandpa in Toronto last month, but I haven't really mentioned what we did there.

It's been more than a year since my grandma had passed away, and finally, my grandpa reluctantly acknowledged that it's time to clear our her belongings, as well as almost 90 years worth of photos, letters, and stuff that one accumulates throughout life.

I can't claim to have helped with the dirty work, but according to my parents, they've recovered timeless treasures like children books that my grandpa read when he was a kid (covered in 80+ year-old doodles), numerous photos of family members and accquaintances long-forgotten, and even a pristine copy of my grandparents' wedding invitation.

My grandpa was a meticulous historian, and with that, we have volumes and volumes of photos. Some of them are now digitally preserved, and we have stuck them in our photo album here so we could pass them along some day.

Here are some of my favorites:

Left: My grandparents while in college, ahhh, young love... Right: My grandma with the trendiest perm in the heyday of Shanghai, the 1930's, when it was known as the "Paris of the Orient". Must be glamorous to be my grandma then

Left: Wedding Day, June 24, 1939. According to my grandpa, it took him much persuasion for my grandma's affluent Shanghainese family to accept him as a country boy from the South, even though he's proved himself as an established Army General. Right: My Grandma the renegade-(wanna-be)

Left: My grandpa's military day- we've heard his many stories working undercover for the Allies during WWII, even though they' may be *slightly* embellished, I'd like to think that someone in my family had a heroic and colorful past. Right: My grandma and her 2 youngest sons, aka my dad (the chubby toddler) and my uncle in Szechuan. The robe my dad was wearing here is now hanging in a shadow box in my living room.

Left: My dad, his older brother and sister and the family dog, who must be very mellow to live with these toddlers using him as a footstool. Right: The 3 brothers, each in true character of their own

Paperholic Anonymous

As my sister's due date is quickly approaching, me and my mom have started planning for her baby shower. Even though it's not in Chinese tradition to throw expectant mothers these sugary parties, this is one of the few occasions in your life you can openly invite people to buy you presents. I'd say it beats Chinese traditions like eating pork hock any day.

Plus I get to go on a paper-shopping binge with the excuse of making her invites. Nothing's more therapeutic than spending endless hours wandering in my favorite paper store, Flax (pictured here), touching, feeling, smelling papers from every corner of the world. And for a few bucks, you can bring one of these beauties home- much more economic than shoe-shopping, and they'll never stare at your with contempt and disappointment from your wardrobe when you've gained a few pounds. But, I do admit, a few bucks here, a few bucks there, it does add up quickly. And that's why I'm seeking help from PA (Paperholic Anonymous).

And where exactly does this paperholism stem from, you ask? Is it stress from work? Is it the mundaneness of life? Or is it some sorrow deep down inside I'm trying to drown ("does Bryson really love me or is he just using me for food?")? Who knows.

What I do know is each piece of paper has its unique charm, and in every piece of paper lies endless potential. When you're able to use your senses and your hands to bring these various elements together to create something more beautiful than they are individually, it's like striking the most harmonious chord in the world. I just can't think of a better way to give yourself an endorphin boost... OK, maybe a sugary cupcake will also do.

And if I may say so, aren't these baby bunny invites just adorable?

Meet the Grandparents

Hi everyone! Bryson here. Feels like I haven't written for a while, in case you're missing me, here's what I've been up to recently.

I finally get to meet my grandparents for the first time! They came from somewhere called Hong Kong, mommy says that's where she came from, and it's very, very far away. I'm glad that they came such a long way to see me.

When we first met, I was a little scared, I admit... Grandpa seems to be following me everywhere, always calling out "Hello, Bryson, where are you? Hello! Hello!" in a very sugary way. Mommy used to tell me that's how the boogy man lure away little kids, so it made me a little nervous. Later, I realize that all he wanted was to play with me, and he was very, very, nice, always giving me tons of treats, and would even let me climb up to his lap and eat the other end of the sandwich he's eating, which mommy would never have allowed. I love Grandpa.

Grandma was also very nice, but in a different way. Mommy said Grandma is afraid of anything small and furry and walks on 4 legs (I don't understand why). I feel sad that Grandma suffers from this strange disorder, but I'm determined to help Grandma overcome it with my biggest smiles and best doggie etiquette. I know even though she calls me "roast pig" she really does love me. I'll eventually melt her heart and she'll realize I'm the best grandson she'll ever have.

What do you want?

Oh, I see, you just want to give me treats... should have said so sooner!

OK, I'll shake your hand, I'll even do my signature dolphin jump! Anything for a treat, oops, I mean anything for you, Grandpa...

See, Grandma, I'm completely harmless! (Grandma: we'll see about that, you little roast pig)

Everyone, say CHEESE with me!

Before I knew it, they're gone... I miss them already...

Thanks God I still have Daddy and Mommy!

Europe Extravaganza: Part III

Having spent 4 non-stop sightseeing days in London, we decided it's time to leave the frantic city and head for greener pasture of the English countryside. After grabbing some tasty pasties (a deliciously flaky and messy pie stuffed with all sorts of meat), we boarded a train heading southwest towards Uncle Allan's home near Brockenhurst:

Ahhhhh.... the picturesque English countryside. Wish we could bottle the greenness and serenity and bring it home with us.

We met a very friendly lady, Jill, from London making the same journey with us on the train, and after stuffing our face with pasties, we striked up a conversation with her about everything British- from the new prime minister (Gordon Brown, "lacks charisma" in Jill's words), to the climbing cost of living in London. It's apparent in our conversation that Jill is an animal-lover- she asked a fellow Australian passenger adoringly how come they don't keep kangaroos as pets, so we desperately want to hear from her how much she, along with everyone else in the UK, adores the Queen's corgis. We were shocked to find out how misguided we were. I think these are her exact words: "the Queen has enough corgis for everyone in the country, doesn't she? She's a bit obssessed with them... And can you believe those little things get treated better than some people? (accompanied with a digusted look)" I guess the only Brit that adores the corgis as much as we do is the Queen! How disappointing... they're probably considered more Royal Pests than Royal Pets, mere needless drain of taxpayers' resources. Oh well, I guess we're not taking Bryson on our next trip to England.

We went on to spend 2 lovely days roaming around historic towns like WInchester and Windsor with Uncle Allan and Auntie Sue. They truly adore life in this part of Britain, and who can blame them? It's steeped in natural beauty and immense history (and lots of good pubs). We're just so glad that we're able to visit them before they move back to the States, so we could see England in the eyes of someone who've experienced both countries for a considerable period of time and share similar values with us. We learned so much talking to them about everything from the history of England to that of our family, it was quite a treat.

In front of Uncle Allan and Auntie Sue's home, in which they will be in for another month or so before moving back Stateside

A sight that I'm totally in awe with- wild horses running around our neighborhood in the area known as "the Forest". They are kinda like the deers we have back home, but it's quite a different sight seeing these undomesticated horses gallop around freely in those long, graceful strides. It's just a bit scary to see how close they come to the road (if they're not actually on the road, staring at you like "what are you doing on my turf?")

Stonehenge- it's hard to grapple with how something of this scale was built with someone's bare hands some 5000 years ago, and it's even harder to understand why the Brits built the motorway so close to this fragile prehistoric site (the road is practically right behind us in this picture, heard that's going to change though, hopefully before this turns into a pile of prehistoric rubble). The audio tour does a great job in describing the history and science behind it, but I almost like it better when it was associated with all kinds of myths and gruesome stories of human sacrifice (which apparently never took place here, how disappointing...)

Windsor Castle- a medieval castle that dates back to William the Conquerer that's still inhabited by the Queen today. In fact I think they were getting ready for a birthday party for her that weekend we were visiting, most rooms were closed in preparation, so we only saw a fraction of what would otherwise be open to the public. And we were still charged full-price admission, what a rip-off... oh well, I guess we could try to persuade ourselves to think of it as subsidy to the Royal Corgis, makes it marginally more palatable

One of the many inner courtyards inside the Windsor Castle- you can see guards marching around getting ready for the Queen's b-day bash

Inside the impressive Winchester Cathedral, one of the largest in Britain. The gothic ceiling almost looks like fish fins; and in fact, it has a chapel dedicated to fishermen (see the second figure from the left holding a fish?)

Ha ha, we couldn't resist! Perfect way to end the trip... Oh wait, they sell musical instruments here...

The Kam Clan

We have arrived... in Canada!

No, we didn't change our plan, but Toronto is our first stop before we head across the pond, so we can spend some much-needed time with my family. Some of you may know that my family, the Kams, of which most members spent a great deal of their lives living within a few blocks of each others in Hong Kong, has now scattered around each and every corner of the globe- a Kam can be found in Boston, Seattle, Toronto, San Francisco, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and even Costa Rica. So it's a real treat when we have the occasion to gather for even a few short days.

Toronto is where the patriach of the family, my Grandpa, as well as 2 uncle/aunts call home now, so that's where we tend to gravitate towards. This is the first time we visit since my Grandma passed away here last year. It is bittersweet to see my Grandpa again- 92 and going strong- bless his heart. We visited my Grandma's grave site for the first time today:

RIP, Mah Mah

Cemetery visits aside (filial piety is a big thing in Chinese culture), our visits seems to revolve around eating. After breakfast, you wonder what you're doing for lunch, and right after lunch, you start thinking about dinner, and after that, you start with breakfast all over again... Here's one of our compulsory group picture at dinner tonight:

17 strong with still 7 key members missing... (8 if you count Bryson)

Tomorrow we'll hop on our little charter flight to London (Transat). It's half the price of a ticket on Air Canada, we couldn't resist. Let's hope you hear from us again.

Picasso's Big Visit

Yippee! The big day is finally here! Today is the day that Picasso and his family finally grace us with their first official visit. Bryson spent many sleepless nights in preparation for this visit- he pulled out all his precious toys, straightened up his crate pad, even dug up the treats he hoarded for rainy days.

We also cooperated and prepared a sumptuous people meal for our non-canine friends, with much help from the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market. If you haven't been there, you have to see it at least once in your life time. While the stores inside carry almost every delicate gourmet item known to mankind around the world under one roof, the outside farmer's market is only open on Saturdays (and some weeknights during summer) and offers the freshest organic produce grown right here in the Bay Area's backyard- the sweetest cherries, juiciest peaches, crunchiest lettuce, you name it, they have it.

One drawback is that it's very easy to go overboard here. I planned to come in and get one or two things, I left with enough food to feed a small army (plus a Bryson). I was so excited that I found this Wolfgang Puck recipe for a wild mushroom pasta online, because it gives me the excuse to pay a visit to the most fascinating store IMHO here- Far West Fungi- and finally get my hands on these mushrooms that look like they just got beamed to earth from outerspace (always wonder what silicon-based life form tastes like):

 
Chanterelle and morel- freshly picked from Deep Space 9

After a semi-successful attempt in reducing the ingredients into an edible meal, we were happy to watch Bryson and Picasso continue to practice their various synchronized activities:

Synchronized staring

Not-quite-so-synchronized-if-you-look-carefully treat-gazing

Synchronized dolphin-jump!

Synchronized rollover- work in progress

Bryson and Picasso both crashed after a night of intense practice, here's Bryson:

So long, farewell, auf weidersehen good bye... The sun has gone to bed and so must I... Good-BYE!

Watch out, Hollywood... here comes Bryson!

This past weekend we took our first road trip with Bryson to Southern CA to attend a college friend's wedding in Pasadena. Needless to say, with his dashing good looks Bryson was discovered in Hollywood right away!

As a matter of fact, he was courted by a few agents while strutting his stuff and rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous on Rodeo Drive. OK, we're not supposed to tell, but he was actually asked to guest star in Mim's "This is Why I'm Hot: Canine Version" MTV. Watch  out, lady pooches! This one could be a heartbreaker.

This is a little recap of Bryson's Road to Discovery:

Arriving at Sheraton Pasadena Canine Suite (not exactly 5-star but it does have a nice patio outside for his daily fitness routine)

So far this is living up to my high expectations

Rodeo Drive, we have arrived!

Someday when I make it big, I'll be taking daddy and mommy shopping here

Hiding under the table from the Papparazzi at Mi Place in Old Town Pasadena

Where's my body guard?!

Bryson: when I meet the height requirement some day, I'll get on the Ferris Wheel @ the Santa Monica Pier

Attending our friends' beautiful wedding, it's good to see old college friends again

90210: my zip code some day

Girls' Spa Day

I seriously don't know what kept women sane before spa visits became readily available, maybe that's why women used to die young (who could handle all that stress?). So, in good judgement, 4 of us girls decided to spend a quality day doing nothing but eat, drink, and be pampered.

We started out having brunch at the Los Gatos Cafe. It's an unassuming little cafe in the neat downtown Los Gatos, and it serves this amazingly light and fluffy version of an omelette they call the "souffle omelette". Wow, no kidding, this omelette looks like a regular omelette being inflated with helium, it actually resembles a sponge cake more than it does eggs. Unfortunately, I couldn't really tell how it tastes since I'm once again cold-stricken and congested (my gal-pals seem to approve though). The Californian eggs benedict also received high marks from us discerning diners.

With our bellies full, we're then supposed to go wine tasting at various wineries in the Santa Cruz mountains. Unfortunately, as a result of over-chatting, lack of navigational skills (we did have GPS, which makes it that much more sad), and poor time management, we only get to visit one winery- the Byington Winery. Nothing too spectacular, and if we knew that we only had time for one, we would have opted for the 2nd on the list, Bonny Doon, which we heard produces more impressive wines. Oh well, we tried, we drove around for an hour and it just didn't want to be found. We weren't intoxicated either, I swear. Better luck next time, I guess.

The highlight of the day has to be our visit to the Chaminade Spa. The Chaminade is a hotel/conference ground located in Santa Cruz. Its grounds' beautifully kept, and it has an awesome view of the Santa Cruz mountains, very nice and relaxing.

We each got our beauty treatment, then spent some time relaxing on the patio complete with a koi pond, admiring the view, and engaging in more girly chit-chats while munching on a cheese plate. It's unimaginable that I almost skipped out on this fabulous-ness because of my stupid cold- and how did I think I was going to feel better curling up in fetal position at home as opposed to spending a day getting pampered with my girl friends? Even though I've completely lost my voice by the end of the day, I'm glad I made the right choice.

Gal pals Jenny, Van and Aimee enjoying a relaxing time at Spa Chaminade

Pflugerville, here we come!

Where on earth is Pflugerville, TX?

According to wikipedia, it's a city with a population of 27,531 about 14 miles NE of Austin originally settled by one German national Henry Pfluger in 1849. To us, it's where Jacques' family now calls home.

It's also where we spent a most wonderful spring weekend visiting our family for the first time since they moved away from the Bay Area last November. Needless to say, we were so excited to see our niece and nephew, Sara and Tyler, who have both seemed to have grown like the magic beanstalk since we last saw them.

Sara: Com'on, Tyler, say cheese! Tyler: you're squashing me

Sara the diva: Hey, you don't have permission to photograph me! Tyler: here, shoot my belly

Pflugerville, as it turned out, is the neatest little suburban city, complete with mega-size custom homes with stately stone facades, a most impressive public school system (the pre-school looks like a mini college), its own beautiful reservoir (Lake Pflugerville), and, oh, zebras. Yep, real zebras, like Marty in Madagascar, in the middle of someone's backyard:

"Na..nayyy.... Keep Austin weird!"

Apart from zebra-watching, we had tons of fun in the short 3 days, visiting 6th St in downtown Austin (from inside our ride since it was raining), having lunch atop Lake Travis, watch Sara's first ballet recital (in the comfort of our home), and of course, visit the local outlet mall (a fantastic one, btw).

Here are some pix from our awesome weekend:

Kids gone wild

Arrghhh!!! Tickle Monster!!

Tyler loves wearing the quilt hand-sewn by Auntie Ivy, Toga-style (Watch out, Project Runway!)

The Capital of Texas, downtown Austin

Admiring the vast Lake Travis

Lunchtime on an outdoor patio at the famed Oasis above Lake Travis

Glad a ride has been arranged, my princess feet need a break

Sara: Haha hehehe hahahaaaaa Tyler: let me out, my sister's crazy

Home sweet home!

Bryson's cousins: Nitro the greyhound and Toby the Golden Retriever (Hi! Cousin Bryson!!)

Sara Elizabeth Senakarn, the celebrated ballerina at the Austin Ballet Academy (with Siasmese kitty Tuptim in front row seat)

You're not going to drop me, are you?

The best attempt of a family portrait

Can't wait till Bryson gets a chance to meet with the family next time we get together!

The Perfect Weekend

Have you ever had so many things gone so badly wrong all at the same time that you could only sit there and laugh? Well, that pretty much sums up these past 3 days for me.

As you know, I’ve been in New York/New Jersey this weekend for work. After arriving at JFK and stood at baggage claim for about half an hour and noticing the crowd thinning out, I was called to the airline office where an airline employee gravely pronounced in a low voice that my luggage “didn’t make it” (like it was a terminally ill person that had died, I almost felt I should've wept). And, of course after I had scrambled to buy all new clothes and toiletries and makeup (all accomplished in an hour in between meetings with some serious power-shopping skills), as if on cue, my luggage arrived cheerfully in my hotel room as it was just fashionably tardy for a cocktail party (Sorry dear I’m late, now where’s the margarita?). I swear my luggage shot a sideway glance at my overstuffed bag of Duane-Reade toiletries in mockery, looked back at me and said, You silly woman, you didn’t seriously think I would leave you out here on a lurch, did you?

Power shopping through jam-packed Manhattan on Saturday (before the storm hit)

Regardless, I was glad that Bag and I were reunited. Relieved, I walked the few blocks from my hotel to Time Square to take in the sights and sounds that you can only experience in Manhattan. It was a Saturday evening and the streets were choked with throngs of tourists and seas of yellow cabs, all spilling into each others’ territory precariously. I was waiting to cross the busy intersection when, THUD!, everyone’s heads turned to what sounds like a dull collision right next to me. I looked down to discover in shock that a homeless man was knocked down by a car that’s now passing directly in front of me. And it didn’t even stop! I reached out a hand to tap on the window when it just quietly slipped away. Everyone just stood there agape and stared as the man grimaced for a little while, pulled himself up and limped away. What bothered me almost as much as the hit-and-run itself was that nobody reached out a hand to help this poor man (including myself, I admit). Were we just immobilized by the shock? Would we have reacted differently if it were not a homeless person? Were we really that jaded? When senses came back to me, I tried to call 911 to report the plate of the car, but was told that if this man had walked away “uninjured”, that they could not take this report as it is not an emergency. Go figure.

And these are only the “minor” incidents, of course, compared to what’s to come next.

And yes, I mean the horrific storm (the “Nor’easter”) that you've proabably heard on the news. Combining the intense core-soaking downpour that lasted more than 24 hours straight, the gale-force wind that blows away roofs and topples boats, and its stubborn refusal to move on out to sea, it turned the streets of Manhattan (and the entire Northeast for that matter) into a giant water park overnight. Airports shut down, highways closed, entire towns evacuated, lives lost.

So what did I do? Well, half of our meeting got cancelled (including the most important part why I’m here), and seeing that I’ve “wasted” one day here already, I was determined to keep my plans despite of inclement weather, that is to drive to Brooklyn to meet up with Cousin Andy and his girlfriend Karen for dinner, then drive that evening over to our company’s headquarter in New Jersey for an important meeting Monday morning.

View of Time Square from inside my rental car, notice the people in umbrellas and the heavy sky

And I’m so very glad I did, even though I had to drag my soaked body 12 blocks in the flooded and deserted streets of Manhattan to retrieve my rental car. I'll estimate that, oh, perhaps 10% of my driving ime the car is actually under my direct control, the majority of the time I was just skidding and hydrofoiling in half a foot of flood water (quite exhilarating, even though a bit scary, I must say). And if I didn't have GPS in the car, it's safe to say that I'll probably be somewhere in Saskatchewan right now with all the accidents and road closures. It's a small miracle that I made it to my cousin's and NJ at all. But the Monday meetings turned out being very productive and the dinner and company of Andy and Karen most enjoyable, it was (almost) worth risking my life.

Chef Andy and Chef Karen preparing our gourmet dinner

Our delicious dinner: pork chop with a mushroom sherry sauce and 2-cheese polenta. Yum!

Even though things didn’t exactly happen the way I planned, I’m glad that I managed to see the people that really mattered, I can check off “experiencing a nasty Nor’easter in the middle of a flooded Manhattan” on my must-do-before-I-die list, reflect upon how I treat people around me, and most important of all, acquire a whole new wardrobe of business clothes. What can I say, mission accomplished.