LA LA LA Day 3, 4, 5

On Wednesday we stopped by at Jim & Cindi's new house to say hello and wash our clothes (thanks very much, Cindi, that was a lifesaver). There are many, many wonderful things about their new house, but this may be the one I like the best: it's a tatami room with a built-in kotatsu over a recessed floor. Maybe someday, if we don't ever move to Japan, and we have a lot of money that we don't know what to do with, we can build a room like this too?!


Izumi and I next to the fish tank built into the wall between the living room and Jim's office. It's a very cool tank with interesting, exotic fish in it, but you can't really see it here so you'll just have to take my word for it. I'm mostly inserting this picture so you'll know that I really was on this trip!


After our laundry was done, we went to spend a little time with Alex, Kristen Joy and Olivia. We had some take-out from El Pollo Loco (yum!) at their house, and then went for a walk to a park. Here's Izumi in mid-crawl in the foreground, with the rest of the gang behind.


There was no question "if" the kids would all end up climbing on Alex, it was a matter of "when"...


Next stop, Alex & KJ's favorite frozen yogurt shop; a necessity on a hot summer day!


Next up was dinner with Cat & Darren but they weren't quite ready to meet us so I took the kids on a quick trip to M & L Fabrics in Anaheim. I was transported back to the day Clehrence (Clarice) and I went there and ended up with some green fur that she made into a stunning jacket. On the other hand, I bought some quilted silver fabric and turned it into a hideous jacket; you can't win 'em all. Anyway, it was just as stuffed with fabric as I remembered, though it was a bit limiting to try and navigate the place with two little kids in tow (I say, as if there are many other places that aren't that way). In fact, I didn't even approach the flat fold stacks, which were much taller than me. I was afraid that I would find some fabric to love at knee-level and never get it out, or worse yet, start a fabric avalanche and crush my children. Fortunately, I discovered the bargain basement back room. Watch this space to see what that fabric will become! Getting to the subject of this photo, we met Cat & Darren at Niko Niko Sushi, which certainly wasn't super authentic but did give us an enormous bowl of edamame for three bucks, and had a really delicious carrot-miso dressing for the salad (note to self: try to make that dressing).


Then Cat & Darren took Koji swimming, and even invited Darren's nephew Dyson along for the fun. Izumi and I played poolside; it was a little chilly for her since she had a runny nose.


Here's Koji and Dyson, and the end of Day Three!


Day Four, we met Cat & Darren again; we went to a park in Brea to play with Dyson and then back to their place for lunch but I didn't take any pictures. Cat did, so maybe someday I'll backpost something, maybe. Then they had to get to a beach party, so we went back to Jim & Cindi's for a swim and dinner.


Jim, Cindi and Chibi, our great friends and wonderful hosts, too!


This was Koji's gang while we were at Jim & Cindi's: Jamee, who's five, Koji, who's four, and Joy, who's three. It worked out very nicely.


Day Five, we just couldn't get enough of Jim & Cindi so we went back to their house again! For hours, Koji and his posse, as introduced above, jumped in the pool and then climbed back out to jump in again.

Back in the day when I used to work for Cindi, Ali was still in high school but now she's a tennis coach AND good with babies, too. Thanks for giving me a break, Ali!

LA LA LA Day 2

We drove down to Irvine to visit Nara, Miye and Emmi and meet Joshua today. Here's Emmi ready for some breakfast.

Izumi didn't waste any time locking onto this baby doll stroller for some walking practice in their back yard.

Miye, Koji and Emmi making good use of the hose.

Izumi made good use of the puddles the bigger kids left behind.

Joshua was born in April, on the 21st. If only he had come a few hours earlier, he and Koji would have the same birthday!

Miye and Koji started a little band.

The only way for Nara and I to have our picture taken together was to let Koji do it. He did a pretty good job, although I don't think this is the most flattering angle...where's that little tripod I used to always carry around?!

We left there to give them some nap time and to head off to our next friend's house. First, on the way to Whittier, we stopped at Cream Pan, a Japanese style bakery in Tustin. Everyone who worked there was Japanese, as was the atmosphere of the place (how can I say that when there wasn't anything to it but a glass bakery case, a refridgerator case of drinks and a bunch of baking equipment...but it's true). Somehow I bought 20 bucks worth of sandwiches, pastries and cookies, telling myself that they were a gift for Riva and Will. Well, they were, except for the ones that I ate! As the reviewers on Yelp said, the strawberry croissant is delicious, though I actually liked the chocolate cream horn better. I didn't love the croquette sandwich, but then again, I didn't get around to eating it until the next day and by then it wasn't very appetizing. Better not to buy more than you and your friends can gobble in a day...and better to call first, since they're closed on Mondays and every other Tuesday.

Riva improvised this "pool slide" for Koji and Mikayla out of their various backyard equipment. Nice work, the kids really liked it!

But all Izumi needed was a bucket!

Post-swim, the lovely and mermaid-ish (I mean nice, cute mermaids, not the nasty ones in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) Mikayla.

Here's a picture of Izumi, or is it Mikayla? That's right, it's Mikayla when she was just a few months older than Izumi is now. I thought the resemblance, at least in profile, was striking, so I had to take a picture of this picture!

Tyler spent some good portion of our time together trying to make a move on Izumi. At first, she was put off and even moved to tears.

But it didn't take long for his charm to win her over!

Here's all the kids in a row and actually sort of looking at the camera even.

When Will came home, he got out some of the temporary tattoos he's collected at the trade shows and stuck them on the kids.

Will and Tyler; what you can't tell from this picture is that their bellies are full of chicken, rice and broccoli casserole, which was so good that we nearly polished off an entire 9 x 13 pan full. Thanks for a fun and delicious day, Riva & co., and so sorry that you aren't pictured, Riva...you know how it is when you get carried away with trying to capture the kids on film!

LA LA LA

On our first day in LA, we went to visit Sahara-san, a friend from Koji's school who had just moved back in March. Seeing them in person and getting caught up on their new life was fun, although it reminded us that we miss them.


Being with Kai-kun must have been a relief for Koji; it's been more than two weeks now that he's been out of school and away from the friends who understand the ways of Power Ranger style posing. For several days after, Koji asked, "Are we going to Kai-kun's house today?". I'm sorry I had to say no. Maybe next time we won't have such a tight schedule (HA~!).


Next we were off for visit with Erika, who was gracious and accomodating to grant my request that we search for Sarah Jessica Parker's new line of clothes at Steve & Barry's. Not only did she go, she patiently looked at nearly every item in the store with me, helped keep the kids entertained, found an excellent "karate" shirt for Koji, bought some non-plumber style jeans, AND posed for this picture taken by Koji. Wow.

The fun didn't stop there though! Next we were off to Famima, the American version of my favoritest Japanese convenience store, Family Mart, now "conveniently" located in Culver City...?! We procured some onigiri (rice balls), some cracker & frosting sandwich thingies and some Calpis drinks, which we spirited back to Erika's place to share with Thomas. Poor kids, I didn't get them back to the hotel and to bed until 10 (Pacific Time...that means they felt like it was midnight, which it was back in Skokie!).

But it was a dandy first day in LA!

Excuses, Excuses...

For many reasons, lately, I haven't been able to keep up my blog the way I'd like. Then again, that's been the case ever since we came back from "The Room," which was 18ish months ago. So you'd think I would just accept my inability to keep up, but I don't! I can't!

Moving on to my latest excuses, um, reasons for not taking time to blog, no, make that REASON because there's only one:

Koji's out of school. Somehow, this long expected event known as summer vacation has taken me completely off guard, and I can't get used to it. He's been out for two weeks and I'm just now starting to think that maybe perhaps it's not a tragedy. It's possible that we might even have fun and enjoy our extra time together. For example, we've been in the backyard a lot over the last several days, playing on the swingset and picking sour cherries. We even made a cherry pie!

But, anticipating meeting our little friend Olivia during our upcoming trip to LA, there were also a few hours that I stuck Koji in front of Wii and had a date with my sewing machine. I was pleasantly surprised to find that though I had to dust my machine off, I hadn't totally lost my touch for putting clothes together. Phew! It was great fun to be sewing again, and I have a feeling I'll be doing it again soon, considering Aogu's reaction when I showed him this finished product: "Maybe next time you can make something for Izumi?"

P.S. Happy Happy Birthday to a friend of my youth (ha! shows how old I am, that uni friends are now "friends of my youth," as if my youth is over, which I don't want it to be but it probably is since she's 35 now and I'm hot on her heels) who has many distinguishing and exceptional qualities, and is 1/3 of Lawn Club. I am so pleased that I will be able to celebrate in person with her soon!

Karaoke Scene, I'm Back!

Did anyone notice that the last time I mentioned "karaoke" here was over two years ago?! This is a truly sad state of affairs because, though you may mock or even laugh hysterically, I really like karaoke (warning: if you actually click on this link, you may end up learning more about karaoke than you ever really wanted to know). A quick sidenote: the reason I like karaoke is that I've mostly experienced it Japanese style, in which one rents a small room outfitted with seating, a karaoke machine and mics so as to "perform" only to/with one's friends. I can't get excited about the American bar-style adaptation, which seems to require inebriation and to result in humiliation.

The point here is that I think I am on the edge of re-entering the world of karaoke! Here's what happened: about a week ago, at a good-bye party for a couple of the moms from Koji's school, I let everyone know that I wanted to follow up dinner with some karaoke. Fortunately, some of the ladies were up for it, though dinner wasn't over until almost 11. We went to Ding Dong Dang in Arlington Heights, which is a Korean place that has a lot of Japanese songs in their karaoke system. All of the ladies were suprised to find that I was a "mic hog," and we (I?!) had such a good time that we didn't leave there until 2:30 a.m.

After that, a few of us cried "encore!" which resulted in a trip to Sankyu in Mount Prospect less than a week later (does anyone reading this remember Sankyu? Ages ago we took a few housegroup friends there and had a great evening of singing and eating Japanese food in the pink room).

It's a good thing that Izumi likes karaoke too (here she is "singing"!) because I foresee more of it in my future. Yoko-san, one of the moms from Koji's school, wants me to form some kind of karaoke club, which would involve karaoke outings once a month for all moms who just need to sing. Check this space in September for news about our first outing!

Nagashi Somen (A River of Noodles)

Koji's preschool knows how to host a party! On his last day of school, we all went out on the lawn for a lunch of nagashi somen. Somen is a type of noodle, a little thinner than ramen, if anyone is particular about noodle thicknesses. It's often eaten during the summer, cold, and after being dunked in a bit of cold broth (which probably sounds unappetizing but actually is quite refreshing and delicious). However, as you see below, we didn't just sit around dunking noodles: we had to catch them first!
Adults took turns sending the noodles down the water-filled half-pipe.

The kids waited next to the pipe with their chopsticks and cups of broth at the ready.

The adults' other job was to monitor the noodle level in the kids' cups and occasionally say, "Stop catching the noodles and eat a few!" Obviously, catching them was way more fun!


Fortunately, Izumi wasn't tall enough to get next to the pipe. She had just as much fun to trying to "catch" the noodles that missed her mouth when I scooped them in.


When everyone had eaten their fill, some noodles were left but I hadn't eaten yet, so I said, "hey, give me a turn!". Now I'm wondering if I should rent this contraption for our next backyard party?!

Breakfast Al Fresco

I must have gone to bed early or something; for sure, I woke up early. That, and a warm summer morning seduced me into thinking that having breakfast outside before getting Koji off to school was a super idea. I guess that kind of wording sounds like a lead-in for a dramatic story about how the morning was a disaster, but it was actually very pleasant. My menu was sliced tomatoes topped with guacamole, cereal, fruit and coffee.
The kids had sausage, fruit, lime jello and milk. Then we had some free, live entertainment, which consisted of Koji running around the yard with this battery-operated bubble-blowing dog. We'll probably never be able to go back to blowing our own bubbles now, that would be way too much effort! Then again, if I'm willing to haul our breakfast and the accoutrements out to the patio (is that what our cracked slab of cement out back is called? sounds too fancy), I suppose I could be persuaded to pucker up and produce some bubbles with an old-fashioned wand. And I'll probably have to the next time we want them, as I've since returned Bubble Dog to its rightful owner, cousin Eli in Oregon.
The point of this post is: if you haven't had breakfast outside lately, you should try it! Let me know how it is!

At One With...My Dining Room?

So I'm supposed to be going to bed early, I promise I'll get right on that when I'm done here, but first I was sucked into the vortex of this color quiz, as recommended by Jess. Once I got my results I was so puzzled that I thought it necessary to report them here:

GREEN

You are a very calm and contemplative person. Others are drawn to your peaceful, nurturing nature.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

Huh? Calm and contemplative? I've actually been thinking a lot lately about how strange it is that I'm enjoying working out so much (I know I said "enjoying" and "working out," in the same sentence, who'd have thought it possible?!) and that perhaps I'm much more physical than I've recognized to this point. This, of course, is a train of thought that doesn't support the "calm" etc. category that I somehow fell into here. So I suppose these results are rubbish, but they are worth noting because I do have some green going on in the house, if not within myself, and it's ALL THANKS TO MOM!! My dining room looks smashing now; do come and see it if you haven't already.

P.S. If you detect some faint British phrasing in this post, I can't help it, I've been sucked into Harry Potter-land, and I don't see any way of escape until
July 21st, though I suppose I may feel a bit of temporary relief on July 11th?

P.P.S. It's ever so rude of me to make reference to my mom being here without making full tribute to the splendid time we had with her, Dad, Laurs, Ollie and Eli when they so kindly came for a visit earlier this month, the 12th to the 21st. Alas, I'll have to hope this mention will suffice as a tribute for now, as I really have to get to bed!

American I-dull

In spite of everything I read in the newspaper about how boring this season of American Idol is (was), I managed to retain enough interest to watch all 49 hours of it this spring.

Too bad it was actually 49 hours and 3 minutes . I don't know about your DVR, but mine wasn't able to follow all that stringing along that Ryan and co. excel at...so as for me, the last bit of the grand finale that I saw was the moment where Blake and Jordin were hand-in-hand as Ryan said, "After a record 74 million votes..."

That's it. I totally missed the part I wanted to see, THE RESULTS, which was especially bitter considering that I had suffered through the previous two hours plus for the purpose of arriving at that moment. Argh.

OK, there were a couple of tolerable moments. Blake's beatboxing with Doug E. Fresh seemed really good to me, although I'm not likely qualified to comment since I've never even heard of Mr. Fresh. And I really liked seeing Melinda sing with BeBe and CeCe Winans. She looked like she was truly enjoying the moment.

It's kind of a good thing that the next season doesn't start for many months. Maybe that'll be long enough for me to forget this indignity...maybe, as long as I don't get too much Sanjaya in the face!

Last thought: Congratulations, Jordin! I wanted you to win!

We're Six Now!

For the first time since Izumi was born and in honor of our sixth anniversary, Aogu and I went away on a 36 hour holiday. Our destination was Galena (behind our heads in this not great photo; I'm putting it up anyway since it's somehow the only one we got together), which I admit may not seem like a natural choice. If you think we seem more like "city folk," you're mostly right. I'm very up for a hike, which calls for separation from the city, but other than my need for some elevation, I quite enjoy the amenities that come with a metropolis. The point is, we chose Galena hoping we could stay in my parents' timeshare; unfortunately, that didn't work out for this time but then we just couldn't be bothered trying to find a different destination.
So I went to a bed and breakfast site and found Bernadine's Stillman Inn. Official check-in time wasn't until four but our gracious host, Dave, let us check in before one. He showed us around, gave us some tips for looking around downtown and dinner, and even shared the story of how God led him and his wife to plant a church in Galena (I didn't know he was a Christian when I booked the place, but that certainly explained his extra hospitable spirit!).
I can't remember exactly how old this building is, at least 150 years? I do remember that when Dave & co. bought it seven years ago they paid $350K and now the place is worth a million and a half?! Talk about appreciation! Still, I don't think I would be willing to work as hard as Dave has. Owning a B&B sounds romantic, but when you really think about it, you have to be on duty all the time. In fact, Dave has to hire someone to come and serve breakfast to his guests on Sundays so that he can be at church!
Anyway, after we checked in, we went for a look at downtown Galena. The atmosphere reminded me, just a bit, of Redmond, though now that I've visited both, I think Redmond has the better quilt shop and Galena the better salsa. That's right, the highlight of downtown Galena for us was the Galena Canning Company. We went in for some free samples of salsa and jam, and we came out with our wallet $50 lighter! It was a great investment though: Aogu's been searching for a hot sauce that he actually finds to be hot, and Galena'mite Blasting Sauce fills the ticket. The Baja Salsa, Cranberry Mustard, and Chile Mustard are delicious as well, and I ought to know since I didn't need to eat lunch after I left that place...
Late that afternoon, we went to The Irish Cottage for dinner at the pub, as Dave had recommended the Irish dancing. Well, we had a nice nap in the lobby while we waited for the dinner hour. Though that chair was pretty comfortable, to the point that I was apparently snoring?, with hindsight I have to say that I'm not sure the pub experience was worth waiting for. Aogu did quite enjoy his pint of Guinness, but the steak salad I ate and the stew he ordered were not great. Then, the Irish dancers turned out to be dancer, as three of the four were somehow waylaid and couldn't make it to the show. Furthermore, this one dancer--who, to her credit, soldiered on with the performance on her own!--looked to be about 12 years old. I can't criticize her dancing as it seemed to be quite good (what do I know about Irish dancing?) but I couldn't help feeling it all wasn't up to my hopes for an anniversary dinner.
The trip as a whole was a great success though: we enjoyed meeting Dave and realizing that the whole B & B thing is not for us (not that we minded the free DVDs, chocolate chip cookies and ice cream bars!). Aogu's feet won't ever be the same, in a good way, after the "Gentleman's Foot Detail" that he had at the nearby spa. And, Spiderman 3 turned out to be a suitably suspenseful and entertaining movie.
Last but not least, I'd like to give all the credit for our special weekend to my mom and my sister, who faithfully and patiently took care of Koji and Izumi in our absence (and Ollie and Eli too!). We are so grateful!

Here's to the next six years of our marriage: I wonder what it will bring?!

Izumi Marie is One Year Old Today...

...not only that, but we also had her dedicated at church and it's Mother's Day to boot! Talk about a three for the price of one package. Add to that the presence of my sister, parents, and nephews and you've got a very special day!

To imply, or even allow you to infer, that it was a day without incident would be misleading. There was the point where I pulled Koji and Ollie out of Sunday School, thinking it would be so special to have them in the sanctuary with us for Izumi's dedication. Except that as I was rushing them back Koji kept tripping over his rarely-worn "dress shoes"...and I swept us in there only to find that everyone else was already in place. That was close!

Speaking of close, you may know that I am a procrastinator, but this takes the cake (ha!): the night before the dedication/lunch party, which I had been planning for weeks, I went out to buy all the food for the party. I arrived at Costco at 6:05 pm. Too bad Costco closes at 6 on Saturdays. Therefore, we had to sprint out of church without chatting, which felt very rude on a day when we wanted to show gratitude to the church body for their support of our family, and make a run to Costco. Izumi doesn't look like she minds, right?