Browse Category: friends

Team Tiger Happy Hour

With Teresa out on her maternity leave, I haven’t been able to really hang out with her much lately.  So, we made plans for a Happy Hour this past Wednesday.  We were all set to go until T got stuck at the West Oakland BART station because of some police activity in the city.  So, she headed home and we had to postpone it to Thursday.  On Thursday, she was able to hitch a ride back to SF with me after I got off work so it was go for Team Tiger HH!!  We picked up Kumquat and we headed over to Pedro’s.  They were closed for a private party so we went to Pete’s instead.  IMG_0442Happy Hour was still going so we ordered some wine and appetizers.  What fun!  It was almost like old times – the only difference was a third wheel named Kumquat.  IMG_0449Luckily she was well-behaved and it was fun watching to her try her first mini corn dog.

IMG_0451Ah…good times.

Trampoline Birthday

IMG_9830James and Sylvia’s little girl turned 4 last weekend and they had her birthday party this weekend at Sky High Sports in Concord.  It was a 30-minute drive in pouring rain for us but it was worth it to see Kumquat on a trampoline for the first time.

IMG_9831I would have liked to do some jumping myself but I was too busy supervising this little girl.

IMG_9825They also served pizza and cake and I was surprised to see Kumquat stealing all my olives!

Happy Birthday, Ariel!

Lunar New Year Super Bowl Weekend

IMG_9527Boy, we had quite a weekend!  It started a little early when Mirian asked if I could come home early on Friday because Karla had a fever.  I managed to get home by noon to relieve her and I had an unexpected half-day to hang out with my little girl.  It was sunny outside so I took her down to the courtyard for some water fun with her tea set.  She LOVED it and I got some free time to pay bills and balance our finances.

IMG_9544That evening, we went to SOMA Streat Food Park for their version of Lunar New Year.  All the food trucks had special dishes for the night, they played Bruce Lee movies on the big screens, Tsing tao was $3 all night, and they had a DJ playing Asian Hip-Hop music.  They also had Chinese acrobats performing at 8pm but we left before that started.

IMG_9552 IMG_9560On Saturday morning, we took a trip to the zoo for a quick 1-hour walk around the Savanna area.  The giraffes and zebras were all so active that morning and Kumquat was so pleased to see her “GG” pals.IMG_9274That same evening, we all gathered at Ryan and Michelle’s house in Orinda to welcome the Year of the Horse.  We celebrate together every year and I was impressed at how civilized our dinner was this year considering we had 5 kids present.

IMG_9280At one point everyone was seated, eating, and enjoying each other’s company.  IMG_9281We’ve come a long way from the year we had Jack, Reese, and Rowan together for the first time.

IMG_9283We had a potluck of “bring something from your homeland” so we pretty much had two dinners: my dish (chicken gravy over rice) first and then Michelle’s kalbi, spicy pork, and chap chae.  For dessert, we had Vyl’s red bean pancakes and pecan pie.  Yum.

IMG_9273The kids received red envelopes and I loved Reese’s expression when she discovered there was actual money inside for her.

IMG_9285Kumquat had a fun time playing with all of Reese and Jack’s toys and at one point Isla joined her.  By the end of the night, she was falling asleep in Bang’s comfy lap.

IMG_9293After we got home and put Kumquat to bed, I mustered some energy to change my clothes and put on some heels(!) for Mai’s Bachelorette Party.  Jes stayed home and I hailed a cab to Asia SF where the party had started since 5.  I didn’t get there until 10 but I got there with enough to celebrate with the girls and get a good laugh.  Amazingly, I was home by midnight.  Thanks for the ride home, R!

IMG_9577On Sunday morning it was raining!  Finally.  We opted to stay in our PJs for as long as we could and it was great.  I spent the morning archiving a bunch of our old bank and health insurance statements while reorganizing our files too.  Victor and Susie were hosting Super Bowl so we joined them in the afternoon for all the tasty food that Susie prepared.

The game was not very exciting but Bruno Mars had a good half-time performance. And of course, the commercials were fun. These were my favorites:

  1. Budweiser puppy/horse spot
  2. Doritos time machine spot
  3. Bud Light up-for-anything spot.

Overall, this was a fun and productive weekend.  Unfortunately, Karla is still sick so I’m going to have to stay home tomorrow.  Yippee!  Er, I meant Aw shucks.  These unexpected long weekends are going to spoil me!!

Baby Henry

DSC_4420This morning, I went to Teresa’s house to take some photos of James Henry.

DSC_4414He turned one month old today and he’s now a pound over his birth weight.  Yay!

DSC_4439 DSC_4447Teresa and Aaron are doing well and it was so good to spend some time with T and Henry.

DSC_4470 DSC_4478 This little boy is such a cutie.

DSC_4491Click here to view the album.

Year in Review 2013

I’m a little late with this entry but January started and just kept running.  Here are a few highlights from 2013 – including the good and the bad.

Happiest Moment(s)
I have two very similar moments that are tied for Happiest Moment.  They both involve seeing old friends.

IMG_6823The first one was when I was in Portland and was reunited with Heather. IMG_0009 The second was my reunion with Dahlia when she and her husband were in town for the weekend from San Diego.  It was so much fun to see them again after 8 years.  I had missed them so much since we all graduated from OT school and this was such a special year for us.

Saddest Moment
Saying “goodbye” to Koa.  IMG_6321I still miss him so much.

Worst (and Hungriest) Moment
Waiting for my surgery.  IMG_0486I hadn’t eaten anything since the day before at 8pm and my surgery from pushed from 2 pm to 5 pm.  I had a raging headache and was slowly melting into my chair by 4pm when the nurse finally gave me some IV fluids.

Biggest Accomplishment
Breastfeeding Kumquat until she was 13 months old.

mothersday

It was tough to stick with it but also tough to let go at the same time.  I’m so glad that I did it for so long and happy that weaning was a piece of cake for Kumquat.

Biggest Failure
I didn’t lose all my pregnancy weight.
IMG_4180I was just 5 pounds away from getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight in May.  Then I stopped breastfeeding.  At that point, my metabolism came to a screeching halt and the pounds came back one-by-one.  Despite the running and cutting down on my intake, I am now 10 pounds away and stuck.  This is when being old really sucks.

Best Meal
Hm…I’d say it was probably any time that we’ve been to Hillstone.
IMG_6688 We went a lot this past year because they have good steak, free corkage, my favorite Key Lime Pie, consistent service, and Kumquat is always welcome.  We even went there for our 11th anniversary dinner AND brought Kumquat along.  Yep, that’s our life now.

Runner up was the meal we had at Morimoto.

uni carbonaraThe Uni Carbonara still makes my mouth water when I think about it.

Worst Meal
The meal that comes to mind is the night we went to Little Sheep Hot Pot. 

IMG_7033The food was decent but it was the experience that made it the worst meal of the year.  The meal involved a toddler seated in a tippy booster seat at a table with boiling water nearby.  She also just finished a 7-hour car ride and just wanted to run around in the booth touching all the breakable bowls and utensils (and of course the boiling pot of water).  Both of us didn’t eat much that night.

Best Vacation
Sibling Trip to Maui in March DSC_0531We rented a house in Maui with Brother, Joy, Jason, and Jia and had such a good time.  It was also when Brother and Joy secretly told me that they were expecting a baby.  What a great week.

Worst Vacation
We didn’t have one this year but my worst travel experience for the year was when we flew to Portland.  IMG_2551We took an evening flight and Kumquat wasn’t able to settle down in my lap.  She cried and fussed the entire 2-hour flight and finally fell asleep 10 minutes before landing.  *sigh* Luckily the flight back was better – aside from the 2-hour delay.

Overall, I’d say 2013 was a productive and eventful year.  We’re raising a great kid who turned 1 in 2013 and moved into toddlerhood without any major illnesses or problems.  I also became an aunt this year with the birth of Alice on Halloween.  This was our 6th year in SF and Jes was also promoted.  Living in The City hasn’t really gotten old yet and thankfully we haven’t outgrown our 1-bedroom condo just yet.  Life is good.  I have no complaints.

Happy 2014!

Lunch Visitor

IMG_9056 Teresa and Aaron brought Henry to our usual Thursday lunch spot and I got to snuggle with him while I finished my salad.  IMG_9054This is the picture of a boy who is milk wasted!!  He’s a big eater now and has grown since I last held him when he was less than a week old.  At 3 weeks, he’s made up the weight he’s lost and surpassed his birth weight.  Woot!