Browse Category: life

Birthday Weekend

IMG_8624 I had a pretty good birthday.  Turning a year older is so much easier when you’re surrounded by the people who love you.IMG_8628The celebration started on Friday, my birthday eve, with a dinner at La Briciola with Jason and Jia.

IMG_5323On the morning of my birthday, we woke up early to catch a flight to LAX.  The flight was full but we got to LA in one piece.  My mom picked up my favorite treat and I was so happy.

After the baby shower, we went back to the Magical House to rest.  Then it was dinnertime!!!  IMG_8639IMG_8645

IMG_8648We went to Lawry’s for our favorite prime rib meal and it did not disappoint.  IMG_2336The last time Brother and I celebrated our birthdays there was in 2010 and it was good to be back.

Double Surprise

IMG_0013On Friday, I was really swamped at work.  While I was waiting for people to call me back in between patients, I got a random text message from Keni, the husband of my very good friend from OT school.  He and Dahlia were in town for the weekend and he was asking if I was free for lunch on Saturday.  We didn’t have any plans so we agreed to meet for lunch to surprise Dahlia.  At the end of the work day, I went downstairs to figure out my schedule for Monday.  Our front office assistant came by and told me that I had a package that was dropped off by someone special.  When I saw the bag it was labeled “TOTORO”.  What?!  I recognized that writing right away and was shocked that Dahlia had actually stopped by to surprise me but I wasn’t around to see her.  It was a bag filled with Totoro stuff that she had found in Chinatown the day before.  That was so sweet of her.  Her note said that they were in the area and wanted to surprise me but someone told her that I wasn’t at work that day.  She sounded so disappointed in the note. Hm, maybe I didn’t actually need to go to work after all!!

Anyway, on Saturday, we met up at M.Y. China at the mall.  We arrived first and got seated.  Keni and Dahlia arrived shortly afterward and the host who was walking them to our table was blocking Dahlia’s view all the way to the table.  IMG_8475So, when he moved away and she saw me, she was in so much shock that she gasped and then started to cry in her usual Dahlia way.  In fact, while this was all happening, Jes was in the restroom and could hear her from there.  Haha…we sure know how to make a scene.IMG_8476We had a big long hug and I was so happy to finally be reunited with my friend after not seeing her in over 8 years.  Oh how I wished Heather (Oregon Totoro) was there to enjoy the moment with us.

IMG_0009Over lunch, we got caught up, reminisced, and had a lot of laughs like old times.  Unfortunately, Kumquat was so overwhelmed by the crying and hoopla that she was afraid of Dahlia from the start.

IMG_5649As soon as she went over to say hello to Kumquat, I got a big boo-sad face and then she started to cry with her arms stretched out toward me.  Oh shucks.  Maybe next time.

IMG_0011The funny thing was that she liked Keni and flirted with him throughout lunch and even let him hold her.  Look at how she wouldn’t take eyes off of “Crazy Auntie” as they were posing for this photo.  Funny girl.

Anyway, it was a wonderful reunion and I’m so glad that we were able to pull this off on such short notice.  I’ve missed her so much and glad that see that she’s doing well down in San Diego.  Can’t wait for the day when all three of us can be in one place at the same time.

IMG_0722-2005Here’s a photo of us 8 years ago.

For those of you who don’t know what Totoro is, here’s a link to give you a better idea.  The reason why we call each other Totoro is because we used to watch the movie in grad school and thought they were so cute and funny.  Heather also started knocking on my door and calling out “Totoro!” every morning before class.  After a while it stuck and it was our little inside joke and nickname for each other.  Sounds really silly when I have to write it all out but I guess you just had to be there.  🙂

Back to Work

IMG_5036It’s been 17 days since my surgery and I went back to work today.  It was a gloomy morning, which made going to work a little easier knowing it wasn’t going to be as sunny and gorgeous outside as it has been these past two weeks.

IMG_5015On Monday, I tried to make the most of my last day off.  Mirian came in the morning to keep Kumquat occupied while I purged my closet, went to the bank, did some grocery shopping, had a nice solo lunch with a magazine, and went to see the surgeon for my post-op follow-up appointment.

IMG_5019There’s something so satisfying about holding an actual magazine in my hand.  I have all the digital copies of Sunset on my Kindle but somehow I still enjoy flipping through real pages.

By the way, at my post-op appointment, the doctor showed me what he cut out of my body.  He said that there were little lumps of fat that were poking through the hole in my abdominal wall, which was causing the sharp pain and a funny lump at the top of my belly button.  When he went in, he cut them out and snapped a photo of it for his report.  He also emailed me the photo!  What a cool doctor!  I’ll spare you all the lovely photo of my fat blobs but let me know if you want to see and I’ll show it to you.  I thought it was a fun little souvenir from my first open surgery. 😉  He also said that the hole was small enough that he was able to just suture it back instead of placing a mesh patch.  Yay!  No foreign object in my body!!

So, I’m back to work with a 30-lb lifting restriction for the next two weeks.  It was nice to see everyone again but the work was just “meh”.  Oh I wish I could have had a few more weeks off…

The Fort is gone.

DSC_3256This morning, Jose, one of the maintenance guys that works for our building, came by to pick up our beloved couch and chair.  We bought it from a sketchy knock-off furniture store in Torrance 10 years ago and was made after a set that I saw in a Pottery Barn catalog.  It has been one of the most comfortable places for me to sleep and when I was preggo I slept on it every night.  After a while, I called it The Fort since I spent so much time on it.  When Kumquat was born, my mom slept on it for 6 weeks.  I’ve also taken numerous photos of Kumquat and Koa on that couch.  It has lots of sentimental value to me but it was time to get rid of it.  It was starting to show its age and I was pretty embarrassed of its condition when people would come over to visit.  This morning, I took one last photo of them.

DSC_3276Here is what our livingroom looks like now.  It’s nice to have more space but it’s kinda sad too.  We ordered a smaller leather sofa from Costco today and it should be delivered in a few weeks.  Until then, we will enjoy the extra space and Koa and Kumquat will have a nice view from the window.

hello again

IMG_4613These past few days have been weird since I haven’t been able to lift anything heavier than a few pounds.  On Tuesday, I thought I’d try picking Kumquat up again and it felt so good to hold her again.  I had avoided even holding her on my lap too since the soreness in my abdomen hadn’t yet subsided.  But on Tuesday, it was feeling a little better and holding Kumquat felt so nice and she couldn’t get enough too.  So, I’ve been holding her on my lap more often now and even picking her up now for quick tasks such as putting her back in bed or helping her down from the couch.

By the way, I passed my written DMV test this morning.  Woot!  Here’s to 5 more years of driving!

Grandstands

On Saturday, the day after my surgery, I woke up in so much pain.  I had to take some meds and Jes had to push me up out of bed.  I couldn’t sit up and I couldn’t even roll onto my side!  It was U-GLY.  Once the meds kicked in, I was up and moving around again.  I’m so swollen that I looked preggo again but whatever…I didn’t care anymore.

That morning, my mom helped get Kumquat ready while we waited for Jason to arrive.  We had purchased grandstand tickets to watch the finals of the LV Cup so once he got to our house, we were on our way.

IMG_4511We left the house at 11 and it was supposedly when the special Embarcadero train would be running.  It didn’t arrive for a good 45 minutes!  Once we were on, it took us from our house all the way down to Fisherman’s Wharf. From there, we walked over Fort Mason hill and down to the Marina Green.  We had a gorgeous SF day and the wind was pretty strong.  IMG_8011We watched the first race up in the stands and it was nice to finally have a good view of the boats sailing over the water.  IMG_4518Unfortunately the meds were making me a little woozy and I had to put my head down.  Luckily, my mom brought some of her magical tiger balm and it totally made me feel better.

IMG_8015The second race was canceled due to high winds so we spent the rest of the afternoon at the beer garden.  Since my medicine included Tylenol, I didn’t get to enjoy a beer with the Masayas who were also there with us.  Oh well.