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!!

kale, spinach, and chicken bites

I saw some kale and spinach bites in the freezer section at Trader Joe’s a few weeks ago and thought I could try to make my own for Kumquat.  I looked up a few recipes and made a few tweaks of my own.

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I started with onion sweating in butter and olive oil.  I bought frozen spinach and kale (1/2 bag each) because I didn’t know when I would have the time/energy to make these.IMG_9458

The spinach and kale went into the pan and I cooked it until all the frozen veggies were warm and soft.

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In the meantime, I shredded some parmagiano reggiano (~1/2 cup) and then set it aside in a bowl.  IMG_9460

I also found some leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge, so I chopped some up and put them in the food processor.IMG_9461

The cooked spinach and kale went in with the chicken and I added some green onion.IMG_9462

It was all pulsed together to shred and mix everything together.IMG_9463

In the bowl that had the shredded cheese, I added the veggie/chicken mixture along with an egg and 2/3 cups of panko bread crumbs.IMG_9464

It all got mixed together and some salt and pepper went in to season it all.IMG_9465

Then I rolled the mixture into a ball and flattened it into a patty.  It got rolled in more panko bread crumbs and placed on a cookie sheet.IMG_9466

Here they are before going into the 325-degree oven.  They can sit close to each other since they won’t be expanding or anything.

IMG_9468When it was all done, the bread crumbs didn’t really brown but it was a little crispy on the outside and tender inside.  It stays together enough to use a fork for the small pieces and Kumquat really liked it!  I froze the remaining 12 and stored them for later meals.  Mission accomplished.

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.

Napa Date

IMG_9255Jes and I both had today off but this is one of the holidays that Mirian does not have off.  So, we had her come in as scheduled and the two of us went to Napa for a little wine tasting and lunch.  We went to Robert Craig for our free club member tasting and bought a bottle of their Zin.

IMG_9262For lunch, we went to The Pear, which is also in downtown Napa and located just a couple doors down from Morimoto.  They feature southern food and we shared the cheddar jalapeno tater tots, root veggie salad, and chicken and waffles.

IMG_9261We also had two glasses of wine each with lunch so I was feeling pretty good afterward.  To sober up, we went shopping at the outlet.  I bought a bunch of $4 shirts for Kumquat while Jes picked up some work shirts.

IMG_9260Today was quite a treat.  It’s so rare that Jes and I get to go out to eat by ourselves let alone have a whole day!  Wish we could do this more often.

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!

Girls’ Night Out

IMG_9151This is what Girls’ Night Out looks like for me nowadays.  We had been cooped up in the house all afternoon and Jes was still at work pretty late.  So, we packed up and went next door for margaritas/milk and tacos.  Eventually, Jes met up with us but it’s nice to know that I have someone to go out with now when the husband is out late.  We were still home in time to settle down and get to bed at the usual time.