Happy Holidays!

What a year it's been for us! I knew change was coming when Rupert finished his PhD in 2012, but you can never be 100% ready for a huge change like moving across the country. The last six months have seen some highs and lows for me personally, but that's not surprising. The good thing is that I'm ending the year feeling positive about where I am at the moment, and that as a whole 2013 wasn't too shabby of a year.

[photo collage made by Rupert]

Row 1 (L to R): Maya & a butterfly (MD); Alisal Ranch (CA); Alisal Ranch; Museum of Play (Rochester, NY); softball (CA); C&O Canal (MD)

Row 2: baseball (CA); Alisal Ranch; first day of school (MD); Cornell University (Ithaca, NY); Thanksgiving (Keuka Lake, NY); Manhattan Beach (CA)

Row 3: end of the fall ball season (MD); keeping cool indoors (Arlington, VA); in our old backyard (Hawthorne, CA); Manhattan Beach; Mt. Vernon (VA); pool time (Rancho Mirage, CA)

Row 4: pedal boating in the Tidal Basin (DC); Manhattan Beach; fall leaves (MD); hanging out at home (MD); Andy Warhol's Silver Clouds at the Artisphere (Arlington, VA); on our old porch

Row 5: Little League World Series field (South Williamsport, PA); pumpkin carving (MD); C&O Canal; Ian as Han Solo at Halloween (MD); our old master bedroom; fall in MD

Row 6: pedal boating in the Tidal Basin; C&O Canal; hanging out at home (MD); afternoon in DC; riding the Metro (DC); summertime Maya (CA)

Day 28 :: Thankful for ...

... Thanksgiving and Hanukkah falling on the same day, and that we got to spend it with Rupert's family. Happy Thanksgivukkah!

'Cause I only blog when there's something in it for me, I mean, my family

Cathy Zielske shared a TodaysMama/GameStop giveaway and there are at least three members of this family who could find fifty things (minimum) at that store we would want to buy. So filling out this meme seemed like the least I could do if it means a chance at a Chanumas (that's Christmas + Chanukah if you're not aware) surprise.

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama and GameStop are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family? I wish for time with family and not so much emphasis on the material stuff. It would be wonderful if my children also gained better insight into the true meaning of giving.

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition? We go to my parents' house because that's where the chimney is and we all know Santa likes to come down the chimney.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? Free time; I want "me time" ... or a decadent family vacation to Spain.

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? Luckily, we live near our families, which means we get to spend a good portion of our winter vacation with family.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? Hmm, good question. I don't recall ... Yahtzee?

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? We have Christmas Eve dinner at my parents' house (usually prime rib with my mother's fabulous Yorkshire pudding) and open one present.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip? I would probably want to take my family back to Japan. There's enough of a Christmas feel (and wintery cold) and we'd be around my extended family.

8. Check out GameStop and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year? Xbox 360 250GB with Kinect (of course); Nintendo DSi XL Plus One Bundle; Rock Band 3 Keyboard Bundle

obon festival

i spent my childhood summers in japan. my memories are filled with time spent with my maternal grandparents, going to japanese school (not all good memories), semi-tori (cicada catching) with my cousin, the humidity, and summer festivals. the obon festival was something i attended from year to year and it's a tradition i'd like my kids to embrace as well. it just seems like ian and maya don't have the same kind of summer traditions i did and i'd like them to have fond memories of their summers as i do.

but in order for them to embrace the tradition, i need to take them to an obon festival every year! sadly, in the last 20 years or so i haven't attended any of the many festivals here in the los angeles area. the one i used to go to is the gardena buddhist church obon, and it's the last one of the season in our area.

i couldn't convince ian to come with us (he opted to play at a friend's house) and jordan had a paper to write, so it was just me and maya. i dressed her up in ian's old jinbei-san (even though she wanted to wear a dress) and we headed to gardena for a little cultural mom & daughter time.

the main attraction of an obon festival is the obon dancing, which usually happens in the evening, but we couldn't stay that late. instead, we enjoyed some food (shaved ice and sata-andagi donut holes), watched a bit of taiko drumming, and played a couple of games. the festival seemed smaller than i remembered but it was just the right size for our afternoon outing.

walking through the church grounds and looking at all the people around me, i felt a tad bit out of place. not because i looked any different from the people around me, but because i didn't feel like part of the community.

the japanese american (ja) community has strong ties to each other through many activities for the young and old, annual traditions like obon and nisei week, and families that go back three and four generations in southern california. my step-dad's side of the family has been here for about four generations and my step-sister is pretty tied in with the goings-on in the ja world.

but i've never been a part of that. at the same time, i was never a part of the chuuzai-in (temporary transfers from japan) crowd either. it didn't help that i grew up in manhattan beach with so few asians around me (much less jas). in many ways i feel awkward being at these kinds of events because i know what they're about, but i don't know the ja way (sometimes japanese traditions change or are tweaked over the generations after they've crossed the pacific), or i think i should know about something but i don't and the jas do. basically, i feel in limbo between being a "real" japanese and being ja. and, no wonder. i'm not ja and i'm not really japanese. and my kids are really neither because they don't see themselves as ja or japanese (at least, i don't think ian does and maya needs more time before she even figures out she's not a fairy princess).

i don't think about it often, but there are times when i contemplate cultural self-awareness and what that means for the kids. i want them to be informed about their japanese and jewish heritages but they don't have very good role models in rupert and myself, unfortunately. it's hard to ask your kids to take their cultural backgrounds seriously when you're not very in tune yourself. figuring this all out is another thing to add to my long list of parenting to-dos. at the very least, taking maya to obon and exposing her to it was a start. a pretty tasty start.

holiday card 2008

once again we decided to forgo the paper card and go electronic (to save paper, money, and time). i'm pretty sure i was able to email this out to all of our friends + family who have email addresses, but in case i forgot anyone ... enjoy! (you'll notice rupert's and my names are replaced in the brackets.)

Season's greetings, friends + family! We are a tad late in getting out our holiday well-wishes, but we are sending happy thoughts your way.

Having two kids makes the years go by faster and faster ... or maybe it's just because we're getting older? Whatever the reason, 2008 sped by and I'm actually surprised that 2009 is just a couple of days away. We had some exciting goings-on this year, mostly good and one a little nerve-wracking.

The kids continue to grow at an astounding pace. Maya turned three in November and, even after three years, we're still not sure where her personality comes from. She is strong-willed and has quite the independent streak. She's outgoing and fun-loving, but she's also trouble! I guess a good way to describe her is as a princess-loving tomboy. One thing I can say, she keeps us on our toes. Now, if only I knew how to harness her energy in a more positive way ...

Ian started third grade in September and is doing so well. He reads well above grade level and started the GATE program at school. He continues with his French lessons, and I think the language is starting to sink in. I predict just a few more years before he can take us around France! He still loves to play (and watch) sports; he finished his fourth season playing soccer and will play baseball in the spring. But first comes basketball (with [rupert] as his coach). To counterbalance outdoor activities, Ian also enjoys playing video games, especially on the Nintendo DS he got for Hanukkah.

[rupert] is in his second year of the PhD program at UCLA. He received a fellowship, which enabled him to stop working at Los Angeles Unified School District at the end of summer (the timing couldn't have been better, actually, with layoffs and such). He works part-time on campus, which means he doesn't have to drive between Westwood and downtown everyday. Our big scare came midyear when the doctor found that the right side of [rupert]'s thyroid was really enlarged. It was so large, in fact, that the endocrinologist was surprised he wasn't having problems breathing and swallowing. Long story short, [rupert] now only has half a thyroid, and -- thankfully -- the growth was benign.

As for me, most of the year passed without much incident. Until very recently the highlights of the year were two weekend getaways [rupert] and I went on without the kids (to NYC and Chicago) for family weddings. But then, just a few weeks ago, I got a job as the librarian at the elementary school I used to work at before Maya was born. I only worked one week before winter break started, but it is the best job I could ask for at this stage in my life. Now that I'm working, Maya will start preschool in January. We spent some time at the preschool yesterday and she seemed to enjoy it very much, but we'll have to see how she adjusts. Hopefully it will be a win-win situation for all of us.

Wishing you many delightful joys and wonderful discoveries in 2009,
[yucaree], [rupert], ian + maya

holiday presents

it's been awhile since i made anything, and what better time than at hanukkah/christmas? i "made" scarves for the young ladies in our family and a couple of our friends. i use quotes around the word made because i don't feel like i actually made anything :: i cut out fleece into long rectangles and then i painted designs on them. (i found a tutorial at curbly.com via the craftzine blog.) making the templates and cutting them out was rather time consuming but they came out fairly nicely. the lighter colored fleece came out better, i think.

for my sisters i painted trees and a lotus flower; for rupert's cousins the design was trees, a bird, and lotus; and for our friends i did a fork + knife design and cephalopods.

merry christmas!

a little hint as to what's to come

i made some hanukkah/christmas presents for my sisters (including rupert's sister) and rupert's cousins. here's a little sneak peak ...

happy hanukkah!

happy first night of hanukkah!


the kids came home with quite a stash of goodies from our family hanukkah dinner at my in-laws' house. what can i say? they're super lucky :: 1) they get to celebrate both hanukkah and christmas; 2) most of our family is local so they give them tons o' presents; 3) they are the only two little kids in the family at the moment, which means they are the beneficiaries of most people's "oh, that's so cute/fun/interesting/unique!" shopping; and 4) our families don't seem to know when to stop shopping!

i know, i sound ungrateful, don't i? it's definitely not that we don't appreciate the gifts or the show of love from the family. it's more of a "we can't/don't know how to control the clutter at our house" issue. i am we are going to have to make a concerted effort to implement, and execute, a one-thing-in-one-thing-out policy. literally, the kids have no more space in their rooms for even one more thing. (not surprisingly, i said the exact same thing last year. wanna make a bet i'll be saying it again next year?)

and because we're boring people, rupert and i did the donation thing again for gifts to our family. it may seem like we don't go through the same kind of stress and hassle of shopping for the holidays but it doesn't mean we love our families any less. ;)

thanksgiving yumminess

my habit of trying out new recipes for family gatherings kicked in again. this year for thanksgiving i made the pioneer woman's caramel pumpkin gingersnap cheesecake. the kids helped me a bit, which kept them occupied for awhile. i should really bake more with them.


packing in the gingersnap crust into the springform pan.

mixing the pumpkin cheesecake batter.

the end result caused some dripping and burning of the batter in the oven, but it sure is tasty (we have quite a bit left over). i didn't use nearly as much caramel as the recipe called for and rupert thought it was still too much. the caramel layer on top of the crushed gingersnap crystalized it to a pretty hard crust, which i like but it may be a bit too hard for some people.

it's clearly not an everyday food but for special occasions it's quite the treat.

what i made for dinner :: potato, carrot, and zucchini kugel

for passover this year i contributed the kugel to our big family seder at my in-laws'. i knew i wanted to try it out when i saw the recipe in the april issue of bon appetit because i really enjoy kugel but i'd only had more of the sweet noodle-y kugels in the past.

this one is loaded with potatoes and vegetables, and it comes together pretty easily (although you will spend a bit of time peeling and chopping). it makes way more than eight servings; besides the red baking dish, it also made a panful of kugel in a 13x9 pyrex. because of the whipped eggs in the recipe it comes out quite light, and takes on the flavor of whatever meat dish you're serving (we were having lamb).

if it weren't for a burn on the roof of my mouth i think i would've been able to better critique this dish. i *think* it was too salty and perhaps a bit too raw onion-y. a recipe reviewer mentioned she would try sauteing the onions first, which may mild out the flavors better. also, instead of all of the onions, it might be worth it to up the amount of zucchini and carrots because those flavors were basically non-existent.

all in all a recipe worth tinkering with ... but next year i may try the sweeter noodle kugel i love so much.

adios, 2007

i barely knew thee, two-thousand-and-seven.

new year's eve :: rockin' sf style

something new this year :: spending NYE at our friends JL+JP's place in san francisco. it was a last-minute trip; we basically invited ourselves over while JP was in a drunken stooper at the mermaid on christmas eve.

i'm really glad we went ... although i'm kind of afraid that maya's craziness may have scared JL+JP from someday having children of their own. for instance, maya dropped an entire plate of lemon bars on somebody's coach purse. and she randomly vomited in her sleep. fun times.

we didn't do any SF sightseeing since we were only there for a couple of days, and one of those days we were prepping for NYE dinner. in between basting the ham and trimming string beans, we played a lot of rock band. what can i say ... i luuuuurve that game!

playing many many songs prevented me from imbibing too much. after all, you have to stay sober to hit those notes. ;) i think we are gonna have to get the game when it comes out for the wii.

thanks JL+JP for hosting us! (JL makes a mean ham and rib roast, btw.)

merry christmas!

wishing you joy + happiness (and, yes, fun presents too) on this beautiful christmas day!
our kids were lucky to get so many fantastic presents again this year. highlights :: a real drum set for maya from our dear friends M, J + J; a tricycle for maya from her grandparents; a razor scooter for ian from my parents; legos and binoculars for ian; a yakamashii shirt by t&c for me from my sister; tons o' gift cards for jordan (and me) from his parents. thank you to everyone's generosity; we are truly blessed.

need a different christmas movie to watch?

check out tokyo godfathers.

bah, humbug!

i am soooooo not in the holiday spirit this year. it's just not coming to me, that happy, twinkly, excitedness. and i feel like it's getting harder and harder to be festive this time of year. it's so stressful, ya know? when did it stop being fun?? oh yeah ... when i had to start buying the presents.

this year rupert and i decided to donate to one of my favorite charities instead of buying gifts. this went over surprisingly well, but i'm not sure it's something i will do every year because, quite frankly, i think it cost more than buying gifts (i'm a bargain shopper, after all). however, in the true spirit of giving and reducing waste and clutter, donating to a worthy cause is really the way to go.

unfortunately, my mother did not seem to agree with this and asked that my sisters and i chip in to buy something in particular for my dad. her reasoning? they already donated a lot this year. huh? is there a limit to donating? i wasn't aware of that.

eventually, i'd like the kids to choose a cause to call their own and work towards raising awareness and/or money. i've been very bad about public service lately, and i'm aiming to make it a part of our lives in 2008. a couple of years ago ian chose habitat as his charity (this was after katrina) and earlier this year we donated to nothing but nets. it's all fine and dandy to donate money but that's the easy part. being an active participant in a cause is so much harder and takes dedication, something we currently lack as a family. there's so much more we can do ... and should do.

one of my rie friends, K, has a charity event at her house every year. this year they'll be collecting toys for spark of love, inspired by her son's love of fire engines. her kids are both under the age of 2, but it's so wonderful that she somehow includes them, even at this young age. we will definitely be attending; it'll be a great opportunity for ian to get involved because i'm sure it's something he can empathize with (what kid wouldn't be devastated if he lost all of his toys in a fire?). plus, K secretly encouraged us to donate all of those noisy christmas presents we don't want! hee!

hmmm, it appears i have digressed from my original post about the holidays. what was it that i wanted to say? now i can't remember ... i guess my point was supposed to be that the holidays are getting too materialistic. i'm no christian and i don't believe in jesus, but christmas sure has strayed from its original significance. even hanukkah, which is what our family celebrates, isn't supposed to be about the presents; i believe that's a relatively new tradition. in all honesty, as much as i like getting stuff, i'm over the presents and having to spend time and money on purchasing gifts. i would much rather spend time with my family sans gift-giving and count my blessings. (what? that's what thanksgiving is for? oh come on, work with me people!)

in conclusion :: the holidays are fun while you're a kid, but not so much once you're an adult.

the end.