argentina day 3 :: puerto madryn :: august 25, 2007

it was indeed difficult to get up at 4am, especially after a night of restless sleep and a runny nose. but we got ready in plenty of time and went to the 24-hour farmacia around the corner from the hotel so Y could get something to calm her nerves. i only mention this because the pharmacy is not actually open.

after 1am you have to buzz the night service button. the pharmacist comes out with what you need after you tell her through the intercom. there's a tiny window that she can pass the item through. the pharmacist must've been sleeping because she came out kinda grouchy and seemed annoyed when we left without buying anything.

anyway, we go to jorge newbery airport, which looks new and modern. it was still dark out but as we drove by the airport there were little foodstands open along the road. it looked like they were cooking meat and there were some people waiting in line already.

the check-in area at the airport was a little chaotic (argentines don't seem to care much for lines) but the waiting area in the terminal is very nice. we ate our breakfast (medialunas and juice we bought the night before at a little bakery) and then i totally conked out before the plane even left the ground. i woke up just as we landed in trelew.


the drive to puerto madryn was on a two-lane highway through vast deserty low hills. the scenery reminded us of driving through some of california's deserts. the city itself is much larger than we expected and the residential outskirts reminded Y of mexico.


our hotel, the bahia nueva, is on the main street (av. julio a. roca) along the beach of golfo nuevo. we did a little exploring along this stretch and got our first glimpse of the whales in the gulf from the shore.


because we'd been traveling since so early in the day we were quite hungry, but it was still around 11am, waaaaay too early for an argentine lunch. but, thankfully, the lizard cafe was open. this is where i begin to notice that argentines like their ham + cheese sandwiches! in my opinion, the sandwich we had here was a bit better because it had chopped hard boiled egg in it.

our driver (from ryans travel, our local tour agency) told us there were optional tours in the afternoon, so we made our way back to the hotel after lunch. we quickly peeked into the local mall (where i later bought a hat because it's colder (i.e., windier) than expected) and got a map at the tourist office.

our two optional tours were to punta loma and el doradillo beach. luckily there were no other tourists booked and we got a private tour.


punta loma is south of the city, and most of the way you have to drive on an unpaved sandy/gravely road. it's a nature reserve (admission is 20 pesos ) where you can see the sea lions year-round. i had the impression that we could get pretty close to the colony but the viewing deck is actually on top of a cliff and you look down on them in the cove. we also saw a large flock of cormorants on the cliffs and one lone penguin in the water (it was still too early to see the thousands of penguins that descend on this area in september). maybe because we were so far away these sea lions weren't as loud as the ones at san francisco bay.


we also saw wild flamingos on the beach on the way back towards town.

el doradillo beach is north of town just as the road heads toward península valdés. it was truly an amazing experience watching the whales swimming right off the beach. the southern right whales are in this area from june to december.


you don't need a boat or even binoculars to see them. they come so close to the beach that you're tempted to wade out and touch them; the closest ones aren't even 50 feet away from where you're standing! and it's not just one or two whales, but like ten in your immediate vicinity.


the ones close to shore show their fins while rolling over in the water (these fins are often mistaken for orca dorsal fins), and spout water and air out of their blowholes (loudly!).


the ones farther out show their tails for long periods of time, sometimes staying really still and other times sort of swaying back and forth as if they were waving.


we went to several different spots along this stretch of beach and everywhere we went the whales were doing something worthy of 100 pictures :: moms and calves were frolicking and nuzzling; a playful young whale breached multiple times; and lone whales would roll and swim in circles. i know my pictures won't do the experience justice, but i couldn't stop pushing the shutter.


there's an observation platform (and shack) up on the cliff near the northern end where biologists observe and count the whales. from here you can see the long stretch of beach and the many whales in the water (and human observers standing on the sand). when we were there a biologist was listening for the whales via an underwater microphone.

i'm not really much of a nature person but this was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. i was in a state of excitement the whole time we were watching the whales. i just wanted to sit there all day and marvel at them.


in the evening we were starving but (once again) disappointed to find out that restaurants don't open for dinner until 8pm. i wanted to try local seafood but the only restaurant really open (besides the cafes) was the hamburger joint at the mall. so, my first fast food experience here was a chicken sandwich at "mostaza."


the sunset we saw from the pier was really tranquil and it was kinda odd to see the sun set into the hills, rather than into the ocean.

argentina day 2 :: buenos aires :: august 24, 2007

getting up at 8am wasn't the easiest thing to do btu we managed to get to breakfast at pilar, a cafe down the street, and eat a hearty breakfast. i instantly fell in love with the small, croissant-like medialunas and loved that they made my café con leche to order. at that instant i knew what i would be eating every morning of this trip.


we were met back at the hotel by carolina (our guide) and gaston (the driver) for our city tour of BsAs. we hopped into the little car and drove around recoleta and palermo. we stopped at the huge metal flower sculpture next to the law school. it was donated by an engineer to show his thanks to the city for educating him for free. the flower was made somewhere else (i think in the u.s. since the engineer now lives in miami) and rebuilt in BsAs; it cost five million dollars. the cool thing about it is that it opens and closes depending on the amount of sunlight.


to get to plaza de mayo we drove along av. 9 de julio, which is kind of a crazy street because it's so wide and cars are crossing every which way and going around the circle around the obelisk.


we got out at at plaza de mayo where people were feedings tons of pigeons. mass was going on at catedral metropolitana so we couldn't take pictures inside. the outside is built in a very neo-classical style with columns in the front; you wouldn't think it was a catholic church. inside we saw the tomb of general josé de san martín, the national hero.


next, we made our way across the plaza to look at the casa rosada, which is currently a very unattractive salmon pink. the little flag was flying, indicating the president (néstor kirchner) was in the building. we also saw the balcony where evita often addressed the people of argentina.


it appeared the riot police were preparing for a demonstration, which carolina said were common on thursday and friday. she also informed us that the madres de plaza de mayo haven't demonstrated here for about a year.

san telmo and la boca were next. they're two of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. san telmo had cobblestone streets and la boca was pretty dingy. even the boca juniors stadium was graffitied.


the boca juniors futbol team was started early in the 20th century by italian immigrants. they couldn't decide on team colors so they agreed to use the colors of the next ship that came into port. that turned out to be a swedish ship and the team colors became blue and gold.


the caminito is a famous alleyway in la boca. it's a total tourist trap but the colorfully painted homes are bright and cheery, unlike some of the neighboring blocks, which were pretty grungy.

Y took pictures with a tango dancer since la boca is one of the birthplaces of tango. she also bought a painting of tango dancers by a local artist. i bought a boca juniors hat for ian since the jerseys, which was what i wanted to get originally, were too expensive.


gaston drove us along the old waterfront (even though we weren't "authorized") so we could see the boca (mouth) of the la plata river, where it meets the riachuelo canal (the water changes color here because of the sediment in the la plata and the lack of oxygen in the riachuelo).


our last stop was puerto madero, where we said good-bye to carolina and gaston. Y and i walked along the waterfront, which is redeveloped and full of businesspeople. since we were in the area we stopped at buquebus and bought our tickets to colonia for next friday. that'll be three countries we visit on this trip.


after walking to florida street we took our first cab back to the hotel. we couldn't give the cabbie the address but we managed to get back by pointing this way and that way. cabs are really cheap here, just a few dollars for a ride across town.

lunch was empanadas at a cafe around the corner from the hotel, with a view of the back of the cemetary. this was a really cheap lunch; i think the empanadas cost a peso each.

since it was still fairly early in the afternoon we walked towards the fine arts museum again, hoping it was open this time. along the way vendors had already set up shop along the front of the cemetary and design fair for the weekly weekend craft fair. we "window shopped" for gift ideas because we plan to get our gifts next weekend when we're back in town. but i did buy two little finger puppets for the kids.

the museum was fine, nothing fancy. admission's free, there are no maps, and you just sort of wander around. i liked the exhibit they had about alejandro sirio's illustrations.


having figured out there's no subte (subway) access in recoleta, we took a cab back to plaza de mayo. (the "E" symbol i kept seeing was not for the E line but for parking, estacionar.) from casa rosada we took the A line, which has old wooden cars. the cars are probably the oldest in south america; so old, in fact, that the doors don't close automatically, so a subway employee stands in each car to open and close the doors manually. it costs 70 centavos to ride the subte ... that's less than a quarter! we took it a few stops to congreso, which is a huge ornate building.



from there we walked with tons of other porteños leaving work on av. callao. our destination :: el ateneo bookstore on av. santa fe. i originally saw this bookstore on flickr and was mesmorized that it was built inside an old theater. i love bookstores to begin with but this one was like nothing i'd seen before. and it really is a cool bookstore with a huge mural on the ceiling and a cafe where the stage would've been. the front private balcony seats have been converted to reading nooks and shelves lined each balcony. i held off on buying anything but it was fun to browse the spanish childrens books.

it was a nice cool evening so we walked the rest of the way back to the hotel. i'm beginning to recognize certain street corners and i'm feel comfortable around our immediate neighborhood.

but tomorrow we're off to puerto madryn bright and early (our wake-up call is at 4am and we're leaving the hotel at 5:30!), so no more exploring until we get back to BsAs on thursday.

lunch. massage. facial. sisters. bliss.

i can't believe i went 31 years without a facial! sure the extraction was kinda uncomfortable. but having someone else wash your face for you? loved it!

and it was all thanks to my step-sis, D (second from left in the pic). she organized a girls' spa day at burke-williams in santa monica as a late birthday (for me) and late graduation (for our lil sis, A) celebration.

but more than the spa day i'm totally loving that we're finally connecting as sisters. like many people, the three of us come from a messed up, mixed-up family. A and i grew up a few cities away from D physically, but emotionally we were very very far apart. it's taken too many years for us to connect, but i think it's finally happening, and i couldn't be happier!

[rupert mentioned to me just now that i thanked D but i didn't thank him ... the person who gave me the gift certificates for the massage and facial. they were gifts from my first year of motherhood and i never got around to making an appointment. so, thank you rupert! and if you can't think of anything to get me in the future, i did like the facial a lot. just thought you ought to know.]

i *am* making a difference

heard a story on npr's day to day about making little changes to help the environment. and it was actually something i'd been doing for years :: changing the margins on word processing documents to save paper.

changethemargins.com is a campaign to get people and companies to change the margins on documents; you can sign the petition to encourage microsoft to change the default margin from 1.25 inches to 0.75 inches. (i usually print half-inch margins, and am even known to go down to 0.12 inches on draft copies that are just for me.) a research team at penn state did a study showing the incredible savings in money, paper, and energy when this small change was instituted.

so, even if you don't sign the petition or get involved in this movement, at the very least, go to your ms word default settings and change the margins. you can save a tree. you might even save the planet.

22 months.

maya @ 22 months :: september 4, 2007

sadly, she can identify spongebob square pants (and patrick) :: "bunge bob"
loves to brush her teeth
says "yeah" and "hai" for the affirmative
is better with using a fork and spoon, although eating with her fingers is clearly much more enjoyable
calls herself "mai" and points to herself
will hide in our closet; doesn't seem to mind being in dark places
first time away from me when i went to argentina for 12 days. she got used to napping at my parents', which is something she didn't do before. i came back and she has been clingy; i was hoping if she were around rupert more she would be attached to him but i was wrong.
i hear a lot of "eat more" during mealtimes
tries to swim in the tub
will want to go into the shower with somebody but the second the water starts pouring on her head she screams to get out
is getting used to small waves at the beach. when she sees the ocean from the car she yells out, "beach! beach!"
at the beach she will chase the seagulls, laughing hysterically, calling them "quack quack"
loves to dance to music and sounds
it makes me cringe, but she likes what we call "slurpies," the milk left in the cereal bowl --> she gets that from her father and brother
can finally put up a finger for one (and "ichi") and both index fingers for two. when she puts up one finger it often means she wants one more of something.
her favorite words must be "ow" and "woa!" because she says it all day long
constantly picks at the skin on the middle of her top lip; she also pulls at her cuticles and any skin hanging off her fingers
she tries to dress herself (usually over clothes she already has on). she's a pro at getting rupert's and ian's socks on, and she's now working on her own pants, dresses, and shirts ... although sometimes the shirts go on her legs and the pants go on her arms.
another clear sign she watches waaaaaaay too much tv :: she can now pick out her own videos from the video drawer. lately it's been a lot of "boos koos" (blue's clues).her favorite food is cheeseburgers :: she can finish off a whole cheeseburger from in-n-out.

my baby's growing up

today was ian's first day of second grade. it really does seem like just yesterday that we were walking him to kindergarten ... maya wasn't even born yet!

the excitement today was being on a new campus. his elementary school was torn down over the summer and will be rebuilt this year. in the meantime the students are at the old middle school down the street; the new middle school just opened today as well, so there's lots of confusion and chaos with drop-off and pick-up.

second grade is the highest grade at his school (he'll move up to the upper elementary school next year) so ian's a big man on campus this year. fortunately, i like the teacher he has and he already knows a few other kids in his class. i think we're all getting used to this "first day of school" business because there was no nervousness, no anxiety, no apprehension. we hadn't even picked out an outfit or emptied out his backpack from his montana trip until this morning.

i may, however, be a bit more nervous about rupert's first day of school, which is coming up in a few weeks ...

argentina day 1 :: buenos aires :: 08.23.2007

my friend Y and i arrive in buenos aires (BsAs) after a long flight (with a layover in santiago, chile). there was a longish wait in the immigration line (made longer by people from other flights who cut in front of us), but we made it through with no problem ... and i "smuggled" in the sandwiches from TJ's we didn't eat on the plane.

the drive into BsAs didn't take too long, maybe 40 minutes. our driver was very chatty with Y, telling her the ills of BsAs and the catholic church. this would be the first of many conversations in spanish i'll only understand a fraction of.

from the highway, before getting into the city, we saw some pretty dilapidated houses, dirty apartments, lots of graffiti, and laundry hanging on rooftops. this area, called capital, sort of reminded me of areas along the highway around osaka :: the same narrow concrete apartments blackened by years of soot, the signage on the sides of buildings, the open sky around it all.

getting into the city proper was much like other big cities. Y saw resemblances to paris and there was the same hurried vibe (and crazy driving) as nyc. the buildings are crammed together; they're narrow, old, and many are architecturally interesting to look at.

one thing i'm really intrigued by are the doors to the buildings. many are tall and wide and made entirely of glass. others have ornate ironwork gates, and still others are made of beautiful wood. it seems modern, classic, and historic all at the same time.

we arrive at our hotel, ayres de recoleta, in the recoleta neigborhood of BsAs. it's small and modern-looking, basic but clean. as we're checking in, Y and i are mistaken for a couple. we had to have the "matrimonial" double bed changed to two single beds. according to the hotel guys we're an oddity because most of their same-sex guests are couples, not friends. (our tour organizer, manuela, couldn't figure out my gender from my name so she had us booked as a married couple at all of our hotels. after we met with her she had to change all of our reservations.)

our room on the second floor (which is actually the third floor because the lobby is floor 0) is not super big but has a simple kitchen (not that we'll cook) and a nice (but small) bathroom with a bidet, which i was determined to learn how to use. the room looks out onto the street (j. e. uriburu street), which i'm disappointed about because i'd read there are rooms with views of cementerio de la recoleta (recoleta cemetary).


after unpacking, eating our sandwiches, and emailing our husbands we head out for a walk. the cemetary is just around the corner from the hotel. we bought a map of the "cemetary celebrities" from a very odd lady and head straight for evita's family's mausoleum. compared to some of the other mausoleums it was fairly simple, but it was decorated with flowers from visitors and photocopied pictures of evita.

walking through the cemetary is like walking through a deserted town (with the exception of dozens of stray cats and tourists). some mausoleums really look like little houses with curtains on the windows and little doors on the front you can peek through. but instead of a couch you see a coffin (or two or three). some mausoleums are neglected; the glass is broken on the door, rubble has fallen on the coffins, greenery is growing through the stonework. others are immaculately kept; the marble is unblemished, the stained glass sparkles. there's literally a million details to look at, craftsmanship to marvel at, and countless lives to wonder about.

creepy as it sounds, i really fell in love with this place and i could've spent all day here. (in fact, i returned two more times to take more pictures.) [check out my flickr set of cemetary photos here.]

we walked on, peeking into the basilica of nuestra señora del pilar (which had gorgeous golden altars and relics), walking along the outside of the design center, and heading back towards the hotel.


one big annoying thing so far is that no one seems to curb their dog. you have to watch every step and some blocks smell really bad. apparently, argentines love dogs and you can find strays and pets all over the place. considering we're in the city center with only apartment buildings, we see a lot of large dogs (being walked by professional dogwalkers). the strays also seem to be well-fed and more than just tolerated by the porteños (BsAs residents).

because we had more time before the evening's tango show, we decided to go to the museo nacional de bellas artes. on the way there we stopped at freddo and had our first taste of argentinian helado (ice cream). Y had dulce de leche con brownies and strawberries; i had limón and a tart brazilian fruit that i can't remember the name of. (i just looked it up :: it's called maracuya -- passion fruit.) very refreshing and yummy.


we made our way across av. de libertador towards a massive very museum-like structure. turns out that was the law school (the huge political banners gracing the side of the building should've given it away). the fine arts museum wasn't as impressive a building and it was closed to boot.


instead, we walked some more and looked at statues at plaza francia and plaza mitre.

i managed to guide us back to our hotel after walking past some fancy looking apartment buildings along gelly y obes. back at the hotel we got ready for our dinner and tango show at esquina carlos gardel, compliments of our tour organizer, argentina con noi.

at first, i wasn't sure if i would like it. but it turned out to be quite enjoyable.

dinner was served first (at 9pm). the twosomes were seated across from each other at long communal tables in front of the stage. Y and i both ordered steak, of course. apparently it's a little bit difficult to get your meat cooked anything less than well in argentina. i asked for mine pink, and it was good, but could've been redder.

the show started about an hour later. my knowledge of tango is very limited, so this show was good for me because it showcased the many moods and styles of tango. i was fairly surprised at how playful, upbeat, and comical the dance can be. there was also the very passionate, intense, seductive dancing that often comes to mind when you think of tango. there was even some groping and very wet kissing going on! the cutest was the older gentleman who danced. he didn't do anything fancy like flipping around his partner, but it was so clear that he'd been doing this for a long time and still enjoyed it.

we didn't get back from the show until 12:30am. we had to get up fairly early the next day for the city tour so we quickly showered and went to bed. i got up a few times during the night but i'm usually a restless sleeper when i'm traveling.

argentina

i'm back! after 12 days away i'm finally home to my family ... it was a wonderful trip. i feel rejuvenated and ready to deal with the coming school year (for ian + rupert).

i kept a travel journal during the trip so i hope to find time to re-write it here. until then, please enjoy some of the 700+ pictures i took over at my flickr site.

hasta luego

i'm off to argentina today; i'm getting picked up to go to the airport in a couple of hours. super excited, to say the least.

maya has no idea what's in store for the next 12 days (and neither does rupert!) but i think ian is a little lonely that i'm leaving without him. i'm sure i'll miss the kids too, but i intend to enjoy every moment i'm away. i must admit, though, i printed out a recent photo of the kids + rupert in case i get a little homesick.

i have no idea if i'll have time to post along the way, but if i do, i'll try. there's lots of picture taking planned so i'm sure my flickr account will be overflowing with argentina pics after i get back. stay tuned!

future anarchists of america

i cracked up when my friend sent us this shirt. he was at an anarchists convention in san francisco (not because he's an anarchist but because he was looking for a book) and he said he had to get the shirt for maya when he saw it.

i love that he knows our daughter so well, despite living far away. i think it's really funny, but when maya wore it the first day no one else seemed to find it very amusing. i wonder why ...

[click on picture for details about materials.]

faux shaved ice

i still have to do a bit of journaling for this layout but i think i like where i'm going with this one.

this is from our last night in waikiki in may. my sister's graduation dinner was down the block from waiola bakery + shave ice II, which is where we were intending to take ian for a snack ... and a real taste of shave ice. but it was closed by the time we got there. it being our last night and late already, we headed to a cafe near our hotel.

we knew it wasn't going to be hawaiian-style shave ice, but my sister recommended it because of the sheer size of the serving. sure enough, it was huge and it was more like a sno-cone. if you've had hawaiian style shave ice like matsumoto's or japanese kakigouri (the hand-shaved kind, not store-bought) you know there's a difference between sno-cones and shave ice. the texture of shave ice is almost fluffy (before the syrup goes on) because it's so finely shaved. the sno-cone -- and this shave ice we had -- has an almost grittier texture in comparison; the ice is chunky as opposed to flaky.

ian, however, did not care one bit about the finer points of hawaiian shave ice. he was thrilled with the sugary iciness that we bought for him. we spilled/dropped quite a bit of it and we still didn't manage to finish it all.

[click on picture for details about materials.]

rie babies are ...

maya attends a class called RIE, which ian also went to as a baby. we've been going every week for over a year, and it's basically been the same group of babies so they are all very comfortable with each other.

i love this picture because it reminds me of both the parallel playing and the group playing with the plastic rings, which are very popular during class.

the only other detail i have to add to this layout is the date; i'll probably either stamp it or write it on the tab at the bottom of the picture. i scrapped this at around 1am the other night even though i was dead tired; some spark of inspiration + motivation hit me and i finished it fairly quickly.

[click on picture for details about materials.]

buzz cut

i still have to do the journaling on this one and find out when the pictures were taken (i think it was 2003). it was scraplifted from creating keepsakes magazine (june 07 issue, pg. 59)

it was the first time ian got his hair cut really short. until then i'd only trimmed his hair so he perpetually looked like a little (brunette) dutch boy. he wasn't as afraid of the hair trimmer as he was of scissors so for a few years after this he only got his hair buzzed.

[click on picture for details about materials.]

year 6

i'm really happy with the way this one turned out. i scraplifted the idea from elsie flannigan's 52 scrapbooking challenges (pg. 47). i'm trying to learn how to layer more without looking too cluttered.

there's no journaling on this, but it's a family picture taken at our local park on our sixth wedding anniversary (the title would've been better as "6 years" now that i think about it). rupert and i totally forgot it was our anniversary and instead of going out we went for a walk to hit baseballs with ian at the park.

i remember :: maya fussing after awhile because she didn't want to be strapped into her stroller; gnats flying all over the place (hate that!); ian was so proud of the "best attitude" baseball he earned at baseball camp; i sat on orange graffiti on the park bench and got my butt graffited second-hand; and rupert took a picture of it!

[click on picture for details about materials.]

deal of the day

i dropped by office depot today because i needed to get a plug adaptor for my trip to argentina next week. as i was wandering the aisles i found a small tripod for my camera. it was the last one and there was no price tag.

when i got up to the register, guess how much it was? one cent. yup, the little tripod cost me a penny. what a deal! (it must be discontinued because on amazon it's going for $1.95 instead of its original $24.95 price.)

what's better on a hot day?

it's been hot this week ... where was this heat when i needed it last week during maya's swim lessons?!

i hate that our house traps heat and i can't open the windows very much because of two huge construction sites nearby (the dust has been horrible lately). i was in a foul mood today because i don't deal well with the mugginess. all i wanted to do was lie around naked under the ceiling fan and pretend i didn't have any kids. thankfully, maya and ian took turns taking naps this afternoon so i didn't have both of them around at the same time.

it hadn't cooled down very much after dinner so i pulled out trusty ol' kyoro-chan, our shaved ice machine (actually, it's my parents'). we've had this thing since i was a little girl and it never ceases to delight me. when you turn the handle on top of the hat, kyoro-chan's eyes move back and forth. it also shaves the ice pretty finely, so the ice is almost fluffy unlike sno-cone ice, which is almost gritty in comparison. i prefer the clear mizore syrup; it's just sugar water, basically.

ian had a huge bowlful before bed. i would've too, except that our ice tastes kinda funky ... spoiled the fun for me.

it did, however, remind me of the ice shop in my grandparents' neighborhood in japan. every time i walked by it during the summer i felt the cold seeping through the clear rubber curtains. when you peeked in you saw huge blocks of clear, clear ice, and you could hear the distinct sound of an old fashioned ice shaver making kakigori.

p.s. that little watermelon in the background was grown in the planter on our front porch.

montana is a hard place to get to

remember how maya and i didn't get to montana last christmas? it's not as bad as that, but ian is experiencing something similar today. he should've been in montana by now, but he's spent the day with his great-grandparents at the beach instead.

seems delta cancelled their flight this morning to salt lake city due to mechanical issues. since it's friday in the middle of summer there was no way they could get to their destination today. so they're flying first class tomorrow morning instead. sadly, it was a short trip to begin with (just until monday) and now it's even shorter.

thankfully ian has taken it all in stride and is enjoying his day away from mom and maya, being spoiled by his great-grandparents.

grody to the max

i have been a superbad housekeeper as of late, letting the dishes stack up, the toys clutter the living room, and the laundry go unwashed. but something was clearly not right with the smell stench in the kitchen. rupert did the dishes, which seemed to help but the laundry area off of the kitchen (which is where we come into the house and take off our shoes) continued to smell very odd, like something was rotting.

after a week of not knowing what the cause of the smell was, i finally figured it out. there was a huge bag of potatoes at the bottom of the pantry closet i forgot about. when i pulled it out a small swarm of fruit flies escaped and the bag was covered in little maggots. ewwwwwww!

unfortunately, the garbage had just been picked up so i double-bagged the rotten, infested mess and threw it in to our garbage bin praying i had contained it enough until pick up next week.

since then i've been swatting and squishing the fruit flies that have now made the kitchen their home.

you'd think this would motivate me to clean up a bit more but you'd be wrong.

happiness is

cardstock :: bazzill basics
patterned paper :: my mind's eye
"happiness is ____" stamp :: purple onion designs
letter stamps :: martha stewart
letter stickers :: provo craft
orange heart sticker :: martha stewart
blue heart sticker :: threadless.com
arrow punch :: fiskars
tab punch :: mcgill
corner slot punch :: ek success
other :: date stamp, foam tape

this was such a great afternoon i had to document it. threw this layout together really quickly (quick by my standards) this evening. i'm not even sure i like it that much visually, but i needed to write down and show how ian and i were linked that afternoon by mutual interests :: the simpsons, harry potter, and lounging around in bed.

sometimes i get really wrapped up in the artistic energy required to scrapbook and i forget that it's all about telling the story about my family. so, here's to throwing something down on paper and not caring how it looks. hip, hip, hooray!

21 months.

maya @ 21 months :: august 4, 2007

• new favorite books :: chicka chicka boom boom (which she calls "boom boom boom") and go, dog, go! she'll "read" go, dog, go! in two languages: "go, wan wan, go!" ... and upside down.
• finally saying japanese words :: hai --> yes; dakko --> carry me :: although sometimes it sounds like gakkou (school), which is where i wish she would go.
• first trip back east to connecticut and new york city. that is the last time i get on a plane with maya without getting her her own seat.
• swimming "lessons" at the local pool :: sort of blowing bubbles in the water, although i suspect more often than not she's drinking the water rather than blowing out air. one day it was freezing and she said "cold cold cold" for the first time, so she must've been pretty miserable in the water.
• getting close to throwing tantrums in public. at the market the other day she almost threw herself down on the floor to start kicking + screaming, but when i turned away to ignore her she stopped immediately. what can i say? she's a moody, violent, hysterical girl ... just like the women on mama's side of the family.
• she finally did it ... after three months she can now say each sound in her brother's name :: ian!
• she's been spending a lot of time pants-less lately (with a diaper, of course ... although she's quite capable of taking it off).
• each morning i get her (which isn't often, to be honest) she asks me, "where ian? where dada?" and after i change her diaper she demands to "eat! eat! eat!"
• did i ever mention she cracks up when she watches teletubbies? this started a couple of months back but she laughs hysterically at certain parts of the show. i don't get it but it's funny to watch. she is a complete tv-nut, which is definitely my fault since i allow her to watch it a lot. am i using the tv as a babysitter? you bet!
• she's still wearing 12~18 months (and smaller) clothes.
• likes to do somersaults on the bed and couch. will attempt them on hard surfaces but she's not as successful.
• starting to recognize letters in the alphabet ... i should get working on the japanese alphabet too.
• her current favorite lunch is hummus ("mush") and pita bread. current favorite fruit :: grapes.
• gets into the game cabinet, pulls out boxes and just dumps the contents all over the living room. we're constantly picking up cards and game pieces off the floor.
• besides snoopy she's taken up daisy as her second favorite stuffed animal; she calls her "kack kack". the real reason this is cute is because this particular daisy was ian's favorite stuffed animal when he was two.
• thankfully she willingly goes down for her nap after lunch, as long as she has her favorite blankies (with the dogs on them), a stuffed animal (or two) and a kiss on the nose.

here, there, and everywhere ... in a few short days

last week we headed off to new york/connecticut to attend a friend's wedding. this was rupert's and my first trip back to new york since graduating from college nine years ago (and my first trip back east in as many years). i honestly didn't think i would be away so long from my first real home-away-from-home. new york city is the first place i lived on my own, away from my family. i have memories of and longings for that city (and my youth) that will never leave me. but after settling down back home in los angeles and starting a family it became appallingly clear that i could really never go back to that place as the same person. a decade is a long time. things change. but i managed to find essences of both the person and the city from nine years ago on our trip.

our friend's wedding was beautiful, although, admittedly, we missed the ceremony. we ran up to the church just as they were coming out. the 2.5 hour drive to connecticut took twice as long because of an accident and we just barely made it to the reception. my college friend (who lives in nyc) graciously came up with us to babysit the kids while rupert and i were at the reception. he and i were able to enjoy some grown-up time with friends we hardly ever get to see. and it was really worth the trip (and, frankly, the hassle) to see our friend D looking so incredibly happy and enamored with his bride.

a girl's gotta get her priorities straight

i know i've been mia again ... lots going on here with work and travel. but first, i have to finish deathly hallows. nothing is more important. be back soon ...

all aboard. two by two. journey together.

a little scrapping

i've managed to find some time here and there to scrapbook. i completed the following layouts (click on the image for details about materials) and i'm in the process of completing a few more, which i hope i can share soon. (sorry about the crappy scans.)


do babies get brain freeze? journaling :: maya inhaled her first taste of jamba juice ... it was hard to get her to stop! you have to share, maya!


hinamatsuri 07 journaling :: did you know the longer it takes to put away the hinaningyou the longer it'll take the girl to get married? at least, that's what they say. but if that's true maya may never get married 'cause we never got around to putting away the dolls last year! thankfully, mom put them back in the garage right away this year!

amazing fruit

did you know i love stone fruits? well, i do. and i really lucked out yesterday because my parents brought back some amazing peaches, nectarines, and plums from my dad's friend's orchard up in central cali.


if you picked them up you'd initially think they weren't ripe. but they're bred to be firm even when ripe to prevent damage to the flesh during transport. when you bite into the fruit there's almost a crunch and then a wonderful sweetness that's not overpowering. i like my fruit to be firm so this is perfect for me; no juice dribbling down my hand, no mush in my mouth, just sweetness bite after bite.

i've gotta make some peach ice cream before they go bad. as for the nectarines, i think i'll eat them as is, just like an apple. that's summer eating bliss in my book.

lucky number seven ... lucky me

best friends. partners. cuddle buddies. me + rupert.

we've been together for a long time and married for more than half that time. i almost can't remember a time without him in my life ... all the things worth remembering happened after we got together.

i'm lucky that he understands me almost better than i understand myself. otherwise we wouldn't have lasted this long. we always joke that the number one reason we're still together is because we're too lazy to find someone else. but the real number one reason we're still together is because we genuinely love, care for, and respect each other. (right, rupert? right?!)

in the grand scheme of things seven years isn't that long. i anticipate we'll stick together for at least another 40 years despite all of the ups and downs that are sure to come our way. we've weathered enough to know how to make this relationship of ours last :: i'm the boss and he does what i say! ;)

love ya, sweetie! happy anniversary!

another year older ...

happy birthday to me! i'm 31 but i don't feel any different than i did a year ago or even five years ago ... i'm still the same tired, cranky, lazy person i was then!

my birthday is my favorite day of the year :: it's all about me, baby! (although i'm sure some people are wondering, "are there any days she doesn't act like it's all about her?!") although i would've liked to have slept in, rupert didn't get up when maya did so i spent some time feeding the kids and watching tv with them. after rupert woke up we headed to the pool and splashed around for awhile. i got an oreo smoothie poolside (a real luxury for me since they cost $5 each) and i took a nap in the afternoon. while rupert took the kids to the putting green i headed out to the scrapbooking store and bought some new paper to add to my collection. what a joy it is to shop by myself, calmly and unhurriedly. because i could take my time i didn't overspend, which is what i usually end up doing because i'm just throwing stuff into my basket left and right without really contemplating whether i need it.

in the evening rupert and i went out to dinner at johannes in palm springs while my parents watched the kids back at the hotel. we had a delicious, quiet, leisurely meal, followed by a walk through the street fair. when we got back the kids were asleep and i spent some time scrapbooking.

i got to do so much just for myself ... what a great way to start off a new year in my life!

20 months.

maya @ 20 months :: 07.04.2007

• i'm trying to teach her to apologize :: "gomennasai" (i'm sorry) and kisses. but she can't actually say "gomennasai" so when she knows she's done something bad she comes at me vigorously nodding her head and trying to give me kisses.
• at the wading pool in rancho mirage she fell into the water face first a couple of times but both times she managed not to drink the water. i think it makes her angry that she falls down but she doesn't panic (like her brother does) so she doesn't inhale any water.
• her vocabulary is growing but almost everything she says is still in english. being in the desert for a week definitely made her learn how to use and repeat "hot" a lot! for a couple of months now she's been saying "aw" for strawberries. she will command you to "eat!" or demand that she "eat!" something.
• ian's name was only one syllable last month; this month she's tacked on the "a" sound = "ia" --> will next month bring on his entire name?
• she enjoys reading japanese folktales, especially "saru kani gassen".
• likes to twirl around and make herself dizzy.
• "tonari no totoro" continues to be her favorite movie. when the opening song starts she 0pens her mouth really wide like the little totoros on the screen. but there are definitely signs that i let her watch too much tv; she asks for, "tee-dee?"
• she is entering her terrible twos a bit early. she's a screaming, hitting, tantrum-throwing little terror.
• we're working hard on relieving her constipation. if she's had a bowel movement she can be a very pleasant person, but those days when she hasn't gone in awhile can be horrible.
• she likes to bite directly into food. she'd rather eat corn off the cob than cut corn, she'd rather chew on a rib than eat chunks of meat, she'd rather bite into a piece of fruit than eat a fruit salad, etc.
• if you don't put pants on her she'll take her diaper off. while we were in rancho mirage she definitely got used to being undressed.
• she tries to be helpful by throwing things away (not always trash) and if we ask her to take things to the dining table she will (with some help from her big brother).
• she has a goofy smile where she scrunches up her nose.
• she tries to unlock the cabinet with the video games in it. she can't quite get the key into the lock ... at least, not yet!
• eats weird stuff like japanese fish bone crackers.
• tells jordan the process of getting cereal in the morning :: bowl, spoon, cereal, milk
• when we change her diaper she says,"bleh!" and makes a stinky face ... even if it's just shi-shi (pee).

is hell this hot?

we're vacationing in rancho mirage (near palm springs) with my folks for the week. dang, it's hot! yesterday was 113 for most of the day; today was cooler at 112. just to give you an idea of the heat, the water in the wading pool goes from pleasant in the morning to lukewarm in the early afternoon to downright warm-as-bathwater in the late-afternoon. and maya came back from a short walk around noon with a clear tan line across her thigh where her shorts end.

i'm encouraging ian + maya to stay indoors between 10am and 2pm but they get a little stir crazy. i'm not particularly fond of the heat (although i'll take the dry heat of the desert over humid heat any day) so i would rather hang out in the air conditioned room and do nothing. the kids don't allow me to do that. boo! thankfully, my in-laws joined us yesterday for a short visit (they just left a couple of hours ago); they are doting grandparents so ian got some much-needed attention on the golf course and maya went on walks with grandma. my parents are also quite accommodating and they've already played quite a few games of yahtzee with ian.

rupert doesn't join us until tomorrow night (we've been here for three days already), just in time for fourth of july and my birthday. can't wait to have a few days of "fun in the sun" with my family. (i wanted to post pics from the last couple of days but i forgot my camera cable.)