what i made for dinner :: salmon chowder

i found this recipe in the bristol farms cooking magazine that was lying around my mom's house. the picture of the chowder looked appetizing and the ingredient list was short (a big plus in my book).

but, once again, i found the dish to be bland. rupert and i tried to figure out what went wrong. perhaps it was the substitutions i made (frozen salmon filets instead of fresh, olive oil for sauteeing instead of butter, half-and-half instead of heavy cream)?

it has potential; i could see it being good and creamy, but that requires the fat i omitted. big surprise, huh?

and, can i just tell you? freshly toasted sourdough bread is soooooo good after not having it for a looooooong time.

what i made for dinner :: orecchiette carbonara with leeks

i love pasta carbonara but it's like cholesterol (not to mention, fat) on a plate. i eat it once in a blue moon; and i've never made it myself. however, i just could not resist the orecchiette carbonara with leeks recipe in the april 2008 issue of bon appetit. something about the picture appealed to me :: maybe it was the cute orecchiette pasta, the green of the leeks, the crisp of the bacon ... who knows?

but to make it "healthier" i made a couple of modifications, which must have been successful because everyone ate it, even ian (he's my barometer of how appealing my food is).

• instead of the orrecchiette i used whole durum wheat chiocciole pasta for two reasons :: 1) i couldn't find the orrecchiette at tj's and what i did find at whole foods cost $6.99 for less than 9 ounces. someone please remind me to stop shopping at whole foods; 2) i'm trying to choose whole wheat over regular pasta.
• i made more pasta (16 ounces) than the recipe calls for (10 ounces) but kept the amount of carbonara sauce the same. my thinking is that there's less sauce on each piece of pasta so you're not getting as much fat.

i'm sure the original version of the recipe is delightful. it's unfortunate i won't get to taste it! and even the modified version i only ate a cup of. sigh.

[edited 03.23.08 :: this does not reheat well. best to eat it all up the night you make it.]

the end of an era

last tuesday was our last rie class. i am really bummed, and i think maya would be too if she understood that we aren't going anymore. we have been with the same group of kids for two years, in the same environment, with the same teacher.

this is my second round of rie classes (ian attended too) and i couldn't recommend it more. it's not a "traditional" kind of class with lots of music and "engaging" activities. it's about the kids figuring out things for themselves in a safe and nurturing environment. the parents learn and share rie parenting techniques and sit back to observe the children.

there used to be a rie-based infant center (daycare) in redondo beach but, unfortunately, it's no longer in business. i wish there were more rie classes/schools for older kids. i would love to keep learning about rie and how to apply the philosophy as the kids get older. (it's my understanding that some rie parents move on to the waldorf school when their kids get older.)

i'm also disappointed that class has ended because i've grown really fond of the other parents. i hope we stay in touch and get together often.

now i've gotta find something else for maya to do on tuesday mornings ...

what i made for dinner :: soba with marinated beef and tomatoes

another cooking light recipe (from november 1999) :: soba with marinated beef and tomatoes. this could potentially be a decent dinner (although ian didn't like it ... surprise, surprise!). a huge plus is that it's pretty quick to make; i marinated the beef and portobellos before leaving for ian's french class and whipped up the sauce and boiled the noodles in about 20 minutes after getting home.

some changes/recommendations ::

• turns out flank steak is expensive. instead of a full pound of meat, i used half a pound and substituted sliced portobello mushroom (one medium-sized cap, around a quarter of a pound) for the rest. more veggies are a good thing, right? cheaper meal is a good thing, right?
• i made too much soba and it was too mushy. i recommend making two bunches of soba (which i think is around 7 oz uncooked) and preparing it so it finishes cooking after the sauce is done (or is nearing completion). i made three bunches of soba and it sat for a few minutes until the sauce finished cooking, at which point the noodles got much too soft.
• the sauce was on the bland side (maybe because i made too much soba?) so i would try to liven the flavor up with either some ginger, sesame oil (instead of the vegetable oil), chile, and/or more garlic.
• i didn't have any oyster sauce so i used japanese tonkatsu sauce instead (and omitted the sugar since tonkatsu sauce is sweet).

new "feature" on the ol' blog :: what i made for dinner

as part of my fitness challenge i've been trying very hard to eat healthier meals. which means i've been trying to make more food at home from scratch. it's been fun poring over old issues of food + wine, gourmet, and bon appetit to expand my culinary repertoire. but my new favorite is cooking light. not because they have fancy recipes that look way too de-lish, but because they actually list nutritional information on their relatively easy (and quick) to make dishes. luckily, the library has a subscription so i check out a couple of issues once a week, find what i want to try, and then get the recipes online.

here's the recipe i tried out today :: moroccan chicken thighs. as an accompaniment i made a simple israeli couscous (also my first time) with shallots and parsley. i rather enjoyed it, although now i think i might have a bit of heartburn (which is extremely rare for me).

i had a feeling the kids wouldn't like the sweetness of the apricots with the savory sauce so i halved the amount of dried apricots and chopped them on the small side. (i used the turkish kind and they were indeed a bit on the sweet side; if you can find them, use the california dried apricots like the recipe recommends.)

the coriander got omitted only because i didn't have any on hand. possibly because of that the dish didn't have a strong "ethnic"-y flavor, which was probably fine for the kids. i now have a jar of ground coriander so i'm looking forward to trying it with this added dimension. i also found that the cinammon flavor was stronger than i would've liked, and i wonder if the coriander would balance the flavors out.

28 months.

maya @ 28 months :: march 4, 2008

• bugs really, totally freak her out ... especially if they find their way inside the house. sometimes she'll find an ant in her room and she will burst in wails and tears until i get rid of it.
• now watches "nemo [lilo] and stitch" -- no matter how many times we say, "li-lo" she keeps saying "nemo."
• calls her grandma (rupert's mom) by her first name.
• it's been a rough month of whining and defiance; rupert and i are nearing our wit's end. it's been a totally different parenting experience with maya compared to ian's toddler years.
• good reminder not to leave crayons within reach of her crib :: she drew purple swirls on her wall one day while i thought she was taking a nap.
• she's definitely stringing together more words into sentences and questions.
• likes to sit in the basket of the stroller. people look at me strangely because they think i'm pushing an empty stroller. as i pass them maya peeks her head out and i hear giggles from the passerby.
• doesn't care to remember her ABCs but remembers after one visit that marukai is where we get strawberry pocky.
• working our way to higher numbers :: counting to 3.
• she has been daddy's little girl this month and insists on "daddy do it" if he's around.
• loves her cereal; she's into tj's honey nut Os right now (we can dupe her with regular multigrain cheerios if we're out of the good stuff).
• she's extremely particular about what piece of food she eats from a specific place on the plate. it's annoying when she wants a particular honey nut O with milk from one part of the bowl. it's no use trying to tell her that the milk moves around in the bowl and it's all the same!
• she plays with the little girls at ian's school during drop-off in the morning. but she calls them all by the same name, "maggie" (one of the girls she plays with everyday).

playing catch-up ... again

i've been meaning to blog for awhile now and just haven't had the chance to sit down and compose something. in the meantime i forgot everything i wanted to write. ugh. old age is slowing me down!

rupert "celebrated" his 32nd birthday last monday (he's not particularly thrilled to be well into his 30s). my gift to him was this poster i've been eyeing for awhile (it's made its rounds on the crafty blogosphere). with the added stress of school and work -- and dealing with a crazy maya -- i thought this would be a great mantra for him (and me) to follow. it's an old british world war II propaganda slogan. you can buy it online through u.s. distributors but i got it from england (barter books) for much cheaper. once it's nicely framed we'll put it up in our living room in place of the art canvas i got for our dating anniversary last year.

let's see ... my fitness challenge is going well. i think i left off with the week 4 weigh-in and since then i've continued to lose weight each week (except for this past week when my weight didn't change). in total i think i'm down about 6 or 7 pounds, which is more than i hoped for. i know i keep saying this, but i'm not too concerned with the number on the scale. i'm concentrating on incorporating and sustaining healthy habits that will stick with me for the rest of my life. and i'm well on my way :: i work out for at least half an hour six days a week and i eat smaller portions of healthier foods. just another month left of the fitness challenge but i know i will be sticking to my exercise and eating routine.

the camera finally came back ... fixed! we missed it so. we were reveling in the glory of not having anything broken in our house when -- you guessed it -- something else broke. our beloved television wouldn't turn on (it's only two years old!). this is a big deal because we are a huge tv-watching family. at the very least, we need (yes, need) the tv to play the wii and ps2, and maya cannot go a day without watching a movie. the repairman came yesterday and quoted us $800 without even opening the back of the tv! rupert and i think it's the fan (it's been whirring like crazy lately) so rupert cleaned it and it's working ... for now. we're keeping our fingers crossed.

then, a city inspector came by yesterday and cited us for not having mowed our lawn. sure it's overgrown and yellow with dandelion flowers, but we were just enjoying the greenery the recent rains brought us. ;) we suspect one of our elderly neighbors, who always complained to rupert about the state of our yard, "reported" us to the city. so much for the "city of good neighbors" (our city motto).

to top it all off, rupert and i are fighting off colds. what a week!

asa ramen

friday night :: no ian ... no dinner plans ... cold ... what should we eat? at first we were going to get mexican from our usual place, but then an idea hit me. why not try the new(ish) ramen place that rameniac mentioned in his la times article as having some of the best kotteri shoyu ramen around?

so we drove down to gardena around 7pm to the strip mall i've been to quite a few times before (my extended family used to go to sanuki no sato a lot) and sat down at the counter of asa ramen. (i wasn't quick enough to snag the only four-person table; there are about five other two-person tables and i think about eight seats at the counter. if you go early enough there's no wait.)

seeing as i'm on a "diet" and just pledged to my fitness challenge nutrition "leader" that i would cut back on my ramen intake, i opted for the assari (light) shoyu (soy sauce) ramen ($6.50). rupert got the kotteri (rich ... i.e., fatty) shoyu ramen ($6.95) large (+$2.00, i think). we each got the shoyu tamago (marinated shoyu hard-boiled egg) ($1.00) to go with.

mine was good, although i couldn't help but eye rupert's much richer, much bigger meal. but first, let me describe what i slurped:: the regular size bowl is on the smallish side, but it was perfect for me since i'm watching portion sizes (i would say the size is similar to chabuya tokyo noodle bar's). the broth is indeed assari, not as salty or shoyu-ish as i imagined. the noodles are thin and firm, just the way i love them! it comes with a couple of slices of pork, menma (bamboo shoots), and green onions. the added egg was quite good; the shoyu flavor was really deep but the yolk still retained some of its runny-ness, which is the way i like my ramen eggs.

i took a sip (i gotta cut back on my sodium too, so no drinking-to-the-last-drop business for me). i took a slurp. i took another slurp. and it was good. but ... i just could not get the idea of soba out of my head. something about the thinness and the bite to the noodles combined with the broth reminded me of a plain bowl of hot soba noodles. not exactly what i was expecting at a ramen place.

rupert's bowl, on the other hand, had the rich, pork-infused, fatty soup that i usually opt for. i admit i had a sip and slurp from his bowl and it was much better. much more the ramen i had in mind. alas, i will have to save the super-splurge of a big bowl of kotteri shoyu with extra toppings for another day ... or year ... or lifetime.

asa ramen (i've also seen it spelled "ahsah" ramen)
18202 south western avenue
gardena, california 90248
6:00pm~2:00am (closed sundays)

baby shower gift

my friends M+S are expecting twins in the next month or so ... that'll make three daughters under the age of 2! to help them get ready S is having her baby shower today. i sold two tagE*blankEs to another family friend to give to S. so i had to think what i should make as a gift.


i found this pattern by jan andrea for a travel diaper + wipes case. i figured, with twins, M+S will need to stash diapers in various places (like their car) so why not have a cute case? now that i think about it, i shoulda made another one for their older daughter L's diapers, too.


the directions say that "depending on your sewing knowledge" the project should only take half an hour. you may remember from my experience making L's first birthday present that i'm not particularly good at gauging how long projects take. sure enough, it took me half an hour just to print out the patterns, cut them out, and adjust them (i needed the pattern to be bigger), and another 15 minutes just to cut out the darn fabric. the actual sewing took at least another hour, i think; it took me a few minutes to figure out a couple of the steps. if i make another one, though, i'm sure it won't take me nearly as long.


i was going to add a pocket to the front for a travel-size purell bottle, but i totally forgot. instead, i added a ribbon near the flap for the purell and a linking ring.

CHA-W 2008

you know that scrapbooking is about 1) preserving memories, 2) the pictures, and 3) shopping, right? (and pretty much in that order, too.) which means that one of the biggest events of the year is the craft and hobby association's winter show, where manufacturers showcase their new products (it's like fashion week for the scrapbookig biz). most attendees are buyers, but i got a guest pass from my best friend who works for an arts supply manufacturer.

needless to say i was giddy to be attending. after all, you get to see the new products weeks and months before they hit the stores. i went on the first day, which is usually hectic, but it wasn't as bad as i expected (my aforementioned friend predicted the slump in the economy would affect sales). the scrapbooking section seemed to be the most active since there were crazy scrappers and store owners walking around pulling carry-on bags behind them. i'm guessing they need roll-y luggage for all the catalogs and freebies they get, but i'm still not sure what's in their luggage.

it took me more than several hours to browse just the booths i was interested in. i also took some time to do "make-and-takes," simple projects you make at the booth with a company's products.


by far the most product-heavy make-and-take i did was from little yellow bicycle, deja views' new line. it was an acrylic mini-album using the zach's life collection; they even let us take home the left over stickers, labels, and tags from the sheets we used. well worth the 30 minutes i waited in line for my turn.

i also had fun at the fiskars' booths make-and-takes :: a notebook and mini chipboard keychain album. for the notebook i used the new scallop border punch, which i really like.

as for product, i, of course, loved the new stuff from american crafts (i always do) and i was bummed they didn't have any make-and-takes despite their huge booths. chatterbox's new papers are darling, especially the happy day line. i'm looking forward to the heather bailey line from autumn leaves. the new lace cardstock from ki memories is super-cute too; my faves are the apples and stars. there were tons and tons of other stuff i looked at, but i can't even remember a fraction of them. since i'm not a retailer i refrained from taking any catalogs (i don't think they would've offered any to me anyway); it'll come back to me once the new products start showing up in magazines and stores.


it's unfortunate i won't be able to buy most of this new stuff, but it was fun just looking. however, i have to say that nothing i saw totally wowed me; nothing completely new and innovative that i've never seen before. the peek-a-boo chipboard+acrylic albums from tinkering ink are pretty cool, though. sadly, i didn't see these in person; i found out about them after the fact from someone else's blog. there were just too many booths and too many products to see in one day. now i understand why people attend all four days.

as expected, i also glimpsed some scrapbook "celebs" :: ali edwards, donna downey, elsie flannigan, heidi swapp, jenni bowlin, shimelle laine, laura kurz, and my friend, mary grace abuzman. i took a class with mary grace over a year ago at scrapbook oasis but she still remembered me when i peeked into the fontwerks booth (i guess it helps that we're friends on facebook). she came right over to me and gave me a big hug; she's so sweet and friendly. i stayed to chat for a bit, did a make-and-take with their new branching out stamp set, and saw mark montano (from tlc). the only other person i had hoped to see but didn't was kristina. i saw that she was teaching a class with nisa on the first day but i didn't know about it in time to sign-up. bummer.

anyway, that's my cha recap. i wouldn't mind going again ... this time with my camera (even though the rules are emphatic about absolutely no photography, everyone was snapping away). and maybe with a resale license. hee!

playing catch-up

i neglected the blog for a week and i'm forgetting what the heck's been going on around here ...

• sadly, my compost was infested with ants and fruit flies this morning. not a pretty sight. hopefully they'll go away ...
• i gotta get into crafty mode this week 'cause i need to make some tagEs. i said i was going to udpate the shop with boy tagEs at the end of december and that hasn't happened yet so i better get my butt into gear. and if all goes well i'll be debuting a new product shortly.
• i lost 0.4 pounds last week so i'm back to my weight from the week before that. but i've decided not to concern myself with the number on the scale too much ... although, the $120 pot for the "biggest loser" is tempting.
• our camera came back from the camera shop in time for my photography class ... but it's still broken! we paid $350 to get it fixed and rupert's gotta take it back in today. grumble grumble!
• laundry is piling up like crazy (clean + dirty) ... i don't feel like i have a lot of clothes but i guess i do.
• my body is getting used to going to the gym. in fact, when i didn't go to the gym on friday, it totally threw my day off. i was still in my PJs on the couch at 7:30am, not doing anything productive, which is not how i've been spending my mornings lately. people are saying i'm getting hooked on working out ... me, hooked on exercising?! seriously? wow.

27 months.

maya @ 27 months :: february 4, 2008

• at the beginning of the month she went the longest she's ever gone without a bowel movement :: two weeks! for days she complained about "pompom (tummy) owie" and she tried to go but nothing. rupert and i are thinking that maybe she thinks she can't go unless she's on the toilet ... which is where she finally went ... and clogged up the toilet a bit. can't blame her, it was two weeks after all!
• she cries during the "fishnapping" scene in finding nemo because she's so upset about nemo being taken away by the dentist.
• she's definitely talking more. unfortunately i don't seem to be understanding more.
• somehow learned to sing the alphabet song by herself. she doesn't say every letter but she's got the general tune down ... and "l-m-n-o-p" sounds so cute.
• her current favorite pixar movie :: the incredibles. she especially likes jack-jack and the robots (see below). seriously, we watch this movie at least once a day, sometimes twice. for some odd reason she calls bob parr's boss at insuracare "jiji" (what she calls my dad). i don't think they particularly look alike, but whatever.
• she's really into "be-bots" (robots) :: she likes to play with my robot pencil sharpener (but i had to take it away since it's a favorite chotchke of mine); we've watched the iron giant, robots, and the incredibles; i bought her robot pjs from old navy's boy section.
• actually enjoys drinking the "jolly green" smoothie i made (pineapple, mango, spinach).
• during the second to last week of january she had four bowel movements. four! she's been a nicer person for it. and during the last week of january she almost went everyday. we've been a happier family for it.
• when rupert started reading one of his school books, she went over to his school bag and brought him his highlighter.
• for awhile she was into chunky yogurt and insisted we add cut-up fruit to her once-favorite-smooth yogurt.
• rupert, in his infinite wisdom, taught maya how to say, "oh man!" when things aren't going her way.
• at the park she doesn't want to go down the slide by herself anymore. she will climb up to the slide but then freak out until you go down with her. but just before sliding down she likes to wave to all the little people, "hi everybody!".
• the moment i've been dreading is about to arrive :: she's not napping everyday anymore. i'll put her down, she'll complain, and then it'll be quiet. so i think she's napping but when i peek in her room she's standing in her crib, bright eyed, and apparently without having napped.
• i think she understands the counting concept ... up to 2.
• when the front of the crib is down she tries to climb up into her crib. but her legs aren't long enough to get all the way up so she just leans forward and falls into the crib headfirst.i'm having a hard time distinguishing between her "help me" and "hold me".
• spiders freak her out.
• a few new fav phrases :: i want it, i don't want it (usually right after she says the first phrase), i neeeeeeed it.
• using the spoon much better without spilling (too much) ... now if only i could let go enough to allow her to feed herself.
• when we cross the street she holds my hand and yells, "run! run! run!" and tries to hurry to get to the other side.
• terrible two independece is shining through :: "maya do it" as she gets into her car seat.

week 4 weigh-in

i knew it was coming :: the week my weight goes up. that was this week :: i went up 0.4 pounds. but i'm not too bothered by it. after all, it could be new muscle mass, right? right? plus, i met my diet challenge of eating more vegetables this week (which earned me some brand new lip gloss).

my problem with eating is definitely portion control. thursday and friday nights are the worst since i eat at my parents' and in-laws' houses. they make too much good food and i have to make a really conscious effort not to eat too much.

i am finding, however, that finding healthier things to eat is getting easier. i don't crave food with refined sugar, i don't crave the fatty stuff i used to eat; and i'm finding healthier alternatives for some of my staple foods. your body really does get used to new foods (or the lack of old favorites). this week i was really into the multigrain chips from trader joe's. they're not great for you, but they're better than regular chips and they're quite tasty. i've been eating them with hummus and fresh guacamole.

my fitness partner and i also managed to get to the gym five times this week. we mostly did weight lifting so this next week we'll try to incorporate more cardio. today i went to the gym in hopes of attending a yoga class but the instructor didn't show up, so i worked out by myself. it was, in fact, the first time i did a workout alone and i did pretty well. now i feel like i can get to the gym on other days without my partner, if necessary. now, if only somebody would watch maya for me while i work out ...

donating his brain to science

when i was pregnant with ian i participated in a pre-natal study at cedars-sinai medical center. now that seven years have passed, they asked us to return for a follow-up (the study is looking at effects of pre-natal care and stress on children's development ... or something like that). that was in december. as we were about to leave, the researcher asked us if we'd be interested in going to uci for another part of the study :: having ian's brain scanned in a mri machine.



i thought it would be pretty cool to see ian's brain and he thought so too. so we drove down to irvine yesterday and had the scan done. boy, those mri machines are loud! ian watched a dvd while he was in the machine for 15 minutes; i got to sit around and listen to the clicking and buzzing.

the researcher complimented ian on how still and mellow he was. quite possibly the best scan they've gotten in such a short time. their study emphasis is on the hippocampus, a part of the brain that controls long-term memory. ian's was pretty large, and the researcher guessed that he had a good memory. now we have scientific proof about his pretty amazing memory.

next week we'll get a printout of his brain scans. i think i'll get it framed. ;)

[on a totally different note :: on the way home i dragged ian to paper source at south coast plaza. they were selling this great composition notebook from knock knock (which i can't find on either website) for $14.50. guess what? i got the same notebook at marshall's the day before for $2.99! back to paper source, i also got this label stamp, and these great papers. sigh. i love that store.]

to do :: this week

normally i'm not what you would call "busy." instead, my busyness comes all at once, as these things tend to do.

as i age i'm finding it harder and harder to remember things. and if i don't forget, then i remember too well, to the point of anxiety. the easiest solution, of course, is to write it down. problem is, i have three calendars and keeping them all up to date is a task in and of itself.

so, what does any sane person do? make another list in a completely different place ... here ::

• smog check; pay car registration
• pay mortgage
• pay property tax
• buy packing tape
• get gas
• mail tagE*blankEs to customer
• return one of ian's christmas gifts to amazon (sorry, K, we decided to return it after all)
• mail back rupert's old cell phone for e-cycling
• mail in rebate for my new cell phone
• mail gift to friends' new baby
• mail survey for follow-up to pre-natal study
• make another tagE for separate customer; deliver tagE after maya's rie class
• training session at gym
• get groceries
• work on pta newsette; get newsette printed; deliver newsette
• work on invitation order; deliver final products on thursday
• ian playdate @ park on wednesday
• watch and return netflix movies (quinceañera, waitress); watch and return library movies (the saddest music in the world, hoot)
• read and return library books (the mysterious benedict society, when asia was the world, auralia's colors, blink, the palace of laughter)
• finish up sample for mini-book class; send out class info/invite
• make more tagEs for the coming month
• keep going to the gym!

week 3 weigh-in

i feel like i'm getting into the habit of eating better and actually wanting to exercise. this is big, folks. seriously, i haven't felt the need, desire, or urge to exercise in years, and yet, here i am, feeling bad for not working out for a few days. and i'm constantly talking rupert's ear off about this excerise or that exercise.

i'm not necessarily going to love the activities i engage in at the gym, but i know i'll feel better afterwards. most things don't come easily to me :: when we worked out with the trainer she had us on the treadmill and it was awful -- i hated it; my abs are completely useless and crunches are nearly impossible; and sometimes those last two reps of weight-lifting cause me to make crazy grimace-y faces. after it's all said and done, though, i feel like i've accomplished something. i'm moving forward. i'm ready for the next workout. i feel good.

our third meeting of the fitness challenge was sparsely attended. i didn't think i did that well since the dieting felt a bit off (i.e., eating too much), but i lost another pound. that was enough for me to "win" the weekly weight loss challenge. i won myself a pair of dumbbells, which is great because i was just thinking about buying some to do simple weight-lifting at home. and ian can use them too, so he'll finally stop complaining about how weak he is!

why i {heart} trader joe's

one of many reasons ...

they were giving away their red reusable grocery bags today. it somehow made me happy to see customer after customer leaving the store with shiny, new red bags.

girls' night out

a rare occurrence :: just the girls (sans my aunt) getting together to have dinner, just 'cause. my cousin L (back left) and cousin-in-law SA (front right) drove up from orange county to join us at beacon in culver city. it was an enjoyable couple hours of laughter, eating, and catching up. just what we all needed for the new year. hopefully this will become a semi-regular thing ... otherwise we never see each other!

almost spoke too soon ...

the plumber came again yesterday and i was prepared for the worst. that anxiety was all for naught. sure, the laundry, shower, and kitchen pipes all lead to one pipe to the sewer line -- it's not the ideal plumbing set-up -- but at least we can take care of it if it backs up again.

what i was really worried about was the puddle of water under the house :: did we have a major leak? was the foundation being compromised? would we have to replace the piping? did our home inspector miss something major when we bought the house? the plumber's assistant crawled under the house and checked out the pipes and found nothing wrong, thankfully. and the puddle from two days ago was gone. the plumber's educated guess :: the water heater leaked water all the way under the house and it stopped once the water heater was replaced.

it still cost a lot to snake the pipe from the outside; double what the other pipe snaking guy charged us. it didn't bother me that much, though, as i did two loads of laundry and didn't once hear the gurgling in the shower drain, or smell the sewer in our bathroom. sometimes it's worth the price just to get the problem resolved ... after two years of suffering!

xmas mini-album sneak peak

i'll be teaching a christmas mini-album class in the very near future. time + place tba. click on the mosaic to see bigger sample pictures.

this is a 6x6 mini-album with a transparency cover. students need to bring 6~10 christmas or winter-themed photos, family holiday card(s), and any embellishments or ephemera (such as ribbon or gift tags from gifts, ski lift passes or business cards from a trip). i will provide all other materials.

no worries if you've never scrapbooked before. the class is geared towards all levels of scrapbookers :: the design is simple + easy enough for beginners, and more advanced scrappers can add embellishments and details to suit their individual style.

the class fee is $15, and it should last about two hours. i intend to teach this class at least twice, once at my house and another time at a friend's house. if you know you're interested, please leave a comment here (or email me) and let me know general times + days that work for you (i.e., weekend days, friday nights, etc.) so i can schedule classes in the next month or so.

here's a variation on the album ::

week 2 weigh-in

i told myself not to be concerned with how much i lost, but to instead concentrate on getting healthy and learning better life habits. the first week of the fitness challenge is over and i feel pretty good about the progress i've made. i'm working on controlling portion size and snacking; i worked out regularly; i tried to get more rest; and i drank more water than usual. now, to continue this for at least two more weeks (they say it takes at least three weeks for habits to stick) ...

we had our second meeting this morning where we measured our progress on the scale. i lost 1.2 pounds. not bad. i'm wondering if i could've done better if i had worked out everyday and not eaten apple pie + ice cream on friday night! rupert cautioned me to slow down and not push my body too hard, lest i injure myself. but it's really because he's afraid i'm going to get so fit i'll easily kick his ass. ;)

week 2's challenge :: incorporate stretches into our fitness routine + getting rid of junk food and cravings.

when it rains it pours

things are breaking left and right around here. we are in need of repairs up the wazoo and i am vigorously writing checks for this repairman or that repairman.

first it was my car battery. luckily, the aaa service guy replaced it right in my driveway, but that convenience costs money. then it was the oven ignitor and sensor. of course, there's our beloved dslr that had to be taken in; who knows how much that's going to cost to fix/replace.

and then there's the plumbing. there seems to be issues with the plumbing every time i flush the toilet. last fall we had to replace pipes in our front yard because of tree roots clogging them up, which was causing our bathtub to not drain (the roots were so bad the roto rooter man's snake got stuck in the mess and it took him hours to free his equipment). most recently we got some leaks repaired. but that wasn't the original problem i called the plumber for. because i am the fumbling, accident-prone person that i am, i broke off a part of the toilet's inner workings. luckily my plumber never pushes unnecessary repairs so he thought the toilet could work without that piece. so far it's working okay, but that's another potential problem waiting to happen.

and, because everything has to go wrong at the same time, our water heater is leaking. rupert noticed a pool of water in front of the water heater closet outside on sunday. at first we thought it was a rainwater puddle from the week before, but upon closer inpsection we could hear water running and see trickles of water pouring onto the brick patio. my mother-in-law's plumber came today and his estimate to get a new one installed is $850. oy. i pray that rupert is not reading this post because this will displease him greatly. it figures the price of water heaters went up at the beginning of the year ... why couldn't it have started leaking in 2007? yeesh!

and our last plumbing problem i hope will get remedied today is the disgusting back-up in our shower every single time we run the washing machine. not only have we not been able to use that shower stall for at least a couple of years now, but we have to rinse the shower and air out the bathroom constantly because of the nastiness.

it would be wonderful if that were the last of our problems for awhile. somehow i'm not too optimistic. did i mention before how sometimes it sucks to be a homeowner? yeah, i thought so.

quick pages

i'm trying to get into the habit of working on a layout everyday. i may not finish it, but just doing something creative each day helps me to constantly think creatively, to look for inspiration, and to be happy.

here are a couple of layouts i did quickly with some photos that have been lying around forever.

scraplifted from page 70 of the november/december 2007 scrapbooks, etc.

feeling the burn

yesterday was day five of the fitness challenge. and i've been good :: eating better (a little bit) and working out five days in a row. it wasn't vigorous activity everyday, mind you, but i was moving.

having a fitness buddy has made all the difference in the world. not only do we encourage and motivate each other, but i think we guilt-trip each other into getting out of the house to exercise. and besides having to log in everything we eat, telling each other our food consumption always makes me think twice about that extra bite i'm tempted to take.

a couple of days ago i joined the gym P belongs to. it's close to our house and P made sure i got a fairly good deal. rupert wasn't mad i joined (we're on such a limited budget right now), but he declared he would be mad if i didn't go. more pressure to keep this up.

i was slightly sore from the first night at the gym, but then P had to go and invite her trainer buddy to join us last night. i got worked! i used muscles i didn't know i had ... or i knew i had but they're hidden so deep under my fat that they're virtually non-existent. i couldn't help but laugh at some of the things she asked me to do :: "are you serious? you want me to do that?!" i did them, though. maybe in my own feeble, weak way, but i did them.

and i'm paying for it this morning.

this could be the year

i haven't worked out regularly since the end of 1998. yeah, you heard me right. it's been 10 years since i've moved my body on purpose, not because i had to, but because it was good for me.

things have got to change, seeing as i've put on more weight lately and my blood pressure has gone up too. my friend P invited me to be her fitness partner (or "accountabilibuddy") in our neighborhood fitness challenge, which started yesterday. it's a 10-week program organized by a couple of neighborhood women who want to share fitness and nutrition tips. the participants will put in $20 and at the end of the 10 weeks whoever loses the most will win the pot.

i actually don't expect to lose too many pounds. at best, maybe a pound a week. but i do want to learn healthy habits. today is only the second day but i'm already finding that the daily exercise and food consumption logs are helping. i'm more conscious of what i'm putting in my mouth and the amount of activity i'm engaged in.

it's probably a good thing that P is already more fit and active than i am. she'll no doubt motivate me and push me to try harder. i'm not sure what i'll bring to our fitness partnership but i hope our 10 weeks will be fruitful.

new layouts

i have a stack of layouts that are partially done and my goal this month is to actually complete them so i can put them in albums.

this layout is from a few months back when a bunch of our friends got together for lunch at el gringo in hermosa beach. the patterned paper is from ki memories.

these are not aligned correctly but it's a two-page spread of the holiday cards we got in 2007. i used a square punch to cut out the photos and some holiday accents from the cards. i used to keep all of the cards we received but i have to accept the fact that i cannot keep every single card we receive for the rest of our lives. so this is a compromise of sorts :: i get to keep the essence of the card but it doesn't take up too much space.

ants in my pants make me want to do the boogie dance

actually, they may be in rupert's pants.

ants have been raiding our house the last couple of days. i think the rain has driven them indoors. which is annoying and disgusting since they arrive in droves and keep on coming. yesterday they were in the kitchen and this morning rupert found them in his sock drawer. yuck.

there is no "i" in "team"

it seems that every other thing in this house is breaking/broken. yesterday the hot water stopped running. rupert, being the stresser that he is, was on the verge of freaking out.

but, we worked together and re-lit the pilot light on the water heater and all is well again ... at least with the hot water. it was nice to figure something out together and take care of it instead of paying someone else to do it. (granted, relighting the pilot light is not a big deal, but i was proud of us nonetheless.)

current items in need of repair ::

• toilets (plumber coming today)
• dslr camera (sent out for repairs yesterday)
• shower plumbing
• lawn
• cracks in ceiling
• patio bricks
• etc. etc. etc.

as much as i love our home, sometimes it sucks to be a homeowner!

two-oh-oh-eight

a little late but happy new year, people! hope your new year's festivities were just that :: festive.

i am flabbergasted that the holiday season is over ... i am stunned that 2007 is over. i hate to sound cliché-ish, but where did the time go? what did i do in those 365 days?! not a lot comes to mind, but i loved that i got to travel in 2007 and that i started "exanding my business." despite that -- and not to be a monday morning quarterback -- i probably coulda done more.

i feel like i'm living with some regret about how i spent last year. a year from now i don't want to feel the same way. so, i've been inspired by ali edward's one little word idea and i'm choosing DO as my word for the year :: do something. do anything. just don't do nothing!

some things i intend to DO ::

• simplify
• enjoy
• give
• listen
• create

here's to goals and new beginnings!

26 months.

maya @ 26 months :: january 4, 2008

• while watching bits of "pirates of the caribbean: at world's end," she identified davy jones as tako, japanese for octopus.
• her current favorite movie is "monsters, inc." and "toy story 2 ("buzz! buzz!")"
• much to my chagrin, she has been carrying around the ugly doll i had hoped to keep for myself. she calls it "dah-yee."
• her bedtime routine is getting longer and more difficult since she doesn't want to go to bed ... i speak of this as if i am suffering but it's rupert's job to put her to bed so it's not my problem. ;)
• it seems totally wrong -- but somehow appropriate -- that all of maya's hanukkah gifts were dvds while ian's were books.
• she has picked up the very nasty habit of nose picking ... ewwww!
• she got sick randomly with the stomach flu. it was her first time vomiting and it was not a pretty scene. oddly enough, after that she vomited a couple of times in the middle of the night for no apparent reason.
• she's a complete natural at playing the drums.
• first trip to SF for new year's. during the new year's party at our friends' house she dropped a whole plate of lemon bars on someone's coach purse. yay!
• stringing more words together into sentences ("already kissed mama," "dada do it," "i want one"), and she'll say some more words in japanese, but usually either the first or last sound so you really have no idea what she's saying.
• starting to memorize right foot and left foot.
• more potty time (with daddy) ... she's now peed more times in men's bathrooms than in women's bathrooms. when she tells you she needs to go shi-shi she usually does go in the toilet. bathtime also seems to trigger unchi (poop) in the toilet.
• sings songs ... sort of.
• figuring out how to use the dvd player; she can also properly handle dvds ... most of the time.
• when she hears the toaster "ding!" she automatically shouts out "waff! (waffle)" and confiscates the waffle from whoever toasted it.
• i have been giving her "good bacteria" pills for her digestive tract and she just loves them. when she asks for one, she says, "i want five" but holds up all ten fingers. still have to work on the counting ... (and a whole lotta other stuff)