Savory Weekend

We were planning to get away for the weekend--drive up to Yosemite National Park and meet my sister and her family there.  But the husband wasn't feeling very well on Friday night.  It would have been just fine if we were staying there for at least a night, but there wasn't any place to stay.  On summers, lodging in Yosemite is like precious commodity.  I have been trying to book a place for a month now and I couldn't find anything.  I was told that for some hotels inside the park, you have to reserve a year in advance.  So we were just going to do a day trip, but with Charles' condition, an 8-hour drive both ways is not such a good idea.  So we bailed.

We ended up with a weekend that was rather quiet and relaxing.  On Saturday, we checked out a local creperie called Crepevine for brunch.

They have a wide selection on their menu.  It look me a while to decide which one to get.

Lucas and I, hungry and waiting for our food.

I had the Santa Fe breakfast crepe made with grilled chicken-apple sausage, scrambled eggs, mushrooms, chives and provolone, and served with house potatoes and green salad.  It was a big plate and everything in it was good.

Charles got the New Orleans Benediction--fancy name for a crab cake benedict.  It was good but their hollandaise sauce didn't impress me much.

Lucas got himself a meal too--grilled cheese sandwich with french fries.  He ate some of the fries and maybe a fourth of the entire sandwich.

Sunday came and because we ate out all Saturday (we also went to a favorite Japanese place for dinner), I decided I should cook.

I started off the day with freshly baked corn bread.  I was going to make waffles and bacon, but when I opened the pantry to get some flour, I saw a box of corn meal.  And just like that, I had a change of heart.

This was my share.  It was so good with coffee.  This was brunch!

For dinner, I decided to have something light.  The day before, I got a nice-looking skirt steak at the groceries and immediately thought "tacos"!  I don't crave for Mexican food but when I want something different, tacos can be a good fix.  It's quick, easy to make and delicious.

How I made Mexican dinner today--

First, I grilled the skirt steak.

Then I have soft taco shells warmed up in the steamer.

I put a little bit of guacamole,

a little bit of sour cream,

put thin slices of the skirt steak,

and topped them with some home-made salsa.

And then I roll them up.  Beans or rice would be good in there too, but I didn't have them on mine.

This turned out good!  I think I'll make this more often.  This will be good to bring on picnics too.

But I did miss something today.  An ice-cold or blended margarita, served in a chilled glass with salt on the rim would have completed my Mexican meal.  Maybe next time...

Celebrating 5

Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary.  I find it very comforting that we've survived 5 years, although I think the first 5 years of most marriages is the easiest to deal with.  Couples are still very much in love, they're practically still newly-weds, they explore and discover new things about each other, yet they're more patient when dealing with each other's differences.  From what I was told, patience grows thinner as couples get more and more acquainted and invested in each other.

In our case, the husband and I probably had more challenges before our marriage than after.  So we have foreseen what our biggest challenges will be.  We knew what we were get into and so far, we have managed to work out our differences, which we have a whole lot of.  We are so different, but our differences make us a good fit.

To celebrate our 5th year, we both took the day off and just spent the day with each other. It was his idea (which made it even more special to me).  I had to work the early part of the day--there were commitments that I couldn't cancel at the last minute, but the rest of the day was all about "us". 

He took me to Bodega Bay, a charming little town off the Pacific coast about 45 minutes drive from our place.  We had lunch at a seafood restaurant by the wharf.  The sun was up but it was 59 degrees.  We walked around for a bit, held hands, and when we found ourselves cold from the ocean breeze, we hopped into the car and just drove around.  We ended up at another charming little town called Point Reyes Station. We took a corner at our favorite oyster farm, had a little picnic and before we knew it we had talked the afternoon away.

It was a little surreal for me at first, and strange at times. There were moments when I felt like we just started dating.  There were periods of prolonged silence and in my mind I was struggling to find something to say to him.  It was really strange considering that when we're together at home, we never run out of things to talk about. Perhaps we weren't used to being alone anymore. Since Lucas came, we hardly got away as a couple.  The few times that we got away without Lucas, we were taking care of business.

It was only until we got our spot at the picnic area that I began to collect myself and asked him, "are you happy?" to which he said "yes" without hesitation. That was the start of a wonderful conversation that ended in us making a promise to make every effort to stay the way we are now--in love, devoted and honest with each other.  It was also then that I realized how much we have both matured--as individuals and as a couple. Maybe part of such maturity came alongside parenthood. We both embraced it and allowed ourselves to grow in it.

Our marriage will never be perfect, that I am certain.  All else is uncertain.  At the end of the day, we asked ourselves where we think we're going to be five years from now, and ten years from now.  We both don't have the answers. But there is one thing I feel so strongly about--that wherever life takes us, we will still be together and we will be together for a long time.  And I find comfort in the thought that we are meant to be.  And because God brought us together, He will not break us apart.  And so I pray...

On Explosion And Parenthood

"LARGE EXPLOSION MAY NEED BACKUP.

YES I SAID LARGE EXPLOSION MAY NEED BACKUP.

I HAVE TO WAIT

SHE'S STILL GOING..."

This was a desperate text from a husband to his wife.  He was watching 3-month old baby, while she was working out at the gym.  This cracked me up so much!

The wife happens to be my good friend, Lori. Her daughter, 3-month old Bianca, is the newest addition to my growing pool of godchildren.  I went to see them last week at Bianca's baptism in San Diego.  And one of the things we ended up talking about when I was there, inadvertently over lunch, was "explosions".

For those of you who aren't parents yet, "explosion" is what we call the incident when a baby releases too much soft poop.  More often than not, it's too much for the diaper to contain that it soils the clothes too.  Every parent hates dealing with this (admit it, parents!)--I know of some who would just rip or cut the clothes off and throw them away and not even bother washing them. I am one of them, although when this happened a few times with Lucas, my one-of-a-kind, keeper husband dealt with them.  He lovingly hand-washed the poop-soiled clothes before throwing them into the washing machine.  He did this so many times.

I have huge admiration for dads who are very hands-on with their kids.  Those who set aside time to take care of the kids so we, moms can be relieved of baby duties, get away or do our own thing and keep our sanity--just like my friend Lori's husband who happily takes care of Bianca while her mommy watches a movie with her friends or goes to the gym to get back in shape.  Lucky her!  And lucky me--I have one of those too! :-)

I also admire dads who stay home and be the kid's primary caregiver while the wife works full time.  It's not because these husbands don't want to go to work, in fact I know how bad this is for their ego and morale.  But they choose to do it because at the end of the day, it is the most practical and makes the most financial sense.

In this day and age where men and women have equal opportunities, I think it matters not who takes care of the kids.  What matters is that the kids get adequate care and attention from both parents, including working parents like us.  We only work an average of 8-10 hours a day, out of 24. There has to be plenty of time left.

Third Career

Sample Photobook

There is nothing more fulfilling to me, a rookie photographer than to get a sweet message from a client expressing how much she loves the photos I took of her son and her family.

Juliet, a sister of a friend, asked me to take photos of her 5-month old son, Jerrod. She saw my photos of her niece in a banner and a "thank-you" card and loved them. She first asked if I was in the business and I just said "not really--not actively promoting it but I would do it if there is an opportunity". And so we made a deal. She followed up with an email, we worked out a schedule and we made it happen. The plan was to only have portraits taken of Jerrod but I suggested we might as well take family photos. I won't charge her extra for it. She said, "that would be nice, but I don't know how that will work. My older son will not cooperate."

3.5-year old Brandon

I spent about an hour and a half at their place. It was tough at first. Indeed, her older son did not want to work with us. They did everything they could to make him pose and smile--from promising him things to threatening him, those didn't work.  He had a little Fisher-Price camera with him (which was a real digital camera) and said he wants to be the one taking photos. So I had to make another deal with him--I let him take my photos and I take his. He agreed. So I took a spot, smiled for him, struck several poses while he clicked away with his Fisher-Price camera.  When all this was done, I said, "It's my turn!"
When the photos came out, I was pleased.  My friend, the boy's aunt was shocked to see that his nephew actually did pose for me. She said, "Wow, really??? He posed for you?"

5-month old Jerrod

I don't normally include prints in the package.  I don't want to deal with prints.  I give electronic copies on a DVD and leave it up to the clients to have them printed. I give them recommendations on where to get prints. It's cheaper for them that way.  But Juliet asked that I include prints so I did. It took a while for the prints to come back but it was worth the wait. The quality was so much better than the prints we could get form Walgreens or Costco.

Some pages of the sample Photobook

I gave Juliet a bonus Photobook too, which she didn't expect.  And this blew her away!  I had thought about creating a sample photobook and sell it as an add-on and saw an opportunity with Juliet's photos.  She loved it so much that she insisted to pay for it.  I nicely declined saying my brand is all over it, so she should keep it and show it off to her friends and family.  That's all I asked in return.  I think that was a good marketing move.  A friend of hers, who is expecting has asked me to take photos of her baby when she comes out.  Yay!

Another page from the book

Juliet thought I should make a career out of photography.  I have thought about that, but I don't know that I have everything I need to pursue it--the tools, the time and the energy.  But having it as a third career sounds doable.  It'll have to be a third--third only to my being mom and my full-time job at Thomson.

We'll see how it goes.  For now, I'll grab whatever opportunity comes my way, make the most of what I have and continue to be encouraged by happy clients like Juliet.

More photos of Juliet's baby and family are available at my Facebook Page.

Misty Saturday

What gets me out of bed on a dark, rainy Saturday morning...

...the sweet aroma of freshly-brewed Kona coffee,

a stack of home-made waffles,

whipped cream and fresh fruit on top,

my boys up early,

and having a fun time!

All of these--not something I would want to miss.  

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!!!