Christmas Tree Farm

It is our annual tradition to go to a Christmas tree farm in Carnation on Black Friday to find our Christmas tree.  The kids are always excited for this outing since it means it is getting a lot closer to Christmas, one of their favorite holidays.  It was very icy and cold the year before, but we were blessed with a sunny and warmer weather.  The blue sky and faint green of the mountains were very pretty to look at and so were the deep green and proud looking trees all lined up waiting for someone to take them home.  It usually doesn't take too long to find our tree.  The children get more excited to find the tree than finding the pumpkin they like at the pumpkin patch.  It probably is because we never actually buy a single pumpkin at the farm.  We only go there to take pictures! 

We found the lucky tree in a short while and Daddy got busy cutting it down.  We laid the tree carefully on the pull cart and the girls helped pull it to the tent where they prepare the tree to go home.  Watching the man swiftly load the tree to the vibration machine to shake off the excess debris is always fun.  They wrap the tree in a net to compact it and the tree is ready to be loaded onto the car.  We usually have the workers at the farm secure the tree on the roof of the car, but Mike tried it this time.  Mike opened the sunroof cover so that we can see the tree as we drove.  Sean noticed that the tree was shifting as we hit the highway.  It started to tilt sideway and the kids were terrified that the tree might fly off the car.  I was starting to get worried, too.  For me, the worry was injuring someone behind us.  We decided to exit the first exit in Issaquah to stop.  I didn't know how but we ended up safely at Krispy Kream parking lot, tree hanging 75 degrees sideway.  We were so glad that we didn't lose the tree and the whole stressful ordeal was over!  You should have been in the car.  It was a crying and screaming madness!  :-)  So, we got the doughnuts and we all felt better!

We set up the tree downstairs in the family room.  I miss having the tree in the main level though since I can't see it from the living room and kitchen where I usually spend time in.  We are not doing whole a lot on decoration this year since Mike and Sean are going to Japan and I didn't want to be left with the taking down duty by myself.  The kids are a bit disappointed that we didn't set up the outdoor lights, but I told them we will go see plenty of lights in other peoples' houses. 

Now that it is just five days before Christmas, I feel a bit of calm.  Presents are bought and half of them are wrapped.  The kids finished their school for the break and happily playing with each other.  The post flu shot cold made some of us sick, but we are recovering now.  The flu shots this year went incredibly well since it was given in nose-spray format.  No freaking out and running away.  I was relived!  Sean acted very strangely for a few days though after the spray was given.  He was extremely oppositional more than usual and acted out of sort.  I strongly suspect he has PANDAS, pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder.  It is an autoimmune disorder that causes the brain to act abnormally since the body has built an immunity to a strep bacterium and it also attacks the brain.  When he was as young as five, I noticed his behavioral changes after having a strep throat infection.  I'd mentioned it to his pediatrician and he asked me to monitor him.  According to some websites, kids with PANDAS react similarly to flu shots, particularly when given in the nose-spray format.  Go figure, but it was still worth it!  I almost felt like dying last year and the year before with a fever as high as 104F from flu, so I am glad my children all got vaccinated.

We might get a white Christmas this year with a slight chance of snow.  Sean is counting on snow and it would be a magic if everything was white outside in the morning.   I love this time of the year.  Being a family of six feels extra special during the Holiday season.  Despite all, I am so incredibly lucky to have a great husband and four cute children.  I am usually the type to see the glass half empty, but in some rare times I see it full :-)

Thanksiving 2015

I sort of become a squirrel around this time of the year running around collecting food from various stores and storing them into our two refrigerators.  At about the same time, the parking lot and shopping etiquette of people go south, probably from the stress of conquering all the things they have to do between mid November and December.  Those two months are the busiest months in America and ironically the time we forget what actually we are celebrating.  I can't really complain because I am one of those unspiritual and ungraceful ones.  Let the acid boil in the stomach, it's a Holiday time!

Thanksgiving was very cozy and nice at our house.  Shasha and grandpa drove all the way from Lewiston with their energetic puppy, Archie.  Kids were so excited to see Archie and kept talking about the reunion for days and weeks.  I asked them "are you more excited to see Archie or granndpa and Shaha", and they took some time to think about that.  Sorry, Shasha and grandpa.  Archie has a strong grip on the kids' heart.

I was better prepared this year than previous years.  I decided on the menu and printed them out way in advance, made the shopping list and bought non-perishable items early.  It got hectic the last three days pre-Thanksgiving, but I found everything on the list by the day before.  I am glad because Trader Joe's was crazy busy.  The checkout line was dragging all way back to the back of the store.  Luckily, my line went fast which is a very different scenario than usual. 

I changed things around a bit this year with the menu.  Instead of rubbing spice mixture on turkey on outer skin, I put the mixture under the skin.  My goal was to make the turkey moist and flavorful.  Even the stuffing was a bit different.  I made Mushroom and Leek Bread Pudding by Inna Garten on Food Network and it was delicious!  It was lighter than my usual recipe since it doesn't contain any sausages, yet the texture and hint of mushroom flavor mixed with sweet leek was a perfect match.  I will keep this recipe for sure.  All the guests liked it.  I didn't make the traditional green bean casserole, either.  The problem with the typical casserole is that it is way too rich.  It tastes good but I can't eat more than two bites.  I picked Green Beans with Lemon and Garlic by Patrick and Gina Neely.  I am a Food Network fan as you can tell.

We enjoyed the dinner very much.  We had Nana of course and Mike's colleague from work who brought us two beautiful poinsettias.   The kids didn't eat much as they were excited about the whole ordeal but we let them slide.  Archie cleaned the floor by eating all the food we dropped.  We need a dog just for that part.  Our cat Grace didn't seem so cool for her lazy cat attitude.  Poor girl was hiding in my bedroom since Archie was here.  She does not like any other animals and she becomes a beast when she sees another. 

Grandpa's visit was short but he promised he will be back in spring.  The pass to get here gets snow, so winter is a tough time to visit.  Thank you for making the trip, Bob and Marsha! 

Now the big event, Christmas!  And... only five more days until kids' school is out!!

Sunday Gotta Do's

We live in a land where every Sunday is ruled by football games.  We have to arrange the outing or not go out at all if our favorite Seahawks is playing.  Even if the Seahawks isn't playing, there are a few games on TV to keep the big boys glued to the TV.  I don't like that one bit!  In my opinion, how could you even sit in front of the TV that long watching an almond shaped ball thrown around and a bunch of grown men in shoulder pads and helmet crash into each other?  I don't mind watching the home team play, but I can't invest my time over which team wins if they don't relate to Seattle.  Mike and his friends play the fantasy football, so they are glued to what happens to his picked players.  He busily rallies his eyes from his phone to TV as if he is waiting for a lucky power ball number to match.  Looking my boys watch football makes me feel heavy.  Like a rock.  Because they kind of become a rock, unwilling to move their bums away from the TV room.

I finally said to Mike "let's do something fun just for a short while!" and he didn't seem interested at first, but I managed to convince him to go to Snoqualmie Falls since I read on the news that the famous fall has unbelievable amount of  water due to heavy rain we had for the past few days.  To get everyone on board is always a challenge in our house.  We have to make sure everyone went potty before we leave and pick the right jacket to wear.  There is always one of them whining, discontent of the plan we set.  We always manage to get out fine in the end, but we are often shaking our heads driving away from our house thinking why does it have to be a chaos every single time?!

When we got on I-90, we spotted snow on the mountain!  Our first snow of the season.  We are hopeful we will get more snow this year compared with the sad result from last winter.  Maybe we will try skiing this year or at least sledding.  The kids love to play in the snow.  Things surrounding me are reminding me more and more that Christmas is coming soon!  Oh boy, am I ready!?  We saw more snow as we got nearer to Snoqualmie.  It is only 20 minutes away from our house yet the air is crisp and fresh.  We parked the car and walked together to the main attraction.

The reason why I wanted to go out was because I wanted Noah to experience and see different sites as much as possible.  I also wanted Noah to learn walking nicely with us.  He used to try to run away or scream when he can't drag us to the place he wanted to go.  He is doing that less and less and I think these little practice outing helps.  Mike held his hand and he did great!  I am happy he walked calmly and didn't scream.  The only time he cried was when we started to walk back to the car.  He was having so much fun, he didn't want to go home!  I lost Mike, Noah, and Aly towards the end and Sean, Saya and I looked for them up and down the path, but we couldn't locate them.  Finally, we walked back to the car hoping they are waiting for us there.  That wasn't the case.  I forgot my cell phone in the car, so I could not call him.  While waiting, we noticed that the woods behind the parking lot is dark and pretty.  Sean wanted to pose for some photos, so we had a mini portrait session then until we reunite with Mike's team.  Saya joined in, too, and we took some cute pictures of them.  Sean's a tough model now since he demands to see the photo I took and give me an advice on how it should be taken!  He is such a know it all.  I feel sorry for his future wife!

We had a great day even though Seahawks lost.  I don't know what happened to our Superbowl champ!  We certainly lost the bling this year.  As everything on earth have waves, I guess Seahawks is having a downward wave now.  I am glad I am not so attached to football like Mike anymore so that my mood won't be swayed by the team win and loss!  Have a great week everyone.

If I have Russian, French and Lebanese readers, I wanted to let you know how deeply sorry I am for what happened to your fellow countrymen, women and children in recent days.  As a citizen of this beautiful planet, I feel lines on our map and which God or no God you believe in are all invisibly tiny part of the green, blue, brown and white you see on a picture of earth.  If we could all see with our naked eyes how beautiful our planet is maybe we can all realize our true mission in life is to protect our home, our big home, for the future generations.  I can only dream about peace but someday it is possible. 

Fall Photoshoot and Gym

It is that time of the year again to start thinking about Christmas cards.  The weather has deteriorated for the past few days and I wasn't sure if we get any chances to take nice pictures of the children.  I noticed that the leaves from the large Japanese Maple in the front have fallen and making our driveway look like a orange carpet, so I decided to have the children play with them and take their pictures.  Children look the best when they are naturally smiling.  No matter how naughty they might be, they look like angels!  My kids are still innocent enough to get immersed in play and forget that I am taking pictures of them.  I think the pictures turned out well.  I already started to make the card and it looks very cute.

I was so wiped today, like my arms and legs have weights strapped on.  I suffered greatly in yoga this morning and I could not even do basic poses properly!  I think it is because I worked out way too much this week.  I wrote that I am angry at my body right now and I hit the gym like I can literally sizzle out the weight as I work out.  That did not happen of course as it takes time, but I am left with a pretty burned out muscles!  Mentally, I am as energetic as usual but I was yawning a lot all day.  I will take it easy next week maybe reducing the gym frequency to two from five! 

Microsoft offers a membership to a pretty awesome gym at a reduced price.  It is a high end luxury gym and it offers three massive cardio floors with varieties of equipment, one brightly lighted, the other slightly dimmed and a darkroom where you can only see the floor lights and TV.  I always use the dark room because it seems cooler and it is next to their gigantic free weights room.  The gym has 4 floors (two in the basements) and it is ginormous.  I got lost in it once trying to find the workout room on the bottom floor.  The women's locker room is awesome as well. It has a spa that has a steam and sauna rooms plus two hot tubs which look like a Turkish bathhouse.  It has two restaurants and four clean pools that hold the family swim time with floating bouncy on the weekend.  I feel pretty lucky to have an access to such a superb gym. 

So, the cards in order and I am on my way to getting my body back before the holidays.  I don't know why I'd bother.  I know I am going to overeat during the Holiday.  Mike's going to Japan with Sean and I am in charge of the rest of the children for two weeks!   I am going to worry about it later.  At least I am training by brain to think Gym = Fun!

Pictures Taken in Japan

I haven't been able to edit the pictures I took in Japan, but here are a few of them that I edited tonight.  Aaah, the beauty!  Japan is a truly a beautiful country.  You discover the beauty of your country when you live oversea.  It is ironic but true.  I hope you can sense the appreciation of comfort and endless fascination I feel towards my country.   I am sorry I am way too tired to add a caption for each but I promise I will do it over the weekend.  I have been working out at the gym every single day this week for an hour of cardio plus stretch and weights.  I will write about it in the next post!  I am finally very angry with my fats.  I am sending them off for good.  Adios, fatos! I hope you enjoy the pictures! 

Campbell's Book Picks

I have been reading to Sean almost every night to introduce him to the wonderful world he can step into through books.  I have read several great books so far but the two that stand out are Wonder by R.J. Palacio and I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai. 

Wonder is an amazing read about a boy who has facial deformity by birth and how he and people around him realize a little courage can give a positive impact on others.  I won't get into the details, but Sean was hooked on this book and often asked me to keep reading more.  This is an excellent book to teach youth how important it is to have compassion for others.  The voice changes from the boy to her sister, her mother, his friends etc... so it is very interesting to hear how they perceive things differently and what their experiences are.  I cried reading the last few pages of the book and it left me with a cleansed sensation after reading.  If you have not read it yet, I highly recommend it!

The story about Malala is quite a famous one and since Sean has this age typical "girls sucks" attitude, I thought I would read the book to him to let him know how girls in other parts of the countries are fighting for their rights.  The book is a young readers edition so I think it left out some grizzly details about her shooting incident.  It does mention about flogging and murders committed by Taliban and Sean could not believe someone would choose to do such heinous things just because they don't obey their rules.  At first, Sean was saying that Malala is lucky she didn't have to go to school after Taliban took over, but after a while he was in disbelief about how such a basic thing in America has to become a cause of a battle.  I will show him the video of Malala's speech when she won the Nobel Peace prize.  He is now very interested in Malala's cause and I hope he will learn to be an equality advocate for women in the future.  It is an intense read but it has a great message for every reader. 

I suppose it might be best to avoid reading them before bedtime because you might have a hard time stopping.  I enjoyed reading them to Sean though!  Mike likes to "read" to him by listening to audio book with him, but I like to manually read because I think it will leave a lasting impression to the children and they feel my love for them.  I am a busy Mom but I like to take a little quiet time with my children before their bedtime. 

It is time for me to find another book to read to Sean.  Do you have a favorite children's novel?

Red Carpet Event

Jen and I had a little adventure in a place where I have never imagined, the mall!  We were invited to a special VIP event to kick off the opening of the UNIQLO Seattle from a person who dressed like a baby piggy-backed behind grandma in Capital Hill on Halloween.  We befriended the "baby" named William and it happened that he was the store manager for the new UNIQLO that is to open.  He graciously invited us to the VIP invitation only event flocked by fashion bloggers and we were glad he did! 

I shop at UNIQLO in Japan often because I like their basic design, higher than average quality and price.  They have a weekly sale and I looked forward to Thursdays' flyer for the weekend sale.  I was very happy to hear the news about it coming to Bellevue.  I no longer have to stuff my suitcase with my purchases from Japan!  My shopping life is definitely getting better.  Bellevue is currently reinventing the city-scape and scenes.  Despite being one of the richest cities in America, driving around the city never gives the impression.  There are old strip malls with poor designed parking lots, stores are spread apart so much that people have to drive everywhere, the main roads are congested and panhandlers are on every corner... It is going to change though with the new business district springing up and the light rail system coming to Bellevue.  I do like old buildings and city with a character, but I am excited for it to become a more organized and efficient city. 

Back to the main subject... Jen and I had a lot of fun at the UNIQLO party.  They served hors d'oeuvre and had a couple of bars to get some drinks.  There were many people who were way more stylish than I was mingling happily.  Jen and I checked out the whole store, touching things and finally trying out some jackets and skirts.  The products were the same as in Japan, except they did not have children's character T-shirts.  I was hoping they do since my children like Japanese cartoon characters.  We saw William but he seemed busy so we didn't want to disturb him.  I had a special item in my bag, Sean's football, because I knew a Seahawks player was going to be there.  I was looking around the store and spotted Jermaine Kearse and his wife, Marisa, talking to someone.  In Seattle, spotting someone famous means seeing Seahawks players.  I was very excited to see him there and I was determined to get his autograph for Sean. 

After the Japanese sake barrel pounding ceremony, I approached Jermaine and took a picture together.  He was a darling young man with very clean look.  I asked him if he could sign the ball and he said "sure!" and signed it.  He was smaller than Mike with tiny waist.  I wondered what it feels like to be able to move so nimbly on the field.  I wondered what it must feel like to be a professional athlete.  A very far world from mine but he was very friendly and nice.  I also got a photo with Jermaine's wife, Marisa.  She is a Lululemon model (high-end yoga brand) and stunningly beautiful girl.  I didn't know she was a graduate of University of Washington.  She must be a very smart girl as well!

We ended the night with a happy hour at Applebee's on the way home.  We had a lot of fun!  We now need to be invited to Zara's opening gala.  Anyone want to invite us!?

Yoga Photoshoot

I took my friend and Yoga teacher, Hanae, to the lake to take some artistic pictures of her a few weeks ago.  It was a warm gorgeous day, a bit too bright for picture's sake, but perfect otherwise.  My professional grade camera is amazing and I still feel a bit swallowed by the more complex set ups and not so user-friendly interface.  More practice is needed but I am starting to get a hang of it. 

Hanae is amazing.  She is a pretty girl to begin with but what she can do with her body is a photographer's dream.  She is strong and super flexible.  I have been learning Yoga from her since February, but I am terribly inflexible still.  I am starting to think maybe there is something wrong with my joints!  I gained some muscles but I haven't lost any weight, therefore I look thicker than before.  I should not worry about my size as long as I am healthy, but I do miss being told "you are so skinny!" 

The photoshoot went well.  As an on location photographer, I have to look for the perfect background, light, and pose.  There are also details such as the angle of the face and body, whether the eyes should look at the camera etc... which if you are not in tune with the subject and the location, it gets overwhelming sometimes.  So many choices to make while you are having a light conversation with the client.  In the end, though, I look through the lens and know.  I sometimes do a 360 degrees shooting to see which angle is better.  When it is right I know.  The realization comes though the lens plus when I edit at home.  Like picking a perfect word in a poem, it feels right when the picture becomes as perfect as it can be.

I feel like an artist now.  I am certainly building confidence with every shooting opportunity I get.

Thanks, Hanae!