May you always shoot for the stars…be young at heart…and never stop playing with Lego! Check out the massively embarrassing score difference between you and me at Disneyland’s Buzz Lightyear ride (circa 2005)…I look forward to narrowing this gap and possibly kicking your ass someday. Even when you’re old and gray and 103 years old, I’ll always be right next to you…because I’m your lobster for life. Happy Birthday Baby!
Archive for the ‘family & friends’ Category
happy birthday ak!
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
cheers to the ox!
Thursday, January 29th, 2009Happy Chinese New Year everybody! I’ve been celebrating with my entire family for the past few days and here are some photos of the culinary delights that were enjoyed by all.
Making dumplings is a tradition that I cherish…especially when I get to make them with my Grandma. And that’s exactly what we did on Chinese New Year’s Eve. She always makes the dumpling skins from scratch and rolls each one out with a rolling pin…in perfect little circles…thicker in the middle and thinner along the edges (I have yet to master this skill). My job was filling the skins and pinching the edges together to form pudgy little crescent-shaped dumplings. Then we cooked them in a big pot of boiling water and ate them with some homemade chili sauce…yummmmm.
Then the next day there was another family potluck dinner with the other side of my family. Yes…that’s king crab, fish, spicy tuna rice bundles, rice cakes, meatball cabbage soup (secret family recipe), oxtail (for year of the Ox), walnut shrimp, avocado salmon, spaghetti with meatballs, mushroom ravioli, and so many other side dishes…including divine tiramisu for dessert. There was so much variety and abundance…it was truly a joyful and humbling experience. May this new year bring good health, prosperity and sweetness to all!
zoe the magical baby
Monday, January 19th, 2009Our niece Zoe (aka Sushi November…named by her 3 1/2 year-old brother) turned 1 year old over the weekend…Happy Birthday Zoe! Here she is photographed with her mama…outfitted in her traditional Korean dress as is the custom when celebrating the first year birthday. She is so sweet, warm and cuddly…even AK is completely smitten by her…now THAT is truly a magical baby. (Photo taken by AK)
for my dad
Sunday, January 11th, 2009I normally don’t post on weekends, but today is a special day because it would have been my Dad’s 65th birthday. My family says that our Chinese culture typically adds an extra year, so I guess he would have been 66 years old according to them. It’s been almost 15 years since his death and it is still not easy to accept. Every year we always celebrate his birthday by cooking and setting out all of his favorite foods in a traditional incense-burning offering ritual. Here is a vintage photo of my Dad at age 27…I like remembering the way he lived his life…with integrity, perseverance, laughter, love and lots of goofiness. Happy Birthday Ba…I miss you everyday.
happy 2009!
Thursday, January 1st, 2009AK and I rang in the new year with one of our favorite pastimes – a nail-biting-sitting-at-the-edge-of-your-seat game of Scrabble (I know I know…we are such party animals) and the final score was: AK at 255 and victorious me at 329…WOOHOO!!!!!!! Here’s to even more victories and other WOOHOO moments (not just for me), but also for AK and all the rest of my dear family and friends – Happy New Year!
sweeten your day
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008My good friend from high school and her husband are the owners/creators of an award-winning boutique bakery based in the Oakland/San Francisco area called Teacake Bakeshop. I have been so incredibly proud of them from the beginning of their business, and over the years my complete awe of their dedication, perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit continues to grow exponentially. They offer cookies galore, beautifully decorated cupcakes, the most sinful brownies and a plethora of other delectables to “sweeten your day” as needed. Everything is available online, but their actual stores are a must-visit if you are in the neighborhood. They’ve got regularly scheduled baking classes and several different philanthropic programs that benefit a variety of causes. Needless to say, everything is truly to-die-for and I always have to wipe the drool off my keyboard after looking through the Teacake Bakeshop website – here are some photos to get you going…
pet parade
Monday, December 1st, 2008This is Shadow (left) and Buddy (right) who decided to dress up for Halloween a few years ago (probably 2005 or 2006). I used to work with them at KBDA, an award-winning graphic design studio in Los Angeles. They were excellent staff members who served as the official greeters…and of course they were appropriately compensated with loads of treats and affection. I miss them and this photo always makes me smile and think of all the fun workplace memories I had with them (and their owners too!) Photo sent by Shadow’s Mama.
happy anniversary to us!
Friday, October 24th, 2008It’s our four-year wedding anniversary today…woot! But we’ve actually been together for over 13 years, so it feels a lot longer than just four years…in a really good way of course. During my search for a photo of us to post, AK asked me if I would consider a retro photo from our college days at UCLA. My brain wasn’t able to formulate an answer to the question because it couldn’t get past the fact that he referred to our college days as “retro”…where did all the time go? It’s amazing how fast these years have gone by and the only thing I have to say is: I love our life together. Cheers to you and me! (Photo taken in 2004 at UCLA by Leslie Barton, our amazingly talented wedding photographer)
polly’s spa day
Saturday, October 18th, 2008About every 3-4 weeks, Polly gets a fancy spa day at a nearby pet grooming facility where pet owners can wash and groom their pets themselves. AK is the sole dog washer in the family and it is not an easy task to wrestle with a 60+ pound wet and soapy mixed terrier/rottweiler. I am very grateful to AK for doing this regularly…and I must say that he has become quite the pet stylist extraordinaire! And since I was at work today and couldn’t be there to help, he snapped off some photos to share…during the wash and after the blow-dry. Polly is too cute for words…she melts my heart every time!
twigs in profile
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
My husband AK is having his first photography exhibit “Twigs in Profile” showcasing images of tree silhouettes from various locations in the Los Angeles area. His curiosity in photography was first sparked when my Uncle Eddy gave us his unused Canon 20D a few years ago. Since then, AK has acquired a few more fancy lenses and has amassed quite a portfolio of images from a wide variety of experiences ranging from daily life of family and friends to special events like the San Diego Comic Con and Anime Expo. Among my favorites are photos of our funny and ornery Polly (aka PollyBear, P-Dog, Beast, and PollyPoops). I also especially like these portraits of our nephew Sinjin taken on the day his baby sister Zoe was born. Visit AK’s flickr site to see more of his work.