New Dishes This Week

I am trying out a few new recipes this week. Here they are...click on the links to see the recipes:

 Cheese Potato and Smoked Sausage bake

Chicken in Basil Cream

One Pot Tortellini and sausage in a Tomato Cream Sauce

Roasted Lemon Potatoes

Some Moments of Memory

Moments from 2013:

1) Added pets

We went from a family of 7 to a family of 10 this year. Well, 11 but one died. We added Molly (Mum's beloved dog) and Guinea. Then Guinea passed away and we added Daisy and Nori the guinea pigs. Yes, we are officially a zoo. Dama suggested today we open for a petting zoo. But I keep thinking about the kids, what they are going to look back on, the time when they will be gone and we can say we went the extra mile to have a big full family which includes our very loved pets. Maile turned 14 this year too and is doing really well.

2) I became a hardcore soccer mom

I bought the sleeping bag coat and fell in love with it. I have all the warm gear. I look forward to Soccer Saturdays. My life begins at 4pm shuttling the kids to soccer. Loving this sport has been a wonderful experience for me. The people that have been placed in my life and the kids' lives because of soccer have all been incredible. The coaches the kids have had that have made an impact on them and their dreams. We've done a lot of sports: track, cross country, swimming, skating, baseball, gymnastics, Aikido...and the soccer community are so real and so fun. The sport itself has inspired my kids to work hard in all areas. And I get front row seats!

 

4) I got glasses

What can I say? You turn 40 and things start falling apart.

3) Caring for and saying goodbye to my Mum

I look back and I did all I could. I miss her so much. The time seeing her decline was the hardest thing I have ever had to face. But I also know that the way she passed away, she avoided all of her worst nightmares. There is some peace in knowing that for me. She just slipped away. Many times over the years I have wondered how her life would end. I hoped that it would be in a way that she kept her dignity and did not drag out as those were her greatest wishes for the end. Thank goodness her wishes were honored by the universe.
Today I thought about how my husband will face the decline of his parents and it made me realize that this chapter of my life is done. In some ways, it is so peaceful to know I will never have to face the loss of a parent again. It was so painful. That chapter is closed. I miss you Mum. You were the greatest.

Elite Player Development 2013

This year, Lucas was invited to tryout for the Elite Player Development program with Washington Youth Soccer. What is it? It is essentially a state team for Washington put together from clubs across the state. You can't just show up for tryouts, you have to be identified by a certified coach in the state and then invited to try out. The boys get to wear the Sounders uniform and eventually move into the Sounders Academy if they keep making the team.

 

We had no idea this type of program existed until we got the email that Lucas had been recommended and then invited. So we packed him up down to Starfire (where the Sounders practice) and in 26 degree weather he had his first tryout.

We watched as he put in everything he had out there on the field. Yes, there were kids that had way more skill and footwork. But what Lucas had was hard word and determination! I am convinced it will take him so far.

He's now down to the final 35 before the next and last cut. It will be a long wait and a lot of nerves. But he has come so far already. They know his name and his face and his playing style now. He has made us so proud and he is having a blast. His club's coaching director is thrilled with his progress and he is representing our club amazingly!

 GO LUCAS!

Important Things

My Mum made the very best shortbread in the world. She usually only made it once a year around Christmas and I looked forward to it every year. Wherever I was...home, Hawaii, Japan, I always got a tin of her shortbread. She'd decorate the cookies with red and green sprinkles and those little silver edible balls.

Last year, she could not make them as her hands were really sore from carpal tunnel issues. So I asked her about that and why you needed your hands so much for making shortbread. She told me a story.

When she was little and her Mum was making shortbread, her Mum would put a stool at the counter, set my Mum up there and ask her to knead the butter and flour and sugar mixture. So Mum would knead away. And she'd declare she was done, but then her Mum would declare "you're not done". Mum told me she stood there kneading for what seemed like an eternity. She told me it was the secret to making the shortbread melt in your mouth.

After she passed away and we loaded all of her cherished things into our van, I remember wondering about the shortbread recipe. Why had I not asked to see it? Or asked her where it was? I felt such a huge lump in my throat thinking about not knowing where it was. I had located all her cookie cutters, the ones she had used for my cookies all these years. The familiar shapes that I'd known for so long. I found her stash of silver balls and sprinkles. But the recipe was not easily found.

I went through every cookbook and finally came upon the recipe in my Grandmother's cookbook. There was a little sticky note next to it so I knew Mum had marked it and that this was the one.

I think I am going to be spending a long time kneading today, on her birthday! Or maybe I should put Ellie on a little stool :)
Make sure you ask about these things. They seem so small but will be so important one day.

Mum

A beautiful woman was laid to rest on Oct 18th. I have a hard time thinking about blogging about this but I also want people to see how simple and beautiful her interment was. 

It was just my brother and I on a crisp and foggy morning in Vancouver. It was really odd to walk up and see my dad's plot look any different than it had looked in 39 years. But it was such a comfort to know they could be placed together and I am so grateful for that. 

We had a small posy of red roses that I had put with the kids there the day after she passed away and a gorgeous arrangement from Dama's parents.

It was so simple and peaceful, just as she would have wanted. There was no big fuss which aligned with her wishes. Half of her ashes were placed here and the other half will go to Scotland next year.

I love you Mum. You were the greatest. I miss you so much.

Thank you friends for all the beautiful cards (my mantle in covered!!), the meals, the flowers, the love, the warm blankets, the hugs, the phone calls....and for showing me that though she is gone I am never alone in this world!

What's Cooking?

Since I've been so busy going back and forth to Canada, home cooked meals have suffered. But I am back to cooking meals for the family and I have a couple of great recipes to share.

The first one I like is a roast chicken that is really simple and incredibly tasty. You can use this recipe for a whole chicken or chicken pieces. It's delicious both ways. Friends have asked me before how to roast a whole chicken. It is really one of the simplest meals you can make and it's healthy and has leftovers!

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Parsley

I am always on the look out for easy and fast recipes that taste great, especially for soccer nights. Something I can prep beforehand and then finish when the kids get home. One of the recipes I go to many times is a korean flavored ground beef recipe. Its simple and delicious and once you get the hang of this dish, I can make it with my eyes closed.

Korean Beef

Just a tip: I buy fresh ginger, peel it and cut it into portion sizes and then freeze.
Let me know if you try these 2 recipes!

Halloween 2013: iPod and Nerd

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. It seems like this may be one of the last ones where we do our own neighborhood, just that small loop with all the kids, just that small bag of candy.

This year, there were a lot of requests from the kids' friends to join in their trick or treating fun. We ended up having one friend each come by our hood and then we went to visit other friends throughout the evening. Elise ended up with 9 1/2 pounds of candy from a trunk or treat on the 30th and Halloween combined. Sheer teeth rotting craziness!!

Lucas asked to be an iPod 2 days before Halloween. Thanks, buddy. This is not something you can order online or find in a store so I set off to make it. It actually was not too difficult to do.

Here's what I used:

-black display board with the wings cut off
-white cord
-2 cardboard tubes (I used the tubes that glowsticks come in)
-styrofoam ball
-silver spray paint
-glue gun

I printed the icons from the internet. I found a zip file online with some of them but the results were better with these steps:

1. I google imaged "angry birds app icon" (and whatever other icons I wanted)and saved the highest def one I could find
2. Opened it in Picasa
3. Set my print settings to 8x10 paper size, shrink to fit, and shrink to 65%
4. Print on white cardstock!

The ear buds were the fun part. I cut a foam ball in 2, hot glued the tubes onto the ball halves, then glued the cord with LOTS of hot glue into the tubes. I attached the cord onto the back of the board with a stronger glue that needed to dry overnight.

Ellie was the cutest nerd ever. Her costume was easy and was a combination of Goodwill, costume store and what we had on hand. Her friend came as a nerd too. These girls had a bast together!

Girlfriend Cruise 2013

In September, I set sail with 11 of my girlfriends on a one night cruise. It was a really fun and relaxing weekend, which I really needed at the time.

We boarded the boat, the Star Princess, at around noon and sat right down to a buffet lunch. There was a huge variety of food to choose from! Then we hit the pool! Thankfully it was a beautiful September day, still warm and the sun was shining! Hot tub time with the ladies, we took over one of the hot tubs on the lido deck. A couple of drinks and before we knew it it was time for dinner.

Dinner was really good! You can order as many things from the menu as you'd like! 3 appetizers? No problem! 2 entrees? Sure! That kind of blew my mind. I'm not big on wasting food so I just ordered one from each section and everything was tasty.

After dinner, we took in a comedy show and then hit the night club. There was a lot of fun and dancing til about 230am...I was one of the first ones to tap out and go to bed! So much fun to just let loose and be around my dear friends.

Back in the Saddle

Hello friends.

I am getting the itch to start blogging again! I miss keeping track of all the fun, the good times, the adventure and the not-so-good too. I miss reflecting every week on the goings on with my kids and family and documenting things. I miss crafting to put it on my blog. I miss reading your comments and feedback.

So I am going to start blogging again! I came to this page and saw how cute it is, how many moments I blogged about that I had forgotten about! Thank goodness I had those moments written down.

So I hope you will follow me again. My interests have changed but it's still me in my evolution as a mom, wife and human being. Thank you for coming back :)

Typical April Weekend!

 It was a pretty typical April weekend for us! This means....crammed full of stuff to do and fun things too!

Ellie's best friend was baptized this weekend. It was a very sweet ceremony and we are really happy for Karma on such an important day to her. I'm happy we went to show our love for her! The girls both looked so beautiful.

 

Then it was Ellie's party after that (with a birthday party in between the baptism and Ellie's party). She decided to have it at the ice rink she takes skating lessons at. It was such a fun party! We had an instructor there for the first 20 minutes to hep the kids get on their feet and be safe. They all did great actually. 8 is a good age to have a party like this.

 

I ordered blue iced cupcakes and added some cute touches: marshmallow clouds and xtreme rainbows! They turned out cute and the kids loved them.

More action shots:

 

Then we had an outdoor photo session for the kids. I picked the river trail where I spend a lot of time because I love it there and it's so green and pretty right now. The kids did so well and looked so cute. Funny story: as we were just finishing up with pictures, we saw a mommy duck with her 3 tiny babies. We were all awwww'ing over them when Ellie piped up "we should go over there, get them and have a little snack"! This girl has a little evil streak :) I think the photographer's eyes bugged out of his head!

We also had playdates and sleepovers all mixed in, as well as a couple of baseball games. Thank you Mum for helping me navigate all the craziness and to my friends who helped me this weekend!!

Craft Club April 2012

 Craft Club for April was at my place last night. We had a great turn out: 13! (14 if you count me!)

We learned how to make a variety of felt flowers to embellish a wreath.

 

This is how mine turned out. I especially love the dahlias and the little bunting in the middle. The hardest part was the burlap ruffle. Burlap + hot glue= ouch! But a little pain was worth the end result.

 

The dahlias are really easy but a little time consuming as you have to cut all the petals out individually. I made a little template which made things a lot quicker.

Life List: progress?

Revisited my life list today and managed to mark off some more things in green (and take one off the list in orange). Need to look at my list more often and make progress!

1) Get a Master's degree (probably in Social Work)
2) Own a dog
3) Learn to play the harmonica really well
4) Travel to Italy
5) Take a photography class: I am signed up for one in April
6) Set up a table at a craft fair
7) Have my own business: Check!
8) Create my own website on my own domain: Done!
9) Be a Big Sister
10) Get published in a scrapbooking magazine
11) Travel to China
12) Take a pottery class
13) Have a psychic reading done by John Edwards
14) Eat a piece of fruit every day for the rest of my life: I am doing a lot better on this
15) Build a composite backyard deck of my dreams (well, HAVE it built, not build it myself!)
16) Plant a vegetable garden
17) Learn operate a sewing machine and then to sew clothing
18) Run a marathon (did I really just type that??): I am on my way, I have a 5 k race in April
19) Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans
20) Go on a cruise
21) Volunteer at a soup kitchen
22) Go away with 4 best friends for an entire week
23) Recycle everything I possibly can
24) Re-finish an old chest of drawers
25) Keep my recipe book up to date so I can pass it on to Ellie one day
26) Take a hip hop dance class with Lucas
27) Be an advocate for people in need
28) Make sure my friends and family know how much I love and appreciate them: I am trying harder to do this and I believe I have been a lot more open about my feelings especially when it comes to my friends.
29) Take my Mum on a trip, just her and I, to the place of her choice
30) Drive across the USA
31) Have a consistent family game night every week
32) Take a yoga class
33) Take an anger management class
34) Go to Iceland
35) Sponsor a child in a foreign country: More news on this soon but it requires a whole new blog post :)
36) Do the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk <----off the list, never will support any Komen events, would switch to any other agency benefiting cancer care and research that respects women.
37) Have a flower garden that I can make beautiful bouquets from (dahlias, small sunflowers, daisies)
38) Learn how to use Photoshop
39) Make a quilt
40) Get a tattoo with a friend
41) Go to an event/evening where I have to wear a ball gown
42) Make sure I never tell people I love that I didn't call or keep in touch because "I have been Sooooooo busy": This one is easy
43) To get to know my brother better
44) Have a "summer home" or cabin
45) Go to the Oprah Show
46) Take graphic art/design classes

The Tooth Fairy

This morning, Dama was up early. Lucas came in the room and climbed into bed next to me. He said to me "I caught Daddy putting money under my pillow. I was awake and I thught it was you coming in to cover me up so I just lay there with my eyes closed. I saw Daddy putting the money under my pillow". Through his tears, he asked me if we were really the tooth fairy all along.

He was so....sad! I wrapped him up in my arms and let him talk about all that was on his mind. I felt tears welling up in my eyes too. I knew if I told him at this point, he'd be heartbroken. And to be honest, it was breaking my heart too. I asked him "if it really was us, would you want to know"? He said he did. So I held him close and we lay there silently. He cried and I cried too.

After a couple of minutes of silence, he said "can you go talk to Daddy about why he did that? Maybe he has a reason". So I left and talked to Dama. We decided to go with one more "explanation" that he had found it under HIS pillow and was simply putting it where it belonged. Dama and I came back in the room and told him that. He processed for a while and mentioned he had been up to the bathroom during the night, so maybe she was confused as to where he was.

I just don't know what the right thing to do is. I want to be honest with him but he so much wants to still believe. And I think I'm going to help him with that for a little longer.

A Lighter Load

A couple of days ago, I received a text asking if Lucas would try out for Minors baseball. We had registered him for farm (which has no tryouts and the same level he was at last year: kid pitch to coach pitch after 4 balls). I had never really considered minors as last year was his first year and I figured (in my totally inexpert opinion) that he needed more work on basic skills before moving to minors. I talked to his coach about it and he said to go ahead and try out for minors.

When I talked to Lucas about it, he was excited. He pitched last year and chances are he will not pitch at all in minors for a couple years. He ok'd that (pitching is the cool job for this age)! We (me and Daddy) are going into this assuming he probably won't make it but great experience and a good skills assessment. Lucas is going into it excited but lacking a little confidence, nervous and I think he is expecting to not make it too. We have told him to just go have fun and either way he will play with a great team.

Let me back up to something that seems unrelated, but it will all come together. A few weeks ago, a mom at school who I am friends with mentioned that her son "Jack" and Lucas were having issues at recess. It sounded really uncharacteristic of Lucas but after asking him about it, I realized he wasn't being the greatest friend/teammate on the soccer field. Lucas and I talked at length about it and it seemed to come from him taking soccer way too seriously at recess time and it seemed like a trap he was caught in and couldn't find his way out. He had been critical towards his friend and his friend was hurt. Jack's mom and I had talked before about the myriad of issues on the lunch soccer field (involving all the boys). You put 20 very athletic, competitive boys on a field together without a referee and there will be fireworks!

Lucas and I talked it all out and came to some strategies on how to help the situation. We talked every day after school. We talked about taking it less seriously and having fun. He is the co-captain of his team (as appointed by recess teacher in hopes of controlling the chaos they sometimes had previously) and we talked about what makes a good captain.

Things were going well but there were still a couple of instances where Lucas was unkind to this boy. It had been really bothering me a lot, this was not the kid I know. On his rec and indoor soccer team, he is so encouraging.

So....how does this all come together? Yesterday, with the tryouts looming, he came to me and said "Can you text Jack's mom and see if he will bring his mitt to school and help me get ready for tryouts"? My heart became lighter. When I texted her, I could tell that hers did too. With all that had been going on, I needed to see that he was hearing me. That he realized that he doesn't need to be the best at everything. That part of being a good friend and leader is to rely on your friends and counterparts too. Letting others help YOU is a precious gift you give to yourself and to others.

Amazing how he mended so much with such a small idea.

I think there's definitely some truth in this. But also think you have to put in the effort until you realize it's not being returned. That moment can be a hard realization but letting go can also be very freeing.

Thank you to my friends who, even though they are tens of miles or thousands of miles away, still make the effort to connect with me.

I love you!

Christmas Holidays 2011

We had a really fun and busy holiday season this year! We decided to stay local and not hit the Mexican beaches, which I missed a lot. But we enjoyed a traditional Christmas and I cooked all day long. It was really nice and great food! We kept busy over the holidays with lots of fun stuff.

Probably our most exciting day was when we went to Mt Baker National Forest and went for a hike. We had some info that there is a natural hot spring in the forest so we decided to go for it. With "kind of" directions in hand, we set off and found a "parking area" off the road. This road is not your typical road, it was fairly deep in the forest, gravel, full of potholes. Once we parked, the directions said to take the obvious trailhead. Well, there are no signs so we found one entry to the forest that followed along an abandoned road. We figured this was it. 45 minutes down the road, we figured we had taken the wrong way. So we set back and investigated a little closer back by the car.

We found a small entry to the forest that we had to kind of duck into and saw a small trail. Followed that for a little while and finally came upon the springs. It was one of the neatest things I have seen! I had no idea such a place existed so closeby. There was snow around but the springs were hot. I made it up to my ankles but Dama and the kids went all the way in. We were the only ones in the springs, pretty spoiled!



Even Baxter took a little dip! It was so fun to have him on this adventure. He loved hiking along with us and he was rolling around in the snow.



December 28th brought Maile's 12th birthday! We celebrated as usual with a cake. She was suitably un-impressed as always. But deep down inside, I am sure she can see how loved she is with such a fuss made over her :)


January 1st brought the Polar Bear Plunge at Matthews Beach Park in Seattle. This was a really fun event (probably because I didn't have to go in!!). Dama and Lucas went in, the brave souls that they are. Hardy people!! Lucas loved it and declared it an annual event.


With their "Courage Patches":



The whole family spent a lot of time playing hockey this holiday too. If you know Lucas, he is really good at recruiting folks to play sports with him. He got a bunch of street hockey gear for Christmas so he was using it up!



January 2nd we went to the Tsubaki Shrine in Granite Falls for our annual New Years rituals. We pray for good health and good fortune, walk the beautiful grounds by the Stillaguamish River, and pick an Omikuji (yearly fortune). We came up with "Good Fortune" so hopefully this year will be a great one for us.



Beautiful Ellie preparing to enter the shrine grounds. You wash your hands in this water using the scoops.



Happy New Years to all of you!