An Hour Wait for Noodles

We hit a new place in the South Bay with some good friends. This place was so 'hot' that when we arrived at our friend's house at 5:10pm, they didn't even let us take our shoes off and sit a bit. No.. they shooed us back out the door and into the cars because we had to go NOW to the restaurant.

I have to say.. 5ish is a little bit early for dinner but I don't turn away good food. Apparently, this restaurant opens at 5:30pm and it's only a few miles away from their house. No Problem! Plenty of time to get there and get a nice table. WRONG!

By the time we got there at 5:25pm.. we were #33 for a table. Number 33!! Can you believe that??? It seems that people start lining up at 5pm to get a table. This is unheard of .. to line up at a restaurant BEFORE it even is open? Now if it's for the premiere showing for Twilight, or to get a good seat on Southwest or Black Friday at a store.. maybe... but a restaurant?

Well.. we didn't make Phase One (especially for a table for 8) so we had to wait for the first round of early birds to order, eat and pay before we got a chance at a table. (All I'm thinking is these noodles.. oops excuse me.. I mean 'ramen' better be good!) After over an hour wait, we finally got in!

We ordered quickly, of course, since there were still many people waiting outside lurking in at our table giving us the evil eye through the windows and sending subliminal messages to us to eat fast.

First dish, the agedashi tofu.. not bad.. but nothing to write home about... but my friend loved the sauce.

 Next was the karaage chicken..crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.. perfect!

The main event.. their signature ramen.. tonkatsu broth was amazing! First, the broth was piping HOT!! Just how I like my soup! Extremely flavorful! Next the noodles were very fresh and perfectly cooked with just a bit of chewyness. It only had one slice of meat (pork) but that was okay with me because everything else was so flavorful. Supposedly their biggest hit was the soft boiled egg in the soup. It  was very soft boiled and apparently the 'cherry' on top for the soup itself. No big deal for me but I must admit it was tasty.

Overall we gave the place 4 Bibles (if the Buffet club had to rate it). We could have given it a 5 rating but we just could not ignore the wasted waiting time outside.

Now I must warn you that is pricey for ramen ($10 a regular sized bowl) but I hear that it's the going rate for fresh ramen. Ask my husband who is a Ramen-connoisseur!

Are Yew a TWiT?

It's Thanksgiving and I am very thankful for many things. Second, for my daughter Hannah who was born today. (She celebrates her 8th birthday which will be featured in a future post). And First for my husband whom I could not have had Hannah in the first place. But besides being a great husband and loving sacrificial father, he is also an amazing photographer who's pictures give my posts that extra 'sparkle'. Since I am a visual learner, I appreciate pictures to help enhance my understanding of the words.

This post features not only my husband's pictures but his words also. Yes.. I am thankful that I did not have to write this post. My 2nd guest blogger! Yay!!

So enjoy his pictures and his words! And comment if you can!! MamaCez

Patrick, Amos, and I hanging out with our Moms

My brother-in-law and I were having a discussion about the 99%/occupy movement. There are the obvious arguments in favor of and in opposition of both their methods and their ideology. My brother- in-law brought up a good point that I hadn’t really thought of before. The movement’s main point of contention is the inequality in the accumulation of wealth in America. Yet both the 1% and the 99% will eventually die, and neither group can bring their wealth with them. Rather than focus on building wealth that is only temporal, we should be focusing on what brings true contentment: building relationships. Building a relationship with God. Building a relationship with family. Building a relationship with friends. During this Thanksgiving season, I choose to remember the relationships that God has given me, and to be thankful for them.

Watching Saturday morning cartoons when we lived in their house temporarily

I like to say that I’ve been friends with Patrick and Amos even before we were born. That’s because our parents were college friends in Texas. Both of our dads went to seminary in Dallas so we also share a childhood commonality of growing up as a pastor’s kid. As God ordained it, our family left Texas for a ministry opportunity in Southeast Asia, and their family went to the East Coast. After a few years, both our families ended up in Petlauma where we went to grade school, junior high, and high school together.

Enjoying a summer day at the county fair

We went our separate ways after high school, but we always stayed in touch. We supported each other through college and starting our careers. We made road trips to visit each other wherever we needed to go, whether it was to SoCal, NorCal, or even across the border to British Columbia. We were groomsmen in each others’ weddings. We celebrated the births of each of our kids.

Visitng Amos in Canada

 

Doing our best Heisman pose at the 49ers training facility

Recently, our unofficial tradition is to visit each other on Thanksgiving day. All of our parents still live in Petaluma, so while 2 out of 3 of us have moved away (Amos moved away but then came back), we still return to the same home town to see our parents. Unfortunately, this will be the first year I remember where we will not be seeing each other on Thanksgiving day, as they have plans elsewhere. Since we can’t hang out this Thanksgiving, I thought it would be appropriate to remember our friendship and give thanks for it.

Newlywed or engaged couples

I cherish lifelong friends like Patrick and Amos. Their loyalty is without peer. I know they would never betray me. I trust them like they are my own family. I covet their counsel and their prayer. I appreciate their company and conversation. I enjoy our adventures together, from snow trips to geek outs. Which brings me to the title of this post: Are Yew a TWiT?

Thanksgiving in Petaluma, 2008

As some of you may know, Leo Laporte is one of, if not the most well known celebrity in the tech/online industry. He was an early pioneer in podcasting and tech related TV shows, laying the groundwork for these industries developing into viable businesses. All three of us listen and/or watch many of Leo’s shows, including the flagship “This Week in Tech” or TWiT. It just so happens that Leo runs all of the TWiT Network shows from his studio in Petaluma. Naturally, the three of us would talk about meeting up in Petaluma to go watch a live recording of TWiT. This talk would go on for several years, until finally we were able to find a common time in our schedules and make travel arrangements.

However, it was a little bittersweet for all of us, as the day we were going was not the day that TWiT was recording. Nor were any of Leo’s other shows going to be recording that day. In fact, it was his day off so he wasn’t even expected in the studio at all! Aw maaan... Oh well, at least we’ll get to check out the studio itself, and we get to hang out with each other. Either way it still beats working.

The brick wall at the entry to TWiT Studios

So on the schedule were a couple of lesser known podcasts that would be recording during our visit. When we got to the studio, Brian, one of the interns, welcomed us and showed us where the important rooms were, namely the restroom and the break room, where he offered us beer and soda. Despite the fact that he went to our rival high school, Brian seemed to be a very nice fellow. We also met Tony, one of the production guys, who remembered Patrick (I was very impressed with this) from a TWiT related photowalk in Vegas. Brian brought out some chairs for us so we could sit at the edge of the set and watch the show that was about to start recording. He told us that he would give us a complete tour of the studios after the show was over.  Sarah Lane was on the set getting ready. One of my friends (who shall remain unnamed) started fawning over her, asking/telling me “did you know that’s Sarah Lane? She’s the host of iPad Today. She’s famous! I can’t believe we’re sitting right here across from her!” Don’t worry wife of unnamed friend, you’re much prettier, friendlier, and you know how to grow vegetables way better than Sarah Lane! During the show, we see Leo walk into his office behind the set. What’s he doing here? He looks a little disheveled, with bed head, glasses on, and half his shirt untucked. Maybe he was just trying to sneak in and out of the office without anyone seeing him.

With Sarah Lane on the set of "The Social Hour"

After the show ended, we got to sit on the set with Sarah and introduce ourselves. It was quite a big moment for one of us. Brian returned and showed us around the studios. There are three main sets, plus a mini set for the HAM radio show, and plus Leo’s office which is a recreation of his old TWiT Cottage set. All the sets are furnished with this sort of retro/sci-fi motif, kind of like Flash Gordon. Very subtle yet cool looking. We took a peek at the edit bays, and then Brian took us downstairs to the basement, which is mostly for storage, but it also houses the server rooms that run all the studio’s technical operations. While we were in the server room, Leo walks in while giving a tour to a couple of folks we didn’t recognize. Investors maybe? Friends? It seemed pretty casual so we sort of piggyback ourselves to his tour, listening to him talk and asking him questions. Leo loves to talk and didn’t mind us attaching ourselves to his tour. Patrick works in the TV recording industry so they talk a little bit of shop while the rest of us pretend to understand what they’re saying. Leo shows us around the rest of the basement, and then takes us back upstairs to his office and the rest of the studio. In his office, we finally introduce ourselves to him, and he gets a kick out of us growing up in Petaluma and still keeping in touch. Well, it helps that two of us are brothers. This whole time Leo is showing off all the cool stuff they have, like the boxes that control video switching, the perfectly balanced camera boom/jib that they built, and the main control station that can spin around to face the different sets. Leo shows us the fancy iPad interface that can control the camera inputs. A minute later one of the production guys comes over to fix what Leo just did and didn’t even know he did. Of course Leo takes it all in stride. He seems to be a very generous and genuine individual who loves his work. Doesn’t take himself too seriously.

The brains behind TWiT

Leo showing off the iPad interface

Later on, we bumped into Alex Lindsay, co-host of Mac Break Weekly and This Week in Photography. He shares office space with TWiT, running a company named Pixel Corps that does a lot of video and still photography. He was very gracious with his time, chatting with us at length (similar thing with Patrick and him talking shop while Amos and I nodded and smiled) and showing us the set they were putting together for a local political debate.

Recording "Tech News Today"

 So despite what we thought was going to be somewhat of a bittersweet experience, it turned out much better than we expected, and probably even better that we could have planned. If we had shown up for the regular recording of TWiT, things would have been much different. One, Leo would have other guests on the show, so he wouldn’t have had time to entertain audience members. And Two, even if he did have time to entertain audience members, there’s usually a decent crowd that shows up for TWiT. We wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near the personal attention that he gave us. So all in all it was a great experience geeking out at the TWiT Studios, and I couldn’t have asked for better company to experience this with. Here’s to Yew, Patrick and Amos!

WIth Leo in his office

Grass Doesn't Look Greener on the Other Side

A Follow-Up from blog post: Do You See What I See?

So I tried on my 11th pair of contacts. This was actually the same prescription as my 9th pair. But you get the picture.. it's not clear! The 10th pair I couldn't see far very clearly; this 11th pair I can't see close very clearly.

Well.. I tried the bi-focal/multifocal contacts and unfortunately they did not fully work for me. Great idea though and technically it would have been perfect but of course sometimes the grass doesn't look greener on the other side!

So I'm going back to monovison contacts and adjusting one of lenses to be more 'reading' friendly (aka lowering the power on my left).

Thankfully my optometrist is a very patient man who is willing to try out different options with me until I am satisfied. The contacts aren't perfect but what truly is... right?

"Writing Is So Isolating"

... says Beth Moore, a well-known Christian speaker, author and teacher. She said that sometimes when she's writing a bible study she wonders if anyone will read it.

This is coming from a woman who's written 15+ bible studies, spoken at conferences all over the world, and founded a biblically-based organization for women called Living Proof Ministries.  But she still feels alone sometimes when she's writing and thinks, "Is or will anyone read(ing) my book?"

That's how I sometimes feel when I write these posts. Originally my purpose of blogging was to update extended family members on our family happenings. Friends also inquire on how we were doing so it was easier to add them onto the email as well. I was sending periodic updates through email but they were getting too long due to the amount of photos I was attaching.

So I ventured onto the world wide web as an easier outlet for them to view and read our family happenings. Well, little did I know that the majority of our family do not read my blog regularly. They don't even subscribe thus I'm not even sure if they are reading it at all! And you can guess my reaction when one asks, "So what have you been up to? What have the girls been doing? or how was your trip to so-and-so place?" Well.. if you read my blog you would have gotten your answer!

It's like when you call someone and you leave a message for them to call you back.. and they don't. Or if you send a letter snail mail.. and you don't get a returned letter. Or if you email or text someone and you don't get a response. Hmm.. is there really anyone out there?

But Beth Moore continues. When she hears from one reader telling her that her book made a huge difference in their life, Beth feels that writing it was well worth it! If just one reader is touched, then it's worth it.

For me, whenever I get an email telling me that someone commented, all that writing, editing, downloading pictures etc.. was worth it. I did not realize how important feedback was to a writer. Good or bad feedback, who cares, as long as it's feedback.  It tells us that someone was reading! And if they comment, then they had a reaction to what you wrote;  a strong enough reaction that made them type in a comment. Two-way communication is key to our self-esteem!

One blog I follow gets hundreds of comments a day. One post garnered over 1,300 comments. For ONE post!!  Of course she was offering a $100 gift certificate but that's not the point. She has over 1,000 readers!! (Of course, she is a professional photographer and thus has a large following.)

The point is that all the hard work of writing, adding pictures, editing etc... and to 'feel' that no one is reading it is very disappointing and demoralizing. I guess what I'm saying is that it is that my writing is less-satisfying when there is no feedback involved.

Since I follow quite a few blogs, I know what it is like to read and run. They did not know I dropped by. Now I usually will read, respond and then run. :)

BUT I know that there are people reading this.  YOU!!

I've been so pleasantly surprised when I get a comment from someone... anyone! So THANK YOU if you are a regular reader, if you have subscribed, if you have commented, or if you have personally talked to me about what you have read.

If you have asked a question in your comment, I usually will respond back in the Comment Box. So make sure you check back on that particular post in the Comment section.

OK... I will now get off my soap box and plan out my next post!

Gorgeous Creations

In my spare time, I like to make handmade cards. But I don't design them, I just make them. How do I do that, you ask?

My Stampin' Up demonstrator extraordinaire, Mercedes, is a genius in creating original handmade gor-jus creations! I just copy her!!

At her Stamp-A-Stacks, she preps, measures and cuts all the materials that we need to put together one of her creations. All you have to do is to stamp and glue.

It's perfect for a non-creative person like me!

She also designed and made a couple of invitations for me:
Invitation for my father-in-law's 70th birthday

Invitation for my mother-in-law's 70th birthday

Baby Shower Invitation (angel theme for a baby girl)

Invitation for Emily's birthday 'Birdie' Party
Invitation for Hannah's birthday 'Snow' Party

If you want to 'copy' her creations, just attend one of her Stamp-A-Stacks. You can ask me when the next one is or check on her calendar on her website: Creations by Mercedes

(All above creations are copyrighted by Mercedes.)

Candy... Oh My!

This Halloween, Emily couldn't decide on a costume so she decided to stay home and pass out candy instead. I have to tell you that at our house we pass out full sized-candy bars; one per person. 

Yes, trick-or-treaters say we give out the 'good candy'.

It's a great way to know how many kids come to the house and how much candy to purchase for next year.

Hannah dressed as a 'bride' again and went to our church's "Trunk or Treat" event. She and her daddy left at 6:30pm.

Our first 'trick-or-treater' came at 6:45pm.

At 7:15pm we gave away 71 bars.

By 8:00pm we gave away 142 bars.

Hannah came back to the house along with two of Emily's classmates... in costume of course!

At the end of the evening (around 8:30pm), we gave away a total of 193 full sized candy bars!

And the girl's cousins came over for some partaking of their treats!

On another note, I made some costumes for the girl's favorite stuffed bears ... a starfish, pumpkin, tree, leaf and last but not least.. my least-favorite creature... a squirrel!

 What you can do with some felt and a glue gun! Oh My!

Trucking One Last Time

Our Buffet Club ran out of new buffet restaurants to review so we ventured to the Food Trucks. Not quite buffets but good food nonetheless.

We have a usual spot to set up camp; brought our own chairs, drinks, and paper goods just in case we wanted to share.

New Trucks this time were Sanguchon (peruvian)

and Rice Rockit (filipino)

but my favorite... still is House of Siam on Wheels.. their tofu taco was the HIT of the evening!

After dining on the trucking fare, we went to dessert at a English Tea place. Their ice cream choices were vanilla, strawberry or chocolate.. seems like all the ice cream flavors came in one box!

After dessert, we huddled at our car for a secretive exchange. Feather selling... my husband expertly attached a feather in Faith's hair!

Snow Here!

For Hannah's 8th birthday, she wants a snow party. We couldn't send everyone to Tahoe so this was the other option. Buying snow and bringing it to the house. KHA's preschool always have snow parties in the winter time and I always wondered where the snow came from.

Right down the street actually. Glacier Ice sells snow! Who would have known! We bought one bag of snow to try it out to see how 'snowy' it was. It's actually finely crushed ice (like for snow cones). The 'real' snow where they bring in the machines was wayyyyy too expensive.

This will do. Now to figure out how many bags to buy that would make a good sized mound to play in...

Time Sure Flies

I have a younger sister and younger brother. When we were growing up, we hung out with our cousins from my dad's side of the family (our Aunt D.). For many years we spent every weekend at their house. Together, we were three girls and three boys. Kind of like the brady bunch. But asian. No housekeeper but we had an influential grandma who knew how to make delicious spaghetti sauce!

Fast-forward thirty years. Five of us had kids.
We had 1 girl and 1 boy; 1 girl and 1 boy; 2 girls; 2 girls; and 3 boys.
With everyone's busy schedules, it's hard to have quality time together. It's usually during celebrations or holidays that we see each other.

March 2005

Recently, we celebrated my cousin C.'s daughter,  Mandy's birthday. She is the oldest out of all the cousin's kids. She will pave the way for all of our kids: first to get her driver's license; graduate from high school; graduate from college; get a job; get married; maybe even have kids. (No pressure! :)

November 2011

Our goddaughter,  little Munchkin turned 17 TODAY! She was so tiny when she was born!

She is six years older than Emily and nine years older than Hannah. When Emily is 17, Mandy would have probably finished college. When Hannah is 17, Mandy might be engaged (at least that was the age when her mom was engaged).

 Wow.. time sure flies!