Chinese Katniss

Hannah was invited to an archery birthday party and Matthew and I have never been so excited to go to a kid's birthday party ever!

An Archery place opened up near where we live and its becoming a hip popular thing to do! (I guess we can thank Katniss Everdeen and Hunger Games for the increase popularity in archery!)

Each of us got the chance to shoot with the bow and arrow. Those bows are fancy and nicely made. None of that plastic-y wood-y cheap-y stuff. It was the real thing.

At the beginning it was hard to even hit the target. Arrows were flying everywhere. (The key was to aim low). Once we got our arrows on the target we tried to aim for the center. Then balloons were attached and they had to hit the balloon. The balloon was big but it was still hard to hit for some. But both girls were able to eventually pop the balloon.

Matthew enjoyed it but it wasn't easy.

My problem was not hitting the target but closing one eye while keeping the other eye open. I can't do it! So it looked like I was squinting the whole time! Next time I'm bringing an eye patch fer sure!

DE-FENSE!! stomp, stomp DE-FENSE!! stomp, stomp

I am not an athlete of any kind.

I'm not sure if it's nature or nurture that I abhor any type of physical activity. At a very young age I was taught that physical activity aka sports = getting hurt = BAD! My parents never allowed me to go outside to play because I might get hurt, injure myself, break a bone etc... So I never participated in any type of sport. I was never encouraged to get any physical activity. I never went to a park to play when I was little. Swings and slides were too dangerous. (Thank goodness I was a skinny kid growing up or I would be obese by now!)

So to this day, I hate breaking out in a sweat. Panting breathlessly while crouched over with a stabbing pain in my side and a cramp in my leg is not how I want to feel. You probably can assume that PE was NOT my favorite subject. (Exerting the brain is more important then exerting the body! my parents say.)

I was lucky that I learned how to ride a bicycle. Of course, I learned by myself riding in circles in the garage but I eventually learned.

Growing up I did 'watch' basketball on TV. My dad is still a HUGE Warriors fan. Anyone remember Rick Barry and Al Attles? Yep. I sure do! Whenever he had a chance, my dad would be watching every Warriors game sitting in his easy chair. (That's when I found out that my dad knew how to 'curse' at the TV! A person swearing in a heavy Chinese accent? It sounds funny!)

As a child, my husband wanted to participate in those good ol' American growing-up-boys-sports like little league, t-ball, basketball or soccer. But first generation Chinese families just didn't encourage that kind of thing. Plus he had asthma. Bad asthma.. where he would end up in the emergency room type asthma.

So when he got into high school, he decided he wanted to try out for a sport without any encouragement from his parents. And that was swimming! His mom wasn't too sure if he was dedicated enough to hack it. You see, his current high school didn't have a pool so the team would have to go to the other high school where he lived to practice. But that high school would practice after school so the only time they could practice was before school started. 5:00AM to be exact! But he did it and he even enjoyed it. (I don't know how to swim but you weren't surprised by that right?)

Fast forward 20+ years to today. My 13 year old daughter decided on her own, without her parents encouragement, that she wanted to try out for her school's basketball team. She sent me an email to tell me this on the day of tryouts! I didn't even know they were having tryouts because, of course, I always delete any emails from the school that refer to any sport opportunity. Why would they be interested? Right? They are just like me, I thought!

Well I was wrong!! She said that there weren't that many girls trying out and they need girls so she decided to go for it. I have never seen her play basketball, watch basketball or even pick up a basketball. So you could say I was a bit shocked!

At tryouts, I found out a fellow classmate accidently rammed her head in her face and she got a painful bruise. She had an ice pack on her face when I picked her up and she held back the tears until she got into the car away from her friends. Then the tears fell.

Okay, I thought. That was it. I was so sad for her. It broke my heart so see her try out for something so new and get hurt in the process. And I knew that she would not return to it again. It's done. She tried. It's over.

But I was wrong.. again. At dinner she told me to pick her up at 5 tomorrow after practice ends.  She's still going for it? Really? I thought. Okay.. she does not give up! (Probably got that quality from her father!)

Currently Matthew snowboards in the winter and plays recreation basketball once a week to keep in shape and de-stress. And he was so thrilled to hear that his daughter was trying out for basketball. So what does he do? He comes to every single game and takes hundreds of pictures of her and her teammates.

What do I do? I learn what it's like being a sports mom. After school practices. Away games. Home games.  Team snacks. Scorekeeping!

Yes.. I am scorekeeping Emily's home games. I had no idea of the rules of basketball other then you have to get the ball through the basket-y thing. And 'traveling' means no walking or running away with the ball. That was it. This is a totally brand spankin' new experience for me. After every game I learned something new. Screening. Fouling. 2 points. 3 points. Slide your feet. Watch the shooter. Box out! Rebound! Arms up!

And DEFENSE! Defense can be the key to you winning your game against your opponent when you don't have a strong offense.

We only have 11 girls on the team and only one strong shooter and a second that is somewhat good and that's it. So defense is so so important.

And that is what Emily does. Defense. And apparently she is good at it. Frantically waving her arms to block the opponent and even shoving one onto the ground at one game. Yes it was a foul and she said she didn't do it on purpose.

She doesn't get the ball often but when she does she does try to shoot getting her first 2 points in Game 6! So thrilling for me to see!

In the beginning of the season, the coach would put her in for a few minutes in the fourth quarter. I mean she was very very green in the game! But she got playing time at every game.

When we got to Tournament time (where they would play 3 games in a row), she was a starter. And got to go in and out throughout the game.

The girls lost the first tournament game but won the other two so they became the Consolation Champions or 5th out of 8th place. What an achievement!

Emily and her teammates with substitute Coach Scott

So as you can see Emily was playing a lot of defense. She was aggressive, not timid nor hesitant. She was a strong, forceful and determined player. And obedient. Coach Scott said he liked putting Emily in because she always did what he instructed her to do.

And I have to admit I was living vicariously through her (as many of us might do with our children). To play a sport and be a part of a team... something I never got a chance to do when I was her age. I mean she is #12. She has a number!!

Emily even got some fans to cheer her on! Rachel & Jessie

Yesterday the school basketball season officially ended (at least for KHA). KHA Girls record was 3-7. We didn't go into the playoffs or anything but we won our last game against Valley Christian (who is ranked at the top of the leader board) and every single gal played hard and I was proud of each and every one of them!

Emily with her 'fans' and fellow teammate Courtney (#25) with her sister Rachel who is also a high school basketball 'star'

On a side note, I have to add that I LOVE LOVE watching Courtney (#25) play basketball. She is in 8th grade and our star shooter. You can see why.. check out the pictures of her below.

 

GO COYOTES!!

It Started in 1992...

... where we gathered at Stu's little one bedroom apartment to have dessert, exchange white elephant gifts and celebrate Christmas. We were all single and care free!

Fast forward to 1995. Newly married I wanted to do the grown up thing and host my own dinner party in my new home. Some of us were married. No kids just yet.

Fast forward again to today... where we have been gathering annually for the last 18 years. The number of heads to feed went from 10 adults to 28 (14 adults and 14 children).

What do you feed 28 people? A 16-1/2 lb prime rib roast!

I had a sit-down dinner for 28 guests in my little home.

Girls filled the living room table

Boys and adults filled the sofa and family room table

...and the rest of the adults at the main kitchen table

And our annual group photo was in my living room.

We sacrifice personal space for a great photo op!

You can get a little coo-coo in such a confined space and a crick in your neck for looking up for so long!

To commemorate the times we had together I made a slideshow to show the Gang... all of us through the years... Starting in 1992.

You can check out their reactions in seeing themselves 20+ years ago! Plus it was so cool seeing the kids growing up in those 6 minutes!

 And as always, we Asians tend to congregate in the tiniest areas... like here in my hallway.

I am so thankful for these precious people whom I call sisters and brothers of mine. They are truly family to me!

If you are interested in watching my 6 minute slideshow (the first that I have ever made, by the way), shoot me an email or comment below and I'll send you the link!

The Holiday Festivities at KHA

I know I'm a little behind with these posts so here it is... the Holiday season whipped through in full force at school with...

Heritage Day before Thanksgiving.

Hannah presented her Family Tree in her traditional cheung saam dress

Emily shared an 'heirloom': her great-grandmother's Chinese vest

During the Heritage Day Chapel, all grandparents were invited to receive a Prayer of Blessing from their grandchildren.

 My parents and Matthew's mom came to Heritage Day which is in honor of grandparents.

After Thanksgiving break, the following week we had our annual Christmas Musical performance, "Breaking News: Baby Born in Bethlehem."

Hannah sang in the choir in both performances.

Choir (Grades 1-5) and the drama team

The KHA Band also performed.

Emily, the only clarinetist, in the Advance Band.

After the school musicals, the following day the KHA Band, under the direction of Mr. Tony Bolivar, performed at our local shopping center.

Advance Band with Mr. B accompanying them

Advance & Concert Bands playing together

Highlighting some special people in the girls lives:

The girls with their favorite teacher, Mrs. C

Hannah with her current 4th grade teacher Mrs. Hinton...

...who was also Emily's 4th grade teacher.

And at our Christmas Family Service on the Sunday prior to Christmas, half the band performed during service leading the worship songs and playing a special number for the offertory.  Emily had some solo parts in the song!

I took this picture because Matthew was also playing in the church band! Father and daughter playing for church worship! Praise God!

Emily's Christmas nails

We hope you had a rested holiday and ready for the new year!

Graditude IMHO

Lastly something new to end this year ... my Gratitude List of the Year.. something I always wanted to post on a regular basis but never get to because I forget what I was supposed to write..

 I am thankful for:

• The Public Library:

I would have spent an arm and a leg on books if not for this place.  And I don't even need to hunt for books anymore. I just find it on their online catalog, place a request on it and if it's available, it'll be sent to the branch of my choice, an email is sent to me telling me to pick it up. Then I go to the Holds shelf and grab the book with the tag that has my name on it. Eazy Peazy! (UPDATE: My total number of books read this year has been revised to 90! The most current one was The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks.)

 • Health Insurance:

Photos of my meniscus torn and then sliced off

My knee post surgery removal of stitches

I have to say, $20 copay for my knee surgery is a pretty good deal! AND it included crutches! Four doctors/nurses who were a part of my surgery followed up with a personal phone call a day or two after. So kind and conscientious! Kaiser is great! Thank you to Dr. Bui and his excellent staff for caring for me so well!

• DMV:

This temporary handicap placard was a lifesaver. I had to endure almost a two hour wait ...and that was WITH an appointment! I hobbled in with my crutches and all to get it because you have to go there in person to pick it up! (That is the DMV for you). But to have it during the crazy holiday shopping season was a blessing! Thank you to Angela who took me to the DMV and Helen who drove me home!

• 85 C ° Bakery:

The Portuguese egg tarts with mochi are just as good as the ones at Lord Stow's Bakery in Macau. The first time I tasted this 'little piece of heaven' was in LA. Now, they opened a store just a few minutes from my home but the line is atrocious! Waiting for an hour for bread and pastries is not my ideal of a good use of time. I will wait until the 'craziness' dies down. In the meantime, my sister-in-law went herself and graciously appeased by tummy with a few of these egg tarts! Thank you Matthea!

• Almond Milk Tea with Egg Pudding:

My new favorite drink(with egg pudding not boba/pearls as shown in this picture)

My youngest daughter loves going to get boba drinks. She isn't a yogurt, ice cream or Jamba Juice kind of gal. She is a boba gal... specifically Passion Fruit Green Tea with extra bobas! The thing is with these 'bobas' or tapioca pearls is that if you refrigerate them they get hard and not chewy anymore. Since I like to 'nurse' my drinks.. you can always find a half finished Starbucks drink or soda or another drink in the fridge that is mine.. I prefer getting pudding in my milk tea. Pudding is pudding, It doesn't harden in the fridge and the drink tastes the same as the day before. Thank you to Tapioca Express for having three locations for me to go to to get this drink!

• Dwarf Bunnies:

Rachel's new bunnies: Coconut & Cocoa

I was never an animal person due to my OCD clean-freak upbringing but taking care of BunnYee this past year was a highlight and joy. When she passed away we thought we won't be able to pet-sit again. But we were wrong! Rachel missed BunnYee so much that she went ahead and adopted two new baby dwarf bunnies, called Coconut and Cocoa who are sisters.  We hope to bunny-sit them sometime soon! Thank you to Rachel for getting more bunnies!

• Family:
Life is too short to have any misgivings with family members. That is why I don't have any.

Matthew's immediate family

My immediate family

My extended family (at Cousin Cheryl's home) which includes lots and lots of cousins

I am thankful that my family continues to grow. This coming new year I get a new cousin-in-law and a baby second cousin. Congratulations to my cousin Henry's engagement to Josephine and my cousin Stefanie and her husband Pete who are expecting Baby #2!

• Friends:

AACF CAL Reunion at Don & Cheryl's (28 in attendance)

CIBC Reunion Gang (also 28 in attendance...and my living room is half the size of Cheryl's!)

I am thankful that I still keep in touch with my college friends (and even high school friends...my  30th reunion is next year!) and although we may not see each other that often I still call them my close friends, those who know me well and have significantly impacted my life... my spiritual life and that I am eternally grateful to them. And thank you to YOU my dear readers (and I hope some of you may see yourself in these pictures.)

I actually can go on and on and on about many more things that I am thankful for in my life.

Having the attitude of gratitude really changes your whole perspective of life. It gives you a life full of joy. Joyful people are thankful people. Their perspective is positive, on what is good, with a cup half full not half empty.

I want to have an attitude of gratitude. I hope you do too! Many blessings to you in 2014!