Kokochi

white wet stuff

That sledding idea didn't work out. First, I got out of the house late, around 3pm after T's nap. I drove with her to rent a little pull-sled for T, and planned to go to a hill and play around for a bit. But a minute away from the renting place, I spotted an actual sledding place that had nice looking set-up hills for easy sledding. So I turned back and returned the pull-sled, and headed to the sled place. It was cash only though, and I had ONE DOLLAR on me! The market next door had an ATM, but it was out of order. So I bought a drink with my ATM card for cash back, but somehow it automatically charged with no choice of cash back. Next, I carried T and walked to the neighboring gas station, finally getting some cash from an ATM. Having the drink I didn't want to have while sledding, I carried T back to the car to drop it off. By the time I got to the sledding ticket store, I was tired, and T wasn't too thrilled either. The last straw was when the lady said none of their sleds had pulling strings, meaning I'd have to carry both T and the sled up the hill to go down it. I passed. I had T walk around in the snow a bit and gave her a snow ball. She wasn't too impressed so I think sledding next year instead of this year will be fine.

Baby shower

This is from last week, but I hosted a baby shower for Nathalie. Everyone brought a dish, and my gosh, we had so many sweets, all homemade!

at Kirkwood

We're staying in South Lake Tahoe, but everyone is skiing or boarding at Kirkwood, about 30 minutes away. Yesterday I drove with Dav to Kirkwood to see him off, and had lunch with Tesla, just the two of us. This year, I'm hanging with Tesla and not skiing. I don't want to be too tired for the big packing we have to do as soon as we get back from Tahoe. Plus, I'm quite happy hanging around this nice house. But today, I'm going to rent a sled, and T and I will some mini runs on a hill close by.

Tesla's version of pool

We are at Tahoe at a gorgeous house we rented with a bunch of friends. There's a pool table...and Tesla showed us her way of playing. The basic rule is put all balls in one pocket, and immediately take them all out. We're not sure about the details, but how quick you are in taking the balls out seems key.

say cheese!

Elida's friend, Yann, is visiting from France. I met him a little over a year ago when he last visited, and he remembered our discussion about cheese and how much I love stinky cheese. Incredibly, for this current visit, he snuck in 3 kinds of cheese and a bottle of wine for me. He came over a few nights ago to indulge me in an amazing cheese spread fresh from France. He brought Comte (a giant brick of it), Cancoillote (a super creamy luxurious spread), and Mont D'Or. Yann put the Mont D'Or in the oven to melt it up, then cut an opening into it, and poured in the white wine. All so delicious!!! Thank you, Yann. He is joining us for our Tahoe trip :)

Wonderful date night

This past Saturday, Dav organized the most wonderful date night. Part celebration that we were back together after my trip, and part because there was a nice romantic event we wanted to go to. The best aspect for me was that Dav planned it all. He started by giving me 2 choices for dinner. I chose Aziza, which Dav later told me was rated as one of the most romantic restaurants. Indeed...the decor, service, and food were amazing. The food proportions were perfect. The salad we shared as an appetizer was my favorite. Yummy drinks too (which we had as dessert!). Dav also took me shopping beforehand to get a new outfit to wear for the evening. It was a store that had all sorts of things, including latex dresses. I tried a few that were fantastic, but of such high quality and detail that the price was enough to pay rent, and I'd had a mishap the one time I wore a latex shirt,* so we passed. It was pretty funny to have had Tesla with us running around in that store. The outfit I got was not outrageous and I loved wearing it at the event - anything Dav gets for me makes me 10x happier than what I buy for myself. So it was a great date - dinner & fun, but most importantly delivered completely by my hot husband. He arranged babysitting too! Of course, we paid dearly the next early morning when our darlingly baby, who had a full night's rest, was ready for the day at 6:30. Here is a video of that morning...Tesla playing on our bed (on us) as we try to rest, but she has a way of waking us up :) Note her crazy morning hair silhouette. * the mishap was I wore a simple latex t-shirt once. My first and only time. After a night out with Dav, I came home, and being the inexperienced latex-wearer, I happily hugged my cats. Immediately, a huge gash opened caused by a tiny claw. Duh! Completely unwearable in an instant. Sigh.

Revolution - Good Crew & Hope

Two revolutions came to my attention recently so I want to share. First, via OtoRevo (Sound Revolution), there is a cute duo called Good Crew. They participated in a contest on the OtoREvo site run by Columbia and powered by Movable Type where folks submitted their work, and users/fans voted online. Good Crew won! They have a video, and here is mine from when they played in person at the Six Apart party :) They are very cute! And the video is quite hilarious. Second, is Hope Revolution. It's simple and inspiring, and cute too!

The good stuff

I'm fully adjusted to being back from Tokyo. Tesla too is back to normal, after a few toddler tantrums that dumbfounded both Dav and I. I chalked it up to a delayed reaction to my absence; like she didn't really notice I was gone since daddy and granny entertained her, but once I came home, she realized I had, gasp, not been 100% for her! Personally, there's a lot going on. We're leaving for a month off to Buenos Aires soon. I'm catching up from my Japan trip, and wrapping up stuff at work. I'm also committed to various social events that makes my current life a bit hectic. But, I am taking the time to enjoy being home - with my baby and my husband. They rock. And as much as leaving them is hard, reuniting is sooooooooooooo sweet.

Happy to be home

Running cuteness

Cuteness

Going to Tokyo without Tesla was my first time. It wasn't easy, as I worried about and missed T (I missed Dav too, but I can email him). I was quite happy that both Chris and Michael missed their families dearly too. We huddled together and shared.

My two brilliant loves

My two loves

A lot has been going on - we're preparing to head to Buenos Aires for March - and it's a bit hectic. But for now, the most important thing to me is seeing Tesla being herself...and seeing daddy being such a great daddy.

Although leaving can be hard, the coming back, and awareness of what you have daily makes it all worth it.

both of us watching her climb

gargle/looming EP

As some of you know, when Tesla was in my belly, we called her Gargle, as that was the first nickname we received, given by my dad. [As a side note, I want to link to when Gargle became a "girl"...It's quite weird to think that we had no idea who Tesla would be, and now that she is a full part of our family, she's just so, you know, Tesla!] To my delight, when I went to Bullets to meet with Mieko, Tatsuo, and Kojo in Tokyo, I found a CD by "gargle" titled "looming EP." Of course, I bought the CD. Turns out it's actually quite nice ambient music. I love such moments of serendipity. 2 years + later, I bump into this CD. Now those of you who made fun of our nickname "Gargle"? Well, "gargle" plays music!!