Author: Faith

Dinner at Takashi

Right now I’m not eating dairy/eggs/nuts (on the advice of our doctor since I’m nursing Mimi and she’s probably prone to food allergies) which meant that for our anniversary dinner a lot of cuisines were off the table, so to speak. We decided to try out Takashi up in Salt Lake and I’m so glad we did–it was AWESOME.

Left to right from top: pork belly with lotus root and purple sweet potato mash, wagyu beef nikumaki, clams with glass noodles in coconut curry, hamachi with jalapenos, the Imagine (tuna) and Spider (soft-shell crab) rolls, AND salmon tataki with some sort of citrus sauce that I would gladly bathe in. (Yeah, we went a little nuts.)

It was an excellent meal. No exaggeration, the wagyu nikumaki was one of the ten most delicious things I’ve eaten IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. The beef was super tender and intensely-flavored, not to mention perfectly grilled, and the thin slices of vegetables it was wrapped around were the perfect crunchy counterpoint. It’s a good thing it came with six pieces because ten years of wedded bliss aside, I’m pretty sure the fight for the last roll could have gotten pretty ugly. But fortunately such crises were avoided and we had a fantastic meal.

If you find yourself in Salt Lake City and like Japanese food I wholeheartedly recommend Takashi. Price-wise it’s more of a special-occasion place (at least for us) but it’s definitely worth checking out if you get the chance.

Ten Years

N and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary this week! When we were married we had known each other for almost three years and had been best friends/dated for two so we already knew each other well. I already knew that N was the best friend I had ever had and I thought that he would be a great husband and father. But I didn’t know just how great of a husband and father he would be.

Not to say that we haven’t had our share of disagreements (we have, especially during those first few years). But underneath all the stresses of life with kids, jobs, and a mortgage there’s a friendship and love that deepens the joys and makes the disappointments easier to laugh about.

I don’t know what the following years will bring but right now I’m happier with my life than I knew was possible. Things just keep getting better and better and I chalk most of it up to the marriage N and I have built together. The idea of being together with him forever makes me ridiculously happy.

Potty Time

After several weeks of having E use the potty but still wearing diapers I bit the bullet yesterday and just put him in underwear. (We had three accidents.)

I hope today goes better.

On a more positive note, I took a couple of pictures with my Polaroid–using it is so much fun! I’ll post them as soon as I scan them.

A Really Lovely Weekend

This last weekend was great. On Saturday E and I (but let’s be honest, mostly I) put in our vegetable garden. We planted some strawberries, Walla Walla onions, spinach, zucchini, tomatoes and started some lettuce from seed. I ran out of time (and steam) on Saturday but am still going to plant beets, beans, and cucumbers from seed as soon as the rain we’re having lets up.

Then on Sunday after church N made me a tasty lunch of ramen noodles with kimchi and ham while I baked him some belated birthday cupcakes. The afternoon was a fun mish-mosh of celebrations. After lunch we sang “Happy Birthday” to N, scarfed down our vegan chocolate cupcakes, and then N and E gave me my Mother’s Day gift:

A Polaroid SX-70 OneStep camera and several packs of Impossible Project film! I was THRILLED.

And then after I finished ooing-and-aahing over my new toy we all took long naps.

It was great.

The End.

Happy Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful mother and to my lovely mother-in-law!

My mom and me.

(I recently found out that my grandmother was thirty when she had my mom just like my mom was thirty when she had me and I was thirty when I had Mimi. Neat, no?)

I know that sometimes Mother’s day can be a bit rough on people for various reasons but I hope you have a lovely day today.

The Mother’s Prayer for Its Daughter

I read Tina Fey’s book Bossypants recently and loved it. I read it while I nursed Mimi in the mornings and it was fun enough that I didn’t mind hauling myself out of bed for the 5:30 am feeding because it meant I got to spend some time reading it. (It might be a while until another book has this effect on me.)

I wanted to share this excerpt I liked; you might have seen it around. As a new mother to a baby girl it Spoke To Me. (But it has a couple of sort-of-swears in it if that kind of thing bothers you.)

“The Mother’s Prayer for Its Daughter” from Tina Fey’s Bossypants

First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her

When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels.

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that S***. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.

“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

AMEN.

P.S. – I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day celebrating the women in your life and being celebrated a bit yourself.

I myself am keeping my fingers crossed for a lovely nap.

How Pinteresting!

No, I really don’t need another way to waste time on the interwebs. And yes, I’ve joined Pinterest anyway.

If you haven’t heard about it, Pinterest is a visual bookmarking site where you can save all the neat and lovely things you come across online. There’s a social networking aspect built into it (what doesn’t have one these days?) so you can follow your friends’ bulletin boards. I’m using it to keep track of crafts I want to try, ideas for home decorating, style inspirations, etc…

If you’re interested you can follow my boards here. Pinterest is still in beta so you need an invitation to join but if you want one let me know (leave a comment with your email) and I’ll send one your way.

Letter to Mimi: Month Three

Dear Mimi,

This last month you’ve blossomed into awareness and you’re no longer a sleeping little lump. You have your own opinions and you ARE going to tell us about them!

With that said, you’re still very mellow and most of the time you’re happy hanging out in your bouncy seat or swing chomping on your hands and watching us bustle around the house. But if I leave the room for a few seconds too long you start squawking to let me know you’re not happy about being left alone. Then when you see me come back your whole face LIGHTS UP. It kind of makes me melt.

It seems like we’ve finally figured out your sleep schedule, more or less. Your naps are rather all over the place and you end up snoozing in your car seat a lot as I run errands. But if you’re not ready for bed by 8:15 pm you promptly turn into a pumpkin and collapse into a fit of shrieking cries. It’s took us a while to figure it out but now we just put you to bed before then (duh).

When you’re not tired you are such a happy baby. Sometimes when you’re nursing you pull away just to look me in the eye and giggle and grin. I’m not sure what the joke is but I can’t help laughing along.

Love,

Mama