Caroline (used to be) in Paris

Yummy (Korean) wraps

2011-09-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

Hey, this is pretty funny. There have been so many great things that have happened recently that I absolutely need to blog about, but what I just want to share now is what I cooked for dinner last night! Trader Joe's has some incredible Bulgogi beef (marinated meat, Korean-style, pre-sliced), which I cooked up on my stovetop grill, along with some sliced onion. Omigod...they were so good wrapped up in flour tortillas (nuked for 10-20 sec.) with shredded romaine lettuce. So, so delicious!

My little baker (+ banana bread recipe)

2011-06-23T14:26:00.001-07:00

In the last few months, 3 1/2 year-old Stefan has been really interested in cooking and baking. His first foray into the kitchen involved making gingerbread men after reading the story, "The Gingerbread Man." His eyes completely lit up after his first gingerbread man came out of the oven. I was surprised that he wasn't upset that the gingerbread man

didn't come leaping out of the oven and speak to us as he was expecting it to. But he seemed proud that he had made these cookies, from the measuring and mixing, to the rolling and cutting.

Today, he helped me mix the batter for the banana bread. Not my Fannie Farmer recipe adaptation, but one from my "Best Recipe" cookbook. Quite good, nice and moist, tender and full of banana-flavor. Here's my slightly adapted adaptation (no nuts, substituted buttermilk for yogurt):

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease and flour a 9-inch loaf pan.

Whisk dry ingredients in large bowl:

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix with a spatula in a medium bowl:

four small mashed-up, ripe bananas (brown spots? yes!)
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk

Dump wet into dry and gently mix with a spatula just until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes (I keep the loaf pan near the door because the rear of my oven, like most, gets too hot) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then move to wire rack. Eat warm or at room temp.

Store remainder in airtight container or plastic wrap/bag when completely cooled. Leave on counter at room temp or in cool place. Do not place in refrigerator, otherwise it'll dry out. Good for a couple days.

Point Reyes field trip (June 18, 2011)

2011-06-23T14:01:00.001-07:00

My apologies for not blogging for ages! As John says, I've been living instead of blogging, which is true. I've been having such a good time that it seemed silly to be writing about living when I could actually be doing it. But, I realize that some of you have been taking my silence as something to worry about it, so I'm here to reassure you that all is well.

Here are photos from our last field trip, with our favorite homeschooling buddies. It was a beautiful warm day at Drakes Beach in Point Reyes. We had intended on participating in their junior ranger program -- reading through an activity booklet, completing the activities, and earning our badges,...but it was just too gorgeous of a day and the scenery was so breathtaking that we just had to enjoy the day and go with the flow of the children's energy. They ended up creating a "restaurant" on the beach, serving up seaweed burgers and noodles. Their kitchen was complete with a grill and a hole for a trash can (which they had to empty on more than one occasion!). And for some reason, they also buried the Greek god Poseidon just outside their restaurant. Wonder how he ended up there!

The looming feeling is back

2011-01-04T10:25:00.000-08:00

Well, that didn't take long! Last night I had that feeling again of having all this stuff to do and not enough time. Probably because I spent all day doing laundry and Cityville (I've retired from that addictive Facebook game as of late last night!). I wrote down a to-do list, and it's quite long. Yep, I've got plenty to do.

After I brushed my teeth last night, I thought that I should read something before bed. But nothing grabbed me. I realized that my mind actually didn't have any room to take anything in, but it had plenty of stuff to get out. So, I've decided to get back into personal journal writing because blogging doesn't allow for the same freedoms -- and you thought I wasn't holding anything back! :)

Tomorrow's my lumpectomy. Not to worry though. It's a benign lump, but large, so they're taking it out just to be on the safe side. They're thinking it might be the kind that keeps growing, and though it wouldn't be bad to have a larger left breast, I think I'll pass on that this time. I'm feeling good about the doing the procedure. Once it's over, I can resume my life without worries lingering in the back of my mind.

[Photo taken at Mt. Rainier, August 2010]

I've lost that looming feeling

2011-01-02T22:05:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here at my dining table feeling a little bit at a loss. Usually, I have many projects and tasks looming over me, awaiting my attention. I probably still have some left to do, but right now, I feel like all the big ones are done -- am I actually twiddling my thumbs? It's a bizarre sensation, to not have a messy house to clean (which is almost always the case), to not have homeschooling lessons to plan (got that done last night), to not have cooking to do (all done for the day), to not have...ah. Yes, I do have laundry! Thought there had to be something! But laundry can wait. I think I'll go enjoy this precious free moment to play some piano. I'll work on my Chopin nocturnes, just in case I will have to pull them out to play for a couple friends who seem to be intense fans of my interpretation of Bartok.

Yes!

2010-12-16T18:03:00.000-08:00

I just looked at my last couple of postings and I thought, "Yikes. People are gonna be worried about me. Time to brighten things up a little."

Things have much improved since mid-November. I'm sleeping better now, I've relaxed my expectations for homeschooling a bit, and I've been happily singing all over the Bay Area -- five concerts in less than two weeks! No more stressing about my identity beyond motherhood. I'm a singer...there's no question about it. I had a cold -- I sang through it. I slept badly -- I sang through it. My voice really surprised me with its resiliency. Ten years ago, when I was studying voice, my teacher complained of my voice's inconsistency. Who knew what my voice was going to sound like each day. With the increased frequency of singing these days, my voice has found its home and usually finds where it belongs with some warm-up.

There's still plenty of room for improvement regarding my voice, so I will keep working at it. Lessons, workshops...whatever it takes to reach my fullest potential.

I'm walking on air these days. The singing, and the company of other friendly musicians, have brought me much joy. And John's been very supportive of my musical endeavors -- getting home in time for me to catch my carpool rides, working at home when I need to do a daytime performance...John knows that a happy home depends on a happy mommy, and I'm here to prove that that is certainly the case.

Now I wonder if I'll suffer some withdrawal symptoms in the next few non-singing weeks. Yikes!

Here's an update on my health situation. All's good, but I may need a lump removed. I'll be consulting with a surgeon next week. Wish me luck!

Exhausted? Depressed?

2010-11-16T19:22:00.000-08:00

Eh, feeling a little out of sorts today. I felt a little dizzy this afternoon, opted not to take Maylin to karate, and instead, took a long nap with Stefan. I woke up feeling...exhausted. I don't know if I'll ever get caught up with sleep. I feel like I've gone for weeks with 3-5 hours of sleep a night, which means I'm missing out on my REM sleep, the most valuable sleep-time you can get. I've been missing out on my exercise classes as well. My body's starting to really crave that regular physical activity. My hip hop and jazz dance classes can probably help with my sleep problems. Maybe Thursday evening, if I'm not totally wiped out, I can head out to a class.

My body wasn't too happy today, and neither was my mind. My mind should be at ease. After all, we met with our homeschooling charter school's education coordinator and she helped me understand the state standards for third grade, which didn't look as daunting as I had previously thought. Yes, there's some multi-digit multiplication and long division on the spring state test, but it's not heavily emphasized, and who knows? We might be able to make it there by that time. Maylin's picking up new math skills quite easily. It's the memorization part that is hard to make her do. She can do it, but she doesn't like doing it -- I can tell. It's tedious, it's boring -- it's just not creative at all. Not a fitting activity for a super-creative eight year-old who would rather write penpal letters, e-mails, newsletters, how-to manuals, and novels (she's written nearly 5000 words now!).

Ah, while writing the last paragraph, I felt a dark cloud being lifted away from my head and my eyes. I feel loads better mentally! I had a feeling that the writing might make things better for me. This is my therapy.

I was going through quite a bit of anxiety in the last couple weeks. I had had a mammogram and an ultrasound, showing two lumps that were questionable. I was very upset and shocked. I had expected to walk out of the hospital with an a-ok. Instead, I came out with an appointment for a biopsy the following week, a ball of pain down in my throat, and tears that I wouldn't let come out. The worst part of the ultrasound-guided biopsy was my reaction to the local anesthetic (lightheadedness, nausea, imagined sweating), and the agonizing wait for my delayed results. Fortunately, everything came out just fine. The lumps were benign and no follow-up would be necessary. What a relief!

I'm wiped out. Having the kids 24-7 is starting to wear on me. I haven't given myself enough alone time because I've needed to be at home to rest. Tomorrow, I'm going to take a nice, long walk on my own. Maybe take along my laptop and sit at a cafe. Or go to the music library on campus and find some scores I want to study for an upcoming audition tape I need to make.

I've got some research to do. More later!

Failure at novel writing

2010-11-09T22:29:00.000-08:00

Maylin's doing great at her novel -- writes regularly and is fast-approaching her 5,000 word goal. In my case, I wrote 2,000 words, gave up on it because I couldn't resolve several mini-plots, and then I started another book -- more like a childhood memoir, but I don't see myself realistically making the 50,000 word goal by November 30. I'll keep writing at my own pace. Why add stress to my life? I want writing to be enjoyable for me, not painful.

I haven't been able to focus on the writing at all, really, as I had intended in the late summer. I am back in love with my first love, music. Didn't expect it to happen, but it did. The right mix of music and people, and bam! I got the music bug again when I thought I had convinced myself that music really wasn't all that important to me. Now it's almost the most important thing to me after my family. How's that for a turn-around?

I haven't been able to make it regularly to my dance classes either. Health issues, sleep issues, I've had lots of excuses. I'm shooting for December to get back into physical fitness.

Speaking of health and fitness, I had a mammogram and ultrasound a week and a half ago, confirming one lump and discovering a second. Monday, I had an ultrasound-guided biopsy to check them out. Tomorrow, I should be getting the results. My guess is that it won't be cancer, but that one lump may have to be removed. That will still be scary to me. Yuck. Don't want to think about it now. We'll just cross that bridge when we get to it.

The big news doesn't end there. Maylin and I are considering completely homeschooling without strings attached. This means that we are thinking about leaving the charter school that has supported us with guidance from a teacher, books, classes, and money for extracurricular activities. We think it may be worth it to remove ourselves from the pressures of state standards, state tests, and continue at our own pace, which for math, may seem slow, but is very thorough and fun. Language arts -- Maylin's breezing through that. No problem. I don't want us to get stressed out about mastering stuff like long division by April, when I don't see the value in stressing out a third grader unnecessarily. If she learns it next year instead (so she can spend this year fully understanding the math concepts), I don't see any harm in that. Even if she learned it in fifth grade, it wouldn't matter much either. I will further discuss this with our Education Coordinator and other homeschoolers, but I think this may be the right choice for us. The main reason for us to homeschool to begin with, was to avoid bureacracy and protect the child's natural enjoyment of learning. I feel our charter school (probably any similar organization would do the same) is beginning to encroach on our freedoms. I think we're outgrowing it. To be continued...

Off-blog in November

2010-10-29T08:56:00.001-07:00

Just a notice that I may take a break from my blog for the entire month of November. I will be trying to write 2000 words a day for my novel, hoping to reach 50,000 words by November 30! Maylin's goal is 5000, and she's nearly there already from sheer inspiration. Amazing.

So don't worry about me if it seems like I've disappeared off the face of the planet. I'm just holed up somewhere with my laptop, fingers flying.

Hey, everything's okay now!

2010-10-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, life for me was out of whack, but that's always a temporary situation. Sure, the house is a wreck right now, but at least I feel more in balance now. My choir concerts went wonderfully, my handling of book orders has become second nature, and my t-shirt design is done, but just needs to be formatted correctly for printing. Homeschooling Maylin should resume normal pace shortly (we slowed down quite a bit for most subjects except math and writing), and Stefan will be read to more regularly now. By the way, John says that Stefan can read some words! I'm terribly excited, but Stefan denies knowing how to read. I can give you more of a confirmation later.

Maylin's already written about 2600 words for her novel which will be finished on November 30th. I haven't started mine yet -- the rule is to start on November 1st, according to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) organizers, but I cannot stop Maylin's inspirational flow! No way.

She absolutely loves writing. It helps a lot that she knows how to type. Otherwise, her output would be a lot less. Recently, she's typed up 4-5 one-page "newsletters" (they're really great -- with exciting articles, fictional, of course) on the computer, and a page of secret information, which she won't let me read, on Grandma's electric typewriter.

So here's a revelation. Music is still a big part of my life. I absolutely cannot live without it -- the process of making it and sharing it with others. From 1998-2000, it was the most important thing in my life (aside from John and my family). My dream was to become an early music singer. So I went back to school and got my bachelor's equivalency (almost like the degree, but the university wouldn't waive the general education requirements even though I already had a degree from Cal). I was intending on applying to masters programs in early music, but realized that I had to make a choice between that and my husband-to-be (who would had have a much tougher time finding satisfying work if we ended up in the boonies). At the time, my self-confidence was at an all-time low, and I was mildly depressed. I enrolled in a local masters program in music education, did enjoy it, and applied what I learned to my music teaching jobs, but it wasn't as satisfying as performing as a singer regularly, which I did in the bachelor's program.

After I gave birth to Maylin, I stopped studying and working (four part-time jobs, at the minimum) and devoted myself whole-heartedly to motherhood. Some time after our move to Paris, I was itching to sing again. I thought I would audition for a Baroque choir directed by the famous Jean Sourrisse, but I chickened out. Instead, I somehow landed myself in a small opera ensemble and sang the role of Papagena and the First Lady (one of three ladies, NOT the wife of a president) in Mozart's The Magic Flute. Through the group, I found a wonderful voice teacher and some wonderful friends who, eventually dissatisfied as I was with the direction of the group, started our own opera ensemble. The four of us, plus a soprano who auditioned for us, formed a fun, dedicated group that rehearsed opera duets and trios once a week, with me functioning as accompanist, director, and singer. Sadly, the group was unable to continue after I withdrew due to a pregnancy complication.

Four years later, in Berkeley, one of my friendly neighbors invited me to join her a cappella group, which sang an eclectic mix of pop, jazz, Renaissance, and world music. It was a wonderful group of dedicated moms, which welcomed me with open arms. They re-instilled my confidence as a singer. I even got to arrange a folk song for them, which was a great experience.

Then, I had my breakdown this past summer. I convinced myself that I didn't need music. I told myself I'd be perfectly happy just enrolling in a one-week early music program each summer to satisfy my urge to sing (solos, in particular). I was going to dedicate myself to writing and jazz dance, which, at the time, was pulling me out of my misery. I sadly resigned from the a cappella group to make the time for my new activities (I did it in a poor way, but that's another blog entry).

Unfortunately, I've found that the dancing options for me are pretty slim. I found the most amazing jazz dance teacher, but she teaches only one class a week that's available to the general public (her other classes are for serious college dancers and professionals). Hip hop classes have been more difficult for me to get to. I was taking them mostly for the cardio exercise (and they're really fun, too). I might be able to work it back in by December. The writing I can still do. I'm happy I'm getting back into it now. It should be regular now. I need to be disciplined about it.

But my creative focus is now back in music. I've joined a wonderful choir which focuses on Baroque music in particular, and I've found it to be an experience that's transcended all my expectations -- due to a fantastic director, the most beautiful repertoire, a friendly group of people, and a very special friend-singer (she's like a long-lost sister). Hey, this is a life-changing experience for me. It's like I've finally come home. I'm singing again -- singing music I love, singing with people I love. What more could I ask for? (Leaving the a cappella group was really tough because I loved the people, but I didn't totally love the music).

So my musical adventure is beginning again. I hope to take voice lessons again to get my voice back on track. There are so many things to work on. My breathing technique is not as good as it was in Paris, I think. My upper range has shrunk. My placement comes and goes. What would be fun is to get into a master's vocal program, but that's a pretty silly idea considering my family responsibilities. And, I don't think I could bear spending less and less time with my dear ones. Right now, the time away from them is just about right. I guess, when the kids get older, I'll be able to carve more time for myself. As they become more independent, I'll become more independent. I like how that works out.

It seems that this blog, at least for now, has turned into a "who am I?" exploration. I admire those who seem to have found their calling and are working hard to reach their fullest potential. I am way at the bottom of the totem pole, still just trying to figure out where to focus my energy. Am I just one of those people who will never focus? John calls me the greatest generalist. I may have reached a certain proficiency at several things, but will I ever be a master of something? Is that something to strive for? Or should I be content with being a dilettante?

Out of balance again

2010-10-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

My life is out of whack again, unfortunately. How do I know? Well, my feeling of being overwhelmed was growing, and growing, and growing until my body physically couldn't take all the activity anymore. Then I got sick (last week). I wouldn't be able to diagnose it as a full-on cold or flu, but I had hardly any energy, I wasn't jumping out of bed in the morning like I usually do (I'm a morning person, what can I say?), and had off-and-on chills and low-grade fevers. I was pretty useless as a homeschooling teacher (did Maylin learn anything last week? not much from Mom, that's for sure), and have left the house in an abhorrent situation. Hey, at least the kitchen's semi-clean (sink is full of dirty pans, but other than that, kitchen is spic and span!) and I did pick up all the gnarly remnants of toys destroyed by our dog (goodbye, Mr. Plastic Whale, empty yogurt container, and Thomas the Train track piece).

I'm only feeling a little bit better. It doesn't help when I'm plagued with sleep deprivation caused by events like what happened last night, which was basically my playing a game of family musical beds (but pretty much by myself). I started off in my bed with Maylin (John and Stefan on Stefan's full-size bed). Then, when Stefan cried in the middle of the night for Mommy, John and I swapped spots, putting me in Stefan's bed. I couldn't go back to sleep, as usual. I tried to make it back to my own bed, but realized that it was occupied by two bodies already. I attempted to sleep in Maylin's bunk without hitting my head on the ceiling. As I was finally drifting off with a pile of chapter books as my bed buddy, I was awakened again by Stefan's crying. I made it safely down the bunk back into Stefan's bed -- and did I go back to sleep? Fortunately, I did. But I couldn't make myself get to my beloved jazz dance class in the morning. Mama was running on very low, economy power. I knew I needed to rest. I knew I had few chances to lay in bed and rest my heavy head, so I took it -- gladly.

So, sleep deprivation and overextending myself. I'm paying for it. I volunteered to do a couple things for two different organizations, but they're taking more time than I anticipated. It's all still fun, though. It's stuff I like to do, and one of the jobs I actually suggested myself. So I'm handling the Scholastic book orders for our homeschooling charter school (I love books and working with people), and designing a t-shirt for the choir I'm singing in now. Fortunately, I've given myself a deadline for the t-shirt design, so that's pretty short-term. The book job is fun and only takes a lot of time because I end up being addicted to shopping for books myself. I did something smart and deleted most of the orders I had saved the night before. Hours of my time wasted, but lots of money saved!

Information overload

2010-09-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

My feeling of calm and peace after organizing all of our homeschooling stuff lasted only a moment. I made the mistake of signing up for a homeschooling yahoo group whose activity takes up half of my e-mail inbox. Though the conversations have been interesting (one of them relevant to me -- how to teach math to a creative, right-brained child), the rest seem to come from frantic parents desperate to resolve whatever problems their child has. I'm glad there is a forum for that, but all that online frenzy doesn't seem to help my already manic mental state.

Manic mental state. Partly due to sleep deprivation, partly due to information overload. So, I've removed myself from that frenetic yahoo group, and I'm also going to stop my subscription to the Sunday New York Times. I enjoy the NY Times a lot, esp. the arts and leisure section, but most of the newspaper I end up ignoring -- seems to be a waste of money to me. Plus, whenever I get the paper, I feel more pressure than pleasure. Pressure to read it all by the time the next issue comes out...and frankly, I don't have time to read! I have very few moments of complete quiet and calm to just TAKE MY TIME reading. When I have ten minutes to read, I am skimming, skipping...it really takes the joy out of reading. It seems I'm going to actually have to schedule private reading time into my schedule as well.

I'm going to also have to stop putting books on hold at the library (or at least limit myself to one request at a time). First, I thought it was the greatest blessing in the world to be able to request any book I desired and have it ready and waiting for me on a designated shelf at the library (such a gift when most of the time I spend in the library involves chasing my son through the stacks). And it's just fine when I can pick up one book at a time, but when three or more are available simultaneously, I freak out from the pressure to get all that reading done by the due date (even with renewals).

The jazz dance class I'll take in forty-five minutes takes me away completely from my crazy monkey mind. An hour and a half of complete focus in the moment.

I also started rehearsals with a Baroque choir that are utter bliss for me for three hours. This choir is a bit of an experiment for me (month-long, for now) after telling myself I was going to focus on mainly my writing and dancing. I thought I could live without music-making on a regular basis, but I think I'm addicted to singing Baroque music. I'm kind of returning to my roots in early music. Early music (medieval to Renaissance to Baroque mainly) was why I went back to school after getting an economics degree at Cal. I was suffering at a nightmare job and asked myself, "What would make me really happy?" My answer was, "To be an early music singer." My plans were to get a bachelor's degree in voice locally and then get a master's degree in voice (with an early music emphasis) at Indiana University. I changed my plans when I met my husband. That's the way life often goes, right? I have no regrets. John is great, and I wouldn't trade my job as mom to my wonderful kids with anyone.

Now, I do feel a little tug to return to my old dream of becoming an early music performer. That would be fun and a lot of work and stress (I don't think I can handle that kind of work stress anymore), but it seems totally unrealistic since my goals for the kind of family life that I want is not conducive to a performer's lifestyle. I think some things may always remain fantasy, and it's nice to settle into fantasy for moments at a time as long as I don't have to live it. It's a bit ironic, since now I am the closest I've ever been technically (with my voice) to make a singing career happen.

[I am sitting in my regular Sunday morning cafe and am totally distracted my someone's cell phone conversation. Something about wanting to chop off part of her toe, which is longer than her big toe. Typically, I'm not ready to hear about self-mutilation before Sunday noon.]

Okay, it's time to go. Time to torture my hamstrings. Have a wonderful day!

I found my place!

2010-09-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! I knew I'd find it. I needed to find a place to write that has wi-fi and is open late. And here it is (ugh, this photo taken at home is misleading). In my hood. No more getting kicked out of cafes at 9 pm. A cafe with wi-fi, late hours, relaxing classical music in the background, iced tea after a Thursday night hip hop workout...near perfection. It's a little loud. Not everyone is working quietly, but hey, I'll just have to adjust. Rifling through my bag now...voila! I found some little earbuds in my bag. Now I'm pumping Purcell choral music into my ears. Hmmm...not quite perfect -- can still hear a microbiology discussion bleeding through, but good enough. I admire hard-working students. I will feed off of their energy of self-discipline and dedication to their studies. I just hope I don't try to understand what they're talking about because it's way beyond me.

I like it that I'm not doing any serious writing right now. I tell people I'm working on becoming a writer, but I'm not pressured to show them anything, right? I immediately say, "I'm just starting out," or, "I'm way at the bottom of the game," and I can still go on feeling good about what I'm doing. No guilt, no pressure. Awesome.

I can only stay here until my laptop runs out of juice. I'm a little too far from the nearest outlet. I could look harder for another outlet, but I don't want to bother anyone right now. I'll come again during the day to really scope out this whole place.

It's pretty fun to be surrounded by all these laptops. Who knows what everyone's working on. Some people are probably just surfing the net. Other people might be writing the next best American novel. Berkeley is a hotbed of talent, and I consider myself to be so lucky to be living here, surrounded by all this creative energy and openness to everything.

Most people immediately show excitement and support when I share with them that I'm writing, but others are like, "Geez, is there anything you can't do?" which always surprises me. I mean, the things I do are not extraordinary...at least, not to me.

Cooking and baking well -- that's not something I was born with. It's still something I'm working on -- there's lots of things I haven't tried making and would probably fail at first, but if I was dedicated to it, I would turn it into a quest to perfect it. My cooking was so bland before. I used jarred sauces. I couldn't cook fish (and I still can't do a decent job at it). My dishes improved so much after an expat friend in Paris taught me how to season properly. For fun, I read cookbooks and search the internet for easy, delicious recipes. I work at the cooking. It's not a natural talent.

My musical skills are decent. I'm not conservatory-trained, so I don't think I'll ever be at the par of the musicians I most admire. I never worked hard at music -- I wasn't disciplined enough in my youth to practice more than 30 minutes to an hour a day, but I took a hell of a lot of lessons over many years. I was persistent. I didn't stop lessons in violin and piano until right before college. I think I have a talent for sightreading music (being able to play sheet music placed in front of me for the first time), which has been both a blessing and a burden. It's helped me get lots of piano gigs, but technically, I'm really lacking so some of those gigs ended up with my faking my way through pieces (playing most of the notes, but rarely all). Made me feel pretty crappy afterwards -- like a fraud, and I was one! These jobs should have been given to real pianists -- not someone who stopped lessons her senior year in high school and didn't really practice until her junior year.

People may be misled into thinking that I'm a full-fledged dancer, but I'm really a beginner. Two years of hip hop workouts does not make one a dancer, does it? I did take ballet and tap for four years in my early childhood which I think did set up my brain for learning routines at an adequate pace. I did take a few months of jazz dance and ballet when Maylin was a baby which have trained my body to align and balance itself properly. I do think that the jazz dance classess that I now take on Sunday mornings will take me to a much higher level. The regular teacher (I've had two lessons with her and two lessons with three lessons with subs) is super-tough and notices EVERYTHING. I love it when she tweaks my positioning and tells me what I'm doing wrong. I'm definitely in the right place emotionally now to be able to take any necessary criticisms. And I sure learn the most when the teacher has high expectations for each student. And I love that I come out of the class with wobbling legs and have sore quads for the next several days. I am going to be so strong after a few years of this! The class is also very humbling because I'm usually the least experienced person there. It reminds me of how far I need to go. I also look at all the perfect, trim bodies in the room and think, "Someday, I'll look like that." I think I have a relatively slender figure, but dancing among these gazelles, I look rather like a gorilla. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but my mid-section could use some work for sure.

With art, I'm a complete hack. I admit it. Utterly no training. I think I've inherited a pretty good eye for balance and composition from my father, who is a self-taught painter, so that helps. I've always drawn for fun, and am adept at copying illustrations. Ask me to paint a realistic portrait or draw a human figure and I will totally flop on my rear. Cartoon-y stuff is what I can manage sans training. I do wish I could at least draw characters from different angles. I even have difficulty doing simple side profiles. I am not a risk-taker when it takes to drawing or painting. I do what's safe for me. Remarkably, people still like what I've cranked out, so that's nice.

Now teaching, I think I'm definitely a natural at. I remember helping my classmates even in the primary grades. I continued tutoring throughout my academic career, but I had to stop once I got to Cal because the material got pretty hard for me. I was the one who always needed help. This was hard because I was very proud and really struggled to ask for help. Anyways, homeschooling seemed to be the perfect fit for me, someone who wants to teach everything (not just one thing). And I'm always curious and find so many things interesting. I have a big opportunity now to learn anything, everything. Now, I've identified all the names of the birds who visit our yard, I've grown my own vegetable garden (officially, it's Maylin's, but I definitely did most of the work), I'm composting with worms (not well -- I think I almost killed most of them), and my Chinese is getting better -- all these are the by-products of homeschooling. I don't think I would have advanced this far without it. In the mission to educate my child, I have educated myself as well. How wonderful is that?

And life is too short to stop there. I think everyone can keep growing, becoming better people...you can never stop learning. To stop learning is to stop living, in my opinion. I hate feeling like I'm stagnating. That's exactly where I was before we moved to Paris. I was too comfortable where I was before the move. I was a musician, but mainly because I didn't know what else to do and because that's what everyone expected me to do. I followed my abilities, but not my passions, which I hadn't figured out yet. I needed Paris to help me get on the right path to figure it out. I couldn't help but learn about myself as I gained much real self-confidence from learning a new language, adapting to a new culture and environment, and creating my life instead of letting it create me.

One of the biggest things I learned about myself is to not necessarily follow my abilities. My passions may involve skills yet to be developed. With patience and hard work, I will evolve into the person I was meant to be.

Living joyfully

2010-09-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

Here's Stefan soaking it all in on Mt. Rainier in Washington state. Ah, the joys of being a toddler -- no, now preschooler! He always brings a smile to strangers' faces as he runs by them. Stefan is almost always exuding joy from every ounce of his little active body. Yes, ACTIVE! I was thinking of signing him up again for the Chinese class he took last fall, but he cannot sit still! Especially if there are other kids around. A normal trip out includes my chasing after him, worrying about losing sight of him, dodging the crowds as he wiggles quickly through them, ahead of me.

Things feel like they're falling into place properly now. I feel happy and well-balanced. I have time to think about my novel that I won't start writing until November 1 (I'm so excited -- I've got a character, a supporting character, a vague setting, and a non-existent plot!). I have time to volunteer at our homeschooling school's resource center (fun!). I have a few moments here and there to sing an opera aria or two in a very acoustically live area of our house (joy!). I write in a cafe and take a jazz dance class every Sunday morning (so wish for more of these exact mornings). I have time to write out a customized math lesson every morning for Maylin (she needs variety, just the right amount of easy and challenging work, and games -- logic puzzles, sudoku, hidden pictures to graph, and fun word problems). I am teaching Maylin piano and she likes it and is doing great! I have time to take Stefan to a beautiful park nearby and enjoy the serenity (no people!) and the scenery (amazing view of the bay, including San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge). I am enjoying Maylin's own interest in writing, as she types away (now on her second page of a story entitled, "The Dolls").

Recently, I asked her again what she wanted to be when she grows up. She replied as I expected, "an artist." But then I asked her, "what kind of an artist?" Maylin answered, "An artist that writes and draws." The drawing part was nothing new to me. She draws almost all the time. Now, she is writing almost all the time as well. Her own self-initiated projects. Stories, pen pal letters, e-mails...and her writing is good! And I really can't claim any credit for it! Except that I model a lot of that for her. She sees me writing and typing, sees that I enjoy it, and then does it herself. I think that parents modeling positive behavior is so important and much more influential on our children than we think, and much more influential than anything we tell them. Actions speak stronger than words?

Being true to yourself, part I

2010-09-13T05:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Maylin and I both took free acting classes at the Berkeley Rep. Maylin didn't have the best of times since it sounded more like running and jumping than actual acting, but my experience was awesome. We did a lot of breath-work, connected with our bodies while lying on a mat, and made our own personal connection to a few lines from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. My big take-away from that class was learning the importance of making the text your own -- finding your own personal truth in it and making it real for yourself. I guess it sounds obvious, but how many times have you seen a production where you say to yourself, "That actor delivered those lines perfectly, but I don't feel anything." The actor may have been trained to deliver the lines well enough to be heard and understood, but has not made the text true for himself so that the audience can feel the emotion of that personal truth.

Last night, before going to bed, I read a few brief bios of essay writers, gleaning a similar message -- that a good writer writes words that are the most true to herself. That is so true. Some writers' work seem so contrived. In fact, my college essays sounded quite contrived because I was writing with the voice that I thought I was supposed to have instead of writing with my own voice. But how is a young adult supposed to know her own voice already? I know some talented teens who have probably already discovered their true voices, but I certainly had not by the time I entered Cal. In high school, I learned how to write a good analytical essay, but I don't remember anything about learning how to write a good personal essay. We should have learned since one of our most important essays in our lives was the college application essay -- a very personal essay.

Anyways, I woke up at five this morning to the revelation that good acting and good writing is a lot Iike good living. I haven't done the best job living until now. For a long time, I hadn't found my voice -- I hadn't given myself permission to live my own life on my own terms, not someone else's. And now that I'm in control, I'm going to really listen to myself, do only what feels right to me (follow my gut, because it's always right), and not be swayed by what I think I should be doing. Overthinking can get me into trouble, but when I am really in tune with my feelings and follow through in action, then things usually turn out just great. More on this later...

Feeling giddy about writing

2010-09-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! I'm so excited to come back to my regular Sunday morning cafe, sip my tea, and write to my heart's content!

Two nights ago, I had an amazing, cinematic dream that I knew would make an awesome novel (and later, a movie?). But (a big BUT), I don't think I know how to express such a cool story in words! It kind of has a Lord of the Rings feel to it, so maybe it's time to actually read the trilogy. I've never been a reader of fantasy, but it's never too late to start! This will be for research mainly, but who knows? Maybe I'll actually enjoy it. I'm not sure if I'll use the story for my National Novel Writing Month project. I'll probably save it for when I'm a better writer. National Novel Writing Month is going to be the time when I just pull something out of thin air and see what happens. A stream of consciousness novel -- haha! That would be fun to read.

Argh -- I have too many ideas in my head to really know where to start writing today. I guess that's a good thing. With homeschooling, there's always an overload of information.

Maybe I'll start with how I'm feeling. I feel energized, youthful (in the last two days, two people have commented on how young I look), and optimistic about the future. But I feel pretty darn naked in these leggings I'm wearing right now. I'm suited up already for my dance class which follows this writing session since I'm too lazy to change right before class in the studio dressing room. Usually, I wear the ones that hug my thighs and butt just right, but flare out towards my feet. These are your typical high-waisted (ugly!) leggings that smush everything from the vulnerable belly to the shy butt, from the embarrassed thighs to the less inhibited ankles. It's mostly my butt that feels really exposed. I'm used to wearing hip-hugging jeans, but somehow this is a little different. These pants leave nothing to the imagination. I might as well be strolling down the street in my birthday suit. Fortunately, I'm feeling pretty confident these days, and my body is in an "acceptable" condition for exhibition (I'm working on getting an "excellent" rating in my head). So, for now, three and a half stars? Maybe almost four?

Enough of that. Last month, after a deep discussion with my husband, we decided that we needed to have regular dates to increase the health of our marriage. Fridays have been our date night (two dates managed so far). 1.5-2 hours seem to be enough for us to get a nice dinner in Berkeley (luckily we're blessed with marvelous restaurants in this town) and catch up with what's going on with us and the kids. And we get to hold hands. I miss that. Holding hands were a common occurrence before we had kids -- now, we've got to work at it! It's such a simple pleasure for me.

Homeschooling is really going great. Of course, there are days where I'm completely frustrated about not feeling like we accomplished anything on my agenda, but then I look back, and I realize that Maylin accomplished a lot on her agenda (and that's okay!). For example, my anxious days are actually very creative days for Maylin -- she may have evaded my strict morning schedule of math and grammar, but she drew a comic, wrote several paragraphs on her self-initiated story project (typing it all on her own), and continued programming her animation project with Scratch, a visual programming language accessible to people of all ages, among other things. I will feel better personally if we can get back on track (she was sick for a couple of days and it really put a wrench in our schedule) and fit in our yoga, math, grammar, and reading in the morning -- she can have the entire afternoon and evening devoted to her own activities.

I have been informally homeschooling three year-old Stefan as well (just turned three last week). He recognizes most of his uppercase and lowercase letters, can count to 29 (with some trouble around 15 and 16), knows his shapes (we're working on ovals and octagons now after mastering the others), has known his colors for forever (although he mixes up yellow and white often -- interesting!), and is excellent at matching games (thanks to our newly-acquired iPad, which was actually a gift for a wedding that didn't happen in the end). He loves books, still leaning towards train, car, monster truck, construction equipment, and jet airplane themes, but I am so relieved he now likes good old storybooks now, too. As I'm reading to him, I occasionally run my finger across the sentence, and I think it's really helping him understand how reading works. Sometimes he runs his fingers across the sentences, too, and attempts to "read." It's the cutest thing.

Another wonderful is seeing Maylin and Stefan read together. Maylin will often initiate a reading session, and it's just so precious to see them sitting quietly next to each other on the bed sharing a book. With homeschooling, these beautiful moments happen more frequently. And with homeschooling, I can see them creating a stronger bond as sister and brother than they would have without the homeschooling. Homeschooling is a gift. The most valuable thing about homeschooling is the freedom of time. The kids have more time to cuddle, play together, read together, "work" alongside each other...I am sure that the strong friendship and sibling love that they create now will continue to flourish through the years.

This seems like a good place to stop. I'm still feeling good, but maybe I feel even better, now that I've released my thoughts to the universe. I'm off to my jazz dance to get my butt kicked (and enjoy it, too).

Until next time...

The writer I want to be

2010-09-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I've said it. I want to be a writer. But if you've been reading my blog all along, this is probably nothing new. Caroline writes in her blog, albeit not regularly. Caroline has said many times she aspires to write a children's book. Caroline may have mentioned (have I?) that she is going to participate in the National Novel Writing Month campaign which requires her to write 50,000 words in 30 days (yikes!).

Yet, I do not want to be a novelist. The novel's just an exercise in writing for me. I just got to get my creative juices flowing. And also, I need a really ridiculous challenge once in awhile, just to let myself know that I'm alive and have control over my own destiny. I compare it to doing a triathlon without doing any proper training. What have I got to lose? It's not like I might break a leg or drown in the process.

So, what kind of writer do you want to be then (even though you're going to waste all your time writing a novel), Caroline? An essayist! Yes, yes! You heard me right. Even though I've been reading books like Writer Mama, which tells you basically how to break into the magazine article market as a freelancer, and No Plot? No Problem! by the guy who started the whole National Novel Writing Month phenomenon, I find I most identify myself with the writing of essayists. David Sedaris was my first inspiration, although the more I read of his work, the more I think that this is a guy I wouldn't necessarily want to hang out with. And now I find myself dipping back into one of my college texts from English 1B, Eight Modern Essayists, compiled by William Smart. Ah, to be in the company of fine writers/thinkers like Joan Didion and Alice Walker is pure pleasure. So now to read, to be inspired, and to write. Wish me luck!

Maylin earns orange belt in karate

2010-09-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

For two years, I had Maylin take ballet, and though she had much talent and grace, it turns out that she didn't enjoy it. Too girly, she said. Yes, that's my daughter. I'm fortunate we discovered a karate program that she enjoys. After one year of study, she earned her orange belt at the end of the summer (it starts with white, then yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, brown, red, red with black stripe, and finally black). I'm always in awe of her determination, focus, strength, and flexibility when I watch her practice her forms or her kicks. It's so beautiful! There are a couple of kids who are one step away from their black belts, and their work is the most amazing. I could see Maylin being one of them in a few years.
I remember last year when she talked about how much she would sweat in the hour-long class, or how she almost felt like throwing up (it's not an easy workout by any means) but kept going. The perseverence! She's learning much more about herself than I could ever imagine.

I have "monkey mind," as evidenced by my bedside table

2010-08-18T23:36:00.000-07:00

Those who practice meditation may be familiar with the term "monkey mind." It describes a mind full of noise and activity, which prevents one from achieving an inner calm. Meditation is supposed to help with that. I probably need a dose of meditation now. I usually am a one-book-at-a-time kind of gal, but now, just look at the bedside reading I have on my nightstand and you can tell I've got a mind that just won't calm down (in order of acquisition from the library and Amazon, not including the children's books for storytime): The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise (classic classical homeschooling lit -- I highly recommend this book to any homeschooler who doesn't want to leave any gaps in their child's education), Best Food Writing 2009 edited by Holly Hughes (fun and educational, but it's all over the place -- I guess that's how an anthology is going to end up), Naked, Drunk, and Writing by Adair Lara (supposed to inspire potential memoir writers...I haven't read enough of it to feel particularly inspired, but the conversational style is my kind of writing), Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Hobby Into a Business by Meg Mateo Ilasco (and no, I don't have a hobby I can turn into a business right now because I have no product to sell! -- just thought it'd be a fun read), Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter (perfect for me, right? I love reading about food and I love memoirs; can't wait to find time to get past page 6), No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty (to help with the Maylin's and my novel writing during National Novel Writing Month in November), and Writer Mama: How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids by Christina Katz (it sounds interesting to me, but I don't think I'm ready to pull it off and I'm not even sure it's something I'd want to do).

This is a sign of a brain going in too many directions at one time! Whoa, Nelly! Instead of requesting all these interesting-sounding books from the library (by the way, making book requests is THE way to go for busy moms who don't have time to browse at the library because they're chasing their toddlers from the periodicals section through cookbooks and crafting to a well-used graphic novel section), I COULD just writing down the titles somewhere for future reference. Geez.

Yes, I have an inability to focus. I think when I focus, I can really excel at something, but inevitably, I get bored. I move on to the next thing. Once I feel I've mastered something, or have achieved the highest level I think I'm capable of achieving (sometimes it's a plateau), I get the itch to move on. In the last couple weeks, I've had a few itches. Let's see if I scratch or not.

Toddlers don't like Impressionism

2010-08-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning, we took the kids to see the Birth of Impressionism exhibit at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. The exhibit featured many familiar and not so familiar masterpieces from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. When we lived in Paris, this museum was my favorite, so I was so happy to see some old friends, including Caillebotte's The Floor Scrapers (the light is so amazing, and I find myself very calm enjoying the beauty of this work) and one I hadn't ever seen before, an unusual Cezanne entitled, Maincy Bridge (it's so geometric, so structural, but you can feel the cool, humid air and sense the mystery of the water under the bridge). Of course, there were the Renoirs and the Monets, but we see them so much these days on calendars and notecards, that they don't thrill me like they did when I was in high school. Unfortunately, today these masterpieces are nearly cliche.

Okay, so I loved the exhibit. The kids were grumpy and hungry (we woke them really early, whooshed them out the door, and stuffed some -- not enough -- Gorilla Munch cereal in some Tupperware which they gobbled in the museum cafe before our exhibit entry time), so you can imagine the loud complaining from Stefan ("I want to go hooooome") in between content sessions on benches with his Hot Wheels cars and the quiet, yet constant, complaining from Maylin ("I'm booooooored"). I even gave Maylin a primer on Impressionism the day before, so she saw many of these paintings in a book before seeing them in person. I thought it'd be cool for her, but boy, was I wrong.

We had a pleasant lunch in the cafe afterward, so at least the visit ended on a positive note. Maylin did remind me that she had warned me before of her dislike of museums. Ugh. Thought this would be inspirational for my little future artist. I guess she's still a little young.

Old fantasy come true!

2010-08-08T08:31:00.000-07:00

It's 8:35 a.m., Sunday morning, and I've just sit down in a cafe on a plush purple armchair with my laptop on a small marble table -- free wi-fi, an electrical outlet and hot lavender tea by my side, surrounded by the character of an old building, the cheerfulness of the barista, and Beethoven. For years, since Maylin was a baby, I had imagined this type of scenario. A complete hour or more of peace. My private time. A mind open to creativity. And I also have a dance class to look forward to across the street. Not my usual hip hop, but I'm venturing out to a different world of dance. We'll see what happens, but I'm definitely in a phase right now where I feel like I'm being reborn.
My focus lately has been on getting Maylin's third grade curriculum in order. It's been fun, but frustrating at the same time. It was fun finding a social studies curriculum ("Story of the World" by Susan Wise Bauer -- Maylin LOVES it!), fun finding a language arts program (by Susan Wise Bauer and her mom, Jessie Wise), fun discovering a Chinese program that I can use for Stefan, too (betterchinese.com), and frustrating locating the ideal math curriculum. After scouring reviews of many math programs, borrowing and buying various books, I've decided upon a mix of two programs, Singapore Math (for mental work) and Developmental Mathematics (for mastery). Last year, there weren't enough drills of basic arithmetic and now we're paying for it. At least she understood the concepts of multiplication and division -- my only math victory. The handheld electronic Flashmaster that we discovered the other day is providing a fun way of drills of addition and subtraction facts.

I've been slowly making my way back into music -- I've been singing in an a cappella group and, in September, I'll be singing with a classical chamber choir. But I think I'm itching to get back into solo singing. I'll probably go back doing the classical thing. For a little while I was thinking of learning vocal jazz or composing my own songs to sing at open mics. Still on the fence, but I definitely feel the best about my singing when I'm singing classical music. I can use the full range of my instrument -- extreme louds and softs, very high notes -- things you don't find often in jazz or pop. I miss acting, too, but not sure if opera is where I want to be for that. Maybe join one of my friends in doing improv?

It's all pretty exciting. But I'm trying to think where all this excitement and all this motivation to reinvent and rediscover myself has come from. And actually, it was from a pretty dark place. One evening, the day before my thirty-sixth birthday, I was experiencing one of my semi-annual nervous breakdowns which resulted from weeks of sleep deprivation, little help around the house (John was working long hours), and no break from Mommy duties (it was Camp Mommy this summer for the kids). I was just about to run out of the house screaming, but decided instead just to take a quiet walk. Ended up on Telegraph Avenue in one of my old college haunts, Moe's Bookstore. Looked through volumes on book design, illustration, and freelance writing. It made me feel a little better, but I was in a slump for a few days. As a newcomer to the large club of Project Runway admirers, I've found myself both inspired and depressed. I'm inspired by seeing designers take on projects with all their differing creative processes and depressed feeling that I should be doing creative projects as well. If I would do my youth all over again, I would have taken drawing classes in high school and put together a portfolio to go to art school. I don't know what I would specialize in, but some sort of design, I think. Well, it's never too late, right? Maybe I should take some drawing classes. I'm really quite a hack and have no technical background.

I'm a little girl full of big dreams (or just too many dreams). Let's see what happens next...

My best oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe

2010-07-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

Can it be that my tastiest cookie is actually egg- and sugar-free? Don't let that scare you. You won't miss that egg at all. And the highly processed granulated sugar is simply replaced by good ol' natural maple syrup. These cookies are crispy around the edges and chewy in the middle -- just how we like'm around here. I didn't come up with this recipe from scratch since I borrowed ideas from a recipe by Martha Stewart and another by Alicia Silverstone (which she borrowed from someone else, but put in her book, "The Kind Diet.")

Ultimate Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix these dry ingredients together:

3 1/4 c. rolled oats
1 c. + 2T all-purpose flour
1/2 c. oat bran
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. coarse salt
2 T flaxseed meal

Mix these wet ingredients together in another bowl:

1/2 c. safflower oil (corn oil or canola oil are fine substitutes)
1/2 c. melted butter
1 c. maple syrup
2 t. molasses

Combine wet with dry, and stir in 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheet (or use a silicone sheet like me -- the French Silpat). Flatten slightly with fingers. Bake for 14-15 minutes. After a couple of minutes of resting in pan, remove to cooling rack. Enjoy!

Art project: Styrofoam printing

2010-06-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

Materials:
Paint (I used paint for silkscreening because I thought we were going to do t-shirts, but we didn't; tempura should work just fine)
Completely flat, hard, smooth surface for rolling paint (e.g. piece of glass or marble)
Brayer (found in art stores; mine is a rubber one with a plastic handle by Speedball)
Flat piece of styrofoam (cut from a meat package, for example)
Card stock or paper (I prefer card stock)
Pencil

Draw picture onto styrofoam with pencil (not too lightly, not too harshly). Words will have to be inversed if you use them. Pour some paint onto your hard surface (I used a piece of broken marble salvaged off the street in Paris). Use a brayer to roll over the paint (try to get an even layer of paint on your brayer). Roll the paint evenly onto your styrofoam drawing. Place styrofoam, paint-side-down, onto your card stock. Press down on the styrofoam (be sure to press on the edges as well), releasing the paint onto the card stock. Remove styrofoam, and voila! You have a cool print! You may have to do many prints until you get the perfect one -- it takes practice getting just the right amount of paint onto the styrofoam (in a smooth, even layer) and pressing it down completely onto the card stock.

Maylin makes movies through xtranormal.com

2010-06-11T22:15:00.000-07:00

Maylin started typing this school year, with most improvements being made after going through the free, online BBC's Dance Mat Typing Program. Her typing has enabled her to do various things, including type out forms (using Grandma's electric typewriter), search with ease on Netflix for favorite movies, and make movies through xtranormal.com. Check out this one of seven videos she made today, now featured on YouTube!

For more of her videos, visit her channel on YouTube.

Maylin is an official Junior Ranger!

2010-06-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

Social studies isn't a subject that comes naturally to me as a homeschooler. Many suggested topics haven't sustained much interest for Maylin. But, we did discover the World Heritage in the U.S. Junior Ranger Program which provides awards for completing a 10-page booklet about World Heritage sites. This was the first time Maylin was really interested in social studies (besides making her own maps and improving her map skills) -- because she could look forward to receiving a badge, map, and certificate. She received them today and she said she felt very excited, and I'm sure, proud, as well. Maylin learned a little bit about the world and a lot about what makes a World Heritage site. I hope she'll be interested in earning other Junior Ranger badges through the National Park Service. Click here for the World Heritage in the U.S. Junior Ranger Program, and click here for other Junior Ranger programs under the National Park Service. The latter site also has curriculum and field trip info for teachers as well.

Maylin creates her first stop-action films!

2010-06-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

We got inspired when we heard that one of our friends was going to a stop-action animation camp. With a little research, and the help of iPhoto and iMovie, I was able to support Maylin in her creative endeavor. She has made 9 films so far (we started last week), and this is our favorite right now. I set up the tripod, she attaches the camera, sets up her toys, and away she goes! I do the compilation after she takes all her shots (what an amazing attention span she has -- she'll do a movie in one session). She recorded her precious voice-over. Enjoy!
Click here for YouTube video!

Little Farm with Stefan

2010-04-27T12:57:00.001-07:00

On April 15, we headed off to the Little Farm in Tilden Park, where kids can feed farm animals! Stefan was very excited, and I was so happy I had the chance for some mother-son bonding time. We got to sing "Baa Baa Black Sheep" upon seeing the black sheep, fed lots of animals, including a very beautiful gray cow, saw a Daddy turkey chase a Mommy turkey, and took a hike and happened to spot a cool banana slug!

Our Easter "eggs"

2010-04-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

This year, I was going to avoid the problem of too many leftover hardboiled eggs that nobody wanted to eat. I had lots of clay left over from my camp last summer so we ended up making our own clay "eggs," letting them dry, painting them, and applying Modge Podge afterward to make them shiny. Maylin and I both had a lot of fun. I think next year I want to try painting wooden eggs so they'll look more authentic.

CalDay 2010

2010-04-27T08:50:00.000-07:00

Maylin and her friends had lots of fun at the Cal campus on April 24, 2010. They went to a physics lecture, played in front of an infra-red camera, learned about and played with robots, watched a dance performance, examined fossils under microscopes, and held an albino boa and a leopard gecko. Cool!

Make your own composting worm bin

2010-04-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

We planted a veggie garden a couple weeks ago and just started vermicomposting (worm composting) today! Here's are some helpful sites if you want to get started composting with red wigglers!

http://www.journeytoforever.org/compost_worm.html
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm

More photos and updates to come!

What we're up to

2010-04-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging much lately, I know. But life's been good. Stefan's continuing to be the amazing sponge. We revisited our Melissa and Doug pattern blocks and he remembered trapezoid! We need to review the more basic shapes as I think he's forgotten rectangle and square [if I can remember, I'm going to make a shape activity out of felt]. He cuts up triangles from thin strips of paper so he easily recognizes those. His colors and counting are still great. He knows his alphabet and sings most of the song now. And he sure loves to sing. His favorite songs at the moment are Head and Shoulders, This Old Man, B-I-N-G-O, and Twinkle with hand movements. He's so cute!

Maylin is doing well with her homeschooling. According to our Education Coordinator, she seems to be well ahead of most kids with her writing. I wish she would read more -- still prefers my reading to her, which is fine. A great bonding experience. The last book she read was from the series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which actually negatively impacted her writing because it's written from the point of view from a middle-schooler who writes quite informally with many colloquialisms. It twisted her writing a bit, but now that enough time has passed, it's gotten better.

It's National Poetry Month, so I've had her start a poetry book of her own. I will share some of her beautiful work later. We took a week off for spring break and now she's doing the standards test, but I'll have her write more soon.

Maylin really excelled at her karate test this past weekend, moving up to yellow belt. She didn't want me to take pictures, so no evidence of this monumental occasion, but she did so beautifully, I will never forget it. Her graceful and powerful front kicks that went up past her head, her turbo-charged running kicks, and her side kick which broke a wooden board...it was all so impressive and drew sounds of approval from the crowd. I'm so glad my parents were able to make it and see how amazing their granddaughter is!

I might have said it before, but I arranged a piece for my a cappella group which I almost completely overhauled because I thought one part was too low for the altos -- thankfully the original was saved by our director before I made any changes. Instead, we'll do some vocal changes instead to resolve what was bothering me.

I am in the market at the moment for a new violin and may be in possession of THE one after about a month of shopping around (I don't own it yet; it's on trial). I'm crossing my fingers. A good violin brings so much more pleasure than a so-so violin. My present violin is decent, but has always felt a little big for me making some musical passages very difficult, doesn't project as well as it could, and sounds a little muffled in the upper positions on the lower strings (a problem I encountered on a violin that cost twice as much, so it must be common). This new one sings with ease, I don't have to work hard to make it sound nice, all the notes are clear (so far), the E-string is not shrill at all, and the lower register is very deep and dramatic sounding. I'm hoping that after this trial I don't discover something that I don't like. I'm hoping this is the one!!!

Raising butterflies

2010-03-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

For Christmas, Maylin got a "butterfly garden," which consisted of a collapsible mesh "cage" and a coupon redeemable for 5 caterpillars. We got our tiny, 1-millimeter long caterpillars in a plastic jar with their own food in February. Within a few weeks, they had grown into very large caterpillars (very hungry guys that could double in size in a day or two), formed their chrysalis, and hatched into their beautiful painted lady butterfly-selves. We fed them orange slices and released them in a couple of days, minutes before a rainfall. That was unplanned. I felt so sorry for them. One second they're thinking, "Freedom! I can fly!" Next second, "Crap! Now what do I do now?"

This was a great educational experience for the whole family. Too bad the chrysalis formation and the actual hatching happened so quickly we missed them!

More paintings

2010-03-30T14:14:00.001-07:00

I posted these photos on Facebook, but forgot to put them in my blog. Earlier this month, I finished "Flying Owl" for another school auction, and Maylin posed with her beautiful painting which is hanging in our house.

Caroline paints again!

2010-02-22T22:49:00.000-08:00

I have lots of painting projects to do, but I've finally finished one only because I had a deadline. (I need deadlines!) This one was for another school silent auction and has left me forever! It was good to make the donation, but it's weird -- it feels like a piece of me is gone. This one's entitled, Little Blue Girl on Green.

I finished this painting yesterday and the day before, I finished arranging a piece for my a cappella group. That was a first for me -- a really great creative project. There will definitely be some tweaking after I get some feedback, but I actually finished a piece for once! When was the last time I finished a composition? Probably about a decade ago -- for a church choir I directed for several years.

The latest in my chocolate chip cookie adventure

2010-02-16T21:06:00.000-08:00

This time, I've used the "Good-as-Store-Bought Cookies" recipe from the book, King Arthur's Cookie Companion. They are pretty darn good, and have a lot of fiber (there's a lot of ground-up oats in there). It takes a little more work than regular chocolate chip cookies because you need a food processor to grind up 8 oz. of chocolate and 2 1/2 cups of rolled oats. They say these cookies are supposed to taste like department store cookies, which I've never had before. The texture of these cookies is pretty light, so it's easy to eat too many. I personally prefer a chewier cookie, so my next adventure, will be "The Essential Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe from the same book.

ABC cards for my preschooler

2010-02-16T10:52:00.001-08:00

Stefan's 2 1/2 years old now and is quite the sponge. He knows his alphabet, his numbers (1-10), his colors, and his shapes. Since I'm homeschooling Maylin, it makes sense to homeschool Stefan as well. I've been using the uppercase alphabet cards that I made for Maylin (and I've copied them so Stefan can play a matching game with them), and now I've made lowercase cards, too, for later. It doesn't hurt to start him on his letter sounds, so he listens to this phonics song on youtube. He loves it!

If you're interested in making similar cards, you'll need 3x3 squares of colored paper and card stock (glued together) or squares of colored card stock. Type up the letters in your word processing software (I used Century Gothic font in size 150). Cut and paste letters to your card and laminate using laminating sheets found at an office supply store. Cut out and use!

Gingersnaps

2010-02-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

I've been making these gingersnaps for years. I think they're just beautiful and addictive, too! I use the recipe from Fannie Farmer's Baking Book, but I substitute butter for the shortening (no transfats in this house!). You will need to refrigerate your dough for at least 10 minutes before rolling though to ensure picture perfect cookies. I didn't refrigerate before the last batch and they weren't as uniform. The warmer bits of dough oozed out of formation.

Lentil ("dal") recipe

2010-02-04T14:01:00.000-08:00

Many have been asking for the recipe to my lentil dish. I don't follow any specific recipe, so it's a little different every time (but it is inspired by a Deborah Madison recipe for dal). This is what I did the last time I made it:

Ingredients:
2 cups red lentils (which actually look orange), rinsed and drained
1/2 small red onion, diced
about 4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. turmeric
1 15-oz. can of coconut milk
2 cans of water (plus a little extra just in case)
few tablespoons butter
salt to taste
cilantro (optional, for garnish)

Add butter to a pot or Dutch oven. Heat to medium high. Add onion and garlic. Stir. When softened, add lentils, coconut milk, turmeric, and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 10-15 minutes, checking and stirring occasionally until lentils are tender. If it looks like it's getting pasty, add more water. Add salt to taste. If you wish, garnish with cilantro for a contrast in color.

Enjoy!

Cheerios multiplication

2010-02-02T15:03:00.000-08:00

Well, we actually started off using chocolate chips, and then I realized, by the time we got to multiples of 4, that that would be way too many chocolate chips (I was letting Maylin eat them after the activity).

Math manipulatives are great. You can use legos, wooden blocks, beans,...just about anything. Kids love to do physical activities, and I think, probably learn more when their bodies are actively engaged in their lessons as well as their minds. For math, being able to see the math problem in front of them in concrete form is so much more meaningful than memorizing a whole bunch of facts (which is how I was taught growing up).

If you'd like to replicate our lesson, follow these simple instructions.
1. If you want to introduce multiples of two, then get two identical containers (I used Pyrex custard cups), and 24 Cheerios.
2. On a piece of paper, write out the number problems for 2x0 up to 2x12, leaving a blank for the answer to be written in.
3. Go over 2x0 and 2x1 with the child, showing that two times nothing is nothing, and that two times one Cheerio is two Cheerios (child writes in answers after counting the Cheerios you've placed in the containers).
4. Let child do the rest of the problems independently (adding one Cheerio to each container for each additional problem), but do check in once in awhile to make sure s/he understands the concept.
5. If the child shows enthusiasm for doing more, pursue multiples of 3s and 4s. Compare answers for 2x10, 3x10, and 4x10, as well as 2x11, 3x11, and 4x11, and have child look for patterns and determine answers for larger numbers.

Great U.S. geography game

2010-01-30T18:47:00.000-08:00

Maylin loves playing the game, The Scrambled States of America. She has so much fun that she doesn't realize that she's getting a great lesson in U.S. geography every time. It's basically a card game, but somehow feels like more than a card game because each player gets to use a cute map for reference. Maylin and I both love the illustrations. The game is based on the book of the same name by Laurie Keller. On amazon.com, it's $17, but I think I paid $12.99 at Games of Berkeley on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley.

Lessons on simple machines for elementary school-aged children

2010-01-30T18:31:00.000-08:00

Can you believe the whole family is sick with the flu? Stefan had it first, so he's much better now. The worst hit me earlier today. I have just enough energy to do some homeschooling research. Maylin was interested in learning about simple machines, but I never looked hard enough for really fun, engaging experiments/demonstrations. I found these online that look great and are not too difficult to put together. Mostly household items. I bought the game, The Way Things Work, but most of it is too advanced (or worded in a way that sounds too advanced) for Maylin. Other science projects in the works include growing bacteria in petri dishes, making our own secret formula for cola (even though Maylin hates soda), and growing crystals. When the rain ceases for awhile, we will start a little veggie garden. Do I have time for all this???

The Montessori Method

2010-01-29T21:56:00.000-08:00

I don't know much about the Montessori method, but it's so incredibly popular and effective, that it seems worthwhile to spend time learning more about it. I'm hoping I can use some ideas or processes in our daily homeschooling experience. I found a scanned version of Dorothy Canfield Fisher's "The Montessori Method" which is used (in probably a newer, updated version) in the training of Montessori teachers. You can read it online or download it here, for free.

Here's also a website with videos and activities that can give you a better idea of the method.

If you've heard of Waldorf, another method, here's a good comparison of the two (it speaks of Montessori and Waldorf preschools in particular, but I think it gives a good overall summary of the methods).

Maylin learns about wheels, axels, and gears

2010-01-26T16:36:00.000-08:00

One of Maylin's presents for Christmas was Oogly Googly, a building set with motorized gears and not-so-remote control (attached with a wire). As she built this "tractor," she got a hands-on lesson in simple (and more complicated) mechanics. She had a lot of fun, although there were some pieces that were really hard to attach without a parent's strength. So much for the toy's advertisement as "easy-to-assemble." She would have been really frustrated if I weren't sitting right next to her. Pretty good toy, overall, and fun for Stefan as well!

Sticky caramel rolls

2010-01-26T16:16:00.001-08:00

Before going into the oven

Right out of the oven

Stefan had a fever all night long, despite the use of Tylenol. And despite of my exhaustion, I was able to crank out some sticky caramel rolls for the first time ever, with the help of my stored bread dough. Recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I left out the pecans per Maylin's request.

Carrot ginger soup

2010-01-25T14:27:00.000-08:00

My best friend Peggy gave me this marvelous recipe for a beautiful, uncomplicated, elegant soup. It's a little bit on the spicy side, so if you have kids who prefer blander foods, you can leave out the garlic and ginger for them. Also, for the half-and-half, you could substitute heavy whipping cream (I did it only because that's what I had in the fridge) or coconut milk (for you non-dairy peeps out there) or even chicken broth (the texture of the soup is already pretty creamy without the cream!). I cannot locate the primary source of this recipe, but most likely, Gourmet magazine.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 T finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 t finely chopped garlic
2 lbs. carrots, peeled and chopped
4 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
3/4-1 cup half-and-half

1. Cook onion and celery in oil in a 4-5 quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6-8 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Add carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes.
2. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are very tender, 15-20 minutes.
3. Puree soup in batches in a blender (I used a food processor -- better! I have also used an immersion blender which does a quick job, but it's hard to tell if you've purreed every last drop) until very smooth, about 1 minute per batch (watch out with hot liquids), transferring to a large fine-mesh sieve set over a large bowl. Force soup through sieve (discard any solids), then thin with cream to desired consistency. Season with salt (if you don't add the garlic and ginger, I would season additionally with a dash or two of ground white pepper). (I did not use the sieve, or actually, I tried, but was unable to get the soup through -- my sieve was, I guess, TOO fine. I still think the texture for marvelously smooth and creamy.)
NOTE: Soup can be made 2 days ahead and cooled completely, then chilled, covered. Reheat.

The photo is a different version of this soup -- I added 6 cups of stock instead of 4.5 and omitted garlic, ginger, and cream. I did add the white pepper. Still pretty tasty, and a little simpler. Very kid-friendly.

Chocolate crinkle cookies

2010-01-25T13:18:00.001-08:00

After caring for sick kids and a vomiting dog, it was time to do what is therapy for me -- cooking and baking. I'm now pureeing a carrot soup, waiting for my baguettes to rise, and eating my chocolate crinkle cookies. Pretty cookies...they taste just like brownies -- but why do these seem sour to me? I took the recipe from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. Any ideas?

Make your own all-natural body moisturizers

2010-01-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

One of my friends started her own business selling handcrafted bath and body care products. She inspired me to try it on my own as a hobby. I've only had time to dabble in it a little, but I think it's a great idea to put all-natural, healthy products on my skin, knowing exactly what's in them. Living in Berkeley, I am able to find all the ingredients I need locally. Berkeley Bowl has nearly everything you need (now there are two locations so parking is much easier). As far as I know, the herbal store, Lhasa Karnak, on Shattuck is the only place in town that sells beeswax in solid cakes for grating. They also have little cosmetics jars and tins for lip balms, but it's a little pricey since you're buying them individually. If you'll be making large quantities, it's best to shop online for your containers. The Sunburst Bottle Company is in Sacramento and has many supplies available, but they seem to have trouble keeping the popular 2 oz. glass jars in stock (backordered for me). They do have excellent customer service -- always calling me with updates.

Over the Christmas holiday, I made this whipped shea butter cream with my sister-in-law for the first time. It was fun and not too hard. I halved the recipe, omitting the corn starch and mica powder. For the oils, I used sweet almond, avocado, and a little vitamin E as a preservative. 7 drops of essential oil of lavendar gently fragranced the cream. The whipping seemed to take forever over the bowl of water -- it might be best to put the bowl in the freezer once in a while as other sites have recommended.

I noticed that for some of my extreme dry winter skin patches (esp. on my legs), pure shea butter is the best treatment, although without mixing in some oils, it is not the easiest to spread. But when applied to the skin, it will begin to melt from the skin's heat in a few moments.

Books you might want to look at if you're interested in other bodycare products to make at home are Better Basics for the Home by Annie Bertholod-Bond (highly rated book on Amazon) and EcoBeauty (beautifully designed book by Lauren Cox, but not sure if all the recipes have been fully tested). I am pretty new at this so I haven't tried many recipe at all, but will keep you up to date on my latest projects.

Social studies through board games

2010-01-18T11:25:00.000-08:00

I made a killing at El Sobrante's Thrift Town yesterday. This is an excellent thrift store if you're lucky. I happened to find some great stuff: a black leather skirt for $6 (a little worn, but it fit me perfectly), dressy black pants by Ann Taylor for $6, four shirts with dump trucks, fire engines, etc. for Stefan ($2 each), a jean jacket for Maylin for $4, kids' books and videos from 50 cents to $2, and three great board games ($2 each) -- Milton Bradley's Chinese checkers (the exact version I grew up with -- the pieces are actual pegs, not marbles that roll around -- I got teary-eyed with nostalgia!), Life, and Risk. The latter two I had never played before.

Maylin was very eager to learn them all. And we did play them all last night and she loved them all. I'm so glad I found a fellow board game lover in the family. John doesn't help in that department. I thought Life and Risk would be too advanced for her, but she picked up Life really quickly -- and what a great social studies lesson for a homeschooler! She learned about salaries, loans, stocks, and insurance (homeowners and auto) in one sitting. Risk was a bit more complicated (for me, too), but she learned so much about geography. As a primer, we visited this link that allows the child to click and drag to identify each continent: http://www.softschools.com/social_studies/continents/map.jsp

After getting into a rut with the homeschooling (Maylin and I found it to be more work than fun -- my fault entirely), we are having fun again with games and creative lessons (that require a lot more planning, but so worth it!).

I love my mornings

2010-01-10T08:01:00.000-08:00

Here's one of my favorite photos. I took this in Ohio in October -- can you guess what this is?

***

I'm an early bird. I don't love being awakened before 6 a.m. because I know I won't be able to get back to sleep, but I do like being able to get a lot done. Especially in the kitchen. I love my kitchen! Last year, John redesigned the kitchen, we had his best friend do the work for us, and now, I am extremely productive! It's only 8 o'clock, and I've already started some bread dough for baguettes later today, ribs, and a butternut squash soup. And I still have time now to catch up on e-mails and head out to my hip hop class in a couple hours. You might be wondering, but what about the kids? Oh, they're still sleeping, and probably will still be sleeping when I leave the house. They are on an incredibly late schedule and it's going to be hard for me to break them of it since we're on a homeschooling nonschedule. No more getting up at 6:30 so I can get up Maylin at 6:50 so she won't miss her 7:35 bus. Eek, was that a pain. So much struggle. It definitely puts a strain on your relationship with your child when you have to push, push, push your child to get ready for school. I'm the type of person who can just leap out of bed and start her day. Maylin's more like her dad -- takes a bit of time to get out of bed, get out of that groggy state and be a fully-functioning human being.

My latest, greatest achievement that I wanted to share with you is that I transcribed a song (with lots of help from my friends) and put it into Finale Notepad, a music notation software program (download for only $10!), which resulted in some beautiful, professional-looking sheet music! It's been about 10 years since I've done something like this. It was a very satisfying project and I gained so many skills in the process -- the program is pretty much intuitive, but there were some little things that I had to figure out on my own. The a cappella group I sing in will be performing the piece, All I Have to Do is Dream (performed by the Everly Brothers and the Nylons), for the first time next month. I'm so excited! My upcoming music projects include writing an original song for an international songwriting contest (let's see if I can make the deadline of Jan. 31! ugh, it's gonna be tough) and arranging a beautiful Canadian folksong named, She's Like a Swallow. I love making stuff!!

In memory of our dog Leo

2010-01-06T18:47:00.000-08:00

Our dog Leo passed away on November 1, 2009. We loved him dearly, and he is always in our hearts. My husband John has written a wonderful eulogy for him. We share some special Leo memories with you.

***

We adopted Leo on Valentine’s day 1999, from the Oakland SPCA. He was between three and four months old, and only the second dog we had seen that day. He had enormous paws and instantly approached us in his cage with tail wagging and such an intelligent look in his eyes. We decided to look at one other facility before making a decision, but quickly went back and decided to adopt him. His given name was Sebastian.

We were driving my Volkswagen Beetle convertible, and on the 25-minute drive home Leo both vomited and pooped in the back of the car.

After briefly considering calling him Woody, we settled on Leo as a name, after Caroline’s father. I always liked the name and with him it just fit.

Because we adopted him in the springtime (for California, anyway) housetraining him was easy. We just left our large sliding doors open enough for him to get out, and at intervals took him out back to our large ivy patch. Within days he was going there religiously, which was convenient in that we never needed to clean up after him. Throughout his life, he always chose remote patches of ivy or other groundcover to evacuate, which made walks with him that much more pleasant. Getting ready for walks was another matter. While I would be tying my second shoe, he would be on the floor in front of me pulling my first shoe’s laces untied.

Caroline and I were both working at the time, and we actually had not planned for what to do with a puppy that would be home all day. I decided to take him to my office with me. I had not asked permission; my plan was to “sneak him in” and be confident that he was so well behaved and cute that all would want him to stay. It worked, although my boss treated it as an act of defiance. Leo would quietly curl up under my desk and often people did not even know he was there. I would walk him up and down the street at intervals during the day. Next door was a grass yard where we would play fetch. One colleague noted that he was so smart and responsive, “like a little person”. When he needed to go out, he would sit by the door and the receptionist would open the door.

We avoided disaster twice. I once found a devoured box of rat poison in the hallway, and had to immediately take him to the vet for de-tox. He was fine, but another time I took him out to lunch with us and had him sit out front of the restaurant waiting for us. He did fine, but unbeknownst to us a passer-by took him by the collar to the nearby luxury dog day-care outfit, assuming that he had escaped. After hours of searching, we seized on this as the likely outcome and found him there, living it up with the other pampered dogs.

Another near-disaster was when he jumped out of my VW convertible….while I was driving. At about 25mph he leaped right out the driver’s side. I heard him make the move and watched in the side view mirror as his chin banged and scraped along the pavement. Unhurt, he trotted off the road to pee on a bush. Amazingly, he tried this one other time in France while stuck in traffic on the freeway in our Renault minivan. Apparently he had had enough traffic. He actually exited the car another time when we were leaving our Paris neighborhood for a weekend out of town. While accelerating across a boulevard from a stoplight, I heard a frantic scraping of dog feet on plastic, and in the rear-view mirror saw the minivan’s hatchback swinging closed and the end of Leo’s tail disappearing through the opening. I had not latched the lid before leaving, so when Leo leaned against the door it opened and he fell out. Horrified, I stopped to go get him. A car stopped beside me with a man intent on communicating something to me. As I knew the message to be “monsieur, your dog has fallen out of your car” and it was pretty obvious that I was taking appropriate action, I ignored him. Again, Leo was fine and glad to get back in the car.

He was less lucky when I was working on a large retaining wall along the property line of my uphill neighbor. We were using steel-reinforced concrete and for awhile there were sharp pieces of steel re-bar sticking up between our yards. Apparently Leo attempted to jump over them and did not quite make it. Nobody saw him get hurt, but he became quiet and started licking a spot on the side of his body. While jumping, he had gotten caught on a piece of re-bar and it had torn a hole the size of a quarter in his right side. It did not puncture any organs but surely could have. Of course he had to be stitched up, and thus we learned the importance of the orange plastic safety caps placed on exposed re-bar.

Leo always loved to play tug-of-war, and early on could jump quite high. He could take a rope from my hand at 6 feet off the ground. He would also at times of excitement get into a sort of frenzy where he would spin around at high speed, sort of chasing his tail, and growl ferociously at nothing in particular. He would do this while in our front courtyard when the mailman visited. Leo would grab his toy rope...his mailman substitute….and thrash it about violently while growling and spinning just inside the fence from the mail slot. Dust and debris would fly out under the fence as it shook back and forth. Of course, our mailman was terrified of this 90-pound Tazmanian Devil, and refused to deliver our mail if Leo was in the driveway. Knowing Leo would never hurt anyone, once I walked Leo out to our mailman in his truck so that he and Leo could become friends. The mailman replied, “I don’t want to be friends” as he slipped my mail through the small crack in the truck window.

But my theory was proven when later, while off-leash on a walk in our neighborhood, Leo saw a mail truck with another mailman standing beside it sorting mail. Despite my yelling, Leo charged him growling viciously. This mailman looked up but did not flinch. Upon reaching the man, Leo did not actually know what to do. He sort of bumped into the guy with his shoulder, sniffed him, and then started wagging his tail.

Leo pulled the spinning move once when we took him to a dance party at the community clubhouse of some friends of ours. He followed us onto the dance floor and began spinning around to the music. The dancers cleared out into a circle and clapped in unison as he whirled and growled for about 30 seconds. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life.

Leo was a hit with the neighborhood’s two pre-teen girls. Gwen, the ten-year-old next door, would set up an obstacle course in her yard for Leo to traverse. She would cajole him through the various jumps as if he were a horse. They would invite him out to play, where we would later see him being pulled around in their wagon, wearing a pink ballet too-too, and just loving it. He was less thrilled when they took him trick-or-treating dressed in a cape. Midway through the evening, Leo somehow became spooked by the cape, it being tethered to him and following him everywhere. He bolted in a terror, shredding his cape and strewing candy in the street. They chased him for two blocks before he settled down.

Because of his good behavior and discreet defecation habits, he earned the run of our Berkeley neighborhood, at least until his last year when, unable to find or navigate his usual ivy patches, resorted to frequenting a neighbor’s garden. If he did not appear at the house after a few calls, he was usually at either of the houses next door, either hopelessly trying to befriend the cat or in the fenced yard cavorting with the neighbor’s dog. Once I look over their fence and there was Leo standing beside their golden retriever, both of them happily chewing opposite ends of the same stick. One time I heard him yelping, and followed the sound to the neighbor’s fenced-in trashcans. Leo had worked himself inside the gate, obviously after some enticing odor, and it had latched behind him. Other times he would be at the school across the street, trying to separate the Montessori grade-school students from their lunches. I’d see him facing a row of kids, all with their sandwiches held high above their heads.

I would take him running with me on my course through the neighborhood. We live on a hillside, so I’d repeat a ½ mile course five times to alternate the uphill and downhill stretches. Initially he would follow me for all five laps, but eventually he wisened up and would only join me for the first, third, and fifth lap, while sitting out laps two and four in front of our house until I passed by again. He first learned this tactic when I took him to the Cal football stadium to run the bleacher stairs. My workout was about 50 trips up and down about 30 rows of bleachers. Initially he followed me all the way up and down, but after about five trips, he stopped to wait for me five rows from the top, then seven rows from the bottom, then ten rows from the top, and eventually he just sat down at the fifteenth row and watched me pass by until I was done.

He would get upset at any human-like effigies that did not look quite real. Realistic statues were fine, it was the obviously distorted images that bothered him. One Halloween, a house on our normal walk route placed a seated scarecrow on their patio near the street. It was full-size, and with normal clothing, only with a head about twice normal size made from a round pillow. Leo decided that there was something inappropriate about this unresponsive, mute encephalitic character, and would bark at it incessantly. After it was removed, he barked at the space it had occupied for another year, as if it were haunted. In fact, Leo held a grudge against any place he felt to have done him wrong. At one street corner where he had once been frightened by a loud car, he thereafter barked at every single car that passed.

Like dogs everywhere, Leo was terrified of the ironing board and the vacuum cleaner, the latter particularly so due to my failed experiment for controlling Leo’s shedding. But nothing shook his confidence as much as when I got him to ride an escalator in a Paris department store. Dogs are welcome in French stores, and although Leo was bigger than most Parisian dogs, he was welcome and admired by the locals (“Il est enorme!”). I knew the escalator would freak him out, but I needed to go to the second floor, so I approached it quickly with Leo on leash. At a glance it looked just like a staircase to him, so he hopped on with me but instantly realized the trouble he was in. The poor guy crouched down, looked around, and tried to dig is toe nails into the steel treads. After he was peeled off at the escalator’s top, he pranced around as if his life had just been saved. Going back down later, of course, was another story. He flat out refused to budge towards it, one of the few times that he absolutely refused a command. He pulled himself out of his collar. Eventually we found the elevator.

This was not the first time I experimented with Leo and stairs. In an attempt to have him be happier while left at home during the day in Berkeley, I built an ad-hoc wooden stairway onto the flat roof of our house. It ran about ten feet from the elevated ground in the back yard, and at eighteen inches wide was eminently navigable. I’d had Leo on the roof before, and he liked it up there. I used the same technique as with the escalator, having him follow me up the stairs before he knew what he was doing. He got halfway up and, realizing his predicament, decided that moving forward was safer than moving backward. He bolted up the stairs onto the roof, and later followed me down, but of course never went near the stairs again.

Leo had several run-ins with the local fauna. We have deer everywhere, and he was able to chase a few in his early years. Caroline watched him catch one of his hated squirrels, which promptly feigned death and ran away limping when Leo paused in his attack. When Leo was home alone we often left our sliding door open for him to go in and out, and sometimes birds would wander into the house. I found bird poop on my side table once, so I knew it was fairly common. I came home from work once and found feathers strewn about the house, but no carcass. Leo had a satisfied look so I assumed that he had just eaten it. I saw this scenario almost play out again when he and I saw a bird hopping across the downstairs bedroom floor. He went after it, slipping and sliding on the slick concrete floor, so the bird hopped under the bed for cover. Leo scrambled in after it, and as I watched the bird popped out the other side of the bed, took flight, and flew two circuits around the room until it spotted the open door and flew outside. Leo appeared from under the bed looking to and fro for the bird, but alas he was too late.

He was less lucky with what I assumed to have been a bout with a bee. Arriving home from work, I noticed Leo in a subdued mood and with his face all puffy and swollen. Seeing no wounds, I began a game of tug with his rope to cheer him up and as he went to bite the rope he yelped out in pain. Opening his jaw exacerbated the pain of whatever had happened to his face, and I realized that he had probably caught one of the bees that he liked to chase around the house, and that the bee had likely gotten him, in the mouth.

And, of course, he had his one encounter with a skunk, with predictable results. He never met the small family of raccoons that would regularly appear on the neighbor’s roof to stare in at him through our picture window, but he would stare diligently back, his body tense and quivering.

He was always pretty restrained when it came to taking food off of tables. Occasionally a half-eaten burrito would disappear off of the coffee table, but things changed when we started him on a diet after returning from France. On two occasions he took whole loaves of organic whole wheat bread off the dining table and devoured them whole in the courtyard. They were not baguettes, but likely the closest thing.

His time in France was a bit less eventful, although I’m sure he is remembered in the lore of our immediate quartier after his antics in front of a restaurant one Saturday evening. It was summer and early twilight, which in Paris means about 10:00 PM, and I was walking Leo around the block, off leash as usual. I spotted my friend Tom Turchioe dining on the sidewalk with a friend, and went up to say hi. Of course Leo knew Tom and immediately nuzzled up to him for a vigorous scratch. Whatever Tom did sent Leo into an uncontrollable fit of humping spasms. He broke loose from Tom’s grip and started off across the sidewalk, sort of humping and hopping about with an embarrassed and helpless look on his face. A line had formed at the restaurant entrance and they took notice when he veered towards them. Stepping away from him, they gasped as he proceeded by them and into the empty street. Almost a full minute later he finally stopped as I led him down the street and around the corner. Mon dieu!

Such incidents did not prevent friends from getting in line to pet-sit him when we were out of town, even though he shed profusely and could barely fit alongside you in Paris’s coffin-sized elevators. One couple, while watching Leo one weekend, tried to plan a road trip with visiting friends. Overhearing the discussion of whether “Leo would get carsick, need frequent bathroom stops, or be too hot in the car” or “we would need to bring Leo’s food and water” and, finally, “he would make it harder to find a hotel“, the friends finally asked “who is this guy and what is his problem?” Not knowing Leo was a dog, apparently they thought he was some high-maintenance relative.

In his later years he developed other strange behaviors. Over time his back legs grew steadily weaker, and he had a harder time getting around on walks. Sometimes in mid-walk he would just lie down in the middle of the sidewalk, content to chill out for a while. I could hoist him up and continue, but Caroline would have to return to the house to have me go and fetch him.

One time I came home from work and I heard him yelping in the side yard. He was trapped in a raised, planted area above our retaining wall, and I still do not know how he got up there with his legs the way they were.

On his last day, he ate his lunch normally and I let him out into the October sunshine to spend the day lying in the driveway. I spent time with him there doing some work on my car. We had a short walk over to the school with the kids, and he hung out with us while they played. Later, Caroline saw him from her car, walking along a neighborhood sidewalk with Rune, a Belgian shepherd of his own age and his best friend. Rune had obviously come over to visit and they both had wandered off together.

Before dinner I went out to take Leo for an evening walk, and he was still in the driveway but was panting heavily and would not stand up. I lifted him to his feet but he would not walk or look at me. It was hot, and I was worried that he had overheated in the sun and had lost the energy to cry out. I brought him water but he was not interested. I carried him inside and realized that something was seriously wrong. I called the local emergency vet and told the kids we had to take Leo to the doctor, as Caroline was away for the day. I carried him into the car, and into the vet office where we put him on a high, rolling table for diagnosis and treatment. I stayed with him as the first fluid brought him sleep, with his signature snore, and the second put him down for good.

Leo may have passed younger than most dogs, but he did live a full life. He caught one squirrel, one bird, one mailman, chased several deer, caught one thrown Frisbee on the fly, and for one session at the beach showed the fortitude to chase a stick through some sizable breaking waves. That was my proudest and perhaps best day with him. His proudest day, or at least his most satisfying, was another day out windsurfing with me (see below). He was always a great beach companion, especially at Crissy Field in San Francisco where he would endlessly run on the grass and beach with all the other dogs. I could go sailing and leave him alone knowing he was safe and responsible. Oddly, after our first child arrived, he would never quite relax at the sailing sites. He would cry out for me as I went out onto the water, sometimes swimming after me, as if I was abandoning him. I think it was because he realized he was not the only “child” in the house anymore, and this depleted his self-confidence.

As he got older, at the beach he was content to just lie by my car anyway. However, there was some excitement one day. So I’m windsurfing at a familiar site on the Sacramento River, parked in a field below a grassy slope with Leo along, and in the process of rigging a smaller sail to handle the recent increase in wind. Leo is off somewhere.

I hear a holler and look up to see a long-haired guy running down the grass slope carrying his board and sail rig and yelling Hey! Whoa! Just then, a sudden wind gust caught his sail and this sent him out of control. The rig buffeted him around, then planted in the ground and sent him flying over the board onto his back. The rig then tumbled over him, banged off of one parked car and then wedged itself between two others.

I thought he was either 1) Really excited about the strong wind and was regaling his buddies at the car to come on out, or 2) Legitimately out of control and frightened due to the rogue wind gust or 3) Chased by bees….but then he emerged from between the cars holding something wet, floppy, and grass-covered and hollered out “that dog just ate both our steaks! Who owns that dog?”.

I looked around quizzically and went back to rigging my sail. Having been frightened off, Leo emerged from between some cars several rows away and warily wandered back to me. Of course I acted like I didn’t know him. He continued to gaze longingly back at the site of perhaps his greatest meal.

What's with all the hits?

2010-01-06T18:40:00.000-08:00

I can't believe all the hits I'm getting on my blog. I hadn't checked my site meter for half a year or so. So when I saw that I had over 22,000 hits, I was like, "Whoah! What's going on here? I hardly ever post anything!" Through the site meter I was able to check referrals and it looked like people were coming to my blog when they google-searched for "skeleton cut out" or "skeleton print out." Every 15 hits or so somebody wanted to find a way to print out a skeleton. Funny, huh? People sometimes come for recipes, too. That's nice. I used to get a lot of people coming from searches for second-hand clothing shops in Paris. My posting is probably way too old to be useful now, unfortunately.

Fresh baguettes out of my oven in an hour!

2010-01-05T15:39:00.000-08:00

I use the master recipe from the book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. It's not a lot of work, but does take some planning. You can get all the info you need for free from this link: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx?page=3

I made a batch of dough one night, and had enough to make two small baguettes yesterday, and two small ones today! Crispy crust, moist and chewy interior -- it's not bad! The flavor is not as great as my favorites from Paris since I'm not using an ancient French starter but granular instant yeast which I store in the freezer. But close enough! This is a knead-free method, so there's not too much work involved and you still get to work a little with the dough with your hands. Feels great! My favorite part right now is hearing the little crackling sound inside the baguette as it cools on my rack coming right out of the oven. In second place is the feel of the knife cutting through the crispy crust and then sinking into the soft interior. I love eating it, too, esp. with garlic-infused olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fleur du sel (special sea salt), and freshly ground pepper. Heavenly.

To the movies with Maylin

2010-01-05T15:17:00.000-08:00

Just came back from a date with Maylin -- a burrito lunch and a movie at the theater...Fantastic Mr. Fox. It was truly fantastic. It's so creative and original, as artsy as you can get and still be mainstream -- can't wait to buy the DVD. Maylin loved it, too. I'm so glad I was able to talk Maylin into watching this instead of Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Squeakquel, with me.

We got our burritos from Gordo Taqueria on College Avenue in Berkeley. Quite a long line, so I thought, this will probably be really good. My first time trying them out. I got a carne asada burrito with guacamole. Nothing too special flavor-wise, wish they could have browned the meat for more flavor. But it did taste very fresh. My favorite place for Mexican food will probably still be Picante on 6th Street.

We watched the movie at the Elmwood on College. The box office and doors were closed 15 minutes before the chipmunks movie showtime. That didn't seem right. $8 per ticket was a lot of money to hand over for a matinee, but the theater was clean and comfy. We almost had a whole room to ourselves, but a couple of old ladies chose to sit right in front of us, five minutes after the movie started, obstructing Maylin's viewing. I mean, they had a whole theater of seats to choose from! We moved, and then they moved in front of us again (to allow for the late-arriving friends to sit down)! Wow, I don't think they were trying to be rude -- just clueless. I wasn't angry, just a little shocked. But should I be shocked? When we lived in Paris, little old ladies were often cutting in front of me or others in line. They acted like it was their God-given right. But what about women with unhappy toddlers in tow? Pregnant women? I never cut in line, but hoped someone would be understanding (if I was holding a toddler in my arms, or had a big belly). The Parisians were usually very kind and let me go ahead of them or give up their seat on the bus when I was in obvious need.

I miss Paris.

Maylin's photos from Rhode Island (part I)

2009-12-06T20:04:00.001-08:00

Maylin's photos from the Conservatory of Flowers

2009-12-06T19:49:00.000-08:00

Maylin and I went with our friend Meghan to the Conservatory Flowers in San Francisco before Thanksgiving to see a special exhibit. Here are a couple of her best photos from that day.

Maylin's photo of Stefan

2009-12-06T19:41:00.001-08:00

I just think the composition of this photo is soooo cool! And the contrast of the black and white, the dashes of color -- I love it. I hope to share more of Maylin's talents soon!

Cody, the newest addition to the family

2009-12-06T19:32:00.000-08:00

Isn't our little guy a cutie? We found Cody online through petfinders.com. I highly recommend it! You can find a rescue dog through an advanced search -- sex, breed/mix, age, and location. We searched for a male "baby" of retriever/shepherd origins, saw his photo (he had floppy ears in the original photo), and just fell in love with him. This photo was taken of him in our front courtyard. He is now 3 1/2 months old and is a really sweet, cuddly guy. We miss Leo, who passed away on November 1, but we're happy to have a furry creature to love now.

Moist oatmeal breakfast bars

2009-12-03T23:31:00.000-08:00

I made these for the first time this morning, and everyone who's tried it loves it. I guess it is possible to make something really healthy AND delicious!

This recipe has been adapted from an oatmeal fruit bar recipe from Sara Snow's Fresh Living book.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup Turbinado (raw) sugar (granulated probably works fine, but may be sweeter)
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 t. vanilla extract
1 small apple, peeled and chopped
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups dried coconut
3 cups rolled oats

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking pan. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together flour, flaxseed, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix. Stir in fruit, nuts, coconut, and oats. Press mixture into pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges just begin browning. Let cool before cutting into bars.

Best online education resources for free! (part I)

2009-12-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

Fun science activities with PDF instructions and videos:

http://www.exploratorium.edu/afterschool/activities/index.php?activity=136&firstDisplayedItem=4

Maylin made a cool jitterbug that jiggles with the help of a battery and motor.

The Asian Art Museum has great educator packets on different regions of the world. The prices listed are for the printed books, but the PDF format is free to download. There's lots of info, plus some related arts and crafts projects as well.

http://www.asianart.org/educatorresources.htm

Teaching kids poetry: haikus

2009-11-23T15:08:00.000-08:00

Maylin took a writing class where she wrote an ode to a bear. I thought she didn't have any interest in poetry, but after we brought her ode home, she wrote a few more! (I think she caught my enthusiasm because I actually wrote some odes first and then she followed suit.) That night, I made her a little booklet entitled, My Poetry Book, with a neon green cover. She woke up the next day to this on the kitchen table. Maylin was so excited to begin our first poetry lesson together. On the first page I had written the syllabic rule for the haiku, a three-line poem (5-7-5). I also included some of my own samples, including:

Cool rain hits my face
Mouth opening, I giggle
As joy showers me

The next page had a haiku brainstorm area with columns for nouns, adjectives, and verbs. She came up with about eight for each column, and proceeded to write three haikus in a row! After she had run out of words from her brainstorm, I suggested taking a break -- but no, she wanted to keep going, to my pleasant surprise! She had to brainstorm again for my words and then wrote two more haikus. Here are my favorites:

Windy, sandy beach
Sandcastles are fun to build
Swim and run with me

****

I want sweet candy
I don't want gross broccoli
Is it sweet or gross?

Teaching kids poetry: cinquains

2009-11-23T15:04:00.000-08:00

Here's a great site for learning about cinquains, which are five-line poems with the syllabic rule of 2-4-6-8-2:
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=43

Here's my sample to give to Maylin:

Popcorn
Tasty, wholesome
Eating, crunching, smiling
A yummy snack that's good for me
Orville

Now I have to do some research on Orville Redenbacher so I can do some explaining. I'm also going to look up some famous cinquains. I believe it's a French form, so I'm going to look for some French ones! Fun!

Awesome (healthy) muffins!

2009-11-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

There's a really great recipe called Ruthie's 8 Grain Muffins, which comes on the back of a Bob's Red Mill package of 8 grain hot cereal. I've adapted the recipe for people who can't access Bob's stuff, and I've made it a little healthier by substituting butter for margarine and white whole wheat flour (no, it's not bleached -- just a softer winter wheat variety) for the white flour. You can also use whole wheat pastry flour, but it'll be pretty crumbly. If you can only access regular whole wheat flour, try it and let me know how it goes. Actually, maybe I'll try it and I'll let you know. The whole wheat flours do make the light, tender muffins a little sturdier. I was tired of cleaning up piles of crumbs after my toddler.

I think these are the perfect healthy muffins. Let me know what you think.

Awesome (healthy) muffins

1. Turn your oven on to 400 degrees.
2. Mix the following ingredients and let sit for 10 minutes (you can do the other steps in the meanwhile):
1 1/4 cup buttermilk (plain or vanilla yogurt works, too, but I think the buttermilk is better)
1/4 cup cornmeal (at any supermarket)
1/4 cup almond meal (grind your own or buy at Trader Joe's)
1/4 cup flaxseed meal (I think you can find this at TJ's)
1/4 cup oat bran (can find at TJ's)
3. In a larger bowl, melt 1/3 cup of butter, using electric mixer, mix in 1/2 cup of Turbinado or regular granulated sugar, add 1 egg, and mix again.
4. Sift the following ingredients in a medium bowl:
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of white whole wheat flour
5. Add ingredients from step 4 to step 3. Mix.
6. Add ingredients from step 2 to step 5. Mix.
7. Spoon batter into 12 paper muffin cups that have been placed in a muffin tin.
8. Pop into oven for 15 minutes.
9. Gobble them up!

[Note: I accidentally left out the baking powder, baking soda, and the salt one time (I know, I think I was over-multi-tasking and sleep-deprived) but the kids still loved it -- and a playdate friend as well!]

Maylin's first compilation CD

2009-11-17T06:31:00.001-08:00

For one of Maylin's birthday presents, I put together a CD of her favorite songs downloaded from amazon.com. She picked all the songs herself. It was wonderful to see how happy she was to hear her own CD. Such joy! That was the best $13 I ever spent!

1. Axel F (Crazy Frog version)
2. Who Left the Dogs Out
3. Everybody Dance Now
4. Lollipop (that old doo-wap song)
5. Don't Walk Away (a Hanna Montana tune she heard on the plane)
6. Good Morning Baltimore (Hairspray musical)
7. I Can Hear the Bells (Hairspray)
8. Without Love (Hairspray)
9. That's How You Know (Enchanted movie)
10. Ever Ever After (Enchanted)
11. Axel F (original)

Homeschooling a success so far

2009-11-14T17:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I realize I haven't really talked about homeschooling much in my blog (maybe I haven't been talking much about anything at all, really), but just so you know, it is really going great. Maylin and I are a good pair for this -- she's a good student and listens to me (most of the time) and when I'm prepared, weeks are great. When someone's sick, things slow down, but we make up for it on the weekends. We have a very flexible schedule. Sometimes Maylin will do some work in the morning, some in the afternoon, and some in the evening. She is often motivated by 10-minute bites of a movie. 2 pages of math will earn her 10 minutes of watching. A writing worksheet earn the same as well. A chess game counts, too. Maylin gets the most work done using this reward system.

Our language arts work is all over the place. We'll have spelling tests, phonics worksheets, reading, story-writing, book-making, writing games...mixing it up seems to be key. Our math curriculum is Singapore Math. Maylin's almost done with her first book -- her big reward is a scooter. Sometimes she likes math, sometimes she doesn't. I still need to figure that piece out.

For science, we'll do experiments using household products like baking soda, borax, and vinegar. I usually have her write up a report afterwards. Fortunately, she still says she loves science. Oh, we also work through the Evan-Mohr books. We're in the vertebrate book presently -- it has great worksheets and lesson plans. I've woven in trips to the Oakland Zoo and the Natural History Museum (NY) to supplement the unit study. And soon, we'll visit some week-old puppies to help study the life cycle of vertebrates.

Social studies has included map-study, worksheets, and journal-writing after trips. I need to work more on integrating this into our daily studies.

Maylin also takes Chinese, French, piano, chess, and karate. I'm teaching her the piano, but it's hard because she doesn't have much interest in it. But that karate...she loves it. It's the perfect activity for her. She likes working hard, doesn't mind repetition, and is good at memorizing a series of steps (forms). I'm quite proud of her. She'll be testing for her yellow belt soon.

I'm not worried about her not getting enough socialization -- she has plenty of opportunity in her extracurricular activities.

Some great online resources that Maylin likes to use:
http://chess.math.com/ (so she can always have the computer to play against)
http://www.typingweb.com/ (a free site for learning how to type -- she's already learned homerow and the top row -- her accuracy is quite good...and she loves it!)

Little furry bundle of joy

2009-11-14T17:27:00.001-08:00

We've got a new puppy! I know, our wonderful dog Leo passed away recently, but Maylin was just crazy about getting a new puppy. Everyday she voiced her wishes. I thought it wouldn't hurt to look online. Found a great site, petfinders.com, which I believe specializes in rescue dogs because they were mostly mixes. You can do an advanced search by breed (mix), sex, age, and location. Our puppy was being fostered in Richmond, so it happened really quickly! I e-mailed our adoption application Wednesday night, the family met the puppy at his former home Thursday night, we got to take him Friday night for a short trial period, made our decision right away and turned in our paperwork today. I can't imagine how lucky we are! It was fate.

We are in love! Cody's a golden retriever-Australian shepherd mix (I was specifically looking for a retriever-shepherd because that's pretty much what Leo was -- we like that kind of temperament and look.

He is about 3 months old, tan and white, and is a real sweetie. Very obedient and learns quickly. He's only had a few accidents so far.

Let's hope I can get a photo up before he grows out of puppyhood!

Natural cleaning, part I

2009-11-07T14:19:00.000-08:00

Maylin had a little science lesson today as I tried to get a blood stain out of some bedsheets (Stefan had a bloody nose one night). I hate using chemical treatments, so I thought I'd experiment with baking soda and vinegar. Maylin spread a layer of baking soda over the stain and then dumped some vinegar over it. We got some fantastic bubbles going! Stefan loved it! We repeated this many, many times, to the delight of my kids. And you know what? It did a pretty good job on the stain. It didn't completely eliminate it, but it's barely there now after a tumble in the washer and dryer! We called this experiment Bubble Action. We're going to see if this same method will work on our old carpet stains. Woohoo!

I'm back!

2009-10-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

We had a long trip to Ohio, Rhode Island, and New York, with the kids in tow. A couple days after we got back, I got sick. Now John and Maylin are sick. Stefan's got a little cough -- hoping that it doesn't develop into what the rest of us have...he's had it so rough, with the scarlet fever right before our trip.

I've got a lot of photos to post, which means it's going to take awhile until I get them all up. Maybe I should post in bite-size pieces. I have this problem of inaction when I get overwhelmed by the size of a task.

The Rhode Island bit of the trip was really inspiring for me. We were at Rhode Island School of Design for John's 20th grad school reunion. Just being surrounded by artists and designers was exhilirating! The positive comments from artists/designers that I got on the name tag I hand-lettered (darn, I left it somewhere), the book I made (in a kids' art workshop), and a drawing I made for Stefan on a dinner table (papered at a restaurant) made me really proud. They asked if I was an artist! I don't feel that same pride when people ask me if I'm a musician. So I think I'm going down the right path as a visual artist. I have a lot of work to do, but it'll be such a fun process. Also, I met some great artists at the RISD Art Sale, and realized that I felt so at home with these people. I felt like this was my community -- the community I wanted to be in. Yes.

Gotta go. Stefan just woke up from his nap, unhappy.

Sorry I don't have new photos up

2009-09-21T06:53:00.001-07:00

Our external hard drive went kaput. Yes, that's right. All of our precious photos are inaccessible at the moment, but hopefully not lost forever. And this happens just in time -- I was just about to make some photo books, post our Hawaii photos, share camp photos...waaah!

Stefan speaks!

2009-09-21T06:46:00.000-07:00

Stefan was off to a slow start speaking, but I wasn't ever really concerned, though other people, including our pediatrician, were. Now, he's coming up with so many words each day. Today, he surprised me with "pink" when he pointed to his oil pastel (he also said "orange," but he's done that before). And yes, give your kids good art supplies now. Crayons are boring and pretty colorless compared to pastels, markers, and good colored pencils (Prismacolor are my favorites -- pricey, but check clearance sections in art stores). Anyways, Stefan also can recognize and recite eight letters of the alphabet and the numbers 1,2,4,5, and 8. When I'm homeschooling Maylin, he will often repeat what Maylin is spelling or reciting. How exciting! I know some kids Stefan's age are probably already speaking full sentences, but I'm not worried. Stefan can point to and say "steam" and recognize a multitude of objects, including construction equipment and vegetation. He also says "engine" for fire engine. Too cute!

Butternut Squash Bisque (an elegant soup)

2009-09-21T06:32:00.000-07:00

A beautiful and delicious orange-colored soup. Use a good bread knife (serrated for trimming the skin off the squash and cutting it into rough cubes).

Version from 9/20/09

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized butternut squash (about 1.5 lbs.), cut into rough 1/2-inch cubes
2 T butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
3-5 cups hot chicken broth
1/4-1/2 t. ground white pepper
salt
extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 cups water
chives, finely chopped, for garnish (the tiny, tubular kind, not garlic chives)
sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Heat olive oil in large pot. Add onion and cook until softened (try not to brown), about 5 minutes. Add butternut squash, 3 cups chicken broth, and 1/4 t. white pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until tender. Let cool slightly. Transfer half to food processor and puree. Pour into large bowl. Puree remainder and pour back into pot. Add first half to pot. You may need to add 1-2 more cups of chicken broth if it's too thick. You can refrigerate and serve the next day. I served the same day. Before serving, bring to boil again, reduce heat and simmer for a little bit. At this point, I add a little olive oil to make it shiny and smooth, add water as necessary (I don't want it to be a squash puree, but a soup consistency). Add up to 1/4 t. more of the white pepper if you can't taste it, and salt, if necessary. Serve with an optional dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of the chives. Gorgeous!

Pan-Roasted Veggie Lasagna Recipe

2009-09-21T05:48:00.000-07:00

This recipe was requested by a friend. I used the lasagna and Italian tomato sauce recipes from Mollie Katzen's The New Moosewood Cookbook as the basis for this recipe. Major difference is that her veggies were not pan-roasted which is why I think she adds honey to her sauce. I will omit the honey next time, since the pan-roasting sweetens the vegetables. Also, with this recipe, feel free to oven-roast the vegetables and make any necessary substitutions. I substitute ALL the time.

Let's start with the sauce. (As with any recipe, read through BEFORE proceeding).

Pan-Roasted Veggie Tomato Sauce (this version made 9/20/09)

Full of flavor and slightly sweet -- you won't miss the meat!

Ingredients:

2 red bell peppers, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
about 6 organic fancy zucchini (the small ones)
about 1 lb. medium white mushrooms, thinly sliced
about 6 organic fancy zucchini (the small ones)
1 yellow onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
handful of flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, finely chopped
handful of fresh basil, finely chopped
6 organic dry-farmed tomatoes (small), roughly chopped
2 cans of organic diced tomatoes (or one large 28 oz. can)
1 can of tomato paste
1 T. honey (I'll leave out next time)
extra-virgin olive oil
salt
4 t. dried basil
freshly ground pepper
very fine garlic powder (I can only find this as Costco -- the stuff usually found in the supermarket is too coarse and doesn't taste fresh)
1-4 cups of water

Directions:

Okay, this is a bit labor intensive, but I think, is worth it. Oven-roasting may be much faster as you'll probably be able to fit more veggies in your oven at one time than you can in a skillet. Try 400 degrees for 20-40 minutes, until slightly browned (or charred).

I pan-roasted the veggies individually because over-crowding in your pan will prevent the ingredients from browning -- they'll just end up sitting in a wet soup. Put about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your skillet (I happened to use a Dutch oven) and cook one of your bell peppers over medium high heat. Add a little salt and garlic powder halfway through. Cook until browning starts happening. Remove to a large bowl. Do the same with the other bell peppers. Do the same with 3 zucchini at a time. Then, do the same with the onion and mushrooms (I threw them in together for no real reason -- to save time, maybe? maybe the pan-roasting thing was getting a little old?). Keeping the onion and mushrooms in the pan (oh wait, these guys didn't get the garlic powder treatment, but I did add the dried basil, fresh basil, and parsley here, before doing the next step), add back the other veggies, the canned tomatoes, the fresh tomatoes, the tomato paste, the honey (if you want), and 1-2 cups of water (to your liking since it will depend on how juicy your tomatoes are -- the dry-farmed ones are sweet and flavorful, and not watery like typical salad tomatoes).

Stir, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Season as desired with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and simmer for 10 more minutes. You're done! I put it in the fridge after cooling since I was doing my lasagna assembly the next day.

Lasagna assembly:

Ingredients:

12 lasagna noodles (I used De Cecco, but usually use Barilla), uncooked
2 cups organic lowfat cottage cheese (one container)
1 lb. grated mozarella
nearly all of the sauce above

Heat oven to 375 degrees. (I reheated my sauce on the stove, thinking it would help the noodles cook faster. Also, I added 1-2 cups more water because the sauce was looking too thick.) In a 9x13 dish (mine was glass and slightly bigger by a half-inch on both sides), put a little bit of the sauce. Lay down four noodles, put down half of the cottage cheese on top -- in blobs, about a third of the sauce, and then a third of the mozarella. Another four noodles, the rest of the cottage cheese, a third of the sauce, and then a third of the mozarella. The last four noodles, followed by the sauce and the mozarella (I omitted the parmesan because I forgot to buy it!).

Place in oven, loosely covered with foil, for 40 minutes. Then, remove the foil, raise the temperature to 425 degrees, and bake for another 10 minutes. It should brown nicely on top and be bubbly throughout (I had to turn mine around because the front wasn't bubbling -- oven cooler in the front). Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and enjoying!

The assembly is fun if you do all the hard work, meaning, the sauce, the day before.

Free skeleton cut-out

2009-09-18T07:53:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share with you a fun project that is totally free and educational! I hope I'll have time later to flesh out the details for you, but here's a general overview. You can probably figure it out. You'll need a scanner/printer, hole punch, brass fasteners, glue or glue stick, scissors, and a large cereal box (I used the front and back of a Costco Cheerios box).

Step one:

Print out this skeleton cut-out:

http://www.benjerry.com/fun/halloween/assets/images/skeleton.gif

Step two:

You can stick with this size, though you'll end up with a smaller, 12-inch tall skeleton. Or, to get a nice, 24-inch tall one, you can cut out your needed pieces (I eliminated the bones holding ice cream) and print out, enlarging 200%. You will have to print out the skull/rib cage/pelvis twice (upper and lower) to get the entire length of it. The other pieces I scanned in 3"x4" or 3"x5" blocks (example, scanned an upper arm bone, a lower arm bone with hand, and knee caps together).

Step three:

Glue your pieces onto the cardboard cereal box and cut out.

Step four:

Punch out holes and insert brass fasteners.

Step five:

Play with your skeleton, learn about your skeleton (this link has a nicely-labeled skeleton: http://teachhealthk-12.uthscsa.edu/curriculum/bones/pa12pdf/1202A-all.pdf), and/or hang it up with a string or stick it onto the wall.

Hope to include some photos when Maylin begins work on it!

Blog revival starts now!

2009-09-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

Well, hello, stranger! It's been a long time since I've blogged. Seems I've taken a long summer vacation off. But, I think it's time to come back now that things are starting to settle.

To recap the summer, I hosted two weeks of camp at my house for seven of Maylin's friends each time. We had a lot of fun learning Chinese songs, playing games, doing arts and crafts, running around outside at a nearby playground, cooking, and baking. The most popular activities included food -- making lemonade (in June), cutting and eating a pineapple (Mr. Pineapple, to be exact -- he got a haircut), making whole wheat waffles, and baking a whole wheat quickbread (gotta send out the recipe soon). The second week was a lot easier since I had a better rhythm, knew how long activities took and which activities were more successful, and had a better group dynamic and gender balance. I got rave reviews from the kids -- "best camp ever." I would still make changes if I continued this next summer -- fewer kids, shorter day. Instead of 9-4 pm, I'd end at 3 pm. Fewer kids because I want to get to know each child better. I'd also have more activities in the afternoon -- one craft, one cooking activity, and a playground trip wasn't enough. They enjoyed their free time, but I think, in retrospect, it was too much free time. I prefer to have a bit more control.

John took me to Hawaii for our real honeymoon and I took the kids to Seattle to visit my best friend (more later, and pics later, too -- just having problems with my external hard drive). Seattle pics are on my flickr site, actually.

Maylin and I started homeschooling in August. It's been fun, but a lot of work. Looking forward to sharing the details with you later. Our latest successes included counting by two's hopscotch-style in the house forwards and backwards up to 40 (we have a concrete floor and used the sidewalk chalk on it), coloring/cutting/pasting vital organs onto Maylin's traced body, and visiting the Bone Room in Albany yesterday to check out their various animal skeletons and insect specimens (which are the vertebrates?). Our favorite way to study math? On the couch, cuddling each other, and our workbooks and pencils. Stefan is pretty good with all of this. He's learning at the same time -- knows lots of his letters and numbers already. And he plays on his own so well. Perfect for homeschooling.

Maylin's also resumed her Chinese classes, started karate, and will be taking a chess class starting Friday. I'm also trying to get back into piano with her (she wrote her own song and I taught her how to play it!). That was a cool experience.

She also loves doing science experiments. For a few days, we were doing one a day, complete with written lab reports! I just love it when she says, "I love science!" or "I love math!"

Maylin writes, but I think I'm behind with grammar and phonics. MadLibs are really helpful, but I think I need to step back a little. I can't keep reminding her what an adjective is. She's got to learn it. I'll think of some fun way. Maybe we can stick the words on our bodies. I could be the noun, and she could look for adjectives to stick on herself, and then she could stand next to me in the correct position.

My precious morning hours are almost over. Time to bake bread for our charter school (supporting our homeschooling) potluck. Take care!

Emergency toy: stale cornmeal

2009-08-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

When my concrete floor gets pretty dirty and I know I'm going to be vacuuming soon, and the kids are starting to melt down, it's time to haul out that stale cornmeal I've been saving for moments like these (stale cornmeal that I've been hiding from my husband because if he knew it was rancid, he'd toss it). I start out pretty conservatively, pouring about a cup into a broiler pan or a jellyroll pan (you can pretty much use any pan with a lip). The kids can draw pictures or abstract designs with their fingers. Stefan (almost 2 years) was proud of his curved lines. We reviewed his alphabet. Eventually, Stefan dumped the whole container out into the pan which meant it was faux beach time! Bring out the spoons and cups. Maylin and Stefan both had fun with this. Stefan then proceeded to empty the pan onto the floor. Game over! Time to vacuum!

Lessons from camp

2009-06-28T07:30:00.001-07:00

My first week of camp for primarily 6-7 year-olds was great! It looked like the kids had a really great time. And I learned so much! First, that it's a lot of hard work. Every night (around 10-12 pm) I spent probably a couple hours planning the following day (I did do some homework starting several months ago, but I had to make several adjustments due to group interests, group dynamics, etc.). I'd wake up around 6 am to shower, have a quickie breakfast of yogurt and maple syrup, and begin prepping activities and cleaning up the house. I wouldn't finish that until 9 am, when camp is supposed to begin. The kids would trickle in, so I couldn't do my originally scheduled activities...eventually, it became a free drawing time at our large, extended dining table until I had a critical mass. It was a good time for me to chat with the kids and get to know them better. Then, we'd have "couch time" (formerly known as "circle time") and sing a couple songs in Chinese (a greeting song and a washing hands song, for use before lunch). [These kids were really good singers! They loved learning the meaning of each word. This is an ideal age for teaching foreign language!] This would be followed by storytime (biggest hits: Traction Man by Mini Grey and What Time is It, Mr. Crocodile? by Judy Sierra). Depending on the energy (or appetite) at the time, we might play music games or have a snack of organic fruit and nuts. Afterwards, we'd usually go to the playground across the street and they would play on the monkey bars or climb the jungle gyms. One day, they flew the paper airplanes they had folded and decorated. Sometimes, we played circle games, did a relay race, or played a tag game. The kids also made several catapults out of Kapla blocks.

Depending on how much time we spent at the playground, we might do an art activity or go straight into lunch. After lunch, the kids had some free time to play with toys or ride our horse swing in the backyard. They learned how to take turns in a civil manner (each kid could stay on for a count to 50). If things started to sour, i.e. the energy wasn't positive anymore, we would go into another activity -- sometimes hip hop dance, sometimes another arts and crafts activity. Twice, the kids made fresh lemonade from the Meyer lemons they picked themselves, and they also helped make Belgian waffles, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and French chocolate cake, all from scratch. For many of them, it was the first time they were allowed to operate a mixer on their own. It was so exciting for them.

It was free time until their treats had baked and cooled a little (only a little!). Then it was time to enjoy the fruits of their labor. One afternoon treat they especially enjoyed was the fresh pineapple. I cut it in front of them and passed around the spiky trimmings for them to examine (and taste). I was lucky that the pineapple had reached the perfect ripeness that day. The kids just gobbled it up and asked for seconds and thirds.

I learned that there needs to be a nice balance between free time and structured time. Earlier in the week, I think I erred on too much structured time. I put pressure on myself to ensure that the kids were either learning or creating. I had forgotten that kids sometimes just need to play. Free time always had to be closely monitored because sometimes there were clashes -- the more dominant ones interacted negatively with the more sensitive ones which resulted in hurt feelings and sometimes tears. For example, a child may be excluded from a game or a child may not follow the game's rules and subsequently be spoken harshly to. I had to incorporate some activities for the kids to learn more about each other and how to really listen -- hopefully, resulting in some growth in the empathy department. In one activity, the kids paired up, spent some time getting to know each other better, and then introduced their partner with name, favorite color, favorite camp activity, and something they're proud of. In another activity, I paired up the children again, who took turns with the blindfold. Their partner had to guide them verbally through an "obstacle course" until they reached a posted U.S. map. The partner had to guide verbally again so that the child could "land"/adhere their self-decorated cut-out airplane to the map (and not "crash" in the water).

The last 10 minutes of camp, I was a little bit more lax with the free time monitoring since the children were playing their own made-up game in the backyard and looked like they were finally coming together as one cohesive team. I checked on them every couple of minutes while cleaning up our last activity, but still we had an incident. One child didn't follow the rules and was "punished" by two leaders of the game by having her pants pulled down. Fortunately, the poor child was not distraught in any way. But Maylin was. (The previous week, Maylin expressed her relief that she wouldn't have to return to traditional school and be a witness to children being bullied and humiliated. She herself was a frequent victim in preschool while we were in Paris. I didn't learn how frequent it was and how much it bothered her until her recent tearful confession.) My lesson learned is to never leave them unattended, even when it looks like things are going well with the children. Looks can be deceiving.

Another lesson learned is transitioning from one activity into another. When the kids are waiting for something to begin (and are getting antsy), it's best to keep them occupied and entertained. Two games that are perfect for this age are "I Spy" and "20 Questions." The adult can initiate it, and the children can finish it up on their own while the adult finishes setting up the next activity.

I also learned that it's time to stop playing a game of chance (in our case, homemade bingo) when the same person keeps winning time and again (even after switching cards). Everyone else gets pretty jealous (temporary tattoo and sticker prizes involved) and feels it is an unfair game. The last couple days of camp, I stopped giving out the tattoos and stickers altogether, and then energy was much better. Less focus on "stuff" is always good.

I learned which arts and crafts activities work better. Anything that doesn't require drawing is pretty safe. We had some tears when a child got frustrated with his own drawing. I could relate because Maylin was the same way. When a very visual child can see the end product in his/her head but cannot execute it, it can be very upsetting. I tried to teach the child to "practice" on a scrap sheet before drawing the final version. The most successful project was the paintings done with foam dot brushes. The children mixed their own colors of tempera paints and then used brushes of varying diameters and colors to make their paintings. Another favorite was the bleeding tissue paper watercolor paintings. Bleeding tissue paper is an excellent and inexpensive product that releases watercolor paint when water is brushed over it. Tear and place the pieces of tissue paper on the paper first for best results. One child had a really special painting that Maylin and I tried to recreate.

We also did v-fold pop-ups and tissue paper flower bouquets which had amazing results, but required more adult assistance. My least successful project was the bean mosaic on homemade salt dough. Some looked pretty cool with designs using red lentils, gray-green French lentils, and shiny black beans. The main problem was the salt in the dough. One child had cuts on his hands -- so you can imagine. "My hands hurt!" Kids shouldn't feel pain during a craft activity. Yikes.

For this particular group, the hip hop dance wasn't something that most of the kids wanted to do. They were actually pretty good, and I really had fun teaching the routine (half borrowed, half original). It's too bad we didn't get a chance to show off to the parents -- but we had early pick-ups, babysitter pick-ups, and late pick-ups. I have to let the parents know in advance next time if we're going to have a performance. I should have at least videotaped it.

My tag-teaming parent volunteers were great and I wouldn't have been able to do camp successfully without them. I think I still need to learn how to utilize them better. I need to learn how to delegate instead of trying to do everything myself.

Well, it's been a great learning experience, and I'm looking forward to my last week of camp which is in August. It'll be a new group of kids so I'll have new dynamics and personalities to work with. I like the challenge of adjusting to those dynamics and personalities, and energy levels at a given moment, and individual and group interests. Quite a juggling act but it energizes me! Though I planned so many activities, I think my best time was when I could just sit down and chat with the kids and make them laugh with my silliness.

Photos to come.

Camp Armitage day 1 and 2

2009-06-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

The weather has been perfect for a kids' camp at our house. This is the first time I've done this -- pretty much a grand experiment of mine. I like working with kids, and there was definitely a need for a quality camp with varied activities. We have 7-8 kids (including Maylin) doing these day 1 and 2 activities: hip hop dance, singing, storytime, outdoor games at the playground across the street, trips to the park, baking (chocolate chip cookies so far), art projects (bean mosaic, bleeding tissue watercolor painting, clay, origami), indoor games (bingo), and face painting. I also prepare 2 snacks a day, with the kids bringing their own lunch. I have a parent helping at all times, so that's been really great. It's exhausting, but fun and challenging. I have to come up with some team-building activities now as personalities begin to clash and alliances begin to be formed. I need to do some homework tonight. Wish me luck!

Still tweaking my chocolate chip cookies

2009-06-17T08:11:00.001-07:00

I realize now that my recipes are not set in stone. They can always be improved upon. My soft whole wheat chocolate chip cookies were actually a bit gritty and hard. Now that I've substituted whole wheat pastry flour for regular whole wheat (and even white whole wheat flour), my world is a little brighter. What awesome stuff! It's the best healthy substitute for all-purpose flour. I've also changed the baking time and temperature to achieve the perfect look for my cookies. Still playing around with the amounts for vanilla and salt -- almost there!

Creature of habit/low-fat chocolate cake recipe

2009-06-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

Darn! I just said I should ease up on the baking, but I can't help it -- I gave in and baked something sweet. But here's the compromise -- it was LOW-FAT chocolate cake. And it was a really small cake. Teeny-tiny. You'd probably have to triple it to fill an 8-in. square pan. The cake was delicious, moist, and perfectly chocolate-y -- and guess what? No butter, no oil, no shortening. The secret? Chopped dates! Here's the recipe if you want it. Great for that chocolate craving without going overboard. I put my batter in an 8 in. square pan to save time (no time to grease 12 tiny cupcake receptacles). The cake was really flat, but since I was just doing it for us, it didn't matter. I'll triple it for friends and extended family.

Loving life

2009-06-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

Hey, everybody. I actually have a few free moments to just sit and think. Things have been going great. We're all looking forward to summer vacation, especially Maylin. She cried last night, not wanting to go to school today. She had a tummyache, too. We are both affected physically by stress. I explained to her that it was normal and gave her all my symptoms of stress -- nausea, slight temperature, gastrointestinal problems, etc. Fortunately, by morning, she was not as bothered and I was able to get her to school. I wanted to stay for their school's assembly, thinking that we'd be able to catch the children's book author visit (but I heard it was later in the morning, not opportune for me), and ended up leaving early because Maylin didn't want me to stay. I might have mentioned this before. She usually doesn't want me to stay in the mornings to read with her in class like some of the other parents do because she's afraid she's going to get really upset later, not wanting me to go at all. Maylin's very much attached to me and is very clear about it.

Remember all the bread-baking I was doing -- all those sweets I was making? I really need to slow it down. You know that phrase, "You are what you eat"? Well, there's a wad of dough kind of hanging down the front of my mid-section. It's time for it to go. John has been very good and has been willing to watch the kids four times a week while I go to my hip hop classes. The exercise is covered, but my tummy is not easily satiated these days -- it's used to the onslaught of regular treats. I'm trying not to suffer through carb withdrawal -- I permitted myself some low carb toast, brown rice, and today -- uh hem, two pieces of Valrohna chocolate. The nutrition fact label said one piece was worth 240 calories! Ouch! I had to read it more carefully. It turns out each square was actually worth about 75 calories. Their one "piece" serving size was pretty hefty.

Gotta go pick up Maylin (and wake up Stefan from his nap -- darn!). This won't be a problem next year since we're homeschooling!!!

See ya!

Maylin loses two front teeth

2009-05-25T23:17:00.000-07:00

Last week, Maylin lost her two front teeth and we started homeschooling unofficially! We had a meeting with our education coordinator (EC) at the charter school where she is enrolled in the fall and it was so great! It was like Christmas! We got to take home tons of resources -- textbooks, workbooks, math manipulatives, dominoes, and even a how-to pop-up greeting card book to borrow. And our EC totally thinks like me! It's bizarre! When I asked a question, she often had the perfect answer or solution. Oh, and I got to take home a cursive handwriting workbook for Maylin, which is normally for third graders, but I knew she'd be so into it. She's completed about 20 pages by now! She loves it!

Tonight, after we read our books in bed, she complained about a tummy ache. This time, she knew why. She didn't want to go back to school, and it hurt her tummy thinking about it. Then she asked how many days of school were left. I told her 14 days. She was excited and relieved at that point and said her tummy instantly felt better. Phew!

Here's a couple photos I took today. She did a really cool "sculpture" in the carport with some nature items from the front yard.

Caroline paints again!

2009-05-25T22:45:00.000-07:00

My daughter's school is having a silent auction this weekend. I'm donating two paintings which I completed today! "Four Penguins" was done during Stefan's nap, so you can tell I had more time to think about it. "Butterfly on Red" was kind of thrown together while Stefan was awake and a bit grumpy.

Delicious coffee cake recipe

2009-05-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

A friend has requested that I share a cinnamon coffee cake recipe. This is a light and soft, finely-textured cake with a cinnamon-sugar-nut topping. With a light lemon flavor. I've never had trouble executing this recipe. Some coffee cakes are heavy on the baking soda -- and you can still smell and taste it! Ick! This one never has that problem. Adapted from the Fannie Farmer Baking Book.

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) of softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream (creme fraiche is even better -- easily found at Trader Joe's)
1 1/4 cups cake flour (finer than all purpose)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (microplaners do the best work on lemons -- avoid the white part of the rind)

Topping

1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease and lightly flour an 8-inch square pan (but I think I've always used a 9-inch round pan). With an electric mixer, mix butter, sugar, eggs, and sour cream/creme fraiche in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add dry to wet, add lemon zest, and beat until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan. Mix together topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle over the surface of the cake. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve from the pan while warm. Yum!

Blackhawk Automotive Museum

2009-05-04T22:50:00.000-07:00

We took the family here last month, along with the wonderful friend who remodeled our kitchen. Maylin took three of these photos. Which ones??? By the way, this was the site of one of John and my first dates. Yes, we love cars...

Kidcraft: coloring Easter eggs

2009-05-04T22:15:00.000-07:00

Last month, we colored our eggs at home for the first time. It's actually quite easy and you get beautiful results! No need to buy those kits from the supermarket. If you already have food coloring and vinegar on hand, you're good to go.

Put 20 drops of food coloring into an old jam jar or coffee mug. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1/2 cup of room temperature water. Mix. Gently plop in your hard-boiled egg into the container. Leave in container until they reach the desired saturation. You'll have to check periodically by scooping the egg out with a spoon. Place back in egg carton to dry.

For the cool stripes, wrap a jumbo rubberband around the center of the egg before coloring. Remove rubberband after immersion.

Stefan wasn't interested in the activity, but we had a two year-old who was into it. His mom did most of the work, but I think he felt involved. This activity is probably best for ages 3 and up. Maylin, a six year-old, loved it and couldn't stop coloring eggs. You probably should have a dozen eggs per child on hand. Sounds like a lot, but really, this is quite addicting!

Field trip to the Little Farm at Tilden Park, Berkeley

2009-05-04T22:03:00.001-07:00

The first graders at Maylin's school took a field trip to one of Berkeley's treasures -- the Little Farm at Tilden Park. Not many cities can brag about a farm within the city limits where kids can actually get up close and feed the animals! Stefan and I arrived before the schoolchildren and were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the piglets nursing!

Photos taken April 17, 2009.

My new soft chocolate chip cookie recipe (whole wheat)

2009-05-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

This is my healthier version of the soft chocolate chip cookie. Tweaked King Arthur Flour's whole grain recipe for soft chocolate chip cookies.

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Cream (mix) together:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup of brown sugar (not packed)
1/2 cup of granulated sugar

Add and mix:
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In separate bowl, whisk together:
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups whole wheat flour

Add dry to wet and mix.

Stir in 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips.

Place parchment paper on cookie sheet. Using a cookie scoop (I had to use a one-tablespoon one because that's all I have), stack two scoops on top of each other. Use wet fingertips to flatten dough stacks into 1/3 inch-high discs and to smooth the edges (this step will give your cookies a smooth, uniform look).

Bake for 9-11 minutes -- just until a few cookies start to slightly brown on the edges. Don't overbake or these babies will be probably as hard as a rock.

Let cool on sheet for a couple minutes. Remove to cool on a rack. When completely cool, immediately store in airtight container. Do not eat these cookies right out of the oven. For some reason, the chocolate chips didn't taste right melted in this particular cookie (and King Arthur Flour's version as well). Not sure why, but they taste great after cooling and storage for a couple hours.

Maylin's hiphop class loved these, but then, they have loved all my cookies so far.
Cookie #1: soft snickerdoodles
Cookie #2: grammy's chocolate cookies (from Martha Stewart's cookie book -- I've hijacked this from the library, I mean, I've renewed it about three times)
Cookie #3: soft chocolate chip (whole wheat)

Conducting duck

2009-04-30T14:00:00.001-07:00

Mama Duck attempts to conduct Beethoven's Ninth backwards. Her babies are confused. Photo taken early April in Blackhawk, California.

Little Red Riding Hood

2009-04-30T13:56:00.001-07:00

Stefan plays the role of Little Red Riding Hood on the patio of a Mexican restaurant in Blackhawk, before a visit to the car museum in early April.

Beautiful music, part II

2009-04-26T22:34:00.001-07:00

If I could play as well as Julia Fischer, I would play this Sarabande by Bach this way. Why can't we get more of this honest, unpretentious playing from other celebrated musicians?

Beautiful music, part I

2009-04-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

I'd like to start sharing music with you on my blog, alongside everything else. If I can get my act together, I'll record something for you, my own singing, maybe an original composition...hmmm...but for now, here's a gorgeous piece by Antonio Vivaldi, sung exquisitely by Cecilia Bartoli. Here's the translation thanks to Wikipedia:

Sposa son disprezzata (in Italian)

I am wife and I am scorned,
I am faithful and I'm outraged.
Heavens, what have I done?
And yet he is my heart,
my husband, my love,
my hope.

I love him, but he is unfaithful,
I hope, but he is cruel,
will he let me die?
O God, valor is missing -
valor and constancy.

Everything from scratch

2009-04-26T21:54:00.000-07:00

Well, almost everything. I am weaning myself from as many processed food items as possible. I don't buy cookies anymore. I bake them all myself from scratch. I try to avoid buying bread -- I can bake it myself. Pizza? I'm doing it on my own now, sauce and dough. Ice cream? Homemade. Oh yeah, it's a lot of work (mostly planning), but it's worth it. I like being self-sufficient, and I also like knowing exactly what I'm ingesting. I hate looking at the ingredients on a package of cookies or crackers and finding things I don't recognize and things that I do that I know are bad for you. No more transfats! I don't bake with shortening anymore (there's a load of transfats right there). Of course, I'm still going to buy an occasional package of hot dogs for the kids (but no nitrites or nitrates!) and some frozen potstickers -- although I'm feeling much more comfortable making my own now. I just have to learn how to make my own wrappers -- which I hear is simple but seems really time-consuming.

Life is very food-oriented these days. I have to really be organized to make sure I've got about two loaves of healthy bread baked a week, homemade cookies for Maylin's hip hop class snack, and meals made of mainly whole foods. It might be interesting to find out if I'm saving money going this route. I'm definitely saving money in the bread category. I always feel like the supermarkets are robbing me when it comes to bread. Come on -- over $4 for a little loaf of whole grain bread? And I know it's $2 wholesale. And it's even cheaper when I make it at home.

Okay, gotta check on the bread. See ya. Eat well. Take care of that body. Everything hinges on your health.

Am I still here?

2009-04-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

Oops, blogging went by the wayside. I am exhausted right now, but just wanted to say that all is well over here. We did have a bout of the stomach flu last weekend but we got over it just fine.

I have a beautiful new kitchen now. Designed by John, executed by his best friend from Ohio. I'll post pics when I get it cleaned up again.

Stefan is an amazing child. Still very loving, sociable, giving. Seems to have a gift for music -- he can sing the first four notes of our clean-up song that we learned in Chinese class ("dah-dah-dah-dah"). Did I mention I've been taking Chinese with Stefan? It's been an excellent review for me. I've never used so much Chinese since age five! And whenever we sing the clean-up song, Stefan actually cleans up! John says that that song alone is worth the class fee.

Stefan is also very much an intellectual. Loves numbers and letters, and can identify so many things! He knows most of his animals, including giraffes, zebras, and flamingos. He still can't actually say the words, but when we ask him to find the pictures in the book, there his little index finger goes.

He's a boy, so he's also into cars, trucks, trains, planes, fire engines, construction equipment. Can all boys at the age of 19 and a half months identify a forklift?

Maylin had been really focused on her artwork, but now, she's a bit more balanced. She's doing great at ballet -- a real natural. And exquisitely beautiful, perfect lean body, long legs. For those of you who know ballet-speak, she was able to do a passe in releve with her arms over her head. Unbelievable! Without really being taught. It was just demonstrated to her. She also just started taking hip hop classes and is great at that as well. I was quite a good dancer as a young girl -- it's neat to see that that part of me is in her.

Maylin's also taking Chinese (over a year?) -- and I've actually heard her speak to her teacher in Chinese. Wow.

This summer, she'll be doing soccer, swimming, ceramics, and Camp Armitage! What's Camp Armitage, you say? Well, it's this little (rather, big) idea that I had in October or November of last year. At the time, I was having fun teaching different subjects to Maylin's classmates. Wouldn't it be great to teach these kids out of my home whatever I wanted? My interests and talents are diverse -- if I taught different things, I wouldn't get bored. So, I sent out an e-mail to parents of Maylin's friends to see if this idea was worth pursuing. There was a resounding "yes," and within a week, I had fourteen kids signed up for camp, for two separate week-long sessions. I offered to teach some French, Chinese, singing, piano, science, arts/crafts, cooking, and baking. Did I miss anything?

You might be thinking that I'm nuts to have eight kids (including Maylin) taking over my house for five days in a row, 9-4 pm. I actually think it'll be great fun, and I've got parent volunteers and my sister-in-law to help, so I think everything should be under control. I've promised several people that I would blog my adventure, so check in here once in awhile.

I've received my first registration form and check, so that's exciting! I haven't worked out all the expenses, but I should be able to at least break even. The other exciting thing is that I'm designing a camp t-shirt for the kids so I can spot them quickly if we go to a crowded park.

I am seriously into baking now. I've got two whole wheat loaves in the oven at the moment. I have a lot to learn before I teach the kids how to do it. I'm pretty good at the cookies although I'm trying to find out how to make my cookies consistent visually from batch to batch. Two batches ago, my molasses spice cookies were delicious and a beautiful dark brown. This last batch, they were delicious, but a not too appealing lighter brown. I'm scratching my head on this one. I've also been making my own pizzas, including the dough. Trying to perfect that. Sometimes my crust is like a cracker. I want a soft crust on the edges, but crispy on the bottom. I just ordered a baking stone, so that might help solve a part of the problem.

I recently got this crazy idea of doing some cooking shows for kids -- for TV, or youTube. John thinks I'm nuts, but I think it'd be so cool!!!

Last thing, I'm also into making ice cream. It's my latest project. In the last week, I've made two ice creams. My lemon one was pretty good, and my strawberry has an awesome flavor but leaves a sticky residue on the spoon. I'm pretty sure I overcooked my custard, but does that have anything to do with the residue?

First flourless chocolate cake a success!

2009-03-26T00:05:00.001-07:00

Delicious, beautiful, and pretty easy! Try this recipe from Martha Stewart.

Maylin models my t-shirt design

2009-03-24T17:31:00.001-07:00

I am proud to say that Maylin's favorite t-shirt to wear is designed by me! This was designed in November 2008, produced in December 2008, for the Berkeley YMCA.

I almost forgot to mention that Maylin has actually been borrowing clothes from me. 3/4-length sleeves for me are full-length for her. Can you believe it? Six years-old and she's already in my wardrobe! At this rate, she'll be outgrowing my clothes by age ten!

My boy at 18 1/2 months

2009-03-24T17:11:00.001-07:00

Stefan can occupy himself quite nicely with a box of cars or even some books. Sometimes, when it seems too quiet, I'll ask Maylin where Stefan is. She'll reply, "He's reading in my room," and there he'll be...just sitting quietly next to the bookshelf with a book in his lap, looking at the pictures and delicately turning the pages with his beautiful, tapered fingers. Though he's not speaking very much (animal sounds are the preferred utterances at this point like "moo" and "rahrr"), he seems to be building quite a vocabulary as demonstrated by his ability to point to pictures of things that we ask him to locate. It always surprises me how quickly he picks up new words. Since last month, he's shown a growing interest in letters and numbers. He'll probably start reading early.

Stefan's still very loving. We were lying on the bed next to each other, with my face next to his. His arm was around my neck -- he kept pulling my face closer to his, encouraging a kiss onto his cheek. I don't remember how many times he repeated this action, but I was very happy to give him so many kisses.

He's also still very social and giving. He will often offer perfect strangers a beloved Hot Wheels or a dump truck or a train, and will not expect it back!

Nursing is pretty funny. I think I'd like to wean him around 2 years, but I'll play it by ear. It seems his desire to nurse has been ramping up. I love how he usually shows it. He'll come up to hug me and then try to lay down in my lap. How can I say "no"?

Perfect chocolate chip cookies, at last! (edited 3/26)

2009-03-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

It's been almost two weeks of non-stop chocolate chip cookie baking at this house, despite the lack of a real oven (I've been using a toaster oven with a convection option.) And I've got the belly to prove it!

Ever since a friend baked some excellent chocolate chip cookies for me (a nutty, cakey version), I've been on the quest to find the perfect, classic chocolate chip cookie. Everyone's got their own opinion on what's perfect and what's classic. My take on perfection for a classic chocolate chip cookie is not the Tollhouse version which is more of a crispy cookie through and through. Soft and cakey is sometimes nice (which many people like -- check out the one from the Best Recipe cookbook put out by the Cook's Illustrated magazine), but it wasn't what I was looking for this time. Chewy towards the middle, crispy towards the edges. There has to be some give when you bite into it, so not too soft unless it's right out of the oven. Also, visually, I wanted a cookie that didn't thin out towards the edges, with just the right amount of spread. Lastly, I wanted a semi-healthy cookie -- meaning a need for some whole wheat flour.

After trying four "classic" recipes, I have settled on a slightly altered version of the famous Neiman Marcus cookie. There's some urban legend that accompanies it, but I won't bore you with it here (you can google it if you like). There are several different versions online of the famous cookie recipe, but the one I used is directly from the Neiman Marcus website.

I didn't really change it too much. Just substituted 3/4 cup whole wheat flour for 3/4 cup all purpose flour and ommitted the espresso powder because I didn't have it. Be sure not to overbake. My little convection oven cut the baking time by more than half. 9 minutes instead of 20 minutes.

I believe the cookies don't overspread because they're baked at a lower temperature than in most other recipes. 300 degrees vs. 350 or 375 degrees is a big difference. It gives the cookie time to spread evenly (middle and edge at almost same rate).

Try the unaltered recipe. It's really great, too. It'd also be more convenient for those of you who don't have whole wheat flour on hand but REALLY NEED to make chocolate chip cookies RIGHT AWAY. Enjoy!

By the way, I used a one-tablespoon cookie scoop (the recipe specifies two tablespoons). Makes it really quick. Be sure to flatten them down to about a 1/3-inch high disk. I do that by hand, and touch up the rough edges with my fingers as well. These little cookies are quite cute and are great when you're concerned about portion control. If you want gorgeous, pro-sized cookies, stack three tablespoon scoops on top of each other and squash them down to a 3-inch diameter disk. Beautiful. Bake-sale or bakery-worthy.

[Addendum:
Well, the next day, the larger cookies held up better than the 1-tablespoon little guys. The small cookies came out kind of hard after storage in a cookie tin. The 2-tablespoon and 3-tablespoon cookies were nice and soft still. Just be sure to not overbake. Just when the bottom edge starts to turn brown on some of the cookies, it's time to take them out! By the way, my friend Meg recommends using whole wheat pastry flour. I will definitely give that a try. Just bought some today!]

My little science secret

2009-03-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

It's no longer a secret! Here are some great links to fun science projects you can do with your kids -- classroom and at home. Have a great time learning science!

http://exploratorium.edu/snacks/index.html
http://exploratorium.edu/afterschool/activities/index.php

Where does all the time go?

2009-03-18T16:01:00.001-07:00

We are in the middle of our kitchen renovation and it seems housekeeping duties triple as a result. More dust, washing dishes by hand (wow, it takes forever! I remember I used to enjoy it the slow way), creative cooking without my range (saved by slow cooker, rice cooker, and toaster oven)...Stefan's also not making it easier. At eighteen months, he's decided that it's fun to dump his drink (and his glass afterwards) onto the floor. I scold him and he just smiles and says "sorry" in his own irresistible way -- by hugging my leg. Geesh, I can't stay mad for long.

I am loving my toaster oven (which doubles as a convection oven). I've made three or four batches of different chocolate chip cookie recipes already! After a few more recipes, I'll share with you my fool-proof favorites.

Oops, gotta go. More later.

Free online 3-D anatomical model of the human body!

2009-03-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

One of Maylin's favorite activities to do with Mommy is to color in her anatomy coloring book (when I locate it, I'll give you the exact title -- it's actually used as a text in many educational settings). And boy, do we love the digestive system! I was looking online for a plastic anatomical model to buy if reasonably priced, but the only affordable ones were tiny! Not for little kid fingers! I mean, who wants to take out a stomach that's the size of a fingernail? Not me and not any other kid either. :)

I happened across this fabulous free resource online. Check out www.visiblebody.com. Watch the demo and you'll see how fantastic it is. You can study the all aspects of the human body in 3-D! I just started playing around with it and was able to isolate just the skeleton and digestive system. You can make organs disappear and reappear, you can rotate the figure in all directions, you can zoom in and out...it's great fun. Can't wait to show Maylin.

Be sure to download the plug-in after you activate your account and click the "launch" button otherwise, you'll see nada.

Back into the ballet slippers

2009-03-01T22:14:00.000-08:00

Maylin's into her second session of ballet at her new dance school. She had a great time the last session, but now, she's beginning to say she doesn't want to do it anymore (she said the same for swimming and now we're taking a break until summer). She says her legs hurt during class, and I tried telling her that that means her legs are getting stronger, that it's a part of getting better at ballet. I told her that I took ballet as a little girl as well and she seemed very interested. I thought maybe I could revive her enthusiasm for this art form if I had her watch me take a ballet class. Maylin thought it was a great idea.

So two days after her complaint, she accompanied me to my class. We walked hand in hand and talked and laughed together as we approached the school. I got into my leotard, tights, skirt, and tight ballet slippers (my wide feet were not made for the slippers I had on) and entered the very full class. Maylin watched from a window in the hallway. I knew I'd probably do okay with the barre work, as long as I had someone good to follow. So, I was pretty decent on right side because the woman to the right was a regular, but I was a little embarrassing on the other side because the woman to the left was new like me (but had LOTS more ballet experience). In fact, everyone had LOTS more ballet experience. It really showed when we went to the center of the floor to do some short routines. I never mastered the pirouette before and it showed. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one having trouble with pirouettes, but I was the only one who was seeing some of these steps (rather standard, I believe) for the first time. I was feeling way out of my league.

The teacher was very kind and offered to get me caught up if I came every week, but I don't see myself doing that. Maybe if I didn't have a family that I want to spend time with...to make waffles, pancakes, muffins, or crepes for.

So let's see if Maylin complains again this week about ballet or finds that she's been inspired to continue. Let's hope it's the latter.