Thursdays

10/4/12

Thursdays

Despite the escalated back pain prohibiting me from long walks, the new mole-like extra skin growing on my neck, and every hour on the hour bathroom break in the middle of the night, thoughts of getting to see your precious face makes it all worth while.  As my body continues to develop outward with round plump toes, puffy fingers and a growing belly button that was once an innie, I continue to enjoy every second of feeling your rolls and kicks.   Even though  my weakened body and forgetful mind has taken the best of me, the last eight months of carrying you around has been the best time of my life.  

 My cravings have evolved from sour green apples dipped in heavy sea salt to various Vietnamese soup noodles to ice cream cones to Mc Donald's french fries accompanied by two containers of hot mustard, all of which I have enjoyed in a sparingly manner. Every day I load my body up with at least 3 cups of Silk Almond or Soy milk, a banana, an apple or strawberries, omega 3, and two prenatal pills just to ensure you're developing at a normal pace.  I no longer see food as food, I see it for what it's worth - its nutritional values.  I no longer eat for me, I now eat solely for you. 

Your daddy's attentive and caring nature has made this pregnancy that much more pleasurable for me.  Occasional ten-minute foot massages,  regular house chore activities, and feeding my serious cravings by allowing me to eat the entire large french fries from Mc Donald's all by myself has relieved me from some weird pregnancy symptoms. As I reach the end of this journey, all I can think about is the actual time of giving birth to you and how that thought has given me doubts of whether I can go through with it.  Along with all the prenatal classes are detailed stories I've heard from friends and family about the delivery process,  both has heighten my sense of uncertainty and lowered my confidence.  I'm not sure if your daddy has recognized my fear, but he has done a great job trying to lessen my fear of delivery by conveying to me how easy this all will be and how it will all happen quickly and painlessly.  He has also provided me with relaxing weekend get-aways to the desert and sweet endearing comments that makes me feel beautiful. without your daddy, I think this journey would not be as smooth.

Today we celebrate your 33rd weeks of gestation with a double order of Mc D's french fries and a movie called Baby Boom.  We talk about you all the time and we are counting down the days until we get to meet you. And to make sure you arrive to a clean house and a beautiful room filled with everything you need, we are working extra hard and fast to have a brand new wood floor replaced and installed before your arrive. We think you will really enjoy it.  This is just the first of many wonderful things we anticipate doing for you.

You are our first and the love we have in stored for you has magnified beyond measure.  We love you dearly and will sacrifice everything for you.  

See you in roughly seven weeks!

I want to meet u

7/30/12 Our maternity photo shoot is scheduled for tomorrow evening with Andrew Lombardi and rather than planning our outfits and  background setting, all I can think about is what this journey into motherhood means to me, how it has affected us as future parents,  and our hopes for you as our daughter to be.

 There are no words that can express what I'm going through and there isn't exactly a drawn out plan as to how this special occasion can be completed in a way that is perfect.  All of our hopes and dreams for you will begin with a simple prayer.  I think of you often and I think about the way you take care of me, especially during the most chaotic time of my life - the marriage between your daddy and I.  Your silent comfort inside of me has provided me strength to coordinate a wedding I never knew I could have, so ideal and so dreamy.  Because of this, the extra pounds of weight gain, wide hips, soften thick thighs and puffy feet that I am enduring for the first time in my life are all being compensated for.  My girlish figure will forever be gone and a new voluptuous shape will be my new forceful embrace.  And I do this all for you.

    It has been 23 weeks since your conception and every day that passes, your subtle movements grow into mini kicks and punches which naturally intensifies a feeling of connection between us. Everyday I wish you would kick me a little harder just so I can feel you, just so your daddy can feel you, just so  we both know you are healthy and growing.  I look forward to the day you kick me with tremendous power, leaving me with pains I can smile for days.

You have brought me a profound sense of happiness that I never knew existed and a much needed value for love will forever change your daddy's view of life and possible of women as a whole.  We owe this next level of humanitarian experience to you. Often I think about your distinguished features intermixed between two different cultures, your values as well as your personal character.  The tint of your olive skin against your pale brown hair and bright hazel almond -shaped eyes or your light creme skin against your chocolate brown hair and dreamy eyes will never determine your personal character.  You will discover your own unique self, become an individual that will shine through this dense population that co-exists with you.  It is the collective values between your daddy and I that will help guide you through the tough road of the real world, ensuring a stable and succeeding life for you.

  I try to picture your precious face, but I can't. All I can see is the gorgeous little girl with blonde braids at the super market earlier today.  I want you in my arms so I can smell you, but I can't.  All I can smell is the scent of your daddy's hard work at the office sitting next to me.   I want to look you in the eyes and tell you that you are my number one, but I can't. Because if I did, your daddy will be too jealous.  I want to tell you that even though I have never met you and don't know what your name will be, I will always love you.  

 Our decisions as parents-to-be and our future together as first-time family will automatically  change because of you.  You are a blessing to us and every decision we've made thus far, including the conception of you, has been the best decision we have made together and it has brought us incredible joy and closeness - forever.

Sunniest Easter Sunday

It is 9:59am, 55 degrees outside, hazy and rainy as I am nestling  under a hair dryer near the back of the salon where I can hide from my fellow workmates until my next client arrives.  As I quiet my mind, fragmented images of Angels stadium, Universal Studios Hollywood, Katsuya Sushi in Laguna Beach, and  Sprinkles cupcakes all race its way into my thoughts, stirring it ever so lightly.  I realize my Easter weekend was jam packed with unforgettable events and celebrations.   Let's back track to  the most gorgeous Easter sunday one could ever wake up to.  We were granted with an amazing sunshine and impeccable uplifting mood swings. There was no church, no easter egg hunting, just breakfast at JD Schmidt,  the baseball game, a few lolly pops and frozen lemonade, and lots of Angels surround our presence. Our day was blessed with so much joy and happiness.   Following Easter was Dan's first visit to Universal Studios, best known for their unavoidable lines and screaming kids, where we ventured through a couple of rides and a few I unimpressive shows.  Even with a late start, showing up at the gate around 12:30PM, just a short six hours later, our bodies were destroyed of enthusiasm and fun sucked dry from our body, forcing us to conclude our day early with Shrek 4D.  With four extra visits left on our ticket, we were in no rush to complete all the rides or see any more mediocre shows.  We headed home bound.   Fast forward our weekend to Dan's midweek  birthday, April the 11th, marking his second year celebration with me.  Our day started out with the typical work load and Katsuya, a fancy sushi restaurant serving Kobe beef in Laguna beach awaits us sometime in the evening.  Locking ourselves into a dinner reservation would've been too restricting for our liking, so we purposely left it open to feed our free-flowing spirits.  We arrived at the restaurant close to 7PM and and left a little after 8.  We headed for Broadway, a restaurant recommended by a good client of mine, for their signature desserts and coffee. But our timing was off, they had reserved the entire restaurant for a private party, so we were left with a back-up plan that I had intuitively set up - red velvet Sprinkles Cupcakes hiding in the small refrigerator hidden underneath the wet bar.  Dan was thrilled.   It was a long weekend to recap, but it was too significant to not blog about.  It went by too fast. Here I am, the week has propelled to Friday and even though the weekend is starting all over again, it will never be the same as weekend we had before.  

Stuffed men, children & cousins

I turned down a weekly meeting today, to take care of things that prove to be priority in my life this exactly moment in time,  my cousin and her family.  While our house isn't exactly the first reason for their visit to California, where  Universal Studios took top priority in this scenario as the kids are on spring break and costco's 5-days-for-$59-value is hard to pass up, they thoughtfully added us to their chaos schedule to come over and have  a meal with us. For this, I am grateful.  To hold me over, the first part of my day consists of coffee, instant udon noodle, gardening, and Andrew Zimmern's "Jamaica" Travel.  The day travels slowly as I finish up Jamaica and head out to a much sweeter place, Cinnabon!  Half a dozen and nearly three pounds of dough, baked and coated with creamy frosting will be coming back home with me before 6 this evening.   One by one, my cousin Van, Derek, and three kids march into the house, each with either a family pack of OC grown strawberries, roasted chicken, caesar's salad, cheese and salami plate, two loafs of garlic bread and a super size pepperoni pizza.  Throw in a bottle of Pinot Noir and this is one fat feast you wouldn't want to miss.  Even Dan knew to force things at work to finish early so he can join us at a decent time. With Derek's willingness to wait for him  before diving in,  Dan is gauranteed to have a eating partner.   NCAA Finals dominates the house as the two newly acquainted men blab about stuff I can care less about while Chase shows me his white to green belt Kung Fu techniques, Christian and Kellen rests their tired bodies on the coach, and Van rambles in the kitchen - getting things tidy. Cinnabon cleans our palate and fills the sugar tooth, making it another satisfying and stuffed night.  

A fully loaded day

One load, two loads, three loads of laundry, washed and folded, David Tutera's "My Fair Wedding", and Oprah Winfrey's Life Class in St. Louis all took place while Dan was out running an important errand. Coming from a Carribean Cruise,  my brother Nate and his family will be arriving thirty-five minutes earlier than the scheduled time at LAX. Arriving at 5:20 this evening, Dan and I will aim for their house beforehand to snatch the family van before heading to the airport.

 Once, twice and three times, we circle the Southwest terminal, killing time until their baggage is claimed and they are awaiting curbside to be picked up.  After receiving a gestured approval from the airport security, Dan pulls the mini van tightly to the curb and opens the door to some happy-to-be-home faces that have been missed for a week. Baggage and people are all safely loaded into the van, we squeeze our way out of this busy airport and head to a broken rice restaurant in Little Saigon.

 The 405 freeway flowed with great ease like a ballerina performing an allegro, swaying us effortlessly to a restaurant where each person filled their starving tummies with  broken rice and I slurped every once of the wanton soup noodle.  With loaded stomaches, the van becomes snug as we crowd ourselves back inside and head to the final destination - Asbury Circle.

The pick up was a success. Although Dan and I didn't have even the smallest room in our tummies to fit a Jolly Rancher icey dessert from  Tebot, we did have room in our night to cram in a movie - "Boogie Nights".

Two tumbling weeds

Going with the flow like a tumble weed carried by the wind, flying freely and happily in mid-air, open to hit a light pole in its way or settle peacefully on the side of the road is essentially our nightly dinner plans since the apron got hung.

This evening, we are blown to Aztec Mexican Restaurant in Fountain Valley and settle peacefully for about an hour.   Two tequitos, two mini tacos, two Budweisers, and some chips & salsa make for a deliciously ripped off dinner special offered tonight.  It filled our cravings and hit the desperate spot, but the quality and price ratio didn't make any sense to us.  The best part about our meals was the refreshing, thirst quenching and ever so satisfying Budweiser.  We paid the bill with a big smile and  hope the wind doesn't blow in that direction ever again.

 We tumble off to Ralph's to pick up some munchies and a movie and aim to land at our house where we can get comfortable and watch "Young Adults".  The movie was hair-pulling and agitatingly slow.  We squeal and shriek in agonizing pain at every word vocalized by the main character.  There is no possible way to relate to her.  Her character is immoral and no body in their right mind should leave a loving live-in boy friend, a successful job in the big city to go home to their small home town to try and rekindle with an old boy friend who is now happily married and have a newborn. It is  just wrong.  We endured the  pain, finished the movie,  and finally understood the hidden message.  It wasn't as bad as we had thought and for what it's worth, we understand how it can make our lives a little bit better.

 Tomorrow we will tumble some more, flying aimlessly, open to settle or hit anything that is in our way.  We will enjoy it, and we prefer it this way for now.

My flavored chair

If I try to tally up all of the meaningful, important tasks that needs to be completed during my week of spring break, the result would be quite disappointing.  There are some tasks I skipped over, others I haven't gotten to, and yet some extra credits I never expected to do, but did.  Needless to say, I haven't fulfilled any goals I have laid out for this week.

Two tasks I can check off  (more than once)  are "doing nothing" and "blogging" from the list.   Another one I can  check off is to get acquainted with the kitchen, but next to it is a side note that says, "failed miserably".  And when the kitchen isn't  accepting my creative flavors, I take it straight to the salon, where this creative release can take place and where my clients can fully benefit.  And today, I take it out on Jamie Miller.

  Miss Miller and I go way back. When she needed a stylist who is willing to transform her mid-back length to a modern bob eight years ago, she chose me.  When her work friend needed a new hairstylist to take care of her hair needs, she referred me.  Today, in the early morning, I received a text message requesting a new look and attached was a photo of a Chanel ad campaign with a model sporting a modern pixie cut -it was a text message from her.  I was honored.

 Since we are both busy with our own clients, three thirty is the only time that fits both of our schedules.  With hair washed, combed and caped, she settles into my chair as if she is an official client.  Gathered around us are some of my favorite salon- mates. The energy from the crowd rises like the Staple Center hosting a Prince Concert, loud conversations floats all around us, as I open with a first cut - clean and precise.  This initial guideline led me to finish the entire head without any mistakes. Having most of her blondest blonde wet hair piled on the floor, I power dry her hair to shape it against her head, making it more visible and easier to detail to its finished look.

 Melting both Gennifer Goodwin and Michelle Williams styles together, we have created Miss Miller's unique, one-and-only sassy short.  She wears the style better than anyone I've seen, with complete confidence and sex appeal.   Tonight, I will go home, make hot wings, pasta salad, and finally hang my apron for a while.  If I'm not creating in the kitchen, I know "the chair" will always be there to feed my creativity.