Kellybean

The 8th day of the 8th month of the 8th year of the current century…If you’re asian or partly asian, this is the day to bet big! For those not in the know, 8 is considered a very lucky number in most asian cultures. I’ve got two friends celebrating a birthday today and another friend scheduled for a c-section earlier this morning.

Though it may not seem like it, I feel like I’ve been neglecting Kellybean, not writing as often as I as I would like and so on…I’ve been busy with…

…Work - really! With folks on vacation, guess who gets to fill-in for them?

…trying to plan a child-less vacation – we’ll be in Andalucia for a week. Temperatures are in the high 90s, low 100s – mas agua por favor – which also means that I need to brush up on my espanol muy pronto! I bought the lonely planet spanish language guide (just as a refresher) and was shocked to see translations for social situations. Close, intimate, social situations, at that. I guess that’s me in my old mama age.

…attending baby showers, a bridal shower, and a birthday party

…the AIDS Walk – in the same weekend as a baby shower and same day as the bridal shower. There were so many people it was insane! Mads and I were supposed to walk with our friend, T, but foolishly, we never agreed on a meeting spot. Mads was going through a cycle of ride in the BOB, get out and walk, back in the BOB, walk, BOB, walk…we made it about ½ way through when Mads and I decided we had enough. All in all, $4.5M was raised, so thank you to those who helped us meet and surpass our fundraising goal!

…figuring out how to get to Austin, Texas for a wedding the day we get back – in the end, the wedding lost out. If we weren’t going to be able to make it to Santa Barbara for a wedding, how on earth would we make it to Texas?

…playing Wii Fit - though not so much anymore as I’m finding it impossible to get up early to workout

…figuring out how to play DVDs on the PS3 – yes, we now have a PS3. if you’re counting, in our entertainment console we have the TiVo, a xBox 360, a Wii (the Wii fit board fits nicely underneath the console) and now a PS3. Purchased for work reasons, we now can watch Blu-Ray DVDs. So, last weekend, we went to Blockbuster, rented National Treasure 2 and the Lego Indiana Jones game for the PS3. (Oh, and S finally mounted the flat screen to the wall.) After the movie…could I tell a difference? Of course not! I really should have lied to S and said, “Yes, my gosh! How did we not get this sooner!” Just kidding! Which reminds me, I need to update my Netflix queue to include Blu-Ray.

…wasting time on Facebook & Kaboodle

(To be honest, I’ve also been distracted by this Anderson Cooper – Lohan Family battle, so insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but like all traffic accidents, I can’t look away. And while I’m on the topic of celebrity “news” – why the heck is Suri Holmes Cruise still on a bottle?)

In other news

My cousin alerted to me that FOX the king of trash tv, may be in the works in airing a game show wholly devoted to…wait for it…HUMAN TETRIS!!! The story is here.

Two words why I think Obama will be the next president: web presence.

As of today 01 August 08

La Belle et Le Bad Boy - MC Solaar

I Kissed a Girl - Katy Perry

Paper Planes - M.I.A.

Comme Si De Rien N’Etait (album) - Carla Bruni

I’m done with work…vacation is beckoning.

Inspired by our friend, LP, we decided to sign up for a bi-weekly delivery of a small box of farm fresh goodies. Below are the contents from our box a few weeks ago:

Bell peppers, heirloom tomatoes, corn, carrots, mushrooms, nectarines, onions - all from local farms, to boot! I’m guilty of never buying enough fresh veggies at the store and this is what I love about this delivery service - we’re guaranteed fresh veggies every other week and supplements nicely the veggies and fruits that I do actually buy at the store. (It also serves as a guide as to what’s in season.)

This week we received (sorry, no pic): summer squash, basil, flame grapes, gypsy peppers, heirloom tomatoes, rose potatoes and 1 head of lettuce.

A Day Off

A few weeks ago, I took a much needed day off. Mads was threatening to crash the party by getting sick, but lucky for me, she held off until the following Monday to get sick. After I dropped her off at day care, I dropped off my dry cleaning and headed downtown for my mani/pedi at Bliss.

My 90 minutes of pampering was followed by lunch at the SFMOMA cafe (the food wasn’t too bad, actually), with plenty of time to explore before my allotted time slot for the Frida Kahlo exhibit. The Kahlo exhibit was just okay (imho) - I was more interested in the display of Frida’s personal photos they had on exhibit. In my pre-Kahlo visit, I came across a very pretty floral curtain.

I think that the artist spent a summer disassembling silk flowers with his family only to reassemble it into a large curtain.

The exhibit that I did enjoy was a photo exhibit by Lee Miller, model & photographer. The exhibit showcased some of her “model” photos, and most her photos from WWII. There was an amazing photo of an explosion outside of Mont Saint Michel, I believe.

At the end of the day, I realized that I need more days off. I was relaxed and refreshed for the next week. What a difference a day makes.

Using the potty / Potty Training

At home: refuses to use her pot; likes to put Nemo on her pot and declare, “Nemo pee pee.”; but from time to time, will sit on the pot for a few seconds, clothes on; wears diapers.

At day care: asks to use the potty; tells her caretakers when she needs to use the potty; wears training pants

Our pediatrician says that Mads doesn’t use the potty at home because, she wants us to know that she’s in charge. Well, yes, she has become little miss bossy: “Mommy color!”, “Mommy sleep!”, “Daddy sit!”, “Lucie move!”, “Daddy eat!” Oy!

Foreign Languages

At home: lucky if we can get a few words out of her in either Spanish or French (I would say she’s quite proficient in English for her age)

At day care: knows her numbers 1-10 and colors in espanol; can speak key phrases and words in espanol

Mads is getting better with her French, but we can only get certain spanish words out of her “dos” y “ocho” are favorites, if we’re lucky, “agua”

Thumb sucking

At home: when tired or when she needs to comfort herself

At day care: not anymore

Wha?

Thanks to S, I can’t get enough of this song now. Grrr.

(The movie is Pineapple Express, btw)

Instead of storming the Bastille, I was working from home with Miss Mads, who was running a slight fever. (Really, I tried very hard to work from home, despite being constantly beckoned to color and draw. I was able to knock back doc reviews while she was napping.)

We made a quick trip to the grocery store and I knew full well, that I should really try to prepare a french dinner, Monday being a french national holiday and all. Instead, we had something that couldn’t be more American - seasoned hamburgers on toasted sesame buns (sans frites). I felt bad, I couldn’t even remember to buy some exotic french cheese or delectable dessert. Hamburgers.

It wasn’t until I stumbled upon this article in the NY Times that I felt vindicated.

Vive le hamburger!

…we managed to enjoy a decent fireworks show at Aquatic Park this last Friday.

I truly believe that there is nothing funnier than Japanese Human Tetris (or any of those crazy Japanese game shows).

With that said, I was looking forward to ABC’s I Survived a Japanese Game Show. After the hour, I wasn’t sure what to think of the show. I admit that, yes, it’s poor reality-summer-programming and the whole competition/Survivor-esque thing they’ve got going on is not helping them. (Honestly, the show reminds me of that Simpsons episode where our favorite family from Springfield were mere guinea pigs being exploited for entertainment.)

But, the actual game show was effin’ hilarious, it brought me to tears. Conveyor Restaurant? Laughed out loud! Smashed bug on windshield? Loved it!

Tivo through the commercials and “reality” part of the show and you’ve got a winner.

Btw - does anyone think that Judge Bob is Ciaran Hinds’ Japanese counterpart?

I love taking online quizzes, something to waste time, procrastinate, what have you…

What were you doing ten years ago?

Crap! Has it really been 10 years already? My lord, I believe I was packing up my corner of the Turquoise house where I lived with 5 other girlfriends, all of whom I don’t talk to anymore. (Sad!) I had just graduated from UCSD and was moving back home, starting life all over again.

What are five things on your to-do list today?

• finish up laundry
• buy a bridal shower gift
• decide on 1st birthday & baby shower gifts
• buy tickets for the Frida Kahlo exhibit at SFMOMA
• plan a Tuscan/Florentine getaway

Snacks you enjoy?

Kashi TLC Chewy Granola Bars (Honey Almond Flax is the fave du jour); Coke bottle gummies or peach gummies; good ol’ mild cheddar cheese with wheat thins; pirate’s booty; fresh fruit; and when it’s been one of those days, a snack pack of famous amos chocolate chip cookies from the company vending machine.

Places You’ve Lived?

• San Francisco, CA
• Daly City, CA
• La Jolla, CA
• San Diego, CA
• South San Francisco, CA
• Belmont, CA

I guess one can say that I’m a California girl through and through.

What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?

Well, 5 things after quitting my job…

1. pay off our home, buy a bigger home in San Francisco, an apartment in Paris and a home in Hawaii
2. put away enough money for college expenses
3. start my own business and/or go back to school
4. spread the wealth with family & dear friends
5. invest (key word, invest) in a Hermes Sac Kelly

Technically more than 5, but a billionaire implies a lot of money…

People you want to know more about?

my grandfathers (I know enough about my grandmas), Paul Klee, Julia Child, Antoine de Saint Exupery, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Frida Kahlo, the Dalai Lama, Josephine Baker, the six wives of Henry VIII (I’m really into the Tudors right now), Grace Kelly

In the later days of my Mads pregnancy, summer was in full force - even in SF - and my poor feet were swollen beyond belief that even my beloved flip-flops were getting uncomfortable. So, for about 30 minutes, I was entertaining the idea of buying a pair of crocs so that I wouldn’t have to go barefoot to the hospital.

So, we all know that they’re not the most beautiful shoe, but I was desperate. Maybe if I bought them in a super cute color, like fuschia, it wouldn’t be so bad. Yeah, right. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. And that was the end of those 30 minutes.

No offense to all you Croc wearers…bien sur.

Flash forward to present day, summer is here and Mads needs summer shoes pronto. At first she refused to try them on at the store, but now, I can’t get her to wear any other pair of shoes. (She’s got a pair on converse slip ons and a pair of vans.) She fondly calls them her “pink shoes”.

Photo from here.

Now, I’m even thinking about getting her some jibbitz! She’d be over the moon if we got her these!