It's okay to be a tourist

If there's one opinion I have that's going to get me side-eyed, it's this: I like going to "touristy" places and doing "touristy" things. Everyone is always praising the sights and sounds "off the beaten track" and scorning the "touristy" stuff, but for first-timers, I think it's great! They are "touristy" for a reason -- because they are big and beautiful and iconic representations of a place.  

Monet's Garden at Giverny

I have loved the works of Claude Monet ever since I was a teenager, and every time I have visited France I have wanted to take a trip to his home and garden at Giverny. But there always seemed to be too many other things to do, and too little time. Finally, finally I got the chance to visit this summer, and it was everything I had dreamed it to be. It was literally Monet's famous paintings come to life! 

Our annual family holiday newsletter

Dearest family and friends,

2017 has been a busy year, full of new and exciting developments. Here are a few highlights:

Easter Bunny photos through the years

We used to make a big deal out of Easter when the kids were small. Every year, we would attend multiple egg hunts -- community egg hunts, egg hunts at friends' homes, egg hunts at our home.  At some of the bigger events, they would get to see the Easter Bunny, and they would treat him like a big celebrity.  But for some reason, I never made a big deal out of Easter Bunny photos. The Easter Bunny was not a big part of my childhood and I've always found him a bit creepy (as you can tell from the photo below, Baby Pea agrees with me).

Knitting TIps for Beginners

Never in my life did I think that I would learn, much less love, knitting. My mother taught my sister and I how to embroider and crochet when we were about 6 or 7, but I was always the messy one. I loved to cross stitch, but my work was never very neat, and I never got beyond crocheting small, ugly doilies. Knitting always seemed much cooler and more practical, but there was no way I could ever do it. No one in my family knew how to knit,and it looked even more complicated. When the kids were born, my mother in law knitted sweaters and blankets, but it all looked way too difficult for me.

This year, I finally decided to teach myself to knit, and I'm loving it! It's definitely shaping up to be a hobby that helps me relax and get away from obsessing over politics on Facebook. Right now I'm in that honeymoon phase where I'm knitting every day, and I fully expect to taper off to two or three times a week. But even if I end up knitting just two or three times a year, I'm happy to have learned a new skill. I don't know why I ever thought it was so difficult!  If you want to try out knitting (hand knitted things are sooo hipster) but don't think you can do it, take it from me and take the plunge. I learned how to knit simply from watching videos, and if I can do it, anyone can. I've put together some tips for beginners to make it even easier. Happy knitting!

Start with chunky yarn and needles

In the beginning, your hands will feel huge and clumsy. It only makes sense to avoid the baby-fine yarn and skinny knitting needles! I would start with size US 13 (9.0 mm) needles and bulky yarn (#5). You'll have a lot more yarn to hold on to, and you'll be be able to see your stitches more clearly because they'll be larger. As an added bonus, you will need to do less stitches to complete a project than if you use fine yarn, so you'll be able to complete your first project sooner!

Start with the basics

You don't need to learn how to cable knit right from the start. In fact, the only four skills you need to start knitting most projects are casting on (getting yarn on the needle), knit stitch, purl stitch, and casting off (getting the yarn off the needle and completing your project). In a pinch, you can leave the purl stitch for later and just cast on, knit, and cast off. There are tons of videos online that will teach you these four skills, and within 30 minutes, you'll be off and knitting.

Make something right away (but keep it simple)

Where's the fun in knitting a square?  Like I said, as long as you know how to cast on, knit, and cast off, you can already knit a scarf, a blanket, or a hat!  If you have young girls in your life, I recommend starting by knitting a blanket for their American Girl dolls. Okay, that's essentially knitting a square, but it's a square with a purpose. Another great alternative is to knit a pussy hat. It's essentially a knitted rectangle that you fold in half and sew the sides down. My first knitting project was a pink pussy hat, and having something (or someone) to knit for really helps with your motivation.

Don't worry about how to hold your needles

When you watch knitting videos, you see people threading yarn through their fingers in all kinds of complicated ways in order to hold the proper yarn tension. Don't let it intimidate you. There is no one right way to hold needles. There is no one right way to hold yarn. The usual expression for being clumsy is being "all thumbs", but I felt more like "no thumbs" when I started knitting. I had balance one needle upright by jamming one end into my stomach because I felt like I didn't have enough fingers or hands to do everything! Eventually I figured out a way to hold my needles that worked for me, and so will you.

Don't worry about speed

When we visited Bruges a few years ago, we saw a bobbin lace demonstration and were so impressed at the intricacy and speed. We couldn't believe how quickly these little old ladies' hands flew! I'm sure they started out slowly, and that's the same with knitting. It takes me days to knit hats that some people can finish in an hour or two, but it's not a competition. I just concentrate on making my stitches as nice and even as I can.

Don't burn yourself out

Knitting can be monotonous work, so don't try to do too much at once. Lift your eyes from your work and take a break every now and then so you don't cramp up. Right now I'm in that phase where I'm so pleased with myself for learning a new skill that it's all I want to do. But I try not to knit for more than 30 minutes at a time so I don't get sick of it.

Find a charity to knit for

We all know that practice makes perfect, but the thought of knitting thousands of stitches for months on end to make a single blanket exhausts me. I've found that knitting hats gives me the motivation to knit because they are easy and relatively quick to finish. But my family can only wear so many hats! So my plan is to knit hats for babies at our local pediatric ward, and for cancer patients at our local Ronald McDonald house. I've contacted both organizations and they both take new knitted hat donations. At the end of the year, I hope to have a basket full of hats to donate!  When 3Po and Jammy were born, they received little knitted Santa hats to take home (they were born in December). They were adorable, and I've always wished I could thank whoever knitted them. I feel good knowing that I'm paying it forward and that some future babies will be wearing the hats that I'm knitting.

Women's March San Francisco

I've read right wingers' posts accusing liberals of being "special snowflakes" who can't handle losing the elections. The best rebuttal that I've read: Okay, so liberals are special snowflakes. Do you know what happens when a million snowflakes get together? You get A STORM. Watch out. Winter is Coming.

Yesterday, the first Winter Storm happened. I'm talking about the Women's March. On January 21, the day after Trump's inauguration, about half a million people marched in Washington DC to support women's rights, equality, diversity, and inclusion (and yes, to voice their opposition to Donald Trump). They were joined by millions more in hundreds of cities across the US and the world. In the Bay Area, where we live, there were 3 marches to choose from: Oakland, San Jose, and San Francisco. The Pea and I originally planned to attend the San Jose rally, but when it turned out she needed to go to San Francisco to buy pointe shoes, we decided to attend the San Francisco march instead. Armed with our pink pussycat hats, rain jackets, and rally posters, we headed up to the city to add ourselves to the headcount of people who wanted to be a part of something big. Boy, what a crazy, amazing, inspiring experience it was!

Thanks, Trump

Countdown to 2020 ElectionsCountdown

So the day I've been dreading since November 8 has arrived: Donald Trump's inauguration. It's going to be a long, frustrating 4 years. I've already begun the countdown to the 2020 elections. But what to do in the meantime? For starters, I'm attending tomorrow's Women's March in San Francisco.

Our Christmas newsletter 2016

Every year I write out a family newsletter to include with our holiday cards, and every year I go back and forth about sending it out. Is it really worth the time, effort, printer ink, and paper? Is it too braggy? Too swaggy? Does anyone really read it?  This year I decided to write the newsletter but only share it with immediate family. I'm truly the worst at calling and emailing my siblings and parents, so this newsletter really does keep them updated. Unfortunately, I've been extraordinarily absent-minded this holiday season (for the first time ever I found myself scrambling to buy presents for the kids on December 24!), so I forgot to send out the newsletter. Fortunately, I still have this blog, so my work isn't going to waste. 

Date Night at Bowlero

Now that the kids are older, date night with Alfie is easier than ever. And yet, somehow, date night is still a rarity. I know all the magazines and relationship experts tell you to schedule regular date nights to keep the romance alive, but honestly, we're happy just vegging out on the couch together when The Pea is at dance and the boys are at soccer practice. It's a lot cheaper and takes up far less energy!

A roller coaster of emotions

Two weeks ago, I mailed in my ballot. I was excited. The world was full of hope and change. The past 18 months had been a nightmare of homophobia, xenophobia, and misogyny. My mood rose and fell with Hilary Clinton's standing in the polls, but on the whole I felt confident. I meticulously researched every candidate and measure on the ballot because I wanted to do my civic duty. I was indifferent to a few measure and unsure of others, but I had no doubt that I was on the right side of history with my choice for president.

My Family Creed: Our Ten Commandments for living

Most companies and organizations have a mission statement. Not only does a clear, shared mission help define the values of a company and its employees, it also helps guide the behaviour of all employees. So why don't families have something similar?

Ten Tips for Surviving Braces

The start of a perfect smile

3Po and Jammy have begun a rite of passage affecting teens and tweens all over the world. No, I'm not talking about their first crush (already happened). I'm not talking about smoking (never going to happen). I'm talking about braces. For the next 18-24 months they'll be visiting the orthodontist, craving popcorn, and slowly but surely, developing a killer smile. It's going to suck, and at times it's going to really suck, but the results will be worth it. I know, because I had braces myself.

Las Vegas with my sisters

On November 4, Alfie and I celebrated 15 years of marriage. It's hard to believe that it has been 15 years since Elvis married us in Las Vegas!  And how did we celebrate this milestone? With a trip to Vegas, of course!

The only thing was, I didn't take that trip to Vegas with Alfie. I took it with my sisters. One of them lives in Manila and the other lives in London, so we don't get to do this kind of thing very often. In fact, the last time we had a sisters' getaway was about 10 years ago. I can (and do) party in Vegas with Alfie whenever I want. But Vegas with my sisters? That's a once-every-ten-years thing. Fortunately Alfie understood completely, so the day after our anniversary, my sisters and I made our getaway.

Good bye, grade school

Yesterday we said goodbye to the end of an era.  The Pea has graduated from middle school; next year she'll be starting high school.  3Po and Jammy have graduated from grade school; next year they'll be starting middle school.  We've closed the chapter on the elementary school years.

Parenting Advice for parents of grade school kids, from a 5th grade graduating parent

In less than three months, my oldest will be graduating from middle school, and my youngest will be graduating from grade school.  It's the end of an era.  My kids are growing up.

Even scarier is the speed at which everything happened. Those nine years seem to have gone by so quickly, and the four years I have left till The Pea graduates high school will pass even more quickly. It will go by in the blink of an eye, and I'm actually starting to panic.

5 Tips for Car Shoppers

We're proud to announce our latest addition to the family!  Before you order that cute onesie, know that my uterus is closed for business; our new baby is a Kia Soul wagon. Alfie's BMW sedan is nearing its 20-year mark, and we wanted a car to drive around town that didn't use up as much gas as our van.  We decided on the Soul after test driving one for a week (take note, PR companies -- these programs work!!).  We felt that the Soul had all the high end features we wanted, at a great price.  When we saw the tv ads about great Black Friday financing on the Kia Soul, we decided to bite the bullet.  The whole process took 3 days: we saw the ad on Friday, visited one dealer on Saturday, visited another dealer on Sunday, and picked up the car on Monday.  The dealer visits were mainly to check out interior and exterior colors; we did all of the price shopping online and all of the negotiating via text.

It has been 10 years since we bought our last vehicle (the van), and although technology has changed a lot since then, the art of purchasing a car hasn't.  For those of you who haven't been in the car-buying market in a while, there were a few things had to re-learn. I'm glad we did them, because we ended up saving a bundle of money.  Here are my five gems of advice for anyone looking to purchase a car:

Halloween Costume Watch 2014: Minnie Mouse

Minnie Mouse is such an easy and fun character that I don't know why it took me so long to dress up as her for Halloween.  She was an easy choice for this year, because I already had my hands full helping 3Po and Jammy with their costumes, and I've had this costume assembled since April!  I made the skirt and collar at the Disney Social Media Moms fun run, so I was good to go.  I just swapped my running shorts for leggings, my tech tshirt for a sleeved cotton tee, and my Minnie ears cap for a Minnie ears headband. Easy peasy!

A trip to Gretna Green (aka, my teenage romance fantasies come to life)

Do the words "Gretna Green" ring a bell?  If you've read a ton of historical romance novels, they ring more than just a bell, they ring a wedding bell!

When I was a teenager, I read a lot of period romances.  A LOT.  I combed the used bookstores for Barbara Cartland and Mills& Boon, and filled my head with fantasies of debonaire dukes, regency rakes, villainous viscounts, and the fiery ladies they yearned for. Sometimes I wonder if my taste for Georgian era and Regency era romances had any influence in my falling in love with an Englishman fourteen years older than me!

Race for Life 10k: Victoria Park, London

How time flies; it seems like just yesterday that I was donning my caveman costume for Bay to Breakers, but 2 years have gone by in the blink of an eye, and I've been dragging my feet through my fitness routine ever since.  Registering for races always motivates me to maintain a regular running schedule, so I was determined to do a race this year.  The Disney Social Media Moms Fun Run gave me the kickstart I needed, and I decided to go one step further by joining a Race for Life event in London this summer.

Driving Alfie Crazy (aka Driving in the UK)

I've been a regular visitor to the UK since the late 90's, living life as a local, not as a tourist, for weeks on end, so by now I can safely say I've become a pro at quite a few English customs: chatting about the weather, packing your own groceries at the supermarket, knowing which side of the escalators to stay on if you're not in a hurry, hanging the wash out to dry instead of using a dryer, deciphering local accents and colloquialisms (i.e. "Up the Apples") saying Please and Thank-You for everything, appreciating the pleasures of a cup of tea. But there's one thing that I never did during those visits, and that is drive a car.