Home Again

It’s good to be home. Baby is behaving and not whining as much as he was at Mom and Dad’s. Yay. Today is our resting day and I actually cooked a decently healthy meal. I like to stuff things into a pot and stew it for a bit so I diced up 2 tomatoes, a garlic herb chicken sausage, 1/3 of a big fat potato, and tossed in all my Italian seasonings. Not too bad if I do say so myself. This is my first good attempt at cooking in a long time. It’s just tiresome to figure out what to cook when you’re exhausted and need a quick fix before the baby demands all your energy and attention. So yay for baby steps in the right direction. Now if only I could eat more lettuce like I used to…

Now that Jesse is home, I can finally sign up for that yoga studio down the street. I need to nurture my body and have some time away from the baby. I’m probably going to sign up for 3 months of unlimited classes (yay for newbie specials!). I need to take care of myself, which is really hard as a new mom. But this is one of the first steps towards that. It’s really hard to separate all of the different facets of who I am, because I tend to stick myself in a box and stay there. Lately, I’ve been stuck inside the “Mom” box. At least the artist has been coming out to play more than I thought it would. And the engineer came out after spending the week with Mom and Dad. Again, today’s been a nice day to rest and recharge. Been working on some pretty cool pendants after sitting on ideas all week. Pictures when I get a chance and good lighting.

It’s interesting that Jesse and I are coming up on our 4 year dating anniversary. It takes some people 6 years before they get engaged, but we managed to date, get married, and have a baby in less than 4 years. Haha, go us! I’m just finally happy life has settled down a bit. Baby is progressing rapidly, my creative juices come and go but they’re definitely still there, my friends and family are awesome, and I have the best husband ever. What more could I possibly ask for? I never imagined my life turning out this way, but I’m happy it did.

Almost Home

I need to carve out some designated hatching time.  The kind of time when I chase Jesse and the baby out of the apartment so I can have some quiet, recharge time.  It isn’t the same when baby is napping.  I want something more predictable and boring.  I need that little bit of good, clear focus.  But in all reality, that’s why my body wakes up in the dead of night after I’ve gotten enough sleep.  It’s my creative psyke saying, “Time to be creative.”  I love it, but I miss the more traditional route.  Eh, maybe once we get a bigger place, that will change.  It’s hard to find quiet in 700 square feet with a baby.

We’re going home today.  Already picked up groceries at Sprouts, so I just need to pack up the car and baby and go.  Jesse won’t be arriving home until super late, so hopefully we’ll get going soon.  Just a few things to finish up here and then I get to spend tomorrow resting and playing housewife.

Dim Sum!

Dim sum and Tea Station run! Whoo hoo! Happy Easter!

Bob and Krill’s First Adventure

Baby and I decided to go visit my best friend and her baby for lunch. Gotta love Ten Ren for boba and snacks. Yum yum.

We’ve been friends since late 2003. We survived engineering together, entering the workforce, getting married, and now our first babies. The running joke is that I didn’t have a name picked out so Jesse kept calling him Bob. Jess’ nickname is shrimpizoid so krill is a good name for baby shrimp. And so begins the adventures of Bob and Krill.

Happy New Year

My boys are finally both sound asleep in their respective beds… baby with his arms up over his head because his swaddles are all dirty unless there’s another one hiding where I can’t find it.  Hubby sleeps on, in spite of the past 2 hours’ feeding and Hui.1′s resistance to fall asleep by himself.  Jesse.1 and my best friend’s daughter are finally sound asleep on the futon, chatty little girls enjoying their youth via sleepovers and secrets into the wee hours of the morning.  I think we all fell asleep by 1am and baby woke up at 5.

I’m awake, wondering when I’m going to catch my next break, among all the family chaos of the holidays, but I have to remind myself that it’s winding down and soon my life will be back to normal with one child and one husband.  The allure of running off to get a pedicure is tempting, but I need to feed my extra house guest and polish her mom’s jewelry as well as hopefully replenish her stock of earrings.  She’s 6′ tall and blonde… perfect for longer earrings I adore but unflattering to my short and stout neck on my 5′-4″ frame.  That may be my solace for today.  We’ll see.

I Googled how to be an introverted mom and came up with some good results.  I never thought about it before, but it’s a good lesson on how to deal with kids and teaching them the importance of quiet time.  Jesse’s right about going outside once the babies are old enough to run around.  There’s something magical about the outdoors with its lack of Internet and confinements.  Nothing like good ol’ fresh air.  If we have another baby, required quiet time will be good when I need a nap when I’m pregnant and Hui.1 is running around as a toddler.  Totally not looking forward to that yet but it’s good to mentally prepare for it.  We’ve both been sick so we’ve had extra cuddle time and extra naps.  I need to crash as soon as I’m done typing this.

One of my main goals for 2013 is trying to figure out how to balance being a mom and being an artist.  Lately I’ve been feeling very lackluster with the holidays running rampant and not having enough recharge time to get into my creative groove.  Maybe I have to be less picky and figure out a new way to pencil in creative time.  I’m not sure what needs to be done, other than something.  Also, something in my subconscious is poking me to get my cardio and stretching thing back on, even if it’s just for 2 or 3 songs the way Sashi used to warm us up back in the later part of 2008.  That really kicked my ass into shape.  Endorphins will probably help with the creativity as well.  I know for a fact that my creative spirit is directly linked with my bellydancing and I haven’t been able to go to class enough, simply because of family gatherings two Sundays in a row.  Jesse.1 and I got to go this past Sunday, so that was nice.  But I need more exercise in general to compliment it.  My obliques are already toning so well that my flub is slowly but surely shrinking.  It’s really awesome to watch my abs transform after pregnancy.  I feel stronger than ever, but stiffer than ever too.  My upper back and shoulders need more stretching as well as my hips.  I swear my hips are trying to get back to their normal elasticity but they’ve become extra stiff and have been cracking a lot more.  Bleh.

Okay, back to bed, then make the girls have a 15 minute dance party before we make Great Great Grandma Rorabaugh’s fudge (I told Jesse.1 we’ll make her fudge then call her to tell her how awesome it is.  She agreed that old people like being called on the telephone).

A Lai Christmas

We had a nice time at Mom and Dad’s.  They picked up some takeout from the BBQ side of Sam Woo’s… roasted duck, BBQ pork, Dad’s favorite steamed chicken with ginger dipping sauce, and some really yummy green beans.  Jesse and I chowed down on the duck, pork, and green beans for a late lunch since we woke up and had breakfast so late in the morning.  I got some work done (nothing strange, Dad and I always do some work over the holidays) and eventually my sister and her hubby arrived.  Hui.1 went down for a nap just as they got there, which was nice so we could be hands free to eat the chocolates that were littered all over the house and lounge around.  We got Mom tickets to some show about China’s history and Dad has to go with her. /snicker  Mom and Dad got my sister and I each a Dyson hand held vacuum.  Perfect timing since that morning Jesse didn’t want to put together the wand attachment on the vacuum to suck up ants.  So it’s the official ant sucker and car vacuum.  Later it will also be the crumb sucker, hehehe.

Apparently the story behind the 2nd vacuum is Dad decided to brave Target on Christmas Eve, but the special ($40 gift card with purchase) was over, so he went to Sears instead.  He picked up the last one they had and got the saleslady to price match it.  He also happened to pick up a pinball machine for Jesse.1 that was on sale.  He was really cute about it, saying he got it for $17 and the regular price was $40.  Speaking of which, we need to open and play with it.  Hehehe.

All and all, it was a nice Christmas.  Very low key, which is exactly the way I like it.  I do miss going to Sam Woo’s for a Christmas fish, but staying home is always better.

Check out the Traffic Engineering family appropriate pj’s!  Complete with merge sign and traffic cone!  Hehehehe. /proud nerd moment

A Rorabaugh Christmas

This is Jesse’s favorite grandma.  I call her his favorite grandma because he lights up when he’s with her and he spent a lot of time helping her as a kid.  She’s pretty awesome.  I gave her this awesome necklace of iolite and tanzanite stones from my crazy pirate rock lady because I had to make something special and try to keep the beads together.  I think she would approve.

If you’re ever in the Central Valley, specifically Modesto or Patterson, check out Sunblest Orchards for the best dried fruits and snacks ever.  The best is probably her apricot chili pepper sauce (be sure to get the HOT one for a good kick), mix it with some cream cheese, and spread it over some artisan bread for an epic snack.

Vintage Faire Mall Farmers Market, Modesto – Sundays 9 am – 2 pm

Patterson Farmers Market- True Value Shopping Center-Wednesday 4-8 pm

Downtown Plaza Street Faire & Farmers Market, Brenden Theatre, Modesto-Friday 4-8 pm

This is Jesse’s great grandma and grandpa.  It boggles my mind that he still has a great grandma.  Actually, both paternal great grandmas are alive and still kickin’.  But we only visited this one because the other one is dudded “Granny Grump”.  I got Great Grandma’s fudge recipe.  I should try to make it with Jesse.1 and then call her to tell her we made it and how wonderful it is.  That would make an old lady smile.  Someday I’ll figure out logistics to get Jesse.1 to visit these Grandmas.  And get those rough tourmalines to Grandpa to play with… he polishes and cuts rocks, whoo hoo!  Yeah, I’m the only one who appreciates his rock hounding.  He gave me a chunk of rock from the “Motherlode” mine with gold veins the first time I met him back in May, and then he gave me another chunk to give to Hui.1 when he’s older.  Guess he also knows I’m the only one who appreciates his rocks.

Nesting Dreams

I’m longing for a proper sized desk. Not a bachelor’s table to fit him and his lady for dinner in his studio apartment. A nice desk for me to spread out my tools and photography station. A home for the iPad and my tea cup. Speaking of tea cup, I want a big Starbucks mug for lots of tea. Easy accessible drawers to stash my findings so I don’t have to get up and go find them in the cupboard. That’s fine for rocks and beads but not for findings. I’ll keep my wire in there too. Yes, I am expecting to have drawers on each side. Now that I think about it, I really want one that has a hutch so I can maximize my working surface area.

I keep my most treasured photos here and it would be nice to place them up higher. Close but not in the way. A wedding photo that’s probably the best one of us because we’re being our eclectic selves and you can see the spark that makes us disgustingly cute together. My best friend’s daughter when she was in that mischievous age of “Auntie Hui is going to steal my chocolate!”, my other best friend at our college graduation under the College of Engineering sign, a photo of my cousin’s wife with me as the flower girl when I was 6 (showing off my freshly painted pink nails), and a Snoopy and Charlie Brown frame of me as a teenager with my faithful German Shepherd. Maybe I’ll find a hutch with glass doors where I can put my He-Man DVD collection with the spine mural on display. I told Jesse I want the 30th Anniversary collector’s set because it has new interviews and a CD soundtrack. And more DVDs so I don’t have to worry about the first set getting old. It’s nice that most of the series as well as She-Ra is on Netflix.

I’m also looking forward to the day my little jewelry box can sit on my bathroom counter again, because the baby changing pad will be in the other bathroom and not mine. Or to have a large dresser with a mirror hanging over it so I can use it as a vanity. I need to figure out how to unlock my good jewelry box because I lost the key. Grrr. I’ll get Jesse to figure that out eventually, but I do have some statement pieces already out that I’ll make do with. I really enjoy being able to mix the jewelry I make with the nicer jewelry I’ve collected over the years.

Finding the perfect house is hard, but I believe our dream home is out there somewhere. With the economy as it is, we’re looking for a house we can settle in with our budding family as well as when all the little hatchlings fly off into the world on their own. I have to learn that it will only be quiet when the kids are asleep or old enough to sit and read quietly in a corner. So I may as well have my studio area out in the open instead of behind locked doors. I’ll just have to teach them to respect my space and designate beading supplies exclusively for them. I need to do that before Jesse.1 arrives for her Christmas visit. I have a week and a half to get that ready. So far I have string on the way and I just need to find my crimp beads and lobster clasps. I felt bad when she asked to make a necklace but I hadn’t had time to set everything up, let alone dig for stuff. So I need to make sure to do that this week. I should also get her a beading board to lay her projects out so she can see it more visually. I never needed one but it would be good to have.

I’m trying to be a good mom. But nothing we want to be great at is ever easy.

Cha-Cha-Changes…

My nerves are starting to kick in.  I’m not a fan of change, simply because I’ve never experienced it as much as most people my age have.  I never moved anywhere until I got married.  I think that just about sums it all up.

Well, there are two very exciting things that are happening in the near future, and the source of these twisted, anxious nerves.  Duh, baby is coming… no sleep, lots of crying, too much cuteness, and lots of bodily fluids.  I’ve done everything I can to prepare for his arrival, but there’s nothing else I can do until he makes his debut into the world.  Priorities are shifting, dreams need to be put on hold, money needs to be more precisely counted and accounted for, etc.  Tucson will most likely be put on hold until maybe 2014… Jesse would consider going if Hui.1 travels well in the car.  If he doesn’t, then that’s a big fat no.  Honestly, I’m alright with that because I would like to figure out what direction I’m going in with the jewelry business and I’ve already found a lot of good stone suppliers without going to Tucson.  It’s just one of those dream vacations, but I need to secure my vision and my wallet before I embark on such an epic journey.

The other thing that’s got me all nervous is a brand spanking new project my chainmaille ring supplier will be launching within the next month or so.  I am one of their showcasing artists, which is why I’ve been motivated to post on Etsy a lot more than I normally do.  I know I’m fretting over nothing because I am ENOUGH.  My art is ENOUGH.  I am AWESOME and it shows through my jewelry designs.  These frazzled and anxious nerves are just my insecurities trying to take the fun out of it all.  I love designing and creating… sometimes it’s the listing and trying to sell myself that gets to me.  I’m sure that’s true of all artists who are trying to make a buck.  Sometimes I wish money wasn’t such a big deal.  But cars and housing are expensive and Jesse wants to pay as little interest as he can.  So, time to hoard as much money as possible.

No, the world is not that bad… I’m just having a cow.  But the good thing about this week is that I finished the necklace and anklet set I’ve been trying to get out.  Now to send them to the tumbler and to hand polish the watch because I’m too lazy to remove the watch head because it’s such a pain to get on and off… the necklace reminds me of why I do this and why I will never give up.  It’s so slinky and gorgeously decadent.  I may need to make a few for myself.  I actually felt like Emily from Gilmore Girls, sans the Saint John suit.  So luscious.  And I was being a goofball yesterday morning…

This Week…

Jesse.1 is coming for a visit this weekend… which means this week is a good excuse to tidy up the apartment.  Even I’ve been lagging on the maintenance front.  Blah.  But, I really want to get the apartment in tip top condition before the baby arrives, because then it’ll really be a mad house.  So, that’s the goal for the week.  I want to start tonight and at least get the changing pad and baby basket (car carrier) stroller out of the boxes.  The changing pad will go to Mom and Dad’s and the stroller needs to find a home.  I’m almost tempted to get another layer of shoe rack, but I think it’s too heavy for me to lift, so I’ll wait until post-baby.

After I get my cleaning tasks out of the way tonight, I need to sit down and write out those two earring designs into my jewelry cookbook.  I’ve already started consolidating my notebooks (1 at least), so that needs to be put away as well.  I’ve been very good about resisting buying new journals and notebooks.  Believe me, as a self-designated office supply whore, it’s been really hard resisting the back-to-school supplies, Martha Stewart journals, and Shabby Chic journals. :-X

I already have 3 orders for earrings, so I need to finish the project I really want to mail out before the baby comes.  If I’m lucky, I can get the earrings done also before the baby, but my friend doesn’t need them until the holidays, so I have some leeway.  Really, we’re done with baby stuff and it’s just playing the waiting game now.  Jesse insists we go out at least once during the week before we’re confined to the apartment.  I’m fine with that, regardless of the fact that I must insist that it is not Asian food unless it’s Hawaiian or Korean BBQ.  Hey now, I need my meat and Asian food is heavy on rice and noodles, unfortunately.  Besides, I just want a juicy hamburger or a steak I can sink my teeth into.  And a salad instead of french fries. /sigh  Soon… I will have all the carbs I want!  And a screaming newborn.  Oh boy…