3D - worth it?

Yesterday, K and I went to go see a movie about a certain green ogre in 3D. It was my first 3D movie (but not K's. D took him how to see the dragon training flick when it came out. So, yeah, the kid's probably seen more movies in theaters than me this year.) I'm also on call for work this weekend, to add to a layer of complexity. I knew I was playing the odds that I could sit through a whole movie. Funny thing, on D and my anniversary when we went to go see that Sandy B flick, I was on call then to. Maybe I need to be on call more often, then I'll go to the movies more frequently.

Back to the point ... so K and I went to the theater, he picked out his treats and we got settled in our seats. I like to sit in the middle higher up. My son took a little convincing on that ground. "I think we're too high up," he said for the first couple minutes. With our special glasses on, we watched the movie. It was a neat effect, but nothing that made me jump out of my seat and go "oooh" (which the women behind us said every single time."

Then, of course, my on call phone rang (on vibrate so as not to disturb other movie-goers).  I listened to the message, because I could not hit answer fast enough. Seriously tragic emergency, so I had to move K to the front of the theater and sit him down so that I could go off to the side and take care of business, watch him and allow him to still enjoy the movie. He was such a little grown up sitting there watching the movie. When I was able to rejoin him, he just smiled at having me back and kept on watching the ogre mayhem. It was one of those proud mommy moments. The one that makes your heart melt because you realize your baby is really growing up.

So, is 3D worth it? I'm not sure, but I did notice that practically every movie K would have an interest in seeing is coming out in 3D, which means an extra $4 a movie ticket. Blech.

A Journey to the Spanish Main

You know your life is crazy when it takes you more than a day to get something on your blog that you are excited about. What am I excited about, you ask?  Last weekend it was my turn to host the wine club ... and as anyone who knows me well knows ... I like to go big or go home. The assignment was Spain. So, I could have gone easy and done a tapas party and it would have totally been appropriate ... but instead I decided to whip up a five-course Spanish dining adventure.

Here's a breakdown of the evening ... I remembered to take pictures of the wine bottles, but I should have totally taken snaps of the food! Oh, well, I'll link to the recipes as a compromise.

First course: Padron Peppers with Goat Cheese and Bacon-wrapped Dates paired with a Basa Reuda Blanco. Okay, let's be honest, you really can't go wrong with something that has cheese oozing out of it and something wrapped in bacon. The appetizers were fantastic and the wine couldn't have been a more refreshing way to start off the whole event. It was bright and fruity, fresh and crisp. A perfect delight for a hot summer night (which we seem to be getting a lot of in our neck of the woods.)

Second course: Caramelized Tomato Salad with Mahon Cheese paired with El Coto Rioja. So my local store didn't carry the San Simon cheese the recipe called for, so I sued a Mahon cheese. This salad was absolutely amazing. It was so sweet and I could have eaten all of it. Cheese and tomatoes are a perfect marriage. It's no surprise Caprese is my favorite food! Once again, the wine went splendid with the food. It was very light and only had a short finish. It did cut the sweetness of the salad every so slightly and became almost a palate cleanser in preparation for the next course.

Third course: A Tuna Empanada paired with Martin Codax Rias Baixas Albarino. Okay, my empanada didn't turn out quite like the photo, but it tasted good. The pastry crust was a bit crumby -- making cutting it a real treat, but the flavors of the filling were nice. And it was very easy to make! The ladies all compared this wine to Crispin. I'm not familiar with Crispin myself, so I have to take their word on it. But another crowd pleaser.

Fourth course: Guisado de Chorizo y Papas paired with the Vina Zaco Tempranillo. This was a lovely stew. The recipe I made said it only made 3 - 4 servings, but it made a lot of stew. I served nine people a decent bowl and still had leftovers. I'm normally a fan of tempranillo, and this one was good ... but it was excellent with the stew! There was something about the paprika in the stew or the spices of the chorizo that just sang with the wine. Definitely a future pairing must.

Fifth course: Chocolate Souffle Cakes with Vanilla Thyme Ice Cream paired with Garnacha de Feugo. First, I have to give props to my lovely sister C. She swooped in and helped me make the cakes while I was trying to get everything else ready. Fortunately, her favorite cookies are meringues, so when it came to whipping up the souffles, I couldn't have asked for a more seasoned pro. I had already heard great things about this Garnacha and it didn't disappoint. I don't know if it was because it was the fifth one I'd tried, but there was something about it with the vanilla ice cream that just ended the meal on a very high note. Oh, and the cakes were mouth-watering delish.

And the topper: Red Guitar's Tempranillo-Garnacha. So, I thought it would be fun to end the evening with the blend of the last two wines. (And I just so happened to have a bottle in my wine rack.) This wine takes the best elements of the tempranillo and melds it with the garnacha ever so pleasantly. I can often drink this one on its own when I need to just relax and unwind.

All-in-all, I am in love with Spanish wines. There is something relaxing about them, yet vibrant at the same time. It definitely gives me a reason to go their and try many local varieties.

Disappointment

It sits heavy in your heart like a two-ton elephant. It makes your stomach flip and curl like a bad roller coaster. It turns your face hot and red, like a Habanero. It crowds your eyes until it comes out in liquid form. Life is full of disappointment and I guess how you deal with it is one of those defining life moments. I should learn how to handle my own disappointment better. Part of me feels bad at how I handle it, but part of me needs more validation on why I shouldn't be so completely pissed off and mad at the world for all the disappointment that seems to pile up at once. Didn't I bust my arse, didn't I redeem a reputation, didn't I achieve what some deemed impossible. And when I was away, wasn't my absence felt like a sharp bullet shot through the chest. How funny that the reward for my loyalty, my blood, sweat and tears stung me like a slap in the face.

I'm not good with emotion, particularly my own. I'm an Aries, so my temper and emotions tend to get the better of me and I've spent the last three decades trying to control them and keep them bottled in. My defense mechanism is breaking down. My good friend Warren, of course, provided the best words of wisdom:

"The truth is, everything that has happened in my life... that I thought was a crushing event at the time, has turned out for the better." Warren Buffett

I always tell others that everything happens for a reason, and that usually its a good reason. I'm excellent at coaching and doling out words of wisdom. I just have a hard time taking my own advice and being consoled by my own words. And when everyone else is excited, it just exaggerates your own pain -- perhaps that's my biggest obstacle. Oh well, I wasn't in theater and competitive speech for nothing I guess. Time to put on a happy face.

A Protective Mother

I'm not a mother who enjoys it when other people fawn over my children. The oohs and aahs of strangers telling me how beautiful my babies are doesn't make me beam with delight and smile proudly. To be honest, I wish they'd mind their own business. Yes, my children are beautiful. Of course, I would think they are. So, when I have people stop and stare at my children, I tend to shift uncomfortable and if they make a comment, you'll usually get a quickly mumbled, "thank you." All in hopes that they will move on.

Now, when K was a baby, I had many an encounter where strangers would inquire as to where he was from, or bluntly ask if he was mine. O doesn't look as Asian as his big brother. No his features tend to favor me more than D's. So, I haven't encountered anyone asking me if I had adopted my son this go around. But I did have a slightly, less-than-comfortable situation this weekend.

On Saturday, as I was waiting for D and K to get to the front of the grocery store where I was waiting with O for them, a woman approached me. She made the typical comments, what a precious baby he was. I provided the typical delightful responses, "He's four months ... thank you ..." etc. She then made a comment that absolutely annoyed me. She said, "Well, this baby has already gotten lots of sun this summer, just look at his beautiful olive skin tone." I was immediately annoyed and pissed off. I don't think she meant it in a spiteful way. I really don't. But I took it as though she was saying I was out there baking my baby. So, I quickly retorted, "Actually, he's half Asian." Then, I saw D and quickly gave him the "get your arse over here" look.

I am sure that in some ways, I offended the woman, but I wish people could just mind their own business. I don't sit there and stare at other people's children. (Okay, I do tend to take a little bit of an interest in other Hapa babies, but it's because I find the combination results so fascinating.) I don't think I'll ever be the women that shower strangers' children with affection. Maybe I should just bit my tongue, but I think it's a tad creepy when people show too much of an interest in my children. Maybe I'm overprotective.

Less Than a Week

In less than a week, I'll be informed of what my new job is. How I will be making my imprint forward on the big company. I don't know how I feel about it, really. Not excited. Not nervous. I just want a paycheck that compensates me for the value I truly bring so that I can provide my family the life they deserve.

Someone at work mentioned they have a "last straw list." I realized I have one, too. See, at first I'll only know what my new role looks like. But I think I won't know how I feel until I see the big landscape. The whole picture. There are many factors on my list and some of them don't directly affect me, but what they do do is provide insight into the future direction of our organization and what is valued. I think those things will help me determine how I feel I fit in. It's been a very long term investment in this corporate world, and I need to make sure that the return is still favorable for both.

But I have to say, this anticipation has been very enjoyable at work. Everyone is being so nice to everyone else, because no one knows who their new boss will be, who will be on their teams. It's been great from a cohesion standpoint on a lot of levels.

Proving Myself

Today at work, we had a well-being fair. Basically, it was booths with all different services and benefits to help you with your well-being. I got to the table that talked about our free on-site yoga classes. The very pretty, very fit woman at the table asked me and my colleague if we'd ever attended any of the classes. I commented that I had tried earlier, but they were always full. She said that I should consider signing up again, as attendance had fallen a bit. They also are not until 5:30 and are on Tuesdays, so they don't mesh with my schedule, but I wasn't going to go into that.

Then on the table, she had the Parents Yoga Baby DVD. I said to my colleague, oh I did that with K. The woman then replied, "Yep, that's my baby Max." I looked at her and then back at the DVD. It was her. So, then of course, because I felt like I had to prove that I really actually did do the yoga workout, I said, "oh, I have your older children's version, too." (which I do ...) Of course, this just made me feel like I really had to validate it and prove myself, so I told her how K really liked this one particular move on the workout.

Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh, that's so great, I love to hear what people enjoy. Would you mind going on my website and giving me a testimonial." She quickly wrote down her site address and then she also gave me  a promo code for a discount. So, in the end, I'm glad my insecurities had me feel like I had to explain myself. And truth be told, I really did have fun with the workouts and it made me realize on my off days that I'm not running, I should pick it back up and enjoy the workout with O. I think he'll like it.

And because I will do more than just give her a testimonial, check out Jillian's site:  livehappilyeveractive.com. The DVD's really are fun, they are focused more on bonding with your child - so you won't break a sweat ... but you'll definitely crack a smile!

Time for a Break?

Sometimes I will get hit with a philosophical thought at the most random place. This one hit me on Sunday afternoon, when both D and I were completely exhausted and wanted nothing more than to take a nap. It made me think about roles and parenting and jobs. Of course, as you  may know, D works very hard as a stay-at-home-dad. I put in my hours at the office to bring home some sort of financial stability.

The thought struck me that at the end of the day, both parents need, deserve to take a break ... but do either really get one? The one who is home all day, shouldn't be expected to carry on and take care of the kids still all night. And the parent who is at the office all day, is on stage all day has to come home and put their best face forward to help relieve their partner in the evening. It's crazy, unless the kids are asleep, neither person truly gets to unwind. That is why bedtime is such a precious time.

While I am getting both boys ready for bed, I know that in a half hour, I'll be able to relax, put my feet up and maybe actually decompress from the day. Spend some time talking to my husband and just be enveloped in love. That is if everything goes accordingly to plan. As long as there wasn't some disagreement about something (something probably very petty) that derails the whole plan for the evening and the break we really need to take is just from ourselves. Because, after ten years together, we know that sometimes you just need your space. (Like tonight, when he saw my shorthand note about this blogging subject and thought that I had a much more controversial opinion on the matter than I actually do ... )

Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day. For me, it is a day that has formed it's own tradition, as my husband and I do the Race for the Cure walk. This year, we had a mini, but mighty team, including both my sisters and both of our moms.

Of course, today at work, everyone was asking all the mom's about their Mother's Day, and it revealed that there are two very different camps on how this day should be "celebrated." The first camp is the one that I fall in. It's the group that spends the day enjoying those that have bestowed upon you the honor of being their mother. It's snuggling with their kids, going out to eat with their family and relishing the greatest job in the world.

The other camp is completely on the opposite end of the spectrum. This is the camp that look at the day as their excuse to get away from their family. I have one colleague who definitely fell into this camp. She glowed as she explained how she and 15 of her friends got together -- all kid free -- and had a party and exchanged gifts. She said it was just such a nice break to be able to just go out with only  her purse and no diaper bag.

I found it interesting. I don't think either camp has the better approach to the day. I just found it fascinating how there are such different perspectives on what they day meant and how it should be celebrated. I think it might provide some insight into how people view their job of motherhood. But also, maybe I am just lucky because if I want to go out with the girls, I don't need to wait for one day out of the year. (Of course, I know for a fact, that neither does my colleague ... but I will not be one to judge.)

The Power of Email

This week at work was ... shall we say ... entertaining. As I've mentioned, I work for a pretty big company and am in a somewhat mid-to-high profile department. Meaning high visibility, especially when something goes wrong. Well, this week we had an email start floating around with some confidential information ... about special dress code weeks. See, we have a formal dress code (suits, etc.) and when we are able to wear casual clothes, people kind of go nuts. They eat it up. Jeans for a week, woohoo! (unfortunately, I currently don't own any jeans, so I'm not exactly participating, but it's nice not to be confined to feeling more formal.) Well, my team happens to know when these special weeks take place and we summed it up for our partners in HR. Somehow ... this email leaked ... and it's spreading like the chicken pox in kindergarten.

My two thoughts ... what idiot started sending it outside the circle of "need to know." Because I'm sorry, everyone who got the original email should have known better. Second, it made me laugh at how quickly it spread. To me that sends a signal that, frankly, people are tired of wearing the suits and ties ... if they are getting this excited about knowing when they can wear jeans the rest of the year. The even funnier thing was how quickly people got worked up about the email leak. I understand, it should never have happened -- and I do have to blame HR for letting it leak -- but it's just the dress code people. It's not some secret competitive secret or a new product hitting the market. It's things like this that make shows like The Office so gosh darn relatable.

The Government

A lesson in watching what you say in front of a highly-impressionable 4-year-old.

They are widening one of the major roads near our neighborhood, this has unfortunately resulted in a few power lines being hit on occasion and causing our power to go out. One day I was at work, and returned to my message light being on on my phone. What was waiting for me was a message from D, trying to be funny, talking about how our taxpayer dollars were being wasted because our power had gone out from the road construction once again. He declared he was calling the governor and that this was all the government's fault.

When I returned home that night ... K was going on and on about "the government." Fortunately, his tirades died down after that evening. Well, Friday night, a small storm came through, and I'm guessing thanks to someone not properly securing exposed power lines or tree branches hurling in the air ... we again lost our power. Of course, this was at night time. The first thing out of my son's mouth. "Oh, the government!!" I about died laughing, but realize that if he has these outbursts in front of the wrong people, it could start a long debate. The thing is, the way he says it is even funnier than what he is saying.

Alas, about 45 minutes later, the power came on. But during the downtime, K got to experience what it was like back in the "old days" as we read a book by candle light. I just hope for his sake that he doesn't continue to correlate power outages with the government, otherwise, the government is in for it!