Happy New Year 06!

Happy New Year! Can't believe that it's 2006, and Maiya is now 11 months old.

We celebrated a day early with a New Year's Oshogatsu party at our house on New Year's Eve/Day. Yes, it rained and poured all day long. In total, 36 people came over and we had a great time visiting with friends and family. And even though we ordered and bought a lot of the foods, it is still a lot of work, just getting our humble little abode ready for such a large group of people. And with the rain, that meant pretty much that everyone was crammed in our living/dining room and den. This year, it was more challenging to get ready because I'm still sick, and Maiya wanted to be held the whole time we were trying to get the house ready. Not that I did any cooking. My culinary contribution was making a chipotle dip from scratch, and without a recipe. Tony put together all the Japanese foods, and grilled the stuff.

Then yesterday on New Year's, Tony crashed out and slept pretty much all day. Maiya and I went to my cousin Marlon & Hiroko's house and we spent the afternoon there. Then in the evening, we picked up Tony and went to our friend Evelyn & Bruce's house. They always put together a nice spread, with lots of friends and community folks. I still wasn't feeling well, so when we got home, I immediately went to sleep, which I really needed after a busy few days.

Today, was cleanup day. It took me 12 hours (with many breaks to play, change, feed, nurse and manage Maiya) to clean the kitchen and front room (yes, from the party 2 days ago). We had cleaned up maybe half of it, but there was still a lot of work to be done. But, the house looks good now. My friend Maria, gave me a Sudoku puzzle book on New Year's--I hate that kind of stuff where I *have* to use my brain for non-critical functions, but I have to say, I think I'm getting addicted. I have finished 4 puzzles so far.

Well, that's all i have for today. 2005 was a pretty awesome year for the Kuida–Osumi family. I look forward to seeing what 2006 has in store for us. Very soon, Maiya will be walking and talking, and she will continue playing, laughing, learning and exploring; amazing and entertaining her mama and daddy at every turn.


Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu!