Happy Halloween 08

This past weekend, Tony's parents Fran & Don came over for the weekend. On Sunday night, we had an impromptu party with 15 people over (pictures to follow). My mom and Maiya's cousins Danika and Chris brought over pumpkins for Maiya. So, we carved them. See the pictures above... the 2 small ones are a tangerine and a little pumpkin chili pepper. More Halloween pictures to follow.

Odori class

Maiya has been pretty excited about her Japanese odori dance class which she started about a month ago. I had to change my day off at work and it totally messed up my schedule, but it is so worth it. I never learned how to dance odori when I was a kid, so it's very fun to watch her learning and having fun.
You got to check out the adorable video I took a few weeks ago, she's the one in the royal blue yukata with red goldfish and my red bathing suit sarong as an obi belt practicing "Teru Teru Bozu."

No on 8!

Cross blogging on the Little Tokyo Unblogged... API Marriage Equality in Little Tokyo

Stop the Hate. No on Prop 8!

Jenni's Yucky Day Off

Monday was my DAY OFF. Here's a recap as I remember it.

7:00 wake up, T leaves for work.
7:15 first day of online class. do first 2 assignments.
8:30 MG wakes up, joins me on computer.
8:40 Breakfast with MG, yogurt, berries & cereal parfait with peaches and warm cocoa. Do breakfast dishes, clean up ants
9:00 back on computer while MG watches SuperWhy on PBS, call school re: late arrival
9:30ish play with MG, 3 calls from work, watch beginning of "The View"
10:45 take shower, rush to get MG dressed and ready to leave house. minor meltdown with uncooperative child.
11:10 leave house to pick up Grandpa, who had fallen that morning.
11:20 drive grandpa to dialysis
11:35 arrive at dialysis center, weigh-in, drama-5 phone calls, etc.
12:05 rush out of dialysis center with MG, MG eats lunch in car.
12:35 arrive at preschool in time to brush teeth for naptime.
12:40 try to pick up lunch, no parking, bail out.
12:45 stop in at work to review 3 files to give to auditor... too much to do, cranky & stressed out, end up staying 4 hours
4:45 rush to pick up MG to get to Great Leap to help with budget
4:50 pick up MG
5:10 arrive at Great Leap, meeting re: budget, cashflow, etc, distracted by MG who's hungry and bored, on poissonrouge
6:40 rush out of Great Leap, calling Lily for 7pm dinner, called 5 times, voicemail
7:15 arrive at Talpa, leaving message for Lily to meet us there, MG cranky
7:35 T arrives stressed out and stays 5 minutes, T's dad at ER
8:00 Lily calls. Order tacos for Lily, get T's food to-go
8:15 Pay bill, head home
8:25 Finally home, MG working at her desk, playing with ink pad and writing, check online class cyber updates and FB. Turns out grandpa broke his tailbone
9:10 bath time for MG
9:40 in bed with MG, reading stories
10:00 Lily arrives, eats dinner. Empty dishwasher and fold 2 loads of laundry while talking with Lily.
12 midnight. Lily goes home. Turn on TV, fall asleep watching Sex & the City.

Next day off, I think I'll stay home and veg.

Jenni's Movie Pick: La Misma Luna

We saw a great movie last night, "La Misma Luna" translated to "Under the Same Moon." It was a sweet movie about a 9 year old boy Carlitos whose mother has been working in LA for the last 5 years trying to make a better life for him. It shows the immigrant struggle and the insanity of what makes you a legal vs. undocumented immigrant. In the movie, Carlitos crosses the border by himself and comes to Boyle Heights searching for his mother. I knew I was going to like the movie when I started bawling in the first 5 minutes.

And, for our 15 seconds of fame, Tony's mural "Home is Little Tokyo" has about 5 seconds of airtime in the film when Carlitos' mom and her friend are riding a bus on Alameda past Little Tokyo.

In the Special Features on the DVD, there is a short piece on the La Misma Luna mural that was commissioned based on the movie. I'd like to go see it, on Cesar Chavez (formerly Brooklyn) and Breed Street just a few blocks from where my mom (and cousins) grew up.

As a mother and a granddaughter of immigrants, who works with Latino immigrant families, I do recommend this beautiful movie.

More MG-isms

8/13/08 - First thing in the morning, while still in bed:
MG: Mommy I want popicle for beck-fast.
JK: Umm, no.
MG: Why?
JK: Because it's not a food for breakfast.
MG: Just kidding. Ok. Mommy I want peanut butter jelly sandwich for breakfast. (Pause.) Yes? or No?

8/23/08 - Talking in her sleep: "I want the hot dog. I don't want blueberries."

8/28/08 - Talking in her sleep: "No no no no. I don't want to eat it. No daddy. No daddy. Daddy you forgot to go to the car wash. You have to wash mommy's car."

9/1/08 - Made Up Story: "One time I went to Granny Franny's and there were 5 dogs. 5 big dogs. And they were so big they hit their head on the top, on the ceiling. Just kidding."

9/2/08 - Dream recall: "Last night I had a dream. I dreamed I made burritos for everybody. I made burritos for all the people. By myself."

10/12/08 - While in the shower: "Mommy, something slidy is coming out of my nose. What it is?"

Bento Mama - Part 1

Thought I would share some photos of Maiya's bento lunches from this summer. We'll call this Part 1.

July 14 - Sushi, inarizushi, frozen mangos, double blueberries

July 15 - PB&J, dried cranberries, frozen mangos, blueberries

July 16 - PB&J, dried cranberries, string cheese, frozen mangos, raspberries

July 17 - ribbon pasta & quinoa, tofu with furikake, edamame, mangos, raspberries, blueberries, applesauce

July 21 - PB&J waffle, string cheese, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries

July 22 - Bean burrito, edamame, raspberries, blackberries

Don't Undo "I Do."

Tony wanted me to share this... he just sent $36 to help defeat Prop 8. Marriage for same sex couples has been legal in California for over two months! But we must work now to preserve the victory. No On 8 is leading the campaign to defeat Proposition 8, a November ballot measure that seeks to eliminate the right of same sex couples to marry. Please consider contributing to No On 8 and help us spread our message across America.

Donate to No on Prop. 8!

Peace. Out. Vote.

Trike-A-Thon

Maiya's preschool held a Trike-A-Thon last week. The kids learned about bike safety and charity, while having fun. The $45 we raised goes to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. It's great that even at 3 years old, Maiya can help sick children by raising money for them.

Next month, me & Maiya will be joining some of my co-workers in HomeWalk, raising money for United Way to support homeless families in LA County.

Sidewalk to Nowhere

This is kind of shocking footage of McCain supporters outside a campaign rally.



Peace. Out. Vote.

H + E Tie the Knot

Congrats to Hector & Erika for tying the knot on Saturday!

H + E

My man cleans up nice!

Francisco & JuanaHector, Greg, Erika, Tony & Karl

The wedding and lunch was small (50 people), simple and elegant. Friends with Hector for 30 years, Tony was the "Best Man" and even bought a suit for the occasion! The reception was at Lilly's on Abbott Kinney in Venice, with a nice, private outdoor space and a beautiful garden adjacent to the restaurant. The live music was great, I think their name was Good Cop, Bad Cop. The food was pretty terrific. I had grilled salmon with lentils and soy ginger salsa and chocolate souffle with pistacchio ice cream, and Tony had a steak sandwich with creme brulee, yummy.

Big props to Hector & Erika, and our best wishes as they begin their journey on a bicycle for two!

Vintage Meme Blog 9/15/03

jenni's blog:: september 2003
September 15 - First & Last List
I have the day off today. Been catching up on blogs, found this on Zeebah's, and decided what the heck.
First bike: It was a used turquoise "Slick Chick" with a silver banana seat. I was all proud that it was blue and not some pink girly bike.
First best friend: Kathy. She had an above-ground swimming pool. We used to play hair dresser in her living room.
First car: 1973 Ford Mustang from my Auntie K. The 351 horsepower impressed guys I was too shy to approach. A few times it would spin around uncontrollably in the rain until my dad put a bag of concrete in the trunk. It was stolen from my college apartment.
First job: Working at a law firm as a file clerk/typist at age 16. That job led me to working in law firms for the next 16 years.
First screen name: Sanjuu Sansei (which means 30 year old third generation Japanese American). Remember Compuserve?
First self purchased album: First 45 single was "Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain & Tenille. First album was the soundtrack to "Grease" that I split the cost with my sister and brother.
First pet: 4 turtles when I turned 4 years old. My mom got rid of them because they smelled but told us they ran away.
First piercing/tattoo: Don't remember the piercing. No tatts.
First independent home: An apartment in Hollywood with my best friend, Maria, about 6 months after college graduation.
First credit card: I thought you had to pay money into it, then you could use the money, then would need to replenish in order to spend more. I must have gotten that concept from my parents.
First love: Jimmy Anderson, Kindergarten. He was a cutie.
First enemy: Don't think I ever had one, but when Ron threw rocks at me and Kathy in grade school, they got paddled by the principal.
First big trip: Flew to New York by myself in 1982 and visited Maria the summer after high school. We went to the top of the World Trade Center, saw "A Chorus Line" and "Evita" on Broadway.
First play/musical/performance: Not the first, but memorable - I saw Patrick Swayze in "West Side Story" at the Moorpark Melodrama. Nobuko, my boss, was in the original movie and on Broadway 20 years earlier. My best friend MARIA and my husband TONY were named after West Side Story characters in the 60s.
Last movie seen: I can't even remember the name. I think it was during Thanksgiving weekend in 2002. Check my November blog.
Last book read: "Built in Furniture."
Last cuss word uttered: Probably the "F" word.
Last beverage drank: Organic Juice from Trader Joe's last night.
Last food consumed: Killer Shrimp with rice, last night.
Last crush: Married him.
Last kiss: Ditto.
Last phone call: My dad, called to offer us his old big screen TV which is broken and might cost $200-$300 to repair. Declined. Had a nice conversation with him. It may be the first time he called me on my cell phone.
Last TV. show watched: Saw "Sharon Osborne" the debut of the talk show this morning.
Last time showered: This afternoon.
Last shoes worn: My comfy black Merrell's out to Killer Shrimp in the Marina last night.
Last cd played: Sweet Honey in the Rock that Nobuko made for me called "Women Gather."
Last item bought: Two pieces of political arts. Silkscreened and spraypaint posters by my friend Weston at the Great Leap fundraiser on Saturday. One is about the Figueroa Corridor/Staples Center struggle and the other is of the Koreatown Assi Market Boycott.
Last downloaded: Don't recall.
Last annoyance: Alarm clock this morning.
Last soda drank: I gave up soda a year ago officially, but I must admit that I had a sip of Tony's Squirt at Hector's house the other night.
Last word written: Night. (See above).
Last word spoken: Bye. (Hung up phone from dad).
Last sleep: Went to sleep about 2am. Woke up at at 7:30 am when Tony left for work, but didn't get up till 9:51 am.
Last IM: Never?
Last weird encounter: Don't know.
Last ice cream eaten: Can't remember when. But it was probably Haagen Dazs "Dulce La Leche." Yummm.
Last time wanting to die: Probably as a teenager.
Last time hugged: Last night from Hubby.
Last chair sat in: Currently sitting at my desk at home.
Last shirt worn: Currently wearing a black t-shirt that says "California Arts Council - The Year of the Arts - 2001." See, I wear what I preach. Support the arts.
Last web page visited: zeebahtronic - where I copied this entry.

Madame Mamie Turns 100

A few months ago, I blogged about 3 of my friends over the age of 90, including Fred Hoshiyama and Grace Lee Boggs. Tarabu sent these pictures of his mom Mamie Kirkland's 100th birthday in Buffalo this summer. Mamie is a pretty remarkable woman, here are some pictures of her family at her 100th Bday celebration.

Mamie's 100th Cake

Mamie and her "grown" children

Mamie with Tarabu and Nobuko,
Kamau, Malika, Asiyah, Mohammed and Nora

Mamie & the Generations

We look forward to Mamie's LA Bday later this year!