Lola's Girl

TGIF

2012-01-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

thank goodness it's friday!

where has this week gone ?

last night, i was just thinking to myself: i have to prep wednesday's blog post

but it's not wednesday it's friday

whoops!

some random happenings over the past week:

zoe has been learning about penguins in school and will randomly spout off penguin facts

it's super cute and it shows what an amazing job her teacher(s) are doing

i am really into polka dots as of late,

it pretty much started because of this lovely dress

and has just gotten out of control

i purchased zoe and pia's flower girls dresses from here

they are having an amazing sale

their sale stuff is on sale

so i got zoe and pia's dresses for like 75% off

i just love when that happens!

zoe eats super super slow

i have to learn to be more patient with her especially in the mornings

now i'm off to do some laundry and prep for a wedding i have tomorrow

happy friday everyone!

weekend snapshots

2012-01-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

this past weekend was filled with

a flat tire! i have no idea how to change a flat

so i had to call my husband

(who had just got home from a night shift and probably only slept for two hours)

and he came to my rescue

next on my to do list: learn how to change a flat tire!

lots of snow!

which resulted in a snow day which meant zoe got a day off from school

the girls played and played in the snow for hours!

pink cheeks and hot chocolate

after spending hours playing in the snow

the girls warmed up with some hot chocolate and laughed at their pink cheeks

exclaiming, "it's like we are wearing makeup!"

bought my first pair of swedish hasbeens

at 50% off too! (whoop whoop!)

made some brussel sprouts and pia really, really likes them!

lunch at our favorite sushi joint

what was your weekend filled with?

my zoe and pia say the darndest things

2012-01-20T06:55:00.000-08:00

it's been really, really cold 'round these parts lately, one afternoon pia says:

"it's so cold, i need to knit a cozy sweater"

halfway through the race that zoe and pia participated in last weekend

pia stopped dead and in her tracks and started wailing

after i coaxed her into finishing and after she received her medal

i asked her "why did you stop halfway and start crying?"

pia replies: "atat (that is what she calls zoe)

passed me!!!!"

on the way to school one day we see a poodle

zoe: "mom, did some nice french people

drop some poodles off in canada for us to enjoy?"

over breakfast one morning

zoe: "mom, can you please wait for me to get home

from school before you fold the laundry?"

me: "sure!"

zoe: "yay! thanks mom, i love folding laundry!"

zoe and pia

"winner, winner,

chicken dinner!"

old man winter

2012-01-18T20:02:00.000-08:00

old man winter decided to pay my little corner of the world a visit

now, you are probably thinking "doesn't she live in canada?!"

doesn't it snow in canada all the time?

don't canadians live in igloos?

have beavers for pets?

cross country ski to and from work?

and say "eh" and "sorry" all the time?

and the answer is no, no, no, no and yes

i live on the west coast of canada

where our winters are relatively mild

when we hosted the 2010 winter olympics

we had to make snow

yup! we made snow to add to some of our local mountains

so much to the amusement of the east coast canadians

(the east coast of canada is an entirely different beast, weather wise)

when it snows here

our city is handicapped

holy moly!
the city shuts down
snow days

road closures

accidents, accidents and more accidents

people on the road go balistic

now i must say, i don't mind the snow

unless i am driving in it that is

(i am one of those nutso drivers only going 5km an hour)

but it sure does make everything super pretty!

do you get a lot of snow where you live?

weekend snapshots

2012-01-16T20:50:00.000-08:00

this past weekend

my sisters, my girls and i participated in a race aptly named chilly chase

there was snow on the ground and it was below freezing temperatures

but that didn't stop us!

my middle sister and i both ran a 10K
(i even beat my time from my first race!
which makes my 2012 goal more and more feasible!)

and my baby sis ran a 15K

and she won the race for her age group!

zoe and pia participated in the kids race

which was a lap around the football field

they each received their very own medal!

zoe was so proud of her accomplishement
that she even wore her medal to school today so that she
could show her teacher and friends

what was your weekend filled with?

DIY: craft kit

2012-01-11T07:18:00.000-08:00

when i first spotted this sewing/craft kit at anthropologie

i thought it was super cute but something i could easily recreate

(and for half the price!)

you will need:

a mason jar

a piece of fabric cut into a square approximately 8X8 inches

happy tape

twine/yarn/ribbon

crafting goodies

(mine included these items but you can use whatever you want)

measuring tape

some sewing pins

vintage buttons

pretty fabric tape

i put all the craft goodies into the mason jar

placed the square fabric on top and secured with the lid

tied some twine around the lid

added a key to make it extra pretty

and tada!

your very own anthro-esque craft kit!

super duper easy to make and so easy to personalize

make a baking themed one for the baker in your life
or one filled with yarn and knitting notions for the knitter you know

or one filled with beauty products for the beauty product junkie in your life

makes a sweet thank you gift or hostess gift too!

weekend snapshots

2012-01-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

this past weekend was filled with

mary poppins!

the girls have never seen mary poppins before
and it was on tv saturday afternoon so we had an impromptu movie afternoon!

smoothies

the girls and i have been addicted to making smoothies!

super easy and super delicious and all those berries we picked in the

summer are slowly dwindling down!

if you have any great smoothie recipes, please send them my way

had lunch with my parents

and discovered a new favorite--spicy tofu udon

made some broccoli and cheese soup

love letters

zoe loves to leave me little love letters that she has drawn

it's so cute because she can spell words and string together simple sentences

what was your weekend filled with?

the best $2.99 i have ever spent

2012-01-06T21:43:00.000-08:00

we were at ikea yesterday scoping out shelves for zoe's bedroom

ok, i was also in the mood for some meatballs--don't judge me!

when i happened to spy this finger puppet theatre

on sale for a mere $2.99!

when i grabbed it and threw it in the cart, hubs gave me an eye roll

whatever! i just knew that zoe and pia would love it!

so after lunch, i pulled it out

(zoe didn't have school today)

and the girls immediately put on a finger puppet show for me!

they acted out at least four different plays

and were entertained for a good portion of the afternoon

best $2.99 i have ever spent!

oh and in case you were wondering
yes, zoe and pia are sporting princess costumes and bed head
they dressed themselves and i was too lazy to do their hair
it was just one of those days!

dear me

2012-01-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

i don't make new years resolutions

is that weird?

i once read somewhere that new years resolutions

are broken within 6 weeks of being made

i didn't want to be a statistic, so i just never made resolutions

but this year, i thought i would write a letter to myself

filled with goals and aspirations for the year 2012

because goals and aspirations can't be broken right? right!

so here goes...

dear me,

please learn to chill. if the house is a mess, it's ok... take a deep breath. a messy house never killed anyone. be more patient with the girls. remember they are only 6 and 4. they will not be little forever. they like to ask lots of questions... one day these questions will stop and you will yearn for the day when they asked you questions around the clock. say thank you more! say thank you to your wonderful husband who works hard at a job that is not easy but still comes home with a smile on his face. say thank you to your wonderful parents who bend over backwards to help you every day. say thank you to your awesome sisters who love your kids just as much as you do. take care of yourself! taking time for yourself does not make you selfish. be more grateful! you are blessed with so many wonderful blessings, do not take any of your blessings for granted.

oh, one last thing, you are going to run a half marathon this year. yup, you read that right, you are going to run a half marathon this year.

sincerely,

weekend snapshots: hello 2012!

2012-01-02T21:09:00.000-08:00

to ring in 2012 we decided to do an impromptu road trip down south

to visit and ring in the new year with our favorite oregonians!

our last breakfast of 2011 was at the waffle window

it was easily the best breakfast of the year!!

after breakfast

we wandered through some vintage shops

filled with oodles of vintage goodies
i tell yah, i really wanted to bring home everything i saw!
portland has the best vintage shops around

of course you can't visit portland and not hit up the food trucks!

or saint cupcake!

i couldn't resist picking up a 2012 cupcake for the girls to share

once the sun went down

we drove down peacock lane

a sweet little street where each and every house is adorned with

thousands of twinkling christmas lights! it's been a portland tradition since 1929!

after oohing and aahing over the lights

we went home, changed into our jammies

popped in the sound of music, drank hot cocoa and waited for midnight

we welcomed 2012 with fireworks and horns

and lots of laughter

we woke up bright and early on new years day to enjoy

our first breakfast of 2012 at slappy cakes!

after we filled our tummies with way too many pancakes

we packed up our van to head home

but hit up one more vintage shop on the way home

family time, good food, vintage shopping and lots of laughter

it was the perfect way to end 2011 and to start 2012!

happy 2012 everyone!

our very merry christmas!

2011-12-29T16:30:00.000-08:00

you may or may not be able to tell

but these photo booth photos were taken at 2:30am christmas morning!

yup! i don't even know how zoe and pia were functioning

my husband's side of the family always celebrates on christmas eve

presents are exchanged at midnight

so it always means a long day for us!

but it's always super duper fun

even though it was a late night the night before

the girls were wide awake christmas morning to see if santa stopped by

he sure did!

making sure to take a nibble out of the sugar cookies we left for him
but the girls were upset that we forgot to leave carrots out for his reindeer
sorry reindeer!

santa left me the she & him christmas cd in my stocking!
wasn't that sweet and so hip of him? haha!

after we opened the gifts from santa

we open up the gifts from the rest of the family

our girls are truly so blessed

receiving so many lovely and thoughtful gifts each year

after gift opening, it's become a little tradition

for my hubs to make breakfast!

this year he made waffles... so yummy

in the afternoon, we head over to my parents house

for more food and more gifts

it really truly is the most wonderful time of the year

being surrounded by family

and celebrating the birth of our savoir jesus christ

hurry up and come again christmas! we miss you already!

25 days of christmas: day 24 christmas eve!!!

2011-12-27T21:02:00.000-08:00

for day 24--christmas eve! zoe and pia had a very special day

for christmas my baby sis and future bro-in-law

bought tickets for zoe and pia to watch a musical of the wizard of oz

and before the musical, they had a lunch date

at a restaurant of their choice

(they chose red robin of course!)

after lunch they headed off to see the wizard!!

the girls had such a good time!

it was the perfect way to wrap up our countdown

they kepy telling me their favorite parts of the musical

and telling me the story over and over from beginning to end

and i pretended that i had never seen it or heard about it

and zoe has now informed me that she needs her very own pair of ruby red slippers!

and there it is, our christmas countdown has come to an end

i can't believe how fast it came and went!

i hope you all enjoyed following along

i also hope each and every one of you had a wonderful christmas!

i will be back tomorrow with a christmas recap post (fingers crossed!)
i am still trying to recover from all the festivities and eating!

25 days of christmas: day 23

2011-12-23T20:32:00.000-08:00

day 23 of our countdown was extra special!

our favorite oregonians were in town for christmas

so the cousins had a date: bowling and sushi!

the kids had so much fun bowling

they didn't even care about points or who was winning

they were cheering each other on even when no pins were knocked down

and after bowling, we headed over to our favorite sushi joint

i think everyone had the same idea

because it was super busy!

but the long wait didn't damper our spirits

just increased our appetites... haha!

after sushi, the kids were pooped from their cousin date

so we all headed home

so the girls could go to bed early to get some much needed rest

for christmas eve!

and i also had a few presents left to wrap!

merry christmas eve eve everyone!

25 days of christmas: day 22

2011-12-22T17:22:00.000-08:00

when i asked the girls what they wanted to get their daddy for christmas

they replied with "underwear, chocolate and a painting!"

well, the underwear (have no idea where that came from)

and the chocolate were easy enough

and the painting part...

well we had to wait for a day that my hubs would be at work for

most of the day... so that we would have time to paint and let the paintings dry

and today was the day!

it was the perfect gift because we have a fairly large blank wall

that has been sitting empty for a while

so i purchased four canvases and got the girls to paint two canvases each

(pia went abstract for one of her paintings)

the girls had so much fun, that i went out and bought two more canvases

so that the girls could paint a painting each for both sets of grandparents!

i think simple gifts that come straight from the heart are best

don't you?

ps. don't worry! between my hubs long hours at work and christmas functions
he won't touch the computer and happen to see this post and
ruin the surprise for christmas morning.

25 days of christmas: day 21

2011-12-21T22:51:00.000-08:00

for today's countdown activity

the girls painted their very own nutcrackers

you may have noticed from this post

that we have quite the collection

my hubs and i have been collecting nutcrackers

since our first christmas together as a married couple

so we have acquired quite the collection!

when i saw these little guys

i knew they had to join our collection

but only after zoe and pia transformed them with a little paint!

they did quite an impressive job!

here is zoe's

and here is pia's

i think they are the nicest ones in our entire collection by far

eek! i can't believe that christmas is a mere 4 days away!

it just seems just like yesterday that i started this countdown!

are you ready for christmas? i have a few last minute things to get done

and everything needs to be done in 3 days (not 4!)
because my hub's side of the family celebrates on christmas eve

do you have your big dinner on christmas eve or christmas day?

25 days of christmas: day 20

2011-12-20T22:51:00.000-08:00

for day 20 of our advent countdown

we painted family ornaments!

i ordered these unpainted wooden ornaments from goose grease

one dad, one mom and two little girls

after we finished dinner we spread out some newspapers on our dining table

and painted a little mini replica of ourselves

(or attempted to!)

this is mine, i was kind of nervous doing it because i don't paint!

can you tell i really wanted to capture my side swoosh bangs? haha!

here is our little ornament family all finished

pia was a little over zealous with her painting and accidentally

painted over her eyes

she was really sad and even cried about it

but i told her it was perfect just the way it was

i think this has been my favorite activity so far

because one day i will be an old lady and unpack my christmas ornaments

and bring these lovely ones out and remember
how much fun we all had painting them

25 days of christmas: day 19

2011-12-19T20:38:00.000-08:00

for day 19 of our christmas countdown

each girl received a new book

zoe received i had a favorite dress

and pia received for just one day

i remember when i was pregnant with zoe

i would often say to my hubs

"i hope our kids love reading just like me..."

so, at an early age, we would read to them daily

and now i can honestly say that my girls

love getting new books over new toys

the only thing they love more than a new book is having the book

read to them

weekend snapshots

2011-12-19T09:41:00.000-08:00

this past weekend was filled with

some photo booth fun for my hubs and i

enjoyed a pistachio marcaron

been keeping up with my running!

had some yummy vietnamese food

so many sweet pastries and yummy goodies all around me

it's kind of hard not to indulge myself once in a while!

what was your weekend filled with?

25 days of christmas: day 18

2011-12-18T21:36:00.000-08:00

for day 18's advent activity

we told the girls we would take them so see some special christmas lights

now, if you want to see some christmas lights in vancouver

head over to vandusen botanical gardens

they start prepping in the summer time

and by the time they flip the switch on opening night

there is a total of over 1.4 million twinkling bulbs!

now that's christmas lights!

we sipped hot chocolate, ate mini donuts

and wandered through millions of twinkling christmas lights

it was a lovely way to spend a sunday evening

25 days of christmas: day 17

2011-12-17T22:02:00.000-08:00

day 17 was sweet and simple

of course we had to build a gingerbread house!

the girls had too much fun decorating the house

eating the candies and licking icing off their fingers

oh boy! the girls have seriously eaten more candy in the past week

than they normally eat in half a year!

thank goodness it's just another few more days of all this sugary madness!

25 days of christmas: day 16

2011-12-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

my baby sister planned the activity for day 16 of our christmas countdown

she took the girls shopping with her and they purchased diapers,

canned food and other household necessities

and then the girls and her went to a local

food drive to drop everything off

they say it takes a village to raise a child

and don't i have an amazing village?

25 days of christmas: day 15

2011-12-15T21:07:00.000-08:00

for day 15 of our christmas countdown

the girls and i colored christmas cards

last year, i bought blank kraft paper cards

and had zoe and pia (mainly zoe because pia was still quite young)

draw and color each christmas card

my zoe cranked out over 50 christmas cards!

it felt a little like a one girl christmas card sweat shop

and i felt sorry for her with her hand cramps and all

so when i saw these, i thought they were perfect!!!

25 days of christmas: day 14

2011-12-14T22:31:00.000-08:00

for today's advent activity

we took the girls to the store to choose

their very own christmas ornament for our christmas tree

there were lots to choose from

and we took an embarrassingly long time to choose

in the end i chose this gingham reindeer

pia chose a large-and-in-charge blue sparkly candy cane

and zoe chose this pretty pink lollipop

we have been doing this little tradition for a few years now

so we have slowly built up a small ornament collection

do you buy your ornaments in bulk or one at a time?

25 days of christmas: day 13

2011-12-13T21:29:00.000-08:00

day 13 of our christmas countdown was pia's christmas concert!

it was super cute! this is her first performance of any kind in front of a crowd

i wasn't sure if she would experience stage fright or not

but she didn't even notice the crowd or the dozens of cameras clicking away

i thought she did pretty awesome!

here is a short clip of the performance...

pia is the one wearing a red shirt and green leggings
she kind of stands out because i switched the colors by mistake
it was suppose to be a green shirt and red pants... opps!

25 days of christmas: day 12

2011-12-12T21:24:00.000-08:00

today's advent activity was a special bedtime snack!

the girls enjoyed some yummy mini gingerbread men

with a glass of milk

they had lots of fun dunking them in milk

biting off their heads

making up little stories for them

and making them "swim"

weekend snapshots

2011-12-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

this past weekend was filled with

our wonderful neighbor dropped off a big box of apples for us to enjoy!

my favorite kind too! ambrosia... yum!

we finally got a chance to check out the mac shack

the girls were in heaven! they adore macaroni and cheese

we stopped to admire a few christmas trees

this one was pia's favorite because it was blue

had my first gingerbread "person" (yes, that is what is was labeled as at the bakery)

of the season

yay! pinkberry is finally here in canada!

had a sushi date with my favorite person

what was your weekend filled with?

25 days of christmas: day 11

2011-12-11T22:01:00.000-08:00

for day 11 of our christmas countdown

zoe and pia spent the afternoon with their lola (grandma) and lolo (grandpa)

these two lucky girls watched a movie in a theatre!

they chose to watch the muppets

they had so much fun and immediately called me after the movie

to tell me all about it

i guess they don't know the meaning of "spoiler alert" yet....

25 days of christmas: day 10

2011-12-10T22:42:00.000-08:00

today's advent activity was extra special

the girls donated toys to a local toy drive

ever since zoe's first christmas we have donated toys to our local toy drive

so of course, this tradition was incorporated into our christmas countdown

our girls are incredibly blessed with so many generous people in their lives

but unfortunately we live in a world
where not every little girl or boy is as blessed

so we try to teach the girls that there are other little girls and boys

in the world that need toys more than they do

through out the year we buy toys for those "needy kids"

and then we take those toys and donate them all

we weren't sure how the girls would react this year

because they are older and less inclined to do something

just because mom or dad said to do it

(and there were toys in the pile that i know they wanted to keep!)

but after we donated all the toys and walked away

i asked them how they felt

and pia said "i think we need to go and buy more toys so we can

give more toys away to the needy kids...."

25 days of christmas: day 9

2011-12-09T19:58:00.000-08:00

for today's advent activity we had a family movie night!

and movie night isn't complete without fresh popped popcorn

with a side of chocolate milk

and what did we watch? well, elf ,of course!!!

one of the best christmas movies ever

apparently, this is their favorite day so far

(but they say that after every day....)

25 days of christmas: day 8

2011-12-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

our advent activity for day 8 was a sweet treat... ice cream!

yup! i realize it's the dead of winter, but my girls simply adore ice cream!

after pia and i picked zoe up from school

we headed to our favorite ice cream joint

we were the only ones eating ice cream (in our winter coats, no less!)

but the girls didn't seem to notice and my pia even exclaimed, ''ice cream is super duper delicious mama!!!''

25 days of christmas: day 7

2011-12-07T21:14:00.000-08:00

day 7 of our christmas countdown was filled with peppermint goodness!

because nothing says christmas like the taste and smell of peppermint!

the girls were oohing and aahing over the peppermint lipgloss

their dad doesn't allow stuff like lipgloss and nail polish in the house

he thinks they are too young

but i thought i would indulge them a little....since it's christmas time after all!

25 days of christmas: day 6

2011-12-06T20:20:00.000-08:00

our advent activity for day 6 was nice and sweet

we made homemade hot chocolate!

it was perfect because my little pia was feeling under the weather

and i think the hot chocolate made her tummy feel better

(chocolate makes everything better doesn't it?)

the girls added about a million mini marshmallows

so, in the end it resembled marshmallows covered in chocolate

more than hot chocolate

but, hey that's ok!

the marshmallows are my most favorite part of hot chocolate too

25 days of christmas: day 5

2011-12-05T20:38:00.000-08:00

for day 5 of our advent calendar

the girls received new christmas socks!

because everyone needs to own a pair of

cheesy christmas socks!

weekend snapshots

2011-12-05T06:44:00.000-08:00

this past weekend was filled with

red lips!

i was feeling festive and decided i needed red lipstick

i'm not really a lipstick girl, sticking mainly to pinkish glosses

but i like it! what do you guys think?

enjoyed a lavender latte

had brunch with my favorite person

rocked my new clog booties

made some upo for dinner

wrote my christmas cards

enjoyed a caramel brulee latte from starbucks

they sure are yummy!

what was your weekend filled with?

25 days of christmas: day 4

2011-12-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

hubs was busy with a big project for work

but we managed to sneak away for a few hours

to enjoy our day 4's advent activity

a christmas party hosted by his work!

there was a magic show

some craft making

a special visit from santa

gifts for all the little ones

which all made for two happy little girls!

25 days of christmas: day 3

2011-12-03T21:22:00.000-08:00

today's advent activity was extra special

because it was my middle sister's day

the girls were treated to a breakfast with santa

hosted by my sister's work!

santa took time out of his super busy schedule to eat

waffles and pancakes with the girls

and even had time to give the girls an early christmas present!

25 days of christmas: day 2

2011-12-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

today's advent activity was a visit and photo with the man in red!

the girls were super duper excited while waiting in line

but at the last minute

pia got a little frightened and was reluctant to visit with santa

but once she saw her big sis chatting away

she was game

even changing her christmas wish from "kitchen stuff" to a "baby dolly"

good thing "santa" hasn't gone shopping for her gift just yet

25 days of christmas: day 1

2011-12-01T20:42:00.000-08:00

for today's advent activity we wrote our letter to santa

well technically, zoe wrote her letter and pia dictated what she

wanted her letter to say and i wrote it down for her

because in her words:

"i don't know how to draw letters yet!"

it was pretty cute because zoe also illustrated a detailed description

of how santa should enter our house

she is a little worried because we have two fireplaces

and she thinks he might be confused

25 days of christmas

2011-12-01T13:50:00.000-08:00

ever since the girls could understand and actively participate

we have been doing a countdown to the birth of baby jesus

(see last year here, and the year before here)

our advent calendar consists mainly of daily activities

ranging from writing a letter to santa to baking christmas cookies or

donating toys to our local toy bank

our whole family gets involved and my sisters and parents

make plans with the girls for special activities as well!

but of course sweets are thrown in here and there

because sweets are nice too!

for the past two Christmases, our advent calendar looked like this

but this year, i changed it up a bit

and it looks like this

the only problem with this year's calendar was the fact that my zoe can read now!

so, i had to turn all the tags around because i like to keep

the activities a surprise

zoe has been eagerly waiting for the first day of december

so that we can start our countdown to the birth of baby jesus

it's so rewarding to see the girls growing up and appreciating
our little family traditions

the first thing she did this morning was race downstairs

to find out what our first activity was

(which i hope to post later)

i will try my bestest to do a daily "countdown to christmas" post

so please do stop by when you can!

what are some of your christmas traditions?

weekend snapshots

2011-11-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

this past weekend was hectic!

i braved the crowd and stopped by my local anthro store

to take advantage of the black friday sale

(we don't usually have black friday sales up here in canada, but more and more retailers are taking part)

pia got her hair trimmed

we celebrated pia's 4th birthday with the traditional pia-jama party theme (full post later)

oh yah! saw breaking dawn with my sis-in-law and GBF (gay best friend)

for pia's birthday present, my middle sis took my girls to see toy story 3: on ice

isn't she the bestest?!

we decked our halls!

what was your weekend filled with?

run like a girl

2011-11-27T20:50:00.000-08:00

i don't know exactly what inspired me to put on my running shoes

that early september morning

maybe it was the sun

maybe i needed to get out of the house

maybe i finally wanted to get rid of the "baby weight"

(is it still baby weight after 4 years?!)

maybe i wanted to get active

i couldn't even make it around my block

yes, i know pathetic

but you are talking about a girl who is allergic to exercise

when i finally made it back to my house

i laid on the floor ready to pass out

zoe touched my head and asked in a concerned voice, "mommy are you ok?!"

the next day my sweet hubs, who didn't want me to get discouraged
took me to a nearby track and said

"try running around the track once without stopping"

and i did it!

a few days later, he said

"try running around the track twice without stopping"

and i did it!

a few days after that, he said

"try running around the track three times without stopping"

and by golly gee i did it!

and so forth and so forth

i didn't want to tell my sisters just yet

they are both marathoners

and i didn't want the pressure

but one day i let my little secret out

"i started running..."

(if you can even call it that)

immediately they started giving me advice

taking me out for runs

helping me buy cute running gear

(a girl still has to look cute running you know!)

and slowly but surely i was up to running 5k

my sister told me to sign up for my first race--a 10k

double what i was doing at the time!

she told me i needed a goal

i tried to regularly run as much as i could through the week

my parents would watch my girls so i could run

my hubs would wake up early sunday mornings, tired as heck, but would still run with me

my sister would pick me up and run in the rain with me

my baby sister would take me to the gym and work out with me to strengthen my weak legs

exactly seven days ago

this was my sis and me running my first 10k race

she stayed with me every step of the way

this is zoe, my mom and pia waiting for me at the finish line

(my hubs, dad and future brother-in-law were also there)

here's all three of us at the finish line

i still don't know what motivated me to put on my running shoes

that september morning

but i sure do know what kept me motivated to continue running...

my amazing family.

so if you can, go run like a girl (or a boy!)

this girl

2011-11-21T21:32:00.000-08:00

this girl's favorite color is blue

this girl loves gymnastics

this girl loves fruit, especially bananas and mangoes

this girl wants a dog and she wants to name her "cookie"

this girl talks in her sleep

this girl loves her big sister a lot

this girl is over protective of her "stuff"

this girl loves going to the library and reading books

this girl is feisty as heck

this girl told her mama today: "don't be sad, i still your baby girl..."

this girl turned 4 years old today

weekend snapshots

2011-11-21T09:22:00.000-08:00

this past weekend was filled with

lots and lots of laundry

if there is one household chore that i don't like

it's laundry... but alas it is also one of the chores

that need to be done

switched out my duvet cover to my liberty of london one

i like how it makes our room cheery even on the greyest of days

went out for some malaysian food with my parents

zoe had her first gingerbread cookie of the season

my future brother in law got a custom suit made for the upcoming wedding

my hubs joined in and got a custom dress shirt made too

complete with monogram initials--pretty cool if you ask me

what was your weekend filled with?

just because

2011-11-16T21:49:00.000-08:00

i was at starbucks a few days ago and spotted this tumbler

it was a "doodle it" tumbler, which pretty much means

you could write or draw anything your little heart desires directly on to it

i thought it would be a cute "just because" gift for my hubs

he just started drinking tea and was complaining that he

didn't have anything to put it in when he was on the go

i brought it home and let the girls go wild

and what's pretty neat is that you could erase it and draw something new whenever you want!

pretty neat eh?

i definitely thought so!

weekend snapshots

2011-11-14T08:58:00.000-08:00

phew! this past weekend was hectic!

zoe was a flower girl for a special wedding

i was the wedding planner and guest

so i was doing double duty all night

we indulged in some yummy thai food

watched the pacquiao/marquez fight

i don't normally watch fights, but hey it's manny! gotta watch pacman!

had a pumpkin spice latte for the second time this week

unfortunately for my waist line, they are pretty darn good

ate a fresh pomegranate for the first time!

i had to google "how to eat a pomegranate" haha!

it was so delicious

what was your weekend filled with?

one year

2011-11-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

this is zoe's school photo from last year

this is her school photo from this year

is it just me or has she grown up so much ?!?!

in just one short year she went from a little girl to girl

oh my, she is growing up way too fast for me

weekend snapshots (a day late)

2011-11-08T09:36:00.000-08:00

last week our home was filled with a whole bunch of sickies!

not much was done

no laundry, no blogging, no chores

but of course when the weekend rolls around

somehow we become unsick

just so we can enjoy

wearing my mocs with my favorite maxi skirt

a super duper fun birthday party

(and yes that is pia and her cousin inside some sort of contraption--the kids

would all get in, 2 or 3 at a time and get other kids to roll them around!)

a walk in the leaves

thai tom yum soup!

which worked wonders on my sore throat!

ebi sunomono

a lovely bloggy friend sent me a lovely package

thanks ellyn! i love it!

what was your weekend filled with?

weekend snapshots

2011-10-31T08:29:00.000-07:00

this past weekend was filled with

a trip to our local library!

pia and i dropped my our local library and spent the afternoon reading books

we went to a hallowe'en birthday party so the girls

got to dress up in their costumes!

waaaaaaaaaaaay too much eating out

we celebrated my mother in law's birthday with a dim sum luncheon

i had a wedding planning meeting that kind of led into dinner
which kind of led us to the nearest vietnamese restaurant

the hubs and i had a hankering for some sushi

we made a bubble tea run!

what was your weekend filled with?

a walk in the leaves

2011-10-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

around this same time last year, pia and i went for a walk in the leaves

yesterday, we were driving down a pretty tree lined street and pia asked

"mama, can we walk in the leaves?"

so i parked the car, and by golly that is exactly what we did

it wasn't raining that day, but pia insisted she needed her umbrella

this little girl will be in kindergarten this time next year

boy, i sure am going to miss her

who is going to take the time to

stop me in the middle of the afternoon and ask to go for a walk in the leaves?

how they play

2011-10-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

ok, if you don't already know this

i am a neat freak--ok, that's putting it mildly

i think that i am borderline ocd with it comes to cleanliness

everything is always neat and organized in my home and clean

and because God is good, he made my hubs just as ocd

about being clean as me (maybe more!)

our friends have a little joke about us

is it clean? or is it diguangco clean?

but, there is one room in my house

that doesn't stay clean no matter how hard i try and i have just learned to let go

that room is the playroom

one day i walked into the playroom and saw all their stuffies and dollies arranged like this

apparently they were playing school

zoe: ok, pia i am the teacher and you are my students. we are going to learn to spell!

pia: teacher, when is recess?

zoe: not until after math... a looong time from now

pia: but i want recess now

zoe: no, it's not recess

pia: but recess is my favorite

zoe: ok, it's my favorite too, so it's recess now

later that same day, i walked in and tripped right over

a disney princess tea party picnic

deep breath in deep breath out

at least they are cute messes right?!

weekend snapshots

2011-10-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

our weekend was filled with

hallowe'en themed drawings!

zoe and pia spent most of saturday morning drawing hallowe'en themed pictures

i may be biased but i think my girls are pretty awesome artists!

new hello kitty tin boxes

i bought these super cute hello kitty tin boxes for the girls from old navy (can you believe it?)

they are always collecting random objects like rocks, flowers, little pictures or drawings

and i thought it would be a good place to store all of their treasures

we cleaned the house top to bottom

i wish that after we clean the house

it would just stay clean... but of course that never happens!

we went to a star wars themed birthday party!

my good friend hand drew that picture that you see of yoda

what a natural artist!

our local movie theatre had a community day

and were playing free movies! we watched yogi bear in 3D

all concession items were 2 dollars and all proceeds were donated to the starlight foundation

zoe told us that she hasn't had bubble tea in forever

so we made a bubble tea run

what was your weekend filled with?

a special birthday brunch

2011-10-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

it was my mom's birthday last week

and to celebrate, my sisters and i made a special birthday brunch for her

birthday cake, a breakfast casserole and lots of french toast

when i asked her what she wanted for her birthday

she said she wanted her "own" _ _ reasons why we love mom/lola

just like the one we made for my hubs a few weeks before

(the "fill in the blanks" are for her age--- i don't think she wants me disclosing that!)

so, by golly that is exactly what she got!

my sisters, zoe, pia and i each pitched in with reasons

and zoe and pia illustrated the reasons

she absolutely loved it!

and after we stuffed our bellies with too much yummy food

we sang happy birthday and blew out the cake

and once again stuffed our bellies,

but this time with the delicious cake my baby sister made

and because we ate way too much and because my mom loves shopping

we decided to go shopping to burn it all off!

happy birthday mom! thank you for all that you do for us

we love you!

the quest for the perfect pumpkin

2011-10-19T07:40:00.000-07:00

every year we make a trip to our local pumpkin patch

to find the perfect pumpkin

and every year

pia chooses the first pumpkin her eyes spy

and zoe will take her sweet time

slowly examining each pumpkin, choosing one

and then a few minutes later, trading it for another one

that is "better"

i love this stolen moment--my baby sister joined us this year

this lovely white pumpkin came home with me

and finally after much deliberation and careful choosing

zoe chose this pumpkin--and i have to admit it was a pretty good lookin' pumpkin!

i must admit, it's not the easiest family outing

i remember one year, pia refused to walk back to the tractor

so my hubs had no choice but to carry her

and i had to carry four very large, very heavy pumpkins

through mud and very tall, very prickly grass

all the while trying to coax zoe to continue walking and not to

swap her chosen pumpkin for one that was "better"

oh, and another year we got lost in the corn maze

the year before that zoe fell in mud

um... you get the idea?!

but honestly, i wouldn't do it any other way

weekend snapshots

2011-10-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

this past weekend was filled with

lots and lots of broccoli cheese soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

we got a little obsessed with this sandwich and soup combo

and ate it three times this weekend!

the girls and my hubs decorated our front yard with

friendly hallowe'en decor

(the only kind of hallowe'en decor that zoe will allow)

i have been addicted to life cereal

brought my minnetonkas out of storage

and wore them all weekend

enjoyed some super delicious vietnamese cuisine

the weather was just gorgeous this weekend

the girls were able to spend some time outside

hubs and i celebrated our 16th anniversary of when we

officially became a couple!

(yes we still celebrate that anniversary)

we dropped the girls off with my parents overnight

went to church, rented a movie

and enjoyed a yummy brunch the next morning

we wrapped up the weekend with our dear friend's baby shower
they are expecting their third baby girl!

yummy food, good conversation and fun games

and yes, that last picture is exactly what you are thinking it is! haha!

what was your weekend filled with?

my snack

2011-10-14T10:32:00.000-07:00

this was my snack this morning

wasa crispbread with avocado and flaked tuna

i love wasa crispbread and rice cakes

when i was a kid, i went through this phase where all

i wanted to eat was rice cakes.. i know weird.

speaking of weird, it's been quite a week

there never seems to be enough hours in the day

and the days seems to by flying by faster and faster

i can't believe that it's the middle of october already!

before we know it, christmas will be here

i have piles of laundry to fold

weddings to work on

a house to clean

projects i want to complete

but all i want to do is sit on my couch and watch vampire diaries
and do some online window shopping
this bag and this dress are calling my name

anyone else feel lazy today?

pretty yarn

2011-10-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

the moment the air turns crisp and the leaves start to change colour

i make a beeline for my nearest craft store

why you ask?

because i imagine myself sitting on my couch, sipping tea,

happily crocheting away

(it's just such a fall thing... you know?)

it doesn't matter what

a scarf, a hat, another scarf, another hat

( i am a newbie crocheter, so scarfs and hats are mainly where it's at for me)

and to crochet i need pretty yarn

much to my husband's dismay, since i have a yarn collection

that is already a teeny tiny bit on the large side

luckily though, i am no means a yarn snob

so i tend to gravitate towards the acrylics or wool blends more

(much, much nicer on my bank account!)

plus the colours are much prettier!

these pretty candy colored ones joined my collection today

when i get a spare moment, i think they will be crocheted into...

yup, you guessed it a scarf!

a few days ago, i spotted this pretty yarn creation

and happily brought it home with me

it may have just ignited another form of yarn obsession

weekend snapshots

2011-10-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

this past weekend was filled with

a trip to a local dutch pancake house

the pannekoek my hub's ordered was bigger than his head!

fall has officially arrived

the leaves are falling and changing colours

it was thanksgiving in my little corner of the world

and i was in charge of the turkey

we gathered as a family

ate off my mom's fancy china, ate too much,

laughed a lot and were very thankful for each other

and my little sis made the most delicious pumpkin cheesecake

what was your weekend filled with?

DIY: crocheted scarflette

2011-10-07T09:32:00.000-07:00

materials needed:

yarn of choice

( i chose a bulky one because it's faster to crochet)

crochet hook

(size needed depends on your yarn of choice)

button

step 1: measure your neck, or the person you are making the scarflette for

adding the desired length.
decide on the desired width of the scarflette and measure.

(for pia, mine was approximately 28 inches long and 8 inches wide)

step 2: crochet a chain the length of desired length of scarflette

step 3: single crochet stitch the length and width

of your measurements

once you are done you will end up

with a rectangular-ish shape

step 4: sew a button in the middle of the left end

of your scarflette

step 5: bring the right end over and work the button

through any of the loops

tada!

you have just made yourself a scarflette!

and if you have a little one like me

who is constantly losing her scarves,

this scarflette will definitely stay put!

weekend snapshots

2011-10-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

this past weekend was filled with

the girls playing with their lola's highheels

i don't know how they are able to balance in heels at such a young age!

the girls and i baked banana bread

what is it about fall that makes you want to bake all the time?

i made broccolli and cheese soup using my sister in law's recipe

it is seriously the best broccolli and cheese soup ever

the girls and i have officially traded in our sandals and summer dresses

for boots and leggings

after church, we went for pho with my parents

and i enjoyed some vietnamese coffee for the first time

we ended off a little shopping trip with my mom and sis

with some cupcakes

what was your weekend filled with?

his 33rd birthday

2011-09-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

it was our main man's birthday yesterday

it was pretty low key

we had sushi for lunch

birthday cake in the afternoon

and then left the girls with my parents

and headed into the city to enjoy dinner with friends

of course when i asked him what we wanted for his birthday he replied with

"nothing..."

but i wasn't about to give him nothing since he does so much for us

i sat the girls down and asked them to tell me

why they loved their dad,

i wrote all the answers down and they took turns illustrating each reason

and that's how we came up with his gift

"33 reasons why we love Daddy!"

here is a small sampling of what they came up with

as you can see they came up with some pretty funny stuff!

my favorite is reason # 11: he doesn't smell

this was one of pia's... and i guess lack of smell is important when it comes to love! haha.

ginger lime chicken and bok choy

2011-09-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

as mentioned previously, it has been requested that i write

more posts on what i cook in my little kitchen

so here is a quick and easy dinner we really enjoy

we love to grill! especially in the summer months

almost all our dinners are grilled, it's relatively quick

and pretty healthy!

this recipe is a new favorite

ginger lime chicken marinade

ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lime juice
2tbsp ginger, minced
1/2 tsp pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

instructions:

blend all of the ingredients.
marinade the chicken at least 2 hours.
grill!

for a side dish, i like to make bok choy

the girls love bok choy and get a kick out of saying it really really fast

at least 20 times in a row

sauteed bok choy

ingredients:

1. one bunch of bok choy

2. 2 tbsp of garlic, minced

3. 2 tbsp of olive oil

instructions:

1. heat olive oil in a pan

2. add garlic

3. stir fry bok choy for a few minutes

4. drizzle with oyster sauce if desired

serve both with a side of steamed jasmine rice!

weekend snapshots

2011-09-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

this past weekend was pretty low key since i am feeling under the weather

we didn't really venture out of the house too much

which was kind of nice for a change

pia had a dentist appointment

it's kind of funny, but my girls love the dentist

after an appointment they always ask me when their next visit will be

might have something to do with the fact that they get

to watch cartoons and they come home with a goody bag filled with treasures

my new clogs arrived in the mail!

yay! i can't wait to wear them

we made a quick run to sonic

i got a kickin' coney hotdog to go with my strawberry limeade

sometimes the photo looks so yummy, but the actual item isn't so yummy

that is exactly what happened with my hotdog

my sis asked me to make her a half apron a few weeks ago

i dusted off my sewing machine and made her one

i haven't sewn in a long time... and it sure felt good

to get back into it

the girls and i made some funfetti cookies

(how come sprinkles always make everything yummier?!)

now that the weather has definitely turned more fall-like

i am back to my daily cup of tea (or two!) ritual

thank goodness, my hubs has perfected my favorite cream earl grey latte

i think he secretly learned to make it

so that i don't go to the tea house and spend money there!

what was your weekend filled with?