This Friday was the Intel Masquerade Ball! There aren’t too many places I go, where I have to get dressed up, and I look forward to the annual winter party every year. The event planning team truly outdid themselves this year, and I think it was the best party to-date. They took feedback from last year, increased the space (including dance floor), and had huge screens so that everyone, even those seated way in back, could see the performers dance.

 

  

 

There was a raffle, where the grand prize was a $5k trip to Hawaii. No one in our immediate group won anything, but one of the new hires on my team won an ultrabook! It was great to party with so many of my friends, and the only feedback for next year would be to make the event last longer … 10:30pm was too early to end; We were still having fun!

6.5 hours on 4″ heels, and my feet were killing me. Ouch. But I was committed to follow my running group’s half-marathon training plan which meant a 10-miler Saturday morning. The furthest I’ve EVER run in my life was ~8 miles, and I think I’ve only done that twice. But what I lack in raw intelligence, I make up with in tenacity and determination. I did it. And since Calie was at dance class, I took Zach with me. It was his furthest run ever too. His feet are fine, but I think I might lose a small toe nail … it looks very bruised.

After running, we had Alex and Brock over for a geocaching picnic playdate. Jame’s Facebook posts on geocaching generated a lot of interest, so we decided to invite 2 of his friends to join us.

 

It was pretty successful - we ended up locating 7 caches (is that what they are called?) and the kids got better over time. It was drizzly during part of my morning run, so I was concerned, but the weather could not have been more ideal. A bit cool if you’re just standing around, but perfect if you’re moving. We did a 5 mile loop from our house to the American river, with a quick picnic stop at a park. You’d think Zach would be exhausted from the 10 miler that morning, but he raced Brock uphill at the end, and then played soccer with him in the backyard. In the meantime, I’m pretty much limping.

 

 

Tonight, it was shots at our house followed by dinner at Lucille’s barbecue and billards/darts/more drinking for James’ 41st birthday tomorrow! Not that I was there. I stayed home with the kids. They watched Lilo & Stitch and a Shapes/Sizes cartoon while I sorted photos and blogged - Parenting at it’s best  After 6+ hours of activity outside today, we all just needed some downtime.

 

And Sunday (James’ actual birthday) was ALL downtime! Zach and I went for a short 2.7 mile run while James took Calie to swim lessons. We pretty much stayed home the rest of the day. The kids played board games and made a chalk zoo on the patio. For birthday dinner, Zach and Calie assembled James’ favorite food, pizza. (Note: If you buy sprouted wheat dough, it hides the crumbs/specks that get picked up from the table and kids’ hands) “Cake” was a big cookie I bought that morning from Walmart. And ending our upscale celebration, we’ll be watching Ted after the kids go to bed tonight. HAPPY 41st BIRTHDAY James!

 

(See anything different about the candles? We didn’t have a 4, so Calie made one of out of paper and taped a regular stick candle behind it. All her idea – although James had to shift the candle up so that it wouldn’t catch on fire. Pretty resourceful, no?  I think this whole birthday ran us ~$12, especially since no one bought any gifts)

Ah, so what has happened since my return to this country? Soccer try-outs on 3 weekend mornings. (Zach didn’t make the team, but congratulations to his friend Alex!)

  

We had a dinner playdate at Melissa’s, where we got to try out their new Panini maker … and the kids played with Furbys. (Calista really wants a Furby of her own and has the Christmas money, but we can’t seem to find them in stock anywhere) We’ve also been cooking a lot more on the weekends and packing lunches for work, trying not to eat out as much. Since I’m training for a half marathon, every pound gained is a pound I have to lug 13.1 miles!

  

 

Zachary is finally into Lego Mindstorms. It’s been sitting in our closet for a few years due to lack of interest, and all of sudden, he wants to start programming!

 

Two girl’s night outs (almost 3!) in the past 2 weeks. The first was a ‘Taste of Singapore’ dinner at Karen’s house. Kathy and Karen went to Singapore in 2011, fell in love with the food, and decided to recreate their favorite dishes. They served Oyster Omelet, Curry Laksa, Miso Ramen, and Watermelon Smoothie. All so good – Melissa, Sandy, Rachel, Dana, and I were the lucky guests!

 

For our 2nd Girl’s Night Out, I partook in ‘Dine Downtown’ ($30 for 3-courses) with Melissa, Karen, and Kathy at The Firehouse Restaurant. On a previous year, I had a bad experience with the Dine Downtown event, where the restaurant (Spataro) exchanged 2 out of 3 of the menu items. Since they ran out of sea bass, we got cod … and the only dessert left on the $30 menu had hazelnut (I’m allergic) but they wouldn’t let me chose something from their normal menu. Huge difference in experience this time. Not only were all 3 courses delicious, but the waiter was very friendly, we had an amuse bouche (butternut soup), pallette cleanser (cucumber lime sorbet), and mini macaroons as extra dessert. Combined with the carpaccio and pork belly appetizers we ordered, it was technically a 7-course dinner.

  

 

Calie and her friend Khloe went to Artbeast on a Saturday, where they played almost all day. They really did it all, from art to shows to playing out in the courtyard. People always say how great it is having “one of each”, but in some ways, I wish I had a sister for Calista. I think it’s because I grew up with sisters. Having great girlfriends are the next best thing though!

 

  

We had a double date night (with Melissa and Sam) at Chez Daniels, my favorite local restaurant. Romantic boutique setting, French food, all at a reasonable price: Soup, salad, entrée, and dessert for under $30. The best part was that since there were four of us, we got to try all of the dessert options that night. The kids all stayed at our house with their favorite babysitter, Miss Alyssa. Happy parents, happy kids, what’d not to love?

  

 

The weather lately has been great. I’m back on track with my weekend runs (although to really train, I know I have to add some weekdays). Zachary went geocaching a few times, once when Calie and I walked over to play at our neighborhood park.

  

  

Last Sunday night, we went to Dana and Dave’s new house for dinner. What a beautiful Tuscan style home, complete with lots of wrought iron work, a huge backyard overlooking a nature preserve, a professional kitchen, and so much space! They have a play room with an adjacent computer room for the kids and an art/music room. They seriously have more toys than all my other friends and myself combined – lucky Jason and Maya! Thanks for the birthday-celebration-house-warming-dinner-playdate.

  

I’ve been slammed at work recently, often logging in after the kids are in bed and working until close to midnight. I even missed a movie night with my girlfriends. (Les Mis was a terrible movie right? Please just tell me that.) You know the quote “Why do I keep hitting myself with a hammer? Because it feels so good when I stop.” The more it hurts now, the better sabbatical this summer is going to feel.

Quick photo upload since I have insomnia. Last week, my team bid farewell (from a work standpoint! ) to Bart. Bart joined the team almost the same time I did ~6 years ago, and has been a valuable and integral member ever since. I’m very happy for him … it’s all about phases in your life, and he deserves to enjoy retirement! Congratulations Bart!

 

Over the weekend, we went to see “How to Train Your Dragon LIVE” It was a really good show, and quite the deal (only $28/pp through Groupon) A lot of kids had on flashing viking hats. Zachary said,”What a waste of money. What are they going to do with it when they get home? It’ll just clutter their house.” So either it’s a case of sour grapes or he’s the practical son of cheap engineers. I’m thinking it’s the latter, and I’m secretly a little proud. Sunday, James took the kids to Dave & Busters for games, and Barnes and Noble to use Zach’s Christmas giftcard (He bought a puzzle and the game Forbidden Island, that Alex introduced him to)

  

 

Sunday morning it was off to Bangalore, India! Six days away from home for only 3 full working days. Travel was pretty brutal, taking 1.5 days to get there plus a 13.5 hour time difference. Damon and I had meetings pretty much back to back … 21 meetings in all. They were very productive though; you really can’t beat the rapport and dialog you get face to face. I’m optimistic that we’re taking back ideas and suggestions that will improve collaboration and improve agility. (How’s that for being vague … sorry, work stuff is all confidential )

 

 

Travel tips:

• If you can swing it, go business/first class. I’m no travel snob, and I’ve always travelled coach without problems. But flying half way around the world made me think twice about cost vs comfort!
• Consider paying a little extra for ‘premier’ rooms with concierge access. We had free drinks, breakfast, and appetizers … which was enough for dinner since our internal schedule was off. As we stayed at a nice business hotel, we knew the food was ‘safe’ for our weak American stomachs.
• There is a reason Indian women wear flat sandals. It’s really hard to dodge cars, motorcycles, buses, and cows on dirt roads in 4″ heels. You pretty much feel like an idiot tourist! In case the camera on my wrist didn’t tip them off.
• 8kg. That’s the Lufthansa limit for carry-ons … so even though my admin booked through United (no weight restrictions), we had to check in luggage.
• Don’t forget to sign up for frequent flyer miles … you get ~20k round trip, which is almost a free domestic flight!

  

In my (very limited!) experience, the Bangalore people are extremely friendly, and the food is terrific. I think the dust and humidity even helped my throat … my cough has improved! Next time, I’ll have to tack on a few extra vacation days to do some sightseeing. Maybe bring the kids and head to Goa.

Of course, the best part of going home is seeing how excited the kids are (although a shower was a close 2nd after a 32+ hour door-to-door trip). They were jumping up and down from excitement when my driver dropped me off at the front door. Calie gave me a big kiss and said, “I have been saving it for days and days!”

Happy Holidays!

James parents came over for 3 days, over Christmas. Since they don’t travel well due to health and diet restriction reasons, we stayed home during their visit. The kids loved playing with Grandma and Grandpa.

 

 

 

For Christmas, I got James 3 shirts, and he bought me Angel perfume (my favorite) and 2 lens caps for my camera (I always lose them.) Zachary received a new bike, lots of books, and a fish gem art project. Calista got a Barbie with battery-operated horse, Chinese New Year activity book,  and play cash register. Both kids also received cash/gift cards from both sets of Grandparents. The favorite toy this year was the cash register.

  

  

James and I escaped two out of three nights to catch a movie. We watched Skyfall (excellent, reminded me of Silence of the Lambs) and The Hobbit (meh. Reminded me of  Army or Darkness, Twilight, and Winnie-the-Pooh). Funny how $21 for movies seems like a great deal when you don’t have to pay for babysitters!

 

On Friday, we went to Mikunis for dinner. I love their barbecue tuna with red sauce … and of course, I had to order a specialty roll … and a tako appetizer. It was fortunate I got my Mikunis fix, because there restaurant caught on fire and closed (temporarily) a few days later.

 

Saturday, I met up with Sara and Rachel for ice skating. Going later in the day (after 4pm) meant fun lights with music. It was a bit too crowded, so for those who can, I recommend going during the work day.  After skating, we went to Red Robin for dinner. 45 minute wait (ugh!) but the kids love that place so it was worth it.

  

  

 

Sunday, we ventured to Soda Springs for snow play and boarding. We’ve taken Zach a few times when he was younger, and we’ve always had a good time. There was no traffic on the way, so I was hopeful. As it turns out, it’s just because we get up earlier than most people. By the time, we got our rentals, the line for tickets was out the door. Since we missed the 10am lessons, we had to take a noon class. While waiting,  Zach and I did 2 runs on a green slope. We both fell a lot, and yes, the lift had to be stopped when we got on/off.  At noon, we gathered for our lesson … with about 30 other people. It took about 10 minutes to get everyone strapped into their boards. Then one by one, people would try moves and topple over, and the instructor would come by to help. It was a comedy of errors, and a colossal waste of time; We were freezing just standing there, waiting. Zach and I bailed half way into the lesson. James and Calista had met up with her friend Cassie at the snow play area, and they had had enough as well. The later it got, the more crowded the resort became.

   

I’m glad we got there early, otherwise we wouldn’t have even gotten that one hour of snowboarding. My advice … go early to beat the crowd, buy your own equipment or rent somewhere else (I’ve heard sports store will sometimes rent them), get private lessons (if you need lessons), and stay a few nights to amortize the drive time. Oh, and don’t go to the cheapest place in town because that’s where everyone else is. Or at least all the beginners, who take forever figuring out what package they want to buy, trying on equipment, and asking a billion questions. At the end, it took us 6.5 hours (almost 4 hrs to get there/back, 1 hour to get rentals, 45 minute lesson, 1 hour of real action) FAIL!

 

What better way to ring in the new year than with best friends? When spent New Years eve with Melissa and her family. Dinner had no theme … with time on my hands (no work,) I wanted to try a few recipes. We served baked honey mustard chicken, baked pesto chicken, summer squash casserole, and tikka butter masala. Side of store bought samosas and naan completed the meal, and dessert was fruit and cupcakes! We played a lot of new board games. It was awesome how the adults could compete in games while the kids played independently (and also joined us sometime for the games).

 

 

New Year’s day, Zachary and I ran a local charity 5k fun at 1pm. I ran a 10k that same morning, which was a bad idea (if I were trying for time), as my legs felt tired as soon as I started running. I finished at an astonishing poor 34 minutes … pretty sure I was the last runner in. And that was with my new sneakers too! After wearing $39 cross trainers since forever, I finally made it out to Fleet Feet and had them recommend a shoe for me. Since I had some heel pain and needed to train for a half marathon, I splurged on $100 Brooks Ravenna 3s and running socks.  The most valuable part? I found out I’m  a size 8 in sneakers! I’ve been wearing the wrong size for years, assuming dress shoes and sneaker sizes were the same. They’re NOT! Anyway, I digress. Zach ran the 5k in 26:22. Which was also just okay for him, as his PR is ~24.

  

It was definitely one of our lower key holidays … with no travel and lots of time at home. That meant jogging more (logged 40k in 8 days), playing  games, talking walks and bike rides, and trying new recipes.

  

 

Calista is now the same age as Zachary was when she was born. When Zach was 4, we started over with a new baby (and I mean ‘start over’ in the best possible sense). Now I feel we are moving forward again. I intentionally spaced my kids as far as I did (over 4 years) because I wanted to make baby/toddlerhood last. It’s such a fleeting moment in life, being a parent of young children, that I wanted to stretch it as long as possible. In 2103, that phase of my life will be over. I’ll have school-aged children when Calista starts kindergarten next year. While I’ll always look back this time with fondness, I’m excited to start another phase in life. For sure, there will be more travel, preferably international.  Happy New Year everyone!