kimjical-blog

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All posts going forward will be on my new website. Check it out!

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resolutions

take less pictures, be present for events/moments/life

take more videos, because they tell a better story

care less about what others think

count to 10 more/calm down/stop being so damn angry

find happiness in imperfection

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Save the date #design - please excuse my scratched up work table.

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There's been a lot of this lately. It's hard being a toddler. #toddler #emmabear #dramaqueen

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Emma's 1st Birthday (dol)

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures from Emma's 1st birthday...four months later.

I decided to go with a simple white palette, with pops of color inspired by the hanbok she would be wearing.

Emma had been doing a lot of painting activities in her daycare class (because infants are amazing at spreading paint with their hands), so I decided to incorporate watercolor-type elements into the design as well. The 4-color brush stroke became a background for all the other paper elements. I also created yarn-wrapped letters, as yarn is symbolic of long life in Korean culture. And finally, in lieu of bean or candy covered dol towers - that would never be used again - I designed, printed and framed her name in Korean and Chinese characters, as well the traditional Korean words for "First Birthday" and a calligraphy drawing of a snake representing the year she was born.

Now, food: we chose to do a birthday brunch around the world - incorporating brunch items from Hong Kong and Korea, to represent Ken and my backgrounds, respectively. Plus waffles. Because waffles are amazing. I found this recipe for Blue Bottle/liege waffles, and it worked beautifully.

Drink offerings were HK Milk Tea (Boba Guys), homemade vietnamese iced coffee, and mimosa bar. Not too many people drank mimosas though. Maybe they felt awkward drinking at a child's birthday party? I say, that's the best time to drink. 

Emma gets shy around a large group of people, and since she doesn't have real friends of her own yet, it was predominantly our friends and family. So she mostly looks overwhelmed in her pictures. Especially when it came time to do the doljabi, which is a traditional Korean game: items representing various careers/futures are laid out and it is up to her to choose. There was a raffle, to make it exciting, and Emma threw in a breakdown for that extra element. She's a real overachiever, that one.

Ultimately, she chose the ball - which represents sports! Superstar athlete?

When it came time for the smash cake (a homemade carrot cake) I thought she'd be more excited, since we don't normally give her sweets/treats. She wouldn't even touch the cake, and I had to tear off a little piece for her to try. It was very anticlimactic.

We also hired Jon Casey from Bay Area Caricatures to draw caricatures - he was great, and it was a fun alternative to a photo booth.

Mints & Honey was a great venue to host a party - they provide all the equipment, servingware - and it's very affordable, especially considering you don't have to clean up! I would definitely recommend them, and they plan and design your entire event for you if that's something you want.

To sum it all up, I don't think Emma was too impressed, but if one day she looks back at these pictures and thinks, "I am really loved", it's all worth it.

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I am defenseless against this face. #emmabear

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I designed the new logo for my husband's firm. Here it is in all its glory! Emma clearly loves it. #emmabear #design #tklg

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Bar Method: month one

I signed up for a 9-month commitment with Bar Method, and am now at the end of month one. Weight loss? Dismal. I've actually gained a pound, though I'm told it's muscle. Lost 2 inches in my waist. Getting stronger, which is what I like the most. I have now upped the ante so I'm going four times a week, as of last week. Hopefully I'll continue seeing results...

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This girl and her smoothies. #emmabear

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Fearless little explorer. #emmabear

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Transition from infant to toddler room at daycare this week so we did the same for her crib. Growing up too fast... #emmabear #toddler

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Walking with daddy. #emmabear

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I like the idea of reclaiming what it means to be "like a girl" - but I wonder if we can take it further and stop with the comparisons altogether. Let's be like no one else. Let's stop comparing our best with someone else's best, and feeling inadequate.

Almost from the second Emma was born, she was already being compared - to her cousins, to other babies, etc. It's always irritated me, mainly because Emma is not like anyone else. She is herself and that is more than enough. I just hope that I can raise her to believe that, and never forget it. And I hope this is a lesson that is not too late for me to learn as well.

Like me. Like you. Like no one else.

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birthdays for old farts

There was a time when I used to plan elaborate celebrations for Ken's birthday. One year, it was a week-long affair: I cooked homemade meals everyday and ended with a surprise weekend trip to Napa - complete with bed & breakfast, hot air balloon ride, lots of good food and wine.

Then we had a baby.

I bought the elements of his present (pictured above, minus the old-fashioned glasses) weeks in advance, and quickly realized it is quite possibly the manliest gift I've ever bought. They were thrown into a gift bag, and then just as unceremoniously opened the morning of his birthday.

The original plan was to cook brunch using one of the recipes from the "Carnivore" cookbook. Then I remembered that we had a baby, therefore no energy or time to be standing over a stove for 2+ hours, and we went out for brunch.

We made a quick stop on the way home to look at a new housing development and were reminded again how terrible the housing market is in the bay area. Damn you silicon valley.

Then back home for a really depressing World Cup match, where Korea lost to Algeria 4-2 and kissed their chances of advancing to the next round goodbye.

The day concluded with a steak dinner at Harris', as it's pretty much an unspoken rule in the Fung household that proper birthday celebrations include steak. We left Emma with my sister and had a nice quiet dinner, filled with adult conversation, and not worrying about feeding anyone other than ourselves. If you are currently not supporting a tiny human being, I have some advice: ENJOY YOUR MEALS. I don't think I appreciated how nice it was to eat a meal without picking up food/utensils/sippy cups thrown on the floor, trying and failing to feed a balanced meal, and resorting to shoveling bread into a toddler's mouth just to avoid said toddler having a meltdown in public.

Anyways. This is how old farts celebrate birthdays.

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Ken is away for a bachelor party weekend, so that meant super productive girls' day! We practiced walking down the stairs, sat comfy in our new Orbit toddler carseat, sat through Emma's first car wash, did some shopping, had 2nd breakfast at Starbucks, then a disappointing visit to The Shipyard in SF (only positive was free Casey's pizza), then back home and a nice afternoon walk with Brad!

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So fed up with #zoli straw cups. They leak all the time, regardless of how tight or not tight the lid is on and spew milk through the straw once lid is opened. For as much as they cost, give me a product that works. #fail

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It's time

To stop looking pregnant. I signed up for a 9-month contract with The Bar Method and will be attempting a paleo diet again - mainly because I have a slight intolerance to gluten and SUPER intolerance to lactose. Wish me luck.