Our newest living room furniture: jumper, pack'n play, high chair. This may be the most important part of my life these days.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Eight Months Later
Aleena is an exceptionally agile, happy and friendly baby; Steven and Rajina are great parents! Grandparenting is Dean and my favorite sport! Tai Po Elsie delights in gatherings of the four generations of our family!
Our newest living room furniture: jumper, pack'n play, high chair. This may be the most important part of my life these days.
Our newest living room furniture: jumper, pack'n play, high chair. This may be the most important part of my life these days.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Just Call Me Tutu!
Here is Steven suited up for the big event, and Rajina with Aleena shortly after birth:
Technically, I am "Nai Nai" (Chinese: paternal grandmother), but because Veena will be called "Nani" (Indian), I am choosing "Tutu" (Hawaiian). Can I just say that I am addicted to this child? I am already kidnapping her with regularity to visit Mom ("Tai Po" - Great Grandmother) or to just hang out with "Papa Dean."
Another happy event followed on December 7th when Mom turned 95! She is definitely slowing down, but is still living on her own, driving to the market & hairdresser, and managing her finances with panache!
The Year of the Rabbit is off to a quick start! I've been breathless since August - always happens that way since I take a month off in July every year. I hope to post more frequently on my blog this year!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Back to the Island
Dean and I just returned from a week in Hawaii for both work and play as participants in the King's Hawaiian Leadership Team Retreat. We had long days that included a couple of planning meetings (which I co-facilitated) and tours of landmarks in the history of King's, including the original sites of the King Street Bakery in Honolulu and Robert's Bakery in Hilo. We managed to eat our way across the island, including Michel's, the Willows, and a big luau at King's CEO Mark Taira's cousin Luella's in Hawaii Kai. I almost (but not quite!) had my fill of laulau and poi!
Our first stop after landing was Young's Fish Market for lunch, where we said hello to cousin Alan Young and continued our tradition of having the best meal first! We also visited Auntie Simmy (Florence) Wong, and cousins Phyllis and Percy (below), as well as Alison, Deanie & Lorrin Wong, Cecily& Christie Wong and Jim Napier (alas, no picture, but we enjoyed a wonderful meal at Hiroshi on restaurant row). We enjoyed a breakfast at the Wailana Cafe, but did not see any members of the family there!
Dean was my perfect companion on this trip - it helps that my clients really like him a lot. But he managed to survive the luau food with a smile on his face, and he chauffered me to a rubber stamp convention and two fabric stores in search of unique Asian/Hawaiian stamps and fabrics! His red-as-a-lobster legs are living proof that he had at least a few hours of fun (ouch!) in the sun!
Our first stop after landing was Young's Fish Market for lunch, where we said hello to cousin Alan Young and continued our tradition of having the best meal first! We also visited Auntie Simmy (Florence) Wong, and cousins Phyllis and Percy (below), as well as Alison, Deanie & Lorrin Wong, Cecily& Christie Wong and Jim Napier (alas, no picture, but we enjoyed a wonderful meal at Hiroshi on restaurant row). We enjoyed a breakfast at the Wailana Cafe, but did not see any members of the family there!
Dean was my perfect companion on this trip - it helps that my clients really like him a lot. But he managed to survive the luau food with a smile on his face, and he chauffered me to a rubber stamp convention and two fabric stores in search of unique Asian/Hawaiian stamps and fabrics! His red-as-a-lobster legs are living proof that he had at least a few hours of fun (ouch!) in the sun!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Restaurant Ratings
My brother Steve, an inveterate foodie, swears that the restaurant ranking system is as follows:C = Chinese
B = Better
A = American
The inference is the lower the rating, the better the food, right?
Just to prove the point, Mom and I were in
Last night, Dean and I drove by Hop Li on the Westside, and when he saw their B-rating, he quipped: they really earned an “A” but they paid under the table for a “B” sign so they wouldn’t lose their customers!
Surely I could not be the only one to find this hilarious…
Monday, September 21, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Kitchen Tricks and Romance
April 24, 2009
This morning while eating breakfast (over the kitchen sink, of course), it occurred to me that neither of my two favorite kitchen tricks involve cooking 1: Turn wet gloves inside out. Twirl at wrist to trap air. Squeeze until fingers pop out. Let dry. 2). Score mango half in a grid. Push skin side in so fruit pops out in perfect little cubes.
A few minutes later, Dean walked in and we had a conversation that pretty much nails our cross-political, cross-cultural relationship:
Diana: I started a trash bag in the freezer for the pig feet bones and mango pits.
Dean: I put your mango pit from yesterday into a plastic bag and put it in the freezer too.
Diana: you know I don't like to use plastic - that pit will be there for the next ten generations.
Dean: Well, someone might plant it, discover a tree that had become extinct, and they will have Diana L. Ho to thank. In fact, they might call it the Diana L. Ho tree!
Umm...is there any question about why I love this man?
P.S. Pigs feet courtesy of sister Tina, whose kitchen tricks DO include cooking!
This morning while eating breakfast (over the kitchen sink, of course), it occurred to me that neither of my two favorite kitchen tricks involve cooking 1: Turn wet gloves inside out. Twirl at wrist to trap air. Squeeze until fingers pop out. Let dry. 2). Score mango half in a grid. Push skin side in so fruit pops out in perfect little cubes.
A few minutes later, Dean walked in and we had a conversation that pretty much nails our cross-political, cross-cultural relationship:
Diana: I started a trash bag in the freezer for the pig feet bones and mango pits.
Dean: I put your mango pit from yesterday into a plastic bag and put it in the freezer too.
Diana: you know I don't like to use plastic - that pit will be there for the next ten generations.
Dean: Well, someone might plant it, discover a tree that had become extinct, and they will have Diana L. Ho to thank. In fact, they might call it the Diana L. Ho tree!
Umm...is there any question about why I love this man?
P.S. Pigs feet courtesy of sister Tina, whose kitchen tricks DO include cooking!
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