Chess Club

Chess is one of the few things I'm really glad the kids picked up. It was something I didn't think Emi was ready for when she was younger, so I waited till about a year or two ago to teach her. Sage and Abby showed interest right away so I taught them too. Turns out Sage and Abby learned it really quickly and are actually pretty good. (Abby beat some 5th graders the other day.) They can both beat Emi which is really funny since she's the smart one. It's just the wrong side of the brain for her, I guess. They've been going to Chess Club every Friday morning at 7:15am, it's a bit early, but we make the effort to go. When we wake up it's still dark outside, at first Sage was all, "It's still nighttime!" (because he didn't want to wake up.) Playing other people will just make their game better. (Hopefully... that is the plan.) The Chess Club is the only place I help out on a regular basis this year. Something about their teachers this year makes me not want to really help out in class. Sage and Abby are normally pretty aggressive when it comes to chess, but in this group setting they're pretty reserved and hold back a lot. At home Sage talks smack a lot, but he's well-mannered at school. They're such different kids when they're outside of their home. They're planning on having the club all year, it'll be interesting to see how their game matures by the end of the school year. They have the potential to be really good.

David tagged along today and got a game in...

Awards, Awards, Awards

Today was the first trimester awards ceremony at the school. All three ended up getting awards which was cool. They all got Perfect Attendance (so far...), funny cuz its only been 3 months since school started. Already there are only about 35% of the students who have attended everyday. Besides that, Abby got a medal for "Most Cooperative" (why can't she be cooperative at home? :) ), Sage got a certificate for doing well in Math, and Emi got a medal for "Excellence in Academics." Way to go kids!

Emi with her boyfriend, ha just kidding. Another classmate (and FRIEND) who got an award. He makes her look so small...

Get Rid of Some Stuff Bread

We had some stuff lying around that needed to be eaten up, so I made a quick bread out of it. I used some bananas, dried dragonfruit, dried cranberries, and roasted soybeans. I was hoping the soynuts would add a crunchy element, but unfortunately turned hard and chewy. That was too bad since Emi's allergic to nuts, and this would of been a great alternative. The dried dragonfruit looked interesting at Trader Joe's, so I got some. They looked tasty but tasted strange. No one was touching them. So into the bread it went. To my surprise, they weren't so bad. They turned moist and the funky taste was gone. Good thing, since I made two loaves...

It's Coming Along

We've been running into some obstacles in starting our silk screen biz. One was needing a sink and a filtration system so we don't have gunk going into our septic system. If we were to go out and buy it, here's what we were looking at:

The washout booth costs $400, and the filter system to put underneath it was $1000. I haven't figured out why the filters cost so much. Just looks like three screens and a box...

Since we didn't have $1400 to spend, I made my own out of plastic pipes, a bin, and some screens, for under $80. Cool, huh? (There will be three screens total, just put one for the pic.)

Today's Creations

We have been low on toothpaste lately. David's been using those little ones you get for free from the dentist, and I've been using the kid's strawberry flavored toothpaste. Somehow, fruity toothpaste just doesn't cut it for me, my mouth doesn't feel "clean" but like I just ate some candy. So I decided to give homemade toothpaste another shot. In the past, I used baking soda, salt, glycerin, and peppermint oil. It was a bit salty, although there wasn't much in it, but it was cheap to make and had no fluoride nor sodium laureth sulfate in it which I hear is bad for you teeth. Most toothpastes out there contain one or both. Upon further research, I read glycerin is bad for your teeth too, and that too is a very common ingredient in toothpaste, even in the ones they claim are "natural." For those who'd like to educate themselves more on this topic, please read: http://www.truthquest2.com/teeth.htm So I decided to make a plain ol' toothpaste out of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide (a whitener), peppermint oil, and water. Homemade toothpastes don't foam like the store-bought ones, since SLS isn't in there which causes it to foam. It's a little strange at first, but as with most things, you get used to it and it doesn't bother you. I made a small batch and put it in a baby food container (yes, I've held onto them since Abby ate them. They're such great containers.) Looks a little like yogurt, I could add food coloring to make them look like "toothpaste", but white's fine with me. For those of you who'd like to try this at home, the recipe is:



4t baking soda

1t hydrogen peroxide

4 drops peppermint (or any oil you'd like. Next time I might try a mix with mint and tea tree)

water (enough to make a paste)



It really doesn't make too much, the amount in the jar was triple the recipe.

I thought I'd try a bread I haven't tried yet...Challah bread. One of the breads on my bread I'd like to get down, is the Japanese bread they sell at Nijiya. Often called Pan de Mie or Pullman bread, no one has really found THE recipe, that nails it. Many people online have come close, but not quite there. One guy said the Challah bread comes close in texture. So I thought I'd give it a try. This is what it looked before the 2nd rise and the baking. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it looked. I was excited. It looks nice against the blue too. I just got a silicone baking sheet to replace parchment sheets that gets thrown away after each use. I can reuse this over and over...

The finished product. A tad overbaked, but the inside was very fluffy. Not quite as sweet and eggy as ones I've had in the past. But it's a great starting point for my quest.

Blessed

This is today's sunset that we saw off our back deck. We get to see sunsets like this almost everyday. Aren't we lucky...

Thanksgiving

We went down to San Diego for Thanksgiving. The kids had the whole week off, so we went down on Tuesday and stayed for five days. First day there, Sage tells my dad about this Charger helmet my dad was given by a Charger player many years ago that he had been wanting. He says, you can have it. Boy, was Sage happy.

Teru takes them to the batting cages...

My dad made us some mochi with his mochi-maker...

The kids help shape them. They really enjoy this part. We always get to eat one afterwards. Fresh made mochi is really good...

Look at all that mochi. My parents had an extra mochi-maker sitting in their garage that they let me have. Now we can make our own mochi! Turns out this machine can also knead bread dough, and I can even make my own udon noodles. More homemade stuff I can make...

Having Pho noodles for lunch. These noodles are really good. It's been a long time since we've had these...

Ordered some Thai tea with boba... yummy...

Thanksgiving night...David's parents house. His brother, Jimmy had visited from Colorado Springs. We hadn't seen them since they moved a year ago. Their kids had grown so much in a year's time. It was good seeing them again...









Next morning, woke up at 3:50am to go shopping. It's been an annual thing. The deals are just too good to pass up. This year one of my stops was the Sports Authority. They were passing out cards that you scratch off a dollar amount, and you get that amount off your total. Without thinking too much about it, I scratched off $100! Times like this, I feel like someone's looking out for me..

Sekai brought his Wii...the kids LOVED it. Abby said, I know what I'm going to ask Santa! Yeah, right. Santa's not that generous...

Even my parents got into it...

My parents don't really exercise. This may be good for them. I hear you can work up a good sweat...

Friday night dinner at my parents...make-your-own-sushi. The kids love sushi. It's something we don't get to eat too often...

The group picture we always take before going home...

On the way home, stopped off in Pala, near Temecula for some persimmon picking. The kids always enjoy u-pick places...

A good few days for the kids. Nothing but play...

Heroes

My nephew, Sekai is a model and an actor. Recently he got the part to play young Hiro, from the TV show Heroes. Heroes is a show I watch regularly, so it was really cool to see him get the part. My kids were stoked too and wanted to see it over and over (online.) It was really neat to see someone we know on TV.

One Decade Later...

Our little Emi has turned 10. It's hard to believe how fast time has flown. Soon she'll have a boyfriend and will never be home. It's sad to think in eight years, she'll be off to college.

This year, we took her ice skating in Cathedral City. It was the first time ice skating for our kids. It was a little cold, but they seem to enjoy it.


There were walkers to help begineers. Sage gave it a try, but soon after decided it wasn't something he wanted to do and watched more than he skated. It was the funniest sight...

Abby hung in there and kept trying. She can be a trooper when she wants to be.

Dinner at Island's...

Her friends stayed the night, and the next day they watched "28 Weeks Later". They wanted to see a scary movie, and boy were they scared. I was surprised Abby watched the movie, she can't even watch Harry Potter because it's too scary for her. I sure hope they don't have nightmares...

I am 10! Every year I take a picture with them holding up the number of years they have become. Wonder what we'll do next year...

Her present, a nice VERY soft sweater. She is a sucker for soft things...

...and a Mush-Belly teddy bear. It grunts when its tummy is pressed, sounds like he's constipated. She had eyed it several weeks ago and had wanted it since. It's so soft and cute. I think she was happy. Now Abby wants one too...

Her b-day cheesecake...it was so rich and scrumptious...

Happy birthday, Emi!!!!

12 Hrs of Temecula

David's first 12-hour solo race at Vail Lake, Temecula. Sounds crazy, but he was going to ride his bike for 12 hours straight. Unfortunately, his body told him to stop and so he had to cut it short. The kids had fun hangin' out, there were some kids they know that they only see at these races, so these races are kinda like a reunion for them. David looks like a caveman on a bike with his long hair...

Our pit...

Some of David's friends (in their 20s) doing shots every round. Must be nice to be young and not having to worry about the next day...

The kids race... Abby pushing through...

Emi zooming by, coming in 4th... Sage just wanted to watch so no racing for him. All participating kids got a cool water bottle filled with candy. Thanks Jason & Heather...

The EXPO... fellow Idyllwildians Brendan and Mary had their Siren booth out. They build bikes, which is really neat. Same race again in January, hope David has better luck next time.