• Personal

    Pa’s Pumpkin Patch

    In true southern California style, we braved the 90+ degree temperatures last month and headed to the pumpkin patch. Because the calendar said it’s now fall and time for fall activities. Even if we have to do those fall activities while still in our tank tops and flip flops. Because that is life lived in an area with only two seasons: summer and a little bit less summer. It’s hard, but someone’s gotta do it.                                                                      …

  • Personal

    Fall is for Football

    It’s the most wonderful time of the year… according to one Phil Tsai. UCLA football season is upon us, folks. The highs, the lows, the wins, the losses, the season-ending injuries… It’s never a dull run, that’s for sure. Phil announced that we would be tailgating for the season opening game when hopes were high and riding on the shoulders of a freshman quarterback- before all the injuries, before the weakened defensive line, before the rough loss to Stanford. We will cheer for UCLA to the end, but there’s something special and fresh and hopeful about the season opener. Especially when we pull out a win in the end.  …

  • Personal

    Finishers

    A little over a year ago, I sent Phil a text. Now, this is not an unusual occurrence and I have sent Phil many texts before and after this particular one.   What was unusual about this text was the message itself. Which was: “I want to run the Disneyland 10K next year.” Phil’s response was something like, “ok.” (I’m paraphrasing because this exchange took place a year ago and I didn’t save them and my memory isn’t what it was a year ago.) I answered with, “And I want you to run it with me.” There was a longer pause after this last text and finally his reply, “How…

  • Personal

    First Day Favorites

    Augh, I’ve fallen behind again. Sometimes I wonder if maybe it’s time to quit since life only seems to keep getting busier and I keep getting bogged down with just too many things. But yet, I can’t bring myself to stop altogether because the thought that maybe some years down the road, these kids of mine won’t care that I posted these things a month or two late, but will only care that the memories have been saved here for them and they might share a good laugh over their small selves, our family as it was, and reminisce about their “good old days”. So for that someday years from…

  • Personal

    Like Riding a Bike

    We didn’t get to do all of the things on the kids’ summer bucket lists. That was never the goal, anyway. It was mainly to hear from the kids themselves what they were hoping to do with their time off from school just in case there was something rolling around in their heads that they never expressed out loud. The main goal of summer was to rest, do a few fun things here and there, rest, spend time together, rest, read, rest, play, rest, oh and sleep in. Did I mention rest? So happily, that main goal was met with flying colors and we all concluded that it was a…