I don’t know what it is, but Jack’s sleeping has been totally messed up lately. I’ve been told that the moment you take a minute to gloat about your child, parenting karma will come back and bite you, and apparently it’s true!

For the last week or so, Jack’s woken up several times a night. It came on all of a sudden, too. I have been very spoiled by his sleeping straight through for 11 or 12 hours at night for the last four and a half months, and now I find myself stumbling bleary-eyed into his room at odd hours of night. Last night, Jack woke up no fewer than five times between 11 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. This is more than he ever woke up at night, even as a newborn. He sleeps well for the first four hours or so, and then the fun begins.

Johnny and I have been holding our ground — we don’t pick him up (unless he is screaming from hunger, in which case we quietly feed him in the dark and immediately put him back down), and we don’t bring him into bed. Most of the wakings are over with quickly — we simply pat him or hold his arms by his sides, and that puts him back out almost immediately. A couple of times, he’s actually hungry, and after the feeding he settles back down to sleep. So it’s not as though these wakings take up much of our time, especially since Johnny and I take turns; it’s just that it’s unsettling after such a long period of good sleeping patterns (and let’s face it, nobody likes getting out from under the covers in the cold, dark night). Jack’s still sleeping about 11 hours each night, but I do think that he gets more rest when he sleeps straight through — for instance, I may have slept seven hours total last night, but it sure doesn’t feel like it!

I have many theories on why this is happening: Separation anxiety, the slow appearance of his second bottom tooth, the continued quest to crawl and/or pull up to standing (often when Jack wakes in the night, we find him trying to crawl in his crib or trying to pull up), a growth spurt, whatever. I am hoping that there is a reason, and that this new wakefulness is not permanent. I’ve heard (and read) that babies go through these phases, and my American Academy of Pediatrics book assured me that “if handled well, this phase should pass within a few weeks.” Let’s hope so. I am sticking by my sleep guns. Wish me luck in trying to revive those old sleep habits! (Either that, or a lifetime supply of Starbucks if this is the new order.)

Yes, folks, I successfully completed my first Bar Method class today. (For those of you who missed my last entry, the Bar Method is a combination of moves from ballet, yoga and pilates.) I’m here to report that the accounts of “searing pain” that follows the first experience with the Bar class are not exaggerated! It’s a good pain, though … not unbearable. Plus, it’s a pain that I know came from exercise and therefore makes me feel alive with energy, if that doesn’t sound too twisted.

The class was an hour long, and the first 15 minutes were a warmup that targeted the biceps, abs, pecs and lower abs. That segment ended with 20 pushups. Though it was definitely work, I kept up with the warmup pretty well. Then we moved to the bar for stretching and very intense thigh work! There was a move where I had to put one hand on the bar, tuck my bottom in, engage my abs, then bend my knees, get up on tippy toes and squat in a low plie. We held that for a seemingly interminable number of counts. Then, we had to pulse (squatting lower, then rising a bit, etc.) for 20 long seconds! My legs were shaking so badly during the squats that I felt like I was in an earthquake. I looked around the room and saw many pairs of trembling legs! The instructor shouted out encouraging things like, “I want to see those legs shaking! That means you’re working hard!” Good thing, because I thought it meant I was going to die.  Anyway, after those terrible plie squats, there were about four other variations on leg exercises, each of them harder than the first. By the time we moved on to ab work, I couldn’t feel pain anymore, and the ab and then glute work seemed like a piece of cake. I am proud to say that I kept up with all of it. I did skip the more “advanced” options she gave, thinking that I probably shouldn’t push myself to the utter limit at my first class.

We’ll see how sore I am tomorrow! I will be reporting back on Tuesday night for another class. Woo-hoo! I like that even though I feel like I have pretty strong legs, the exercises were definitely a challenge for me.

Aside from the class, the rest of the weekend was pretty chill. I met up with my friend Tomomi, a fellow new mom in the neighborhood, for coffee again on Saturday. Today, Johnny, Jack and I hung out with June and Charles. Of course, no weekend is complete without pictures of Jack. Here you go!

This is actually from last weekend, when we went to our friend Dave’s birthday party. Look how cute Jack is in his hat! And how big he is in my arms now!

Jack’s new favorite bathtime activity is stuffing the rubber duck’s head (or sometimes the duck’s ass!) into his mouth

In his new quest to stand, Jack loves to pull up on his toy piano, using the metronome as a lever

Another two for the “cute hat” files — the frog hat is from his Nana and Grandpa (my in-laws). The one with me in it is my new favorite pic of Jack and me!

OK, you guys will like this sequence. Now that Jack’s had many varieties of fruits and vegetables, sometimes I’ll share little bites with him when I’m eating something he’s had before. On Saturday afternoon, I was eating an apple, and Jack looked at it with interest. He’s had cooked apples, so I figured a tiny nibble of the apple flesh wouldn’t hurt. Between bites, I held the apple close to Jack’s mouth, and he would glom onto it, and I could hear his one single bottom tooth scrape, scrape, scrape eagerly at the flesh of the apple. It made me giggle! When I got down to the core, I let him have it for a few moments.

Yummy!

Look at the drool on his chin! He really wanted the core

Going to town

Here’s what happened when I took it away — I had to laugh! (Remind me of this when Jack melts down in a store one day as a toddler, OK?)

Finally, I have a sequence of Jack’s attempts to crawl. He’s been doing the inchworm (scooting forward by raising his butt and then pushing forward), but lately he’s been getting into real crawling position and rocking back and forth. He’ll put one knee forward and then accidentally roll over. It’s very frustrating to him but cute for us to see!

He decides to scale the wall instead

And last but not least, a cute picture of Jack and Johnny.

These two adore each other!

Yesterday, I enrolled in a Bar Method class.

No, I’m not preparing to be a lawyer … the Bar Method is an exercise system that combines movements from yoga, pilates and ballet (use of the bar). The hour-long class consists of a series of exercises designed to whip your core into shape. It’s $20 a class, which sounds like a lot, but you can pay as you go, so I wouldn’t feel guilty about paying a membership fee and then not using it. There are classes as late as 7:30 p.m., so I will go after Jack’s asleep (which is when I usually run, four times a week, so I can just replace one or two runs with this class each week).

I heard about this from Brinda, a good friend of mine from college. Like me, she’s a runner — but she’s a really great runner and in excellent shape. During the most recent Chicago marathon, when temperatures uncharacteristically soared into the 90s, she ran a full 20 miles before officials cancelled the race. Anyway, she signed up for the Bar Method at their Chicago studio to build more core strength. A problem for many runners is that our midsections, though flat, are kind of soft, because we don’t focus on ab work. I was intrigued because although my legs are really toned, I’ve always wanted more muscle strength (not mass, just strength) elsewhere. I’m not as disciplined about strength training as I am with the rest of my workout routine. Since I really enjoy running, but I don’t enjoy core work, if I’m just doing strength training at home, I’m likely to quit after five minutes.

Anyway, Brinda told me that the day after her first class, she was in much pain. Then I recalled hearing a coworker talk about it. He had taken a class from a Bar studio in Los Angeles, and the next day he said that he could barely lift his arms or sit down because the class had engaged muscles that he didn’t even know existed. I have to tell you, I am really drawn by pain when it comes to exercise. The more painful you tell me it is, the more I want to try it … that was a large part of the reason why I’d wanted to have a natural childbirth without pain medication (this does not apply to anything outside of exercise or childbirth!). So, I signed up for my first Bar Method class. It’s on Sunday.

Since signing up, I’ve been doing more research. Apparently I’ve been living in a cave, because this has been popular for some time now in LA. I figure anything that gets me stronger is a good thing. I’m not doing it for weight loss — I am happy to report that, at 7.5 months postpartum, I am now a couple of pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight*. Aside from the months when I was trying to lose the baby weight and the occasional moments when I compare myself to my perfect-bodied sister, I’ve always been happy about the way I look. Now that all my old clothes fit correctly again, and my stomach is flat (working on the toned thing, but flat was the first battle), I’m extra happy. But as Jack gets older, I’m realizing that stronger muscles (minus the pro-wrestler look) would be very useful. It would be nice not to huff and puff as I lift his car seat from the stroller into the car — that’s a combined weight of probably around 22 pounds (Jack: 19 pounds; car seat: 3 pounds?). And oh heck, if the classes will give me lean, defined ab muscles, then so be it. Who am I to refuse? 

Wish me luck! I’ll report back after the class on Sunday. I’m guessing that my finger muscles will not be sore.

* A footnote about weight loss. So this is how good a cook my mom is: Since she left for Taiwan on January 12, I’ve lost 12 pounds! In the first month after having Jack, I lost 20 pounds. From August through mid-January, I lost five. I had 10 more to go at that point and was lamenting how slow it was going despite working out three to four times a week. After my mom left, gone was the once-a-weekend binge at her house, where Johnny and I would stuff our faces all day long. Then my mom would send us home with all sorts of great food. We would eat that stuff on top of what I cooked each week. Granted, since the beginning of this year, Johnny and I have also taken some measures on our own – we stopped buying lunch at work or at school, I started cooking at home every night (it’s amazing how huge the portion sizes are when you eat out), I stopped snacking as much — but even so, I’m hoping I do not gain it all back when my mom returns on April 1! Then again, I’ve always eaten like a vaccuum cleaner, so I kind of think that my body will just maintain status quo when my mom returns. Since I’m not looking to lose any more, that would be just fine with me. Anyway, this is the danger of having a mom who cooks so well and who keeps all sorts of delicious food around the house!

Oh, and p.s. I should also mention that since January 12, Johnny has lost more than 15 pounds. Of course, it’s unfair that Johnny, who did not set out to lose weight in the first place, always loses more than I do! He’s sitting there saying that he now needs new pants and belts, and shouldn’t lose any more weight. Why do men lose weight so much more quickly than women?

I think Jack’s starting to enter separation anxiety. In the last two weeks, I’ve noticed that if I leave the room or even his immediate line of sight, Jack starts crying. When I re-enter his view, he resumes his jolly old ways. At first, I chalked it up to him being sick, but he’s better now, and he’s still doing it.

For example, this weekend, we went to a friend’s birthday party, and our friend Katie was holding Jack. He was cool with this, but when I went to another room to answer a call on my cell phone, Jack started crying and wouldn’t stop until I came back. Also, when he’s in his high chair, he’ll protest if I leave the kitchen to grab a bib or something. If I pop back around the corner, he’ll smile. I knew that separation anxiety peaks around 9 months, but I also read that it’s not uncommon for it to start before then.

This has been happening especially at night. I read in one of my many books that for babies whose mothers work outside the home (by the way, all mothers put in waaaay more than a full day’s worth of work, whether it’s in the home or outside of it, believe me!), separation anxiety can strike at night — they were away from mom all day, so they don’t want to go to bed at night. Between the time I get home and bedtime, it’s as though Jack wants to show me all his tricks — he does not want to sit still for one minute, and he wants to play with all of his toys, even if he was calmly and happily eating right before I got home. One of Jack’s super powers has always been sleep, but in the last week or so, he’s been having a hard time settling down at night. Last night, he was clearly tired: rubbing his eyes, yawning and other such behavior, but when I put him to bed, he kept pulling his paci out of his mouth, smiling at me and babbling. Usually, if Jack isn’t immediately asleep when he’s in his crib, I say good night, walk out of the room and he’s out within a few minutes. However, now if I walk out, he whimpers.  It tugs at my heartstrings! Even so, one of my no-compromises areas as a parent is fostering independent sleep habits (and this is just a personal view, not one that I think every other parent should espouse), so I resist the urge to pick Jack up and instead just pat his back until he’s asleep, so he knows I’m there for him but doesn’t fall into the crutch of being rocked completely to sleep. (We got out of that pattern at three months, and I’m not about to get back into it! He’s only getting heavier!)

I have to admit that I like the separation anxiety we’ve experienced so far. (I’m sure I’ll be singing a different tune when I can’t go to the bathroom without him crying.) It’s very difficult to be away from him, and it’s reassuring that even though I’m gone all day, Jack still remembers who I am and still wants me. I love that he perks up and wants to play with all of his toys when I get home. I know he will never remember the precious months of my maternity leave when it was just him and me most days … when he was so little and precious, when we were getting to know each other. I’m realizing that this is the most bittersweet part of parenthood: My children will never even know about some of our sweetest moments together. That’s just for me to reminisce about with Johnny someday, when Jack and his future sibling are all grown up. Many of the memories belong just to me: The first time I loaded Jack tentatively into the stroller and took him on a walk around the block by myself, the first time Jack smiled with delight at his mobile, or the weight of his tiny body in my arms, back in the days when his whole body was shorter than the width of my chest. Part of me wishes that somehow Jack could also recall these shared moments, and part of me is glad that I’m the only one who can replay them in my mind, but in any case, I treasure them very much.

Thank you all for your feedback on yesterday’s entry; just to report back, Jack loved his braised beef last night! He gobbled it up and then flapped his arms for more. (Ann – Dan and Mark would be happy to hear about this — so what if Jack rejects poultry and fish? At least he likes beef, the man’s meat! ) Johnny proudly declared that Jack is a true Texan after all. ::rolls eyes:: Last night was Jack’s dream dinner: First there was his favorite new meat, then there was dessert of bananas mashed with silken tofu. Tonight, he’s having the beef again, with a dessert of mango puree with tofu. Oh yeah. Tomorrow night we’ll try the dreaded fish again.

OK, enough about baby food. On to the fun! Saturday night, Johnny spent some quality time with Photoshop. Here for your enjoyment, Jack as your favorite bald men (and in one case, woman). I believe there is something for everyone here:

Hee hee! I think my favorite is Britney Spears.

First, thanks to everyone for your compliments of Jack’s newfound baldness! Having you guys to report to definitely made the head-shaving process more fun.

Now that Jack’s had a wide variety of fruits and veggies (I’ve made even more baby food since this entry), I’ve started introducing meat into his diet. Thanks to the Annabel Karmel baby food cookbook that June got me, there are a number of yummy-sounding, sophisticated recipes. By the way, I need to sidetrack for a moment here about how relaxed Europeans seem to be about baby feeding compared to us Americans. Annabel Karmel is British, and in her book, she dispenses the usual warnings: “Avoid nut butters if there is a history of allergy in your family”; “avoid giving small foods like raisins until your baby is old enough to chew thoroughly”; and so on. In contrast, What to Expect: The First Year says something like: “If you give your child peanut butter, he could die.” Well, that’s an exaggeration, but in general I find that babycare books published in the United States are much more cautious about allergies and food sensitivities. I’d rather be safe than sorry, but I do find it interesting to read babycare books by European authors, who seem much more relaxed. It’s refreshing not to run into disclaimers on every page.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. The first meat I made for Jack was a chicken with sweet potatoes, carrots, peas and leeks. He didn’t seem too keen on it, although he did eat it reluctantly, and looked as though he was eating lemons the whole time. Next I tried a flounder with vegetables in a mild cheese sauce that Annabel Karmel claimed was “very popular with babies.” Apparently not my baby, because Jack will only eat three spoonfuls of it before blocking his mouth with his hands and vehemently pushing the spoon away. It’s too bad, because I’ve tasted it, and it is really tasty. Jack does love Cheerios, so I’ve actually stooped to the level of holding a Cheerio in front of Jack’s open mouth, then doing a switch and stuffing the fish in there instead. Jack caught on quickly, though, so I was only able to do this about three times.

I don’t want to make eating a battle, ever — it should be something that’s fun and pleasant, not fraught with anxiety — so I’m going to try out different meat recipes until I find one Jack likes. In the meantime, I’m giving other protein sources (like tofu). I’ve also been offering the previously rejected meat recipes repeatedly, because sometimes his tastes do change. For example, he hated avocado for the first five offerings, then suddenly he loved it, especially when I mix it with a sweet fruit, like banana (another brilliant Annabel Karmel suggestion. Sounds disgusting but tastes amazing — like a creamier banana, if you will). Yesterday I made braised beef with sweet potatoes, carrots, red onion, a tiny bit of garlic and parsnip. It stewed for almost two hours and smelled so good. After pureeing it, I tasted a bit and I think Jack will like it — it’s really sweet and barely tastes like meat. He loves carrots, sweet potatoes and parsnips, so hopefully he’ll take to this. Anyway, I’m sure in time Jack will warm up to meat.

Aside from his dislike of meat, Jack gobbles everything else up. His favorites are oatmeal with any kind of pureed fruit (this morning it was papaya, but he also likes blueberries, peaches, apples, pears, bananas and any combination of those), zucchini, sweet potatoes, spinach, broccoli … basically all the vegetables. Yesterday I introduced him to tofu for the first time, and he loved that. I mashed it up with some fresh peach puree, and he ate an entire little bowl and then wanted so more. He also had whole milk yogurt for the first time on Saturday. I thought he’d hate it because it’s so sour, but he actually gobbled it up. The second time I gave him yogurt, I mixed it with some mashed banana, and he was really in love with that.

So anyway, my little food critic munches on pretty happily for the most part. I’m on a quest to find the favored meat. I have to say that one of the highlights of my day is seeing how Jack reacts to a new food … I can never get over the fact that I am watching someone experience something totally new. I feel so lucky that I get to see his first preferences; no matter what his first reaction to a food is, I usually find it pretty delightful. (However, I will admit that I did not finding being covered in flounder with cheese sauce particularly fun.)

If any of you moms out there want to share your babies’ favorite meats with me, I’m all ears! 

I know you’ve all been waiting for this moment, so I’ll share a picture of Jack’s new ‘do first:

Our little monk (doesn’t he look like Avatar the Airbender?)

OK, once you have settled down, you can read the whole story.

Although the head-shaving was the main event of today, an even bigger milestone happened this morning. After Jack woke up from his morning nap, he did this:

That’s right — my seven-month-old pulled up into a standing position!  Maybe my in-laws are right in that he will skip crawling and go straight to walking, just like his daddy. He’s been scooting forward on his hands and feet for a while, but lately he’s been obsessed with getting into a standing position. He’s been pulling up on our fingers, but this morning he grabbed his aquarium crib toy and just stood up!

Before we left the house for the hair appointment, we took a couple more pictures of Jack with hair:

I told you that he’s obsessed with standing!

We got Jack’s head shaved at a Chinese hair salon, run by a longtime family friend. We got there a bit early, so Jack played in the car for a few minutes.

Finally, we could no longer put it off, so we went inside the salon, where June, Charles and their friend (and loyal blog reader!) Jennell joined us. (By the way, June and Jennell have a great product review blog … check it out.) I put on a robe and held Jack in my lap for the big event.

Jack got a little robe!

The shaving began right away, with an electric shaver. Jack took it pretty well, although the buzzing noise of the shaver scared him (and probably the sight of Jennell and Charles both taking pictures frightened him as well). I thought I would shed a few tears, but I was so preoccupied with holding Jack steady that I forgot to! (“Auntie” May, who was doing the shaving, had Jack really steady, anyway, so I probably didn’t have to worry.)

The first lock comes off (and yes, I did keep the hair)

Look at Jack’s papparazzi!

Auntie May congratulated me on the “perfect” shape of Jack’s head (apparently she didn’t see the dent from his sleeping position on the back of his head) and said that I must be doing a good job — as if I have anything to do with it, ha! She didn’t accept any money for the head shaving, and instead gave me $60 for Jack in a red envelope! We used the money on lunch for the group (thanks, Jack!).

Thankfully, I had brought a hat (that matched his outfit, of course) … it was cold outside, and for the first time, Jack needed head covering!

This suits him, don’t you think?

Jack soon cheered up, when he got his lunch.

What is this thing on Daddy’s face?

By the time we all finished lunch and started driving home, Jack was pretty jolly.

Of course, we took a few more pictures when we got home.

Still cute!

I gave Jack a bath right away to wash away the stray hairs that had gotten caught in the folds of his neck.

And here’s the first Mommy and Jack picture with the new ‘do:

As much as I loved Jack’s hair, I have to admit that I kind of like his new monkish look — it’s been fun to kiss his prickly little head. I giggle when his head brushes against my cheek — it’s a funny feeling. Of course I was sad when the first lock of hair fell off, but it’s hair and it will grow back.  Jack’s hair was very distinctive, and it will take a while for me to get used to my little love’s new look, but I still think he’s adorable. Now I’ll go get him some new hats!

Oh and p.s.: This pic is a couple of days old, but I thought it was so funny, I had to share:

Jack enjoying one of my favorite Chinese comic books

I’ve been getting lots of questions about Jack’s head shaving (which was supposed to happen at six months, but I couldn’t bring myself to have it done), and while I made an announcement on Facebook, I realize that not all of you are there. So … it’s happening on Saturday! (By the way, if you don’t have Facebook, you should really register for an account. Everyone and their mother is on it. It’s true. Atari and Jack have Babybook and Dogbook pages, and their mom has a Facebook page. )

Shaving a baby’s head (at least a boy baby — I don’t think it’s done for little girls, but I could be wrong) at six months of age is a Chinese tradition. Maybe it’s just a Taiwanese one, since some Chinese families I know haven’t heard of it. I think some other Asian cultures may do it, too. There’s an Indian woman in my play group who shaved her son’s head at one month, according to her customs.

Since Jack’s been born, many of our family friends have been reminding me about this, and when Jack’s six-month birthday came and went, I got some questions about when his head would be shaved. I’ve also gotten requests for a calligraphy brush made from his baby hair (apparently, and my family hadn’t know about this, you’re supposed to get calligraphy brushes made from the baby hair. With the amount of hair Jack has, I think we can make about 1,000 of them). Anyway, I kept putting it off, citing various family events and visitors as the reason for keeping his hair. Does this sound twisted or what — I keep thinking that the hair on his head now grew inside me, and shaving it off seems to sever another tie between us. (Cue creepy “Mommy Dearest” music here.) One of my friends at work reminded me that most of the hair Jack was born with has probably fallen off already. True enough! Finally, I can put it off no longer. This Saturday at noon, Jack’s hair will be shorn. June and Charles will witness the momentous event, and we will take many photos. Afterward we will go celebrate/mourn/pig out at the neighboring Korean restaurant.

A part of me is looking forward to this — now Jack can wear hats without his hair sticking out in every which direction, and by the summer, it will have grown back. I’m curious to see what his new hair will look like — his current hair is brown and very wavy when wet; maybe his “grown-up” hair will be even lighter and curlier, like his dad’s. Also, it’s so long now that he’s mistaken for a girl all the time, like when his hair falls romantically into his eyes. Now I won’t have to figure out what to do with it, or comb out the tangles each morning. Plus, as June so adorably said, now Jack will have “a new brand of cute.”

So look forward to pics on Saturday!

p.s. For those of you who know her, I met Amy last night! She’s in town for a postdoc interview in LA, and she stayed with us last night. She’s very sweet, and I’m glad I’ve finally gotten to meet her after being friends online for several years. She and her husband also have a Shiba, and Atari could tell — he loved her. Jack also adores Amy, and every time she comes into view, he swoons like a lovestruck teenager. He’s been having stranger anxiety, but the moment Amy walked in the door yesterday, he grinned at her. And just as she asked Johnny if Jack was speaking yet, Jack said, “Ah-ee!” (That’s the Chinese word for “Auntie.”) Of course, it was just a coincidence, but it was so cute!

::Drumroll, please!::

After more than two months of remodeling, the Starbucks in the lobby of my work building has reopened! It now features more baristas, cash registers, food and seating space. Even God is clapping. Seriously, it is the worker bee’s dream come true. It is also my budget’s worst nightmare, but that’s another story.

Lest you think I’m a freak, let me tell you that the entire building was excited about this. The Starbucks was supposed to reopen yesterday, and when it didn’t, Starbucks provided free pastries and coffee to the entire building. This afternoon, the line for Starbucks was still out the door and around the corner! Please note that a) there are two other perfectly acceptable cafes in the building that sell coffee; b) there’s an “express” snack shop in the lobby that also sells coffee; c) I’m sure every employer in the building has free coffee in its office kitchen; and d) there’s another Starbucks two blocks away. But apparently the reopening of our own Starbucks was still a momentous occasion.

I have been spoiled by proximity to Starbucks in every city I’ve lived. I remember my near-daily walks to a Starbucks in Chicago with dear KSP especially fondly! This two-month hiatus, though great for my budget (I estimate that I saved $12 a week), has been hard on me. I don’t drink many beverages except water (64 ounces a day, without fail!), but a daily tall skim, sugar-free, extra-hot vanilla latte boosts my spirits. I went without the whole time I was trying, pregnant and breastfeeding (yes, I was a teetotaler for 19 months!). I didn’t even drink decaf for fear that the residual caffeine in it would make its way to Jack. It saddened me that Starbucks closed right as I was able to drink caffeine again. And, more than the latte itself, walking into a Starbucks makes me feel happy. Sometimes it makes me feel like an empowered career woman, able to take on the world with a single sip of coffee; occasionally it makes me feel an instantaneous calm; and often it makes me feel giddy (this probably is because in high school, I viewed Starbucks as the place where all the cool kids went).

So, I am happy that I have my Starbucks back again!

And now, to redeem myself for being so easily molded by Starbucks’ marketing gurus, I will put in an unsolicited plug for my friend Sarah’s food blog. If you like good food or cooking, you must check it out. Sarah is getting her Ph.D. at Purdue, and while she is quite an accomplished, world-traveling academic, I’m trying to convince her that she should abandon academia and go be a food critic or something. She’s been getting requests from professional food blogs and magazines asking to cross-reference her blog (cool, huh?). Sarah makes up her own recipes or innovates existing ones. Recently she’s posted a recipe for some delicious but easy breakfasts — lemon camembert scramble or greek yogurt with raspberries and cardamom. Every post has beautiful photos to go along with it (she’s a great photographer, too), and best of all, all of the recipes are doable at home. I consider myself a pretty good cook, but Sarah’s got some sort of touch that makes all the food she cooks seem really professional and gourmet (but not frou-frou). I’m trying to figure out how the girl I met in eighth grade summer school turned out to be so talented! She and my brother-in-law, Chris, are the best gourmet chefs I know. (My mom is the best chef of Asian dishes, and June is the top chef of pastas and Brazilian cheesy bread.) So go check out her blog, and eat well tonight!

Here are a few photos from the weekend (and some today, of the recovering sickie!).

Johnny, Jack and I on Saturday at the pier — notice how Jack is very uncharacteristically glum? He was actually sick, the poor thing

Here’s one of the amazing canals in Venice Beach. We were in this residential neighborhood, when all of a sudden there were these amazing homes and canals. People have little docks and gondolas. This is actually how Venice Beach got its name! I can’t believe we’ve been in LA all this time and not known about this.

One of the fabulous homes along the canals. All of the homes there looked like they belonged in a magazine.

Me, Michelle and Eric in the canals

Johnny and I at the canals — notice the little canoes in the water!

And here are some of our little patient:

At the height of his illness on Sunday … notice how spaced-out he looks!

Feeling much better today

Still a little tired, though

But he’s got his Jolly Jack smile back!