The Tu of Us

Thoughts and adventures starting from our little SF studio

[thetuofus-blog]

Starting Over

It’s 2017! I don’t do resolutions... but as always, there are things I want to try and grow in and actually do. 

And blogging -- well, no, writing is one of those things. I’m not great with good habits... I’m awesome at unproductive ones (sleeping in late, not flossing, slouching...). Where I usually get stuck is that I want every process... every “learning experience,” to be “good.” By “good,” I actually mean I want it to look glossy, pretty, easy, and pot-of-gold-at-the-end-of-the-rainbow-kind-of-satisfying! But as anyone with good sense knows, change rarely looks or feels that good. 

So... I really am trying to embrace the messy, imperfect, and incomplete process of getting into writing shape. There will be tons of crap here, surely. (What is the internet but a sinkhole of literal dung?) But, maybe my mind will be a wee bit sharper, my words nudged ever closer to “on-point,” and I’ll have formed a habit I actually care about. 

Why not?

[thetuofus-blog]

What's Going on?!

School has started, which means we're 1000% busier than we were prior... But it's full of good, no, terrific things! Larry began his second year of his Masters in Social Work program and is interning at an agency this year that I think he really loves. We're still working for Epic Movement... Yay! We've been playing pick up soccer in the city which has been such a good change for us normally sedentary folk. And we're still trying to figure out how to cook at home more... So that's a fun adventure. There are other things mulling around in my head to share sometime... But it will have to wait. :) Until then...

[thetuofus-blog]

10 Hours in Oahu

We just got back from working in Japan a couple days ago (my body hates me right now... thanks a lot, jet lag!) but before we touched down in SFO, we had a 13 hour layover in Oahu! 

Larry lived in Honolulu for a year a few years back, and I’ve visited a couple times before, so we were excited to visit some of our favorite food haunts and try a few new things (and, THE BEACH!) on the island prior to coming home. It was a marathon of eating... and driving, but it was awesome. And Larry’s awesome for driving the whole day (I definitely took at least two car naps due to zero hours of sleep on the plane)!

Our crazy itinerary:

9:00 am - Land + go through customs 10:00 am - Get our rental car 10:30 am - Leonard’s Bakery for malasadas (basically fried dough balls dipped in sugar--YES) Larry gets guava-filled and Whitney gets original (sugar) 

10:45 am - Foodland for sunscreen (gotta protect that skin), a cheap beach towel (why would we lug one around Japan when we could get a beach towel for $9??), and POKE (we’re huge fans of Foodland’s poke counter! There’s tons of different combinations. We go with the classic Ahi Limu Poke, 1/2 lb. to share) 11:00 am - Random park close-by with public bathroom to change into swimsuits 11:30 am - Pali Lookout (I’ve never been!) We ran over to see the view then got back in the car 12 pm - Lanikai Beach in Kailua (This is one of my favorite beaches in Oahu. The water is crystal clear and warm and it’s perfect for laying out and light swimming. We parked here and tanned, ate our poke, and swam a little)

2:30 pm - Sufficiently sunned we head to Nico’s Pier 38. It’s much bigger since Guy Fieri visited. We had a furikake tuna plate and it was so good! 2:50 pm - Waiola’s Shave Ice! POG (Passion-Orange-Guava) and Pineapple with Ice Cream, Condensed Milk and Li-Hing Powder! Yummy 3:15 pm - Health Bar for an Acai Bowl (we tried to go to Bogart’s Cafe, but we went to the wrong store haha) Still good! 4:00 pm - Safeway for a poop break :D 4:40 pm - Sandy Beach to watch surfers and bodyboarders

6:00 pm - Ono Hawaiian Foods (take out! Kahlua Plate: kahlua pig, pipikaula, rice, lomi lomi salmon, and haupia!) 6:45 pm - Leonard’s again! One more original malasada! 7:30 pm - Return the car and go back to the airport! :)

It was SUCH a great day and we were definitely super full from all the great food (ono grinds) we had! But we’re glad to be home (for now)!

[thetuofus-blog]

All our sports are done for the summer (officially) so we're bummed. Plus we have three more days of intense school stuff so we're not the happiest campers. BUT I'm remembering how much we've learned and how significant it is for us to do this together. I want to savor these days. And I want to survive these days so I'll post more interesting things soon! In the meantime, I'm listening to the rain outside (it's like SF's summer followed us here!). And here's a picture of a coloring I did with other kid's colorings... Yep, I proudly put my age on my paper. (P.S. - This day got me all into Jan Brett again... Look her up! "The Mitten" anyone??)

[whereiswhitney-blog]

Larry and I are gettin’ schooled! That is, we’re taking seminary classes. Over the course of the summer we’ll have gone through Old Testament Survey, Biblical Interpretation & Communication, and God, Bible, Holy Spirit classes!

I’ve really appreciated these courses! AND if you have the...

[thetuofus-blog]

Puzzling

We’ve been working on a 1000 piece puzzle for almost two weeks now... (We’ve been traveling a lot!) It’s shown me a lot about myself and Larry and how we work to solve problems.

Larry’s the type of puzzle person who looks at the sample picture and tries to find the piece that matches the image he’s looking for. I prefer to look for the shape of the piece that seems to look like the holes. I don’t assume that our puzzle “tendencies” say everything about how we desire to live life, but it definitely says something. For example, Larry does tend to prefer templates, rules, and parameters with which to know where he has the freedom and safety to choose, move and play. I prefer to match colors and see what kind of shape the empty space is taking and find the pieces that fill the spaces. Personally, I think my way is more imaginative since I have to picture in my mind’s eye what the piece must look like--shape, color and otherwise--then find the one that fits my mental image. 

My coach, Tom, mentioned something to me last week that really stuck: “Some people need structure to begin their dreaming.” I love that! Being in an organization that has us constantly working in teams, I’m surrounded by people! And while I feel frustrated sometimes because I can’t understand certain people, I take solace in the fact that the Lord understands them and created them to bring Him glory as only they can. All people are called to dream and to imagine the Kingdom and establish it here on earth. 

If the puzzle is the earth and the picture on the box is the only image we had of the Kingdom... we need all the people we can find, with all their different puzzle “tendencies,” to help us put it back together. And seriously, we need help with this real puzzle too... SO MUCH GREEN!!

[thetuofus-blog]

Lanterns in Lukang Township in Taiwan. [03.27.15]

Taiwan was an amazing and challenging experience... there’s so much to ponder and think about. 

Really this YEAR has been an adventure, as everything has felt unprecedented.

Anywho... more on that another time!

[thetuofus-blog]

Munchies Monday: Soy Vanilla Steamer

I've been dreaming of a latte I had at Caffe Calabria in Northpark, San Diego called the Caffe Viennese. It had honey and cinnamon softly folded into milk that swirled into the rich espresso. It was perfect and delicious and made with soy milk because I'm lactose intolerant (cries)... AND it angers me that I cannot find anything like that here in San Francisco (not that I've tried extremely hard). 

But then I heard of the vanilla steamers from Starbucks and realized that I can make my OWN, but adapt it to taste like the tasty and elusive latte from hundreds of miles away.

*Note: I have NOT yet added this to my espresso, but that shall come soon! This is just a lovely, warm, creamy, and sweet soy beverage... that makes my mornings absolutely delicious.

Ingredients: About 1 cup of soy milk 1 tbsp. honey A pinch of ground cinnamon (although I imagine just throwing a cinnamon stick in there would add even more delicious spice-y flavor)

Warm the soy milk PRE-BOIL (or else it will boil and immediately foam and get everywhere). As soon as it starts to simmer, turn the heat down and add the honey. Stir until dissolved. Turn the heat off, add the cinnamon and stir. Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy!

Yum! ("W" for "Whitney" and "wonderful" of course... )

[thetuofus-blog]

Mr. Lee's Kitchen or When I Saw Him Last

(Originally posted on our ministry website: http://whitneyisahuman.com)

"Are we invited?" my mother asks after I tell her that Larry and I are going to have lunch with Kung Kung on Saturday afternoon. I'm pretty sure that she and my dad are invited to lunch, so I just nod and continue packing our car.

We spend a few days in San Diego--visiting Larry's sister and brother-in-law and our 6-month-old niece, celebrating New Year's Eve with our close friends--and then we're back the South Bay by the end of the week. I don't let on, but I'm pretty excited about lunch with Kung Kung. Since we moved to San Francisco, we don't share as many meals with him as we used to.

My mom comes with Larry and me while my dad picks up Kung Kung from his house. We all meet at Mr. Lee's Kitchen--formerly known as Shanghai Palace. It's a small two room establishment, abutting the Torrance Ramada Inn. The carpet is a greenish/bluish color and the walls are white with papers taped to the wall with specials written on them in Chinese. There's a floor to ceiling window in the front of the restaurant which could let in a lot of light, but they cover it with lace drapes. I shiver thinking about how long it's been since they've been cleaned. The ceiling is high and angled downward so the light seems to disappear the further you go into the restaurant.

My dad drives Kung Kung's car and parks it in the handicapped spot. Kung Kung immediately opens the door and scoots himself out of the car and uses his cane to get himself into the restaurant as quickly as he possibly can. My dad rushes to open the restaurant door for him, only Larry beats him to it and welcomes him. "'Ey, oh hello. Yeah yeah yeah... Hehe, long time no see!" my grandpa says as Larry tries to hug and greet him. I'm standing and trying to hug him too as he does this. Kung Kung just pats my arm that's hugging him and continues moving toward the table. He doesn't stop.

There's a frenzy of shouting in Chinese and asking what we want to eat and more shouting at the unlucky server assigned to our table. He fearfully admits that one of the dishes is only prepared for dinner, not for lunch. Kung Kung looks confused: "What? Then why is it on your menu?" The server's face seems unmoved until Kung Kung turns his face toward him and says, "This is what we want." The server murmurs something in Chinese to my grandfather, looks at his face, and then turns and leaves with our menus.

The sesame oil celery appetizer has already disappeared from our table save the plate and then a bamboo steamer canister of Xiaolong bao comes to our table. Salt and pepper fish! Eggplant and tofu! Dou miao (pea sprouts)! White rice! Food makes a very temporary stop in the middle of the table, as we all partake in its disappearance. Very little conversation happens--it's mostly about how good the food is, why we're not eating more, and when we'll see him next. Kung Kung's bushy white eyebrows move upward as he moves his eyes behind thick round glasses toward me and asks, "Have you had enough yet?" I jokingly say, "No way!" Then he starts to chuckle and the wrinkles that surround his mouth deepen as he smiles and laughs. He easily picks up another piece of fish with his chopsticks, puts it in his rice bowl, and then it's gone.

[thetuofus-blog]

Munchies Monday: Sage + Cheddar/Gruyere Crisps!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! Ours was packed with seeing family and friends and trying to get over a cold (me). What I could experience and see through my DayQuil-haze, though, was pretty excellent! We patted ourselves on the back for a fun (read: we only wanted to kill each other or relatives 3-5 times! Go us!) first married holiday season! 

Since our relatives got us even more cooking stuff--a cookbook from my brother and his girlfriend, wooden cooking utensils from my mom, a breakfast-in-bed tray from my relatives--we're making a conscious effort to cook more effectively. We already cooked at least 2x a week and eat leftovers throughout the rest of the days, but in preparing to cook, we'd always be lost and wouldn't be super efficient about it. 

Thus, we're attempting (maybe it's a 2015 resolution?? Gasp!) to be more effective cooks and have more recipes under our belt that we feel comfortable making. This is good for us since many of our previous meals were all risks because we didn't cook much together before. 

Today I decided I wanted Cheez-Its... but since going to a Target or grocery store to buy Cheez-Its seems more effort than it's worth, I decided to make my own at home. I adopted the Rosemary Gruyere and Sea Salt Crisps recipe from Smitten Kitchen's cookbook to include things I already had at home: sage, sharp cheddar cheese, gruyere, and whole wheat flour. (Larry doesn't like gruyere cheese, so those were for me, and I made a separate batch for him with cheddar!)

SO TASTY!

I used the recipe in the book, but it's also here online. I substituted sage for rosemary, cheddar cheese (for the cheddar cheese batch), and whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour. Since whole wheat flour can be drier, you can add a little more water to make sure the dough sticks together! :) 

Larry liked it! YAY! Enjoy!! :)

[thetuofus-blog]

Day 3 (Picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower!)

FINALLY back to Paris... and with maybe one of our favorite days in Paris!

We woke up somewhat "early" (Seriously, jet-lag... no joke), determined to get pink wine, bread and cheese and enjoy all of those things in the shadow of the famed Eiffel Tower!

Our first stop was this corner bakery: La Boulangerie des Invalides-Jocteur. This place is incredibly charming, and on a quiet corner of Paris' 7th arrondissement. It has pink walls! Even though we felt we could stay there all-day long until we could eat EVERYTHING, we grabbed a Baguette Tradition (per the recommendation of the monsieur behind the counter), a $4 bottle of rose´ and headed out for our 10-minute walk to the Eiffel Tower. 

I couldn't have asked for a better day! It was sunny, warm, and cloudless. We sat, ate our melted beurre and jam and had a very French day... read: we took naps. It was lovely. And I want to do that every day...  

[thetuofus-blog]

Got this note and these photos from my best friend's wedding yesterday and it was truly the best part of coming home! It's been such a fun season of life being newlyweds and in a new city... But there are so many things I miss about the past seasons that in my happy-furor I simply forgot to miss it... to sit in the non-presence of significant people... to realize that they do in fact fill my life and when they're not around, I am a little emptier. Then again, I'm so grateful for handwritten notes and silly photos and non-silly photos and phone calls and FaceTime and the billions of ways to connect despite distance. I'm so grateful for good friends who get me and who know just what to say. I'm grateful that I miss them! They mean so much to me, I don't want to--I can't forget it!

[thetuofus-blog]

Hans the Honda

Today, my car, Hans, went to be with its new family!

I've had Hans for the last 11 years... it's seen me through several relationships, and has known the entirety of my relationship with Larry! Hans has been my silent companion for the last decade... and yet, he's brought me so much life!

Our adorable studio... perfect in so many ways... does NOT come with a parking spot. Thus, parking two cars in the shark-den we call the San Francisco streets just is not plausible for us. I will constantly wake with the anxiety that today is a street-sweeping day, and I will never fully recover. Keeping Larry's car just makes sense--it's a hatchback so it can hold everything, is ridiculously gas-efficient, comes with "hill-assist"--so it was a fairly clear decision on both our parts that Hans needed to find a new home.

Gratefully, good friends bought Hans and it just really helps their situation too! It's so funny how sentimental I've felt over sending Hans away... He's not a human, nor a pet... nor alive in any way, really. He's definitely cost me a buttload of money of the years (gas, maintenance, tickets...), and he's really seen the best/worst sides of me (road rage, much?). 

So grateful for so many things... great humans owning Hans, Larry helping me think through the process, my parents being cool with us keeping the money, timing working out super well, all the things that needed to be taken care of worked seamlessly and smoothly... and SO grateful for over a decade of life with Hans and me. 

[thetuofus-blog]

Working from home today! More Paris posts in the making! This is my brightly lit work station :) I love this blanket we got for $14 from the Sunday Streets fair a few weeks ago. Plus coffee from The Mill and flowers (holding on for dear life!) that Larry got me a couple weeks ago! Ok, now I ought to get working!

[thetuofus-blog]

JUST the two of us...

So... I know I promised that my husband would post someday, but that day is again, not today. Regardless, I will press-on and post--I need the practice. But truly, hold out until he posts! He has the best thoughts and I'm always bummed I'm the only one that hears them.

"Quick" break from the Paris series... I just want to say how relieved I am to know I'm not the only human who experiences loneliness. Wendy Steiner's of The Bold Italic essay on loneliness in the City made me feel a little less like a crazy person. I mean, who DOESN'T want to feel less like a crazy person? But it's not only the loneliness that feels, well, lonely, but it's the notion that everyone else here has their niche and their group of friends already and they might not have room for a couple more. There's a sense that I'm failing at making friends here. 

Close friends who know us, empathize and assure us that we're being too hard on ourselves. We only moved here four months ago... some of our closest friends really took years...some decades... before we've come to the comfty-cozy* spots we're in now with many of our relationships. It's starting to hit me--like a baseball bat--that living in San Francisco isn't going to be exactly like the young, shot-gun relationship forged out of instant chemistry and mutual interests. You know, girl likes boy, boy likes girl, they really enjoy flirting together and talking for hours and hours... and boom: dating. It's going to be like watching The Lord of the Rings trilogy and beyond... excruciatingly long, nuanced, yet incredibly worth it. At least, so I hope!

As Christians here on the search for a church, battling loneliness especially feels daunting because so many church communities become the life-people of note in this late-20s/early-30s season of our lives. I feel envious of those who have it, yet weirdly uncomfortable wanting to join into something entirely new. And then I think of my efforts to really be intentional, and I tell myself that I'm not doing enough and I'm not putting myself out there--I'm whining. Hence, my spiraling into loneliness and failure. Plus, as a newlywed, if you want to know me, you have to know my better half... we're a package deal in some ways: two for the price of one!

Alas, I'm definitely hopeful and curious to who shall become our SF family. There are already several people I'd love to adopt into the family... because they're wonderful and we work together. But I'm nervous for the perilous journey and hard times that really forge people together. What will we have to go through in order to finally understand how much we need each other? Yikes. 

Laundry must be picked up, so... bottom line: glad to not be alone in my loneliness, still grateful for a looooong season of firsts, and playfully curious to what's coming next. What have you found to be helpful as you've made friends?

*"comfty-cozy" is the word my friend's 3.5 year old made up to describe getting ready for bed

[thetuofus-blog]

Paris: Tourist-ing (Day 2)

Musee de Louvre

I've wanted to visit the Louvre since elementary school when I had to do a project on Leonardo da Vinci and some book mentioned the Mona Lisa was on display at the Louvre. 

And it seriously did not disappoint...

The Palais Royale and everything around it was simply gorgeous. Seeing the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo were some highlights. We ended up coming back a couple times to explore other wings and halls and rooms we couldn't even find before.

Also, the pickpocket thing seems cray cray. If you do decide to go, just bring a zipped purse/bag and keep it in front of you (like, don't swing it behind you). There were just SO MANY PEOPLE... better to be safe than sorry.

Champs-Elysses/Arc de Triomphe

Our Airbnb hosts said we could walk to the Arc de Triomphe from the Louvre... while they were absolutely correct that we could... it was a VERY LONG walk. And the Metro could've been a convenient option.

However, walking along the Champs-Elysses was lovely! There are so many high-end shops and stores along it (that we did not go into). BUT there's also a ZARA Home! They don't have any in CA, so we stopped in and it was lovely. I had to keep myself from buying EVERYTHING. We definitely stopped into a bakery to grab a chocolate croissant and baguette to keep us from fainting... and then we kept going... 

The Arc de Triomphe is magnificent. Though the museum portion was closed for a demonstration of sorts and it's under renovation, it was such a sight to behold! There were so many moments we just sat and couldn't believe we were in Paris--this was yet another one.

Our adventure continued as we set out to find macarons. The greatest dessert of all time... and we went straight to the experts themselves at: Pierre Herme. Though we got lost searching for it and exhausted ourselves with more walking, the box of macarons we got was WELL-WORTH IT. You must get some. I know it's a ridiculous amount to spend on carefully-formed sugar, but whatever. You're on vacation and your stomach and mouth will thank you.

We dragged ourselves to a ramen dinner at Kunitoraya. It was tasty--a little cramped and expensive, but it was nice to have something warm since it had been cool outside. 

Right before we got home, we got a cafe au lait (for Larry) and a chocolat chaud (for me) at a cafe right by our apartment. SUCH a great day... we were dead tired so I'm pretty sure we did nothing after that, but chill in our apartment.

[thetuofus-blog]

Paris: The BEST Place to Start

After our wedding (which was a blast, btw) we set off for Paris, France for our ten-day honeymoon. I'm the absolute worst when it comes to summarizing, so when people excitedly ask me: "What was the best/your favorite thing about Paris??" I'm always left standing there looking like a dummy or a liar, because I genuinely don't know what to say! I mean... why quantify Paris down to only "my favorite" or "the best" things? Okay, I know, not everyone has billions of hours to hear me re-tell how sweet it was to look out our flat and see the rose-colored lighting and French couples and comrades canoodling and chuckling, respectively, over drinks at the corner cafe. But, whatever... it WAS sweet and awesome and just what we needed. The best thing about Paris, was that it allowed us to get away, to savor the beginning of our marriage and to rest with no timetable... of course, in the most beautiful place I've ever known. (I mean look at the view from our flat!?!?! pictured above). 

Thus begins the series of what we did (maybe specifically where we went... you don't care about what we did, and even if you did I'm not going to tell you everything) in Paris. Hopefully you'll find good tips should you find yourself there, if not, it's okay. We got along just fine with suggestions from friends and the ENTIRE internet. :)

TRAVEL DAY/DAY 1

We flew into Charles De Gaulle Airport and bought train tickets to Paris (we could've taken it to Gare du Nord, but it was closer for us to take it to Chatelet Les Halles) and our Paris Metro pass (NaviGo), then Metro to the flat we found on Airbnb (HUGE fan, btw... use it! SO worth it). It worked for us not having a ton of luggage (Larry had one huge duffle and a backpack, I had two carry-on sized luggages)... but it was still a little bulky since there aren't escalators everywhere. We were pretty tired by the time we got to our Airbnb flat, but our "hosts" were lovely and even invited us to have a drink with them!

We went to a local grocery store to buy some quick things along with a short trip to the downstairs bakery to make a piecemeal dinner (pasta and baguette and cheese!). Super un-Parisien of us, but it was cheap and quick which was just what we needed after 20+ hours of traveling. 

One quick nap after dinner, and we were off exploring our neighborhood (Le Marais or the 3rd Arrondissement). We sat in a local cafe that was open late and had a cocktail and crepe. Both were okay, but cheap and close-by. Booze and sweets-induced conversation was quite silly and fun as we reflected on our extremely long day. We patted ourselves on the backs for making it to Paris without too much stress, and slept VERY well that first night.