Day 5 of Spring Break

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Friday. P and I had the entire week off together and I had so much fun with her.

Monday, we went on a play date with a friend from summer camp. Then, we spent the afternoon building snowmen and attending dance class. P rated the day a 4.5. I think she really enjoyed her play date. She made a new friend there after her friend had to leave. And, she really enjoyed making the snow people. She named the original one Hailey. But, when we got home from dance, we found Hailey sprawled on the deck and broken into three balls. We used each to build a new snowman. She named them Emily, Despicable (because it only had one eye and looked like a minion) and Hailey. We built those snowmen on the ground so they wouldn't fall over.

Tuesday, we went to the museum and saw a movie and tried a mirror maze. Then, we came home and colored until Mr. mouse came home. P rated the day a 4.0 which made me a little sad. But, I enjoyed the day.

Wednesday, we went to the park and met up with a friend for another play date. It was cold, and P's hair was bothering her, and we cut the play date a little short when P told me she was done and wanted to go home. It turns out she bonked her head and her butt while playing and both were bothering her. She also got a cramp in her left foot so I think it was good we finished early. We came home, built a fort, watched Big Hero 6 and finished our art project from the day before. It was so fun watching Big Hero 6 together in the fort - except the part when P thought Baymax was dead. We had to pause the movie and she cried in my arms for a little bit before agreeing to go back to the movie. It's the first time I saw her cry over fictional character. She was so sad. It must have been a good day because P rated it a 5.0 in spite of the sad moment in the movie.

Thursday, we went to Mr. mouse's office for lunch. Then, we came home for 30 minutes before heading out to swim. After swim, we went to Home Depot and picked up some PVC pipe to make a new fort for P. It's almost like a canopy bed. I'm glad I got to use my engineering skills in designing it. Actually, anyone could have done it. I guess I used my engineering skills in looking at fort ideas and picking one that was easy and structurally sound. Yesterday was a 5.5 for P, mostly because she got to eat lunch with Mr. mouse.

And, now, today, the day of errands... Hopefully it's not too big a drag on P. But, stuff has to get done otherwise the house will begin to fall apart around us. And, I'm okay that she sees errands and understands they need to get done too.


Cheers!
mouse

Evil TiVo

Dear Friends and Family,

Last night we did something we hadn't done in months. We turned on the TiVo and picked a random program and watched it. Then, we picked another and another until we both fell asleep on the couch to the sounds of the television.

Why is this a bad idea?

First, while our couch is comfortable, our bed is a lot more comfortable. Second, while TV is moderately entertaining, sleep is something I cherish. Third, while it's nice to have TV again, time is even better.

So, I think I'll pass on randomly turning on the TV at night. Maybe I'll watch a show as a treat during the day, but my evenings with my family are too precious to me. There's no real reason to turn on the TV. No good will come of it.


Cheers!
mouse

Busy Bee Day

Dear Friends and Family,

Lots to do today. Let's see if I can wrap my head around it all. That'll help me get motivated.

1. get ready for day
2. eat breakfast
3. throw out two things in the house I am not in love with
4. empty dishwasher
5. clean cups
6. organize the house
7. work on website
8. eat lunch
9. order chopsticks for P
10. order books for P
11. check bills
12. one thing from my to do list

Wow. No wonder I'm having trouble wrapping my head around it all. My list today is huge. Well. I guess I should get started since it's not going to go away or get done otherwise.


Cheers!
mouse

03.16.15: Too Much to Celebrate

Dear Friends and Family,

With Maple Syrup festivals and Pi Day and St. Patrick's Day and the spring weather, it almost seemed like celebration overload for the weekend.

Saturday, we went out to the suburbs to learn about maple syrup. We got to see sap coming out of a tree. We got to taste the sap. We tried tapping a tree. We saw the syrup being boiled down. We saw how pioneers lived. We saw how Native Americans lived. We ate pancakes and maple syrup.

We came home and napped to prepare for the evening.

Saturday evening, we went over to a friend's house to celebrate Pi Day. As always, we had so much fun at their house. it was 11 o'clock when I realized we should probably get P into bed. We got home a little after midnight and went to bed close to one.

Sunday morning came quickly. P and I had a brunch party at American Girl. P loved it, but was good about leaving her borrowed doll, Claire Crouk, at the door when she left.

We came home and napped again to prepare for the afternoon.

Sunday afternoon, we went to a robotics birthday party. It was a great chance to catch up with the parents and to watch the kids make robots. There was a point in the party when the gym was open and twenty kids were playing with their robots on the gym floor. Some were chasing them. So had them corralled with friends using their legs as gates. Some were stooped over them adjusting them. It was pure magic.

And, now, it's Monday. Perhaps we'll celebrate St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. Or, perhaps we'll let to the Irish soda bread we bought be the extent of our celebrations.


Cheers!
mouse

Mouse Lake House Thoughts - Entryway

Dear Friends and Family,

I know I'm about 20 years late to the party, but in looking for inspiration for our front entryway, I found myself on a feng shui website. And, I was surprised (or not surprised) to learn that we're not far from where we need to be.

If I had the time and the inclination, I would:

1. paint the entry way a more neutral color, something closer to taupe because I'm not a big fan of the clay orange the former owners used.
2. replace the coat hooks with a simpler wood set of coat hooks. I liked the ones we have now when we put them up, but now I feel like they'd be better used in P's room to hang her stuff.
3. lower the print we have on the wall. It's really too high up on the wall.
4. add a focal point to anchor the table. It used to be bubbles because P likes to blow bubbles on the front steps, but I feel like I'd like something more decorative. If I were to go with the feng shui recommendations, it'd be something plantlike, but not necessarily alive - something with some green.
5. replace the table with something a hair narrower so it sat fully behind the door instead of protruding an inch or so into the entryway.
6. replace the front door with something a little nicer than the generic metal door that the builder put in. I'd love something that looked like wood.

There's my list.


Cheers!
mouse

Program Management Time

Dear Friends and Family,

It's mid-March and I have been working on and off on my work website since the beginning of the year. If I'm going to be honest with myself, days can go by where I don't make much progress. This wouldn't happen at work. But, at home, when there's a lot of distractions, it does happen.

And, to the degree that I'm partially retired, I'm okay with letting life get in the way. I like our home beginning organized. I like not feeling like I'm treading water with absolute chaos just around the corner. I like looking at a to do list that is under control. I like having time for walks now that the days are nice.

But, at the same time, the program manager in me feels like I need to better scope out the website. I think I'll put together a plan for April 15th to go live come hell or high water, or frankly both. Then, I can continue to modify it and work on it and improve it. But, I'll be live. That'll be my plan for today. I'll put together a plan for the next four weeks to get from here to there. I am confident I can do it.

I can do anything I set my heart and mind to. It's usually a matter of setting my heart and mind to it.


Cheers!
mouse

Bonus Deployment

Dear Friends and Family,

Last Friday, Mr. mouse got his bonus. And, after some back and forth we agreed how we would deploy it. 56% of it went into our savings account towards our retirement. Normally, we try to put 90% of it towards retirement savings. But, we wanted to pay off a loan we had made to ourselves from our short term savings account, so we used 34% of it to effectively pay ourselves off. And, that left 10% of it for a vacation. That was our reward to ourselves for the months in 2014 when we were living on a super tight budget. So, I guess, in a way, we did save 90% of it, just in two separate accounts.

And, that, feels so good. I feel like, as long as we continue to live within our means, we won't find ourselves in the dire straights we found ourselves in last summer. And, truth be told, they were dire only because I wanted to dig myself out quickly. There wasn't ever any real danger of expenses not being met. It was more of the little conveniences that go away when each dollar counts. For example, parking was a huge deal - $8 here, $12 there, and before you knew it you could spend $100 on parking, in a month, easily.

In a way, living on super tight budget is easy. There's less to think about, less to worry about. Some decisions get made for you. What's for dinner tonight? Easy. We're eating whatever's in the fridge because we're not going shopping tonight and there's no money to go out. What's the plan for the weekend? Easy. We're playing with the toys we have because we're not buying new ones and there's no money to go out. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Now, for some people, it may sound like tragedy to live in a world of no. But, I'll tell you, I enjoyed it once I got used to it. By not going out, we had some of the best weekends with P. We built crazy concoctions out of Lego. We went exploring in her rocket ship to far worlds like Mars and Trophy Planet. We learned about science through cooking. P learned how to help with folding laundry.

So, now, even if we could go off of our budget, I've decided to keep us on a budget. It won't be as restrictive as the one we were on. But, we'll still have plenty of opportunity to make our own fun.


Cheers!
mouse

03.09.15: Fresh Off the Boat: 1995 or 2015?

Dear Friends and Family,

Our weekend was fun. We had a play date on Saturday at our friends house. Then, Sunday, P went to see a play with Mr. mouse and I got a chance to do some paper organization.

But, that's not what I want to write about. Living in a major metropolitan area in 2015, I thought we had moved beyond blatant racism to the more insidious racism that is so much harder to prove like white privilege. But, I've come to realize we haven't moved completely into a brave new world which makes me realize if it's like this for me, it's gotta be a whole lot worse for other minorities.

So, what happened? A couple of weeks ago some crazy jumped out of her car and threatened Mr. mouse with her snow scraper and called him a Chink because he got mad at her for driving into a crosswalk full of pedestrians. She also threatened him with the cops, apparently her dad and her brother are part of Chicago's finest. If she was 1,000 years old, it'd be one thing. But, the fact that she was in her mid-twenties adds an entirely different context to the whole incident.

Then, last week, I was at an airport, in Seattle. And, going through security, the TSA agent decided it was necessary to speak to me in very simplified English, slowly and loudly, in a very derogatory tone. I remember this happening in 1995 on flights when people assumed I was a tourist from Asia. But, come on. It's 2015. I've been speaking English for 40+ years. I dress like a sloppy American, not like an Asian tourist. There's no need to presume I can't speak English. It's insulting.

Then, last night, we went out for dinner. We had reservations. There were tons of open tables at 6 o'clock. They walked us past the main dining room to the very last table right by the doorway to the kitchen. Not knowing better, P climbed in and Mr. mouse was ready to climb in. And, I said, no. I didn't want the worst table on the floor when there were clearly better tables free. Mr. mouse asked me if I was willing to wait. I was. Frankly, I would have walked at that point, but I didn't want to make a scene. Not surprisingly, they were able to find us a perfectly acceptable table because when they pulled their collective head out of the fog they realized they had walked past a dozen tables before getting to the table by the service door. I wasn't sure if this whole situation happened because we had a small child with us or because we are Asian. Well, half way through dinner, they sat several families with children throughout the restaurant. I felt that answered my question - wouldn't want those fresh off the boat people where anyone can see them, would we?

And, now, I'm just disappointed in people. In 2015, we still haven't figured this out. And, like I said, if it's like this for me, what must it be like for others? I feel like we've come so far, but there is so much more road that needs to be traveled before we reach a point where race truly doesn't matter. I will have to figure out how to help P navigate a world that still sees black and white.


Cheers!
mouse

Friday Full of Tasks

Dear Friends and Family,

I didn't get as much done on Thursday as I thought I would, partly because I wasn't as efficient as I could have been. But, it does mean that the overflow as piled up on to a busier than expected Friday.

Then, I had a bad dream. And, Mr. mouse didn't wake me when the alarm clock rang because he thought I was awake. And, that only makes the day more hectic.

Well, nothing I can do at this point besides move on. Guess I go wake P now.


Cheers!
mouse

Home Again

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm home again. My flight out to the Emerald City was delayed enough to make my connection an adventure. But, I made it and I felt like a kid on holiday when I walked out of the airport. It was my first trip away from Mr. mouse and P since a business trip I took when P was a little over a year old. Yes, it had been that long.

We went for coffee and then for pizza and then for a long walk. Just walking in the sun watching the glimmers on the water was enough to make me feel like a new person. There's something about seeing water. It's soothes my soul.

We went for ice cream and then went home to see the kids. We made ribs for dinner. On a whim we made peach cobbler for dessert. While dinner was cooking, we took the kids to swim class. Then, before we knew it, it was time for bed.

Since I got up at 2 in the morning and it was close to midnight my time, I slept like a rock. Well, I did, but I didn't because I knew I had an early morning flight to catch and I didn't want to oversleep.

Wednesday morning, the alarm rang at 3:50 and I got ready in time to go the airport for a 6 AM flight home. But, the flight was full and instead I found myself with a bonus day with my friends. We bought bagels. We walked the kids to school. We explored the University campus to see what kids nowadays are doing in school. My flight got delayed. We went out for noodles and then I went to see my friend's office which has a great view of downtown. We went to the airport and found a spot at the club to sit and talk.

And, before I knew it, it was flight time. My friend got home before the traffic got horrendous and I lucked out and got a window seat with an empty middle seat. I watched some TV and ate a snack on the way home. Mr. mouse picked me up and P was asleep in the back with her furry crocs on her feet and socks on her hands.

When I saw her I realized I was home again and my trip was over. While it was therapeutic to spend the time away from home it was also nice to be home again.


Cheers!
mouse

03.03.15: Brains. Brains for Breakfast.

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Tuesday morning or rather it's really Monday night even with my generous definition of morning that starts at 4 AM.

Our weekend was fun. Saturday, we went to see a play and then had friends over. Sunday, we went to mass and then dim sum and then P played the afternoon with our friend visiting to see the opera. Monday, I caught up on to dos and finished off season five of Downton Abbey. And, now, I'm packed and off to a quick trip to see Mr. mouse's best friend. I'll be back on Wednesday if everything goes to plan.

Until then, P will be partying with Mr. mouse.


Cheers!
mouse

Friday!

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Friday and I'm feeling good, not great, but good. What would make me feel great? That's a good question.

If I spent 15 minutes getting the house in order. I went to sleep last night without doing that.

If I spent 10 minutes and clipped my nails. They're a hot mess. I wish I had the time to go for a manicure, but realistically I don't.

If I got a couple of things knocked off of the to do list so that I'm set up for success next week.

If I ate better yesterday. I ate too much salt yesterday. And, I ate too much overall. I need to put together an eating plan. If I spent 30 minutes really thinking about an eating plan.

That's a couple of hours work. I guess I could try to get there from here.


Cheers!
mouse

Retirement Reviews

Dear Friends and Family,

I must be the only person in all of America who looks forward to reviewing my retirement accounts. On the last trading day of every month I update a file I have been maintaining since January of 2010 with all of the information on how our retirement accounts are performing. And then the file spits out how much money we would have per month for retirement if we retired right now.

Before I had this file we would meet quarterly with our investment adviser and we would look at our portfolio together. Once a year we'd get an update on our overall retirement plan scenarios. It was useful, but I never really understood the math in the different scenarios. I wanted different assumptions and the cookie cutter plans couldn't really accommodate my wants so my adviser would jury rig it to make it work, but it never felt right.

With my own sheet, I can type in whatever assumptions I want about social security, college, lifespan, cost of living adjustments, etc. to get to an outcome I feel comfortable with. It might mean we're saving more than we need to, but I'd rather have money left over than be short because expenses went up faster than people thought they would.

Well, tomorrow is our retirement review. So, I've got my fingers crossed that nothing bounces the market around too much between now and tomorrow afternoon. I know it's only a snapshot in time, but it's still nice to record a happy snapshot.


Cheers!
mouse

Catch Up Day

Dear Friends and Family,

P, the kid who almost never gets sick, got sick yesterday. Actually, she got sick Monday night and was sick yesterday. She's still out of sorts today, but she wants to go to school so we're letting her make the call on it. Hopefully she makes it through the day in one piece.

For me, it's a catch up day. My mom left yesterday afternoon. And, I've got a couple of things I'd like to get crossed off of my list. Time to get started on the day.


Cheers!
mouse

02.23.15: End of February

Dear Friends and Family,

I won't focus on Saturday night because Saturday night did not go well. Instead, I'll focus on Sunday because Sunday was a lot of fun. We went to church on Sunday morning and heard an inspirational talk about life in general. In essence, the speaker told us that life will be full of challenges and that we need to be brave enough to face those challenges. After Saturday, I certainly did feel like life was full of challenges and I didn't even know where to begin.

But, in a zen moment, I decided to empty my mind and see if I could be more mindful. And, that's when I realized that I need to be strong. I need to be honest about who I am and stand up for what I believe in. And, that made me feel better.

We went to lunch after church and P had an abysmal lunch. She's had a terrible run with eating lately - easily distracted, picky about her food, annoyed with noise, you name it, she's used it as an excuse. So, meal times have been torture for us. And, instead of fighting it anymore, we decided to take away dress up day until the situation improves. This morning, we put together a chart and she needs to earn 10 stickers in the next 13 meals to earn dress up day back. So far she's earned one sticker. Hooray!

After our abysmal lunch and after lunch meltdown we went to a friend's birthday party. It was P's first time ice skating and we were ready for a meltdown, but she did surprisingly well and enjoyed herself. I guess we'll have to go again some time.

I napped the rest of the day, but P played with my mom and enjoyed the afternoon. And now it's Monday. Time to get some work done.


Cheers!
mouse

Nice Dream

Dear Friends and Family,

Wednesday night I had a nice dream. I had a dream about an ex-boyfriend - the one I was dating when I met Mr. mouse. I always felt a little bad that things did not work out between the two of us. Or rather, I don't feel badly that things didn't work out between the two of us, but I do feel badly about how it ended.

In my dream, I ran into him and he was working in scientific research and had just announced a major breakthrough in the field he was studying. He was married with children. He was doing well. He was happy. We had a nice conversation. And, he forgave me for the mess I made of our lives 20 years ago.

I woke up feeling warm and happy. It was a nice dream.


Cheers!
mouse

Grandma's Here! Grandma's Here! Grandma's Here!

Dear Friends and Family,

There's nothing like having Grandma visit. For P, it's a new playmate - someone who lets her direct the play and is willing to explore P's favorite topics with her. Yesterday, P and my mom played fashion show. P put on dress up outfit after dress up outfit and giggled with my mom. They stayed up in P's room and chatted about the things little girls need to tell their grandma.

Then, we had dinner and dessert and P went to bed. It's freezing cold today. And we have swim this afternoon. Wish us luck.


Cheers!
mouse

Grandma's Coming! Grandma's Coming! Grandma's Coming!

Dear Friends and Family,

If you visited inside P's head today, that's what you would hear. She had close to twelve hours of sleep last night. And, she's eating dinner for breakfast this morning. And, she's counting down the hours until my mom arrives later today.

It's so endearing watching our five year old. She's sharp as a tack and you can see her logic coming through. She's independent enough to open and close her own car door. Yet, things are still new and fascinating for her. Like when we fold laundry, she loves sorting the clothes and folding the napkins. Or when the soap dispenser stops working, she loves working through testing process with Mr. mouse or me. Or when she's counting down the hours until grandma is coming and she smiles every time she realizes it's today.

Our little P.


Cheers!
mouse

02.16.15: P and the Pool

Dear Friends and Family,

If P could, she would move into a Sheraton hotel and spend her days swimming until bed time. We were traveling this weekend and that is effectively what she did. I split my time between the hot tub and the pool, but P spent her time in the pool swimming, racing, and trying to reach the bottom. Her lips get thin and blue, her eyes get ringed with goggle lines and her fingers prune up like raisins, but I've rarely seen her happier.

And, now, it's back to another week. My mom is coming later this week. P is super excited.


Cheers!
mouse

Scurrying

Dear Friends and Family,

Good morning. I've got a meeting this morning with my accountant. So, I need to go shower. Sorry. Have a good day.


Cheers!
mouse