Sharing with Strangers

Sitting here typing, I can't help but notice my reflection on the laptop screen. You're so vain. That's right. So what if I am? I had a dermatologist remove a colorless mole yesterday, and a small bandage is shields the tiny wound on my right cheek.* Quinn points at it and claps. Olive tells me she is sad that I have an owie. And my husband? He points out that I now bear resemblance to Nelly. Thanks a lot, husband.

I suppose the timing could have been worse. Just last week, le huz and I flew to Hawaii with the munchkins to party with my parents. The "grands" live in Taiwan, so they thought it'd be a treat to spend quality time with my California girls in their dream environment - by the pool and on the beach in Maui.

Not to shabby.

The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. 

Bliss happens.

As you can imagine, there were many family photo ops while chillin' on this little slice of heaven. I was bandage-free in all of them. Yay! Could you imagine the bandaid tan? But my favorite shots from the trip are these two of our littlest one, living it up.

Unlike my parents, Quinn is a vacationing natural. Eat. Swim. Sleep. Repeat. Quinn got the memo. Check out her delectable sun-kissed legs, or as I like to call them, "brown pants." And that shot of her literally hanging out? That was snapped at 5am as I walked out of the bathroom. I let her grip on for dear life for a good minute so that I could get this shot because that's what any compassionate and responsible mother would do, right?

A four day getaway may seem short to most, but for us, it was the perfect duration. One can only soak in the kiddy pool for so long. Til next time, Aloha.** 

* My dermatologist thinks the mole is benign, but recommended that I remove it for testing. It's not as if I was attached to the darn thing anyway!
** I am fully aware that this blog entry is boring to the point of igniting yawns, but it's been a while since I've actually sat down to write. My mind is out-of-shape, and I'm desperately trying to warm it up. I'm like the chubby new student in a hip-hop dance class. Everyone sways left, and I sway right. UGH. I'll get my moves down soon. I promise.

I Hit Pause

Mother's Beach. Kennebunkport, Maine

It's been a while, but really, who's keeping track?

Quinn is no longer a baby. She is a kind, but mischievous toddler with an appetite mirroring that of our dog, Beans. The sweet scent of milk and powder on her skin has been replaced with that of sour sweat and drool. And the faux-hawk on her head? It's been replaced with an exquisite mullet. Quinn dances like a middle-aged woman (genetics kicking in), and needless to say, I am obsessed with her.

Olive, on the other hand, is now an exuberant threenager with serious aspirations of becoming a "boss princess." You go, girl. She recites lyrics from 2Pac's California Love (clean-version) and often returns home from preK "married" to boys at school. Whaaaat?!? Yup. My thoughts exactly. 

My munchkins are growing, learning, and bettering themselves everyday. But I haven't been doing the same. The kids and my relationship with le huz aside, I feel as if all other passion and purpose in my life has faded. My renovation business has been good, but not as inspiring and fulfilling as I hoped it would be. I'm a work-in-progress that hasn't been progressing. And life's too short to be sitting around, wasting space. So, after much thought, I've decided to take a breather from work to ignite my decades-long goal of writing and illustrate a children's book. Remember all my blabbering about being brave? Art Center in Pasadena offers an evening course on writing and illustrating children's books, and guess who just registered?! All fingers pointing at yours truly. Like it or not, I will leave the course with a dummy manuscript. I'm cheesing hard as I type this entry, and totally want to insert an emoji. I'm excited. Watch me whip, folks! Watch me Nae Nae! Which isn't to say I'm not scared. I am. I'm scared of failure. But as the Chinese proverb goes, "One cannot refuse to eat just because there is a chance of choking."

In that case...

via GIPHY