January 2026 (Covid, shoulder injury, Lucas sports class, Art of Manga, Smallwood Memorial, Isaac's eating)

What? We're actually in the same year now? Hopefully I can do better with catching up again. I've had less free time than expected this summer with different happenings and projects that I can hopefully write about soon. 

The beginning of the year was a Covid recovery blur. After the body aches wore off, I noticed my shoulder was still hurting. That turned out to be a rotator cuff injury for which I'm still doing physical therapy. My cough and fatigue continued for some time, but I was well enough to take Isaac to and from school and take Naomi back to school. Manny and I took her out for hotpot before she returned to school. She had an interview for a job while recovering herself. 

Thankfully once we were back to Lucas's homeschool sports class mid-January, I was well enough to go. We hired a professional coach and trainer (also a homeschooler) to conduct PE exercises and games for the group as a whole. Generally our attendance is now during the winter season, and we also have to switch to a different park because the field at our usual park is off limits. So, we go to an open public track in a different city and use the track and surrounding areas for activities. 

There ended up being two weeks the coach could not come because he had gone on vacation (planned) but was in Mexico and stuck in a cartel firestorm down there (unplanned). Thank God they were able to fly home safely. Another family and I were able to conduct kickball and a race. I brought snacks and drinks and chocolates as prizes for the winners. It was kind of different to me this year that other parents didn't volunteer to bring anything even when the suggestion was thrown out. In general, the dynamics of the homeschool groups seem to have changed over the years in terms of the sharing of meals and lives. I feel that there is a less of a sense of community, but I hope to cultivate that a bit more this coming year, my last, with the group.

Naomi the extrovert was happy to get back to socializing and going out with her friends and classmates. I the introvert went to a Japanese manga museum exhibit at de Young Museum by myself and watched Rev. Richard Smallwood's funeral service online. Smallwood's gospel music has had a huge impact on me over the years. 

Lastly, in January we started with a new treatment program to help Isaac with his eating issues. This was pretty disruptive to his school schedule, but it has been a good program, and he's worked hard for it. At one point I was attending five or six appointments a week for it, including parent-only meetings, but it eased up over time. Isaac was diagnosed last year with a food avoidance disorder, and it's been quite a journey. Every meal, even every snack, is a challenge. I think he'd be happy to never have to eat again, but that is part of what the program addresses. I'm very thankful that we found something that works. He's had so many ailments and maladies, my hope is that addressing this will help him with a health turnaround overall.

Shuffle warmup at the track

Coach sleeping on Pluto

Double the cute

Making my October tart in January instead per request

At Naomi's favorite hotpot place

We opted for the barbecue, too

Manny talked to Naomi about her life

Gachapons (like toy dispenser machines) outside the exhibit

My favorite manga artist is Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha)

The exhibit was impressive, spanning centuries of early manga style scrolls to present day

Manga printing exhibit

Coach J with the kids about to do some cross-training

Total Praise and Center of My Joy are two of my favorite songs of all time.

December 2025 part 2 (Christmas With Friends and Family, Good Food, Covid)

We opened our presents on Christmas morning at Grandma's as we have for 27 years. Nowadays I truly appreciate wishlists. We sometimes will add a gift that's not on the list for some element of surprise. Manny has been coming up with a lot of those lately. He leans practical, which is great. I will usually add a personalized gift if I can't figure out a practical one. We had a photo ornament made for Grandma. We got my father-in-law Grandpa printed t-shirts, a chef one and a veteran one. The tees have become a tradition, too, though the ideas and selection are becoming more limited with time. I won't go through all the gifts here, just mentioning the general process lol. The grandparents are always super thoughtful and generous. Even the cats got presents!

Naomi started not feeling well the day after Christmas. We figured it was the flu since those were her symptoms. So she tried her best to get dressed to see my parents and brother, but she was just too sick, and we made the call to let her rest at Manny's sister's. My dad continues to have health struggles, so he can't really go in long car rides anymore. So it was just Manny, my mom, me, and the boys visiting my brother and taking him out to eat. We went to a dim sum restaurant. My friend came out to visit with his family and had to meet us outside the restaurant. I feel bad that we have to meet up in passing like this these days. I'd love to figure out another way. Similarly, when we went to Costco to pick up some things for my brother, and my friend and her family drove out for an hour to meet up with us there. It was an odd day, but I truly appreciate their kindness and effort to visit with me since I was limited with getting around. 

I also appreciate how every year Manny has to drive us around for 6-8 hours so we can visit my mom and brother and get things they need. I wish there was more for the kids to do sometimes. Asian family reunions usually just mean gathering to eat. Naomi often feels too sick from all the driving to eat well. Isaac has never really been able to eat much of the food. Lucas doesn't eat as much of what is common to celebratory meals, such as the seafood. And then there is having to be around their uncle (my older brother) which can feel uncomfortable and honestly a little heartbreaking, all while having to listen to my side of the family speak in a language they don't really understand for much of the day. But they're troopers and polite to my mom and never complain out loud. Puo-Puo (their grandmother, my mom) also whipped up a wonderful dinner for us. I packed some to take back to Naomi.

Grandpa made some fantastic tamales from scratch and sent them home with us, even cheese tamales for Isaac. He also made cinnamon rolls. You can always taste the love in his cooking. The drive home was fine, but Naomi was pale and sickly. I can't remember if she had to wear a mask, too, but it was hard for her. Thank God despite being in the car without ventilation for so long, Manny and the boys were spared.

I started not feeling too well the day after, when I went to pick up the cats from the boarding place. My shoulder had been hurting since bowling, but now both arms started hurting while I was driving, and I started having a headache. I also had to drive Isaac to pick up his tennis racket we just had restrung. And I was complaining and in a rush to get home because I was now in a lot of pain and fatigued.

I started feeling sweaty and it worsened as the evening progressed. Naomi and I had sat close together for a while watching a movie at my in-laws'. So I went to get a Covid test, and sure enough, it was positive. I'd never had Covid before, at least not as far as I know. Even when I got back from Disneyland years ago and Manny was coughing all night (we didn't know he had Covid yet), I did not get it. We didn't catch it the second time he had it, either. Naomi also tested positive. So our guess was we caught it at the party. Later on, Grandma and Grandpa tested positive, as did others. We were in close quarters and talking a lot during the party, so that was a good setup to get it. Thankfully Manny and the boys didn't get it or at least never showed any symptoms.

I have asthma, and whatever strain of Covid this was, it hit me hard. The doctor put me on Paxlovid which is supposed to make you feel better faster, and after five days I did feel somewhat better, but once the Paxlovid was done, it felt like a second wave hit me. My in-laws seemed to fare better with it. I couldn't really breathe well and coughed up a lung. I could barely move. It kind of threw a wrench in Manny's plans perhaps, because he still had a few days off work, but now we couldn't go out anywhere as a family. He helped me out the first day or two, got my medication, and cleaned and organized a ton, and I'm thankful for that. I still had to take care of Naomi a little, which was rough. Moms still have to mom even when we're not well, or at least I do. My friend from church dropped off some bone broth which was so helpful. I wore gloves and masks all day and night for 10 days or so and continuously disinfected around me and kept everyone distanced from me as much as possible. Manny told me to go ahead and order food which helped me out a lot as well. I didn't want to contaminate anyone's food. 

After a couple of days back, Manny wanted to make some of the tamales, and he asked me how. I had made them in our pressure cooker before and thought that would be faster. Boy, was I wrong. It ended up making them too wet, and it took really long to get them to cook through. Manny was pretty hangry. He hadn't eaten all day (fasting) and had been cleaning and organizing. I had a massive headache, pretty sure the worst headache I have had in my life, and his being upset like that made me feel sorry for myself. But I prayed and regrouped, put on the gloves and fixed it. It's a blur now what I did--I think I continued steaming them without the lid on in the pressure cooker and then moved them and baked them for a little bit. I had a mask on but held my breath as much as I could to keep from coughing. Thankfully the tamales turned out fine. We made half the batch and then the rest at a later date. 

Manny went out with his coworker the next day and a couple of days later. I was glad he could at least do something with his time off. I was able to manage and take care of myself and the kids, but also they are older now, so that made it a lot easier since they could do more themselves. Also, the worst of it happened while my kids were out of school, so I didn't have to drive Isaac to and from school, for example, until the next week, so the timing was very good for me to get some rest. I did a lot of laptop work like budgeting stuff, watched a lot of the Korean drama Bon Appetit Your Majesty, and started a chronological Bible plan with a friend. Beyond that I'm not quite sure what was going on day to day. A lot of coughing and headaches. I did lose some weight (which all came back when I got better) and also had more time to pray for people, so that was kind of nice.

Photo booth. Who gave Isaac a Corona? lol

Grandpa's cinnamon rolls

Dinner at Puo-Puo's. We took photos with Gong-Gong (my dad), but I don't have them on my phone.

At the Chinese herbal store with my mom. The tariffs sent the prices sky high, so we didn't get a lot.

Dim sum lunch with Puo-Puo and Jiou-Jiou

With T. and family outside the restaurant

With L. and family outside Costco

Grandpa's prime rib for Christmas dinner

Grandma got a red purse from Santa.

Chef Grandpa on one shirt, and the other one says, "I'm a Grandpa and a veteran. Nothing scares me"

Huggy sloth for calming the senses

I don't remember what this is, but he looks happy.

Naomi has been wanting this purse. She uses it daily.

Isaac got his computer case! He's also wearing a shirt Aunt Dolly got him previously.

Christmas breakfast

Coach excited to see us. Pluto (the heap in the back) was fine with staying.

After all these years, I finally got it.

July (Lucas's Birthday, Indoor Skydiving, MJ the Musical, Superman, Colonoscopy, Craft Fair, Outings, Superman, Hello Kitty)

We've been really busy again, so here's July update in December. For Lucas's birthday, I was looking for something new to do with his siblings, and I saw a Groupon for indoor skydiving and thought, would he be up for that? But he said he would try it, so I went ahead and booked it for a weekday as that was cheaper as well. That meant Manny could not go, but we celebrated with him at home on Lucas's birthday. I sometimes miss the old pool parties we used to do for Lucas's birthdays, when we could just invite family and kids from his classes and they would come. I did ask if he wanted to invite anyone, but he just wanted to go with his siblings. Naomi opted for the stationary skydiving, but the boys did the extra high-flying one and spun I think 30 ft up. You can see it in the video below. They enjoyed it.

I also took the boys to see Superman that same day. Kind of funny to fly around and then watch Superman. The only showing we could go to in the afternoon also was the only one with enough adjacent seats available for us. I found out why once we got there. It was an experience showing, way too loud for me and Lucas to where our seats were shaking from the sound. Isaac didn't mind it. These days I like it quieter with subtitles. The movie had some great scenes, especially with Krypto the dog, but I didn't like the backstory change (or retcon as it's called). Manny saw it later and didn't like it. We grew up with the story of Kal-El/Clark's parents that we enjoyed. But it was still nice to see a movie again. 

I joined this homeschool teen group that had planned social gatherings for the kids, so we went to our first event, a craft fair, and while Lucas did have a nice conversation with another boy, no real connection was made, I guess. Then soon after, due to low turnout, the group was discontinued and merged back into the general group. It's too bad, but at least Lucas still has other things he's participating in, and I'm proud of him for getting out there and trying. The craft fair was huge, and it was so loud and crowded in there, which was hard for both of us. 

Manny got tickets for us to take Lucas to see MJ: the Musical. I thought it was a good idea since that would be a musical where he knew some of the background and was familiar with the characters and the song. Lucas didn't say anything other than it was good, but I think he was really happy he went and brought it up with his homeroom teacher at school.

Manny planned a family outing to Red Robin as well, but the one we usually went to closed. There is still another one open, but it's not as nice. We live in an area with high rental costs, and many restaurants around us did not recover after the lockdowns and now with rising food costs. It's a shame. However, we do also get new places as well, like the Hello Kitty Cafe that opened. I went on opening day 45 minutes before opening, but the line was already so long, and I had to leave before I got to the front for a planned lunch with Naomi. I met someone in line who'd driven an hour to come to the opening, and she and I struck up a nice conversation with her and we exchanged numbers. She volunteered to buy something for me and hold it (some of the items were only available that day), but I didn't want her to have to stay and wait for me, so I declined. I will go back hopefully around my birthday with Naomi for their tea option.

Naomi went to a concert on her own, a Japanese singer. I was there to drop her off and pick her up, and she met a couple of other girls and just hung out with them. She didn't want me to go with her, because while I love Japanese music, I'm not a huge fan of the scream rock stuff, and she'd have to be concerned about it being loud or unenjoyable for me. I'm the same way about a lot of things. I'd rather go along than feel like I dragged someone to something. But I made sure to be in the area 40 minutes early for pickup and have a clear designated spot. How did our rides do this back in the days without smartphones? I guess we would just say we would be at a certain spot at a certain time and be there. And then use a payphone otherwise and hope the person's line wasn't busy or that they had call waiting! 

My friend O. and I tried a new (to me) restaurant, Left Bank, and they happened to be decorated for Bastille Day, so that was kind of fun. My fish was really good. I also took my young friend A. from church, who was in between jobs at the time, out for hotpot. All that good eating was done by the end of July, though, when it was time for my colonoscopy. My first ever. Because there is a lot of cancer in my family, including my dad having it twice, and my maternal grandmother passing away young from it, they said I should go in a little younger. Now they have lowered the age to 45 I think. Colorectal cancer used to be an older person's disease, but now it's become alarmingly more common in young adults. 

I have a friend who is a gastroenterologist and I did not take advantage of that connection and went with the colon prep that they prescribed. She told me it was one of the worst ones of all. I think I figured that out after the first 30 minutes. I had to drink 4 liters over two sittings, and it was a lot. It helped for me to chase down the awful flavor with some frost (cherry-flavored) Gatorade. It's white, which is okay. You can't have anything that is red, blue, or purple and should just try to stick to clear liquids up until you have to stop consuming liquid as well. I'm glad Manny was able to pick me up. I was so out of it.

I don't remember much about that day. I remember Manny getting me a salad from Chik-Fil-A. And then I was saying weird stuff to Naomi, like how cute the little car was in the Grubhub app and how she shouldn't go to London because they don't speak English there (yeah no English in England). I was just goofy. My doctor friend said it shouldn't affect me much, but I was out of it that day and the next. It's the anesthesia, which I generally do not take well to, as well as painkillers unfortunately. I am allergic to vicodin and don't do well with acetominophen, but also something I was giving for Naomi's birth which was not disclosed to me for some reason). I can take ibuprofen. 

Waiting for the doors to open at MJ: the Musical

They had earplugs, which Lucas and I wore. No photos allowed in the theater.

We miss our old Red Robin, but at least there's still another one within driving distance.

HK makes an appearance. The line was too long for me to get in before I had to leave.

Fourth of July food. It's been a long, long time since I made a trifle!

This man had a pet golden duck that just followed him everywhere.

Hotpot with A. in the middle of summer!

Naomi at the Ado concert

Bastille Day with O.

Naomi

Isaac

Lucas

They look so excited. 😄 

Craft fair

Lucas learning how to screenprint

Happy birthday, Lucas!

Grandma always sends a sweet card with a generous gift!

Tip: If you can get your doctor to prescribe something else, please do it. Specifically ask for Suprep, Plenvu, Clenpiq, or Suflav if your insurance covers any of them.

My first meal after the colonoscopy. Thank you to Manny.

Window cats