i like… YOU tooooo

I had a couple thoughts just as an addendum to my last post…

When Alex and I attended premarital classes at our church, one thing that stuck with me was the concept of loving your spouse being more important than loving your kids. Of course, that doesn’t mean neglecting your kids! The general idea is that by putting your relationship with your spouse first, loving your kids will naturally follow. Perhaps you end up loving your kids more just by loving your spouse first. I suppose another way of looking at it is your kids observe how much you two love each other and consequently feel safe and secure in their realm of family love.

I think our kids may still be too young for us to see the full truth in this concept. Nonetheless, I’ve seen glimpses of proof. Our home feels generally warmer when my husband and I are united on the same team, even if our toddler is acting up and trying our patience. Taking time for ourselves and going on date-nights helps us feel a little more relaxed and more rejuvenated to be good parents. In other words, we are better parents when we truly feel the love for each other. In loving my husband, I do feel more appreciative of his characteristics that are in our kids, and I’m always grateful for how these two boys are the result of our love for each other.

There were many times when, as a baby, our eldest son would fall asleep between us as we just talked to each other lying in bed. Trust me: he used to have a very difficult time falling asleep without being nursed! So I take this as an indication he felt calm and secure enough to relax. Also, when he catches us hugging or kissing, he likes to run over and do the same. In loving each other, I think my hubby and I are teaching our boys about love and respect, too.

So, by keeping our commitment to writing in the I Like book this year, I’d like to think we’re not only coming closer together as a couple, but also as parents and as a family.

i like… YOU

New Year’s has come and gone. As usual, I haven’t made any official resolutions, mostly out of laziness. Maybe I’m just being realistic. What’s the chance I’d actually keep them when my two little guys are so unpredictable and therefore make my daily life unpredictable?

Nonetheless, one thing I’ve committed to doing this year is keeping up with the gift my hubby got from “Santa” this year: the I Like book… for Couples

(I believe Santa’s elves were unable to manufacture this in his workshop, but picked it up from babysteals.com.)

The “like book” series started out as a writing tool for a parent to record what they appreciate about their kids and hence add a good dose of positivity to a child’s life. Likewise, the couples’ version was made to tell one’s significant other how wonderful they are.

It would probably be cheaper for us to write regularly in a blank notebook. There’s nothing much to the book other than a few quotes and simple cartoons to inspire loving thoughts. The rest of the book is simply blank lines. Yet, somehow, there’s something about the book that motivates one to actually get started.

I can’t even begin to express how much I still love my hubby after knowing him for over 17 years, being together for nearly 13 years, and celebrating nearly 4.5 years of wedded bliss. I would even go as far to say I am one-hundred percent certain our marriage is not in any danger. However, there’s no doubt that the stress of having two young kids under three has brought on more disagreements and regrettable outbursts than ever before. Maybe we lash out at each other just to stop ourselves from losing our tempers with our spirited older son, I don’t know. Sometimes, yes, it’s a little difficult to have that “loving feeling” that we had when it was just the two of us.

Taking a moment out of every day to think of just one thing “I like” about hubby gives me the opportunity to reflect on what still makes him extra special to me. Most of the time, more than just one thing comes to mind. Picking the best one to write down is usually the biggest challenge! It’s been quite touching to read some of the things he “likes” about me, too. I enjoy being reminded he doesn’t believe he made a total mistake and doesn’t think I’m completely neurotic!

Some days, we try to be cute and funny. Other days are more serious and soul-stirring. Perhaps we could have just commited to telling each other “I love you” every day, but having the book definitely prevents us from skipping days. It also give us a written record to look back on and fall in love all over again. i like this book. Highly recommended!

But maybe after this year, if we choose to continue, we’ll just buy a blank notebook instead…

being dezzie – reloaded

Wow, it’s been a long time since I last blogged on “Being Dezzie”. In the few years since my last post, my life has changed quite significantly. I went from the “simplicity” of being wife and nurse to… *drumroll*… wife, nurse, and mommy of two amazing little boys (one two-years-old and another just barely three-and-a-half-weeks-old). On paper, the change doesn’t seem to be very dramatic; it’s  just one extra word, “mommy”. In reality, my life couldn’t be more different — more enriched and all for the better, of course!

So, what’s driven me to revive this blog? First of all, I do miss writing. Over the last 3 or so years, the only writing I’ve done is the endless documentation on my patients’ care at the hospital. My colleagues might be shocked to hear that I really don’t mind charting as much as the rest of them (but then again, it’s not something one openly advertises!). I do enjoy putting things down in writing, both in the physical act and in the creativity of wording. Of course, not a whole lot of creativity goes into “factual” documentation. I want to write freely just for the sake of writing and expressing my random thoughts. 

The biggest driving force to reviving this blog is my desire to reflect on all the wonders of being the mommy of my boys, especially now that our youngest is just beginning his existence. However, I don’t plan to be blogging about parenthood on this site. I recently started a new blog specifically dedicated to that and, in the interest of my family’s privacy, I’m keeping that blog as separate as possible. (If you’re interested, feel free to ask for the link!) Again, how does that relate to reviving this blog? I guess I just figure that once I get the writing juices flowing, I’m going to be wanting to write about more than just being a mommy. After all, I’m not just a mommy; I’m still a person, I’m still “Dezzie”. Therefore, this will be a place for me to write about anything and everything else, and maybe sometimes nothing in particular, too.

 

So…. yes, we’ll see where this new blog life goes… Yippee?

ramen-licious

Nearly 5 years ago, the first meal I had in Japan was a big steaming bowl of ramen in Nagoya. It didn’t seem like anything to write home about, but that was more due to residual motion sickness from the long flight, rather than the food itself! I wish I could’ve made a bigger dent in my bowl. Ever since then, Alex and I have scoured Vancouver for a place that comes close to par. The best we’ve found has been Kintaro (awesome handmade noodles), Motomachi Shokudo (Kintaro’s “healthier” counterpart), and Benkei (great tonkotsu/broth).

On Saturday morning, I was surfing the Net and came across blurbs about the new-ish Menya Japanese Noodle house. It didn’t take too much convincing for the hubby to agree to a ramen brunch. 

Tonkotsu miso ramen

We both ordered the tonkotsu miso ramen. Compared to our other three regular haunts, the amounts were somewhat lacking — though, at 7 bucks, the price is also lower. I would have appreciated a tad more menma (bamboo shoots), corn, and, oh yes, more noodles. In retrospect, perhaps I should’ve ordered extra noodles…? Apparently just $1.25 more.

The noodles and broth were quite good — much more “authentic” than the non-Japanese-owned Japanese-ramen places (that’s a mouthful!) scattered throughout Vancouver. (I’ve been served instant ramen noodles at a ”Japanese” restaurant and was charged almost seven bucks. Bleh.) Nonetheless, for me, it was slightly less… “exciting”. And not as much to my taste as my other favourites. I think this may have more to do with the geographic ancestry of the noodles, being “Hakata-style” and all. (As ignorant as I am, I have no idea what region the other three represent.)

Menu on the wall

Decor

“Rice ball”

Hmmm… what’s this?

Oh, it’s gyoza!!

Menu (English)

Alex ordered the ramen set (just $3.25 more) for us to share, which included a rice ball (aka. onigiri) and gyoza. I believe the gyoza could have been presented a little better, as it came all stuck together, looking like a burnt lump. Palate-wise? The rice ball and gyoza were decent supplements to the ramen.

I can pretty much guarantee we will return to Menya, mostly because it’s in a more convenient location nearer to home and we’ll always have a ramen craving to satisfy.  Unfortunately, for me, it’s just beyond walking distance for a work lunch break — I would’ve loved it to be a little closer! However, I still believe the best Japanese ramen restaurants are currently Downtown and well worth the extra drive or bus-ride.

Menya Japanese Noodle
401 West Broadway (@Yukon)
Vancouver, BC
Hours: Lunch 11:30am-3:00pm, Dinner 5:00-9:00pm

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Disclaimer: I am not a seasoned critic, and I do not claim to know food. I just eat. If I like, I like. If I don’t, you can’t say I didn’t try.

fish and rice

If forced to eat only one type of food the rest of my life, I suppose it would have to be sushi. Despite living in the Greater Vancouver region, I didn’t grow up on sushi. In fact, I don’t think I had a single piece until I was 16 or 17, and I hesitated at anything beyond a California roll until my early 20′s. Only after dining in the Tsukiji market during my trip to Japan did I fully acquire a taste for raw fish. Now I can’t get enough of it.

I’ve become snobbishly picky about my sushi over the years. True Japanese sushi must be bite-size and not fall apart when you pick it up with your chopsticks (or, more correctly, your hands). It must also be esthetically pleasing and use the freshest of fish. When you’ve had great (not just good) sushi, everything else will forever pale in comparison. Not to say I don’t ever grab a bite from the cookie-cutter restaurants constantly sprouting up around the Lower Mainland — you know, the ones that mass-produce their rolls, pre-package them, and/or stuff them huge until they’re about to explode. If I’m hungry, they help to hit the spot and save me a couple bucks. But it’s definitely nowhere near the same.

Sushi bar

Seating

Green salad

Spicy agedashi tofu

Ika karaage

Rolls

The hubby and I ate at our favorite Vancouver sushi restaurant yesterday. Toshi Sushi is a tiny Japanese-run hole-in-the-wall establishment known for long line-ups before it even opens, and often all the way until just before closing. For us, the wait is most often worth it.

Sure, service isn’t always perfect. In fact, there were issues with the bill each of the first two times I visited Toshi. (First, my friend M mysteriously got scammed $1000 from his bank account after using his debit card there. Then Al and I were blatantly overcharged the second time.) But we’ve never been treated anything but pleasantly, and we’ve never had another major incident since. Plus, what can one expect, considering the jam-packed crowds and the relatively low prices?

What keeps us coming back despite the bill issues and the occasional sub-par service is the food. I won’t go into much more detail other than… it’s downright yummy.  Our order varies with each visit, but we never tire of including the spicy agedashi tofu, ika karaage (looks more like squid fries with spicy mayo, but Mmmmmmmm….), negitoro roll (tuna and green onions), and house roll (the best!). Sometimes, particularly if we’re introducing someone to Toshi, we order the baked miso eggplant and the mango-smoked salmon roll. In addition Alex, my dear miso-king, always gets a bowl of soup. He is very picky about the quality of his miso, but will order it no matter where he goes. Consistently rating Toshi’s a B-plus to A-minus is actually a great compliment from him! (His A to A-plus range is what he lived on during his 9-month stay in Japan.)

We believe the value for the money is perfect. The food presentation is not extraordinary, but it’s quite apparent that the sushi chefs take great pride in their food. If it wasn’t so great, there wouldn’t be such long line-ups, and we wouldn’t keep going back.

Toshi Sushi
181 East 16th Avenue
Vancouver, BC

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Disclaimer: I am not a seasoned critic, and I do not claim to know food. I just eat. If I like, I like. If I don’t, you can’t say I didn’t try.