My Search for Bao

The quest began last Wednesday. The kids and I were at the train museum and thought we could do lunch with Neal. I suggested Dim Sum (kind of like appetizers in the Chinese food world) but Neal wasn't able to go making us hold off until later.


I guess I should back up and explain what Bao is. . . it is the most wonderful pastry you can imagine. It is a sweet bread with Chinese BBQ pork in the middle with a yummy sauce to keep it moist. It is unbelievable good. There are lost of variations such as pineapple, coconut, and curry beef. Click here to see what I am talking about
This picture is from her site

So. . .Wednesday came and went and no Bao. Then Saturday came and Neal was working again, we decide to get some Dim Sum for lunch with him. He looks up a place, we pick him up from work and park. We walk down a block to find the restaurant gone. We walk a few more blocks as Neal has seen another Chinese restaurant, we got there to find it closed and gutted. By then we were only two blocks from China town, there would of course be something there to eat. Guess how many Chinese restaurants there are in China town 0 as ZERO. That is right, well that is at least according to a store owner, but she and never ate at the restaurant that was right next to her (it was Thai and Vietnamese) now I don't know if I should have listened to her. We head back the way we came me carrying baby girl and Neal carrying baby boy. Oh and did I mention that it was raining this whole time and we didn't have an umbrella, and I had straightened my hair. Back all the blocks we had walked plus more to a place I knew was still in business, but of course it was closed today. So and hour later and still no lunch we trudge back to the car.

I would not give up though. You see I really really want Bao, and now that it is so elusive it makes me want it more (and I didn't think I was competitive). Into the GPS I type Dim Sum and we find Dim Sum house just a few miles away and off we go. It is a tiny little place but I have hope. Oh, and Neal has needed to use the restroom since we picked him up from work but he didn't tell me this until we got back in the car. This tiny place has no bathroom. He rushes over to subway to use their restroom while I scoop out the place.

I walk in and there is a mother and two girls with the most beautiful Baked Pork Bao I have seen. They are wonderful (the bao not the mother and girls, well I am sure they are too) I go up to order “8 baked pork bao please?” “No more baked bao” the cashier says “NO!” I scream at her “You have no idea what I have been through, my life is dangling by a thread here and I just want some BAO and I want it NOW!” Alright I didn't say that (which you should have guess since I made the last line rhyme) I said “Oh” She offered me some steamed bao which was good but now as good as the baked bao. There was one coconut bao left so I got that but I only got to take one bite as Cedric ripped it from my mouth and ate the whole thing while shaking his head no every time we asked him for a bite. He had to shake his head no because his mouth was never empty.

Now it is Saturday afternoon no Bao but now I want it more than ever, I decide I can make it. I look on the internet for some recipes. Do you know how long it takes to make Bao? WAY TOO LONG! It is all the BBQ pork's fault. You have to marinate it for a day, then cook it for 4-6 hours then cut it up and make the sauce and let it sit for another several hours. Well this is what I thought until I realized I could just by the BBQ pork from a Chinese restaurant or those Chinese places they have in Safeways. It is late now on Saturday and I have no energy to go to the store to buy some so I figure I could wait a bit for some Bao.

Sunday is all right but I still think of Bao. Then Monday comes it is a gray morning and I think Bao would make this day perfect. I decide I will go get some this morning for breakfast with the kids, Neal asks me to drop some off for him at work and he heads off without breakfast. We get in the car, and drive the 15 minutes to the store, it is closed, which I would have known had I looked at the menu I took that was sitting on the table right next to the door. I call Neal, you see there is this lady at work who brings in Bao for the team sometimes. I get him to go ask her, oh, she is not here today. Again the GPS, I continue to drive for another 20-30 minutes going to several different places but nothing is open. My heart is breaking, Neal is at work starving andCedric is in the back seat crying because he took his shoes and socks off and can't get them back on.

We go for breakfast burritos with Neal instead. SO NOT BAO.

I will make bao tonight. At least start it so we can have it for breakfast.

After I finish at the gym I head to the store, park, then realize the kiddos are so hungry there is no way I am getting in and out of that store without a melt down so we head home.

After baby boy is in bed I head back to the store to find them cleaning up the Chinese food spot. No BBQ pork for me again. Now that is where we are at. One week of major cravings and still no success. I think I may start crying soon.

To top this all off this is what else happened this week:

Freezer broke (and now smells like death)

Microwave stopped working (but I fixed it today)

Spent way to much on the car heater to get fixed

Garbage disposal clogged while going through the list of what shouldn't go down a disposal but ignoring it.

There is one upside. I keep all my vases under my sink so they caught a bunch of the water that overflowed when the disposal broke.

Try some Bao this week, but don't tell me you did until I get mine.

A Baby Blessing

We had a wonderful time with Neal's parents and brother Joel when they came to meet Lila. We went to the Jelly Belly Factory and had a good time at the parks, but the most notable event that happened was Baby Lila's blessing. My Dad also flew for the occasion and it was wonderful to have him here.

We decided to bless her at home instead of at church and it was wonderful.




(click on picture to enlarge)

After the blessing we went miniature golfing and it was way too hot and I melted to death, and we ate at The Squeeze Inn. Yummy!

Hey You Look Like

Today I looked into the mirror and I thought "Hey you look like this girl Alanna" and then I realized I was Alanna.  Is that weird or what?

This week

Some notable things happened this week

Lila rolled over today
It is our 6th wedding anniversary
Cedric learned how to do disco fingers this week
I joined a gym and am losing the baby weight
I wrenched my knee and hip playing tennis with Neal
Oh and the most amazing thing... I got my house straightened swept and vacumed and clothes washed all in the same day!

Finding Friends

A common topic I have been hearing about is friends; how do we make them, what do we expect of them, and how we are all wanting them?

Making friends can be a taunting task. I moved from Utah where we had lived for three years and it felt like I just made friends in the last few months of living there so when we moved to California I was determined to make friends faster. Having children is a good opening to making friends and being involved in church is the other opportunity for friends.

I decided to exploit both. I got on meetup.com and found a wonderful attachment parenting group that has helped me get out of the house twice a week with wonderful activities and places to visit. Neal and I went to all the church activities and I would try to introduce myself to the people I sat next to in Relief Society. Although the ward is very welcoming it still took longer to find friends there. After a lot of prayer I was called to Young Womens. I have loved this calling more than any I have had. Not only do I get to be with the young women I got insta-friends in my counselors. They are wonderful women who make me laugh and feel loved when ever I am around them.

I have heard several people saying that they need friends. That there is a need for more inclusion. If there are so many of us that are needing friends how are we missing each other? Here are some of the reasons I can think of:

The Stay at Home Mom sometimes feels like the Jailed at home mom. Don't get me wrong I LOVE being a SAHM but it can be difficult to get out of the house sometimes from having sick kids, cleaning the house, laundry, dinner, having to convince the children that they do want to go outside, that is would be nice to get dressed to go to the park, that getting into their car seat is not going to kill them.

Needed family time. Once Neal gets home I don't want to be running off right away. We have so little time together that I feel that I need to be spending all the time we have together. I also really like family time. I love listening to Neal and Cedric play. I enjoy reading books together with Neal and visiting about our day.

Work, when I worked I had some social outlet so other friends were as much of a necessity but it is still nice to have a few girls to go to movies with.

The fear of rejection. Will we ever get over this?

Lack of transportation, it is difficult not having a car to get to parks or other activities. When the ward boundaries are like they are in Utah it should not be too hard but here in California the boundaries are much larger and that can make it difficult to get everyone together if there is a lack of transportation

What do we do about this? How much is it our job to get out there an how much it is other people's job to include us?



To be continued

Lila June Longhurst

Welcome Lila June Longhurst

(birth story to come sometime)

(yes there are repeat pictures from the last movie)

Maternity

I like to think that I am a good pregnant person.  I don't get sick much, I don't get too tired for too long and after that first 3 months my energy is back to normal.  This pregnancy was similar to Cedric's, it was pretty uneventful and easy.  That was until we got to 36 weeks when I measured 39 and then 37 and measured 40.  I was so uncomfortable.  They found I had developed gestational diabetes in the last couple of weeks.  I was so big and had so much extra fluid I could still feel baby girl in my throat.  She would not engage and I was so uncomfortable I thought I would go insane. Here are some pictures taken when I was still feeling alright.