WHAT YOU NEED

1 can whole tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

Fresh Basil

Baby Bellas

3-4 Cloves of Garlic

1 Package of Spaghetti

(And if you want to be really healthy, use all organic stuff!)

WHAT TO DO

1. Wash Baby Bellas thoroughly and saute with Olive Oil in a saucepan on medium heat. If they are small enough, I like to use the whole mushroom rather than slice them up.

2. Mince the garlic and add to the mushrooms. Saute until thoroughly cooked.

3. Empty can of whole tomatos into a bowl and using your fingers, roughly break apart the tomatoes into chuncks. Then add to saucepan.

4. Mince fresh basil and add to your sauce.

5. Add tomato paste to thicken the sauce.

6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Simple and oh so yummy!

Now while your sauce is cooking on low (about a 3) so that the flavors can all soak in, cook your noodles. I like mine al dente. Just follow the instructions on the package. They’re better than any instructions I could give you.

I’ve been on an arugula kick these days. I’m obsessed with fresh, raw arugula!

I LOVE vegetables. Don’t get me wrong, I still like meat. I just don’t need as much and we are trying to incorporate more vegetarian foods into our regimen.

Yes, Dick is influencing us to eat more vegetarian.

Lawd, I can just hear it now.

“You guys are so lucky to have me. I’m so good for you guys.”

My response:

“You’re so lucky to have a wife who can cook yummy vegetarian food.”

I am a firm believer that many people don’t like vegetables or vegetarian food because it’s not really been prepared nicely or yummily (I know that’s not a word.) Or, they’ve been threatened or traumatized by their parents with starvation or bodily harm as a kid if they don’t eat their vegetables.

-Jane, Part-time vegetarian.

Benz has been crawling for the last month or so and wants to go places. The other day, he wanted to go mess with the blinds, one of his favorite past times, and got stuck between the bed and the wall. I had put a pillow in between there so he wouldn’t hurt himself but he managed to really wedge himself in there.

So, he decided to just hang for a minute…

Or two…

Or five…

See how happy he is?

After a bit, he kept looking back at me as if to say,

“Ummm, Mommy, why aren’t you getting me out of here?!?!”

“No seriously, did you forget about me?”

Nope, I like you just they way you are.

Immobilized.

-Jane, Mommy to Mobile Benz.

Actually, before I ever had kids, I always said it would be nice to have four kids. Two girls, two boys. Who knows, maybe I’ll still get my wish. And I always wanted a big family. My mom is one of seven siblings and I adore all my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Growing up, we always had tons of family around and when they all moved away, it was so depressing. So, I kinda always wanted a big family so that there would always be loved ones around. That was before I had kids.

Somehow, it seems we have repeated history…This one (And yes, we’re back to “it” or “this one”.) will be 15 months apart from Benz…just like Thelma and Louise are 15 months apart. Which means, it’s going to be a little crazy for the next oh…4 years or so? Cause “4″ is the magic age where they’re more independent and one can regain their freedom again. Two in diapers is tough at first, however, they end up being great friends and my girls are testament to that. I love how close my girls are even though they bicker more than I’d like.

Some are not really surprised because I was concerned about how much distance there is between the girls and Benz. He would be like an only child without another sibling. This way, Benz will have a friend, someone to have his back and who he would protect. There’s nothing like family. Plus at the rate we were going,  Benz was going to be spoiled rotten.

I’m still trying to wrap my brain around how our family is growing by leaps and bounds in such a short period of time. I was just gettting used to saying I have three kids and still not completely used to it. Now I’ve got to move on to FOUR. FOUR!

This also means that I’m going to have to sell the Benz. Sniff sniff. And I think I may have to go back to being a Minivan mom and start searching for my Swagger Wagon. Wahhhhhh!! Some of my friends are having good laugh about this. No, I’m not keeping the Conversion van! I could NOT drive that thing daily. Good thing we just sold it so it’s no longer an option.

I know that an alternative would be an SUV but seriously, it’s not as comfortable with 4 kids, two of which are in carseats. Talk about CRAMPED! Plus, the automatic doors on the minivans are what make up for the lack of style. Those are the best! Truth be told, I’m eyeing the ultimate minivan…the Odyssey. I don’t like the brand new body. It seems they went backwards in style. I like the previous body from 08′-10′.

TELLING DICK AND THE GIRLS

When I told Dick, he was like, “Already? What? You’re pregnant?”

Seriously? Like you’re suprised? It’s YOUR fault! And I know some men are like, “It takes two to tango.” I beg to differ. Not always! Dick was concerned because he wants to just enjoy Benz now but Dick loves kids and after he had time to absorb it, he’s happy that Benz will have a playmate.

The girls were worried at first too but it takes them all but a day and then they’re excited.

“I think it’s a boy”, said Thelma.

“I want a boy but I think it’s a girl”, said Louise.

Well, guess what, we’re not going to find out again. It was really nice waiting and finding out in the end…in the car…after Dick delivered our baby and shouted, “It’s a boy!”.

TELLING LUCY

I told my sister and she was excited. “You can have the big family I always wanted.”

Ummm…have your own, girl! You’re not off the hook just because I’m more than making up for it.

Then she joked, “Now you’re going to be one of those families that people don’t invite over because you have too many kids.” Hehe…NOT funny.

TELLING THE PARENTS. UGH.

And then there’e telling the parents. I don’t know why but I always DREAD telling the parents. I fell like a 16-year old who just got pregnant…especially the first time I got pregnant. I was 26 and we weren’t married. My mom was very supportive but my dad was worried about what his friends would say. Obviously I didn’t give two shits what my parents’ friends’ said. It’s not their lives and frankly none of their damn business.  The Vietnamese community can be very gossippy.

It’s funny because my parents are the ones who end up loving the babies the most but they worry so much about it ahead of time. That’s why I dread telling them. I talked to a couple of my friends and I was surprised to find out they felt the same way too. Parents just worry too much, whereas when you tell your friends, they’re all happy for you.

This time I was going to just wait to see how long it would take before Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac noticed but my sister kept saying I should tell them. Finally I let the girls tell them. “Grandma, Benz is going to be a big brother!”.

“What? Huh? I don’t understand.”

My mom gets confused easily. Then she finally got it and the look of horror on her face! I love my mom dearly but she is one who worries too much about EVERYTHING. It drives me nuts! Why you gotta think about all the stressful things and not the positives. I told her that’s why I don’t tell her anything. Then she snapped out of it and tried to be more positive. I can’t fault my mom, it’s who she is and she doesn’t even realize it. But, she has the best intentions and concern for me…it just drives me batshit crazy.

Dad, too, was concerned. “Why so soon?” Hell, if we planned having kids I don’t think I would ever have kids.

ULTRASOUNDS OF OUR NEW ALIEN SEA MONKEY

So, here are ultrasound pics of our newest alien sea monkey at around 10 weeks. Here it is with its back turned to us.

IT’s attached itself to the top of my uterus it seems.

Heartbeat and everything look great. I’m going back to the same OB, whom I really like, despite trying to get me to schedule and induction. Hopefully, she get it this time around. We’re going natural!

 This is side view of my alien sea monkey. See the white dot? I think that’s the eye. And that squigly thing is an arm bud. The two skinny things at the bottom are leg buds, and the curly tube at the bottom is the umbilical cord. IT’s about an inch long. Amazing.

The first trimester has been tiring with bouts of nauseousness. Now can you see why I was saying I wanted to be a Desperate Housewife? I’m in full Mommy mode.

-Jane, Consistent Preggar (& Baby-making machine).

Time to load up the van again.

Would u believe that Dick was plagued so badly with the stomach virus that he’s having problems walking? Apparently it really did a number on his ass (A condition that we have dubbed in our family as KOONTITIS. Pronounced “koohn-tie-tus”. “Koon” means butt in Persian.) and he’s walking like a gimpy-gimp, similar to when he had that third ball and teased him about having elephantitis.

If you don’t remember what his gimpy walk looked like, here’s the video.

So, the girls and I are on our own to haul all our shit and load it into the car.

Some of this stuff is quite heavy.

This is my view of the heavy-ass stuff I’m lugging,

Yeah, we tend to overpack.

After about 4 trips back and forth, we finally got the van all packed up.

LUNCH

Before we left, we were all starving so we stopped by one of our favorite restaurants that serves home-cooked type meals.

I love watching the kids play together.

The food is good-ole Southern comfort food.

Like Fried Green Tomatoes with a horseradish dip.

OMG, to die for!

And, like Cracker Barrel where I love ALL the sides, I order a veggie plate.

The red stuff is mash potatoes with some sort of yummy red gravy pinto beans, collard greens, squash casserole, and a homemade butter biscuit. I’m in heaven.

Dick decides to take it easy on his stomach and order a salad.

I never just order a salad. Sorry, I’m not one of THOSE kinds of girls.

I like food and I like to eat and I eat A LOT.

Louise orders the Pot Roast. Super yum. I”ll be having a few bites of this.

Notice the deviled egg? Every dish comes with one.

Benz is like Mommy too…he loves food!!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Time to hit the road again.

Dick starts us off driving but about 15 minutes later and as soon as we got out of the traffic-y part of town, I take over. Dick’s koontitis and recovery from the stomach virus has been painfully slow. I hate to say I told you so but: Told ya you shoulda puked! Plus  he drove on the way here, it’s definitely  my turn to drive.

Thelma starts off in the back with Benz while Louise is in the middle.

Dick moves back there with them to sleep too once I’m at the wheel.

I have to admit, although I hate driving the Conversion van, it’s a comfortable ride for the family. I thoroughly appreciated it when I got to sleep in the back on the way to Gotham City.

After 4 hours, we made it home! Oh, I’m SO tired and look at all the work that awaits me.

Not only did the girls and I have to lug all this shit in, I have to unpack it all.

The joys of wifedom and motherhood are endless.

Now you see why I wanna be a DESPERATE HOUSEWIFE?

-Jane, Packing/Unpacking Comfort Food-Loving Fool. 

I then glance over and see Dick combing Benz’s hair.

Um honey, if u hadn’t noticed, our son doesn’t exactly have a ton of hair.

Look at how meticulously and carefully he’s styling our son’s hair.

He didn’t notice.

This is training our son way too early to be a pretty boy like you.

Seriously, all you have to do is use your palm like a brush to slick back all his fine hair.

No, he wants Benz to be handsome like Daddy.

And very handsome indeed my boys are.

-Jane, Mommy and Wife to Handsome Boys.

Being right uptown, the street noise makes it all too evident we are in the city. Cars driving by, people walking and talking, and sirens blazing nearly daily are the typical sounds you would hear. I hate the sound of sirens. Makes my heart race.

But for some, like my aunt Queen Latifa…she wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s totally comfortable with all the street noise. In fact, it’s the silence that scares her. LOL

IMAGINON

I like city living because you can walk everywhere. And yes, there is some comfort in all the street noise rather being eerily quiet (if you’re not used to it).

So, besides working all the time, we take a break and head to the library right around the corner from the condo.

This library is massive! You may remember me talking about it before when I said it was our favorite library evah!

Louise is roaming around, randomly looking for books.

She spots the computers, which are new. I have not seen these iMacs here. Sweet.

Thelma has specific authors and books she’s looking for so she goes up to the desk to ask the librarian. Remember the good ole days of the CARD CATALOG? I remember taking tests on how to use that dang thing.

And although we had planned on staying at the unit that we’re cleaning up, we ended up deciding to stay at our studio cause the electricity wasn’t connected the first night and since we had already unloaded all our crap at the studio, I didn’t want to move it again.

Remember, this studio condo is a small 500sf studio that Dick uses as his office in Gotham City. I actually love staying here with our family because it’s really cozy and we’re forced to be in each other’s faces. Good thing I like my family.

And when it comes to finding a place to sleep, we just camp out wherever…hence why we need to bring so many blankets and pillows.

 CLEANING THE TOWN HOUSE

Our tenant moved out  of our townhouse so you know the drill. Time for the cleaning crew (us) to come in and clean the place. If you’ve been a fan of Jane and Dick’s for a while, you would recognize our townhouse from  one of my first blogs.

The townhouse was in decent condition and compared to some of the tenants we’ve had, the previous tenants left it fairly clean but the carpet was heavily stained.

And because it’s so dirty, I don’t want the baby crawling around in this nastiness. So, what to do? Well, there’s a storage closet that is pretty clean and obviously, people don’t really walk on the carpet in there that much so I make the kids all stay in there while I vacuum.

Ok, so we don’t really lock them in there but they were not allowed to come out!

Look at sweet Thelma…she LOVES to read.

We’ve got our cleaning supplies.

The gloves go on and it’s time to work!

First is VACUUM!!

Stairs are such a bitch to vacuum.

I guess after lugging the vacuum down the stairs, I must have gotten hot and taken off the sweatshirt.

Honestly, we could hire someone to come and do all this dirty work but I look at it as nurturing and caring for my investment. No one cares about our investment more than we do…not the tenant, not the cleaners or painters.

If we do the work ourselves, we know what’s going on with each property and what it needs. I just blast the music, get to work, and put my good energy and love into the house. Plus, it’s how I get my exercise. I also like that the kids get to see what we do first hand and because really, this all goes to them and one day, they’re going to have to take it over.

Cheetos breaks are expected.

While I’m doing all that, Dick is shampooing the carpets. Maybe we should open a carpet cleaning business since we’re turning into quite the pros. Umm, no.

To avoid having the look after the baby, the kids will volunteer to help.

Meanwhile, I go hang with Benz for a sec. He’s eating these organic apple puffs that he loves.

So cute to watch how he grabs them with his little, chubby fingers.

Dick sees me taking a break and comes over too.

Just because I deserve a break doesn’t mean you do too!

Finally, Benz falls asleep and I can get back to work.

Dick’s showing Louise how to hand-scrubb some of the stains out.

Another break after Dick finished the upstairs.

And, another sleeping place for Benz. Carpet on the stairs is clean now!

Dick finishes the carpet and it looks great!!

DICK: AIR FILTER NINJA

Dick always changes the air filters for our properties because they’re always so hard to reach. Dick says to me,

“Look at how how I have to do ninja-like moves and risk my life to do these things. You’re lucky to have me.”

Me: Eyes roll.

“See how I have to hold the filter with my teeth.”

“Then climb onto the rail…”

“Balance all the while trying to install the filter with one hand…”

“You’re so lucky I’m so talented.”

OMG, seriously? I’m clapping, is that enough praise for you?

Later, I look over at my multi-talented man and he’s got his feet in the sink.

I’m cracking up because he looks so funny with his feet up there.

He jokes that I can’t even lift my leg up there. Whatever! See my black boot on the counter? I studied ballet for a few years you know! And my black boots is why I don’t have to stick my feet in the sink. I can’t believe he went barefoot on that nasty carpet.

The next day we’re back and it’s time to paint.

I tell the girls they can run around upstairs with Benz now that the carpet is clean and dry.

For the most part, Benz is really good and loves to play with his sisters.

Except, whenever he sees me, he wants boobie!

Such a man he is.

So here I am boobie-ing my little man on the stairs whilst taking a break from painting. It’s so much harder to get stuff done with a baby around.

While I’m doing that, the girls are having a blast sliding down the stairs on their stomachs, like when they were toddlers.

As soon as they’re done, like the slave driver that I am, I tell them fun’s over and they have to help me wipe down the blinds.

The girls are trying their best to be patient despite being so excited but they see how much pain their parents are in. They’re trying to be helpful so that we can hit the road that much faster. Dick is saying to me, “Our girls are so lucky. If it weren’t for them and we didn’t love them so much, we would never try to kill ourselves like this to leave today.”

True dat. I really just wanted to jumpcrawl right back in bed so I could regain my energy. I was drained to the max.

Originally, we had planned on taking two cars because aside from taking care of one of our properties, Dick had to transport a vehicle for our car business. (And actually, we’re not only taking care of our rental, our car business, but Dick also has to take care of the Lounge.) But with us being plagued with the stomach virus, we quickly decided that we would take one car. Phew!

I was relieved because ain’t NO WAY I would have been able to drive 4 hours and what if the baby started crying? Not to mention, the car that I had to drive was the Conversion Van! And you know how much I hate being the bus driver of that car. But because we still had it, the girls absolutely want to take it and actually, we had no choice.

I can’t believe we packed the van full of so much shit. A minivan would NOT have cut it!

The girls have laid the rear bench down and made it into a bed. Perfect. I plan on wallowing in my pain back here.

I then spent the next 4 hours in the back, sleeping, cuddled with Benz and the girls. Somehow, we squeezed and fit.

Half-way there and we make a stop because the girls were hungry. Me? Food? Ughhh! No!!! So, I stayed in the car. I was still so slow and exhausted.

However, I did muster some energy to go the restroom. Happy Camper right?

Dick is not feeling too hot either but he’s being strong so that he can get us there. Thank you honey! I know it was hard!

It’s dark by the time we arrive and I could care less. I just want to crawl into bed anyway.

-Jane, Dead. Tired.

I blew off my stomach pains as indigestion and an evil retribution for having eaten too much for dinner. So, I went straight to bed. A couple hours later, I woke feeling just awful, ran to the bathroom, puked, and projected some nasty-ass-acid-bile-sour-tasting shit like a fire hydrant into the sink bowl. It was terrible but knew that it would be better to just get it out.

For the next few hours, there were then bouts with THE RUNS. Fabulous. It’s really weird when you feel like your pissing out of your ass.

Man, I’m being super descriptive today…TMI? Sorry. I was in a bad place and I want you to feel my pain! All this happened at my parent’s house because we went to sleep there since Benz was already there. Dick stayed back to finish up the vacuuming (thank you honey!) and then went to bed.

What really sucked about the whole thing besides puking and having the runs, is that we had to still pack up and drive to Gotham City. Now imagine how drained you would be after a night of puking and the runs? There was absolutely no energy left in me and I was still feeling nauseous. I was seriously moving at a snail’s pace.

The girls were so excited to go hit the road again so we had originally  planned on waking up early, packing and hitting the road in the morning. I didn’t even wake up until around 11. I went home, woke up Dick and told him about my horrible night. Hs response?

“I think I have the same thing. I’ve got the runs too. I wanted to puke but I didn’t. I held it back.”

Ooohhhh, mistake. Always puke if you feeel it, otherwise it’ll stay in your system and you’ll REGRET it! Well, Dick learned the hard way.

I’m trying to think now, what could have inflicted this malice upon us? Was it the food?
Was it the chemicals from the carpet cleaner? I thinking and then I remember. How could I forget that not two days before did Thelma go through a 24-hour stomach bug.

THELMA’S STOMACH PAINS

We didn’t know that it was a stomach bug at the time but Thelma had been complaining of a stomach ache and didn’t want to eat dinner. Odd I thought because she was SO excited about the zucchini/squash lasagna that I had made. Then, she was vomiting and complaining of bad stomach pains. I kept asking her if it was like the times before when she was nauseous? She kept saying yes, so I’m thinking it’s a stomach bug.

Then, she pulls me aside, crying, telling me that she actually lied to me…that the stomach pains were not the same, that they were quite severe and she lied because she didn’t want to have an appendicitis and surgery.

I was concerned because I’ve had my appendix taken out and although my was not life-threatening, if left untreated too long, your appendix could rupture and you could die.

I couldn’t take any chances so it  was off to the emergency room shortly after midnight. This is not our first time here for this. Do you remember the last time we were at the ER for fear of appendicitis?

Poor thing was so scared. She didn’t want to have surgery and have to be put asleep.

“Mommy, I’m scared I won’t wake back up!”

Hearing those words made my heart stop for a second. I didn’t think that would happen but you hear crazy stories all the time. I couldn’t think about that though, I had to be positive and strong for her.

We registered as soon as we got in and Thelma promptly graced their floor with another projection of vomit. Lovely. We were sent to the back to be seen by the doctor. First though, the nurse came in and hooked her up to an IV so that they could start pumping fluids back into her. Then, the doctor comes in, asks Thelma a few questions, and  based on what she told him and after he felt around her stomach asking if this or that hurt, he said:

“You’re probably right that it’s a virus, we’ve seen several cases like this recently. But, we’ll do some tests and make sure.”

Thelma doesn’t want any pictures.

But, look who’s also here for comfort: Monk!!

So, they took her blood and ran some tests. The nurse then tells me the results were that her white blood cell count was higher than usual, but that also could be caused by the virus. They can’t be sure so they want to run a CT scan to see if her appendix is swollen. Wait, what? Another CT scan? That’s a full-body x-ray. We had one the last time I was here. I asked the nurse, “How much radioactivity does a CT put out?”

His response was, “They say it is the equivalent of 100 chest x-rays.”

Um, are you out of your fucking mind??? 100?!?!?!? Look, the doctor just said that you guys have been seeing cases like this, and even though the white blood cell count is slightly higher, it could also be due to the virus. Sorry! No! We’re not doing a CT scan just so your hospital can get paid!

And, by this time, Thelma was looking TONS better since she had that final puke and all the fluids pumped into her.

I politely told him that we did not want a CT scan, that I would observe her at home and if she felt worse the next day, I would bring her back in. The nurse then told me, if I though it was a real emergency that I should bring her to the Children’s Hospital because had she had an appendicitis, they would have sent her down there anyway.

So, you’re telling me that had this been an emergency that I would have wasted what could have been precious time here at the hospital anyway  so that you could do your tests, make your money first, and then still have to transport my daughter to Children’s so I could go through all the testing again? I was appalled. Seriously, I learned a good lesson. Next time there is a real emergency, I’m going straight to the Children’s Hospital!

And what do you know but the next day she woke up feeling nearly back to normal, but a little drained.

Alright, so back to Dick and I…yeah, I’m pretty sure we had incubated the virus for two days and we’re now feeling the effects. Somehow, Louise skirted the whole thing, lucky girl. And Benz? Well, he had been having several more liquidly stools but I thought maybe it was just the food he was eating at the time. Luckily, that was all that happened to him.

Ughh, just love stomach viruses, don’t you? Silver linging though: Free colonic and 5 pounds less!! Gotta try to see the silver lining in everything!

-Jane, Victim of Stomach Virus.

The Oreck Orbiter is an alternative to wet steam shampooing your carpets or rugs. It’s a dry cleaning for your carpets but not only that, you can polish your hardwood floors and tile with it as well.

Unfortunately for us, Fanny Mae rented the rug cleaner the day right before we were scheduled to leave for Gotham City, which means I got a shitload of packing to do. However, I was determined to clean our rugs because we might just get lazy and not do it if I don’t take advantage now. Oh well, you gots to do what you gots to do!

First, I vacuum the entire house.

Check out all this crap I sucked up before I even cleaned my rugs!

Next step is to use Oreck’s Soil Release Pre-Spray.

Basically, you spray a mist all over your rug or carpet.

Then, you’re supposed to sprinkle this Dry Carpet Cleaner all over the rug, which sticks to that mist you just sprayed.

A scoop is provided and you just dust it over your rug or carpet.

Here I am looking oh so fab dusting this stuff all over. What do you expect? I’m cleaning! How you like my white socks. Swexy right? There’s Dick laughing that I look like Gru again.

Then you turn on the Orbiter and work it all over the rug. The rotating head polishes the rug and scrubs the powder to clean your rug. We only used to polishing pad versus the scrubbing pad because we have oriental rugs instead of carpets. I didn’t want the scrubbing pad to mess them up!

Let me tell you this thing is heavy and a bitch to keep straight! It’s killing my back!

Once you rub the powder out, you have to let it dry and settle for at least an hour.

Since the dang thing was so heavy, I decided to go whine like a helpless girl to my husband and recruit his strong muscles to aid a maiden in distress. That’s what he’s there for, right?

Even the girls wanted to give it a whirl. It didn’t last long though.

After an hour has passed, you then have to vacuum again to pick up all the dried powder.

We ended up vacuuming like four times because I didn’t want Benz to breath in or eat those powders.

Here’s all the collected powder and looks like, some dust still.

It took several hours and by this time it was 2:00AM (we got started late…around 6pm) and I was exhausted! There was not time to even try to polish the floors! I had to get some rest before waking the next morning to pack so we can drive four hours to Gotham City.

However, the result was still worth it…cleaner, softer and shinier rugs. Plus, you don’t have to wait for your carpet to dry. Thanks Mom for sharing!

We now have a no-shoe policy in the house. This is so hard to do because I always walk around the house with my shoes on and especially when I’m trying on my clothes!! I’m sure my Japanese friends are like, what? You wear shoes in the house? Well, actually, not just the Japanese. Vietnamese people do it too…maybe all the Asians???

-Jane, Carpet Cleaner.

]]> http://janeanddick.com/random-stuff/using-the-oreck-orbitor-as-an-alternative-to-steam-shampooing-rugs-and-carpets/feed/ 0 http://janeanddick.com/random-stuff/sushi-date-with-our-girls-at-a-more-traditional-japanese-restaurant/ http://janeanddick.com/random-stuff/sushi-date-with-our-girls-at-a-more-traditional-japanese-restaurant/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:10:32 +0000 Jane http://janeanddick.com/?p=30069 With Benz being a baby and requiring a lot of attention, we decided the girls too need some alone time with their parents. Until Benz, it was just the four of us for the longest time so Dick and I took the girls out to dinner one Friday night and left Benz home with my parents.  What did the girls want to eat? Sushi! And they wanted to go to this one restaurant we took them to long ago that had more “traditional seating”.

It’s been a while since we had been to this restaurant so we thought we would do a “drive-by” first to see what the parking lot looked like. Don’t tell me you’ve never done that.

If on a Friday night and the lot was empty, we were going to another place. It wasn’t empty so we decided to go in.

Inside, most of the customers appear to all be Japanese. A very good sign.And, the place  looked different than before and I was impressed at how nicely decorated and zen it was!

And here’s the traditional seating I was speaking of. They girls like the low tables that make it seem like you’re sitting on the floor. This is actually a pit where your feet can still go under the table and you don’t have to sit “indian style” (difficult for those who are less flexible.)

Last time we were here, this seating area was closed off and had a screen door around the room, making it very claustrophobic.

Now, instead of the screens, they put up a decorative wall, making it still very private but not cramped. Lovely.

Initially, we had all climbed inside to sit but then remembered that tradition when sitting at these types of Japanese tables, it is customary to remove your shoes as a sign of respect (and cleanliness).

So, off came the shoes.

Dang, I was not prepared. I was wearing boots over my skinny jeans, and had white socks pulled high over them. Luckily, my feet will go in the pit where no one will see them.

That was one thing I always had to remember in Japan…make sure your feet are nicely pedicured and that your socks don’t have holes in them!

Look, they even have Sauteed Beef Tongue Tang. Oops, someone made a typo.

I know for some of you Beef Tongue may sound disgusting (and it looks disgusting when you see it raw and unsliced) but they way the Japanese prepare it, it’s very tasty!

What else to drink but Hot Green Tea and Sake!

The girls love California rolls and salmon!!

Turns out, I know the Sushi Chef here. Back when I was in college, I worked as a server in a Japanese restaurant and he was the Sushi Chef back then. Funny running into him nearly 15 years later.

Dick saw that they had takoyaki (Pronounced “tah-ko-yah-key”), which are Japanese Octopus balls...not the balls of an Octopus but Octopus that has been grounded and blended with flavor, shaped into a ball and breaded, fried and topped with a tasty mayo and sauce. Really yummy!

I love fried calamari legs, called Geso (Pronounced “gay-s0″) so I had to order some.

This is a tofu dish called Agedashi Dofu (Pronounced “Ag-ah-dah-shee D0-fu”) which is fried tofu and served with a tangy sauce.

Those were just some of the things we had. And at the end, similar to how the Chinese give you a treat with your bill (fortune cookie), we got these Japanese Gums. The Japanese really know how to make yummy candy…these were so good!

My girls never cease to want to embarrass and torture their little bro.

He works hard for his money!

So hard for it honey!

He works hard for his money so you better treat him right!

Poor thing.

The lighting in this picture is not flattering for Benz’s hair.

Looking like a balding old man!

Good thing he doesn’t understand anything right now.

Wait till he gets older, girls…I’m sure there will be paybacks!

-Jane, Mommy to Head-band Benz.

The girls wanted to paint something else as well.

So as they painted, I made a mate for my frame.

I likes! Now where to put them!

-Jane, Ah-Tiste.

 He even goes so far as to stand on this tippy-toes.

This is not ballet!

Check out those swexy muscular calves!

Daddy’s hoping these are soccer calves.

-Jane, Mommy to Muscular Benz.

With Benz being on the move crawling, standing, wobbling…I find I am on HIS schedule and with everything else we always have going on, there’s no time and no energy. Whereas before I could wake up in the middle of the night daily to blog, as you can see, those are few and far between even though I’m blogging right now at 5AM. This is the first time in a while that I’ve had this opportunity.

I tell Dick, “I’m in full-time Mommy-mode so have very low expectations of me.” Much of my time is spent feeding the family, including being a boobie-machine for Benz. Sounds simple but making three meals a day (sometimes) and cleaning up in between is enough to keep me busy ALL DAY and yet have nothing to show for it other than saggy, deflated boobs and an occasionally clean kitchen…oh yeah, and a family that is still alive and well.

And as under appreciated as it is, I have a newfound appreciation for just taking care of, cooking and cleaning for my family…that I don’t want the stress of “work”.

So one day, after Dick uttered these vicious words to me: “We have work to do.”

Ahhhhhh! WORK! One of the most vicious 4-letter words! I just don’t like that word right now. I hate it when he says we have WORK to do. I don’t know why, it just makes me cringe. Anyway, so I say,

“Honey, I want to be a housewife. I’m ready to be a desperate housewife.” (BTW, I don’t watch that series but I’ve caught a glimpse here and there. Those chicas are loco!)

He laughs, “No, you have to work!” (He says…half jokingly.)

I tell him, “I want to be like those other Persian wives who just go shopping all day, travel and decorate their house.”

He laughs. He knows how lucky he has it that I’m not some high-maintenance, materialistic wife who just spends and spends. As we do, we always remind the other how lucky they are. I tell him all the time, shaking my head, tisking…“You are so lucky to have me.” And he knows it. That being said, I’m a very lucky woman myself. He’s the best husband and father, even though sometimes I have to break out my crazy Jane on his ass.

Anyway, in closing, I have a Yo-Momma joke that goes with this story: “Yo Momma’s so stupid she thinks a two-income household is where yo daddy works TWO jobs.”

I tell Dick, that’s me, I wanna be that stupid.

-Jane, Wanna-be Desperate Housewife.

One of the things that surprises my mom the most is that my dad will actually change diapers if need be (which means when my mom or I are not around to do it), which I guess he was not inclined to do when Lucy and I were small. Freddie Mac is an awesome grandpa, willing to babysit any time. In fact, if it’s been a few days since he’s seen the baby, he goes through baby withdrawal and will call me up and ask me if I need a babysitter. He’ll even shop around for clothes for the baby. Super cute!

Anyway, the other day when my dad’s cries that the baby needed changing came unanswered (LOL-purposefully), he decided to take it upon himself to get the job done. Naturally, I ran along with my camera instead of helping.

In our house, we don’t really use wipes. I don’t feel like they really get the baby’s bottom clean. A good washing with warm water is what is needed. Especially with the kind of sticky, gooey poopies he’s been having. Egghhhh!

It’s a good thing babies are flexible.

Benz is all folded up! LOL!

Freddy Mac washes…

Then dries…

Vaseline…pat pat…

And now time for the diaper. He had it backwards at first with the velcro tabs in the front so I had to switch it around for him.

Not exactly perfect but Freddy Mac manages to get the diaper on.

The biggest challenge, however, is getting the squirmy baby to stop moving so he can button up the onesie.

Come on, you can do it!

You wouldn’t think three simple snap-on buttons would be such a struggle.

Benz just wants to roll over.

Okay fine, then let’s just button them this way.

Good job Grandpa!

Love my dad.

-Jane, Daughter to Awesome Grandpa.

Guess who’s in town for the holidays?

It’s Queen Latifa!! And, we’re getting to meet her boyfriend of a year for the first time! I have to tell you, I really like this one because he makes her smile and he genuinely cares and respects her. It’s so cute to see her with him, she’s like a schoolgirl all over again. Lucy and I laugh at how funny they are when they flirt together. I guess that’s what it’s like when you fall in love in your 50s. Yeah, can you believe it? Queenie is 55 next year!

Of course, Lucy is also in town for the holidays. Yay!

Somebutty got a little tired whilst wrapping gifts.

I’m guilty of taking a nap or two here and there too.

The weather has just been coma-tising.

At least my eyes aren’t half open and mouth agape in this one.

Christmas Eve and the girls have camped out in the living room by the Christmas tree with my cousins. They’re all tangled together. LOL

I remember when we were growing up, Lucy and I always loved camping out by the tree because it was so beautifully lit and we wanted to be close to all the presents.

Talk about presents. That’s what happens when you have a big family.

The kids were ready to open presents first thing in the morning but because all the adults weren’t up yet, we made them suffer and wait. So cruel, I know. Whatever, patience is a fine virtue.

PRESENTS

So, I was looking forward to a very low-key New Year’s Eve with my family.

(BTW, I know I’m going out of order cause I haven’t even blogged about Xmas but whatever, I will be posting pics from Christmas too.)

We hit the park earlier in the day because it was a beautiful, spring-like day, unlike the last week which had been overcast or rainy over Christmas (Hence my slacking and blahness to blog.)

Because I knew we’d be chilling at home, I thought it would be nice for me and the girls to do an art project since it’s been a while. So, we had bought some art supplies at Walmart.

Louise and I were going to paint these simple wooden picture frames and Thelma wanted to paint a memory box for her “special” stuff. We’re at my parents house, who are fast asleep with the baby because it’s now about 10pm. I feared I might miss the countdown as I was getting somewhat sleepy myself.

However, after we got started, second wind hit and I was excited to be painting.

I started off using one of my favorite bluish colors.

And Thelma with her favorite…green.

Louise is using a metallic light green. We love green!!

Okay, so the base color is painted and I have NO IDEA what to do now. So, I go to my computer for inspiration. I look at all kinds of pictures and finally decided upon one that I liked.

I found this one picture of red poppies that I liked.

I then used a pencil to draw a light sketch of the flowers.

Louise finishes early…using a metallic purple and silver to accent her frame.

And Thelma decides to use my blue to compliment her green. It looks great! And actually, it looks alot like the colors of their room. Blue and green go so fantastically together.

Meanwhile, I’m still working on mine.

And then, about 30 minutes before midnight, guess who wakes up right in time to ring in the new year!

I finish up my picture frame and am super happy with how it turned out!

Let’s see…why yes, I think this will look just spectacular!

I had so much fun painting this one that I might need another to go with it!

It’s now countdown time and we’re all on the sofa bed in front of the TV at my parent’s house. My and my kids…the most perfect way I could think of to ring in the new year. Dick called right before the countdown and sent us his love and kisses. Vietnamese superstition is that however you start off the new year will set the tone for the entire year so I’m glad to start it off having a fabulous time with family.

We counted down with Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper.

They are so funny together!

HAPPY NEW 2012 FOLKS!!

Wishing everyone a year full of LOVE, PEACE, AND HAPPINESS!!

And hopefully it’s not the end of the world, like the Mayans think!

(I don’t really think so but…who knows. Just don’t go out there and blow your whole savings like some of those crazies who thought it would end this year.LOL)

-Jane, Hopeful for a Promising 2012.

I always have so much respect for those that adopt and that go through all that one does in order to adopt. I think it takes a very special person to care and love a child that is not biologically yours. Adoption is no longer that secret that your parents kept from you until you were old enough…it’s quite common these days and has gotten much more attention with celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Katherine Heigel, Mia Farrow adopting children from other countries. I have several friends that have adopted children and our homeschool co-op has multiple families who have adopted.

From what I hear, it is easier to adopt abroad because local adoptions in our state require a period of foster care prior to any adoptions. That means, you could potentially have the child for a period of time and have that child removed to be back with their parents…even if it’s been years. OMG, I just could not imagine caring for a child and then having to let them go. Hence, I am not a good candidate for foster parenting.

There is also an option for Closed Adoptions…a type of adoptions where the adopting parents and birthing parents never meet or know little to nothing of the other. And in our state, if you adopt an infant, you do not have to go through a foster care period.

THE PARENTS

The parents are a lovely couple where Mama Bear works in pharmaceutical sales and Papa Bear works for the University in Fundraising.

Super cute.

 THE KIDS

Meet their kids…

Ickle Me, Pickle Me, and Tickle Me too.

Now aren’t they just adorbs?!?!?

ICKLE ME

Ickle Me is the eldest and is their biological son.

Ten and  has such a classic all-American look.

Seriously, Gap Kids, you need to call this kid.

PICKLE ME

Pickle Me was adopted when he was a few weeks old from a local adoption center. Isn’t he just the cutest five-year old ever?

I was surprised to learn from their parents that Pickle Me is actually of mixed race…half African American, half Caucasian!

He’s so dang edible!

TICKLE ME TOO

And meet dear Tickle Me. Adopted only four months ago and after two trips to Ethiopia, Mama Bear and Papa Bear came home with a beautiful four-year old girl.

Mama Bear tells me that there are 5 million orphans in Ethiopia and about 500,000 in all of the US…so there is an incredible need in third world and extremely impoverished countries!

Since only being here a short time, Tickle me speaks some English but she’s learning quickly.

Did you notice those beautiful eyes of hers? What seems to be extra long eye lashes are actually tribal burns from when she was an infant.

Despite that, look how sweet and happy she is!

That pretty smile on her face says it all.

THE FAMILY

The shoot took place at their home. Shooting at someone’s home is really special because it’s where they are most comfortable and hold all their memories.

I may have mentioned before, very little to no planning happens when I go in for a shoot. Shoots are very organic and evolve as we go depending on the lighting, environment, and how artistically I see the photos come about in my head. I shoot hundreds of images and edit all the ones I feel are worthy.

I’ll also take feedback from the client as to certain shots and images they want captured or certain things that are meaningful to them…like Mr. Penguin!

Or basketball in the house!

How about a little one on one…

MAKING COOKIES

Making cookies seems to be quite popular for a lot of my shoots.

My clients just love that idea because it’s a FAMILY AFFAIR.

 The kids love making cookies…

And they’re not the only ones…ahem Mama Bear and Papa Bear.

HAPPY FAMILY

Yes, you can tell, this is one loving and happy family.

Seriously, could I have gotten any more pics? And this is only a “few” of the 140 edited ones!

I love that I can use my photography to tell people’s stories because we’re all different, yet we are all the same. Thank you for letting me come into your home, capture these special moments for your beautiful family and share your story.

-Jane, Journalistic Photographer.

Plus, I’m still in my jammies and I don’t want to get out…not that being my jammies would stop me from going out in public.

Obviously, Benz doesn’t want to be in his car seat so I let him sit on Mommy’s lap.

Benz is in the Holiday Spirit and is sporting his Santa costume. It was among a box of clothes one of my friends gave me. I like to use it as a coat to throw on top of his clothes and keep him warm.

Benz then decides he’s tired of sitting and so now wants to drive.

Can’t you just see him making those car noises like he’s shifting gears?

He’s got that guilty/innocent look on his face.

“Whhaaattt???”

But then I realize he doesn’t want to drive, he wants to eat the steering wheel!

Yes, if you don’t have a teething ring, just use a steering wheel.

Works fabulously.

When I try to get him to stop, Benz just gives me the hand.

Kristen came over to spend the night and Thelma planned on spending the night out on the town…downtown Metropolis…decked out in their zaniest threads.

Benz gets to tag along too!

 CONVERSION VAN LIMO SERVICE

At Thelma’s request, we took a Conversion Van that we have. Dick and I are like their personal drivers while they partied in the back. The back has lights like a limo and blinds that you can pull down for privacy. It’s also got a TV and VCR but who the heck uses a VCR these days??

The girls love this van so much and they always want me to drive it. So, you may see me cruising around in this huge bus but I really hate it because it’s too big and I’m always nervous that I’m going to hit something or someone. I feel like a dang bus driver fo sho! Oh but the things I do for these girls.

Me and my birthday girl.

Downtown is all lit up and festive for the holidays.

Our main reason for heading downtown is because there is an outdoor ice skating rink that is set up for the holidays. It reminds me of when we went outdoor ice skating in California…except, we were ice skating in much colder temps and not in shorts like we were in Cali.

There’s a super long line to wait to get in. It seems everyone is here to ice skate!

So, we decide to eat dinner first at one of our favorite pizzeria’s downtown. Owned by a Persian lady and offering organic/natural ingredients, Dick and I have been going to this pizzeria since our days of first dating.

Even though it’s chilly, we sit outside because that way, the girls can skate, we can keep an eye on them, and still sit and hang with Benz.

Look how Benz is passing the time by getting his fingers stuck in this table.

The girls then go get in line, which I thought was the long line outside. But, once you pay and get your skates on, there is then an internal line to get on the ice because the rink is FULL to capacity. So you have to wait until someone gets off before you can get on.

I didn’t realize this and had dedicated a “shout out and birthday wish” to the girls through the DJ and had him play “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper but when he played it, the girls were still waiting in line! They heard the dedication though.

“Hey, did they just wish us a happy birthday?”

Finally, the girls get on the ice and skate around to the blasting music. The music was actually pretty good and played over a great sound system…which is MUEY IMPORTANTE. I’m a music snob so not only does the music have to be good, the speakers need to kick ass.

The girls skated around for a little while but grew tired of the extreme crowd and were ready to go home.

Except, there was a horse and carriage that was enticing them. It’s $40 for a 20-minute ride but we didn’t want to ride around for twenty minutes in the cold. I was ready to go home. So, we told the girls to negotiate with the driver to take us to our car for $10 and he so graciously agreed since it was their birthday.

I hadn’t noticed at first glance (and this pic doesn’t do it justice) but the black horse was really a BLACK BEAUTY!

The girls had never been on a horse carriage before and were super excited.

It was chilly but since we had been outside for a while already, we were cold and the breeze made it brisk.  We made sure to bundle Benz up.

It was really nice riding around downtown and having a “taxi” ride to our car by horse.

The girls had a great time but we were really cold by now so we were ready to head back home.

SNOOPY CAKE

When we got home, the girls were ready to have cake.

One of our homeschool friends from co-op had made us this great cake!

Thelma had requested a Snoopy Red Velvet cake and was so excited when she saw her custom cake. She loved it!

Look who had to improvise cause I didn’t have any candles.

Happy birthday ladies! May you have a fabulous 10th year in life. No longer in the single digits, I pray that your next decade is just as simple, fun and happy as your first decade.

BREAKFAST AT WAFFLE HOUSE

The next morning, we finished off the birthday celebration with breakfast at Waffle House.

There was an actual jukebox and the girls were like, “What’s this?”

You kids these days won’t remember the days of having a juke box for music requests but I remember the days of being so excited to be able to select what music will be played on one of these things. That was back in the 80s and I probably picked “The Final Countdown” by Europe (That was my favorite song back then.) or something by Def Leopard  like Pour Some Sugar on Me or Love Bites.

For some reason, I really like the small-town diner feel that Waffle House offers. Growing up I never ate there and always thought of it as a greasy, dirty, crap joint but actually, it’s simple, clean, fast, not really that greasy and pretty good tasting.

It was quite a breakfast…

Waffles, toast, hashbrowns, grits, scrambled eggs, sausage, juice, etc…

Pac-man waffle!

Although, I’m not really crazy about how they make their “cheesey hash browns”. Basically, it’s a slice of cheese melted on top.

Do you think we were hungry?

After we got home, Daddy let Thelma have her birthday present…a keyboard.

She’s been asking for a keyboard and this one can do all sorts of things I don’t know how to do plus it can teach you as you go. Now go on a make millions of dollars by being a famous singer so that Daddy and I can retire. LOL. Not really. I don’t know that I would wish that lifestyle upon my kids.

-Jane, Mommy to 10-year old Thelma.

We get there and it’s of no surprise that the house is huge and very beautiful. I believe the owners are the parents or parents-in-law of the owner of the production company.

I’m not even sure who the client is for the commercial.

We would not be able to take these kinds of jobs if we were not home schooling. But because we do homeschool, and Dick is out of town, I have to take my whole crew to the job.

There’s bagels for breakfast. Awesome, we skipped breakfast to make it on time.

The woman in the pink shirt is Thelma’s “mom” and for some reason, I didn’t get a picture of the “dad”.

I’m going around taking pics of the house because it’s quite nice.

 There’s a pool outside with a beautiful verandah.

The family room is where they are shooting.

This is the production assistant, who could not have been cooler. She and I were talking and it came up that we homeschool and that she, too, was home-schooled all the way through high school. She was saying to her crewmates, “See? There’s NORMAL people who homeschool!” (Referring to us. I’m not sure that we qualify as “normal” but okay. LOL).

Girlfriend is super cute and stylin’.

While Thelma was filming, Louise, Benz and I were in the formal living room, chilling’ and waiting.

I like the sofas and the rug but I would need more color on the wall. Regardless, still beautiful.

Seeing that I was toting a baby with me, the owner, who was sweet as could be, let me use her grandchildren’s pack-n-play.

And with Benz being in the 85th% for weight at 20lbs, I’m more than happy to put him in baby prison for a little bit so my arms can rest.

He’s enjoying it though…so far.

Louise brought along a coloring book to keep herself busy.

And here’s the director who is also working the camera.

Thelma’s part is where her and “mom” just get home from grocery shopping but the daughter runs in first and then says, “Mommy, wait til you see what Daddy got!”

Not much of a line but she pulled it off fabulously…and I’m not saying that just to because she’s my daughter.

“Mom” comes in carrying  bag of groceries and see’s a big flat screen TV.

She’s not happy about it at first, “What’s this?”

Then the dad goes into a spiel about how great the viewing experience is with a flat screen TV and how he got everything for a great deal through a credit card promotion. Yada yada yada…

Shortly after they were all set up and started filming, Benz decided he was sleepy so he started to cry a little. His crying could be heard in the background so the production assistant came in to let me know. However, I was already on it…I had whipped out my boob as fast as I could and shoved it into my baby’s mouth. And that was the end of that.

Since having to care for the baby now, there’s not alot of time for me to watch and take pictures of my girls in action. I’m busy being a milk machine.

He’s so sweet when he nurses. I love it.

And he’s out! Wow, I need a haircut. Getting Rapunzel long. Crystal Gayle long. The kind of long that no longer looks good, it looks like you’re too lazy to cut it. Which seems to be…well, which IS the case for me.

Look how sweet! OMG, I just adore this little guy.

The owner was so surprised that Benz was so easy, didn’t hardly make a peep, and was sleeping so soundly.

After the shoot had wrapped up, Thelma and Louise chatted with some of the crew and other actors. It was a short but fun shoot. Thelma was so over the moon after it was all done.

-Jane, Mommy to Acting Thelma.

That morning, I woke up fairly early (8:30am – that’s early for me, although lately, it’s been the norm). It was one of those days where I didn’t really want to get out of my jammies, so I texted Cher, who shares the same PJ-all-day-everyday-unless-you-have-somewhere-to-go sentiment. You may remember I did a photo shoot with her family in their PJs last year.

We had planned for her to come at 11:00, which initially, I thought we would have lunch. However, I must have been on crack because everyone is still asleep except Benz and me.

That’s Dick sleeping on Louise’s bed and under the covers.

Plus, most days, our family doesn’t even usually have breakfast until around 11-12. So, I told Cher to not eat breakfast and that we would have a Persian breakfast at my house.

As planned, Cher arrives and in her PJs.

Perfect. I’m so happy to be able to stay in mine.

How you like my piggy slippers? They keep me warm in the winter.

Look at my girls, messing with Benz again.

BREAKFAST

I heat up the pot for tea, using the beautiful teapot my mom got for me when she was in Vietnam.

I make the eggs…Persian omelet.

And voila!

Persian omelet, pita bread, sliced cucumber and tomatoes, feta cheese, walnuts, almonds, and fresh basil.

Everyone is awake and ready to eat.

LAST TIME CHER WAS AT MY HOUSE

The last time she was at my house, Benz was only about a month old.

Cher adores babies, which is why she has 5 kids (3 of which are adopted).

Now, 5-6 months later and look how he’s changed.

Breakfast was great and we had an awesome time just chillaxing.

I love my girl Cher cause she’s one of the most honest and down to earth people I know.

Thanks for driving out of your bubble to come to mine so we could hang!!

-Jane, Friend of Cher.

The softest part of his skin is his back and stomach. It’s so velvety soft.

One of my favorite parts of his body is his neck. You may even refer to him as “Fat Neck”. It’s that chubby spot right where the nape of his neck is and it’s so super soft and mushy.

Benz, unlike his Daddy’s thin ears, has Mommy’s ears. There’s a little meat on there which makes me love to play with his ears.

Oh, and look at those creases and rolls! I love every curve on his body.

And especially his cute little Bunz. Benz’s Bunz are the BEST!

Look at those Persian lashes! Wish I had some.

Since he’s a boy, I don’t have people asking me if I put mascara on him. People used to ask me that about Thelma and Louise when they were babies. Seriously…who in the right mind would put mascara on their baby!

It’s so cute when he sucks on his fingers.

 Daddy can’t get enough of his little mini-me.

Look at that yummy booty! This is a booty call I’m down for!

Didn’t I tell you we’re babynivorous? Yes, we take a bite every chance we get.

Dimples, dimples, and more dimples. Just lovely.

-Jane, Fan of Benz’s Bunz.