Moms and dads out there, think you could do this? Last night, I came across the story of a married couple, Cindy Bailey and Pierre Giauque, who decided leave the comforts of their home (which was Silicon Valley), sell most of their stuff, and travel the world…with kids! Now, it’s not rare to hear about such stories. In fact, my brother and his wife did the same thing last year. There’s even a term for these individuals: digital nomads. However, my brother and his wife don’t have kids. To me, taking a 3-year-old and a 9-year-old out of their environment and home schooling them while traveling the world takes on a whole new level of responsibility.
The family first set off for Lausanne, Switzerland, where Pierre had relatives and then have stayed in spots throughout Europe, Canada, and Southeast Asia.
There’s a website called Live Family Travel that conducted a good interview with Cindy about how they seem to manage it all: their financing, schooling, and fears and logistics of traveling with kids. As for their finances, the couple saved for up to two years in order to travel. Pierre had to quit his job as a manufacturing engineer while Cindy works on the road as a content strategist and writer.
So the million dollar question is: how do they handle the kids’ education? The kids are now 10 and 4, which is a wide gap. Cindy did a lot of research on homeschooling before they left. For their 10-year-old son, they teach him through interactive computer programs and real-life excursions while their daughter uses Starfall.com and ST Math. They even offered up their own online resources list. They keep their kids busy with lots of activities: scooter rides into town, swimming in the ocean, boat rides, museum visits and street fair outings.
So what has she learned about herself and her family? (I like how this quote applies to life in general.)
“I think the main lesson we’ve learned (which on some level we already knew) is that change is hard, but once you have journeyed through it, the other side is as beautiful as you imagined it would be, and more than worth it! The experience of realizing a dream teaches you confidence and helps you grow: you’ll face other challenges with greater ease and assurance. And you get to skip regrets later.
Also, once you make the commitment to do something–and make it real by resigning from a job or announcing it to friends, for example–everything really does find a way to fall into place.”
I want to become a photographer. There, I’ve said it. After curating art, design and photography for the last seven years, I have this burning desire to now take on a creative profession. What kind of photographer do I want to be? Not sure yet. Sure running a “lifestyle” blog is fun but it’s not fulfilling enough for me. I’m leaning towards “family-style” photography but not the kind where the everyone’s dressed up in white shirts and blue jeans and they’re stiffly posing on the beach. I’m talking Kate T. Parker, Elena Shumilova, Hideaki Hamada, and Aya Sakai.
Like many people, I often take out my iPhone to snap shots rather than lug around my heavy DSLR. Sure the iPhone can take great pics but there’s always something to be desired. That’s why I’ve made it my goal to really learn more about my camera (Canon 5D Mark II) and I’ve decided to teach myself post processing software, that is Adobe Lightroom. I have an older version (Lightroom 4) but it’s all that I need to edit my shots.
So far, I’ve learned Lightroom from two sources, Skillshare and two books I bought on Amazon from the same author, Tony Northrup. The first one is called How to Create Stunning Digital Photography and the second is Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Video Book: Training for Photographers. What I love about these books is that if you buy the Kindle versions (which go for $9.99), there are links to really informative videos. Tony, along with his wife Chelsea, give great tips on everything from how to use your camera to how to set up a good portrait shot. If you don’t want to commit to buying the books, just yet, you can first check out their YouTube channel.
Here’s my Lightroom grid and then here are some side-by-side before and after Lightroom shots.
I know I’ve got a long way to go before I can even begin to think of myself as a “real” photographer, but this is the first time, in a long time, that I’ve been this excited about anything.
Today’s recipe is simple to make and can be eaten as a side dish (banchan) or on top of bibimbap (mixed rice with vegetables). The main ingredient is Korean zucchini (otherwise known as gray squash), which is more stocky than regular zucchini and has a rounded bottom. The pale green skin is smooth and shiny while the inside is solid with a crisp flesh. The traditional recipe calls for using shrimp fish sauce (or saewoojeot) but, since we can’t all get our hands on that ingredient, we’ve substituted it with fish sauce.
My kids love eating this dish with white rice. The nice part is that they get a healthy serving of vegetables.
Ingredients:
2 Korean zucchinis (gray zucchini)
1 tsp salt
2 chopped green onions (2 tbsp)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tsp fish sauce (shrimp fish sauce (or saewoojeot) can be used instead)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
1. Cut the squash into fourths.
2. Then with flesh part down, cut the zucchini into half-moon shaped slices.
3. Add salt to the zucchini. Mix it all together and then leave it for 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Run cold water over the zucchini so the salt washes away. Drain using a strainer.
5. Using your hands, tightly squeeze the water out of the zucchinis.
6. These are the ingredients you will be using to sauté the zucchini. On the plate there’s the minced garlic and chopped green onion. Standing from left to right is the fish sauce, the sesame oil and the sesame seeds.
7. On high heat, add the olive oil to the pan. When hot, add the zucchini and mix it into the oil. Next, add the fish sauce and the garlic. Mix 1-2 minutes. Finally, add the green onion, sesame oil and the sesame seeds. Mix 2-3 minutes. This whole step should take you no more than five minutes.
You’re done! Enjoy this popular Korean side dish. It’s one of my favorites.
On Thursday night, we took off for a four night, five day vacation up at Mammoth mountains. There were six families that went so we ended up renting two condos that were side by side. The six bedroom, six bathroom listing was almost 4,000 square feet so there was plenty of room for the kids to run around while the open floor plan allowed for the adults to mix and mingle in the kitchens and living rooms. By renting both units, you get the entire top floor to yourself. The two condos share a balcony where there’s a grill, a hot tub and a sauna. Here’s the VRBO listing.
The living room had plenty of seating and had that traditional yet modern cabin feel.
The kitchen was fully stocked with plenty of dishes and cookware. In fact, we only ordered pizza once during the trip. We ended up barbecuing steaks and Korean galbi on the grill a few nights.
Our family stayed in the master bedroom. It had a California King bed, a fireplace, a flat screen tv, a smaller daybed (where Parker and I slept), and its own bathroom.
The two condos shared a deck where there was a hot tub and sauna!
The best part was the location! You could walk to Canyon Lodge where you can hop on a lift to the top of the mountain or ride a gondola to The Village. This was a great place to stay, especially because of the location.
Sleds were available to take on short excursions. Here are some pics of Parker and Logan playing in the snow.
Parker all suited up. This picture is kind of grainy but I love Parker’s crooked smile and his subtle thumbs up.
We attempted to take the boys skiing but Logan started bawling when we tried to put him in a ski boot and Parker had such a bad meltdown we had to scrap our plans.
The next day we took the boys to some nearby mountains. Here’s Parker exploring the woods.
Since we didn’t bring a sled, that day, Parker decided to just slide down on his stomach. He called it “belly bopping.”
What’s a trip to the mountains without a snowball fight?
Logan wouldn’t leave Sam’s arms. I think he was a little scared of all the ice.
On the last day, Sam and Logan went sledding down a hill together. Logan loved it until he almost got ejected and then he was done.
Overall, it was a fun time had by all. Outside of Lake Arrowhead, it was our first major road trip. Not only did we survive, we would do it again in a heartbeat.
San Francisco-based artist Tiffany Bozic created this adorable painting of three owls resting on a pyramid of golden four leaf clover. It is called Triangle of Love. Look closely and you’ll see a delicate glistening string threading them together. This is meant to symbolize the universal and unconditional familial bond between mother, father and child. I found the charming work by way of Juxtapoz magazine, this piece landed on the front page cover of their March 2016 issue.
Bozic is opening a solo show at New York’s Joshua Liner Gallery starting on March 17 and running until April 16, 2016. The Animal in Us will feature eight new works that focus on the connection between humans and animals. Bozic grew up in rural Arkansas where she witnessed, firsthand, animals’ cycle of life. Married to an ornithologist, she often accompanies her husband on expeditions to remote locations, which no less inspires her work.
I love collecting anything to do with owls so this piece speaks to my heart!
I’m headed to Mammoth tomorrow for the long holiday weekend. We’re going up there with five other families so it should be a fun time, especially for the kids. It’ll be Parker and Logan’s first official road trip, the six hour drive should be an adventure in and of itself. Hopefully we’ll do some sledding and Parker may even try out skiing for the first time. This will be my last post till Tuesday. Have a great long weekend!
Now here are some fun links of the week, brought to you a day early.
OK Go’s new zero gravity video is pretty cool, especially when they release all the balls.
Though you’d be hard pressed to find it, when you do, make sure to scoop it up before it’s gone. There are not a lot of toys Parker and Logan consistently play with. They usually unwrap a toy, play with it for a few days and then throw it into the sad, “discarded toys” heap.
VTech’s KidiJamz Studio is not just any ordinary keyboard, it has a microphone and comes with five musical styles like Rock, Techno, Reggae and Jazz. (Techno’s my favorite.) Your kids can jam to one of 20 of their favorite nursery school tunes by pushing on the Melodies buttons, giving you hours of fun. (Have you ever heard the techno version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? It rocks!) There’s some cool digital voice effects, a scratching disc and even a detachable music player that records your kids’ songs.
Amazon is currently selling this new for about $68. We picked one up about two years ago and my kids haven’t stopped playing with it, I’m talking almost every single day. By mixing and matching the musical styles with the melodies, you get an almost endless array of song choices. Whether you’re looking for a toy the whole family can enjoy or just the perfect gift, you can’t go wrong with VTech’s KidiJamz Studio. (This is not a sponsorship or an affiliate link.)
Today I’m going to teach you how to make two really easy Korean side dishes. The first one is a simple cucumber salad, it might remind you of a popular Japanese dish, sunomomo. We only use a few basic ingredients with this. It’s perfect as a small side dish, you can eat with white rice, or just by itself.
The second recipe is for a Korean spinach side dish, called sigeumchi muchim. Not only is spinach good for you, eating it like this will make you forget that you’re essentially consuming a healthy vegetarian dish.
Now let’s get started.
1. Slice cucumbers horizontally to make round discs.
2. Add the salt and mix it into the cucumbers, coating it. This will give the cucumbers a deep, salty taste.
3. Wait an hour, letting the salt soak into the cucumbers. Then, in cold water, wash off all the salt away. Drain.
4. Add the apple cider vinegar and the sugar. Mix it into the cucumbers using your hands. Last, add the salt to taste, which will be about 1 tsp.
Recipe:
10 small Persian cucumbers
1 tbsp salt
1/4 cup and 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup and 1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt (later)
1. Slice cucumbers horizontally, making small discs.
2. Add in salt and mix it into the cucumbers.
3. Let soak 1 hour.
4. In cold water, wash away all the salt from the cucumbers. Drain.
5. Add in apple cider vinegar, sugar and salt to taste. Mix.
This next recipe will be for the Korean spinach side dish. These are a few of the ingredients you will be using.
1. Boil water.
2. Wash spinach in cold water and rinse. This is to take off any dirt on the spinach.
3. Set the spinach in the boiling water, add in the salt and cover the spinach with the water. Wait just one minute, the water doesn’t have to boil again, and then remove the spinach. It should be wilted but not soggy.
4. Drain in cold water again, washing the spinach thoroughly.
5. Using your hands, clamp them down on the wet spinach to squeeze out all the water. You may want to do this two or three times. Make sure the water is all squeezed out or your dish will turn out soggy.
6. Cut up the spinach into small bunches. (Option, you can squeeze out any excess water after cutting the spinach up.)
7. Add in garlic, green onion, fermented soybean paste (doenjang), perilla oil (deulgireum), and sesame seeds. Mix the whole thing together with your hands.
Recipe:
6 cups of water
1 pinch of salt
1 bunch of spinach
1 tsp minced garlic
3 chopped green onions (equal to 2 tsp)
1 tsp fermented soybean paste (doenjang)
1 tsp perilla oil (deulgireum)
1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1. Boil water.
2. Wash spinach in cold water, rinse.
3. Set the spinach in the boiling water, add in the pinch of salt. Cover the spinach in water. Wait one minute and then take it out. The water doesn’t have to boil again.
4. Wash the spinach in cold water again. Drain. You can do this two times, to make sure all the dirt is gone.
5. Using your hands, squeeze the water all out of the spinach. You can do this two or three times.
6. Cup up the spinach in a tic-tac-toe pattern.
7. Using your hands, squeeze out the water from the spinach again.
8. Add in garlic, green onion, fermented soybean paste (doenjang), perilla oil (deulgireum), and sesame seeds. Mix the whole thing together with your hands.
Truth be told, I like to dive into several books at once. Skipping from one book to another gives me the variety I crave in life, learn a new skill here, be inspired by a successful leader there, it all leads to self improvement. This time, I picked up three new Kindle titles that are all very different. I’ve enjoyed each of them so much that I’d recommend them to all of my dearest friends.
My sister Carol tipped me off to the first book, The Little Book of Skincare: Korean Beauty Secrets for Healthy, Glowing Skin. Being Korean myself, I’ve always wondered how Korean women achieve that effortless, natural glow and now author Charlotte Cho spells it out for us in this humorous book. Cho is founder of Soko Glam, a leading Korean beauty and lifestyle website, and she’s a licensed esthetician. She guides us through the Korean ten-step skin-care routine (yes, that’s a lot of steps). I appreciated how she gave specific recommendations on products (her “picks”) and how she weaves in personal stories from “beauty gurus” like top makeup artists, actresses and Korean skincare researchers. This book makes me want to start from scratch and buy a whole new set of skincare and make-up products. If anything, it’s nice to know that there’s a website like Soko Glam to help guide us through our skincare needs. (Pic by WhateverDeeDeeeWants.)
Our next book up is Ready, Set, Breathe: Practicing Mindfulness with Your Children for Fewer Meltdowns and a More Peaceful Family. It’s a whopping title, isn’t it? I found this book while searching for ways to incorporate mindfulness with parenting. By now you’ve heard about the whole mindfulness movement, noticing what is happening right now, in a friendly and curious way, and then deciding on what to do next. In this book, author Carla Naumburg takes the idea one step further by applying it to parents. How do you react when your child is having a meltdown? Do you put your kids in time out? Are they even effective? Naumburg provides real world tips saying, “the best possible responses involve connecting, getting curious, or showing compassion.” She then goes more into depth with each of these ideas. Here’s a paragraph I liked about having compassion for our kids:
When your child is having a moment-either a mindful one or a difficult one-the most skillful and empathetic choice you can make is to be kind. There are many, many ways to do this. It may be about sitting nearby with a calm, abiding presence. Or perhaps your child needs to be snuggled or tucked into a comfy spot with a favorite toy or blanket. Maybe he needs to hear a story about a time when you also made a bad mistake or got hurt by a friend or lost a beloved pet, so he doesn’t feel so alone. Or maybe he needs to be reminded that, no matter how confusing or scary or out of control the world may feel, you’re here and you’re going to take care of him, and you’re not leaving.
Next, here’s a practical tip we can all do today. “Now, I try to remember to acknowledge her feelings, offer my help, and remind both of us that nothing lasts forever, whether it’s a wonderful moment or an excruciating one. That small shift in focus, from feeling as though we are mired in our current experience to remembering that it’s just a blip on the radar, can help us enjoy the pleasant moments more fully and suffer a bit less with the difficult ones.” I wish someone would have taught me this at a young age. I’m starting to apply these lessons toward Parker. The book is aimed at kids three to ten, so those of you with younger kids may want to hold off on buying this book till your kids get a little bit older.
If you’re looking for practical tools on how to be a more mindful parent, this book is a great read. As a side benefit, you’ll pick up many useful tips on how you can incorporate mindfulness in your life, too.
The last book that I’m reading is Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration. Written by Ed Catmull, the co-founder of Pixar Animal Studios, the book takes us behind the scenes of how the innovative company Pixar was first born. More than that, Catmull gives us advice on how to build a creative culture, a strong company that’s built on trust. He talks about failure freely, how companies must take risks in order to thrive.
Rather than trying to prevent all errors, we should assume, as is almost always the case, that our people’s intentions are good and that they want to solve problems. Give them responsibility, let the mistakes happen, and let people fix them. If there is fear, there is a reason-our job is to find the reason and to remedy it. Management’s job is not to prevent risk but to build the ability to recover.
The most eye-opening fact that I learned was that each movie starts out as an “ugly baby.” You may have watched a Pixar film and imagined that they just formed magically, with no effort at all. This is hardly the case.
They are not beautiful, miniature versions of the adults they will grow up to be. They are truly ugly: awkward and unformed, vulnerable and incomplete. They need nurturing-in the form of time patience-in order to grow….The Baby is so pure and unsullied, so full of potential, but it’s also needy and unpredictable and can keep you up at night.
It takes months, if not years, of hard work and about 300 people per film to see it through. More than anything, I loved reading the behind the scenes stories about some of my favorite Pixar movies, like Finding Nemo or Toy Story, and the differences in management style between Disney and Pixar. Whether you’re looking for a management book or you’re just a loyal fan of Pixar, this book has something for you.
Here are some reviews for Creativity, Inc.:
“Just might be the best business book ever written.”—Forbes
“What is the secret to making more of the good stuff? Every so often Hollywood embraces a book that it senses might provide the answer. . . . Catmull’s book is quickly becoming the latest bible for the show business crowd.”—The New York Times
“The most practical and deep book ever written by a practitioner on the topic of innovation.”—Prof. Gary P. Pisano, Harvard Business School
Back in November 2013, I wrote about a beautiful photo series called One Day Young, emotional portraits of mothers holding their one-day-old babies. Photographer Jenny Lewis, a mother of two herself, came up with the idea. She aimed to change the perception of childbirth from something that produced fear and anxiety to one that would strengthen and inspire women.
A new documentary has just been released that goes one-on-one with Lewis. In it we learn that rather than taking inspiration from other photographs, Lewis took on a “painterly point of view.” She formed her compositions from paintings she studied in “A-level art history.” In 2015, Lewis was invited by WaterAid to take the project to Malawi to show the challenges mothers there face. It was a stunning take on her current series.
What’s next for Lewis? “I don’t think that’s the end of the journey for One Day Young. I don’t know what is next, but I’m sure there’ll be another moment to explore,” she states.
Watch the inspirational documentary, below. This project takes me back to the moment I got to hold Parker and Logan for the very first time. What a rush and a thrill.
Hello, I’m Alice Yoo! I’m founder and CEO of Skylar Yoo, a company dedicated to inspiring and empowering women to be bold. We sell apparel, art prints and accessories to the modern feminist.
In my former life, I was editor-in-chief of the art and culture blog My Modern Met, which I founded back in 2007. I curated and wrote about art, design and photography for more than seven years. (In fact, I published over 7,000 articles which were seen by millions of people worldwide.) I’m also co-author of a book called For Love: 25 Heartwarming Celebrations of Humanity, which is on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
I live in southern California along with my husband and my two toddler boys.
This blog is about what I love, the tough experiences that I’ve learned from, and my journey as a second time entrepreneur. Right now, I’m in the midst of a 365 day challenge, to read one book a day. If you share my passions or want to learn some cool new facts, come along for the ride. I hope to inspire, educate and entertain you!
