Kimchi Mamas

Giving and Receiving

I've set lofty goals of trying to be done with holiday shopping this week.  I've done my duty, and done a decent amount of shopping in the last couple of days.  My favorite gifts for kids, however, are books.  I remember who gave me most of the books I've received as gifts.  The other things don't seem to stick around for as long, especially for kids.  Recently, as we've been going through my childhood book collection, it's always nice to see an inscription and a familiar name.

So, here are some of my favorite and most coveted Asian American books for this holiday season:

Wave, by Suzy Lee

This book is so simple, yet so joyful!  There are no words in this book, but the beautiful artwork creates a wonderful story that made my daughter smile.

Skim, by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki

I'm really into graphic novels recently, if only because they're about the only novels I can actually finish these days.  I think they're a perfect medium for conveying some of these coming of age type stories.  I hope this book lands under my tree this season.

100 Days

In a few days my youngest son will be 100 days old. We will celebrate with our immediate family, taking tons of pictures and enjoying the company. This being our third child, everything is old hat now and we realize it's not always necessary to have elaborate celebrations with tons of people and lavish surroundings. We appreciate family, our healthy children, our family. It will be a happy celebration.

Open Thread Thanksgiving Thursday

What's on your mind today?  What's in your tummy this Thanksgiving Thursday?

Happy Thanksgiving!
--The Kimchi Mamas

Talkin' Turkey in Texas

Thanksgiving is almost here!

(I'm using the exclamation point to illustrate my happiness, as in "Yay!  My favorite holiday is here!" and also to express my "Holy-crap Thanksgiving is in a few days!" feelings, too.)

Seriously though, I LOVE Thanksgiving.  I mean what's not to love?   There's food.  It's the beginning of the holiday season.  And it's all about family and friends.  This year it's going to be a "small" affair at my home - we're only calculating 15 people total and several throughout the day for visitors-passing-by to wish good cheer and share a drink . . .

My family has lived in the US for almost 30 years now, so there's turkey (I won't forget to brine the turkey this year, I promise), cornbread stuffing (we're in the South, what can I say?) and homemade cranberry relish (a recipe I learned from my Nath-easteen friends in college - where are the "r"s?).  We're also Korean so there's going to be tons of chapchae, yaki-mandu (my opa would freak if there wasn't) and of course kimchi (lots and lots of kimchi).  And because our family is a hodge-podge of American, Korean AND Mexican, there will also be enchiladas and maybe some fried tacos this year . . .

And like every Thanksgiving, we'll all eat too much, Dad will wrap kimchi around sliced bits of turkey, Mom will wrinkle her nose at my gravy and "tsk, tsk" my country style mashed potatoes with the skin still on (but have 2 helpings) and later there will be lively games of American and Korean style cards (and yes, money will be involved). 

And because there are children/grandchildren running around having a bite of turkey here, a slice of kimchi there and skipping along with yaki-madu in hand, they will get to absorb all of this and for them a plate of turkey and kimchi with a side of enchiladas is and forever will be normal . . . What's not to love?

What's on your Thanksgiving plate?

-Angie in Texas plans to start brining the turkey Wednesday after work . . . and pickling herself later that night.  =)

Open Thread Thursday

What's on your mind today?

--The Kimchi Mamas

Post-divorce Nationality Battle

As many regular readers know by now, I am still a Korean citizen.  By nationality.  By passport.  By "hell no, you can't vote in this country because your country and this country do not have a dual-citizenship pact".

I am a permanent resident, tax paying legal alien.  Those of you who were ready to dial Homeland Security, you may step away from the phone now.  And no, you can't get me deported just because you find my posts annoying or because I rub you the wrong way.  My ex wanted to get me deported because I wanted to divorce him.

Speaking of... I usually save rantings about my ex for my own blog but I thought I'd share this on Kimchi Mamas since it's kimchi-related.

Is it possible?

I JUST had a thought in my head.

Is it possible that my mother resents my existence?

Is it possible that she resents the fact that I was born?

Is it possible that she wishes that she never had me?

I think the answer is yes.  Well, maybe not today, but yeah... maybe when I was younger.  Don't worry, I am not having a pity party over here.

Manseh!

I think it's a tradition to teach babies how to do the Manseh in Korea.  Well, at least that what I get from the Korean community I've been a part of.

What is the Manseh?  The action itself requires you to lift both arms, palm open straight up as you shout "Manseh!"  The word itself means "ten thousand years", but it can be best translated into meaning "hooray!".  Personally, I feel like the meaning goes deeper.  To me, it's more of a "Hooray for us, as Koreans for ten thousand years!"

Alternatives

The dreaded has occurred. I spent the past two months fearing it, guarding against it, shutting myself off from hoping too much, from imagining the face of the little thing. Then it happened, and I stand helpless in the face of it. I was pregnant for the past three months, and now I am not. And there is nothing I can do about it.

In the face of this loss and this feeling of helplessness, I wonder what I should do. I could wallow, cry, rant that it's not fair, and cry some more. I have done some of that already. But I don't want to be buried in it. I am sure it will drown me like quicksand, slowly sucking me in and absorbing me, even though I may not feel the changing depth minute by minute. I know grief can consume me, and I'm not ready to befriend it so quickly.

Open Thread Thursday

What's on your mind today?

--The Kimchi Mamas