no more flights... after this one

Ready for a weekend of guilt free, nausea free, snack-filled weekend in my own bed. 

Are airplanes compromising my immune system? I can't accept this.

I don't think I would've minded another Christmas on my own in the Bay, but Nathan is growing up fast, and I needed to obsessively take pictures of his most adorable years before he's a mini adult and less fun. The last time I saw him was when he was fresh out of the womb - naturally he had no idea who I was. But he figured it out by the end of the weekend. Not that he cared when I left either. My uncle says it's because boys are less sensitive. Meanwhile, Kevin is a whopping seven years old and totally addicted to computer games. I've never seen anyone zone out like he zones out when you stick a screen in front of him. Kid literally doesn't acknowledge anything around him. 

It's pretty impressive how much a 3-year old can comprehend. My brother's younger years all blur together, and while he was cute as fuck, he was still my annoying baby brother and I was trying my best to not interact with other humans. So I don't really remember how much he comprehended at three. I don't even remember if he was potty trained by then. Nathan forms pieces of sentences in Chinese and English, wakes up from naps to pee, and obediently does what I ask him to. And he's light as a feather and loves being tossed around between me and my brother.

  I was resigned to just being fed. My wallet laid untouched in the guest room. I was filled to the brim with smoked duck, braised chicken, za jiang noodles, soup dumplings, pan fried dumplings, congee both salty and sweet, roasted chestnuts, lots and lots of clementines, and hot pot (of course hot pot). And I didn't lift a finger in the kitchen except to scoop a bowl of rice.

  But before I left, it was kind of a stressful couple days of fridge cleanout and ambitious holiday baking. On the holiday baking front, I only managed this ricotta tart.

   Made with Alissa's giant bag of Kite Hill ricotta and topped with persimmon tangrams (as inspired by @lokokitchen - aka current pie sensation).

And snuck in a layer of miso cranberry sauce all wrapped up in Handle the Heat's pie crust.

Good to be back home... and sick (not as good). It's time to relive all the weekends not spent in my own bed that made the end of 2017 a serious health struggle for me.