Our First Thanksgiving in Paris

Thanksgiving 2015

1 Parisian apartment + 4 families + 8 adults + 9 children + 1 very loud sing-along + lots of food and wine = a great way to celebrate our first Thanksgiving in Paris.

Our first Thanksgiving in Paris was shared with new friends we met through Peanut and Rocky's school.  These Americans, who have lived in Paris for 3 months to over 10 years, shared this holiday of family and friendship with us.  We even had a special visitor all the way from Miami, Uncle Adam.

Jared, Peanut, Rocky, and I have so much to be grateful for.  We are healthy, safe, living a dream life filled with loving family members and friends who genuinely care for us and us for them.  I get emotional as I think back to the events in Paris on November 13th and the number of phone calls, texts, Facebook messages, emails, and more from family, friends (new and old), and business colleagues reaching out to make sure we are safe.  Even those who I haven't talked to or seen in a long time reached out.  I love this experience of living abroad, but at times, it can feel as though we're alone here without our support network.  The unfortunate events a couple of weeks ago assured me that we are not alone and have so many generous, caring, and loving people in our lives who are near and far away.  To me, all the money in the world cannot replace these relationships.  I hope you were able to spend this holiday sharing laughs, good food, and creating new memories.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy 46th Birthday To Ya!

The kids showered their daddy with love this week as Jared celebrated his birthday.  During Jared's birthday dinner at home, the kids asked if he was going to have a "birthday party".  Jared said that the dinner was his birthday party.  So we continued to eat, talk about our day, and topped it off with some a birthday treat of coconut ice cream.  After dinner, the kids went up to Jared and said, "thank you for inviting me to your birthday".  Something I taught them to say before leaving a birthday party to the birthday child and their parents.  Most of the time, I have to remind them to say it, but of course, they remember when they want to be silly.

I also got a chance to shower my husband with love with a date night birthday dinner.  One cool feature of the restaurant was the backlit menu.

Happy birthday Jared.  I love you and can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays with you!

Tet 2015 - Happy Year of the Goat!

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới (Happy New Year)!  Tết (pronounced thet) is Vietnamese new year and the biggest celebration in Vietnam.  The entire country parties for 2 weeks straight.  Most businesses are closed so they can celebrate at home with their families, however, open air markets are set up with vendors selling flowers, food, and new clothes for the hundreds of thousands celebrating in the streets.  Even the families with the most modest of means will buy new clothes to wear in order to ring in the new year.  Remnants of firecrackers cover the streets and lion dance drums can be heard in every corner.

The traditions continued even when we immigrated to the United States and the very non-Asian town of San Antonio.  When I was a kid, my grandmother would cook for days and offer the food to my deceased ancestors.  We never had elaborate dinner parties, however, for Tết, the kitchen table would be set with a pressed tablecloth and our best dinnerware.  I remember my grandmother in a heavy coat and head scarf shivering on my front porch as she burned hell money and gold so my ancestors had it to spend in their afterlife.  I wonder what my neighbors thought.  Bright marigolds and the smell of incense permeated endlessly throughout my house for 14 days.  

My grandmother spent days making the very time and labor intensive bánh tét which are tightly packed sticky rice with meat, banana, or bean fillings wrapped in banana leaves.  Her banana filled bánh tét was the thing I looked forward to every new year and still haven't tasted a better one than my grandmother's.  Seriously, I'm not being nostalgic or biased.  Our Vietnamese friends and family members in San Antonio would agree.

Now that I have kids, I'm trying to better understand the cultural lessons I took for granted when my grandmother was relaying them to me when I was a child ... so I can share them with my kids, who I'm sure will also take them for granted.  

We welcomed the year of the goat watching the lion dancers' athleticism (also a favorite of mine).  Loud firecrackers competed with the dancers' drums and the smell of gun powder and incense filled the air.  Ahh, reminds me of childhood and perhaps subconsciously Rocky and Peanut will also retain some of these memories.

Mother's Day 2014

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day photo, take 1 - my kids in their normal state
Peanut (6), Rocky (3)

Mother's Day photo, take 4 - my kids trying to be serious

Cards from Peanut and Rocky.
Peanut's tulip says: You are awesome, mommy.  I love you.

10 Things You Must Do in Barcelona

Spending Christmas 2013 and ringing in the New Year in Barcelona was an unforgettable experience.  After almost 3 weeks, we learned a lot about the people, city, and languages, but I know there's so much more.  Thank you Barcelona for allowing us to immerse ourselves in your beautiful city.

Here are our top 10 favorite things to do in Barcelona during the winter.

1.  Take a break from the city atop Montjuic Castle and on the way down, ride the giant slide.
2.  Ride the steam engine at Park of Castell de l'Oreneta and meet the nicest volunteers who maintain and run the train station.
3.  Be a kid again at Tibidabo Amusement Park.
4.  Walk along Passeig de Gracia and look at every curve of Gaudi's houses.
5.  Admire the complexities of La Sagrada Familia.
6.  Go on the high speed train to Girona and walk through the medieval sites.
7.  Explore at the CosmoCaixa Science Museum and see the Amazon rain forest close up.
8.  Go back 2,000 years in the ruins at Museu d'Història de la Ciutat and El Born Centre Cultural.
9.  Get showered with candy and confetti at the Three Kings' Parade.
10.  Try standing your churro up in the chocolate caliente and don't pass up a chance to get hopped up on cafe con leche.

Barcelona's Three Kings' Parade

Banners about the Three Kings' Parade were posted throughout Barcelona and I found a small note about it in our guidebook.  Before going, J and I saw King's Cake featured in bakery windows all over and wanted to learn more about this big holiday.  This article, which I've highlighted important selections below, helped us learn about this huge and important celebration that so many in the world celebrate.  The Three Kings' Parade on the night of January 5th was a highlight of our trip and another tradition we'll continue thanks to our trip to Barcelona.

The Three Kings on 5th January is Barcelona's Christmas parade and the biggest Christmas celebration day in Spain. It is celebrated with the "Three Kings’ Parade" - also known as the “Twelfth Night procession". In Spanish it is called "La Cabalgata de Reyes Magos” and in Catalan it is called "la Cavalcada de Reis Mags d'Orient". ¡Felices Reyes!

These looked like glowing dragons floating above

About Three Kings - Reyes traditions

These famous and beloved Magi, the Three Kings of the Orient, are called Balthasar, Gaspar, and Melchior in Spanish and in Catalan they are called Baltasar, Gaspar, and Melchor. The legend of the Three Kings of the Orient is that after the Kings came to Bethlehem on 5th January after following a heavenly star. Upon arrival gave gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the infant Jesus, they handed out gifts to children during their return journey. So in Spain children write to the Three Kings, who bring the presents on 6th January. The Kings' Day Parade is the biggest parade in Barcelona and takes place on 5th January every year on the evening before Twelfth Night - also called Epiphany, which is on the 6th January.  The 6th January is a public holiday in Spain and is the biggest gift giving day of the year in Barcelona and Spain when the children open their presents and the family eats a sweetbread cake called "Tortell de Reis" or kings cake which in Spanish is called "Roscón de Reyes" which means Kings' Ring. Inside the Roscon the bakers hide a tiny toys or trinket and a fava bean. The person who finds the toy is King or Queen of the feast and the person who gets the fava bean buys the cake the following year.. The children send their gift wishes to the Kings by sending them or handing them to the Kings' pages Page Estel or Page Gregori, who can be found at the Barcleona City Hall, at the Three Kings' Post Box in the courtyard of the Palau de la Virreina or at many malls. The Pages Estel and Gregori are also in the parade to collect the last childrens' letters.

About Barcelona Kings Parade 

There are various local Christmas Kings parades in different districts of Barcelona on 5th January.  An estimated 500,000 people, including the Phanbergs, go to see the biggest "Cabalgata de Reyes Magos" in Barcelona, which is a three hour parade with a convoy of around 12 parade floats - carrozas - that stretches almost one kilometre in total along a 5km route through the centre of Barcelona also passing by Plaza Catalunya. The Kings parade is a spectacular show designed and performed by professional artists from the world of theater, music, dance and circus alongside many volunteers, which are mostly students from 29 different arts schools in Barcelona. In total there are about 1,200 costumed participants, 12 big floats and 26 dance retinues called comparsas. Each float has a theme, which change every year. For well behaved children around 12 tons of gluten free caramels (hard candies) are thrown from three lorries, so bring a bag if you have been good in 2013. Small children can give the Kings pages their Christmas letters and also hand in their pacifiers or dummies - called xumets in Catalan - to the Kings' Xumeters - the dummie collectors. Leading the parade are "Els llancers de la Guàrdia Reial" The Royal Guard Lancers on horseback. Don't forgot to buy a Kings Cake - a sweet dessert bread called "Tortells de Reis" in Catalan - "Roscón de Reyes" in Spanish, which is eaten the night before or on King's Day. You can get them at all bakeries and supermarkets in Barcelona. ¡Felices Reyes! Bones Festes!

Dandelions

She reminds me how much joy the simplest things in life can bring.

Happy Hannukah

Halloween 2011

Buzz Lightyear and his friend, the postman.

Rocky refuses to keep anything on her head, so I went with a simple costume. I like to call it, Mean Melon, complete with leg warmers.

Port Aransas

Peanut's new school has something called October break, which the kids are out of school for one week. All I could think was ... oh my gosh, one week without child care! Luckily, J was able to take off a few days so we headed down to the coast.

We stayed at the Port Royal. The rooms were so-so, but the pool was amazing. Peanut had a blast playing in the sand on the beach and swimming in that oasis of a pool. It's no surprise that the beach is not the most popular place in the middle of October, so the resort was pretty deserted. We had the entire pool and beach to ourselves most of the time we were there.

It was Rocky's first time at the beach. She really liked crawling around in the sand and feeling the grit on her hands. Unfortunately, she kept on trying to eat it too. I thought she'd stop after a couple of mouthfuls, but the girl kept on trying!



On our way home, we drove through a small town called Taft and I got to see wind turbines in person for the first time. These things are so much bigger than I realized. Seeing these large, sleek wind turbines pop up in the middle of nowhere and next to old farms and tractors felt really eerie. It felt like something from outer space had landed in the middle of podunk Texas and planted these alien structures on our planet.

Rocky naps twice a day and Peanut once a day, so our time on the beach and in the pool were limited, but we still had a nice and relaxing trip.

Rocky's First Birthday Party

Rocky at her first birthday party dressed in a bathing suit and incredibly fluffy tutu.

I love taking photos and have gotten into making banners. Here's a banner I made in Rocky's party colors (orange and hot pink) showing her monthly progress through her first year.

Little details to make the party fun.

I had to take advantage of the season and used miniature pumpkins to add color to the party. They were also a big help in weighing down the table cloths. My favorites are the white and orange Cinderella pumpkins. I also framed some of my favorite photos of Rocky and put them on the tables.

Our backyard dolled up and waiting for guests.

Rocky with Ba Ngoai.

Uncle Phi forgot Rocky was turning one, not twenty-one.

An attempt to take a decent family photo.

We're Moving

It's 107 degrees and what do we do? Let's move!

In a little over a week, we'll be moving into a house that's closer to Jared's office and Peanut's new school. More importantly, the new house has a pool!

Peanut was accepted into this other school we were considering and starts the Monday after we move into our new home. The move shouldn't impact Rocky too much, but Peanut is definitely old enough to be aware of the big changes. He's always been pretty resilient, so I'm hoping any upset will be short lived.


I've been packing like a mad woman, but leaving out the "pretty items" for photos for our listing. I hired a sitter to watch Rocky while Peanut is in school so I can pack and clean, which has been a huge help. Packing for this move is an exponentially bigger job than when it was just me and Jared moving out of our condo into this house. A house and two kids comes with a lot of stuff.

Happy Father's Day

There's no rest for the weary. Father's Day still means baths and story time. But it's not everyday you get the gift of a t-shirt that says "dad" in binary code. It is so geeky, that it is chic.

Happy Father's Day, Jared! We <3 you.

Vegetarian for a Year

Other than smiling through those late nights and making some PB&J, there wasn't much else I could do to help Jared with the transaction. Even though I'm not all that religious, I still believe that you can send out positive or negative energy and build good or bad karma. So, I decided to "pray" that everything go smoothly with the transaction. As a way to remind myself of how thankful I am for the good life I have, I would give up meat for one year. (I figured I might also lose a few pounds along the way.) Beginning on June 1, 2011, I became an ovo-lacto vegetarian. There are different types of vegetarianism such as an ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy, a lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy but not eggs, and an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet (that's me) includes both eggs and dairy. A vegan diet, which I could never follow, excludes all animal products, such as eggs, dairy, and honey.

Jared thinks I'm crazy and says I should have said "a month", but I really believe a year is right.

This meat and potatoes girl is trying to be a low maintenance vegetarian by going with the family to the same restaurants, cooking our favorite dishes, etc., but last night's special anniversary celebration dinner at The Lodge was almost a disaster. The antler chandeliers and mounted deer heads should have given it away that this restaurant is for carnivores only. I could only find one dish that met my new dietary requirements on the menu which our waiter (who was a spitting image of my friend Dirk) brought us. The Lodge only offers tasting menus so ordering one plate a la carte would not have worked. A speck of radish and dot of pickled onion with a balsamic reduction would not have been the five year anniversary dinner I was dreaming of. Luckily our waiter, Bizarro Dirk, brought back a few ideas to turn their current dishes into vegetarian ones. What started off as a little worrisome, ended up being a delicious, romantic dinner. Nineteen days down, three hundred forty six to go.

Cheers to 5 Years

My sweetie and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary this weekend at the Westin Riverwalk in San Antonio. My best friend watched the kids for 2 nights so we could spend some quality time together. It was my first time away from Rocky for an entire night and the first time that Jared and I got to spend more than one night together without kids since Peanut was born. The weekend included lots of food, Word Popper, and lounging around.

We had to try some of San Antonio's hot spots like La Frite for the best pomme frites I've ever had and a four-course tasting menu at The Lodge at the house known as the Castle in the Hills which the municipality of Castle Hills got its name. We even gave acclaimed Il Sogno a chance to redeem itself which it mostly did.

Somehow Jared and I got into a Word Popper battle in the wee hours of the night. Jared, who had never played before, outlasted me and blew my high scores to smithereens that first night. On our second night, as we were waiting in the lobby to catch a glimpse of the bride and groom that got married in our hotel make their grand exit, I waged a hostile takeover. My opponent was unaware of my sneak attack until he checked the high scores and learned of my superior dominance.

These spring chickens can't handle those late nights of Word Popper like we used to, so it felt so good to wake up on our own and lounge around all day. Oh how I miss those days.

Our trip was so relaxing and it was wonderful to reconnect with my husband. I couldn't have asked for a better anniversary weekend.

Congratulations ProfitFuel!

The sale of ProfitFuel to Yodle is old news by now, but I'm still celebrating! For the last several months, Jared has been working 15 hour days including weekends. Looking back, it's easy to say it was all worth it, but while we were in the trenches, it was rough. Even though Jared was staying late at the office and pouring over term sheets, I say "we were in the trenches" because I was left at home, flying solo. It got so bad that Peanut would ask, "Is Daddy come home late again?" During those several months, Jared ate tons of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner, which I packed for him knowing that he was staying late at work, and none of us saw much of him.

I guess I'm celebrating for a couple of reasons ... the first and most important one is I have my husband back! Yippee! The second reason is I'm so proud of Jared's achievements. This man has an unmatched work ethic which has benefited not only our family, but the families of ProfitFuel employees and its investors.

This is my favorite article about the acquisition because it mentions Jared. The photo is kind of goofy because it was taken when the office was decorated during Halloween, that's why the photo in the background is crooked and has a blackbird sitting on the corner.

Mother's Day 2011

I'm lucky to have a husband that loves and treats me with respect everyday, but it's still nice to have a special day that recognizes the work I do as a mom. I love the photo above of the four of us at Trattoria Lisina. Everyone's looking at the camera!

Below is a photo Peanut took of us. It actually turned out pretty well. Usually dad's head is cut off. At his height, I guess this is how Peanut sees us.

Jared, Peanut, and Rocky, thank you for making me feel so loved and special on Mother's Day.

What Did We Do Before Kids?

Jared and I had our first "real" date about a month ago to celebrate a belated Valentine's Day. Before that, we made brief appearances at a couple of holiday parties but really it has been four months since we spent any time alone together. It's amazing what it feels like to drive away from the house and have the inside of the car completely silent. As we drove downtown, Jared said to me, "it feels like we're on vacation". It's sad that this is all it takes to show a Slosberg a good time, but I completely agreed.

Thinking back to my single days, I felt like I worked so much and had such little time to do anything fun. Then I had Peanut and thought, this is soooo hard. Now, I have two and realize I had it easy with one. I literally have no free time. Once I get one settled, the other one needs me. Jared and I usually don't get a break until past 9:30 PM when we're both exhausted from a long day.

We've reinstated the standing two date nights a month where we can go out, have a complete conversation, and actually taste our food.

Happy Birthday Jared!

I had to post this photo from Jared's birthday celebration because it's rare to have a shot with all four of us in it. I love my Canon S90's self timer because it takes 3 back to back shots so you can choose which one is best.

Best Date Ever

Maybe this wasn't our best date ever, but it comes pretty close.

Last night, I got a sitter and took Jared to Sullivan's for his bi-annual birthday dinner there. We party-happy Slosbergs not only celebrate birthdays, we believe in celebrating half-birthdays too.
Afterwards, we walked around downtown looking at the trees lit up with white strings of light and enjoying the 70 degree temps when we heard Steve Miller blaring out tunes with his band. I knew the Steve Miller Band was playing at the new Moody Theater for the taping of Austin City Limits because a few weeks back I tried winning tickets to surprise Jared for his birthday. What I did not know was the promoter closed down Second Street, put up some sweet projection screens on the City Hall building, and piped the music through some great speakers so those of us who couldn't get tickets could see the live show, for free, on the street. It was amazing. There was just the right number of people around to make you feel like you were at an exclusive party. Jared and I sang and danced to all the classics like Take the Money and Run, Fly Like An Eagle, Abracadabra (which I didn't even know was Steve Miller's) and my favorite which you can hear in this video.



It couldn't have been a more perfect night. I used this opportunity to remind Jared my birthday is in 2 weeks and that the bar has been set.