circle of friends

When we arrived at Eastern Market last Saturday to meet some friends for breakfast, I was struck by how incredibly lucky we are to have a community of people here whom we love and respect. Who we can laugh and cry with, who we trust with our kids, who we can ask for advice, and who inspire and awe us. And who are forgiving when we admit the shocking truth that this is the first time we've had the famous pancakes at Eastern Market (and yes, they were wonderful!). 

After catching up, stuffing our faces, and watching our kids roll around on the ground, we went our separate ways for the day, stopping to pick up a few things among the market stalls. A beautiful day on Capitol Hill. My cup runneth over...

Making Friends

Nothing like spending an afternoon with a new friend, catching rolly-pollies.

Am feeling grateful for:

a little girl who loves to be outside and isn't afraid to play with bugs or get dirty

the warm sunshine on my shoulders

sweet five year olds who are kind to my three year old

making it home safely

staying close no matter how many miles separate us

A Hot Date

As a relative new-comer to the world of public blogging, one of the most exciting and rewarding things has been making other bloggy friends. You start recognizing return-commenters and then you visit their sites and see that you have a lot in common and you leave comments on their posts and soon you have a little repartee going. You might even reach out and connect through email and get to know each other by your real names. And occasionally you might even be brave enough to suggest an actual face-to-face meeting!

Yes, it's true. I had a total bloggy crush on Pomegranate Girl because not only do we have common interests and a similar background, but she seems uber-talented, interesting, and genuine. And it turns out she lives in the same area where I grew up. So on my recent trip back to New England, we met up. She suggested we have lunch at Flatbread Company in Amesbury and when I looked it up on line and read about this restaurant's commitment to local, organic produce, free-range chicken, nitrate-free meats, and community-centered philosophy it made me love Pomegranate Girl that much more. And when we showed up and she greeted me with a warm, genuine hug and her little boy was so sweet and friendly to my little girl, I realized that this could be true love. You know, in the kindred spirit/bosom friend kind of way.


Pomegranate Girls's Photo: The pizza was amazing!

It made me so happy when she whipped out her camera right when I was about to whip out mine. We geeked out over cameras and lenses for a bit and she gave me loads of great tips. Seriously, where was the girl when I was bemoaning my lonely, homely Asian American self growing up? So nice to find a Japanese Mixie soul sister!

The kids were instant BFFs, too.

A fellow mama with a camera - I love this girl!

When we got home later that afternoon Mayumi and I were gushing to Mr. Q about our new-found friends. We're still on a bit of a high, actually. Thanks for the super hot date, Pomegranate Girl - looking forward to more bloggy contact, back-and-forth email, and actual face time!

Thank You for Your Support!

By MamaQ

Dear friends and readers, we are so grateful for your readership.  Since we started this little project a few months ago we've gotten some supportive feedback and have been pleasantly surprised by the positive response.  Now that we've started to gain momentum we are really getting excited about having a public space where we share our thoughts and ideas with each other and with you.  We'd love to expand our readership and get even more feedback from you. 

Our humble request is that you frequently leave comments on posts that move you in some way - we truly want to hear your thoughts and ideas as well!  And, if you are so inclined, sign up to be a "follower" (see the sidebar) and link to our blog from your own.  We would be so appreciative of these gestures.

We're already so grateful to you for taking time to visit us here and care about what we have to say.  We hope you've found something here to make you smile.  xoxoxo!