I made a big pitch at work yesterday. The details are still being ironed out, but the purpose was to make adjustments in my current position that would allow me to be spend more time at home with a new baby while maintaining a high level of performance at work.

As with all negotiations, you don't get everything you want, but you learn to give up what's not essential in order to hold onto what is. And I'm still optimistic that my boss and I will agree on an arrangement will work out well for me and for the company.

What I didn't anticipate are the emotions that came with this process. This is the first significant and tangible change I've made in my life to prepare for someone I haven't yet met (with the exception of her little feet inside my body). Sure we have the stroller and all this furniture and I've gained a lot of weight, but this is different. After all these years of b-school and the rat race, to release the reigns of something that I created and own is a bitter pill to swallow. The hubs sweetly reminded me last night that I'm just making some room for my *new* job, which is just as important and will be just as rewarding.

In any case, this experience has taught me that my identity cannot be rooted in what I do professionally, or even who I am as a mom. I hope that as I go down this journey, my self-assurance in that will be stronger.

I give you our 2010 Christmas card. Conceived, designed, and emailed on Christmas Day. How's that for just-in-time?

Who waits until December 23rd to decide to write and send Christmas cards? Me! Except that I tried writing the newsletter-ish message in MS Word and naturally hit a writers' block. My cure? Procrastinate via blogger.

According to my records, today I am one day into my 23rd week of pregnancy and solidly into my second trimester. This pregnancy has been relatively uneventful, for which I am *extremely* grateful. The biggest change is my sudden innate fear of being caught without food. So on any given day, one can expect to find in my purse (which tends to conveniently large): 4 clementines, a piece of challah bread, a banana, and occasionally, a partially consumed bag of flaming hot cheetos.

The other big change is that I can no longer fit into my super cute North Face winter jacket, which is much needed as it has snowed three out of the past four days this week. I am not a huge fan of pregnant lady photos, especially a la Demi Moore but I may take one over the Christmas season because one day I do want something to remind myself in the future that I never again want to be this fat without a reason.

The past couple of weeks have seen a baby buying frenzy in the Jeong household. In addition to buying a glider and crib/dresser set, the highlight for Daniel has been his new set of wheels. Look at those shocks! And miniscule turning radius! And no-flat tires!


All we need now is the actual baby.

This is dedicated to my husband, who finds it...challenging to share the love when commuting home after a 36-hour-long shift.

Photo from drunkcyclist.com

I don't think I post much about married life on this blog, maybe because we have had our share of challenges. Take two very different people, throw in a new life in a new city with new everything, a job with inhumane hours, a demanding b-school load, a needy dog-child, and you get a roller coaster of a journey that often seems uphill.

But this weekend was special. Last Thursday marked four years to the day since we were married. Now that doesn't sound like a lot to many people, but for us it's a tremendous milestone that we quietly celebrated with joy, amazement, thankfulness, love, and a good amount of relief. That we made it this far. That we're almost done with this phase of our lives. That we are together and learning more about each other each day.

So happy four-year anniversary to my hubby. Let there be many many more.

I'm back in Boston and (finally) completely recovered from the tremendous jetlag that comes as a result of traveling all the way across the world to that far-away land called Kah-lee-fo-kneeuh.



First day in San Francisco, visting Roz. We biked from Fisherman's Wharf to Sausalito over the Golden Gate bridge. Totally worth the time and pain, and if I can do it, anyone can. Not to say that there weren't times when I wished I was on one of these:



It was like the attack of the nerds, all of these thrill seekers wearing helmets while going a mile in an hour. Turns out, there are segway tours in cities across the country. Who knew that there are actually nerds who live outside of silicon valley?? (My S. Bay friends - you know I love you.)





Sausalito:



My sis looks so happy there. It's nice to see that smile more now, and nice to just be together.



Later in the weekend I drove down to Stanford and celebrated my dear friend's graduation. As a Ph.D.! From Stanford! Maria and I had the same English teachers in high school. Does that make me smart too?



My best girls, minus the graduate. From the left, me, Joyce, Joyce, Grace, and Teresa.

I went to the Boston Library yesterday to get started on my new reading goal, which is to read the Modern Library's 100 best novels. (Thanks to my little sis for the idea).

And so I have a new crop of books for my west coast trip - The Thirteenth Tale; Traveling Mercies: Some thoughts on Faith; and Lolita.

I can't believe that in less than 5 hours, I'll be on my way home. I can't wait to bike across the Golden Gate and drive down PCH with my sis, see my dear friend Maria close the next chapter (no pun intended) of her journey as a Victorian scholar, and see my parents and old friends back home.

If you can keep my puppy Boston in your prayers, pray that he would remain emotionally healthy while I'm gone and not be terrorized too much by his daddy. Thank you.

Last month, my parents came for a long-awaited visit. It's funny how as a teenager I couldn't wait to get away from them and now as an adult, they're never close enough. Having them see where I live and work somehow makes this place feel more like home.

Every single one of my parents' visit is centered around two activities: taking their illiterate chinese daughter to the chinese market and cooking enough food to last through the winter. Because evidently grocery shopping and operating a stove are skills that aren't fully developed in people my age.

We also managed to get them out into the sunny 20-degree weather for some winter sightseeing:

Parents' Weekend Feb 07