Two Year Wedding Anniversary

Exactly two years ago, Steve and I got married.

I realize that everyone probably says this, but our wedding was one of the best days of my life. In front of our friends and family, we got married at a church in Glendale, California, and had a outdoor reception at the University of Southern California.

It's been a wild, fun and wonderful adventure, and I am excited for many many many more years of marriage.

Here are the last two years in pictures:

Our wedding day, June 17, 2006, in Los Angeles.

On our honeymoon in the Caribbean.

In Hawaii, double-fisting our wine in the classiest way possible.

Day trip to Reno. It's a nasty city...don't go.

Visiting family in San Diego, California.

Upside Down Man & Lucky Cat, Halloween 2007.

Enjoying big goblets of cerveza in Mexico City.

Cousin Bethany's high school graduation party.

My brother Adrian's wedding day.

By the way, my brother's wedding was beautiful. The weather was perfect, food was delicious, and we all had a great time celebrating the day. There was also a 100-person game of freeze tag, inflatable boxing, a Battle of the Rock Bands (in which my husband sang Red Hot Chili Peppers' Dani California while wearing a pair of MY old jeans), and multiple minor injuries.

You can see more photos here.

My Flashy Bridesmaid Dress

Only three days until my brother's wedding!

I'm excited for many reasons. First, I love my brother and future sister-in-law, and can't wait for them to start this new journey together. Also, there will be lots of family and friends who are coming from out of town. And c'mon, who doesn't love a wedding?

The wedding also means that I get to wear the pretty, yellow, flow-y bridesmaid dress that I bought for the occasion. And my cute gold sandals and matching earrings.

The other day, I tried on everything - dress, accessories, shoes - because that is what EVERY woman does before a dressy event. Lo and behold, the dress didn't quite fit! I should have realized that, since I purchased the dress in March, and have since lost about ten more pounds. Oops. The top of the dress hangs loosely on my bust and shoulders. Luckily for me, the dress has fabric that crosses in the front, and ties. So if I tie the fabric suuuuuper tight, it can work. I am praying that we don't have a sister-of-the-groom-flashes-the-wedding-guests situation, you know?

Although I suppose that would make the celebration highly entertaining.

Chocolate Chip Cookies and Interracial Marriage

A recipe for messed up kids.

Just when I thought I was running out of material to write about, I received this comment on my (evidently controversial) post about soft chocolate chip cookies:

"EXCUSE ME, Mr. Marks, but I thought this was a food blog. Interracial marriages create nothing but heartache for any children conceived by such a union. DID you not read the media headlines today about the strife wrought by interracial marriages in America? Perhaps you two should stick to 'baking' cookies instead of 'making' interracial children."

Though the commenter's profile appears to be a ruse to get more website hits, I will still gladly address the comment. Because really, who could pass up this one?

First off, Commenter, I am a missus. Get that straight. Unless you're addressing my husband, who in fact does NOT claim to own a food blog. He certainly does not cook enough to warrant anything of the sort, and will gladly admit it.

Secondly, thanks for the warning about all the heartache and strife my future multiracial children are doomed to face. I'll begin setting aside therapy money pronto. But, wait...how do you explain Tiger Woods turning out okay?

Thirdly, if by your use of quotation marks you are insulting my "baking" skills, well then. Now I'm offended.

All joking aside, I have addressed some of my thoughts on interracial marriage here. And this recent comment (even if it was from someone with simply too much time and a penchant for instigating fights on people's blogs), reflects the disturbing reality of the fear, hatred and prejudice that still exist in our world today.

I want to dispel the notion that I think my marriage is fundamentally better than others simply because we're an interracial couple. Low and behold, Steve and I have many of the same issues, problems and dilemmas that any married couple experiences. Shocker, I know.

That said, I do believe that there are many interracial couples (and their families) who have walked a uniquely difficult road, and those people should be applauded. Because of my own experiences, I have a special place in my heart for interracial couples and their multiracial children. And I will continue to celebrate fellow interracial couples, such as Jon and Kate, Heidi Klum and Seal, and many of our real life couple friends (because we apparently run around in packs).

I will also continue to look forward to the day we have our own lovely multiracial children, who will hopefully be welcomed into a world that is a little more loving than it currently stands.

But until then, I guess I'll keep "baking" cookies.

Extra Extra: The Word of the Day is Muffin Top

• My husband learned a new word today! When Steve put on some board shorts that happened to be a bit too small, I made the comment, "You've definitely got some Muffin Top." "What's that?" he asked. I then proceeded to show him this. I felt proud to have educated my extremely literate husband on such a valuable vocabulary term. He then went for a jog.

• Last chance to enter the Great Coloring Book Giveaway! All it takes is writing about your dream vacation in a comment by 12pm PST tonight. Hurry...what are you waiting for? Check back tomorrow for the winner!
  

• Have you visited Tastespotting yet? It's like Disneyland for foodies in Internetville. Beautiful photos and links to mouth-watering recipes on all sorts of great food blogs. You can find a few of my recipes there - just go here, or type "Larissa" in the search bar.

• It is a whopping NINETY-EIGHT degrees in Los Angeles today. Which makes our sauna of a house oh, about two-hundred billion degrees inside. We would probably be making pina coladas right now, but that wouldn't really help the Muffin Top problem now, would it?
  

Date Day & Counting Crows

These fellas make for a great date.

Steve and I have Date Day once a week.

Most married couple-y friends of ours also have regular dates with their spouses, which is great, in my opinion. "Hey! You can keep the fire burnin' post-wedding! Who knew?!" For us, these times are extremely valuable. When you and your spouse share the same job and workspace, it is absolutely vital to schedule consistent time to connect, minus the thinking and talking about work.

Date Day will be anything from trying a new restaurant, to walking around one of our favorite areas in the city, to staying at home and watching Heroes on Netflix's Instant Viewing (have you Netflix-ers tried this yet? ADDICTING.). They are always fun, and remind me why I love love love being married to Steve.

To be honest, though, no other Date Day compares with yesterday.

Yesterday, we went to the Grove for a free Counting Crows concert. Free concerts can often be sort of lame, but this one was amazing. The band played a long set, which included some new stuff from their just-released album, Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, and some of their older classics. Interspersed between songs, Adam Duritz (whose dreads were all I had imagined them to be) took the time to talk about their new album, and do some q & a with the audience.

It was my first time seeing Counting Crows live, and it was grand, I tell ya. Don't get me wrong, any date with my wonderful husband is fantastic. But him AND the Grove AND the Counting Crows?! Splendiferous and scrumtrillescent.

And yes, I am aware that those are not real words.

Hope your weekend is also splendiferous and scrumtrillescent!

Celebrating My Irish Culture

Yes, you read that correctly. My Irish culture. Since I am now married to a part-Irish man, I've decided to claim Irish heritage as my own this year. Which means I get to spend this weekend

cooking this...
and drinking this...
and wearing this...
Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!* Hope your weekend is magnificent.

*in the best Irish accent a Chinese, honorary-Irish woman can muster

Black is the New Mac

Hey, friends. I'm feeling a thousand billion times better. Thanks for all the well wishes and birthday love!

And I have a new toy. Well, we have a new toy. I think when you get married you're supposed to like, share stuff or something. In fact, I generously shared my flu with Steve just this past week. I'm the best wife ever.

Anyway, we purchased a hot little black Macbook today (because we're rabid Apple fans), and I've been playing with it all evening. Here's where I'd give you all the specs, but I don't know what the specs are. All I know is "Look, so pretty!"

Time to Dust Off Those Ornaments

That's right, Christmas at our house has officially begun.

Last year Steve and I began the tradition of getting a Christmas tree about three seconds after Thanksgiving. So after a fun weekend in San Diego with Steve's family, we stopped at a Christmas tree lot on the drive home. The guy there told us that the real shipment of trees hadn't even arrived yet, but that they were selling a few early ones. So we snagged a pretty 7-footer, tied it onto the car, and headed home. The rest of the afternoon was spent decorating the house, sipping apple cider, and listening to Jessica and Nick sing "Baby It's Cold Outside." Now if only the weather here would actually turn colder...

Did You Miss Me?

I'm back from a wonderful weekend in Chicago!

The Women's Conference was awesome, and served as a nice reminder that many (if not all) women have similar struggles with self-doubt, fear and questions regarding purpose and direction in life. Yay...I'm not a complete crazy person! In addition to reaffirming my general sanity, the conference gave me a chance to connect with some amazing women, have quality time with myself and God, and experience an actual fall season (with actual orange and red leaves on the trees!).

I arrived home last night to a few surprises.

Surprise #1 - a clean house, and a complete dinner prepared by a loving husband! Steve figured I might be tired from the flight, and made a lovely meal for me to enjoy. Ah, marital bliss...may it never end! By the way, you can read about my husband's cooking here.

Surprise #2 - plants, alive and kicking! That is, except for the stupid palm tree in the living room, which refuses to stay green no matter how much I douse it in water. But the rest of our hodgepodge of wildlife is doing well. You can all breathe a sigh of relief now.

Surprise #3 - Guitar Hero 3 for the Nintendo Wii! This actually wasn't a surprise, since we pre-ordered the game a few months ago. But I was surprised to discover how completely lame I am at the game. I mean, I can play the actual guitar in real life...so shouldn't this little plastic guitar with buttons be a cinch? Apparently not. I named my band The Manatease (yes, you may laugh), and am determined to at least pass the "easy" level. If you don't hear from me for a while, you can safely assume I'm cultivating my Guitar Hero skills.

Pumpkin Mania

Pumpkins have officially taken over our house. Baby pumpkins on the coffee table. Pumpkin pie (which Steve made from scratch, by the way) in the fridge. Roasted pumpkin seeds in a bowl on the kitchen counter. Big fatty pumpkins in the dining room waiting to be carved. We're going to adorn our porch with some lovely jack-o'-lanterns. I don't care if the only trick-or-treater we'll probably have is this guy. We're going to celebrate the wondrous holiday that is Halloween in style.

I'm going to Chicago for the weekend for a Women's Conference. I'm excited to travel on my own, to get some rest, and for all the cool woman-y self discoveries I'm sure to bring back with me. I am not, however, excited to leave my loved ones. Yes, I am talking about my plants. Will they survive a weekend without their nurturing and attentive gardener? Will I survive a weekend without my beloved basil?! I don't know if I can take this kind of separation.

Okay, I will also miss my husband. Steve and I have spent weekends apart before, but it's usually me at home while he's away. The first time he was gone for a few days, I was surprised to find that I missed him most just as I was falling asleep at night. You just get used to that other person lying next to you, making soothing breathing noises for you to fall asleep to, you know? Anyway, I'm sure my husband will do just fine while I'm in Chicago. I just hope he doesn't get too used to having the whole bed to himself.

Interracial Marriage

The other night, Steve and I were watching Without Prejudice, a TV show on the Game Show Network. The show's premise has a five-person panel which chooses one winner from among five strangers to receive a prize of $25,000. The five contestants reveal information about themselves and their background and are voted off one at a time based on their personal story.

The show was only mildly interesting until one woman on the show said this with noticeable force:

"I don't agree with interracial marriage. I just don't."

Now I thought I had seen and heard everything on TV, but that woman's statement came as quite a shock to my system. I was just blown away by the fact that some people actually feel that strongly against interracial marriage. Later, out of curiosity, I did some research online, and found that the last of many U.S. anti-miscegenation laws was repealed in 1967. You read that correctly - 1967. Only forty years ago. And people like the woman on Without Prejudice still have those same sentiments today. Unbelievable.

My being in a relationship with a white man has never crossed my mind as something that others might view as a moral issue along the same lines as abortion or gay marriage.

Maybe it's because I grew up in Hawaii, where many of my friends were of amazingly unique mixes of heritage, and interracial marriages are commonplace. Maybe it's because so many of my friends are in interracial relationships. Maybe it's because I have yet to encounter anyone among family, friends and even strangers who is anything less that supportive and celebratory of our marriage.

I love my interracial marriage, and the ways our different cultures and ethnic identities shape the relationship. Being a Chinese woman married to a white man has brought all sorts of joys, challenges, adventures, differences, and laughter into my life, and I wouldn't change it for the world. Plus, you know, we are going to have some seriously cute kids someday.

One Year Anniversary

On Sunday, Steve and I celebrated our first anniversary. I can't believe our wedding was a whole year ago. One year! Whew, we made it...only seventy-something more to go. Our first year together has involved lots of learning and adjusting, but also has been extremely fun and joyful.

To celebrate, we went out to a fancypants dinner at Roy's in downtown Los Angeles (made possible by my parents...thanks, parents!). Seriously, we paid more for one of the appetizers than I normally would for an entire meal. But boy, was it worth it! Unlike those cushy places that cost an arm and a leg for say, one dry, tasteless ravioli, the food at Roy's was amaaaaazing. The sushi and seafood were to die for, as was the Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé. We also enjoyed a bottle of the Old Vine Zinfandel that we served at our wedding.

Here's to my wonderful husband, and an entire lifetime together. Cheers!