Happy Birthday, 엄마!!

September 5 (this past Saturday) was my mother's birthday.

Happy birthday, 엄마!

Best momma ever, mine.

Her own birthday, but she cooked up a feast for us all. I provided the cake and she did the rest, including one of my favorites, jap-chae (잡채, sometimes spelled chapchae or jabchae). It's a noodle dish, generally eaten at room temperature. (I didn't take pictures of the other dishes, as they're just, you know, ordinary.)

For Saturday's version, spinach, onions, imitation crab, and eggs were included. There's usually some kind of meat and sometimes kamaboko, but not this time. When I make jap-chae, I add whatever's handy. I thought the red onions and the green spinach made for a very pretty dish.



















The original plan had been to go for a family outing to Disneyland. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances (26 houses in the area lost power and my parents were kept up all night long while workers tried to fix the problem, with every dog in earshot barking their faces off), the parents were very tired. We opted instead to go to Downtown Disney and watch "G-Force."

Why a children's movie, you ask? Well, my beloved mother is easily frightened and generally only likes funny or dramatic movies. She didn't want to watch anything else that's out right now, so "G-Force" it was!

It was actually really cute, though the edit was different than I remembered it being (when did the cuts get SO SHORT??). The parents enjoyed it well enough. Perhaps Dad didn't, but he knew better than to grouse on his wife's birthday!

At Downtown Disney, taking a breather in the shade- it was hot!



















Father of mine may not have picked out the flowers, but at least there WERE flowers in the house. Several different kinds, but my favorites were these very vibrant orange lilies.

I'm finding that I like bright colors more and more (in my old age), where I used to only really like white, black, and grays.



















Delicious cake from Honey Bakery, which makes the best. cakes. EVER. If I ever get married, I am getting my cake from Honey Bakery, even though they aren't the most ornate or beautifully decorated things.
























It's Labor Day here in the States today, but I don't get a reprieve from work- here I am, blogging and drinking coffee at my desk.