Kintsukuroi

A friend passed this along to me. My favorite "viral stuff" is the kind that makes you pause in your day and think. The best jokes makes you think, but so does something like this: the art of kintsukuroi. Every now and then among the plethora of "egreeting cards" and "bad cat" photos out there, I come across a diamond in the rough. For my Dalai Lama post, I would have ruined the words had I added any commentary.

As a notorious optimist that now understands the art of kintsukuroi, I'll never look at the broken/the refurbished/the repaired the same way again:

While I'm in my happy place, I figured I'd repost a few of my favorite photos from the beautiful Best of 2012: 26 Moments That Restored Our Faith In Humanity This Year:

The parents who made their son's wheelchair into the best Halloween costume ever

A kind stranger who stopped a day from being ruined

["Didn't want your car to get wet. Have a nice day!"]

The people that helped out any way they could [after Hurricane Sandy]

The Disney security guard who is amazing at his job

This brave kid who stood up against hate

["God hates no one"]

The man who comforts the old dog that saved his life

[cradling him in Lake Superior to soothe the dog's arthritis]

Ellen Degeneres says, "Be kind to one another," at the end of every show. These people must start their day that way, not because they expected their gestures to go viral, they're just kind. Muchas gracias to all of these angels. I'll end with this: 

 "If life is a game, aren't we all on the same team?" 

-Kid President (a pep talk from Kid President to you).

Now let's all get out there and be kind! Go team!

[photo source: Buzz Feed, Tumblr]

Spotlight : Saudi Arabia

Three years ago, I would have never imagined that I would be sitting here not only blogging, but writing a post about Saudi Arabia of all places. The day I found out my dad was moving temporarily overseas to work on his dream project, our entire family spent hours on the phone together with an even 50/50 mix of emotions: 50% crying, 50% laughing. My first two questions were "Is it safe?" and "Is mom going?" The answers were "yes" and "hell no," respectively.

Although Saudi Arabia is a safe country, today it is still challenging for women to be independent and my mother, a redheaded business owner, is not an ideal candidate to live in an oppressive country. However, about half of the ex-patriots ("expats") that work for my dad's company, Parsons Corporation, choose to have their families move overseas with them. Luckily for the other half who live apart for a few years, Skype and Slingbox allow families to talk anywhere, anytime... and watch live cable. Saudi Arabia is 8-9 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (depending on daylight savings).

In addition to these modern luxuries, my dad and his friends have found a happy medium between the Middle East and the Western world in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia- a medium-sized port town located a few hours north of Jeddah on the beaches of the Red Sea. What did Rascal Flatts sing? "Flip flops, tans, and some white sand, I know the perfect spot"? Must have been singing about Yanbu.

The number one question I am always asked is how often we get to see him. Surprisingly and luckily, I see him as much and talk to him more often now than I did in college. His company flies him home twice per year and anywhere in Europe twice per year, so my mom gets to reap one of the biggest perks of having to live away from her husband: two-week trips over the pond. So far, she's gotten to check off France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Amsterdam is on deck this Spring. I hope to go visit one more time before he returns to the states (in the next year or two).

We email each other about as much as I text with my friends, so he can keep us updated on all of his thrilling and exotic happenings. A year as an expat in Yanbu goes a little something like this:

Pretend those camels are as abundant as cows in the Midwest
and you've got yourself farm animals along your drives out of town.
The Saudi people take much pride in their camels.
If you're asking yourself "I wonder if they have camel racing?"
You would be correct.
I quote Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities:
"Few things in Arabian culture are as exciting as the camel races."


I present to you: camel racing.

Time for business and speaking to investors during the Saturday-Wednesday work week.

Friday is the Kingdom's holy day, thus their weekends are Thursday and Friday,
the only country in the world that observes this.
He and his friends have coined, "TAIW: Thank Allah It's Wednesday."


An air view of dad's city center/waterfront development project.
They have in-house, full-time translators.


Family will want to come to you to go skiing at Ski Dubai,
an indoor, 22,500 square meters ski resort in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
(skis, poles, and jackets provided onsite, so yes, everyone is matching).
Although Dubai is located on the Arabian Peninsula, it is not a part of Saudi Arabia.
Dubai is a city-state of the United Arab Emirates
(seven emirates in total make up the Southeastern corner of the peninsula).


Wearing an abaya, thobe, or jeans,
keeping the beaches tidy during Parsons' annual beach clean up.
Saudis strictly follow the principles of hijab (modesty).
Typically, women wear abayas, a black cloak that covers head to toe
and men wear a thobe, an ankle length robe-like garment with long sleeves.
It is not expected for expats to wear these.


The local grocery store: HyperPanda.
But plan accordingly! No shopping during call to prayer,
which is five times per day.

Dad was lucky enough to be selected as Santa 2012.
Some friends packed a Santa suit for the move for their children.

Two proud members and co-founders of Yanbu's
"Polar Bear Plunge Club" on New Year's Day.
Sign reads: "Air 81* Water 80*"
Daredevils.

Last August, dad celebrated his two year Saudiversary and will decide later this year whether or not to sign on for a fourth year. Our family has learned so much about this part of the world through his experience. To me, he is a living example of the expression, "follow your dreams and shoot for the stars," and lucked out with a loving, strong, and supportive wife. Mom and dad, you are my بطل (hero).

This post is in loving memory of my dad's neighbor's cat 

who is, as was explained to him in broken English, "finished."

[photo sources: Geographic Guide, Telegraph, dad, Mrs. WRCIV]

Eat at Moe's!

Welcome to Moe's!

Stop. Don't cook dinner tonight. I have a better, easier idea! If you're in the Columbia area, come by Moe's Downtown/USC location to support the PASOs Programs! From 4:00-9:00 tonight, Moe's will donate 10% of all sales up to $1000, then 15% after that and all you have to do is drop your receipt in the bucket! I'll be there from 7:30ish-9:00 (hint-wink-nudge).

Over the past few years, I have been lucky enough to serve on PASOs' advisory council. PASOs (meaning "steps" in Spanish) stands for Perinatal Awareness for Successful Outcomes. PASOs is a community-based organization that helps meet the health needs of South Carolina's growing Latino population through education, support, and developing grassroots community leaders. I am so inspired by their team and the work they do. They have a great 12-minute documentary that highlights their programs and gives you a better understanding of how critical their programs are to the community.

So get yourself on down to Moe's tonight for Tex-Mex and a great cause.

And if you missed it, Moe's was on last week's Undercover Boss and they visited locations in Columbia and Charleston! You can watch the episode online. Spoiler alert: nothing like seeing a hard-working, single mother be gifted college education funds for being a great employee.

[photo sources: PASOs]

Guinness World Records

I've been told a time or two that I can be quite the random individual. Eating hearts of palm out of the can, then wondering where on earth the delicacy comes from (I know, the heart of a palm, but more specifically), then my train of thought is up and away, out of my control. Outside of work, if I had a dollar for every time I clearly explained my thought process, I would have no dollars.

Anyways, the other day I was randomly remembering how much I loved to read The Guinness Book of World Records when I was a kid. Sometimes my friends and I would try to see if we could build the world's longest chain out of those white flowers that grow in clover. Then, of course, we would lose interest. By some odd coincidence (having not thought about this book for a long time), the Bachelor took a date to the Guinness World Records museum last night.

In my quest to rediscover this long lost hobby, I was pleasantly surprised at how interactive this world of record-breaking has become! On their website, you can register to set a record, invite a judge to your record-breaking event, search their archive of records, etc. I had to pick my jaw up off of the floor as I started to browse the outlandish records. My interest in mental health and the social worker in me immediately kicked in as I wondered what leads people to perfect such odd crafts. I had to share some.

As of January 2010, Niek Vermeulen of the Netherlands has collected 6,016 airline sickness bags from 1,142 different airlines from more than 160 countries. He has accumulated them since the 1970s.

In September 2004, Ilker Yilmaz of Turkey squirted milk from his eye a distance of 9 feet 2 inches.

In April 2009, Fan Weipeng of China broke 102 glass bowls with one finger in one minute.

In 2007, Ashrita Furman of the United States hopped one mile on a pogo stick while juggling three balls in 23 minutes 28 seconds.

Ahem... In 2004, the longest ears on a dog measured 13.5 inches and 13.75 inches and belonged to Tigger, a bloodhound! I, of course, went to measure Jack's. His measure about 8 inches apiece.

In 2010, Zach Wong of Canada played Guitar Hero for 50 hours 3 minutes straight.

In 2008, Ashrita Furman (of pogo stick juggling fame) traveled a distance of 5,472 feet 9 inches while balancing a pool cue on his chin.

In June 2010, James Thompson of the United States supported 407.8 pounds while skipping rope 10 times.

In 2011, Alastair Galpin of New Zealand put 13 gloves on one hand in one minute.

Anyone looking for a new hobby? The next time you need a five-minute break, I invite you to Google image search "Guinness World Records." It's a crazy world out there and it appears this culture of record-setters has left no stone unturned. What will they think of next?

[photo source: Wikipedia]

Family Recipe Book

I know it makes my mom (or aunt, or anyone for that matter) so happy when I call and ask for the recipe of something I want to remake. It's like a delayed way of saying, "Thank you, that was so good." I usually don't like recipes because I feel like recipes are insinuating that everyone likes the same tastes. When a recipe calls for two tablespoons of diced onion... what is that? Anything that calls for onion really means at least half of an onion in my opinion. And "a dash of hot sauce"? I'm shaking that bottle upside down for about 8 seconds.

However, family recipes are the exception. My grandmother knew exactly what she was doing. You don't mess with Grandma Kaiser's recipes. One of our classic family stories was the year after she passed away. We were all standing around the kitchen on Thanksgiving and as the turkey was hitting the home stretch, my mom said, "No one knows how to make her gravy." I like this story because it's a reminder that those we love have affected our lives in all sorts of ways, from teaching us the golden rule to being the matriarch that has made Thanksgiving gravy our entire lives. It took several years, but we have come up with something we think would make her proud.

Year after year around the holidays, someone is asking for a family recipe. After many calls, emails and texts, my sister and I decided it was time to compile the "Best of" Kaiser recipes. Thanks to my mom's arsenal of worn out recipe cards and Sadie's creativity, The Kaiser Family Cookbook, Volume One was born.

Many of these recipes I've made before, but others I haven't gotten around to yet. Now that this handy, dandy archive of recipes is next to my knives, it will be much easier to turn our kitchen into my mom's or grandmother's. My friends have always made fun of me for the random things I like to snack on (think hearts of palm out of the can) and I'm afraid that, too, comes from my grandmother. What's a four-year-old to do when her grandmother has the best gazpacho and a fresh bag of marshmallows?

In closing, I'm starting off 2013 with new menus for our Mondays-Thursdays. Anyone who is interested can check back throughout the year for some Kaiser family favorites. In my loudest, most obnoxious Julia Child's voice, "BON APPETIT." Love you, Julia.

A good year

We like to keep our holidays cards short and sweet, but there was so much more to our year than 12 photos and a few words. I suppose that's one of the beauties of a blog? I'll go with that. Here is a look back on the priceless memories of 2012 with a special thanks to everyone we love for sharing them with us:

We took our first photo of 2012

and our best friends got engaged...to each other :)

Spent sunny afternoons at Falls Park after wedding planning

and Easter Sunday with the loves of my life.

Engagement parties and wedding showers

led to wedding weekend

and May 19th.

So we honeymooned in the Virgin Islands

then spent lazy summer days on the river with friends.


Our babies are getting a little older and a littler wiser...our silver foxes...

watched Gamecock baseball make it to the CWS Championship Game...

for the third year in a row (#gococks)

and made a trip to Kansas for my uncle's big birthday surprise.

I became Auntie Em to Aedyn

and we played around at the beach.

Rhett did his first triathlon

then finally scratched Chicago off of his bucket list.

Watched Gamecock football have the best season in school history (11 wins)

Rhett kept runnin'... and I kept watchin'

Friends upon friends upon friends got married

I'm blogging

and we voted.

Spent Thanksgiving with the Craigs in Aiken

then to Seattle for my best friend's wedding, Part I.

Back to Kansas for Christmas and to put science 

projects together with my favorite little ones

and washed the whole year down with champagne in Columbia.

My dad once said to me that the older you get, the more responsibilities you have, but the more fun life becomes. He's been right so far. Happy 2013 everyone! Make lots of memories and take lots of pictures. It's always interesting to me when people say, "this year just flew by!" I hear people say that every year. Enjoy the moments because this year is sure to "fly by," too! :)

[photo source: Mrs. WRCIV]

A Kansas Christmas

There's no place like home... for the holidays. See what I just did there? Luckily it has always been easy-breezy to divide the holidays for our families. Rhett has more family together for Thanksgiving in South Carolina and my side has more family together for Christmas. So we saddle up and head "west" to the ice and snow every Christmas. The past few years, my dad has taken on a "computer on a stick" look and although it's nothing like having him home with us, Google Hangouts is the next best thing.

My favorite part about my parents moving from my hometown of Lawrence to Kansas City.... Hold on, I need to address this: yes, if you thought Kansas City was in both Kansas and Missouri, you would be correct. Having spent 16 years of my life in Kansas, I just can't say, "I'm from Missouri." No offense. Anyways, so after my sister and I were finished with high school, my parents moved to Kansas City and the Country Club Plaza is a few minutes away from their home in the Brookside neighborhood. The Plaza is one of Kansas City's most iconic areas with great shopping and even better restaurants. And their restaurant scene gets better and better every time I'm back. We never have enough time to visit all of our favorites.

This year's Christmas at the Plaza highlights included...

My version of the happiest place on earth, Jack Stack BBQ.
That right there is a little something they like to call "cheesy corn bake."
Kansas City-style BBQ, as opposed to other styles, is known for their
thick and sweet sauces. Many locals will tell you that Kansas City's BBQ favorites
(Jack Stack, as well as Gates, Arthur Bryant's, and Oklahoma Joe's)
are all known for a specific type of meat and may go to one place for
their baby back ribs and to another for their burnt ends.

An impromptu wine tasting at a new place called Cooper's Hawk Winery.

No, our expectations weren't high, but unfortunately I would not recommend it.
We all thought the wine was below average and
we didn't learn anything new after trying eight different wines.

A new toy store, ZOOM, is clearly fun for all ages.
Wall to wall and floor to ceiling with toys, but organized well so it's not overwhelming.
Fun to see the toys out there these days that aren't on an i-something.


This was the first time I went home and really thought Kansas City is
giving the foodie hot spots around the country a run for their money.
Amazing burgers, sandwiches and "fire fries" (thin-cut fries tossed in a habanero/chili/garlic oil)
with house-made ketchup and mustard at blanc burgers + bottles.



French onion dumplings at Gram & Dun.
O. M. G.
When we got bumped to the next day at the airport,
my mom picked us up and we went straight back there.
I can't remember ever going to the same restaurant twice in one trip,
let alone on the same day.
Make reservations! They're booked nearly every night.


And of course, the Plaza Lights.
Every year (this was the 83rd annual) there is a huge plaza lighting event
and they'll sell the bulbs as Christmas ornaments afterwards.

Eating, shopping, then more eating (or shopping, eating, then more shopping?) is always fun, but nothing beats being at home with family for the holidays.

We can almost always rely on "extra fridge space" around the holidays.

Rarely so warm we can't do this with leftovers.


We could never be more grateful for video chat.
This year, Google Hangout made it super easy to have
a video call with multiple devices.
Dad and sister on a stick this year.


And with cousins in Chicago, Denver, Austin, and the Carolinas,
it's rare our tiny, little family is in the same place at one time.


But those that are play charades.

Another holiday season tucked snugly under our belts. Thankful year-round for family, friends, work and happiness. I guess I'll take our tree down now? Or make it a Valentine's tree? And St. Patrick's tree?....

By the way, my sister and brother-in-law have one cute nephew, Steele. Exhibit A:

Photo by Sadie

[all other photos: Mrs. WRCIV]