To celebrate Daisuke’s birthday (now my brother-in-law), we all decided to meet at The Palm Restaurant for dinner. Even though it was not the actual date – Taro’s mom was actually in Japan on the actual day – it was nice to get together and have dinner since all of us are constantly busy. It was a time to catch up and talk about Daisuke’s upcoming events that he will dj for, hear about Mrs. Takeoka’s trip, and share our trip with her since she left the day after we got back. It was a “catch-up” session surrounded by great food.
Taro and I have actually been to The Palm a few times and each time, we think it gets better. The first time we came was for his birthday a couple years back and even then, I remember how tender and perfectly cooked the lobster was. Since then we have brought my family to the restaurant and Taro has dined with a friend at The Palm. So when Taro suggested having steak for his brother’s birthday, I mentioned The Palm since we are members of the 837 Club and they had a pretty good deal for the month of April-May. We each were able to order either a 9 ounce Filet Mignon or 12 ounce New York Strip. Since Taro’s mom does not eat meat, she ordered the Pan Roasted Wild Alaskan Halibut Fillet. To make the night even more fun and special, we ordered a four pound lobster! It was a beautiful sight as our waiter set it down in the middle for all of us to share – and gave us lobster bibs so we wouldn’t make a mess all over our clothes.
As always with the The Palm, there was an excessive amount of food since a starter – either salad or lobster bisque – was included and there was one side included with everyone’s entree. To end the night, we shared a slice of Key Lime Pie (one of my favorites at The Palm and the best Key Lime I have found so far) and Tiramisu. It was nice to go out as a family, which we have not done for a while, and celebrate Daisuke’s birthday.
Happy birthday again, Daisuke, and cheers to good eating with family!
I started off with the Lobster Bisque, which is not too bad. Taro ordered the Caesar Salad with Anchovies so it was a nice balance of soup and salad. Our food came out relatively fast. Taro ordered the New York Strip au Poivre – Aged USDA Prime 12 ounce with brandy peppercorn sauce served with sweet potato fries and creamed spinach. It was a nice cut, but nowhere as tender as my filet!
At The Palm, I have learned to order my meat medium-rare, but on the rarer side. It was delicious, especially since my filet mignon came with jumbo lump crabmeat with hollandaise sauce served with grilled asparagus and three cheese potatoes.
The Takeoka Family:
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The English Department tries to get together with other departments throughout the school year. One thing we always look forward to is a lunch BBQ with the Science Department. As a department, we trek over to what is known as “Man Land” where the grill is fired up and the hamburgers await. It is always fun a week prior to the luncheon when the sign-up list is compiled up; each person claims a food item that coincides with burgers while jabbing at another individual – sometimes from the same department, usually to the other one – through a Google document. By the time we meet, though, there is just good food, good times, and a nice bond between two different departments – and of course, the continuing of the jokes and jabs.
It is always a treat to go over to “Man Land” and speaking for the English Department, we look forward to the next BBQ! Thanks again, Science Department, for hosting lunch!
We celebrated Princess Ron’s birthday as well. Happy birthday again, Ron! Also, we had our own birthday celebration in the English Department to the true princess, Jen! Love you, friend!
The first cry, laugh, giggle, smile, tears, feeling of being sick, feeling of getting better, bath, crawl and sign of movement, attempt to get up and fall, steps, formation of words, time “Mommy” and “Daddy” is said…The first sign of unconditional love between parent and child. That first year must be a rollercoaster of emotions, but a bunch of milestones and accomplishments for both parents and child.
Taro and I experienced a lot of these moments as an aunt and uncle – not necessarily the “firsts”– and love that princess K is a special girl in our lives. We did, however, take part and attend her birthday and I was thrilled when her mom asked me to shoot pictures of her very first birthday.
Dressed in an adorable tutu, Baby K was ready to celebrate. There was a face painter/balloon artist, a stand full of cupcakes in shades of brown (to match the pink décor), and a room filled with loving friends, aunts and uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Before the cake was cut – which was exquisitely decorated – a game was played where Baby K had to “choose” her future. She ended up crawling and picking up lipstick and a book. So what do we see in her future? She is going to have beauty and brains!
At the end of the day, Baby K was exhausted; hopefully when she looks back on these pictures, she will see what a great first birthday she had. Happy birthday once again, princess K, and I cannot wait to celebrate your 2nd birthday…and the many more to follow!
A family picture, and then I love this shot of just K’s hand lying next to her Daddy’s hand.
It took some convincing, but K briefly wore her tiara!
And now it is time to eat cake…or cupcakes!
The face painter/balloon artist was a definite hit at the party. There were balloons shaped in flowers, monkeys, cars, and even Spiderman! When it came down to face painting, the kids were not the only ones to participate; even the adults at the party got in touch with the child within, remaining young at heart!
I love the one of Taro getting his face painted as a cat. He thought he could get in touch with his feline-self and potentially either befriend or scare Peanut when he got home.
A couple of just the family towards the end of the day:
By the end of the day, K was exhausted. The picture on the left was when the party first started; the picture on the right was at the end of the day where K was wrapped up in a blanket. She rested on the couch while her Mommy and Daddy cleaned up. Who knew turning 1 could be so tiring! Until next December, I hope your first birthday was a spectacular one, little princess.
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