Of all my 39 years, 2015 was certainly the most unusual - a long strange trip that was equal measure roller coaster ride and bumper car pile up. To fully explain this year would take a blog post in itself, so instead I will sum it up with two words - Lincoln, Riley. Those are the names of our twins, a son and a daughter, born to us prematurely in mid October. As first time parents, my wife's pregnancy was a total game changer, affecting every aspect of our lives - from what we ate and drank to how we worked, slept and of course traveled.
The exception to this rule came in January, two months before Dorothy became pregnant. That was when we finally ventured over to Japan, long on our bucket list, thanks to food blogger Onokinegrindz securing a Noma reservation for us. Sadly, we could only spend a week in this incredible country due to work, as television pilot season had already begun in earnest. But the trip was truly one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Four of my top meals of 2015 came on this abbreviated journey, and I could have easily chosen two more. I can't wait to return to Japan one day when we have more time to fully explore the food and culture.
The frequency of our dining out slowed once Dorothy became pregnant. She had morning sickness throughout the first trimester, then completely lost her appetite in the third. And the meals we consumed during our twin's six week stint in the NICU was largely determined by the restaurant's proximity to the hospital. Still, when reviewing our year for this blog write-up, I'm amazed by all we did accomplish.
This is largely due to the urging of friends who were already parents. Live your life now, they said. Once you have children, things will change. So we did. We flew to SF in May, took a work trip to NYC in July, met up with friends in Palm Springs one weekend in August and spent the next on Lummi Island. This sense of adventure didn't stop once the babies were born. Three weeks after our twins came home, we were in a car heading up the coast to visit family in San Jose and have dinner in Napa Valley, a decision I concede was most likely driven by sleep deprivation.
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