Updates & a Cookbook for a Good Cause

(I will explain the picture later in the post)
I have been asked many times "So...how is your family?"...

After the earthquake, I received an enormous amount of emotional support from different people in different ways. You, dear blogger friends are some of them too. Thank you for being there for me.

I feel like I owe you some updates about my family but not much has changed. My family still lives in Sendai and is trying to live a normal life. They are fairly close to the nuclear reactor (within 80 km), and they still get smaller earthquakes daily. Sometimes, while we are on the phone, they will say "Ah! It's starting again, I gotta go!"...then they hang up the phone. I try not to but I can't help thinking "what if that was the last time I could talk to them..." until I hear from them again.

I am really worried about my small nieces and how the radiation will affect their bodies in the future. I have been trying to convince my family to come to America and stay with us, but their answer is "No". Their reason being is "they don't want to inconvenience us" or "What about school, job and mortgage", and so on. Also, my family still lives in their own house and now they can buy pretty much anything they need, so they don't feel like they have to make such a big decision, at least not yet.

On the other hand, people who lost everything, their living situation is FAR from normal. For example, one of my sister’s friends who lost their house (she is in her mid-30’s and she has two elderly parents and a grandmother who depends on her) sleeps in a tent by the destroyed home, and is working on the clean-up every day.

I have been sending care packages here and there, but I know that is only a fraction of what they really need. There are many stories that I have heard, but I hesitate to even share on my blog, because they are so disturbing...

After the quake, I heard stories and witnessed so many acts of humility and kindness towards the tsunami victims in Japan. It was and still is such a horrific event, but I am astonished that so many people have come together to do something to help and contribute.

I often think about the ways that I can help; a lot more than just my family and friends.

Missy from How Does she contacted me after the quake saying that she is putting a cookbook together to raise money for Japan. She contacted 50 plus bloggers and asked us to contribute their favorite recipes for the cookbook.
Then Heather from ChickaBug designed everything and just kept working hard till this cook book became a reality. You know what is great about them? They are going to donate 100% of the proceeds from the cookbook sale to the Red Cross.

She designed a big cartel site to sell it on so she wouldn't "gain" from any traffic it might send. She just wants to be clear that this is ENTIRELY about raising money for people who need it and has NOTHING to do with her blogging. Also, this book has no direct link to her site.

The book is designed to be used as an e-book, but it can also be printed and bound. It is a pdf, which is also perfect for iPad or e-readers. I have already received my copy, and let me tell you, it looks great! In case you are wondering what kind of recipe I contributed... (whisper) my mom's Kara-age(deep fried)chicken. It is a one of my favorite dishes that my mother made for us growing up. There are so many recipes that look so good and I want to try making them.

I should have a link to the shop on big cartel soon, so check back...

This book will be on sale for 1 week, and 1 week only! August 8th through the 14th.

I am going to ask for your help... Please talk, Facebook, tweet, post on your blog to spread the word. The price is going for $10 or $15; I haven't heard the final decision. Just think... You can gain 50 plus awesome recipes for a small amount of money, and 100% of that money will be donated to help the tsunami victims. Don't you think this is a win-win situation for all?

I just want to say a BIG thank you to Missy and Heather on behalf of the Japanese people who will be benefited by this for their kindness, thoughtfulness and dedication to this project. If we are all like them, the world would be a much better place to live. Don't you think so? :)

Link Love No. 61!

There were many projects that I liked, but I have to do what I have to do... I picked five favorites for this week's link party!

MeiJo's Joy saw this idea at Tip Junkie one day. She loved it so much that she was determined to recreate this mirror. Even though she had some difficulties along the way, she successfully made one for her wall! She used some cardboard, a lid to support the mirror, and sequins. You should be proud yourself! :)


When I saw this post "DIY Tufted Ottoman"'s before and after picture, my jaw dropped. Five days 5 ways shared how she turned a $40 Craigslist table to this amazing designer piece lookalike. I would love love to have something like this in my living room.


Do you have a name card? I have two of them for my stitchery design business, and for my blogging. I carry them with me most of the time, but they especially came in handy when I went to a bloggers meet up and quilt market. Running with Glitter shared how she made her Mommy/Blog business card. It is such a cute card; it would definitely leave an impression for sure.


I love projects that are inexpensive but have maximal effect and use. Claremont Avenue shared such a project with us. She turned $1 tin pails into stylish pots for her herbs. I thought those would be so perfect on the shelves to sort knick-knacks to declutter (yes I am speaking about my house). Thank you for the great idea!


Taylor Made shared how to turn an ordinary beach towel into a "stake your claim" beach towel! How come I have never thought of this? If you ever have been to a beach, you know the frustration when the wind blows the towels. Go check out her blog to see how she did it!


Thank you all for participating. I hope your summer is one big blast!

Date Night

Yup, that's us, Mr. TRH and I. Who needs a diet? :)

I had such a fun night! Mr. Tea Rose Home and I went out on a date tonight. We hardly ever go out without the kids, usually we are too busy, and after paying for a baby sitter, a date becomes so expensive. BUT, we did it. We got out the usual routine and got out the house... just two of us!!

One of the places we went to was an exhibit called "30 strangers" by a talented photographer Justin Hackworth. 30 Strangers is a portrait project fundraiser which raised money for our local women’s shelter, the Center for Women and Children in Crisis. The theme for the pictures was "Mother & Daughter", they were so fun to look at, and there were a few pictures that I really loved. I feel like He captured their moments so nicely. Also, five great writers read essays they wrote on "motherhood". Their words were so true, some were funny, some were so tender and I felt like I connected to what they were talking about as a mother. After we walked out of the exhibit, I felt liberated and ready to take on being a "MOM" again… starting tomorrow.

If you want to know more about the exhibit go to his blog. If you live in the area, You won't wanna miss it!

After that, Mr. Tea Rose Home took me to out to a sushi restaurant, we spent some time in a book store (I LOVE going to a book store) then we went to different restaurant for dessert. :) Mmmm chocolate.

We talked and talked (We are both TALKERS sometimes we are so excited about what we want to say and talk over each other, but somehow we are both satisfied and it works, funny huh?) And, shhhh... Do you hear anything? No, no one was bugging us to go to the bathroom or arguing or those kinds of things. Having a conversation without interruption in grown up space was so nice! Ah...seriously, we need to get out more often.

Big thanks to Mr. TRH, my better half, and best friend for such a fun evening. You are the best!

Link Party No. 61!

I have been in a cooking mood lately. I am still very busy, but the schedule is somewhat more flexible than during the school year. I can cook things that take more time and effort or try out a new recipe or two. One of the recipes that I tried recently and that turned out really good was this "Ultimate Banana Bread". I found the recipe on Cook's Illustrated Magazine that I checked out from the library. (I tried to look for the recipe on their site, but you have to sign up to see the recipe).

It was so moist and flavorful. Mmm... (This doesn't help me with curbing my appetite for carbs, help!).

So, what have you been up to, please show off your creations!

1. Please post something YOU made. It doesn't matter if it is crochet, quilt, clothing, anything would be fine. I want to see it! If you use someone's idea or patterns please give them the rightful credit.

2. Link to your specific post, that way it is easier for everybody to find and read it.

3. Please grab the "Tea Rose Home" grab button, and link back from your post. If you can mention the party in your post or place the button on your side bar, that would be great! I want more people to have a chance to come and show off their creation.


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Lemonade Day

I decided that today is a good day to make lemonade...


By the way, the picture below is a little sneak peak for my new tutorial. I made the dress Rachel is wearing out of ordinary kitchen towels. I will have the tutorial ready sometime this week (hopefully...fingers crossed).




She has been busy painting this morning; do you see some paint on her hands?

Who knew that making lemonade can be so much fun? I basically taught them what to do, and they did most of the work. Maybe some of "Sachiko's cooking class" is paying off? I am proud of how he is holding the lemon.


We decided to make lemon limeade with some strawberries.
The results? Oh, it was so good!

Link Love No. 60!

Thank you all for those who left comments or emailed me about the last post. Some of you suggested we contact our bank and such; we have already done that to take extra precautions. You can be never too careful now days.

We had a lot going on this week, and I couldn't get to the link lists till late last night. This time I noticed a lot of links for recipes. I, myself am cooking more lately. The slower summer schedule allows me to find more time to cook better (I mean from scratch, the stuff takes a little more time to cook) meals for my family. Also, experimenting with new recipes is fun for a change!

Here are some of my link loves for this week...

Do you have a striped shirt in your closet you haven't worn for so long? This might be one of the ways to give it a new life. My Own Roadmade this Tuxedo pillow from a shirt. I love the combination of a little mannish fabric with feminine ruffle, great mix!


Mmmm... Check these raspberries-n-cream yogurt pops... (Drools). A Pretty Life in the Suburbs shares the recipe for this perfect summer treat on her blog. I have always been a big fan of pops rather than ice cream. I bet they taste so yummy!


Michella Marie shares a very detailed step by step tutorial on her blog to make this paper peonies. The flower is made out of coffee filters. The flower looks so good, like expensive silk flowers if not better. Great work!


Little Altars shared this perfect example of using something for a different purpose successfully.
I posted my vintage picture frame redo project a while ago, but I never thought about using picture frames like this. Isn't this wall gorgeous? I love it!


Here is one picture of a sophisticated modern kitchen for KIDS! Utah County Momused a computer desk she had at home and came up with this amazing kitchen! Can you believe that she has never used power tools before this project? Wow, her daughter is one little lucky girl!


Thank you all for another amazing link part! Have a happy summer. :)

Scam, Fraud, and a Phone Call

I know the title doesn't sound like its coming from the usual Tea Rose Home. I am going to tell you what happened to us over the last couple of days that was a little scary.

It will be a long post, I’ll tell you that up front; if you are interested keep on reading, if not, please come back to my next post which will be a fun and crafty post. :)

A couple days ago, I noticed that someone left a message on my cell phone. I am not the type that is too attached to my phone, so I always leave it in my purse or car or who knows where, so I listened to the massage pretty late that evening.

The message was to my husband by a girl named "Rachel" with a really thick Indian accent. English being my second language, I have hard time understanding people with thick accents. I didn't understand what she was saying because of the accent but I caught the word like "Cash loan America", "owe money", "If we don't pay they will sue us and take us to court". WHAT?! I thought.

First of all, we NEVER borrow money from places like that, EVER, besides, I hardly ever give out my cell phone number, and why is she asking for my husband?

Late at night, my husband got home and I told him about the massage. He called back immediately, but it went straight to voice mail and it said the box was full. It didn’t even identify a person or business.

My husband called in the morning, and it went to the machine again, but he called the number again. This time, a guy (with a thick accent) answered the phone and said, “Hello?” Kind of like he was not expecting anyone to call.

So my husband, who I will refer to as Mr. TRH from now on, immediately asked, “Who is this that I am calling?"

The person on the other end asked him if we had been called previously. Mr. TRH said, "Someone named Rachel called us and said we owe money, blah, blah, blah...", he basically, told what we know, without telling him any more information about us of course.

Then the guy said, "This is about the loan that you took out.”

Mr. TRH responded, “What loan?”

“The advance payday loan of $700”

“From where? When? Who are you?”

He told Mr. TRH that the loan was from Cash Advance America, a payday loan company.

Mr.TRH said, "I never borrow money from places like that, When did this happen? What is the store location? And who are you?"

The guy said that it was over the internet, to which Mr. TRH shot back, “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard, you never borrow money like that over the internet! I never borrowed money from that place; you will not get a dime!”

He responded a bit agitated and somewhat flustered, “Then why do I have your file!”

“I don’t care! What is your name? When did this loan happen?”

“Let me check my file.” He heard some paper rustling in the background. “It was November 17th of 2010.”

Mr. TRH then asked a barrage of questions not letting him make up any excuses make up information. “Where did the money go?” … “I mean the money was borrowed, what mailing address, what bank did it go to? What is your name?”

He said, “Let me check” then hung up.


Picture from: The TB Joshua Blog
Oh, you do not do that to my Mr. TRH. He is such a fun, kind and loving person, but if he needs to, well, especially to protect his family he will be a ROARING LION and Mr. TRH wasn’t finished. He called this scammer right back. This time the guy answered, “Hi this is Dominic from Debt Solutions.”

Mr. TRH lit into him, “Don’t you hang up on me! I want to know where this $700 from Cash Advanced America went to!”

He replied, “Huh, what happened?” (Oh, wrong response Dominic. You really should have known by now that you picked the wrong person to scam. Mr. TRH was in attack mode, he was turning into Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal.)

"What happened? You hung up the phone, and I was not done talking. So, answer my questions!"

Completely upset and surprised, he screamed, “This is not a payday loan!!!”

“I didn’t say payday! I said Cash Advanced America which is what you said earlier!”

Trying to regain his composure Dominic (whatever his name is) said, “This is not a loan, we sent you *an unintelligible phrase* to help you with your electric bill.” Huh? Isn’t this guy from Debt Solutions, now they switch to a sales company?

I was sitting right there and listening to the whole conversations. I could see the Mr. TRH was starting to get irritated but trying to be calm about it...but he was not done talking.

“I don’t know what a-”, Mr. TRH really couldn’t understand what the guy was saying so he mimicked him over that part and continued. “-is! I want to talk about this Cash Advanced Loan.”

Dominic then started speaking angrily, fast and either in a really heavy accent or in another language altogether before finally saying, “I feel like we are not on the same page!”

Mr. TRH told him to calm down and speak more clearly so that he could understand Dominic.

Dominic started to explain that his company has a device that can help lower our electric bill and was surprised that we never received such a device and offered to send us one.

Wow, really? His story changed from "you owe us money" to "You should have received something from us, so you need to pay" to "would you like us to send you one". At this point Mr.TRH's patience toward the guy or the situation was reaching the boiling point.

Basically before hung up the phone, Mr.TRH told the guy; "Listen, we never borrowed money from any place. I never want to hear from you. DO NOT CALL US! DO NOT EMAIL US! DON’T SEND US ANYTHING and I DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW THAT YOU EXSIST!"

Click. That was it. All my kids were in the same room doing their reading minutes, but they were stunned. Their eyes were wide open with surprise and curiosity. We had a talk with them that we should usually never talk to people with that kind of tone (but I am so proud of him, he never swore. He was simply making his point to those scammers). But I also told our children how I truly felt. The “bad guys” deserved it.

After the phone call, I still felt somewhat violated, so I wanted to find out if there are other people had the same experience we had. We went online and googled "Cash Advance America Scam"". We even looked up their number on Google and found other accounts very similar to our own as well.

It makes me sick to my stomach that people like that exist. I would love to think that we live in perfect world, but we do not. Some people are so dishonest and don’t care about putting other people in jeopardy. That’s why we need to educate ourselves and be watchful. I wanted you, my dear Tea Rose Home Readers, to know things like this are going around and to be aware of it.

There are a few things that I can pass on to you:

Here’s what to do if you receive a suspicious telephone call regarding an outstanding debt:

1) Ask the caller to provide official documentation verifying the debt.
2) Don’t provide or confirm any bank account, credit card, or other personal information over the phone.
3) Report suspicious calls to the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-382-4357 or www.ftc.gov.

Whew! See you at the next post.