AJUMA SQUAD

Merry Christmas, everyone! 🎄 Wishing you a happy new year, a year full of excitement and to daring new adventures. 🍾🍾🍾 

“Life is short” really means “do something.” -Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  

Yours truly, Joan and Esther

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On today's delightful episode, we listen in as Esther describes her life as being derailed, feeling unaccomplished and her possibly being in a midlife crisis. Like a true friend, I sit (and record) the mess.   

Listen in as (this train wreck unfolds) we make something out of Esthers’ 40ish birthday and don’t ask her what she wants to do on this special occasion. Like, ever. At least thats what I've learned.  

Es, you can be difficult at times, but just know we adore you. Happy Birthday!

Thank you for listening in! Your Awesome!

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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8yUJv8kw-DRAUgCg0u0POg\

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James Miller is back and he shares with us how to make a Chicken Pesto sandwich on a Baguette.  

Join us as we discuss the latest on Millers’ dating life. I get comforted for buying sauce in a jar & Esthers’ daughter completely ignores me. 

LOVE being an auntie.   

Chicken Basil Pesto on Baguette Recipe:  

Ingredients: 

Baguette 

Chicken Breast 

Sun Dried Tomatoes 

Fresh Mozzarella 

Balsamic Glaze  

Basil Pesto: 

1 clove Garlic 

1/2 cup of basil leaves 

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

1/4 cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese 

*Blend all ingredients in Blender or get fancy and use Mortar and Pestle.  

Directions: 

Marinate Chicken Breast with Salt, Pepper & Olive Oil 

Bake Chicken Breast in oven at 450 degree for :15 

(while in oven…) 

Prepare Basil Pesto in either blender or Mortar and Pestle 

(See Basil Pesto ingredients) 

Slice Baguette, Chicken Breast, Sun Dried Tomatoes, and Fresh Mozzarella 

(Optional: Melt the Mozzarella with Baguette, Chicken, and Tomatoes at 350 degrees for :5-:7)

Spread Pesto Sauce Drizzle on the Balsamic Glaze AND VOILA.  

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Christmas lovers/enthusiasts/aficionados, Hallmark Christmas Themed Suites are now finally here!  

Club Wyndham has announced these magical suites with "fully equipped kitchen for cooking making..gingerbread kits, hot cocoa station, and Hallmark Channel Holiday movie collection, (that are) ready to view” are available in 3 cities, Nashville, Veil, & NYC for $295/night with 2 to 3 night stays. 

Hate to ruin the moment, but is snow included? Holly Robinson Peete, who is a regular in the Hallmark movies describes it as the same experience as walking on set. BRB, currently getting acclimated with the 360 tour.  

See here for the marvelous details: https://www.travelandleisure.com/holiday-travel/christmas-travel/hallmark-christmas-suites-at-wyndham-hotels 

Hey Grown Ups, Toys R Us returns in 2022 to 400 Macys stores.  

(Same. Didn’t realize we missed them this much either.) Get ready for a taste of your childhood and grab your kids, Christmas will be even better next year. YOUR WELCOME. 

https://hypebeast.com/2021/8/toys-r-us-macys-return-2022-announcement 

Have you had the talk yet?...The Santa talk? Send help. 

Watch us fall apart as we try to stick to these tips: 

https://www.moms.com/ways-tips-tell-children-truth-about-santa-claus-christmas-holidays/ 

(Warning: Since we couldn’t go incognito, we bleeped the jolly ol' fella out. Your welcome. Remember to lower your volumes.) 

If you know anyone that could use some Christmas spirit 🎄please SHARE ❤️Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️ Happy Holidays!

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Here are some Halloween activites for kids at any age! We share our “Blood Juice Cocktail” recipe and discuss the Asian superhero movie, Shang Chi! Wow. 

We don’t know how we mixed all these in...but we did! HA 😺  

Have a SAFE & HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 🧟‍♀️👻🧙‍♀️🎃  

Halloween Activities: 

https://findingbalance.mom/halloween-activities-for-kids/ 

https://www.countryliving.com/diy-crafts/g22355935/halloween-family-activities/ 

"How to Draw Frankenstein Folding Suprise Puppet” Tutorial: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_OAP_cbbBU

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THANK YOU!

We take a quiz to see which character we’d be on Squid Game and honestly, would we survive?   

We go off tangent (in true AJUMA style) & discuss 90's Korean heartthrobs and explain how excited we were to see Lee Jung-Jae again on the small screen. Enjoy!   

You can also take this quiz on:  https://www.buzzfeed.com/sarahaspler/squid-game-character-quiz

WOW. Has it really been one year since we pulled the trigger? Someone pinch us. Better yet, grab a glass & celebrate with us 🥂.  

Truth be told, we had moments when we saw little progress being made, AJUMA SQUAD would have been kaput. Then out of nowhere, we would see a “Like” message pop up. One of our supporters shared our post and said our video made them laugh. Another viewer would thank us for posting on a personal topic, and it gave us the courage to turn the camera back on.   

Here we are, a year later, we couldn't have predicted the conversations we'd have, the guests that came on and left us speechless. We made invaluable connections with our community, some moms and non-moms (?) while we shared our lives in front of the camera. 

Truth is, we love what we do. Initially, we didn’t know WTH we were doing (um, still don't), but the best part, during the process, our squad made us certain whatever we were doing, we were doing the right thing.   

We know we still have a long ways to go, but hell, we are enjoying every moment.  HAPPY ONE YEAR TO US. 

Thank you for watching. As always, you’re Awesome.  

❤️ AJUMA SQUAD

I love to celebrate, like really celebrate, (all sequence? 90's supermodel? anyone?) on my birthday, so I thought it was fitting for my last year in my 30's to celebrate in Miami with my girlfriends. 

Cheers to all, who’s celebrated with me for my 39th. Thank you so, so much.   

Love, Love, & LOVE! Joan  

P.S. your AWESOME.  

Places to go in MIAMI: 

Coyo Taco (speakeasy) 

Brickell 

Wynnwood 

Little Havana

There was a time when in a dimly lit room, poets stepped to the mic and temporarily whisked you away with their vibrant words. There was a time when dancers and performers took the stage, and unabashed audience members got up out of their seats to reciprocate the artists' energy. There was a time when people danced till dawn to Nas, Mobb Deep, & Lil' Kim while DJ Kuttin Kandi and the members of the 5th platoon cut it up on the turntables & brought the house down.   

The time was in the late 90s & the early 2000s in NYC. 

Today, we reminisce with hip hop veteran DJ Kuttin Kandi, who currently resides in CA, at the height of her career. The premise for the show was to invite a guest who broke stereotypes, specifically Asian Americans who did not take the traditional route in their careers. We wanted to get into conversation & see what it was like as they paved the way for the future.   

In 1998, Kandi was the first female DJ to compete in the DMC USA Finals and held the distinguished title for 18 years. She has worked with numerous artists such as Jay-Z, LL Cool J, & The Roots, to name a few. She discusses how hip hop has politicized her and lead her to work in activism for social justice. She has co-founded many different organizations such as R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop (Representing Education, Activism & Community through Hip Hop), Asian American Collective, and DJ Coalition-Freedom Sound DJs. She has released several books on feminism and hip-hop culture and is currently working on her second anthology. DJ Kuttin Kandi added a prefix to her name and became Dr. DJ Kuttin Kandi when she received a doctorate in Pinayism.   

We touch on the influence hip-hop had on the lives of Asian Americans. The late 90s and early 2000s were a significant time when Asian American artists full of musicians, poets, & dance crews broke stereotypes and pursued their dreams. They supported each other at shows and depended heavily on grassroots marketing.   

When asked how she feels about Hip-Hop now, Dr. DJ Kuttin Kandi cooly responds, “Hip Hop will always, and should be, lead by the youth…We should be open to where the youth is leading us.” Let's just say, her response was "humbling".  

“You can take the girl out from Queens but you can’t take Queens out of the girl."-Cindy Lauper   

A big thank you to Dr. DJ Kuttin Kandi for paving the way for aspiring DJs, specifically female DJs. Thank you for sharing with us your experiences while we lived in the past, even for a moment.    

Note: Chill TF down everyone, Esther had an emergency on the day we filmed. She’ll be back next week!

We know what your thinking…   

“Moobies" is an actual word and if you don’t know what it is, you’ll have to watch.   

And, if anyone watching knows how to defy gravity, DM us, asking for a friend.     

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