Blessed and Cursed and Won

We've moved!

2009-12-29T17:16:00.004+09:00

In an effort to streamline the blogging process, we can now be found here.

This in no way guarantees that updates will be more frequent, but it will be easier (and FTR, I like WP's commenting options a lot more).

I'll be taking this blog down in about a week, so please update your reader or bookmark.

See you there!

OYD Cooks!

2009-11-26T22:33:00.021+09:00

Carb Fest '09!*

This has been our first Thanksgiving on our own, and since our living arrangements have put us in a much smaller space, it has also been our smallest endeavor to date. We didn't want to do a big production this year as we have the last couple, because with The Guy's work schedule I just don't have the energy to do it all alone. We had just us and our friend, Mazetov Cocktail, from our annual Jewstravaganza, and it turned out to be just the right size.

We have a ton to be thankful for. We have a wonderful family, and a great home. We have been incredibly blessed with the opportunity to live in a foreign country where we get to observe and experience a different culture. We have amazing friends, in both Meat World and Bloglandia who have held us up through so much. Basically we are surrounded by love and awesomeness every day, and that is incredible. I pause a moment to the Goddess and thank her for all we are blessed with as we prepare our meal every year, and it was extra special because I was able to share that with The Kid this year, since she was a big help in the preparing process.

Dinner this year was so much more simple than in the past. There was no need to do three turkeys and I don't think we will be eating leftovers for every meal for days to come. Oh, and it was also the perfect size for Mario Party. W00t!

I did start with some of Grammy's Pumpkin Cookies, something that has been part of my holiday experience since I can remember, but they didn't last the day between the Kid's school and home and friends popping in. I can't keep them in the house!
OM NOM NOM!

I discovered that our refrigerator is too cold for thawing, and even when I thought that I could thaw the turkey the way you are supposed to, I wound up right back where we always are, with the turkey taking a bath during the day, but this time in our spa bathtub, and I thought the jets would help things along:
I admit to being a bit jealous that the turkey got to relax in the spa...

Fortunately this year we knew we didn't need a lot, so we only bought two turkey breasts, so they thawed quickly.

Have I mentioned how great household child labor is? I am a malevolent Matriarch!

Peel those potatoes! Go! Gotta teach her the ways of the Patriarchy early! *snerk*
Wash those dishes! I can has clean measuring cups so can makes teh Thanksgivings!

Kid made the green bean casserole all by herself this year, something she was very excited about. It is a great first recipe to let them try ... it's right there on the can and so hard to mess up!

But that is not how you start! LOL!

She did the whole thing from beginning to end and it was perfect. She was very proud, and made sure to fish a compliment on it out of everyone who ate it. Heh. Guess she's modest too!

Kid also helped with the peanut butter pies (yes, Anna! Peanut butter pie! They are not dangerous!).

I swear I do not know how that happened. ;)

I love it when all three of us get into the kitchen together. It really makes things so much more fun.

The turkey breasts were the best idea, and we still had plenty of pan drippings for gravy!
Everything turned out wonderful. And yes, as a matter of fact that is the cranberry jelly, which I crave, and will shamelessly eat from the can! YUM!

I hope everyone in the States has a pleasant Thanksgiving.

*name from the fabulous Red Queen.

OYD Cooks!

2009-10-29T07:42:00.004+09:00

Worm Infested Dirt Cups!

NOM!

The recipe that saved me time is apparently a Weight Watchers' recipe, but since diets are crap, and they don't work (even "lifestyles" like WW) I changed it a little (another mum gave me the idea originally, but I couldn't remember the proportions).

You will need:

A boxed cake mix (any variety. If you get a vegan mix, which many of them are now, this is a great vegan alternative recipe)

A can of soda (or about 10 ounces/295 ml)

That's it! Don't add any of that crap that the box calls for. Just mix the soda and the mix in a bowl. Divide it into cupcake cups, and bake according to the box. I used Sprite, for anyone who is interested, with both a Pillsbury white cake and a Pillsbury triple chocolate cake.

For the toppings:

One box instant pudding
Cookies, crushed into good chunks.
Gummy worms. If you plan ahead there are websites where you can order realistic looking gummy worms, but I didn't really feel the need since this wasn't an actual Halloween party.

For the chocolate I used chocolate pudding and hydrox style sandwich cookies, like Oreos, and for the white I used vanilla pudding and 'Nilla wafers. I have heard that chocolate chip cookies work well too, but I wanted a non-chocolate option available.

Prepare pudding according to directions and chill. Mix crushed cookies and pudding in a bowl to get a clumpy mud like texture. Top each cooled cupcake w/ a scoop of "mud" and nestle a worm into the mess.

They were totally easy, a lot of fun, and a little gross (not at all! NOM!). They are on the way to school right now to be enjoyed.

ETA: I just got a call telling me that they look so delicious that they can not wait to dig in! SUCCESS!

Hope you get a chance to try them out!

The 63rd Building

2009-10-14T12:54:00.009+09:00

We took Kid and a friend, S from school, to the 63rd Building over the long weekend. It was the tallest building in Asia when it was first built. It has a decent Sea World Aquarium inside, and a really cool observatory from the top, with one of those elevators that makes your ears pop. It was a lot of fun, and I think the girls had a blast. Plus, a monk smiled at me while we were eating gelato, so it was a good day.

Kid is getting to be an Ol' Pro at the Seoul Subway. She even has her own T-Card now, and likes to stop at the 7-11 at the stations to get her favorite drink for the ride.

The 63rd Building on Yeouido. Very shiny.

The girls in the only place where their giddiness can be contained. A giant bubble under water.

A view from the top of the building. If you squint really hard you can see our ville. Just kidding!

More of Seoul.

I thought this was really fun...someone enlarged a print of a Monet and replicated the bridge so that kids could have their picture taken on it.

The Three Hour Tour -- The Sequel

2009-09-18T13:36:00.017+09:00

(Moderatrix' note: I am going to make the pictures smaller to make the post shorter...click any picture to embiggen. KTHX)

Part One

We took a C-5 to Guam. A C-5 is the largest plane operated by the military today...and it is a lot like flying on a commercial jet. I actually like it better, since when it isn't filled to capacity there is a ton of room to lie down. You can kick up the arm rests in your row, lay all the seats back and stretch out. It is the most comfortable flight I have ever had the pleasure of taking.

Guam... is just like Hawai'i... only more humid (but not as humid as Okinawa if you are keeping score at home). It's lovely and tropical and I bet that there would have been a lot of fun stuff to do if we had been there longer than overnight. On the up side, most of the housing has been turned into lodging...so we were given a two bedroom house for the same low lodging fare. The best part is that it had a washer and dryer in the house so we were able to wash our clothes. Yay!

From Guam we made it to Hawai'i, and were on the ground less than we were in Guam. We were able to catch a flight to California first thing the next day.

We arrived in California at about 0500, got a hotel with a late check out, ate the free breakfast, slept for a few hours and were on our way to Ohio. As far as Space A flying goes this was one of the smoothest trips we have taken. We drove from Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio up to my mother's house in Indiana (Hi Mom! *waves*) where we picked up The Kid...who was surprised to see us a whole day early. Tee hee.

After spending a nice afternoon w/ my Mom and her Partner (sorry, ma, "boyfriend" doesn't really cut it for me anymore... LOL) we drove up to my Grandparents' house in Northern Michigan. Real Northern Michigan, not that top of the Lower Peninsula crap that most people South of Traverse City think is Northern Michigan, but actual, beautiful, sacred Above the Bridge Upper Peninsula. We had only two days to spare before we were hoping to catch a flight out of Indiana...so we had to make it count.

We took Mom and L (Mom, I need a good nickname for this dude) out for lunch, and then went back to the house where L treated Kid to a Harley ride. She had been talking about it all day, so we couldn't very well leave w/o allowing her this indulgence. "Grandpa L" has really taken to her (who could resist her charms?), and I think he was just as excited as she was.

Then we loaded up and made the trek North.

We had tons of Very Important Business to attend to while there. Not the least of all was paying a snorgle visit to The Cutest Nephews Evah! *Extreme NOM Warning* I can not believe how big they have gotten because it hardly seems that they have been around for over ten months now! Believe me when I say...trouble does indeed come in pairs.

It had also been far too long since I'd been out to visit Dad. For many reasons. First is that I am usually home in the Winter. This is the first time that the cemetery had been accessible when we were in the Sault. Second, it is extremely difficult for me to do. I haven't yet gotten to the point where I don't sometimes forget that he has walked on and want to call him or go see him...even after ten years.

We barely had enough time to squeeze in an all too brief visit w/ my Grammy. One thing I didn't have was a picture of The Kid w/ Grammy, and that simply had to be rectified. I always regret not having more time w/ my whole family, but our time is constricted by circumstances beyond our control.

We got a brief bit of sleep before packing up and heading back to Indiana to catch our plane back to California. This time we had a bit of down time, and were able to take The Kid out to Fairfield for a tour of the Jelly Belly factory. The tour was definitely worth the price (FREE!), but our tour guide was lacking. She used this phony accent that I can only compare to the way Gwyneth Paltrow tries to pretend she is British, but in an overly dramatic theatre diva tone. She also didn't know what flavor they were making that day...which I think should be a minimum requirement for being a tour guide. We are, however, still eating the Jelly Belly supply that we picked up while there. NOM!

Our next stop was Alaska, and this time we had the fortuitous timing to be in time for the Alaska State Fair. We rented a car w/ an awesome woman and her daughter (with whom Kid hit it off and is now a penpal w/) and went out to see how my BFF Sarah gets her Fair on. Other than the scenery being absolutely astonishing the Fair was a hit. The Guy, The Kid and Kid's Pal had a blast riding all the rides while Pal's Mom and I played Paparazzo. There was delicious Fair food to be NOMed up, including Indian Tacos, hot dogs in fry bread, and a ridiculously huge smoked turkey leg.

Being back in Okinawa was a spectacle and a half...and I don't mind saying here that the Airman that was working at the terminal when we were cut from the flight was an unhelpful Jerk, and that I know he allowed people to jump priority. Aside from that, we were shown incredible hospitality by Kid's Pal's family, and we managed to make it to Yokota in decent time.

Getting from Mainland Japan home was slightly hairy. In order to get Kid and Guy home in time for work and school we ended up splitting up, leaving me to hang out in Japan for a few days by myself. In the end we ended up getting me a commercial ticket for a reasonable price a few days later. I managed a few pictures on my way to Narita Airport...and hopefully we can return when we have more time to see more of Japan. I must confess, the bamboo forests won me over.

Oh, and the toilets at the airport. They amused me w/ their "flushing sound" feature. You can turn on a simulated flushing sound so that no one can hear you going about your business. Even our fancy bidet doesn't have that feature!

That pretty much wraps up The Three Hour Tour. Hope you enjoyed the virtual tour! I will return you to the regularly scheduled BaCaW blogging post haste!

The Three Hour Tour -- The Sequel

2009-09-18T12:47:00.017+09:00

The return trip to The States to pick up The Kid at Summer's end was ridiculously more enjoyable than my solo trip back to Korea. Having The Guy along as a traveling companion increased the fun factor by about a nonillion times.

It was pretty much the same song, different verse. We headed to Osan, AFB to catch a plane off the Peninsula. There happened to be a flight going to Kadena, a tiny little C-12, and we were lucky enough to be traveling lightly enough to make the roll call. C-12's are a turbo prop plane, and therefore subject to very strict weight regulations. You can not even be one pound over the limit set. Luckily we traveled lightly to make room for souvenirs for the fam (and for us too!)

The best part was having a window so we could take it the sights of flying so low. I got some great shots on the way. I seem to have a particular fondness for the way the clouds look over the Ocean. There were times I thought some of the clouds looked a little like the Castle in the Sky.

It took us about three days to get out of Okinawa. In the mean time we had occasion to visit American Village again. We found an awesome pay by the gram frozen yogurt place, where you pick what flavor(s) you want out of a dozen or more, and then pile on all the toppings you want.

We strolled around looking for some souvenirs afterward. We weren't exactly sure, but we had a feeling that the Joshua store was having a sale...

I found something I wanted to take home...

...but sadly it wasn't for sale.

We took a sunset ride on the ginormous Ferris wheel:

and enjoyed the lights of the strip afterword.

The Guy took me to an awesome Teppanyaki Steakhouse, which if you haven't been to one I highly recommend it. It's a lot like a Hibachi steakhouse. Only better.

The chef worked too fast for even my sports setting to catch. He juggled seasoning shakers and chopped stuff up so fast that it was like dinner and a show all in one. The steak was also almost to die for...I've never had kobe beef before...it definitely lived up to the hype.

We made it out of Okinawa the next day, and caught a flight to, can you believe it, Guam!

(Apparently Blogger has a limit on post length...so to be continued...)

OYD Cooks!

2009-09-14T19:38:00.005+09:00

One of our friends left for a training class in Alaska, and his wife was allowed to go with him, and since her going was a last minute arrangement they brought us a large gift of food that they didn't want to go to waste. Among the two enormous bags of fruits and veggies (and other stuff) was an equally enormous half of a watermelon. Other than chop it up and eat it as a snack I was looking for something creative to do w/ it. As many people who often travel will tell you, after a trip money can be a little tight, so I wanted to include it into the weekly meal planning, to pad the budget just a bit.

I always turn to Al Gore's infinite wisdom, and I came up w/ this recipe. I had to modify it a bit, as I no longer have lots of fancy vinegars on had at all times. I substituted balsamic in the dressin, and it turned out great. I also added some pre-packaged chicken breast from the lunch meat section (I try to keep some of that and canned chicken on hand for these occasions), to make it a whole meal instead of just a salad. Even though it was fully cooked I sauteed it in a little EVOO and garlic pepper, just until warmed w/ those little crispy brown sear marks on it.

It was super yumm-O and refreshing, not to mention something I never thought to do.

Enjoy!

Some Random Photos!

2009-09-13T22:16:00.014+09:00

Yikes! I didn't realize it had been so long! Things were crazy for us this summer. First I spent nearly a month in the States (or in travel to them), complete w/ a much overdue trip to North Carolina to visit a great friend. We've been friends for a few years now, but had never met in person. When I wound up in the Carolinas around 4th of July (with no AMC flights due to the holidays) I was graciously invited to visit and crash for a few days. I was treated to some awesome Southern Hospitality (tm), including an introduction to Bojangles, and this:

A good ol' Crawfish boil. It was AWESOME! I have before had the pleasure, and it was so worth it. The only regret I have is that The Guy and The Kid weren't there to enjoy it. :(

This doesn't even scratch the surface of the carnage she caused. (Love ya, girl!)

It was a completely rad time. I also was treated to fireworks by the waterfront. Just like when I was a kid...

Someday I will have a kick ass camera that can take quality pictures at all times of day. I vow it.

It also included the worst. sparklers. evah.

But it was a great time, all the same. We will definitely have to do it again before another three years lapses.

When I finally made it home we had a houseguest from Iowa for most of four weeks. Just like when we lived in Hawai'i it took someone coming to visit to go see some of the best things out there. We observed John running amok w/ some great results...

And also some failures. The stinkin (no pun intended) Kimchi Field Museum was closed the day we showed up! Boo!

We found the best Brunch and Waffles in town. W/ the tiniest syrup pitcher in all the world...

We made time for a trip to the DMZ, and the Third Tunnel of Aggression, which I knew was going to be exhausting, but I am glad I went all the same. To say it was an odd experience is an understatement.

After the hike, Me, The Guy, and John.

Actual sign at the actual DMZ. I wrote more about the trip here.

And, of course, lots of great street food. NOM!

After John flew home (but not until unlocking Pyro!), we packed our gear and headed out for the States again. In the name of keeping these posts from being too insanely long (I need to figure out the html coding for adding a jump) I will break that into another post.

Your friendly neighborhood Moderatrix, OUT!

The Three Hour Tour

2009-08-08T14:45:00.002+09:00

Some Random Photos!

Alaska.

Our first glimpse out of the plane.

Rise and shine, beautiful!

Enjoying a Little House moment.

Teh Tired starts to catch up w/ the kids...

Fortunately you can't keep them down long...

I don't think that Sled Dog is gonna be pulling any sleds anytime soon...but it sure was cute!

There was salmon everything available at the Weekend Market. Salmon Quesadillas? Hrm...

Looking for salmon...

...and looking...

...and still looking...

After saving bits of their lunch to "distract the salmon" the girls were determined to catch one. "It's the freshest salmon you'll ever eat" they said (quoting Bear Gryls).

Finally we saw two (click to embiggen and you might see them as well!). The girls said they saw "millions", so I am guessing their eyesight is far superior to my own. LOL.

We took a trolley ride through Anchorage.

The trolley took us to the Anchorage Visitors' Center.

The Kid kept hitting her head on the sign while trying to have her picture taken under it. I think she really is my child. ;)

Inside they had money from all over the world. They didn't have any SK Won that wasn't a coin, so we donated. If you go there and see the Cheon Won hanging there, you will know where it is from!

I took this picture at about 0230. This is the darkest it ever was, and the same came up again promptly at 0430 just as we were ready to board our plane. The lack of darkness did nothing to help our jet lag, which was already bad because we left Okinawa on Sunday afternoon, landed in Alaska bright and early Sunday morning, and had to get back on the plane only 20-some hours later. It was beautiful, though.

That's all for now!

The Three Hour Tour

2009-07-14T18:44:00.008+09:00

Why "Space A" Travel Beats Commercial Travel

(And a few reasons why it doesn't)

If you are in the Military and plan on taking advantage of the Air Mobility Command's services (formerly MAC), there are a few things you should know. I welcome anyone who is considering this to contact me if they have questions via email.

Not the least of things you should consider is how much idle time you will be spending in passenger terminals. It isn't the most exciting nor fun place to be, and you will be spending great deals of time here. This picture is a good example of how we spent a good bulk of our remaining days on Okinawa. Kid has a favorite purple blanket that she received from my mother a couple of years back (it is the only thing she has held onto as a "favorite" for more than a month or two at a time) and we have a great fleece blanket that zips into a sleeping bag that rolls and fits in a small compartment of the backpack I traveled with. This made a great make-shift bed for a kid who had to wake up at 0245 some mornings, and also a great cuddling blanket on the flights because it gets very cold in the air. A word of warning, many passenger terminals don't allow you to sleep in them whatsoever (something about zoning?), and some also have "family rooms" which are a blessing. If you have children you can use the family rooms to allow them to sleep (many have travel cribs), and since you can't leave a sleeping child unattended you can catch a few ZZZ's yourself in the recliners. Kadena has a child's play room with a huge television and and playhouse where they can play as long as you check on them frequently and keep the noise to a dull roar. In our travels I found Kadena and Elmendorf to be the most family-friendly terminals.

Space A flights are way more relaxed than your average commercial flight. The nice Air Force, and occasional Sailor, crew are a great mix of professional and fun. After they demonstrate the safety gear and general rules they like to mingle and try to keep you in good spirits. Once you reach optimal altitude you are welcome to not only take off your seatbelt but to spread out and relax. On the larger cargo planes you are welcome to spread out onto the floor, lay down and sleep if you wish. This is where having a nice travel blanket comes in handy, because I am not going to lie, the floor is cold, hard, and more than a little dirty and dotted with places for connecting cables and lines. Another word of advice: Buy the box lunch. Someone somewhere at AMCs make sandwiches and pack them in boxes with fruit, candy or granola bars, bottled water, chips, soda (not options, pretty much all of the above) and a few other things, and for $4.50 or so it is a pretty good meal. If that isn't enough you are allowed to bring your own snacks, and I suggest anyone traveling with children do this. You can have forbidden items like produce or dairy as long as you eat or dispose of it before landing. The crew will also more than likely have a supply of water. On the C-17 (similar to this open source photo) they made coffee and shared it with the harried and tired looking parents, and even had a cooler of sodas and water available (at no cost!), although on the second leg we had to remind one guy to strap it down, since during takeoff from Kadena he forgot and it launched down the center of the bay and flung open over the sealed and plastic wrapped luggage. It was actually really funny, and sadly happened too fast for a picture.

Something else that I absolutely loved about this type of flying is that it seems to be a bit easier on parents traveling with their children, of almost any age. Parents with very small children don't have to stress about their babies crying and disturbing other passengers. Space A flights are loud, since they aren't insulated the way a commercial plane would be against noise. Not only will your baby not be that loud above the sounds of flying and 30+ thousand feet, but most everybody is wearing earplugs, she they aren't going to hear it anyway. Slightly older children can sit together and play. I personally love that they are able to socialize on the planes, and was always warmed to the cockles of where my heart used to be by the sight of them sitting in groups consolidating their toys or swapping and sharing hand-held video games and books. The crew will also, time permitting, offer to let kids explore the plane under their direct supervision. This includes seeing the cockpit, and on one flight the boom operator of the KC-135 Stratotanker we rode took the kids down to see the boom used in refueling planes. If they do mid-air refueling they will usually let you watch, provided there is no turbulence or complications. Older kids and teens have the space to brood or mope or do whatever it is that teens do these days with their ears jammed with headphones. Some of the larger planes even have outlets for you to plug in your laptop or portable DVD player. All you have to do is be prepared to return to your seat and buckle in the case of turbulence. And did I mention that there is a ton of space on most flights to sprawl out and sleep? Well, on most flights there is a ton of space to sprawl out and sleep. :P

On thing to note is that you are flying on a military mission plane. They are usually coming or going from or to or during something official, and you need to respect that. You need to listen when they tell you no hats in certain areas. You need to respect that some areas are sensitive, so you will not be permitted to take pictures. Having had the kind of job I did when I was Active Duty I understand full well why taking pictures of or on the Flight Line is a no-no. Don't argue. Don't try to sneak a shot (they WILL confiscate your camera). Have more respect than news agencies do for sensitive materials and remember that what seems harmless to you could actually endanger the lives of these men and women who are providing travel to you at no cost. You may, however, take pictures on board in the passenger/cargo area, and out the windows as well. We rode directly through this sunset on our way to Alaska. It was pretty much the same sky for most of the 9 hour flight. We flew into it, and it was behind us as we landed in Alaska at what should have been Dark Thirty in the morning. Hey, it is Summer in The Land of the Midnight Sun. More on that next time!

The Three Hour Tour

2009-07-12T07:26:00.023+09:00

Okinawa.

We landed in Okinawa, and I want to say thank you to the family who offered to drive us to our hotel after taking their own things home. I noticed that people on these flights really help one another out, and I think that comes with the camaraderie of being in the military life. We learned a long time ago that we can't do everything alone and really reach out to help a fellow soldier, shipmate, marine or airman. Pay it forward is all anyone ever asked me to do. We got to our hotel so late that not even the one place delivering food was open so we could order dinner. Instead, we settled for this nutritious schmorgasboard:

The flight we were trying to catch which would take us to Travis in CA kept canceling. There was an issue with the plane when it landed at its home base. The few flights that did pop up filled quickly with higher category people, or were canceled due to the typhoons happening South of us at the time. But that is the Space A game. You go to the terminal very early in the morning (usually about 0330 or 0400) to wait to either catch a flight or not catch a flight. It is best to stay the whole day unless they assure you all flights have been canceled just in case something pops up. The first day we didn't camp out all day, and after the early flight cancelled we decided to try and see some of the Island, since it had been the only flight not going to Mainland Japan.

Okinawa is a lot like Hawai'i, complete with high cost of living and virtually no public transportation. Aside from Sam, the awesome shuttle driver from Niece who spoke five languages (I totes got to flex my unused language skills!) we were stuck with taxis. Taxis on Okinawa are way expensive. The Kid and I headed out to American village, which was only a few minutes ride away, and we paid more for that ride than we do here for a fifteen minute ride to the base. More by double. Also, the whole driving on the other side of the road thing freaked me out, even though I knew about it. I just couldn't get it out of my head that we were driving on the left and not going to crash into oncoming traffic!

So we went to American Village, which is a shopping center full of souvenir like shops and restaurants sporting local Okinawan fare. Okinawa has a history all its own, with people descended mostly from Mongol and Malay and its own language and food. Soba, apparently, is a native Okinawa food, or so they would have me believe, as I didn't really have time to verify that. Like Hawai'i, Okinawans are very proud of being Okinawan and prefer you to know that they are not simply Japanese.

Kid pretty much had to pose with any and all statues of dragon or fu dog that we came upon. Luckily I like to indulge her need to be photographed.

At the Passenger Terminal.

At American Village.

At Sunset Beach.

There was a huge Ferris Wheel at American village and Kid begged for the first fifteen minutes that we were walking around to get to ride on it. We went inside and managed to find our way to the machine that sells tickets.

As we waited our turn to board I thought The Kid was going to 'asplode with excitement.

That soon changed, as this is apparently the world's slowest Ferris Wheel. About five minutes into the fifteen minute ride (which makes exactly one revolution) she was bored.

The view from the top was still rather lovely, and we were able to see the whole of the are and plot our next move, which was to go to Sunset Beach and relax there for a spell.

Sunset Beach is a cute little protected cove that is netted off to prevent some of the nasties, like box jellyfish and such, from coming to shore and bothering the people enjoying it. The sand is comprised mostly of crushed shells, and the water was as warm as a bath. Having not had the foresight to bring our bathing suits we settled for wading and enjoying the beach.

The walkway around the edge of the beach is lined with concrete dividers which have all been painted uniquely, and the beach itself has these things that resemble concrete Jax, some of which have also been painted. There were several which we found really fun.

My favorite one.

There is also no swimming, in any language, past the protective barriers.

Presumably, should you violate this rule a giant squid will eat you.

After a few hours on the beach we decided to head back, but oops! I forgot that I didn't have a working cell phone in Japan, so thank-you, random guy in a U of M t-shirt who dialed the cab company for us! It really is true that military people seem to stick together and not mind helping each other out.

The next three days we spent pretty much between the hotel and the terminal, checking in and out and waiting for flights that never arrived. Our spirits were still high, starting each morning off with a new drink from the vending machine:

We ended up meeting up with a really nice woman and her son, who was about Kid's age, who were also staying in the same lodge and also trying to get to the States. She is a teacher at Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station in Yamaguchi on the Mainland, so she had a Japanese driver's license and rented a car for the day (the only thing that wasn't outrageously expensive) inviting us to join them. We went out to dinner and took the kids to see Up (which I found tragically sad and not overly enjoyable, but had cute moments). It was nice to have a playmate for Kid while we were at the terminal as well. More passenger terminals and commercial airports need kid rooms with toys. This was a blessing for bored children in terminals and for the parents who are stressed trying to find flights off the Island. After about the third day I felt like Gilligan (hence the affectionate name of this series of posts), thinking we would get off the Island only to have our hopes dashed about the shore when the flights filled with higher category travelers or were canceled altogether.

On the days that we didn't make flights we would venture to the Commissary to pick up supplies for camping at the terminal the next day. No parent should ever travel without a good supply of snacks, and since we were flying Space A we could have forbidden things on board, such as vegetables and cheese, so long as it was eaten or disposed of before we landed. I dare say we ate like royalty for a few days due to some creative planning and the USO microwave.

Finally, after being on what we referred to as The Surface of the Sun for almost five days we lucked into a plane that was headed for Elmendorf, Alaska, which not a lot of people were willing to take, but which we found out was going through to Charleston, SC. Usually we wouldn't have been able to get to the East Coast, but Alaska is considered "overseas" for military purposes, which entitled us to one connecting flight to the Lower 48, and this was the only one. Good enough for us!

The Three Hour Tour

2009-07-11T07:17:00.007+09:00

I finally returned home last night from taking The Kid to the States for the Summer. It is now and will forever be referred to as my Three Hour Tour. No where in the planning process did I ever expect to be gone for almost three weeks! While I am recovering I thought I would do some Travel Blogging about the trip, because at the end of the day there were a lot of fun parts.

We set off on a Tuesday (I am mostly sure...LOL) from Osan. We missed the first flight out, so we had some time to kill before the next one left. I learned an awful lot about Space Available travel for Military members and dependents, which I am compiling both for future reference and also for a travel magazine that I sometimes contribute to.

We had lots of time to just goof around:

I mean, are you ever too busy to goof around with bug shield sunglasses? I think NOT!

It was actually a good thing because we had forgotten a few things like toothbrushes (but who needs those?) and lotion (which I can not live without).

We also had time for a nice sit down meal and viewing (and goofing around with) cars for sale on the BX lot.

I don't quite think so, missy. LOL.

Oh, that cat...

We had Kid's bags all packed, including a bear he bought her when she was sick earlier this year, and by the door and when we got back from picking up our travel documents from The Guy's command The Guy ran up to get all of our stuff. Somehow the bear never made it out the door and she was crushed because she wanted something to hug when she missed him. He ended up surprising her with this cat at the BX, whom she named Starshine (after Haley). We now have a bit of a joke that it is in fact an angry kitteh, because...well it seems to have a constant scowl on it's fluffy face.

The Guy dropped us off to wait for our flight to Kadena AFB on Okinawa. One thing that amazes me when traveling is the seemingly magical camaraderie among children in airports and hotels. They seem to find a way to quickly become the best of friends during even the shortest stints. Kid played with these kids in the passenger terminal and on the plane to Kadena, then said good bye cheerfully as we met a boy and his mother trying to get to the same place we were going.

We were able to travel about with them for the few days that we were in Okinawa.

I will probably stretch this out over a few days, to kind of give you the torturous feeling of how long we were in limbo. LOL.

If anyone of my military friends are considering traveling by Space A please contact me first. I have a ton of info that will make your trip a lot easier!

That's all for now!

Happy Solstice!

2009-06-21T13:19:00.000+09:00

Give your dad an extra hug for me...

2009-06-21T13:02:00.002+09:00

The Kid will be making her calls later when the hour is more appropriate and the date matches. We have a covert plan between us to surprise The Guy as well.

And I miss my dad.

Not a year goes by that I don't choke up a little because some part of me forgets and I get this urge to call him and tell him all about everything and wish him Happy Father's Day. It's been a hard day for me to get on board with for years now. I am actually choking up a bit right now as I am typing this. Father's Day always falls right before the anniversary of his passing, so it's like a double sting.

I don't even have a picture to put up here of us together. I have only two pictures total, and in one I was only four months old.

Be sure to give yours a call if you can. A hug would be better if you are able. Take pictures and share them.

And, Happy Father's Day, Daddy. I miss you so much.

Yellow Belt!

2009-06-17T18:26:00.006+09:00

The Kid took the test to earn her yellow belt today. She has worked incredibly hard these past weeks and was over the moon that she was able to test before we leave for the States. We have made arrangements for her to continue to study while she is in Missouri this summer. She will get the actual belt and a certificate on Friday, which will be her last session with Master Kim until she comes back in August.

My apologies for the "Shaky-Cam". With this medical nonsense plaguing me this past month I have had the shakes something fierce at times, and today was one of those times. Also, the boy that is testing along side of her is kind of a goober, and isn't as disciplined, so he flails about when he should be paying attention, and I wasn't able to get a clear shot of Kid without him in it.

She has done incredibly well, and Master Kim has complimented her on the sticking of her forms, how they are mostly very clean and snappy, noting that some of his black belts get lazy and that she has made them look bad. He also said that she is way too nice when sparring, so she needs to get a little more aggressive and be willing to kick other people, and defend herself more (so she doesn't take a crotch shot like she did here).

Regardless of all of that, we are pretty proud of her work, and wanted to share so that you could all be proud of her too! Enjoy!

I tried to load this using blogger...but after hours of trying to upload it the video never loaded. Wev. You get YouTube.

Anatomy of a Breakfast

2009-06-17T14:30:00.006+09:00

Around this house we love oatmeal. There is, however, a huge difference in the quick cook kind and the super yummy steel cut Irish Oatmeal, the latter being our favorite, and quite a bit better for you. But it truly does take a long time to cook, so here is a big hint if you want to enjoy the best breakfast porridge* ever!

Soak it!

Measure out the oats and water the night before and leave it to soak over night at room temperature. This shaves more than half an hour from the cooking time (and I have found from the clean up time, because it doesn't stick to the pot as badly since you don't have to cook it as long). Don't worry if you make extra, because I have a solution for leftover oatmeal that I will share soon.

This time I also used a well pre-heated skillet and toasted some raw almonds. After they cooled I put them in a re-sealable bag and crushed them with the bottom of a skillet. I tossed those on top with some Craisins. A little Silk soy milk and a touch of brown sugar and cinnamon and it was perfect! Best breakfast ever! I can't really back that up, as I tend to make some pretty mean breakfast creations...but it is definitely one of our favorites!

Also, two days ago our landlord brought us this beautiful box of hand made rice cakes to celebrate their baby's 100th day of life. They were beautiful and tasty, with a sesame seed filling. We really have a wonderful landlord, and are hoping to repay his kindness as soon as we have out home unpacked and cleaned. Maybe I will learn how to make these while we are here!

Malama Pono!

I have the best family!

2009-06-17T13:35:00.003+09:00

I have been extremely ill lately, and it has been trying with all of the things we have going on right now. It has put off our trip to the States by about a week, and has severely hampered my ability to get more unpacking done, let alone keep up with the day to day of cleaning our place from just living in it. Occasionally I am hit with a day of feeling decent, and we are trying to use that time to get out and enjoy Korea and friends before The Kid goes to the States for the remainder of the summer.

I do, however have the best family, because when The Guy is home he and The Kid have happily picked up the slack of having me all but incapacitated, and did a bunch of much needed cleaning. I am so lucky and truly blessed to have a husband who not only doesn't mind, but sees it as just as much his job to help out around the house. This includes getting things done when I can't.

While I have been able to find energy and have had bits of time where I can putter around putting things away they have kept up with long overdue chores. Kid happily jumped in to help him scrub the bathroom floors and toilets, and did the sinks all by herself (which we leave for her regular weekly chores, because she is really bad at rinsing her toothpaste out of them daily). I don't think I have ever mentioned how much I love our Korean bathrooms, because the door way is raised about four to six inches and the shower wall is elevated, which allows the water to run all over the floor. It makes cleaning easy, because all we have to do is use the shower head to spray it down, and we don't have to worry about water spilling onto the wood floors of the rest of the house. You just have to scrub and work the water back to the drain. Who knew Kid would love scrubbing floors so much (or being sprayed with the shower while she was doing it)!

Thanks, you two! Things are starting to fall into place here, and now that we have our stuff it is starting to look like not only a home, but our home.

Hand Fasted and Heart Joined

2009-06-14T04:52:00.000+09:00

Happy Anniversary, Love!

Things I Love

2009-06-02T15:05:00.004+09:00

Thunderstorms.

It is a little after 1500 and it looks like late evening.

It takes me back to summers on the lake at Grammy's when the lake would get so calm that it looked like glass just before a big knife of lightening would slash open the purple sky and the rain would come pouring down.

I hear the rainy season is coming early this year. I haven't seen a good thunderstorm in about 4-5 years.

Bring it. :)

Tae Kwon Do

2009-05-30T13:24:00.004+09:00

The Kid has been participating in Tae Kwon Do for some time now. I am not certain that she realized how physically demanding it was when she first wanted to join. She came home exhausted, ready to shower and go to bed immediately, not wanting to stay awake for even dinner. We helped her tough it out through dinner those first nights, and as time has gone on she has gotten used to it. She has gone back to every class as excited as the first time.

She is getting her basic forms down, little at a time, and she is visibly improving. We are pretty sure that she is enjoying this more than she did Hula or Ballet, which she was ready to quit after a month. She even asked that I try to find a place where she could still train over the summer in Missouri so that she won't be behind when she comes back in August.

In other news, our household goods have arrived in Country! A full three weeks ahead of schedule! Yay! They will be delivering them this coming week! Just in time to give us added chaos to The Kid and I trying to leave for The States in the next couple of weeks. Wheeeee!

Anatomy of a Dinner

2009-05-23T18:25:00.012+09:00

Lasagna!

Totally not hard to make at all, yet it comes off as a special occasion/for entertaining meal. I use it as such b/c of how easy it is to do (it can be accommodated to be more or less difficult) and it leaves us gobs more time to do other things. I have a few altered recipes where I use boiled noodles and roll the filling into individual noodles, but that is a little time consuming. I actually know people who are afraid to make their own homemade red sauce let alone attempt a lasagna. I praise my good Italian upbringing for my "it's too easy" mindset. Depending on how you tailor it it can be really inexpensive, too. We have the privilege of Commissary shopping, so even pre-shredded bags of cheese are around $2.00 for plenty.

You can start a day ahead if you wish, which I often do. I will make a huge batch of sauce and use it for two or three meals (and lasagna and pasta make great leftovers for work lunches or leftover nights). I can't understand why people insist on using store bought jarred sauce, b/c it doesn't really take that much more time to make and it is tons cheaper. If you grow and can your own tomatoes it is cheaper still (which I am hoping to do this fall).

Red Sauce:

In a large, deep pre-heated skillet (like a big cast iron or stainless) rim the pan about three times w/ EVOO. I like to toss two bay leaves into the heating oil. You can either smash and mince about 2-3 cloves of garlic or use the pre-minced stuff. Finely chop 1/3-1/2 of an onion (I use white or shallots, but Maui Sweets, Walla Wallas, Spanish Yellows all work just as well) and toss into the hot oil. If you are using fresh garlic put them in together so that you don't scorch the garlic. Cook the onions down nicely. This is a great time to grate in some carrot or some zucchini, which add nice natural sugars to cut the acidity instead of resorting to using white sugar (which I consider a Mortal Sin). It's also a nice sneaky way to get extra vegetables in there.

If you want a meat sauce add the meat now. For lasagna, if I am making a meat one, I use a tube of port sausage and 1/4 - 1/2 pound ground beef. It makes the sauce thick and hearty. I leave it out a lot too and will fill the lasagna w/ either lots of mushrooms or thawed, rinsed chopped spinach. Thin slices of vegetable, like peppers, zucchini, and yellow squash layered in make a great pie as well.

When the onions are cooked down or the meat fully browned is the time to add a large can of pureed tomatoes (a 29-32 ounce can) or crushed tomatoes. This will cook the meat bits off of the bottom of the pan. If you like chunky sauce add a can of diced tomatoes now and simmer. Season after every step w/ salt, pepper and your choice of herbs. The Guy is a huge fan of oregano, and I like a mixture of rosemary, crushed red pepper sage and thyme (I also sometimes make a "Scarborough Fair" sauce...LOL). Something I fell in love w/ here in Korea is gochujang and I will drop a spoonful of that into the simmering sauce. It's great and you should not be afraid of it.

Turn this to simmer w/ a lid on it and fagettaboutit!

In a mixing bowl combine a carton of ricotta cheese w/ a large handful of mozzarella and a smaller handful of parmesan. Most recipes also call for an egg, but I am anti egg and have never noticed that it makes a difference to anything I have had elsewhere. Smash this together w/ a spoon. This is something else you can do a day before and refrigerate if you want.

The assembly is the last part, and you should preheat your oven to about 375 (which is just under the 200 mark on my Korean oven! Yay!) while you assemble. Assembly is different depending on the pan you use, and normally I use a DeMarle baking form, which you layer upside down (mozzarella cheese, sauce, noodles; ricotta mixture, sauce, noodles; ricotta mixture, mozzarella, sauce, noodles; ricotta mixture, noodles, sauce) and turn out onto a plate, but we only have our Pyrex that we had to get since our stuff isn't here yet.

I have fallen in love w/ the no boil noodles which are flat like the hand made traditional ones, but use whatever you have available. In a glass dish layer it so: sauce, noodles, 1/3 ricotta mixture, a sprinkling of mozzarella, sauce; noodles, 1/3 ricotta mixture, sauce; noodles, last of ricotta mixture, sauce; noodles, sauce, mozzarella (and throw some parm on there for good measure! CHEESE!). If you don't have foil to cover this for baking leave the cheese off until the last 15 minutes or so of baking, then broil for about 2-3 at the end. If you do, slap that puppy in for about 45-50 minutes covered, and remove foil and broil for 2-3 minutes.

This is one that I didn't have enough sauce for and just used a can of diced tomatoes on top, seasoned them and baked uncovered for about 30 minutes before adding the cheese.

The bay leaf! You know what that means!

All pretty and browned!

Yum!

Enjoy!

We have sprout babies!

2009-05-23T17:07:00.003+09:00

Greenin' My Thumb

2009-05-15T11:56:00.007+09:00

The building that we live in has a great roof access. Since we are the only permanent tenants in our building (the Landlord lives upstairs, but is in the States on business all the time, and the downstairs unit is 'long term leased' to a Japanese company) the Landlord has given us permission to use it freely. One of the things we decided to do w/ this space is to try our hand at a small garden.

I haven't even had a successful garden, either b/c I haven't had proper space, or b/c I had no idea what I was doing (and no guidance from Al Gore). The last time I tried to grow an herb garden I killed most of the seedlings trying to transplant them. So we found a tray that comes w/ individual peat tablets for starting seeds.

All we had to do to start was soak the pellets in warm water long enough to play a game of Order of the Stick (well, the first dungeon level, that is). Once they were full sized we tore the netting back from the top and planted our seeds.

We decided on two types of tomatoes, parsley, thyme, and lavender (for drying!). I am still looking for some basil (the only thing I have successfully grown and used ever), which grows so fast I am not worried about the time.

Oh, yes, and one lima bean, that The Kid brought home from school. This will be a science project for her so she can track its growth. She did this in Kindergarten at Ho'ala, but I have already established that this school is a little behind her old one.

The seedlings will be individually wrapped when it is time to transplant them, and should keep me from tearing their roots apart this time.

Until they are ready for the big world they will be living in our laundry room, on top of the Hauzen, which is the best place for them.

I saw a tomato planter a while back that grows the plants upside down so they don't bruise and allows you to grow herbs on top to save space. We are going to see if we can replicate one for the roof. I have seen a few simpler examples online, and most of them are really inexpensive to make. We don't have a place to hang them, so I am going to try to fix up a stand. This should keep me busy until our stuff gets here, w/ my crafting and scrapping supplies! Wish me luck!

Anatomy of a Dinner

2009-05-07T20:13:00.008+09:00

Remember that Chicken Soup I told you about?

It made a magical transformation into Chicken and Dumplings tonight!

It started w/ the soup, which we had added an extra breast to, being reheated in the pot. B/c I will add dumplings to it I added about two extra cups of water and a small amount of Better than Bouillon. It didn't need much, but I wanted to make sure I had enough liquid to properly steam all the dumplings. I had already shredded and chunked the new chicken and made sure that the whole pot came back up to temperature. When changing it to Chicken and Dumplings I like to add a heavy dose of cracked pepper, but it's totally a "to taste" thing.

I always keep a box of baking mix on hand. In Hawai'i I couldn't find my favorite, so I used Bisquick, but guess what? They have Michigan's favorite here! A single batch of dumplings will need 2 C of mix and 2/3 C of milk. The batter should be lumpy and thick, but not dry. Wetter than biscuit dough.

When the soup is fully cooked and boiling spoon the dumpling mix on top of the soup in a ring w/ one in the center. They will expand and join slightly. You need to make sure that you have enough liquid to prevent it all from thickening and cooking away, which will burn the chicken to the bottom, but you also need to be able to get the lid on the pot. Boil w/ dumplings uncovered for about 7 minutes, and then cover the pot and boil for about 7-10 more. You can turn it down to simmer at this point if you like.

While the dumplings are cooking I sliced up a Korean pear (they are as big as your head!) into bite sized chunks for a simple salad. We like them tossed w/ fresh spinach and a light raspberry vinaigrette.

When everything is finished bowl it up! The dumplings are super filling (unless, of course, you happen to be a rapidly growing seven year old). While they were cooking they should have considerably thickened the soup into a rich stew. Make sure to scoop plenty of broth onto the dumplings. If you are feeding a larger family you can start a new batch after you have dished up the first. You may need to add water/broth to the pot and bring back to a boil in order to make another batch...but it takes very little time to get it boiling again. If you want to start another batch b/f serving just scoop the dumplings onto a plate and set aside to keep warm.

Enjoy!

As a matter of fact...

2009-05-07T10:00:00.007+09:00

...daikon radish makes an excellent addition to homemade chicken soup.

I had a very sour tummy the other day, so we made some homemade soup, so I could bask in the glory of hot broth and crackers. YUM!

You can start off w/ a big kettle of water and simmer various vegetables for hours to get rich veggie stock and make it a yummy vegetable and rice soup. Just leave out the chicken-y stuff and add MOAR VEGGIES! I tend to use large chunks of onion, carrot, daikon radish (instead of celery, which I loathe), whole cloves of garlic, and large chunks of ginger. I use large chunks so they can be removed from the broth later. Mushrooms are great to add as well...but they are expensive here. Also, if you use mushrooms often, save the stems, especially from portobello caps, and freeze them. They make great stock.

If you don't have the time on hand to make homemade stock, you can use broth. I love Better than Bouillon. I am not sure how much water we started w/, and we made two pots at once, but we added a little less than two spoonfuls of BtB to each pot.

To that was added, pretty much whatever salvageable produce we had handy. This time we had baby potatoes (halved if too big to be bite sized, but mostly left intact), chopped carrot, and a nice large chunk of cubed daikon radish (I don't know if you can get this in normal grocery stores, I know Asian markets have them, and they are staples in Korea). The radish gets nice and soft like potatoes or rutabagas and is so very mild in flavor (probably why it is popular for making gimchi). All of this added to the pot to boil. Once the pot was simmering away for about 30 minutes or so, we dropped one frozen chicken breast into each pot, which didn't sound like much, but was about perfect (also, we forgot to thaw the chicken ahead of time...but this turned out to be a great mistake to make!). This we turned on low, and let simmer for over an hour. All the flavors melded together beautifully, and the chicken shredded into the softest meat ever. The weaker broth we made was now rich w/ flavor.

A small cooker of rice gave a little more to the soup, and before serving just add a scoop of rice to the bowl. Very very filling in small amounts.

It has lasted us three days, and last night before putting it away we added another breast to the pot and let it re-simmer for the evening after dinner. Tonight I am going to make simple dumplings to steam on top for Chicken and Dumplings (just like Mom used to make!). So. Very. Tasty. This has also proven to be a very economical dish.

It has received high approval ratings!

Kids find fun in the strangest places...

2009-05-01T01:19:00.006+09:00

The Kid was sooooooo very excited to volunteer to demonstrate how to properly don a gas mask (shown here is the model designed for 3-8 year-olds). When the Ombudsman told us that they would ask for volunteers she was practically climbing the walls w/ anticipation of her big moment. She looked like she should be in the movie Dune w/ her drinking tube. She was also completely floored that I know how to properly don an adult gas mask, and made me tell her all about when we had to carry them around on our belts and be able to put them on if someone yelled "GAS GAS GAS". The wonderful Master Sergeant also demonstrated how to use the infant version, which looked so completely complicated. He assured us that in the 14 years he has spent over his career on the Peninsula that he has never seen occasion for gas masks yet.

The night of briefing we had to attend for NEO, which is a funny acronym I can't remember for the emergency evacuation and repatriation procedures that we would use in the event that we would have to flee the Peninsula as non-combatants, came the day after we finally got our SOFA stamps taken care of. They helped us to check an make sure that our paperwork, which isn't a small amount, is all in order, and that we know where to go and how to get to a designated meeting place in case of said emergency. We found out that the Army should have already issued us all masks to keep on hand w/ the rest of our gear (oops, Army, forgot something else, didn't ya?) and that we have a drill weekend coming up. And here, I thought that I was finished w/ drill weekends when I was discharged. LOL! As overwhelming as it felt it was also reassuring to know that there is a very well organized system in place that seems to have thought of everything, even things that an overthinker like me didn't think of.

After the brief the MSgt sat w/ The Kid and I and he let her ask him about a nonillion questions (not all of them relevent) and he very patiently answered them in a way that was refreshing. I can't stand it when people talk to children like they are complete morons. He and the Assistant Chief of Station where The Guy works talked w/ us a bit about how our transfer went and if we are getting settled in (since The Guy was at work and couldn't be present). The Ombudsman (I don't really know if they are called the same thing when they are Army spouses) took our email information and said she would be in touch to see if we needed anything in the future, and to include me in some family events.

The MSgt also told us about a lot of great things to do, including a huge recommendation for Disney Hong Kong (which is apparently extremely affordable compared to the parks in the US) and Jeju-do. We had talked about going to Jeju-do, but weren't sure when was the best time, and he recommended Fall, right before school starts for the best weather. Unfortunately the North bus tours to Kaesong aren't available anymore, and the DMZ tour is only available for people over ten, which was disappointing, especially since the Korean DMZ has a unique wildlife sanctuary in it, due to it being left untouched by humans for more than 50 years. It has become a place where rare birds and animals previously thought extinct have been seen living.

I am definitely starting to feel like we have a community here, which is a good thing. I have been so used to having extended family-like people around to count on in the past that it felt odd to not have that here. It really is comforting.

The Force is Strong with This One

2009-04-28T18:06:00.009+09:00

The Kid could hardly wait to dive head first into her Lego glory. She and The Guy spent hours putting her new sets together this weekend. Turned out pretty cool.

Here is the AT-TE Walker all finished and in its glory on the table. About 20 minutes later The Kid broke the legs off, and it had to be reassembled. LOL!

The Guy decided that ~~Emokin~~ Anakin was way too cool for school and a ride on the AT-TE. This picture just doesn't do him justice at all. You can feel his Legoland angst...HA!

There are about a nonillion little spaces for clones to hide out.

So we had a little dispute as to why ~~Emokin~~ Anakin was too cool to be in the AT-TE, but Ahsoka wasn't. Still haven't solved that one...but the people aren't in there anymore since the leg incident...so we dropped it.

We call this droid "One Arm" (Kid calls him "Roger roger"), b/c he had a bit of an unfortunate incident...and natch, The Kid has no idea what happened. HA!

We leave you now to your regularly scheduled internet surfing, as we return to our rampant nerdom.

On Spoons and Moments...

2009-04-23T19:32:00.008+09:00

(Picture via someecards)

The dishes are washed, the kitchen clean, the bedrooms and bathrooms and kitchen vacuumed, and another load of the never ending laundry in the combo. There is still a mountain of clean laundry to be folded...the final touches on our NEO paperwork needing updating for the upcoming Evac Exercise...Winter clothes to be packed away for the warm seasons...and dusting...there is always dusting...

But... The Guy and I made dinner together b/f he went to work, so we all had a nice family dinner, something we try to fit in everyday by adjusting the time if we need to. I got a nap in today, so I am not so overwhelmingly exhausted that I can't sit up and enjoy that family time. The Guy never complains about kicking in and sharing the housework, and The Kid is always good natured about doing her part as well. The Guy is on the last day of his set, and we have a nice weekend all together. The weather is warming and Spring is in full bloom here on the Peninsula, and rumor has it that a picnic in the family park is on the docket.

And now, even though I am low on spoons and there is still a (less daunting) mountain of clean laundry waiting I think I can find that one last spoon somewhere to enjoy some UNO w/ The Kid when she is finished showering. There might even be a chapter of Alice in Wonderland in the future.

There always seems to be something that needs to be done, but there always seems to be time for those moments together. Even when I am this exhausted and this much in pain, it is good to know that. I am so incredibly blessed.

Aries Abound!

2009-04-18T00:36:00.001+09:00

Happy Trip around the Sun Day to VBFitU!*

May this one be the best yet!

XOXOXO

Me!

*Picture shamelessly stolen from I have no idea where!

Some Random Photos

2009-04-17T23:50:00.009+09:00

7th Birthday Edition!

(click to embiggen)

Everything Chocolate cupcake w/ chocolate ganache and Neapolitan ice cream!

Very Berry cupcake.

Let's see how much ice cream we can cram in our mouth at one time!

Then, for added fun, let's scream about the pursuant ice cream headache. LOL!

That's our little punk of a Star Wars fanatic! I wonder where she gets that stuff. ;)

Happy Birthday, Kid.

Seven Years Ago Today...

2009-04-17T23:35:00.007+09:00

the universe saw fit to bless me w/ the greatest thing that I have ever known.

Seven years ago today, Jason and VBFitU stayed w/ me, dropped their lives, and joined me as my life changed forever.

Seven years ago today I learned what love really is at the hands of people who supported me, and in the eyes of the most perfect person I have even laid eyes upon.

Seven years ago today my mother help my hand and cried tears of joy w/ me, and whispered reassurances that I was going to be just fine.

Seven years ago today I stepped forward on a new journey and never looked back w/ regret. So thankful was I that this was my choice, to embrace wholeheartedly.

Thank you, Kid, for making the last seven years the best I have known so far.

*This was meant to be much longer, but somehow the files w/ my baby pictures has been corrupted. :( Luckily I still have some of the hospital pictures, b/c those are entirely irreplaceable. Thanks, Jason, for preserving that for me.

Some Random Photos

2009-04-12T01:06:00.012+09:00

An afternoon stroll:

We had to take a few things back to the PX (they were too small!), so we started out w/ a little fuel for the day (don't panic! Kid's is only a chocolate creme! No coffee! Not even I am that nuts!).

We took a walk through Itaewon to do some "street shopping", checking out the countless vendors. I got a great deal on something that will be mailed out as a gift, and even got to see my super smarty hubby show off his mad haggling skills. It is pretty much expected that you will haggle w/ people in Itaewon, if not in most places here.

There are so many shops crammed into the charming and crowded streets, including this one that we drive past every day:

B/c South Korea (and I'd imagine much of the North, as well, even though I haven't seen it) is so mountainous it isn't uncommon for the streets to be "layered" for lack of a better term, meaning that you can turn off of one street and walk up a hill to another, and you can find some great things in these little "alleys". Like the world's cutest cupcake bakery:

It's called "Life is a Cup of Cake", and I am embarrassed to say that I didn't get it at first read. LOL!

Here are some stairs that lead b/t street levels:

(I also just liked the angle through the viewfinder in my camera).

This one I couldn't resist snapping:

I love that the streets are so quiet that you can just walk down them (also, there are no sidewalks on the inner streets).

And then here is the little hitch hiker that The Guy found on the back of my shirt:

I have a few more that I took today, but I haven't yet finished my collection of photos of Embassies and other Important People's buildings w/in walking distance from our house. It is not a small number, so it will take a while!

Hope you enjoyed the photos!

And Happy Easter!

Some Random Photos

2009-04-10T22:31:00.011+09:00

Our friend Brandon helped us out a huge heap by distracting The Kid so we could proceed w/ some clandestine operations, AKA, do some Birthday Shopping for a certain someone. She things we were doing some boring PX shopping for household supplies, and she was more than happy to go to the parks and burn off some steam instead of coming w/ us. Brandon, loving his awesome camera of awesomeness was happy to share the pictures he took today.

And now I am sharing them w/ you. (Click to embiggen!)

Whirling on the tire swing, her favorite thing at the playground right now.

I like these last two, b/c it looks like she has first picked the dragon's nose...

...and is then disguted w/ what she finds. LOL! (OK, Brandon thought so too! HA!)

We got all of our Birthday shopping finished, and it looks like she had a great time too!

(Thanks, Brandon!)

Spring has Sprung!

2009-04-10T20:01:00.009+09:00

(All Photos are clickable for embiggenment and yoinking privileges, w/ proper credits given, natch.)

You can certainly tell when Spring has come to South Korea, b/c all of the gorgeous fruit trees are in bloom. W/ the Seoul Cherry Blossom Festival right around the corner it is no surprise to me to see all of the gorgeous cherry trees in their full glory. These are similar to the ones that my grandma has always grown in her yard (only happier, since they haven't had to battle my grandfather and his snowblower...LOL!).

We had to run errands up on the base today (and some clandestine activities, so thanks to our friend, Brandon, for occupying The Kid for us), so we had lots of opportunity for some pictures. It really turns an Army base into a much happier place to run amok. They are incredibly fragrant, especially the trees w/ the large cream colored flowers, which smell like cinnamon (we don't know what they are yet).

My favorite part is when the breeze blows through them making it appear as if there is a soft blush snow falling everywhere. Kid even tried to catch the "flakes" as they swirled around her. It is a big change from Hawai'i, having distinct seasonal markers like blossoming trees, rather than where things are always in bloom (which is gorgeous, but makes for high pollen all the time). There was always some brightly colored "snow", from the crimson and orchid colored blooms.

Another thing that I didn't realize I missed was the smell of blooming lilac, another thing my grandmother always has in her yard. I hate artificially scented lilac things, but the real thing is so pleasing to my nose (kind of like plumeria, which stinks in its artificial form, but the real thing is amazingly sweet and refreshing).

Hope that you are having a beautiful Spring! For some of you, I hope it warms up (no more ice storms!)

Some Family Fun Time!

2009-04-10T19:40:00.001+09:00

Kid is on Spring Break this week, and we decided to go out for this week's Family Game Night. Kid wants to have her birthday party at the base bowling alley, but she had never been bowling before. We thought it would be a good idea if we let her try it out b/f committing to that venue. After we checked in and got our super cool shoes (I have secretly always wanted a pair of the red, white and blue bowling shoes for my very own) and the correct size and weight ball picked out we were off.

I like to tell people that I hate bowling, but I think I just prefer bowling w/ fun people. I have been in years, and The Guy has only been a few times, and Kid never has been. It seemed that we would have a nice even game. LOL!

The Guy gave Kid a quick lesson on proper ball handling and trowing. As light as her ball was I still almost had a heart attack at her wanting to lift if over her head. Ha ha. The first time she launched it down the alley it had almost no momentum, and the ball stopped about three feet from the end of the gutter! The manager had to come rescue it from the alley so we could continue on!

After about two or three frames she finally managed to get it down close enough to the center to knock over some pins. She was absolutely elated, and that pretty much sealed the deal for the party planning. She is now officially a bowling fan.

We got in two games and a meal (b/c, what is bowling w/o some pizza and carbonated beverages?) b/f heading home. I am guessing we are going to be making this a regular outing, since she was already begging to come back the next day. If nothing else, we will definitely be the crazy people w/ about 20 kids there in a week and a half! HA!

Until next time! Thanks for sharing!

Decisions

2009-04-04T14:47:00.006+09:00

So, I think Kid finally tired of us telling her to go get back into the shower and rewash her hair. She hasn't yet mastered how to get your fingers to your scalp to get it clean, or how to condition the ends so they are easier to brush out. She doesn't do a bad job, really, she just sometimes needs to get back in the shower and try it again.

So when I mentioned all us us needing to go in for trims she asked if she could cut her hair short again, like it used to be when it was really cute. We asked her if that is what she really wanted, and told her that she had until we went to the PX to decide. When we got there she promptly informed the nice beautician what she wanted done w/ her hair. She even got to lie back and have her hair washed in the sink, a first for her, and something she thoroughly enjoyed. Since she switched to showers from baths she doesn't need me to wash her hair for her any more, which is good b/c it helps her become more self sufficient. She enjoys being able to do things for herself.

She told the stylist that she really wanted it to be cute and short enough that she could take care of it all on her own. We were aiming for the cute cut she had in Kindergarten, but what we came away w/ is much better, and I think a little more grown up. You can't really tell, but the back is layered just enough to give it a little bounce and for it to turn under on its own. It is so very adorable on her, but these short cuts always are!

We also recently decided that one night a week during The Guy's off set will be a family game night (family being a loose term, b/c we welcome other people to join us, but the point is for us to play something together). We have been working on building up our game collection, and want to get The Kid a couple of her favorites, like Sorry! for her birthday, while we wait for the rest to arrive (we have a really fun game called Dread Pirate in our household goods, as well as Pop-o-matic Trouble, which are games she loves as well). So we went ahead and picked up a deck of UNO cards (which is one of my favorite card games), b/c you can only play War and Go Fish so many times b/f you want to scream. We played UNO for hours on Thursday night, since Spring Break started Friday. She really enjoyed it, and it is also helping her learn about data (how to sort and group things in different ways, like by color or number) which is what they are studying at school.

Yesterday (Friday) we took her out to get some new clothes, b/c she refuses to stop growing. We already had to manage new shoes for her, b/c the gym shoes she had just didn't fit anymore, and they were only about three months old. We went back to the Dragon Hill Lodge for lunch at the Mexican Cantina there, and then to the PX. We thought that as part of her birthday present we would let her choose some new clothes. I can not believe how much she has grown in one year. When she went to the Mainland from Hawai'i last summer she was wearing a 6X-7. She came back and was wearing mostly 8s, but her school uniforms had to be 10s. When we had to get winter clothes for leave in Iowa and Michigan, and for Korea as well, she had to have 10s, and Mediums in shirts. Last week we noticed that a couple of pairs of her pants had her belly sticking a little over the front, so we tried on new pants. We had to get her 12s. We also let her pick out a shirt for each pair of pants, getting Mediums, and when we returned to our villa we discovered that we are going to have to return two of them for Larges. Oy w/ the poodles already! She just keeps growing! LOL! I also, based on the sizes she was trying on, picked out a very fun red dress for her, which has a skirt that poofs out due to the layers of netting under it.

The PX was having a sale, so we got away pretty lucky. Moving, and then having to live in a hotel here for almost a month and eating in restaurants three meals a day really strapped our budget at a time when we suddenly had considerably less money coming in. We finally got our TLA reimbursement, so that was a timely blessing that we were able to use for her. Since she refuses to stop growing. ;)

Kid is on Spring Break this week, so on The Guy's next off-set we are going to go do some sight seeing. We have plans to go to the Korean War Memorial, the Aquarium (w/ a subway ride! Yay!), and possibly the zoo, since we heard it was really nice. The Guy is going to get a tourist Passport so hopefully b/f Kid has to go the States this summer we can take a trip North to see some of the sights there. There is a rare bird sanctuary in the DMZ, and rumor has it that the tours to Kaesong might have started up again. Whatever we decide, you will be the first to see!

Kam-sa-ham-ni-da!

To Fifty Beautiful Years

2009-03-30T05:38:00.000+09:00

My Grandparents, on my mother's side, just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on the 28th.

I called them a day early, and just now remembered to post something about it.

They know I love them and admire them for still being together, after fifty years, four children (and losing one very young), ten grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, joblessness, jobs on the road, owning a business, retirement, and being a positive force in practically every aspect of my life. Fifty years, that can't be summed up in less than ninety words.

I love you, Nana and Papa, and all the parts of that fifty years that fit into my own existence.

Some Random Photos

2009-03-28T16:53:00.006+09:00

We got out and about a little the other night. My ankle is feeling a ton better, although it really isn't very good. Probably shouldn't be walking as much as I am, but the crutches are actually harder to use. It's a long story. I won't bore you w/ it.

Our friend Brandon's wife visited this week. She is finishing up her Masters' b/f joining us out here in Korea. We went to our favorite chicken restaurant and had good food, good beer and good times. Brandon brought his camera and took a few pictures, and sent them to me via Skype yesterday (can I shill for Skype yet, I totes love them and their phone service, chat service, and everything else. If you aren't using, WHY NOT?). He has a nice camera, one which is similar to the one I have a hunch I might be seeing in my future (for those keeping track, you still have 9 good shopping days left till my birthday).

It is nice to have good and fun people to hang w/ here. It helps to cut the the feeling of being cut off from everyone we love.

That's about all for now!

Congratulations, Stacy!

2009-03-28T13:01:00.003+09:00

I just finished reading the blog of my friend, Stacy, who has been fighting T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma for the last two years.

Her latest round of tests, including a bone marrow biopsy, x-rays, scans, and blood work have come back clear. She is off of chemo, and it seems that she is finally, after all this time and all the emotional and physical upheaval, able to start getting her life back.

Following along w/ her story all this time has made me grateful for what I have, and also, for the strange circumstances that allowed us to become friends. Friends who share more commonalities than we originally thought, and who take time to drop friendly notes to one another when it seems the other needed it most. We have sponsored each other in Cancer and AIDS walks, knowing the incredible amounts of energy the other must have struggled to find. In no way do I compare what I am going through to what she has been through, rather, it was humbling to see her fight. It helped me to know that even my worst days would be manageable, b/c if she could do it, I could. It was incredible to see her live her life, including getting married this past October to the partner who held her though it all, and not let the cancer slow her down if she could help it.

I am proud to know her. She is one of the strongest women I know, a fighter capable of beating anything. And now she has. Most importantly, I am proud to call her my friend, and for the chance to send her Samhain and Yule cards again.

Way to go, Stacy. May the Goddess smile on you as you continue to heal.

Bright Blessings.

Dear Kid

2009-03-28T00:01:00.000+09:00

I can not be bribed w/ Puppy Face.

No matter how cute you are.

No matter how far out you stick that lip, I will only think of what my Dad used to say to me: "A bird is going to poop on that lip!".

You can beg for something all you want, but if my mind is made up, I will stand firm in my answer.

It does not mean that I don't love you. It doesn't mean that I don't want you to be happy (though you have never accused me of such nonsense). It means that I love you enough to stand my ground, and to provide you w/ a set standard that you can rely on. Agreements that you can be sure of, so that there is never any guessing as to what is or is not acceptable.

It also exemplifies my commitment to raising you in a home that is fair and honest. My commitment to raising you in a world where you are not limited by any definition or label, or Social Construct. My commitment to doing what I can to make sure that the world that you are eager to join is one that will live up to your dreams, the crazy dreams where you can be a TV chef and a Hockey Star, an Art Teacher, or a Tae Kwan Do champion.

This firm love I have for you is my way of showing you that I am committed to raising you to see the world fairly, and to love people not only in spite of the things that make us different, but very often b/c of those things.

All the Love in the World,

Mommy

Latest in 6 year old fashion...

2009-03-27T16:20:00.004+09:00

The Kid proudly sports the latest in fashion accessories for the 6 y/o world traveler.

The disposable face mask comes in a variety of colors and patterns to allow for coordination w/ any outfit. Soft yet durable, it is the most stylish way to protect your lungs from the phenomena known as Huang Sa (황사, 黃沙/黃砂) or, Yellow Sand. Regular use has been proven to not only make you cuter when you make an angry face, but also to curb coughing fits of those still recovering from major colds.

Hurry on down to your local Korean Market or Korean 7-11 to get yours today!

In all seriousness, masks are common in Korea, among people suffering from colds (as a common courtesy to others around them to help hamper the spread of germs), and as a way to protect yourself from the Huang Sa when the levels are high. We found these for 3/1,000 SKW, which is really cheap. Korea is dusty over all, so I wear them too when cleaning, which cuts down on the sneezing when vacuuming (which is our new hobby, since it is so dusty). I am told this is mostly just in the Spring, and that it will calm down a little when Monsoon Season hits. LOL.

Hope you are all doing fashionably well!

Happy Ostara!

2009-03-21T22:37:00.007+09:00

It's the first day of Spring!

I love Ostara, or Eostre. It ranks right up there w/ my favorite holidays (running a close second to Beltane, as I still have hopes of celebrating it in good ol' Celtic tradition some year, by seeing the Balefires in the UK), although I may say that they are all my favorites when I write about them. It charges me w/ a new rush of energy as the weather begins to warm (today it was about 77 degrees in Seoul!). It feels extra good after having had both a sprained ankle and a houseful of sick bellies for over a week. I am ready for the cleansing properties of Spring.

It feels like a great time to throw open the windows and dust and do some thorough cleaning (which shouldn't be too hard, since our house is pretty Spartan at the moment. Korea is a really dusty place, so a good round of vacuuming and mopping should be what we need.

I chose this picture of a Spring altar b/c my own celebration tools are still en route, and it helps me feel festive. I have written before about how I love the story of the Ostara rabbit, and how it came into legend, becoming associated w/ the Christian celebration of Easter. When the Goddess was unable to completely heal an injured bird she turned it into a Rabbit, and it was so confused that it continued to lay eggs (which is why the Easter Bunny brings eggs).

Unlike spring time in Hawai'i, we are actually able to feel the weather warming, as opposed to just observing the date. Ostara also means that mine and The Kid's birthday is coming up soon! ;) There are also some rites of Spring that I look forward to observing when The Guy gets home from work. Tee Hee!

I hope you and yours all have a beautiful Equinox, no matter what you observe or how you choose to celebrate in your homes. Enjoy the warming weather and may you find many blessings in this new season!

Blessed Be!

Well, there's good news...and bad news...

2009-03-21T22:13:00.003+09:00

The Good News?

We know where our Household Goods are! We have been trying to track them down for a while now!

The Bad News?

They are still in Hawai'i.

HA!

Turns out our Transfer Clerk is a total moron!

This is the same dude who said that screwed up our Overseas Screening, failing to turn it in on time even when we had it completed four months in advance.

And now, he dragged his feet and screwed up our Family Entry Approval, not getting it complete until we were off Island, and then failing to get it to the Transportation office, after assuring us that he would. In five years of dealing w/ the military, as either Active Duty or a spouse, I have never wanted to chew out a civilian employee so much (and this dude is the SENIOR CLERK, nonetheless!).

Head, meet desk.

So, Inbound here is being extra helpful and trying to figure out how to straighten this all out for us, but since we were initially told our goods would arrive sometime in February after being picked up in December, we are now thinking they won't be here until May.

May.

And that is the total life update right now.

Some Random Photos

2009-03-12T19:59:00.017+09:00

Out and About in Seoul!

(I figured how to move the pics around in Blogger, so you may click to embiggen all photos.)

We managed to get out and about in Seoul, although it looks as though I might not be getting around too much for a little while. LOL.

Our friend Brandon took us out to a great little place in Hannamdong for dinner. They made this great fried chicken, and this dish pictured above, which had chicken and ddoek, which is a stick made out of smooshed rice. The fried chicken wasn't spicy, but this dish certainly was!

Nothing washes good spicy Korean food down quite like Korean beer, which is also so very very cheap!

Here's Brandon paying for the meal.

This is where the magic happened. I love the way you can see the kitchens in Korean restaurants!

Some pictures of Itaewon at night.

That's Brandon and The Kid at the bottom of the stairs in the sidewalk, thinking they are funny for being faster than gimpy ol' me.

This is the cute little flower shop on the corner by our villa. The couple that owns it are always there, and you can seem them eating their ramen at lunch time. When you go in to buy flowers they give you coffee, freshly pressed.

Seems Brandon is always making this face when I take his picture. LOL.

Here we are at a great restaurant where they cook your food on the table. They gave us these enormous bibs so we didn't get splattered on our clothes.

Here it is mostly raw and just starting to cook. It had cabbage, potatoes, carrots, ddeok, hot peppers, onions and chicken rib meat, smothered in gochujang (red pepper paste).

It smelled amazing as it cooked. Of course they brought out all the ban chan, and this great soup that was tangy. It was kind of like a cucumber gazpacho w/ onion and kim (seaweed). It was fairly spicy and amazing. I need to learn how to make the soup b/c it was light, refreshing and so tasty!

We had plans to go to Itaewon tomorrow afternoon for walking and shopping, but due to my little incident we will have to postphone. I think I should have some more photos to share soon!

Take care!

OYD out!

Our New Home

2009-03-09T18:49:00.002+09:00

It took me a little longer than I wanted to get back to posting more pictures!

We moved into our new villa at the end of February. It's really nice, and in a brand new building, so we are the first people to live in the place.

All of the appliances are brand new, and here is The Guy being excited about our fridge. It has one of those cool doors where you can put the frequently used items and just open the little part to get it out instead of opening the whole fridge.

The Kid hanging out in the living room. The place came mostly furnished, so we have new furniture. Whatever we didn't have we borrowed from the Army, like a bed for The Kid and a dining table.

The Guy in our kitchen, trying not to blow us up.

That is our gimchi refrigerator.

It came stocked w/ dishes, too!

Our laundry room, b/f they installed the drying rack. That is a super energy efficient washer/dryer combo. It only takes four hours to do a load of laundry! It's our new favorite hobby! Also, all of the appliances are in Korean, so it took a while to figure out how to set them. We are getting the hang of it.

This is some of the view from our place.

The Kid still the living room, from the other end. There is all of the luggage!

The living room.

The Master Bedroom had a bed, and they threw in a bedding set for us to use.

Our closet has tons of space...this is only one half. It spans the whole wall!

Our giant whirlpool bathtub. I haven't had a tub I can lie down in for so long!

My favorite feature. The bidet. The seat is always warm! What a nice treat for a bad fibro day! Plus, it sprays water on you when you hit the button. It rocks.

Here is the first meal we had in our place. We hadn't yet gotten our ration card, and hadn't been able to use the commissary, so luckily the PX food court had some stuff we could take home. We usually make much better meals, but we had to make do for a few days.

In an effort to keep these shorter, I will post some from our first trip out later. Also included are some of our first meal cooked in the place.

Hope you enjoyed this peek at our new home!

OYD out.

Welcome to Seoul!

2009-03-03T07:35:00.002+09:00

*Deep relaxing breath*

It feels as though we have been living in hotels forever (actually it has been about 7 weeks, minus our stay at VBFitU's and my Grandparents). To say what a relief it is to finally be in our own home, our first one as a single family unit, is about the understatement of the year (now, it IS only March).

We finally moved in last Friday, but it didn't stop then, oh no! We moved into a brand new building, mostly furnished, yes, but we also didn't have a single thing you need in a home (and I am not just talking about the person who sneaks in and magically makes your bed every day).

But I am getting ahead of myself.

Korea is beautiful. The people I have met are warm and friendly, and really really love kids. Our experience so far has been that Koreans really take the "It takes a village" sentiment to heart. Everywhere we go people fawn all over The Kid. They hug her and say hi, bring her candy, teach her phrases (and laugh and smile when she repeats them). Cab drivers are really patient w/ her, people at stores are always trying to help her. One other mom I met told me that people offer their seats on the subway to her children. This is by far the most kid friendly place I have lived.

The first day we arrived, after our 14 1/2 hour plane ride we pretty much just crashed in the hotel room. We didn't wake up until housekeeping knocked on our door. After breakfast we found that the hotel had a nice playground in the courtyard. I also could not believe that it was so warm. In February there was no snow, and we were fine w/ just our coats (and most of the kids ditched those after running around a bit).

Of course The Kid made a friend right away. It was kind of funny, b/c this girl is actually about three years older than The Kid. Kid is So Tall! She is wearing a 10 right now!

Yeah, yeah, Kid, I see you. LOL.

She started school a few days later, on Valentine's Day. The Corpsman in Hawai'i who read her PPD didn't record it in her record and she ended up needing a new one. That delayed school about three days. But she started, and hit the ground running. She reports to me that while she misses Ho'ala "so much", she thinks her new school is great, but her teachers are not nearly as cool as Desi or Barbara. :)

The Guy? He is in gimchee heaven. The photos alone can not do justice to how extremely happy he was to experience his favorite food in the country of its birth.

To be honest, the stuff is growing on me. Best advice for gimchee enthusiasts: don't eat it by itself the first time. Have it w/ a mouthful of rice or meat, like Bul-go-gi. The meat is seasoned kind of sweet, so the spicy and fermented flavor compliments it. And store it in the most airtight container you can find!

Our first weekend out of the base we went to the I-Park Mall, which is enormous. It is seven floors w/ an Imax movie theatre at the top. I have to say that Korea goes to great lengths to make everything look happy and cheerful, so I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this candy store.

The mall itself is pretty impressive. They have indoor and outdoor event centers.

Here is a quick shot of Yongsan Station. It connects the Subway and the Commuter Train.

The public transit here is amazing, and incredibly affordable. Even the cabs are really inexpensive, w/ the most we have paid being about 5,000 Won, which is a little more that $3.00. You can also get public transit, or "T" cards which you just swipe in cabs, on the busses or the Subway, and if you pay monthly or more you can pay cheaper fare.

The city is beautiful in its own way. I have never lived in a city quite like Seoul, which I imagine must be a little like living in New York.

That's all for now. I have a few chores to get done while the house is quiet. I should get around to posting about house hunting and pictures of our new home today!

OYD out.

Some Random Photos

2009-02-09T14:06:00.002+09:00

Da UP, Eh!

I haven't been home to spend any great amount of time in quite a while.

The last time I was home was purely business, and there was no time for pleasantries b/c of certain persons. It was so nice to finally be able to unwind, relax, and meet up w/ family that I haven't seen in a long time, or ever. It is also the first time that The Guy has met most of my family. To say we had a great time isn't even scratching the surface, and the time was too short. My only regret is that I didn't remember my camera when we went to see my Grammy, who has just celebrated her 87th birthday! I really wanted to get a picture of The Kid w/ her, but hopefully we will get the chance this summer.

The Kid has not in her memory seen as much snow as we encountered, and I don't believe that The Guy's Iowa upbringing prepared him for this much. The first night we were there, they got all bundled up and went out to play.

She made snow angels on the front deck. The deck stands about three feet off of the ground, and you can see that the snow is even w/ it in most places.

There are times I think he was made for UP living! LOL!

I don't think she's giving you the stink eye, I think her face is just like that.

See?

Nothing like Cribbage after breakfast. Careful Nana, I think he's cheating!

That hat is so you!

The Kid and our cousin getting ready to go out and play in the snow.

While The Kid was out playing The Guy and I went up to the property I own which is where my Dad used to live. We wanted to take a look around and toy w/ what we want to do w/ it. We were up to our knees in snow while we took these pictures.

This is the view from the back of the property, which actually goes down to the main road. I won't blame you if you can't tell where the hill, the main road, or Lake Superior are. I would also like to mention that I can see Canada from my house, and now believe that I should run for Vice President.

This is the back of what is currently standing. It is pretty much uninhabitable, but the property taxes would have you believe otherwise. Check out all of that snow!

I love birch trees. There is something about them that gives me a kind of peace inside.

The Guy and I made a bit of a feast for my family for some football game that was going on while we were there...

We started by making Kalua Pig, the cheater's way (in the crock pot).

We used the pig to make egg rolls and nachos, which are kind of a twist on favorites. Kalua Pig is surprisingly versatile.

I marinated and baked some naked tenders to make naked boneless hot wings w/ my signature sauce, which also doubles as an awesome tofu marinade.

Most of the family enjoying the spread.

It was really great to see The Guy hitting it off w/ my family. He and my Papa and my Aunt got into a bit of a rivalry over the game, which ended w/ my Aunt bringing in snow to dump down his and our cousin's back...

And here The Guy and my cousin are acting like they are not plotting their revenge. If only I had gotten a good shot of my Aunt in the snow after The Guy threw her there. It was pretty funny. Everyone had a good time.

Do all kids look this spazzy when trying to catch snowflakes? I really hope so...it's so darned cute!

Nana and Papa took us out for dinner for The Guy's birthday. While the whitefish wasn't fresh, it sure hit the nostalgia spot. Also, the company was pretty darned good. :)

After dinner we went home to enjoy birthday cake that everyone pitched in to make.

Papa baked it, I frosted and covered it w/ crushed PB malted milk balls, and Nana and Kid did the decor and candles.

Papa picked this out for him all by himself. I guess The Guy is a true Yooper now. LOL!

Way too soon it was time to say good-bye.

We took some really nice photos on our way out. I don't mind saying that we worked hard to get these, as the lookout point was poorly plowed.

Hard work, but worth it.

Finally, I have to give a special shout out to the GPS, which may be our new deity now, which showed us as driving on top of Lake Michigan. Ha ha.

Only one more travel post to go! Woo hoo!

Previous travel blogging here, here, here, and here.

Please do not NOM NOM NOM your computer screen...

2009-02-09T13:40:00.002+09:00

I know it will be hard to resist when faced w/

TEH CUTEST NEPHEWS EVAH!!!1!!ELEVENTYONE!!1!

I finally got some good quality cuddle and snorgle time w/ Alekzander and Deacon! *SQUEE*

Meet Alek. Snug as a bug in Nana's arms!

This is Deacon, w/ my brother, AKA the Proud Daddy!

The best Auntie in the Whole Multiverse w/ Alek.

In case you didn't know, I was referring to me! NOM NOM NOM!

And, BTW...did I mention...

...THERE ARE TWO OF THEM!!!1! Oh how I was overwhelmed w/ Teh Cuteness! How could I be bothered to get out of my pajamas in the presence of all that cuteness. Every time I thought about doing anything else I was thwarted by Teh Cuteness!

W/ his eyes closed like that, Deacon is the spitting image of my father. *sniffle* Alek looks very much like my brother did as a baby.

Do not snorgle your screen too hard!

Here is The Guy pretending that he is upset w/ me for handing that cute bundle off to him for a moment (sometimes babies are a bit heavy for my fibro ridden body),

But even he can not defend himself against all that cuteness!

He and Deacon fast became nap buddies!

A happy grandma feeding a very hungry baby!

Hey! The Guy! What are you feeding my little cousin there?

There is a long standing history of babies and ice cream lovin' in our family. Nathaniel is not the first one to indulge so young! It is a super power of tolerance encoded in our DNA!

After wiping off your screens, I return you to your regular internet surfing.

Some Random Photos

2009-02-09T09:46:00.002+09:00

After we left Des Moines we headed to Michigan to visit my side of the family. Our first stop was Ypsilanti, where we had a rendezvous w/ VBFitU and GiHL. One of the first stops on the never been to Ypsi tour was, of course, Abe's Coney Island. If it was good enough for Bill Clinton, it is good enough for us!

Kid and Guy enjoying their first Abe's Coney dogs. Admittedly, The Kid didn't have nearly as much stuff on hers. Baby steps.

After a bit of an ordeal w/ our rental car, we were off to Indiana, where we stopped to see my mom.

We took them all to the Auburn Cord museum. The Kid really enjoyed all of the classic cars.

We didn't have nearly as much time in Indiana as we wanted, but we did get to catch up w/ some people that I really needed to see.

Once back in Michigan, we spent some time in Ann Arbor, which I love.

We found this awesome gaming place on Liberty where The Guy and I got our WoW on for two days straight. We took The Kid to her Auntie's in Wixom for a few days so she could spend some time w/ her b/f we left. This gave us time to hit up this gaming place and get our total geek on.

Your parents' basement was never this cool, that's for sure.

I also was able to introduce The Guy to another Ann Arbor classic: Pizza House.

Stuffed pizza FTW!

We also made some time for a great home cooked meal w/ VBFitU and GiHL.

He makes arguably the best stir fry in the States.

Then we went off to Crazy Wisdom for books and tea. This is a long standing tradition w/ VBFitU and I for all the years we have lived apart, but this is the first time we have ever had guys in our lives who were interested in sharing it w/ us. I can't tell you how much that means.

It's just about done, I'd say!

Next installments will be from da UP! I know Pido and Cecilia have been waiting for these ones!

Travel blogging here, here and here.

Some Random Photos

2009-02-08T18:21:00.004+09:00

St. Louis!

We took The Kid down to see her father in Missouri, and while she was there The Guy and I toured around the area for a while.

Of course we went to the iconic Arch, or Expansion Memorial, which I think is slang for "conquered and lied to all your Natives"...but I digress.

While I will say that the structure is pretty impressive from the outside (how could it not be?),

I do have to say that I find it to be one of the most over rated monuments I have ever been to (though the Washington Monument was closed the day I was there).

You start out by getting into these "futuristic" capsules through the tiniest doors imaginable and sit on the smallest chairs in the most tight of enclosed spaces. I am not a small woman, but neither am I the largest person I know, and I was incredibly uncomfortable inside. The tram was also very rough riding up, and you are in this enclosed space for nearly four minutes.

The view was kind of neat...

...and when I tell the story there will be someone making out in that car way down there...

...but you get six hundred and some feet up and these are the ridiculous windows you have to look through..and you have to lean in across a big ol' ledge to see out of them. It is so full of people up there that I was kind of freaked out, and very uncomfortable.

The Guy tried to distract me w/ some lovey doveiness...

...and I think his efforts were effective.

We had way more fun in the gift shop.

The Guy in his pretty floral bonnet...

...and me being silly.

Of course...we had to...erm...hug the monument.

Yes...we love the monument.

So, yeah...pretty impressive outside...just stay outside.

We actually had fun at Pido's Mecca...also known as the Anheuser-Busch Brewery.

Full of lots of fun things...

The business end of some beautiful Clydesdales...the largest heard.

The barn has a giant chandelier that looks like it is make from hops.

They taught us all about how to make Budweiser. If you are from the Midwest, congratulations! You are the #1 consumer of beer ever!

This is Renard the Fox. He was really famous during Prohibition and stuff.

After the tour they gave us Free Beer! I don't really ever drink domestic beer but even I can't sneeze at Free Beer!

Lastly, I thought this door was pretty funny.

Well...I certainly hope so!

Previous travel blogposts here, and here.

Some Random Photos

2009-02-08T11:18:00.002+09:00

Des Moines!

Here are some highlights from the Des Moines portion of our trip!

The Kid watching Iowa Public television in the hotel.

Sporting one of her new winter hats. She really isn't good at keeping track of them, as we are now on hat #3.

Bundled up for the day (b/f the big snowstorm hit Des Moines.) as we head out to the Science Center of Iowa.

The Kid pretending to be a weather anchor on a green screen, and The Guy making it look like she is a headless weather anchor.

Building domino roads.

Here she is trying to design the safest way to drop an egg...

...from this height (it didn't work out so well for her egg...as the screen in the shot here shows).

The Kid seems to have this problem around snow...

...which is that she can't seem to stay out of it. LOL!

There was this fun coffee shop where we could sit and play a bunch of board games.

One of The Kid's favorite board games is "Sorry!", so we played a bit of that...followed by "Scrabble", which I love! It is a lot harder to play when we decide that foreign language words are off limits. :(

We went to this awesome brewing pub where they served spent grain pretzels, which might be my new favorite thing ever. I would love to make spent grain bread bowls for my home made beer cheese soup. Yum!

One fun thing that happened was that I got to meet The Guy's family for the first time. I have a new mother in-law and two new sisters and a new brother. The last night we were there we took them all to a sled park to go tubing.

That pretty much sums up our Des Moines trip. It doesn't, however, even begin to cover the whole trip. HA!

Some Random Photos

2009-02-08T09:50:00.003+09:00

Hey there!

We have landed...and as I wade through the nonillion pictures I have taken on our transcontinental voyage I will post some highlights from our trip!

Here we have some from New Year's in Waikiki!

Enjoy!

New Year's in Waikiki.

The view from our super swanky hotel.

The Kid while we were waiting for the car in the lobby.

We spent the last day in Hawai'i pool side, since we didn't know when we would be able to soak up the swim and sun again.

Having dinner w/ our friend Z.

Then we enjoyed some gelato and a walk to enjoy the lights.

I have a ton more pictures (I uploaded almost 500). I am going to try to pick the best of the highlights to not bore you all!

That's all for now!

Theme and Variation on a Winter Holiday

2008-12-29T17:41:00.003+09:00

Today we were invited by our friends to come out w/ them to the Kaneohe Yacht Club. We weren't sure if the weather was going to hold off, w/ all of the storms we have had in the last few days, but if you can't play in the rain in Hawai'i, then where can you?

We really only had bad weather driving out to K-bay just past the tunnel. While the sun didn't quite break through until late in the day it was really nice to get in some sea time.

We had a quick lunch by the pool b/f we loaded up and headed out on the boat.

Here's The Kid ready for her first boat ride.

And The Guy ready for his. I forget that not everyone grew up in The Great Lake State. LOL.

Some scenes from off the island:

This one some of you may recognize...

It's where they filmed Gilligan's Island.

There was this tiny speed craft coming up on us as if we were in some kind of James Bond chase scene. The boys thought it was really funny.

After we rode about a third of the way around we got just past The Chinaman's hat to this massive sand bar where you can anchor your boat and get out. It is really far from shore, so it looks like you are in the middle of the ocean, but the water is incredibly shallow. In the morning some people will come out and set up volley ball nets and have picnics, and some of the larger boats will camp here.

The Guy and one of the boys w/ Super Sayin hair. Ha ha.

It was a really great time. Sadly, it may have been the last playdate Kid has w/ her friend, but we are going to try to squeeze one more in while we are hotel bound in Waikiki. Who knows?

They had a great time, and got some more swimming in the pool until I had to drag them out b/c they were PURPLE! I turned into my father today when I told my shivering kid she couldn't swim anymore b/c her lips were purple. LOLZ.

Malama Pono!

Scenes from a Winter Holiday

2008-12-29T16:58:00.003+09:00

Some glimpses of our winter holidays!

Our Yule:

I didn't get a chance to thank Desi for wrapping that one for us b/f sneaking it into the house.

I am not sure that apron fits you, my dear...

I am suddenly rethinking allowing them to bake unsupervised...

Our Christmas Day:

We spent the morning sleeping in (!) and went to lunch w/ our friend, Mazeltov Cocktail, for our second annual Christmas Day Jewstravaganza, more commonly known as going to China town for really good Chinese food. The place we picked this year was way better than last year. People never cease to be amazed that The Kid can not only negotiate chopsticks but that she can do it left handed, and she did a beautiful job putting away some spring rolls and chow mien. She has also developed a bit of a taste for hot tea. I think she is going to like Korea. Anyhow, it was also a nice chance to bust out my rusty Mandarin skills, and I managed to stumble through ordering! Yay me!

After we took a nice walk through town, and got The Kid a Holiday Lei, since it was Christmas and the third day of Hanukkah.

We got to watch them making lei for a while, which is always fascinating, since it is tedious handiwork.

Later we drove to the Aloha Tower marketplace, which was all decorated w/ lights, my favorite part of the year, and decided to stop by and check it all out.

There is just something about lights at night that fill me w/ such glee.

The Kid got to use one of those viewers to look out over the pier at the lights.

Inside we couldn't resist stopping by the tree in the center for some pictures!

We finally tried out the timer on our camera!

We ended the night w/ a drive through Mililani Mauka to see all of the decorated homes, and there were some stunning light displays (and some not so stunning...lol...we made up our own grading system), and then went home to cuddle up for some games. It's not too hard to find stuff to occupy our time w/ all of our stuff packed up and gone, even when the power goes out the day after Christmas!

That's all for now!

Malama Pono!

Post 100

2008-12-29T04:54:00.002+09:00

I have a bunch of holiday pictures and such to post, but you may have heard a little blurb or so about the power...

So, I will get to those, hopefully tonight, since we are going boating at K-Bay w/ some friends, and expect to be gone most of the day.

Everyone is fine, the island is mostly back on, and we are soaking up as much Hawai'i in our last few days as possible...

Now if it would only stop raining...

And, if you didn't notice the title...this is the 100th post. Thanks for sharing in this adventure.

Also, please excuse any errors...I am experiencing some major pain in my arms lately and am having to wear my braces again...which makes typing a little challenging. Lolz.

Stay tuned for more fun!

Malama Pono!

And a Belated birthday wish to Auntie Lynn!

The Going Away Party

2008-12-23T07:18:00.002+09:00

Instead of trying to organize our house to fit in a party for The Kid w/ her friends from school we decided to let her have it at the Ice Palace. I never would have guessed that she would have taken up ice skating in Hawai'i, but there ya have it. We just scheduled it and they took care of the food and rentals for us. Whew! That is a major relief w/ all of the moving and packing and such going on right now.

A great time was had by all, and The Kid got to say good buy to a lot of her friends from school. We were really touched b/c they got her gifts, most of which can go in her carry on for the plane or in her school pack for the road (her teacher was nice enough to make us a pack of a month's worth of school work for while we are on the Mainland). Mostly books and word search puzzles, which she loves.

Now, w/o much further ado, what you all came here for:

That blur is The Kid getting her bearings on the ice again.

And that is The Other David getting his.

Here is an amazing display of table manners. Ms. Manners would be impressed, I am sure.

Of course the master plan was to sugar them all up and strap weapons to their feet b/f turning them loose...

...it worked. LOLZ.

There's a cute mother/daughter duo for ya!

You can tell the kids of scrappers b/c they are used to being the subjects of the paparazzi. The flash their best smile as soon as they see the camera. See exhibit A.

The Kid and our friend venturing out to take a last lap before our friend left. The ditched the training aide.

Even the friends have gotten used to being under the paparazzi's lens. HA! Exhibit B!

The Kid and her Step-Daddy taking a few laps.

Sometimes they even pose. Exhibit C. Ha ha.

This kid's mom scraps too, so we have two experts here. Ha ha. The Kid was starting to say her good byes, which went better than I could have expected.

We had time for some warm snuggles while we watched them drive the Zamboni. Despite being a going away party, we had a really great time. We are so going to miss everyone, but we are looking forward to this next journey.

Malama Pono!

Last Day of School

2008-12-21T15:47:00.002+09:00

It was such a sad and emotional day, leaving this school.

I really wish I could go into all the things that I want to say, and all of the people that I want to thank for the ways that they have changed our lives in the all too short time that they have been in our lives here. I know, however, that they will never again not be part of our lives.

We have seen The Kid grow, both academically by leaps and bounds, and in her character and personal development. We have seen her learn to reason and use the tools and skills available to her to solve her own problems and be responsible for her own actions. We have watched her blossom into an amazing person in ways we never thought possible. It has truly been one of the most incredible thing that we have ever seen.

And we have become better parents b/c of the time we have spent in the school. The classes we took opened up a new world of possibilities and opportunities for us in the parent/child relationship. The chances we had to give to this small community of families have given us a reward far greater than we could have imagined.

It has all been well worth far more than the investment we made.

We are so incredibly sad to say good bye. Hopefully it is as they said to us, just Aloha for now.

The Kid helps me carry gifts for some of the staff.

Performing in the holiday gathering.

K-2 performance.

This was taken just moments before she knocked over the tree. Guess I managed to pass on some of my most endearing traits...

W/ her teacher from this year.

Here she is w/ the Head of School.

We are so going to miss this place. The yearbook teacher made her a very nice collage full of pictures of her from the year, and her teacher made her a photo album from Kindergarten and First Grade. It was all very sweet. Tomorrow is her going away party w/ some of her friends from school.

Some Random Photos

2008-12-21T15:25:00.004+09:00

Re-Enlistment Day.

The Kid and the kid of the Enlisting Officer walking up in the rain.

I don't think they wanted to catch up, really.

Checking out the view from the Pali Lookout b/f getting the ceremony underway.

The Kid checking out the panoramic.

Getting started.

B/f you re-enlist you are honorably discharged for one day, and then at the ceremony you are given a moment to say anything that you would like to say, and even in some situations do anything you would like to do.

The swearing in.

A more serious one. ;)

There's the Career Counselor to keep us all official and stuff.

And of course we have to finish up the final paperwork. Yay!

Kari is so brave handling all of the kids at once. She rocks!

LT rocks, and even took some family pictures for us! But it was rainy and windy!

It was a great moment to share! Thanks to everyone who was there for us!

Special thanks to Chief and to LT who have been so good to both of us through the last two years. We owe a lot to them both. In a way, the Navy owes a debt to them for The Guy's continued service.

We are going to miss you both so much!

Ways not to get your laundry sorted...

2008-12-21T15:18:00.002+09:00

You just can't get anything else in the basket. I am not quite sure what the problem is. Not sure why our pack out preparations are going so slowly...

Hawai'ian Snow Day

2008-12-12T17:25:00.003+09:00

No, it didn't snow here last night (thank the 12 gods!), but when we woke up this morning it was raining harder than I have ever heard it rain since we have lived here in all of our three years. It was pouring so hard!

We were almost to the highway ramp when the school called to tell us that there would be no school today. As it turned out, we were all at home today for a nice lazy day.

The first thing that The Guy and The Kid did upon getting home were to get out of their respective uniforms for some fun in the rain. Now, it might not snow here, but there was a nice deep rain filled back yard for them to run around in.

That blur is The Kid, b/c w/ the rain, the early morning light (it wasn't even 0700 yet), and her running and splashing, it was hard to get a good shot. Fifty feet from the car and she was soaked to the skin in her PE clothes. There was so much water that the bottom bars of the trampoline were submerged.

The way the roads and houses are set up here they have drainage areas to allow for this type of thing, but you get a lot of water built up, b/c we are simply not used to this much rain at one time. You can see the rain covering the grass here.

*swoon*

The water washed right up onto the patio, which has about two or so inches b/t it and the lawn. The ripples hit the water like there is no difference.

Again, it was raining pretty fiercely, so it was hard to capture.

By the time we had lunch, the flood had receded, but the lawn stayed pretty squishy. We have had two hurricane warnings since I have been here, but never rain like this. I guess we can safely say the rainy season is here! We did manage to use this time to get a lot more of the packing/repacking finished. Wow, is there a lot to do!

Malama Pono!

Some Random Photos

2008-12-12T17:12:00.002+09:00

Stuff I didn't get posted after Thanksgiving Edition:

Here is an idea for leftover mashed potatoes (if you have them, we rarely have leftover potatoes):

2 C mashed potatoes (works best w/ real potatoes)

2 T all purpose flour

1 egg

mix until you can form patties out of it (like you would hamburgers). You may also want to salt and pepper these to taste, or chop and mix in green onions.

Heat about 1/8 to 1/4 inch of oil in a skillet (cast iron works best if you have it), and fry each patty until golden brown on each side.

This makes a great breakfast. The Guy and The Kid like them w/ a little cranberry sauce on them. I prefer them plain w/ salt and pepper, or maybe some sour cream.

Have you ever fallen in love w/ cookwear? I have, w/ my new DeMarle silicon and woven glass bake wear. Here is The Kid w/ a friend of the family demonstrating it.

You don't grease or flour or anything, it just slides right. It is the easiest stuff in the entire world to use, and I see all the chefs on Food Network use their stuff (they are the people who make SilPat) all the time.

It makes the best cake ever. And I don't like cake.

/advertisement.

Not from Thanksgiving weekend, but here is a cute one of The World's Greatest Husband at his Hail and Farewell yesterday. His division had a wonderful little luncheon for him.

The plaque is really cool, and will look nice w/ our shadow boxes and other awards on the wall of our new digs in K-town!

His reenlistment is this coming week, so there will be more fun Navy days ahead! Woo hoo!

Malama Pono!

Who says I don't like X-Mas?

2008-12-11T13:33:00.000+09:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Unpacking and Packing Again

2008-12-08T07:38:00.002+09:00

We are getting things ready for our pack out in two weeks. This entails pulling a lot of our things that are in storage right now back out of storage. We are sorting through things to be placed into three categories:

1) Things going w/ us to Korea.

2) Things going into Non-Temp Storage in California.

3) Things to be given away/donated to charity.

It isn't as much stuff as we initially thought, especially since The Guy and I have downgraded my stuff considerably in the last almost two years w/ my two moves. One thing I was excited about was finding the box that accidentally was put in out storage unit that had my books (6 of my seven Harry Potter books) and board games, and my Buffy Box Set!

So, while we are sorting things, we are now measuring time in Buffy. It took two Buffys to make dinner, and three Buffys to sort through books/games/picture frames from storage. One additional Buffy was spent sorting a few bags of clothing for the shelter in Ewa Beach.

It only took us Season One to finish all of the stuff we did yesterday!

On a side note, somehow we have accumulated in the household about a dozen Navy Issue Peacoats. One fits The Kid w/ a little extra room (who in nine hells did that belong to?), and all I need to do is dry clean it and re-sew the buttons and the becket onto it (something we all learned to do at Boot anyhow, b/c those beckets will not hold it to hang it up). Voila! She has a winter coat! She loves it. After I asked her to try it on, she wouldn't take it off and went off to play in her room while wearing it.

But where on Earth did that Peacoat come from? It's a men's too...

It almost makes up for the fact that she broke her red hand me down Crocs this week. *grumbles*. Since we are going to be going snow bound, I am going to replace them w/ some Chucks, which are a little more weather appropros for the time being. I think they have them on sale at the NEX.

Off to more Buffy and packing!

I also need to think up some little goody for all of my first and second graders. I am sure going to miss them!

Malama Pono!

snorgle

2008-12-03T04:56:00.003+09:00

So, those cute adorable twin nephews of mine I was telling you about the other day?

Please try not to snorgle your computer too hard!

I am fairly certain, though I can't know for sure, that "baby A" is actually Aleczander Joseph.

This makes me pretty secure in telling you that "Baby B" is Deacon James.

NOM NOM NOM!

*heh-hem*

How is it that you look at them and don't want to gobble them all up?

The new parents (if they are smart, scared shitless), Amz, CJ, w/ AJ and DJ, HA!

My mom and brother making me jealous. But never fear, widdew baybeez, your Auntie is saving up all of her snorgling for January!

Ignoring the fact that I can clearly see snow through that window, here is my brother feeding his son.

NOM NOM NOM!

That is all.

OYD Cooks!

2008-11-28T14:49:00.002+09:00

Carbfest 'O8!

Every year that The Guy and I have been together we always do a great big Thanksgiving Dinner for anyone who wants to join us. Mostly we invite service members who either don't have leave to go home or the time off to do so. When we were in Monterey we took plates up to the people on duty (hungry Marines are very grateful for piles of turkey at Midnight on watch). It is usually a large affair, w/ at least a dozen people. We usually have to do more than one turkey, which is how we discovered that my crock pot can hold a fairly large turkey. Last year we did three.

This year was a much smaller occasion, which was actually quite welcomed. We only had two guests in addition to just The Guy, The Kid and me. The Davids are both visiting family, so it has been a little quiet lately.

But dinner was kind of problematic.

See, I am not used to cooking for such a small crowd, especially not for something like Thanksgiving. It isn't enough that we went w/ just one turkey, and The Guy decided to deep fry that guy so that we weren't toiling over it all day (We like to keep the turkey out of the oven to free it up for all the other stuff we like to make). I was fretting over whether five pounds of potatoes would be enough...

But it came out just fine. This year included some of the classics, like green bean casserole w/ the crunchy onions, and of course smashed potatoes (w/ real lumps!). We didn't make The Guy's home made cranberries, and just did the canned stuff that I like instead.

But we did start off as usual, w/ our turkey taking a nice long bath! We have found that this is the best and least obtrusive way to thaw our turkey.

And, something that no one ever thinks of is Thanksgiving breakfast, so while the turkey was bathing I made another batch of pumpkin pancakes...

Right after breakfast I put The Kid to work w/ the prep work...

She loves helping, and she got to watch the parade too!

The Guy started working on the injection for the turkey.

There is always so much prep to be done that I can't believe I never think to do it the day before, but that is why we have kids, right?

I like to take a moment during all of that prep work to reveal the stars in the apples and say a blessing for the abundance of food we are able to have.

Apples hide w/ in their hearts a star, representative of the four physical elements, and the fifth spiritual element of the self. It has a lot to do w/ why apples are so popular in fall and harvest time food.

They are also key to my Apple and Onion Stuffin' Muffins, shamelessly stolen from Rachael Ray on the Food Network. These are easily the most popular thing I put on the Thanksgiving table, and are easily converted for vegetarians/vegans.

The Fuji Apples and Maui Sweet Onions that I use in place of what is in the Food Network recipe cooking w/ the poultry seasoning and bay leaves are easily my favorite smell on Thanksgiving. I never would have guessed that apples and onions would smell so amazing together.

I don't have a fancy ice cream scoop, so I just use a measuring cup, which works just fine.

I also super cheated this year, and opted out of pumpkin pie...sort of. I don't really like pumpkin pie, but The Guy does, and The Kid will eat a tiny bit of whatever is handy, and it isn't worth baking a whole pie for one or two people (plus, one of our guests promised to bring what he claimed were the best cookies ever...not sure if they compare to my Grammy's pumpkin cookies, to be made tomorrow, but I digress...), so I didn't. Instead, as we were picking up the other groceries, The Guy saw at the last second Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream, so I decided to make Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream Ice Cream Pie (no, that is not a typo, due to the ingredients, it has to be redundant).

If it was just Pumpkin Ice Cream, then it could just be Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie...are you following? Anyhow, it also had a Nilla Wafer crust, instead of my normal graham cracker. You can use any ice cream, if you have never done this before, as long as you soften it and stir it a bit before trying to put it in the crust. Just fill the crust, and refreeze it for at least two hours.

I hate Cool Whip as a rule, but we don't have Jeff's cool mixer any more for home made whipped cream, so it was the best I could do. After the pie is frozen, top w/ softened whipped cream (if using Cool Whip and it is sold in the freezer case like it is here, thaw it first), then freeze again for another hour.

And don't forget the nutmeg.

We also had the crock pot free, so that meant room to mull lots of cider (and wine! Mulled wine FTW!)!

And I even made a little centerpiece...cuz I am all kinds of clever!

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving. I know we did.

Much love to all!

Malama Pono!

PS, Miss you Dad!

Running Amok at the Zoo

2008-11-27T14:16:00.003+09:00

And that is exactly what it felt like, but, like I said earlier, it was totally worth it, b/c I totally love these kids.

We took the entire elementary school to the Honolulu Zoo. Originally we had hoped to see the new tiger cubs that were born there recently, but they are not quite ready for the public.

So, here are some shots of the fun, w/o much commentary...

This was a large coy fish pond in the Keiki Zoo portion that had a tunnel you could crawl inside.

One of the teachers w/ some of the kids.

Some of the High School Biology students came along to assist w/ some things for the day.

I guess they like the petting zoo too.

There was this weird kid following me around all day.

Climbing into the goat area.

There's that weird kid again. I think she is still following me.

This was just a cool shot of one of the kids in the Guinea Pig area.

Peacocks. Very beautiful, and very mean. Like Diana Ross.

Kindergarten kid doing an impression.

Hey! Who's there?

O Hai!

GODDLESS KILLING MACHINES!

Oh...but he's soooo cute! NO! Don't make me love him! Stop! NOOOOOOO!

Oh I love tortoises! They are so big and cool!

Some are very tiny! Like this little one, born in July. Awww!

And there is that weird kid again!

But some tortoises were feeling a tad frisky!

If you're endangered and you know it clap your...uhhh...well...

Well...drooling and grunting work too...

Some of the children did presentations for the younger kids about some of the animals we saw. This girl is explaining the differences b/t African and Asian elephants.

Then the Art teacher came and took them around to draw their favorite animals to get ready to paint them the next day.

It was, overall, a very fun and exhausting day.

But that weird kid is still following me!

LOL!

Malama Pono!

Bright Spots

2008-11-27T12:57:00.002+09:00

(Continued from here)

This is why I do what I do.

I love these kids.

Welcome Back, Little Ones!

2008-11-25T05:02:00.003+09:00

To Alex Joseph (after our dad) and Deacon James (after my brother), welcome back to our plane.

Alex came in at 5 pounds and 4 ounces, and Deacon came in at an even 5 pounds. Not too shabby, boys!

And, Amz, I didn't forget that you said I can have one! ;)

Congrats to the new parents!

Oh, and before I forget!

*NOM NOM NOM*

It was time...

2008-11-21T15:40:00.002+09:00

for over a foot of my hair to go. There is so much going on for me right now, I had to simplify some things. The long hair was just getting to be so much. I have had this haircut about half a dozen times in about ten years, so it isn't as big a change as I initially thought it would be.

It feels really good. Really really good.

I am so going to miss my hairdresser when we go to Korea. Seriously. She is the best, and often has to stop cutting b/c we are laughing so hard. We have some of the best parenting talks evah!

My esthetician threatened to slap my hands today if I don't throw away my tweezers and see her regularly. Apparently I will have no brows left if I keep going at the rate I am. Oops! The hell if trich!

Some Random Photos

2008-11-12T08:37:00.002+09:00

Autumn craftiness!

The guys were a little bored the other day, and decided to help The Kid make a suit of armor. My camera battery died (I think it needs to be replaced, since I have been charging it for some time) b/f I could get a good picture of the whole thing, so maybe tomorrow!

She painted it herself. Who says you can't play dress up after Halloween is over?

Some Autumn Craftiness

2008-11-12T06:50:00.003+09:00

I had a chance to actually sit down and drag some of my scrapping stuff out the other day. Ever since I had The Kid's pics taken in her costume I have been wanting to do a LO of all the fun poses. I never buy the collages that they offer at the Portrait Studio b/c I really like doing them myself. It is extra fun on acrylic b/c I can lay it over my gridded mat to make sure it is all even.

OCD FTW!

I also did one for a challenge at Serendipity Scrapbooks, where we were supposed to use this template:

So here is my version:

Even w/ the flash on the pic I am more than happy w/ it. Apparently I wasn't the only one! Yay! Sometimes I really like Shameless Self-Promotion!

I am a Domestic Goddess, This is a FACT!

2008-11-12T06:33:00.002+09:00

But should not be, in any way, confused w/ me being domesticated, b/c that is simply not even in the same ballpark as true...

I am really getting into fall right now!

Try this alteration on breakfast to get yourself into it!

When making pancakes, add about two generous scoops of pureed pumpkin to the batter, and a hearty tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice.

Try topping them w/ pumpkin butter or apple butter instead of regular butter, this goes well w/ maple syrup.

Hope you are having the best fall ever!

We Voted Today!

2008-11-02T16:30:00.002+09:00

The Kid and I got up early and went to the last day of early voting so that we could go together. I let her push all the buttons to help me vote, and got a little teary eyed when she pushed the big red "Cast Ballot" button.

I was bummed b/c they didn't have any stickers, and she was excited to get candy.

After voting, we went to breakfast, just Kid and Mommy, and I let her ask me all the questions she could think of about voting, and answered them all.

She is a really good question asker!

Go. Vote.

A Pagan's Thoughts on Halloween

2008-11-01T05:25:00.004+09:00

I love Halloween. I love Samhain. I love combining the two concepts (meaning the "new", and what it has become, and the "old" ways). I love this time of year.

I wrote some thoughts last year on the way some people tend to view Halloween and how it makes me feel. I still feel a lot of that.

But in recent years, I have learned to use it as a real New Year's Eve. I want to make resolutions. I want to put painful things behind me and move on from them, and there are many. It's a time of year that I like to burn grudges (literally and figuratively) and try to find in my heart forgiveness and peace. I am choosing to let go of things that hurt me, and attempting to actively move on in a way that will allow me to heal. I have learned a lot of tough lessons this year, about myself and people close to me, and I have consciously decided that no one can allow me to feel anything w/o my permission. I have a right to feel what I feel and to my emotions, but I also have a responsibility to own those emotions, and recognize them. First and foremost, when The Guy asks me how I am doing, "OK" will no longer be an appropriate answer.

And I will not allow others to make me feel bad or shameful b/c of who I am or how I feel. They are my emotions and feelings. Mine. I choose to feel them and how to deal w/ them. I will make no apologies for them. I make no apologies for the person I am choosing to be.

I will not do this perfectly, b/c I am human. I have let things hurt me for so long that I will stumble in this challenge. I am OK w/ that. I am allowed to make mistakes. Professionals have editors. I have the strength of the Goddess to guide me.

Samhain is a beautiful time of year, and special to me in many ways. It is a private time for me when all the festivities associated w/ modern celebrations are over. It is reflection and introspection, and time for me to commune.

I offer up some links of interest for your Halloween/Samhain reading interests.

This is an open thread. Add your own thoughts or links.

And have a beautiful and peaceful, and fun holiday.

Warmth and Blessings to you all!

OYD.

Caramel Apples

2008-10-30T07:11:00.003+09:00

Today was extra fun, after spending yesterday at the hospital w/ The Other David for his surgery. I helped one of the class moms make caramel apples w/ the whole elementary school (which is really only about 45 people).

The hardest part of making caramel apples is finding the caramel pieces to melt. They are really hard to find here! In the grocery store there is a display of baking needs for fall, under a picture of caramel apples, but no caramel pieces! When I asked about them, the stock boy told me that it really isn't the right time of year for them. Really? I didn't realize there was a growing season for caramel pieces...and if not Halloween for candy apples, then when?

After The Kid made one for herself, she asked to make one for me! How could I possibly turn that down?

She even put nuts on mine for me! Yum!

Caramel Apples:

You will need

1 package Kraft or similar caramel pieces

2 T water

A slow cooker or double boiler

Plenty of apples (I like the Fuji ones best for these)

crushed pecans (optional)

popsicle sticks or chopsticks for handles.

Add all the pieces and the water to the top pot of double boiler or to the slow cooker. Stir often to help it melt along. Once it is smooth and creamy it is ready (if you are using a slow cooker this could take a while, so start well ahead of time).

Push a popsicle stick or chopstick well into the apple. Dip the apple about 3/4 of the way into the caramel. When you pull it out swirl it around a little to catch the dangling line of caramel. Be careful b/c slow cookers are extremely hot and the caramel is molten, so it will stick to skin and prolong a burn.

After dipping and swirling, roll it generously in the chopped pecans. Set it on a plate or wax paper (or muffin wrappers for giving away) and allow to cool at least an hour.

Enjoy!

Some Random Photos-- Trampoline Edition!

2008-10-30T07:08:00.001+09:00

That thing paid for itself the first month!

Strike a Pose!

2008-10-28T10:05:00.002+09:00

Since The Kid had the day off from school and since we have this costume sitting around we decided to take her in for a few pictures. I picked out some favorites out of the tons of poses. I ordered some enhanced versions of those, and posted a few others here. We should get them back b/f too long!

When we get the actual ones I picked out back I will be sending some out!

Malama Pono!

Some Random Photos

2008-10-28T02:45:00.002+09:00

Pumpkin Patch Edition!

I love fall! My favorite time of year by a long shot. I was so bummed when The Kid's school's field trip to Aloun Farms was cancelled due to premature crops this year. We waited for a few weeks and took our own field trip.

We were greeted by a family of Maui Onions at the entrance.

Since it was the last day of the season for the farm they had brought most of the crops to the front. They had gourds and smaller pumpkins spread all over.

And several giant pumpkins set out. They had most of the pumpkins brought in, so our search for the perfect pumpkin began.

The Guy takes this task very seriously...

That one might be too small babe!

Not a pumpkin, luvkins.

Getting warmer it seems...

So we did spend about an hour or so roaming the fields just in case there was that magic perfect pumpkin hiding out there.

And in addition to lots of pumpkins, watermelons and gourds, we found plenty of...

mud!

We had a nice relaxing hayride...well, we got to sit on hay on a cart and go for a ride...and that was a nice break for my body from all the walking.

After all the searching we made our final choices...

I want the cute pink one!

Yay! This one is going to be fun for carving (once we get all the mud off of...well everything).

The Ho'ala Pumpkin Festival is this week, and we are making caramel apples w/ A's mom at the school this week as well. This might be the only time that I get to feel like it really is fall in Hawai'i!

Malama Pono!

Weird Science

2008-10-20T08:20:00.004+09:00

(Photo from National Geographic)

Saturday we took The Kid to The Bodies Exhibition in Honolulu. Audee first told us about it when she was here for the wedding, and I have been trying to talk myself into wanting to go since. I've read a ton about it, and had a real morbid curiosity. I have some other thoughts on it, shared in another space, but for now, know that we all had a really cool time.

The Kid was far more excited than I had anticipated. She was not squicked out at all, which is more than I can say for myself. They had audio tours to rent for the exhibit that had an adult and a kid version (the only difference was the language they used). Throughout the hour plus we were there she was randomly spouting science facts. It was so awesome to watch her face light up w/ knowledge, since they have been studying the human body in class. She will tell you that her favorite part was the touching center, where she was offered the opportunity to hold a kidney and a brain...but she would only touch the kidney w/ one finger. We let her pick out a souvenir from the gift shop at the end to take in for show and tell on Friday, and she chose a book w/ a large fold out body that is a little bigger than her. It has all kinds of cool flaps to turn and parts to look at.

In the end, I am so glad we went. While I have a lot of thoughts on this project, I am satisfied at having seen it w/ my own eyes to be able to judge it for myself. If you live in a city where it is showing, I recommend seeing it yourself. It wasn't as creepy as I thought (though I did shiver several times, and it smelled like the anatomy classroom from high school), and there was a lot to learn. One of the coolest parts was the display of healthy organs next to unhealthy ones, and a box between a display of lungs partially filled w/ packs of cigarettes that people had discarded. Apparently a good number of smokers who visit the exhibit commit to quitting smoking on the spot.

Again, check up on it. There has been a lot of coverage, and a bit of controversy. If you can, go.

Happy Birthday, S!

2008-10-13T06:07:00.002+09:00

S had her birthday party last week, and yesterday was her party at the Ice Palace.

I am old enough to say "I haven't done that in over 20 years!"

The Kid started out w/ the little support things that they have for beginner skaters, even though this wasn't her first time. She likes to ease into these things on her own. But she was totally having fun!

Her friends were having fun w/ her too. A was trying to coax her out onto the main rink w/o the supporter.

Speaking of being coaxed onto the ice, another family had left over adult skate rental tickets, and S's mom gave them to us b/c she insisted there was no way she was going onto the ice. We got some skates, and decided to give it a try. After all, I guess we had best be reacquainting ourselves w/ ice, huh?

It didn't turn out clearly on the pic, but we could see our breath. Brr!

After we got out on the ice and made half a lap my lace broke on my right skate. I didn't fall, but I sure couldn't walk myself to the counter to replace it. The Guy had to go exchange it for me. After that we were on our way.

I am not so good at ice skating. But I got better. And, Kid joined us on the main rink, first holding (clinging) to The Guy's hand, and eventually on her own. She did so well, getting back up every time she fell...even when she took a good dive and landed face down. She said it hurt, but didn't want any help off of the ice. She did about another lap and exited. I checked her knee, and she was fine and ready to go again...but they brought out the Zamboni and it was almost time for us to leave anyhow. Since I had my bag locked up I didn't get any pics of her skating alone. ;( Maybe next time.

Kid has asked to go back again soon, so we are going to take her and A back next weekend as long as her homework gets finished all week.

We went w/ a couple of the girls and one of their dads to get a late lunch afterward. S's mom had made a ton of local plate food for the party, but we were still hungry after all the skating! FTR, I got a lot better, but I don't think my legs and feet can handle too much at once (as indicated by my sore and stiff joints today).

Oh, and she also fell asleep around 7. Guess she wore herself out!

Picture Day!

2008-10-13T05:58:00.002+09:00

Picture day was last Wednesday. The Kid usually asks me to roll her hair for special things like picture day and Birthdays, so after the PTSO meeting on Tuesday I raced home to do so. She really has more hair that she appears to.

She gets a big kick out of having curlers in her hair. She always wants her picture taken w/ her hair rolled. Weirdo. ;)

I have also been begging her to part w/ those pajama pants, but I don't think they are going any where anytime soon, not so long as she can get them on.

Since she loves having her picture taken w/ her hair rolled, and b/c I am such a silly mommy, I took one more picture of her.

Even w/ as good as this picture turned out, you still can't see her drooling. I showed her the picture after I woke her up...and she thought it was so hilarious. We really are special together!

So we should have the pics back b/f long.

You didn't think I was going to post her actual school picture, did you? :P

Blessed and Cursed and Won

We've moved!

OYD Cooks!

OYD Cooks!

The 63rd Building

The Three Hour Tour -- The Sequel

The Three Hour Tour -- The Sequel

OYD Cooks!

Some Random Photos!

The Three Hour Tour

The Three Hour Tour

The Three Hour Tour

The Three Hour Tour

Happy Solstice!

Give your dad an extra hug for me...

Yellow Belt!

Anatomy of a Breakfast

I have the best family!

Hand Fasted and Heart Joined

Things I Love

Tae Kwon Do

Anatomy of a Dinner

We have sprout babies!

Greenin' My Thumb

Anatomy of a Dinner

As a matter of fact...

Kids find fun in the strangest places...

The Force is Strong with This One

On Spoons and Moments...

Aries Abound!

Some Random Photos

Seven Years Ago Today...

Some Random Photos

Some Random Photos

Spring has Sprung!

Some Family Fun Time!

Decisions

To Fifty Beautiful Years

Some Random Photos

Congratulations, Stacy!

Dear Kid

Latest in 6 year old fashion...

Happy Ostara!

Well, there's good news...and bad news...

Some Random Photos

Our New Home

Welcome to Seoul!

Some Random Photos

Please do not NOM NOM NOM your computer screen...

Some Random Photos

Some Random Photos

Some Random Photos

Some Random Photos

Theme and Variation on a Winter Holiday

Scenes from a Winter Holiday

Post 100

The Going Away Party

Last Day of School

Some Random Photos

Ways not to get your laundry sorted...

Hawai'ian Snow Day

Some Random Photos

Who says I don't like X-Mas?

Unpacking and Packing Again

*snorgle*

OYD Cooks!

Running Amok at the Zoo

Bright Spots

Welcome Back, Little Ones!

It was time...

Some Random Photos

Some Autumn Craftiness

I am a Domestic Goddess, This is a FACT!

We Voted Today!

A Pagan's Thoughts on Halloween

Caramel Apples

Some Random Photos-- Trampoline Edition!

Strike a Pose!

Some Random Photos

Weird Science

snorgle