Saturday, August 25, 2012

Cinnamon Rolls

What's that you say? It's been 4 months since I posted? I've neglected my blog and pretty much everything in life except the survival essentials? I'm a total lamewad since I moved to Korea?

Yes, those statements are true.

I'm going with the excuse of the drastic timezone change. Apparently it takes about...
... (*counting in head*)...
...
...
...(*forget that, counting on fingers*)...
...
...TEN! 10 months to adapt. Yeah, that's the ticket.

I don't have much to say- rather, I shouldn't say much. I am only awake due to a Diet Mountain Dew I consumed while baking cinnamon rolls at 9:30 at night, which I then consumed two and am now heavily caffeinated and on a sugar high. The odds of my writing anything worth reading are low. So here's a funny picture. Enjoy.





I laughed because I like funny pictures of dogs. Maybe you do too.


That's all for now. 


Cinnamon rolls.

Friday, April 13, 2012

RAWR!



We found a toy Spy Camera at the PX the other day for five bucks. Wyatt got it and we have had some fun positioning it and then running in being silly- it has a sensor and starts snapping [incredibly low resolution] pictures when it detects motion. Funny.




The picture is what Angry Mommy looks like, and I am angry. For some unknown reason, my comments on my friends' blogs vanish into cyberspace and they are found no more. I commented on my sister's blog three times last week and they eventually turned up in her spam folder...but why am I spam suddenly?! I looked on several other blogs that I have made comments on and they are gone too. Anyone have any idea what the deal is?



It makes me sad because when people comment on my blog, it makes my day. Seriously, I feel acknowledged and validated in some way, and I want my friends to know that I appreciate and validate them too! Oh, this is making me sad.

I did a cursory search through Blogger's forum to see if I could find an answer and just got annoyed; I don't speak computer, and when people sitting at a desktop keyboard still can't be troubled with things like punctuation and capitalization and for-the-love-it's-two-extra-letters-JUST-WRITE-"YOU"!!! ...then my agitation increases. And so it did.



Ah well. I confess part of my grumpiness stems from being a tad nervous about our trip tomorrow. Why did North Korea have to go get all rowdy the day before I go with a tour group to visit the Demilitarized Zone? And why, the night before, did they have to change the departure time to 0600? And why, when I have to get up at 0400, are both my kids awake an hour past when they usually go to sleep?



*grump grump grump*



All right, I'm going to bed. Let me know if you know why I can't comment on your blog!

And Happy Friday the 13th!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

The MOTHER Of All Catch-Ups!


Here's the deal. It's late at night (or very early in the morning, more truthfully). I am pretty darn tired, but I promised myself I'd get these pictures up this week since the passage of only 13 more days will mark SIX MONTHS we've been in Korea and I still haven't posted the pictures of our apartment! I will get out next week to take pictures of the neighborhood where we live and work and play, but for now here's some pictures of everything since last December. On your mark...
...get set...
...GO!
Wyatt, in what I believe is the most awesome self-portrait EVER. His expression in this picture never fails to make me laugh.

Christmas Eve jammies and slippers! They have both grown about an inch since I took this picture.

The selections bar attached to the toilet in the master bathroom. The illustrations crack me up!

Master closet with vanity. I love not having to do my makeup in the bathroom.


Master Bedroom with Skeeter

Kitchen

More kitchen. Excuse the water bottles everywhere. Most Koreans won't drink tap water, and bottled water can be purchased for quite cheap pretty much everywhere. I am not most Koreans, however, and drink the tap water all the time. I give the kids bottled or purified though, just in case there really are heavy metals in there...

My ridiculously teeny oven. You know those huge awesome jelly roll pans? They won't fit in there- not even close. I had to buy new baking pans and cookie sheets when we got here. Oven baking isn't huge here apparently, but you'd better believe you can go to Lotte Mart (the equivalent of Walmart or Target) and drop 500,000 won -almost $500- on a rice cooker!

Front room with kiddos playing.


Front room again.

Looking down the hall to the entryway. Yes, I shipped my piano seven thousand miles. When the military moves you overseas, you are authorized a certain amount of weight they'll ship based on the service member's rank. We were authorized 6,000 pounds- and when the movers estimated we were around 5500 I had to choose between my treadmill and my piano...which was really hard, as you know I love and need both. You can see who won!

Kids' bathroom

Jana' s room

Koreans have a very different notion of closet space. Makes for good toy storage though!

Wyatt's room.

Entry/Mud Room. Whenever we come home we stop and take our shoes off and the kids say, "Mom, we're in the house's mouth!" and when we walk down the hall to the front room they announce, "And now we're in the house's tummy!" They make me laugh.


I will just add here that there is another bedroom that we use as an office since it has no closets at all- but it was way too messy to share a picture online!

Skeeter peeking out the door to see why I'm standing on the landing. To the left of the door is a camera, and when someone rings the doorbell it sends a live view to the screen on the wall in the front room (below) so you can see who is there. Very high-tech, and so is the alarm system. On the door is a keypad too, so we get to punch in a code every single time we want to come in. Huzzah. 


The mounted remote is for the air conditioning unit, and the thermostat is for the heat. This place has so much fun technology. Even my fridge plays a cute little ding-dong song when it's left open too long.


A view out the main door into the "parking lot." I swear, when people are constructing housing here, they pack the buildings in as tight as they will fit and then throw in parking as an after thought. I have yet to go anywhere in Korea where I thought, "Gee, look at all the parking, there's plenty for all!" When we go to the big 7 story shopping mall in Pyongtaek, there are several people on every level just for directing traffic. Crazy!

American washer and dryer, clearly not meant for this Korean laundry room. I have to do an awesome shimmy-dance to get to the washer.


This was just cute, everyone fell asleep in Jana's bed at storytime.


The front window as it was decorated for Valentine's Day. Wyatt is becoming a pretty handy little photographer!

Jana doing yoga on the Wii. Whenever she wears those pants she goes around singing "Rainbow bum!" all day. She is so darn cute!


Happy 5th Birthday, Optimus Prime!


Mommy and Wyatt (and Lovey) snuggling. I threw this in to prove I still exist!


Hooray, I've been meaning to do that for a long time! I hope you enjoyed your virtual tour of my Korean abode. I also hope you are all enjoying a lovely Easter weekend and are happy and healthy and getting adequate rest and and lots of fluids and eating plenty of leafy greens and enough chocolate to keep you going! We love and miss our dear friends and family, but we really are loving it here. Stay tuned for pictures of next week's trip to the Demilitarized Zone (you know, if the North Koreans will let me take any pictures...?)!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Neglect




There is no other word for what has been happening to my blog lately. It's just plain neglect. I uploaded the pictures off my camera for the first time since before Christmas last week. Maybe my blog isn't the only thing neglected!

I have a great desire to get back into my blog and get my life documented as we go, since- as I remind my kids almost daily- we might never come to Korea again in our lives, and we need to make the most of it. And in any case, my kids will never be 3 and 5 again, so I better document all I can while life is right here happening!

In case you're wondering, we are all doing pretty well. Lee's job is hard and busy, but we are all thrilled that no matter where we are, we are still together, and Daddy still comes home to us at night (well, most nights...*grumble, mutter* staff duty). I am not working right now and I am falling over myself in joy at the chance to be a non-zombie mom and just be home with my kiddos. Wyatt and Jana are hilarious and awesome, as I hope to illustrate by posting their funny comments and pictures more regularly! Skeeter is such a good boy, and even if apartment living means I have to walk him three times a day, rain or shine... I am still very glad he came with us! Here's a few pictures I snapped the other day while Wyatt and Jana were playing in the sunshine with their new bubble guns.

And I promise I will post pictures of our house and neighborhood this week, but first I have to change my Valentine's background...since it's APRIL for the love. *shameful head shake*



The Noble Beast


My favorite picture of the day. I sure love these monkeys.


They sat on the railing pretending they were sitting on "airplane seats." So cute.


I couldn't help but smile as I listened to so much laughter from them both.



I also couldn't help but smile because I just love bubbles, and these little toys make SO many! Decidedly a fine way to use 12,000 won.


I hope you all enjoyed/are enjoying/will enjoy a lovely Conference weekend, we are looking forward to next week when we won't have meetings and we'll get to stay home and watch it too. Hooray!

Lots of love and hugs and Easter jellybeans!



Friday, January 27, 2012

Jana vs. The Kitchen Timer



I have no idea why. I mean, I really don't.

My 3 year-old daughter is terrified of the kitchen timer. After I took this video I asked her what the deal was, and she told me that the timer means the food is burning, so it scares her. To my knowledge, the child has never tasted burned oven fare, but somehow, she got it in her mind that the beep of the timer signals the END OF EDIBLE MEALS AS WE KNOW IT. Go figure.

She freaked out when the lasagna was done, so when I put the garlic bread in and set the timer again, I was waiting to record her reaction. I love this girl.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

This Is A Test


I have been avoiding my blog lately. Did you notice? I have gotten so fed up with the weird way the internet works in Korea, and how every time I try to upload pictures and label them, then try to spellcheck, it suddenly makes all the pictures become spelling errors and they vanish into cyberspace and I am annoyed that I have to upload them all again. Grr.

So this is a test. It is only a test. And if you're reading this, then the problem is finally fixed and I can get back to blogging as regularly planned!

*crossing fingers*

Oh, and the picture? I opened a folder looking for something quick to test with, and there was a picture of the Savior. How fitting, I thought. I have a problem and I'm looking for a solution and I find the Savior again. Story of my life, which I hope to continue telling now that the issues are resolved. Hooray!