Walk like the Egyptians

Hurray!!! Today is my grandma's eighty-third birthday (I can remember this easily, as she is fifty years older than me!). Today, I thought that I would write about my mom's side of the family, in honor of my grandma's birthday (don't worry Mom...I will write about you and Dad separately).

First of all, I have to say, I am proud to be a Keck. My dad's side of the family is really great. However, practically the moment I breezed into the United States, I had a magical relationship with my mom's side of the family...the Daniels.



When I was very young, my grandparents lived in a little house on Fairview Avenue in Decatur, Illinois. I have many fond memories of the house and the city of Decatur alone. I remember all of the little pictures of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy my grandma had taped up against the bedroom wall where Jessica and I slept. I remember Jessica and I laying in that bedroom tucked in under our Snoopy blankets playing flashlight tag on the ceiling with our yellow Popeye flashlights...and reading Archie comics. I remember the yellow smiley towel that Grandma had in her bathroom, along with the frog soap holder and the 70's flower anti-slip stickers on the floor of the bathtub.

My grandparents had a little table for Jessica and me, where we would play kitchen. There was a special drawer (I believe it was the lower right hand drawer) in the center island of the kitchen, where we could find any number of play pots, pans, and dishes.

Speaking of toys, Grandma always had presents waiting for us when we'd visit sitting on the orange and brown floral sofa and on the little round table. I remember specifically the time we came through the door and Jessica and I found stuffed animal Care Bears for each of us. There was also a special treat located in the secret drawer of the round table (one of my favorites...Pick Up Sticks).

We would play for hours in the backyard, looking for creatures and pretending to swing from the long branches of the weeping willow tree. Grandma would often puncture holes in the top of an Oleo container (I think that I probably learned the word "Oleo" from my Grandma!) so that the little crickets and fireflies that I would capture could breathe until I let them go.

Blowing bubbles on the porch of the house was always a good time. Grandma would also always give us a half cup (Grandma had the thinnest plastic cups known to man) of 7-Up or apple juice. I loved taking trips to Tolley's and riding the mechanical horse (I LOVED that horse!).

The pets there were always fun too. Katya the spaniel and Mabel the beagle were always fun to play with. At dinner time, Jessica and I sat on chairs with wooden slats that would pinch the back of my thighs when I wore shorts. Mabel would often be sitting the doorway of the dining room barking her signature beagle bark...RORK! All the while, Katya would be under the table going down the line of legs and pawing at each person's shins (which was quite painful!). Grandma and Grandpa also had a cat named Mr. Keke. I don't remember a lot about him...except that he was always either going outside, coming back in, or sitting in the window.

I remember visiting my Aunt Nancy (a.k.a. Aunt Bubbles because she liked bubble baths) at the yarn store she worked in...and eating popcorn balls with her (mmmm...popcorn balls). My aunt had a little house nearby. I remember playing with the western style doors that went from the living room to the kitchen. She also had two cats, Tinkerbell and Peter Pan who would run for their lives when they'd see me coming. No worries, I'd always find them hiding under my aunt's seemingly tall bed "dit-do", though my aunt would tell me over and over again that her cats would scratch and bite. I also remember Aunt Nancy's guitar and thinking how amazing it was that she could play Puff the Magic Dragon (much to her delight...I don't know where the beautiful picture of she and her guitar is or I would paste that baby on here!).



I remember sitting at the piano with my Aunt Ruthie and learning to push one key at a time on the piano instead of banging all at the same time. I remember watching her also play the flute! I remember Aunt Ruthie's hair. I remember it being long. I remember it short. I remember it being straight. I remember it being curly too...and watching her put hot curlers in her hair (seemed like a very cool thing to do!).





I remember Grandpa and Grandmas' recliners with the table between them...and the air machine that sat on it. I can remember Grandpa sitting in that recliner napping or watching tv on their big wooden console television with the TWO dials (fancy!). I remember Grandpa sitting on the porch sipping his extra big cup of iced tea (with the neat long rows of ice cubes from the ice maker). I remember Grandpa's voice, his suspenders, his clunky looking brown tie shoes and button up shirts (NEVER v-neck shirts and very VERY rarely a tie).



Grandma always showered us with presents, hugs, and kisses. She went along with all of our games, as well as our many many silly performances and art shows. Grandma had the coolest things, such as the Mickey Mouse banks that she kept change in and required a butter knife and a steady hand to retrieve the coins. She also had neat purses that she let Jessica and I play with as children at her house. I remember thinking how neat they were with the twist clasp. And oh how I remember Grandma's banana cream pie...my favorite (Grandpa would secretly let me pull off the peaks of the meringue and eat them before the pie was served...mmmm!).

Leaving Grandma and Grandpa's house...all I remember was my mom crying. Soon though, my mom wouldn't have to cry about leaving them again.

By the time I was in second grade, Grandma and Grandpa moved up to Minnesota to our house. Until their basement apartment was finished, they stayed up in our playroom. I will never forget the night that Grandma screamed because she discovered that our plastic finger puppet of a caterpillar glowed in the dark! Upon completion of the apartment, Jessica and I camped out downstairs in the basement. I remember Grandma giving us each a glass (more like a goblet) of grape juice and my mom pretty much threatening our lives if we spilled on the new carpet.



Throughout my childhood, Grandma specifically kept us kids busy. She would play any game (real or imaginary). I remember her teaching me 1, 2, 3 O'Leary, with our playground ball (she would even kick her leg over the ball!). We would play Old Maid with Grandma...and cheat to ALWAYS make Grandma the Old Maid! Grandma often played cowboy with Robert on their imaginary horses, Gus and Gow. We'd play hide and seek. Grandma would always just throw a blanket over herself (and sometimes Robert too) and sit in the corner until we found her. Grandma was a wonderful playmate.



As an adult, I have a lot of appreciation for my wonderful Grandma. She's interesting to converse with about any topic from back in the day she was a child (which I used to refer to as the days of the pyramids), to things she just doesn't understand (because, as she puts it "she's elderly"). My grandma has always been there in my life and I am truly grateful for the opportunity that I've had to know her and be loved by her.



Happy birthday Grandma....I hope that you've enjoyed my rendition of "A Trip Down Memory Lane".

Let's go join Stu and Muffy on the seashore...

Recently, I found that a childhood crush of mine is now some big fashion person out in New York. This kid was setting trends back when I was in fourth grade. Now he's a fashion editor for magazines...that I see on the shelf at Target! And has been the Public Relations person for Bergdorf NY. Seriously? Bergdorfs...the one that is spoken of in reverence on the show Will and Grace. Crazy!

So, I was talking to my friend Trish about all of the little benefits that he must get for being who he is. Does he have a collection of Burberry scarves in a bag in his closet? Might the man have a pair of Jimmy Choo women's shoes...a-hem size 6 in a box under his bed? The man has actually met Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. Is it not possible he's got the hook up on the Polo cable knit poncho that I admired a couple seasons ago? These are the job benefits that I dream of in the closet of my mind!

Let's see..

I don't rub shoulders with famous people at my job. I have been yelled at by someone who worked in Donald Rumsfeld's office a couple of years ago. The people at Ferrari send me nasty emails once in a while.

I do, however, have a few little benefits that I suppose I should be grateful for:

My company cabin - Located in northern Minnesota, it is just the place for a quiet vacation for me and up to 15 of my friends. The grounds include a private 9-hole golf course, which can be used for cross country skiing or snow mobiling in the winter. There's a lake for swimming during the summer and ice fishing in the winter (yeah, not happening!). We're making use of the cabin in December.

Quarterly dinners - My division is the big money maker of the company. So, every quarter we are taken out for a nice dinner. We are just about to enjoy our third quarter dinner next week. Italian food is always nice! Next quarter is our biggest dinner. The company always takes us to the swankiest venue by limousine. At the end of the evening, they even drop us off at home. It is pretty nice.

Dog day - We have dogs roaming around the office every Friday. So, once Song Min and I have a four-legged friend, I'll be carting Rover off to keep me company on Fridays. It's fun and always a surprise (especially when the gigantic great dane sneaks up behind me and noses my ear as I type).

Cape Cod - My amazingly annoying distributor, Stu, calls me daily no less than four times. There have been times that he's called and just said "I forgot what I called about...just needed to call every day". He's accidentally told me that he loved me. He's asked me to do favors for him, such as calling him right back to see if his phone was working. Well, surprise! Stu and his family owns a couple of houses in Cape Cod and has offered one of them this fall. So, my hubby and I are booking our tickets tomorrow for a long weekend in the Cape. Clam bakes on the beach, J Crew sweaters, big sunglasses (gosh, would a scarf for my hair be too much?)...I'm gonna love it!





Say cheese! - I have a good, and yet again, major pain customer who is in Italy. He finally made it to the U.S. for some training and made the promise of parmigiano reggiano...the real deal. Well, a year and a half has flown by and no cheese...until yesterday. Guess who will be making lasagna this weekend?






So, I'm not getting Prada purses or Fendi umbrellas at my office, but I certainly don't have much to complain about. I guess even aside from the fun things that my job offers me, every other week, they place a nice sized check on my desk so that I can once again press the "continue" button in the game of life.

How embarrassing!

Here are some videos from Song Min's phone. I thought that they were too embarrassing to have on the blog, but given the fact that I put things on this blog that make Song Min blush...I suppose I can handle a little payback.

This would be me on our honeymoon upon checking into our room at the Hilton in San Francisco...



This is me doing a stupid laugh...



This is me dancing...yeah, dancing...



And this is me just being silly (playing)...



I can't say that these are the most becoming, or proud moments of my life, but they seem to make Song Min happy so he keeps them on his phone.

Random cell phone pictures

I thought that I would download some of the random pictures and videos that I had taken with my cell phone.

This is me being bored in my car last week...



Picture of my brother Robert after I asked him if I could take his picture with the robin at Red Robin...



My hand during an acupuncture treatment...



Video of Robert and Song Min and Robert singing "Livin' on a Prayer" at karaoke...




Song Min singing Korean song "I Believe" at karaoke...



Picture of me with a girl that we thought looked a little like Chris Farley dressed in drag...



Picture that I just took tonight of Song Min, who didn't want his picture taken...



The inappropriate chocolate candy that I bought for Robert...



A little friend hanging out on the screen when I went to shut the window before going to bed...

I'm going to get you!

My college roommate Nicole just tagged me, so here we go...

The story of 3's and ME


3 Joys...

1. My husband - He's sweet, loving, HILARIOUS, and pretty cute to look at too!

2. Wonderful family - I have an amazing family and was lucky enough to marry into a great family also.

3. A sense of humor - I don't know if it's okay to put down my own sense of humor, but it keeps me from going off the deep end 90% of the time (and keeps me amused in the most boring of situations).



3 Fears...

1. Loss of my husband.

2. Losing my independence.

3. Wrinkles - I know that I WILL get wrinkles. I know. However, I sit daily and look for wrinkles around my eyes, mouth, and forehead. I look at myself almost constantly trying to make sure that I don't raise my eyebrows too much and get forehead wrinkles. I'm a freak...I know.


3 Goals...

1. Drop the lbs.

2. Learn more Korean.

3. Slow down when I'm driving....which probably should start with leaving earlier, which means going to bed at a reasonable hour.



3 Obsessions...

1. Graphs, charts, lists - Don't get me started!

2. Roman numerals - I know...weird. I write roman numerals when I feel like I'm doing too much graphing. I just started a new notebook of numerals last Wednesday and I'm up to MD (1500). I write between 300-500 a day during the week.

3. Marathon television - The producers of Law and Order get me every single time. If I watch one episode of a television marathon, I can pretty much say good-bye to my entire day.



3 Random Facts...

1. I love wearing workout pants...anytime. If I could wear yoga pants or sweatpants all of the time, I totally would. Leave me alone...they're comfortable!!!!

2. I can imitate people pretty well. Not famous people, but every day people. I can pick up on little things that people do (voice influctions or gestures) and can copy them...no I don't do this on command, so don't ask next time you see me.

3. Raw celery makes the inside of my mouth go numb.

I tag - Marla and Sarah

Creepy crawly

So, ever since moving, I constantly feel like I have spiders crawling on me. I've had to kill about six spiders...which I HATE. Spiders, live chickens, marionettes, mimes, and close ups on eyeballs in movies, all freak me out.

The catch to my fear of spiders, is that I don't like killing things. A few winters ago, I found a bee crawling around on my living room carpet. The thing was so weak, it couldn't fly and could barely walk around. I felt bad for the bee, so I decided to let it live in my apartment until it died of natural causes. I thought that the bee had hours left of its bee life (don't they only live for like a week?!)...apparently, I was mistaken.

For about three days, I would wake up and go hunting for the bee. I didn't want to accidentally step on it and get stung! So, on the fourth day, I decided that the bee needed to die of natural causes someplace else. I trapped the bee under a glass and then slipped a piece of paper underneath it and walked the bee downstairs to the heated garage. I don't know how long Mr. Bumblebee lived down there, but I like to think that he found a nice little warm spot and hibernated for the remainder of the winter and met up with bee friends in the spring. No need to squish my bee dream...I'm being optimistic!

Anyhow, back to the here and now. The spiders that I've found thus far have all been roaming around on the carpet. This is pretty disturbing considering I loaf around sans socks and shoes. I've had one horrendously itchy and swollen spider bite on my thigh, which leads me to believe that one of the eight legged monsters made it up my pant leg and sunk its fangs into my flesh. Blech! I don't even want to think about having a spider as a bedfellow (oh yeah, "bedfellow"...I'm like Jane Austen all of a sudden!).

So, now I'm on a spider killing rampage. Six or so down...who knows how many left! Believe me, this story is about to come to a quick ending when I find my trusty can of Raid. All vents, windows and corners will get doused in the sweet smell of poison.

Anyhow, I feel bad about killing things. I feel like I can hear Charlotte screaming as I lunge upon her with an unnecessarily large wad of paper towel. I've even been plagued with violent dreams lately. Seriously, I'm like Buffy the Vampire Slayer in my dreams...only with more grace (it is MY dream).



How can I get the spiders to stop screaming? When will I experience the silence of the spiders?

How much is that doggy in the window?

Song Min and I have been talking, well since we got married, about getting a dog. Now that we are in a place where we can have a pet, we've been talking more seriously about getting one.

Our thoughts so far...

West Highland Terrier
Song Min loves the little dog in the Cesar pet food commercial. I think it's cute too.



English Bulldog
We went on a walk last summer and came across a yard with an english bulldog. The dog was so cute and happy-go-lucky.



Queen Elizabeth Beagle (mini beagle)
Song Min and I both like beagles, but the QE beagle tends to be smaller...and can't get into as much trouble.



I'm not sure when we will get a dog. I'm not sure of the breed...at this point, we could very easily end up with a mutt (because they're cute too!). But, we'll keep you all posted!

Westward Ho!

Walked and walked and walked and walked...and walked!

So, I can honestly barely read the computer screen right now. My eyes are buggy and totally out of focus. Phantom movements and lights keep dancing across my view. It's a little creepy given the fact that I'm not sick or anything. Oh no...I have been playing Oregon Trail for the last two hours on my stupid cell phone.

Mistake



I started out with a few kids and a wife. As we made our way west, we ran into some hiccups...namely cholera, dysentery, measles, bear attacks, snake bites, thieves, and broken bones. Now typically, I'm not a hardcore slave driver. But, c'mon people, we're on a deadline...Mother Nature doesn't take a break!!! Mind you, I'm sensitive to the fact that Martha has cross bones flashing over her head and Abe continues to have "it hurts" in a bubble over his. The fact of the matter is...not everyone makes it to Oregon. I mean, right at the beginning the narrator guy said that only a small percentage of people made it.

Well, out of five members of my family, two of us made it. We held to the average of history. My son, Abe, was a trooper. He stuck through a repeated broken bone, with only two days to rest. He rose above the horrible diarrhea that his sister unfortunately died from. His mom lost the battle with cholera, but my little guy got through it.

I'm not proud that we left three grave sites along the trail. Perhaps if I had parted with the $16 for medical attention for Emma, she might have made it. Maybe walking instead of a full sprint might have saved my dear wife Martha from passing on from cholera. I don't know. I'm not going to argue with science here people! I just did what I thought was best and unfortunately...we lost some family members.



BUT, when my boy, Abe and I stood on the hill overlooking Oregon...well, I almost tear up just thinking about how proud I was! We made it!

So, let's hear it for Abe. He cost me about a week's worth of time from wandering away and getting lost and resting from broken bones...but he made it!

Well done, son...well done!

There's about to be a...Brow Fi-ight!

As a child, one of my favorite story books was "Where the Wild Things Are". Looking in the mirror today...I have found that they are apparently right here in Chanhassen, MN.


I don't know when it happened.

I don't know how they got away from me.

My eyebrows have taken on a life of their own!



The crazy thing is that I've called all of the local estheticians and no one has availability until late in the week...for a 5-10 minute brow wax!

I believe that there must be some esthetician boycott against me. This must be the punishment for cancelling my 5 week appointment with only a day's notice. Perhaps it was because I had kitten breath the last time (though I'm super careful about that sort of thing). I don't know, maybe I gave someone the stink eye last time. What's going on?! They're killin' me!!

I believe tonight, there's going to be a showdown between the tweezers and these monsters above my eyes!

You're goin' down eyebrows...you're goin' down!

Being a Lee

Things that I'm learning from my husband's family:

1) Not everything needs to be translated.

2) There are about one million types of kimchi.

3) Setting the table consists of a bowl of rice, 2 napkins each, metal chopsticks, a spoon, and tons of little bowls filled with spicy foods.



4) The air conditioning works...it's just not on.

5) Just because you're getting bottled water, doesn't mean it's the first time that bottle has been used.

Things I'm still trying to understand:

1) The rolls of toilet paper on the table of many of the rooms in the house.

2) The community ear cleaning device on the living room coffee table.



3) Glasses aren't set at the table with dinner.

4) The five different refrigerators.

5) Who invited Michael Flatley to tap dance in the kitchen bright and early on Saturday mornings (the kitchen is right above our bedroom).

A fantasy of ANY name...seems to stink the same.

I have a list of words that I don't like and I don't use.

I'd go on and list the words that I despise, but that would require looking at my list and reading them over and over again. And since I'm not a glutton for punishment, I will forgo the list.

Let's focus on one word on my list...fantasy. If I have to use a word such as fantasy, I will change it to dream or pretend. Any synonym of the word is pretty much better than fantasy!

When I think of the word fantasy, a couple things pop into my mind:

1) FantaSuites - A gross converted Days Inn (or something) in MN where all of the rooms are themed. I haven't ever stayed at this hotel, but have heard stories.

Let's take a look-see at some of the rooms...

Lover's Leap - Queen-sized bed, 1973 Oldsmobile Delta '88 Royale convertible in a secluded park, picnic table, park bench, sitting room, large tiled whirlpool.



Northern Lights - Igloo for two with 10-sided waterbed, tiled whirlpool surrounded by mirrors.



Le Cave - You've never seen a cave this romantic! 10-sided bed, oversized tiled whirlpool, dinosaur murals, prehistoric theme.



The only way you could get me to sleep in a bed at this hotel is if you stuck me in a giant hamster ball and rolled me onto the bed...I'd sleep IN the ball! And there's absolutely no way that you'd ever get me to stick even a toe in the hot tubs there. I can only imagine the disease that lurks in that germ laden water...yuck.

2) Fantasy House - The store in which they block you from seeing inside the store from the window because they sell stuff that is obviously inappropriate for the normal passer-by.

So, when my husband tells me that he's going to be on a fantasy football league...I'm already thinking that it sounds negative.

Now, Song Min has always been a football fan. He loves the MN Vikings...probably only slightly less than he loves me. I, on the completely other side, don't like professional football. Being a nice wife, I will watch a game or two, but typically through my closed eyelids.

Over the weekend, Song Min had his fantasy football draft. Okay, apparently, this is where a bunch of guys (and girls...I've read your blog Kimmer!), get together and make their picks for who will be on their "team". Seems slightly silly, but hey, it doesn't bump into my life, so I don't care.

However, now I have found out that fantasy football requires following the teams in which Song Min's "team" members play. Now, Song Min showed me his "winning fantasy team" and so I am well aware that his team is comprised of MANY different teams. So, now we've gone from watching football maybe once a week...to multiple games for five months. SERIOUSLY?! Add the major television time, to all of the post game phone calls and flurries of text messages...we've got a major problem.

I'm finding that the only fantasy that I like the sound of is the Island.

Cool clean H2O

Meet me by the water cooler

I am a water snob. I don't ask for bottled water at restaurants or anything. However, I can taste the differences in water, and I definitely have favorites. I don't like Evian. I do like Fiji. I don't like Aquafina. I do like Ice Mountain. I don't care for the water that flows from the tap at my parent's house. I do like the tap water at our old place...one mile away.

So, now that we've moved, I've been looking at our water choices. The tap water in the Maple Grove tastes okay, but the house has softened water and I don't care for the taste. There is a little tap that has filtered Pur water, but it flows so slowly that I could probably fill my glass with collected rain water just as quickly.

Anyhow, behold our water solution...

Hey Culligan Man!



This baby has hot and cold taps. The 5 gallon jugs are delivered and installed twice a month with no additional fee. And I get to listen to the water cooler do the "glug" in the convenience of my home (I've loved that since I was a kid). All for a very reasonable monthly fee!

The next time you see me...you can expect to see a happy and very well hydrated Rachel.

My four legged friends

I thought that I'd snap a photo of my parent's dog chilling out with my grandma's cat. I'm pretty sure that the dog (Maggie), has no real interest in the cat (Yoshi). However, she doesn't seem to mind Yoshi snuggling up with her on her bed. Yoshi, on the other hand, walks around searching out Maggie. It's a bizarre little friendship, but it makes for an interesting picture.

While at my parent's place, I decided to take a nap. Upon waking, I found a warm fuzzy head resting on my arm and a little face staring at me. So, I thought I'd snap a picture of my parent's cat (Eleanor). I'm horribly allergic to her, but she's in my fan club...so, I let her stick around me (all while sneezing and itching my eyes).


This blog entry is basically for my mom and my grandma, who are traveling right now. They both miss these three fur-balls, but I'm quite positive that they all miss them right back.