The "ugly" years...

As much as I hate to admit it...I was once a teenager. There were so many strange phases that I went through, especially in my junior high school years.

One, sad, but true example of this was my outfit throughout, well probably all of 8th grade and maybe overlapping into part of 7th and 9th.

I know, you're expecting curly bangs (which I had), or Aqua Net sprayed wings in my hair (which I also tried). I drenched myself in Love's Baby Soft perfume, wore jelly bracelets, and even had a Hyper Color shirt. Those were the normal things teenagers wore back in the day...

But oh my, I went over the line and stepped into unknown teenage territory...I wore all white.

I stepped out of my house daily in white pants, white shirt (with shoulder pads), often with a blazer and rolled sleeves, topped off with a bolo tie of the comedy/tragedy masks and a pair of penny loafers to boot.

I can still hear my mom saying "you look like the Good Humor man", as I left for school in my white shirt and pants.



Sadly, I probably did look like the Good Humor man. What was I thinking?!

Another phase I went through during this time period was Phantom of the Opera. I believe I had two cassettes of the Phantom of the Opera...because one broke because I listened to it SO many times. Over and over, I would listen to that cassette...in my room, on my Walkman, IN MY HEAD. I played it on the piano. I played it on the violin. I breathed Phantom of the Opera.



Since then, I've expanded my love of musical theater. I've seen dozens of musicals...and loved every one of them. I've seen so many, that I can't hardly think of all of their names. I can, however, name the one that I never saw...Phantom of the Opera.

Well, my teenage dream is coming true. Song Min and I are going to see the Phantom of the Opera Memorial Day weekend...third row in the center.

Now if I could only find my comedy/tragedy bolo tie...it would really be fitting if I wore it to the show. Don't you think???

More Favorites...

When Song Min lets me record things that make me laugh



Tourmaline products by Aveda...make that any Aveda product



White Under Armour socks...I LOVE snug fitting white socks

Getting my eyebrows waxed. I know, weird, but it sort of feels good

Wild cherry Kool-Aid...Oh yeah!



Our entertainment center: 42" plasma, Polk surround sound, LG Bluray, X-Box 360...Lee Fun Center open 24/7

A&E show "Intervention"...I cry during every intervention

#2 pencils (wooden, not plastic)

My Bayfield hat



Tulips and Lily of the Valley

"The Singing Butler" by Jack Vettriano



Kobe beef with hot grapeseed oil and ponzu at Lurcat Cafe

My niece and nephew





When Song Min tickles the back of my neck with his whiskers like my grandpa used to do...makes me laugh hysterically

Help! I'm drowning......I'm drowning!

So, as everyone and their second cousin knows...I am a procrastinator. I am the person who waits until the very last minute to buy Christmas presents. I am the person who flies out the door five minutes late without eating breakfast because I waited for the snooze to hit me five minutes later than the mean earlier bell. I am the person who just wants to get home and then has to race into the bathroom when I get there. Yes, I have procrastination down to an art form.



It really isn't that I'm lazy. No, I'm quite productive. I just choose to accomplish that same thing...a little bit later.

At times however, this haunts me. These are the times that I shake my fist in the air and shout silently but definitely seriously, "I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!"

Behold, the filing at my desk...



These piles of paperwork are a taste of the greater pile. These, my friends, are the accumulation of four months of my work. They are the reminder of my daily toil sitting in neatly stacked form.

I loathe filing. I hate it more than almost anything (about as much as lima beans. Although, I would seriously think about eating a plate of the green legumes if it would get me out of the four feet of filing).

The thing is, we have two administrative assistants that we can employ to do this sort of task. But, with what I had on my desk...I'm just not that mean.

So, expecting a fairly slow day today, I dragged the special filing tool that someone in Finance loaned to me. After nine straight hours, I was able to put a huge dent in my filing.



I divided the paperwork into quarters and stuffed the papers in the appropriate spot. Granted, I still have about 7-10" of filing left...AND will still need to sort each file folder by date.

But, I can do that later!

Wise words...

This is my friend Marla's January 10th blog entry entitled "You Gotta Spend Some Time With God". I hope that Marla doesn't mind that I took her blog entry in its entirety. This has been one of my favorite entries that anyone has written. Therefore, I took the whole thing! Marla...they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. You know I think you rock the casa!

"Jan 10, 2009
You Gotta Spend Some Time With God

What's with me and the born again channels? I'm not sure. But I really like this lady. She is real and funny and some of the things she said rang true.

She said:

"If you have a strong personality you gotta spend time with God if you are ever gonna to be nice to people.

If you have a lazy personality, you gotta spend time with God or you will do nothing all day.

If you have an easy going personality and you don't want to ruffle anybody's feathers, you gotta spend time with God to get enough guts to confront what you need to confront.

You gotta spend time with God or there's no hope for fulfilling your destiny."

And then she said what I would call the kicker: "If you are too busy for God, then you are definitely too busy."

It's a new year. Everyone is making new year's resolutions. One of my seminary kids kept calling it his new year's revolution. I like that. It's a year to start a revolution. So here I go. Gonna get my revolution on."

Vive la révolution Marla!

In "lieu" of the erased entry...

Not that I felt like one bathroom entry needed to be replaced by another bathroom entry, but I had one in mind anyway. Not gross...just interesting.

I have been wanting to blog about the first floor toilet for a long time. It's function is ultimately the same as every other toilet. However, it's...fancy.

Does your toilet have an electronic control pad on the side like this???



This sort of retrofit is all the rage in Korea and Japan. I'm a little surprised that it hasn't caught on in the U.S. I'm not a big bidet or wash person, but I will admit the heated toilet seat is pretty comfy!

So, if you're over at our place, when we ask you to have a seat...the bathroom isn't a bad option!

You may be wondering...

A few may have caught my blog entry regarding hand washing reminder signs in bathrooms. The reminder on my blog that not all people wash their hands after using the restroom made me almost sick to my stomach the next morning. So, I wiped it out (ha ha).

Sorry!

I think my lungs froze...

I'm writing this entry in the comfort of a warm home. There are times that I get chilled inside, but during this time of the year...I'll take chilly over FREEZING!

As I write this, it is -16. NEGATIVE SIXTEEN DEGREES and even crazier is the windchill...-30!!! Hello Mother Nature...I think there's a problem here!

I choose to live in Minnesota. Yes, I have made this decision every year since the day I graduated from high school. Sometimes I think that the three other seasons romance me into staying here. I mean, we have decent springs, very lovely summers, and autumns that are breathtaking.

And then winter...

From Thanksgiving until New Years, I'll be honest with you all...I don't mind the snow. In fact, it's beautiful! Seeing the holiday lights on the trees and houses with a backdrop of white fluffy snow...it MAKES the whole season feel all that more wonderful. Snowmen, snowballs, and snow angels bring fun filled memories of childhood (well, AND college).

The Monday after New Years is when something changes. The snow becomes my enemy. I hate it with the passion of ten red hot suns (which is slightly ironic considering).

I took a couple of photos for my friends in sunnier regions of the country.

Ugh...



On my way out of my neighborhood...



And how did that minivan find its way there?



Someone wake me in May...I'm going into hibernation!

Mmm...mmm...good!

I got home Monday night so tired from a full day at work. I was cold. I didn't feel good. I was hungry.

Luckily, I live with an amazing cook. Song Min stepped up to the plate (pun intended) and cooked EXACTLY what I was craving...

Kimchi jigae

It's basically kimchi (which is a spicy fermented cabbage) made into a soup. Let me just say, Song Min makes one of the best kimchi jigaes on the planet (I don't joke around about good food!). He stir fried the kimchi with some onion and bacon (oh yeah, lovin' the bacon), and let the flavors come together.

As he stirred, he told me "you can't hurry kimchi jigae". This was enough to trigger me to burst into song...reinventing the song "You Can't Hurry Love". I actually caught the whole thing on video, however, much to my dismay (and slight relief), my phone wouldn't let me download it onto my computer. Next time you see me, feel free to ask about it and I'll show you...maybe.

Anyhow, Song Min added some chicken broth, garlic, ginger, and some other ingredients. He let it simmer for a while and then served it with rice.

The picture doesn't do this soup justice; it's best viewed live...and with a spoon!

Does not compute!

I can't kick my sugar habit. I don't avoid sugar because of its nutritional value...or lack of. I lay low on the sweet goodness because it makes me spazz out. Seriously!

A couple of examples:

Example #1 - It was about four years ago...

I was living in St. Paul with some girls from church. We had the perfect little house with friends surrounding us every weekend. We had fun and laughs.

Enter sugar...

We hosted a party one Saturday night...the house was packed. My roommates and I prepared all sorts of things to eat, as well as an assortment of sugary sodas and candy. Maybe it was the near deafening volume of the party. Perhaps it was the heat of so many bodies in our cute little house. At some point, I got my hands on the Pixi Stix...oh no...NOT the Pixi Stix! One of my last memories of the party was throwing my head back handing our friend Bradley a Pixi stick and yelling at the top of my lungs "poor some sugar on me!". Bradley stood with the look of confusion and...I believe it was fear...yes, it was fear. Heaven help me...I was under the influence of sugar!

Example #2 - It was about three hours ago...

Song Min and I had just arrived home from a lovely dinner out. Song Min made the mistake of leaving a box of cookies (topped with sugar granules) on the computer desk. As I sat and reviewed my emails, my eyes continued to glance at the box. I tried to concentrate on the computer screen, but the cookies had me! It was too hard...I gave in. I didn't have just one of the cookies...I had many of the cookies. Finally, Song Min summoned me to the couch to watch a program. I sat watching the show content with the world and happy that the calm and assertive "Sweet-tooth Whisperer" distracted me before my impression of Sesame Street's Cookie Monster became a full out frenzy.

Enter sugar...

I spotted the container of Butter Crunch Cashews. The once full jar of candy coated nuts, was now empty...well almost empty. I opened the jar and found that the crumbs on the bottom of the jar were all pure sugar happiness...OR MADNESS! I started eating the candy coating (yeah, I can admit it!).

About ten minutes later, I found myself walking around the room like a robot trying to get Song Min to consent to do a whole evening being robots. He wasn't going for it and I could see that same look of fear in my husband's eyes as I had so many years prior. So, I re-grouped and changed the subject...

THEN LET'S BE COWBOYS!!!

I Totally Dig It...

Some of my favorite things to say:

"I'm chillaxin'"

"She's got moxy"

"Styin' and profilin'"

"Chillin' like a villain"

"Wicked"

"Kickin' it old school"

"Peace out"

And the ultimate sign off..."word to your mother"

2009 Resolutions

So, it isn't that I haven't made resolutions for this year. I just haven't weeded them down to a "definite" list. There are several general resolutions, like be more organized and get into shape (which are definitely high and important on my list). However, there are some others that I dropped on my list this year too.

1) Floss every day - I have never gotten in the habit of flossing. I always just start doing it like crazy once I've made an appointment at the dentist for my cleaning. Not like I fool the hygenist!

2) Play the piano and violin more frequently. I always have good intentions, but I never seem to make the time. This year...it's going to be a priority. I think it will help with stress!

3) Draw/paint - This Christmas, my parents gave me an easel. I love drawing and painting. Like music, I haven't taken the time to explore my artistic talent in a very long time.

4) Become active in the local arts - I used to visit the Minneapolis Institute of Art about once every few months. I would just walk around by myself and enjoy the peace of the museum (as well as take in the perfect humidity that the gallery had...I worked in commercial humidification for five years!). I loved getting inspired by other artists - past and present. I also used to go to Minnesota Symphony Orchestra concerts on a fairly frequent basis. When I was in high school, I went to concerts almost monthly with my orchestra. So, going as an adult almost feels like visiting old friends. Finally, I have missed going to theater productions. I have seen many productions, "Les Miserables", Julie Andrew's "The Boyfriend", "Glass Menagerie", "Rent", "Titanic", "Ragtime", and more. I need to get back into these visual and performance arts.

5) Learn to sing a Korean song for karaoke - A new friend of mine told me of this goal, and I think it would be a good one for me also. Not only would my husband and his family appreciate my effort, but it would also expand my horizons.

6) Be more charitable in my actions - This one isn't difficult; it just involves being more aware of others...I think. I tend to get wrapped up in my own world so frequently. I don't know if I would categorize myself as a selfish person, but I certainly do get absorbed in my own life on a daily basis. I want to be more aware of others and make an effort to be more kind and loving towards those in need. Open my eyes to see people around me...not just the way they affect my life.

There are many other goals that I have, but I thought that I'd start with these. I used to think that New Years Resolutions were silly. I viewed them as something you could do at any time. But, as I've gotten older, I've found that having a date that reminds me of changes I want to make in my life is really helpful. Now if it only came more than once a year - keep me on track. Hmmm...I'm thinking of a New Years Resolution group that meets on certain dates every month. Hmmm.

Once in a blue moon

So, I haven't had to do a whole lot of cooking since we got married. It isn't that I don't like to cook. It isn't that I'm a bad cook. It just...hmmm...it hasn't really come up. I'm sure all of you "good" wives out there are gasping right now.

Tonight, I felt like cooking dinner...the feeling doesn't happen often, but it struck tonight! Not anything typical...something Song Min would really like. So, I thought about things that Song Min likes to eat, that I don't necessarily love...but don't have a problem with either. Here's what I came up with:



It's cajun style sausage (my grocery didn't have the chorizo that I had hoped to use), with red and orange bell peppers, onions, garlic, rice, and shrimp. I used a little olive oil to cook the peppers and onions, then added garlic. I also added some spicy red pepper flakes for a kick. Cut up the sausage and threw it in the mix with a couple cups of chicken stock. Added 2 cups of rice and let it come to a boil and then simmer until the rice was almost done. Added the shrimp on top and covered so the shrimp would cook. Threw some parsley on top and called it a meal.

It was really simple and I have to say...even though I'm not a huge fan of this kind of food, it was pretty tasty!

Pop!

So, my big New Year's resolution of 2008 was to stop drinking soda pop. I can't say that I never drank pop, but when I did have it, I pretty much stuck to sips of soda from my husband's cup. Overall, I met my goal.

Tonight was one of the first nights that I can truly say that I have sat and enjoyed a soda. Since cutting out the carbonated treat, it has been an "experience" drinking soda again. In fact, there have been many times when the soda has felt so uncomfortable bubbling down my throat, that I have had a difficult time. Seriously, I didn't remember it burning that much!

Now that 2008 is over, I've found that my previous addiction to Diet Coke, has been broken. Sure, I had a soda this evening. But, overall, I think that I'll continue to go with something a little more gentle, like water with lime! Try it...you'll like it!

Manamanah

I've been called silly for about as long as I can remember.

Here's another example...

Do you all remember this??



Well, now think of this...

Song Min looking for his pajama pants and me singing at the top of my voice

Pajama pants...do do...do do do...pajama pants...do do do do.

He thinks I'm crazy, but I'm pretty sure that he must be a little too...he married me.

PAJAMA PANTS!

Say what?!

My grandma often stumbles upon old pictures or newspaper clippings. A while ago, she found this one…



This newspaper clipping was from the 1980’s. Jessica and I wore our Korean hanboks for a contest during the Hopkins Raspberry Festival and won first prize. I don’t know what we won…for some reason being IN the big parade seems to ring a bell.

Thinking about that whole thing, made me wonder just what sort of contest we were in. Seriously, July is pretty early to have a costume contest. The only other thing that I could think of was some sort of world culture contest (which still made me wonder, given that I don’t remember a whole heckuvalot of diversity in Hopkins in the 1980’s).

Counting sheep didn't work...

I'm having a slight bout of insomnia tonight. Perhaps it is due to the fact that I have had so many days off the last two weeks that I've forgotten how to sleep according to the clock (as opposed to sleeping when I simply can't stay awake any longer). With the clock reading 12:30 AM and my alarm clock set for 4:40 AM, I sit at the computer in hopes that writing my thoughts might be the answer to my overly active mind.

Please bear with me as I wax philosophical (remember it's late and I can't sleep!).

The internet is such an interesting resource. I think of this blog, for example, and how freely I write - giving family and friends (and who knows who else) a window to my thoughts and life's daily drones. I write about random events and my silly takes on life...and I honestly think of them as simple updates (a quick method of letting people into my life).

Although I don't necessarily view my own postings in this manner, I have found that there are many of these same sort of updates that draw a great deal of my attention. In fact, although my life isn't necessarily tightly knitted with another individual, I can find great inspiration through these updates and postings.

This blog entry is just a reminder that although your world may seem small (whether you blog, or facebook, or simply live your life), you leave a signature on others' lives...even if it's just an initial behind the ear.