Adventure to Coex Mall

Jordan dressed & ready to go!

Joe and I were getting pretty sick of the same old, same old. So we decided (actually I decided, and Joe accomodated) that we needed to break out of our little circle of comfort. I had heard that there was a huge mall in Seoul that had an aquarium. I imagined the Aquarium of the Pacific, which is a huge beautiful aquarium on Long Beach and thought Jordan would love it. So I found the coordinates on Wikepedia, put those into the GPS, and off we went.

The entire trip should have taken about 45 minutes driving time, but in Korea there is always so much traffic, we were in the car for two hours on the way there. In fact the top speed we reached was 25! The traffic was so bad, there were actually people selling snacks in the middle of traffic! Shockingly, people were actually buying them!

The guy infront of our car was selling snacks in the middle of traffic!

We finally made it to the aquarium, and all my hopes of a relaxing day lazily walking along looking at fish were smashed to bits! The place was so crowded! There were people bumping in to us in all directions. We couldn't get near the aquariums, which were basically nothing more than an aquarium someone would have at their house. There were a few larger ones, but not anything like what I was expecting.

There are Joe and Jordy looking at fish. This is the best picture I could get of them! Notice the lovely couple in the foreground with no regard for some one trying to take a picture!

Eventually Joe and I could stand no more! The place was roasting hot and we were both sweating, Jordy was screaming from being constantly bumped into. He started to pull anyone's hair that got to close! We found an emergency exit and used it....


Only that emergency exit led to a stair well that had all doors locked...we had to climb 4 flights of stairs (with a stroller) to get out. We finally made it out to an exterior door that dumped us on the street. We had no idea where we were...

We wandered around until we found a convention center that we thought connected to the mall. Jordan wanted to go up this escalator, so Joe took him up, then right back down...


In the mall we ate at a Japanese resteraunt. Joe had sushi and I had some tempura. I tried the sushi, but it had so much wasabi I couldn't stand it!

By the time we made it back home (another 2 hours in traffic), I was exhausted! I got right into bed and stayed there!

Buy Nothing for Two Months- Conclusion

One of my goals in the 101 in 1001 was to buy nothing for myself for two months. The other day one of my friends as why I was doing this. My answer was gratitude.

I found myself constantly wanting more. More clothes, more scrapbooking supplies, more movies, more, more, more. It didn't matter that I have a closet stuffed full of clothes, tons of scrapbooking supplies, thousands of movies, it wasn't enough. My only past time was shopping. Whenever I leave the house I always return with more stuff. In fact buying stuff was the only thing I could think to do on my day off.

For two months I wanted to not buy anything for myself so that I would realize how good I have it. I wanted to be appreciate the things that I have. Just because I don't have all the latest designer clothes or top of the line things, Joe and I live pretty comfortably and at times
lavishly.

I just wanted to force myself to appreciate my life.

The media does such a good job of telling us that we need more and that our lives will be so much better if we just get the latest and greatest products. It can be really convincing. For two months I wanted to stage my own private strike against them by buying nothing. For two
months I lived without believing that I would be a better person, be happier, be loved more, be more popular, be more fulfilled, be a better parent, be a harder worker...if I only had _____ product.

So how did it go? To be honest, the first month was a little depressing. As sad as it sounds, I actually do get a little happier when I buy new things. I look forward to getting home and playing with my new purchase just like a kid would when they get a new toy. But that happiness never really lasts long. So for the first month there were no little happy moments as I brought nothing home. Instead my life seemed a little monotonous; go to work, come home, go to work, come home.

About midway through I started to pick up my hobbies again to fill in the time. I got all my scrapbooking stuff out and made a few layouts. I emailed more often. I cleaned. I cooked a lot. I went to the gym, but only once- I should have gone a lot more. I dug in the back of my closet to find clothes I hadn't worn in a long time. In fact I found two sweaters I forgot all about!

By the end of the second month there were actually things that I needed! I desperately needed to color my hair. One morning when I pulled my hair into a pony tail, there was a gray straggler sticking straight up along my part! So I did break down and buy some hair color b/c I didn't want to pay to have someone color it.

I did cheat twice, once I bought myself a People magazine and the other time I bought some lotion that I really didn't need. Old habits die hard...

Overall I am glad that I did it, but more glad it is over!

Jordan @ Bathtime

I just love this picture of Jordy. At bathtime he gets so excited and practically rips all his clothes off! He tries to climb into the tub by himself!

Jordan @ 18 months

Jordan is 18 months old! It is amazing how fast it has gone by! It seems like just yesterday he was a little fleshy blob that we brought home from the hospital, and now he is a big boy!

At his well baby visit, he was at the 97th percentile for height, 60th for weight! I don't know how Joe and I produced such a tall little guy!

Jordy is so busy all the time. It seems like we spend our days chasing him around and cleaning up after him. Within minutes of stepping into a clean house Jordan will take all the pots out of the cupboard, roll the trash can across the room, throw all the pillows off the couch, dump water all over the floor, it goes on and on... Heaven forbid there is folded laundry nearby- it is instantly all over the floor, unfolded...

Right now Jordan is fascinated with the TV. He stands really close to it, then when something exciting happens he screams and hits the TV. It drives Joe nuts. He is sure that this will be the demise of the TV. So on the advice of Dr. Burns (pediatrician) we are trying to distract him. So as soon as he does it, we jump up, run and get him and go into another room. Once in the other room we say, "Don't hit". Then we wait 30 seconds, put him down in the other room, and move on.

A few times he has gone right back to the TV, reached out his hand while watching us to see our reaction. Then a few days ago, he hit the TV again! I pounced on him like a panther! Snatching him up and into the other room we went. I swatted his little butt, put him in his bed, and walked out of the room....then once out of sight , I burst into tears.

Joe came over and told me I did the right thing. If Jordan learns now that our rules mean nothing we will have hell to pay later, he told me.

I went back into the room and scooped him up. He sniffled as he hugged me. We came back out to the living room and sat down. He didn't go near the TV.

Taxes...

I hate taxes. For over a month I have been collecting forms and statements for taxes. I have reviewed bank statements for anything that could possibly considered tax deductible. Hours have been spent on the phone with student loan people to get info regarding interest paid...

Today I was on the phone trying to get the interest for Joe's student loan. Thank goodness the customer service rep was really nice. After a few minutes of taking Joe's info, he said, "Now you don't sound quite like the typical Joseph..."

I complimented on his keen wit. He laughed as I explained that I was Joe's wife and if it were up to Joe they would never see their money! He verified that the payments come from an account with both of our names on it.

Then very nicely he explained that because Joe had never sent them a power of attorney form he could not tell me that Joe had paid 284.30 in interest last year. If Joe had sent in that form than he would be legally allowed to tell me that a total of 284.30 had been paid, but until he received that form he could not tell me about the 284.30 of interest that he paid.

He was so nice! A rarity in todays world of rush, rush, rush to have someone who understands how it is to be a busy family. He could hear Jordy crying in the background and said, "I hope that little guy can still get some nice toys despite the 284.30 that Joe paid in interest."

I thanked him profusely and then hung up. I will eventually get that form done...

Where is your locus?

As I was talking with some friends today, I realized not everyone has an internal locus of control.

That is mumbo jumbo speak for where do you think control of your life is from. If you have an internal locus of control than you know that you are in charge of your life. You make the decisions, you call the shots, it is all about you.

A lot of people have an external locus of control. That means they feel like everything else controls their life. They are fat because their wife cooks fatty meals. They don't exercise because the kids won't let them. Basically everything wrong with their lives is someone else's fault.

It is usually easier to notice the faults in others than it is in yourself. As I sat listening to all the reasons my friend couldn't do something, I started to space out thinking about all the things I let control me.

I haven't been working out because I was worried Joe would be upset. I haven't been eating good because.... Basically, I was letting go of my locus. Letting other people and things control me.

Today I decided to take charge. Take back my locus!

Where are you letting other people control you? Do you naturally have an internal or external locus? How do you keep balance? How can you change it?

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who left such encouraging comments when I was feeling so down. I have decided to take action.

Yesterday was to be the first day of the new me...

I was scheduled to take a ACLS class up at the Army Hospital in Seoul. To get there I have to take a one hour bus ride. It was pouring rain the entire drive. Koreans like to blast the heaters, and I made the mistake of sitting right over the heater. I was seriously sweating by the time we got there.

Once on Yongsan, I got in a taxi to take me to the other side of the base near the hospital. In the hospital I had to ask for directions to another building. I braved the rain again to find the right building. I finally found the right building, right room, but no one was there. I waited about ten minutes and a lady showed up. I explained why I was there, and she explained that the class has been...CANCELLED!!

I showed her the email I had from just ten days ago telling me when and where the class would be. The email was from her. Apparently when it was cancelled one week ago, she didn't think it was necessary to email everyone on the class list.

Fuming mad, I left. Not before she gave me a list of next months classes.

I took another taxi back to the bus station. Got on the next bus, and back to Osan. I called my boss, and told him what had happened. He called me back in a few minutes to let me know that another doc from our hospital was there too. Somehow he got "squeezed into a 10 o'clock class". That lady didn't even tell me about the ten o'clock class. My boss wanted me to go to that one. By that time I was already on the bus, on the freeway coming back.

On the way back I was starving at ate two chocolate covered oreos. So much for the diet!

The rest of the day pretty much sucked too. I came home and wanted to take a nap, but ended up sleeping from 10 to 3pm.

I did manage to workout though. I did one of my DVDs. It is one of the Jillian Michaels (biggest loser trainer) ones. The workout is pretty good, but she really wears on my nerves. I just turn it on and mute her.

Today I am really sore. I think I overdid my first day. But it is a good kind of soreness. Today my eating was pretty good, but I don't think I drank enough water. Too many cokes...

Come on People!!

I think that the tv conversion fiasco is a social commentary
about the ability of Americans to plan.

For over a year we were told that the tv conversion would take place
early this year. An entire year of hearing commercials to get a
converter box, get a coupon for the converter box, buy a new tv...and so
on. But now the date has arrived and somehow after a year of warnings
the public is blindsided by the news that their analogue television set
will no longer work.

Then people are complaining about the money it will cost to buy a
converter box. Seriously?? The cheapest converter box I found was about
50 dollars. With the coupon you can get giving you 40 dollars off, the
box will cost you 10 bucks. Do you mean to tell me that in an entire
year, you can't scrape together 10 dollars?

What the hell is wrong with people. They are whining the government
needs to provide them with the converter box. Why doesn't the
government also step in and provide them with a 42" plasma tv and a 3
bedroom house to watch it in?

Disgusting...

It is late at night, I can't sleep...this is why.

I am so disgusted with myself.

I am so fat these days. I feel like a whale. Somehow I find some way to sabotage myself. Instead of going to the gym, I eat.

Part of it is guilt. I feel guilty that I work so much so I come rushing home trying to spend time with Jordy. I feel guilty that Joe is home alone with Jordy all day and want to come rushing home to help out. Joe never gets to get out of the house so it is so unfair that I would get gym time.

Then the diet thing is so rough. I want to eat 24 hours a day. Seriously I am a bottomless pit. It's not that I am eating like a horse, I am eating crap! The other day at work I ate pop tarts- one of the most unhealthy things on the planet. When I am at work I eat pretty much non stop.

The other thing that is really bothering me is that my skin is looking terrible. It is like a million wrinkles appeared overnight! Seriously where did they come from? It is like my face said one day- lets look like an 80 year old woman from now on! I don't know what to do! I take good care of my skin- washing, moisturizing, night cream....what else can I do? Perhaps I will just get into my time machine....

Another thing...I am turning into a troll! For several years I have had a "man hair" growing out of my scar on my chin. I was okay with that b/c I blamed it on the nature of the scar. Joe did a good job of plucking it for me for several years. But then at work the other day- I found another one!! Sweet merciful crap! Why is this happening to me!

Everyday I wake up and think, "This is the day. This is the day that I am gonna get on track and eat right and exercise." Then I eat like a pig, sit on the couch for hours, and feel like crap. Why do I do this to myself?

Is it just me or...?

Is it just me or is the media in love with Obama? I was too busy with school when George Bush took office, so I don't remember if he got the same amount of coverage during the first 100 days. Was it this insane though? And who knew that Obama was a smoker? Crazy!!

Seriously the news is acting like Brad Pitt took office. Every move is documented, every resteraunt they go to...insane.

I think that the media is only making this economic crisis worse- seriously after a hour of watching the news I never want to spend a cent again. I have been thinking about buying a chunk of land to build a fort on where we can grown our own food and self sustain. We will be a fully functioning society...

Did anyone see the octuplet mother? First, I want to know how much plastic surgery that woman has had. That is not her real nose or lips! She is seriously delusional if she thinks that people are judging her b/c she is a single mother! If a single woman wants to have a baby- that is just fine! But a single woman who decides to have 14 children and thinks, no believes, that she will be able to be a good mother to all of them is just plain stupid. I heard that her goal is to hold each of the newborns for 45 minutes a day- that would take 6 hours!! What about other kids? What about eating, showering, working? There is no way that one person could do this. Why should the taxpayers have to pay for her bad decisions while she plays the Old woman in the Shoe?

Remember me how I am...filled with Murderous Rage

It has not been a good week...

The other morning I woke up at 2AM and couldn't get back to sleep. After laying there for two hours, I just got up and went to work- a whole hour early. At least at work I could get a few things done. My sleep cycle has been so messed up since switching back to days. By the time I get home I am exhausted. I have fallen asleep on the couch trying to talk to Joe.

So after getting to work a hour early, I took an Ambien and slept until 430 the next night. I got up, took a shower, and then read some email and drank coffee. It was an lovely morning, until I realized I couldn't find my wallet.

After a desperate search, no luck. Joe joined in the search, and nothing. So without my wallet, ID card, or cash...off to work I went. I had to stop at the security gate and explain to them what happened...anyways I was still on time for work thank goodness.

I walked in to the ER not realizing I didn't have my "cover" (hat to regular people) on. In the military a naked head is a no no.

Then I got into work and had no ID card to log in to the computers. I could do nothing.

Then their was some drama over a guy who had broken his wrist and I had the tech place a splint on him...drama drama drama. By the time it was said and done I wanted to run away from this base and hospital and never come back again.

So when they needed an extra body go navigate on an ambulance run to Ajou hospital, I jumped at the chance. The patient we were transporting was a man who I had seen about six weeks ago who had a raging case of gangrene (rotting flesh) on his toes. I explained to him six weeks ago that this needed to be taken care of immediately. Of course he followed none of my instructions, and came back with a progressive necrosis (rotting) of his foot. I think that they may amputate his foot. When he was here last time he said it was too expensive to get an off-base provider as a retiree. I asked him if he liked his leg and foot. I explained that it was a matter of time before he started losing pieces of his lower extremities. So when he came back I wanted to kill him myself.

I was so excited to be going to Ajou. At least I would get to be out and about for about three hours on the transport....then they found a driver who knew where the hospital was so they didn't need me anymore. I nearly cried. I just wanted out of there so badly.

Eventually the time did come that I got to go home. It was glorious. I had the next two days off...or so I thought- this is where the murderous rage comes in!

Yesterday I had to go to a two hour staff meeting for the ER in which no useful information was disseminated.

Then today I got to attend the most horrible lecture I have ever been too. It was six hours of "this is a material safety data sheet, in this square....blah...blah..."

It was painful. The sad part is the guy who gave the lecture was some big shot specialist who was flown over from the states to teach this info. He was awful! Mumbled, didn't use the microphone, rambled, read boring articles....AWFUL!!

So for my two "days off" I had to spend 8 hours at work. Wonderful....murderous rage building...

Direct TV Campaign of Terror

I regret to inform everyone that my "Campaign of Terror" against Direct TV has been shut down before it really got off the ground.

Why those bastards just don't know how to play hardball... After three measly little phone calls they actually send the check!

I know you are shocked as well as I was. But finally we got the check from those idiots.

Joe and I have vowed to never do business with them again. I would advise others to do the same.

Direct TV

Dear Direct TV:

While my husband and I lived in Nebraska, we enjoyed having your excellent satellite service. We always had a crystal clear signal and thousands of options of programs to watch. Unfortunately the Air Force decided to send us to South Korea, where you do not have service.

When we notified your company in August that we were moving due to a military move, you were so understanding. You assured us that we would not be billed the 150 dollar cancellation fee since we were cancelling due to a military move. When two weeks later we got a 150 dollar bill for cancelling our service, you only made us spend 3 hours on the phone talking with supervisor after supervisor. Eventually we were threatened with being sent to collections, so we paid it.

My husband was persistent and eventually talked with a customer service rep who reversed the charge in early September. She assured us that a check would be in the mail within two weeks. Alas, it has been nearly six months and no check.

Despite the "backup in you billing department" we have received 4 statements showing that we have a 150 dollar credit. After three phone calls to your representatives, we have been assured that the check is in the mail.

To make matters worse, almost every morning we receive a call from Direct TV trying to get us to come back. Everyday we explain that we do not live in the service area and are assured that we will be removed from the calling list.

I don't know what is more frustrating; your company holding 150 dollars of my money hostage or your company throwing it in our face that we don't have satellite television anymore.

Believe me, we would love to have your service again! We are being tortured with Korean television! It only infuriates us more to have constant calls trying to get us back when that is an impossibility at this point.

Please refund our money immediately. I think that six months is more than ample time to issue a check. In addition please stop calling us trying to get us to come back. If my husband receives one more of these calls, I fear his head may explode.

I will be sure to share with my other Air Force members the kindness and excellent service you have provided to the Airmen who are defending our country.

Sincerely,

Angry Airman Trapped in Korea

The One-Upper, The Corrector, and others

I hate One-Uppers. You know these people and probably can name one right now. These are the people that no matter what you have going on in your life, they have it better, bigger, richer or alternatively they could have it worse, smaller, poorer depending on what situation you are in. For example: I have a headache. The one-upper would chime in that you don't even know a headache until you experience the migraines that they get. Or they may insist that they actually have a brain tumor.

The other person I hate is The Corrector. This is the person that no matter what you say they begin their response with, "Well, not exactly. It's more like this..." Equally frustrating. For example: The sky is blue. The Corrector will respond, "Well, not exactly. I would call it more of a peuce." To that I respond, Screw you.

Joe and I regularly encounter the "Can't get a clue guy". This guy is someone that has no idea that you can't stand him. Somehow after months of avoiding his calls, making vague answers to repeated interrogations about our schedules, and pretty much avoiding him at all costs, still has no idea that we don't want to see him. He comes right up to us and start trying to make plans, "What about tomorrow, are you busy tomorrow, what about the next day, oh, well how about three weeks from Thursday?" Unfortunately since Joe is so nice, and I only have two modes of operation- nice and complete bitch, we avoid telling him the truth. How would the truth even go? Listen, I am sure you are completely wonderful human being, we just don't care and hate you anyways. That wouldn't go over good.

Before you think that we are completely awful people, let me tell you a few things about "Can't get a clue guy". He talks non-stop about cheating on his wife. Not to me of course, but to Joe. He tries to get Joe to check out other women. So that is why we avoid him.

The final person I will rant about is the "I want to talk person". This person finds an unsuspecting victim and then ignores all social clues that that person is not interested in talking and opens up full force. For example: I am sitting down studying when someone approaches. "What are you doing?" the ask.

"Studying." Brief one word answer, highlighter in hand, obviously I can't be bothered.

"Wow, I don't know how you do it. Studying is really hard. Back when I was in school I had a hard time focusing, I just wanted to talk with my friends, and boys...boys were a huge preoccupation. I guess that is how I ended up pregnant and unmarried. As soon as that pee stick had a plus sign, he was long gone..."

"Ummhmmm". Trying not to engage. Avoiding all eye contact. But to no avail, she continues...

"After the 4th fatherless child was born, I decided it was time to nip this thing in the bud. I had all my girly parts ripped out...yup nothing in there anymore.."

"Wow that is wonderful. I gotta get going." Now gathering all my items into my bag.

"Really so soon, we were having such a good time talking."

Seriously, how can you been that oblivious? Didn't she see all the evasive maneuvers I was using? Didn't she see my eyes glaze over as I wished for death? What is wrong with people?

Oh, I found this funny video on youtube while finding the other one. It is totally unrelated, but funny.

Signs you are watching too much Friends...

For our 7 year anniversary in October, Joe got me the entire series of Friends. I have been watching it pretty much nonstop since then. This morning I realized when I dressed Jordy up ina sweater vest that he looked like Chandler...




Can't you just hear Jordy saying, "Can I be any more of a dork?"

He kept pulling at it trying to tear it off.

Finally he embraced his inner Chandler...

Ahhh Crap!!!

I just realized I was supposed to go to this military training yesterday. I completely forgot. Working Nights completely sucks, I can't keep track of time and lose days at a time.

Hopefully I won't get in trouble...

Stupid Things I have done...

As I was sitting here reading through other people's blogs and eating grapes, I remembered something really dumb I did that almost killed me.

It was when I was on a rotation in Ohio. I was in my hotel room alone eating grapes and watching tv. When I eat grapes I like to cram a ton into my mouth and mash them all up and eat them. Well you can probably see where this is going, I nearly choked to death.

I crammed probably close to 10 grapes in my mouth, felt on slide down my throat and get stuck, then couldn't breath. I jumped up, adrenaline flowing, ran into the chair at the desk, thrusting my abdomen at it like I had seen on tv once. After what seemed like a lifetime I was in so much pain from ramming the chair into myself, and feeling lightheaded from the lack of oxygen, finally it came out- along with all my stomach contents.

Disgusting. How stupid can I be?

But as I recollect on my near death experience, I am cramming grapes in my mouth again...

Winter Wonderland, just stop already!!

I am so sick of living in the cold! The last few days we had a huge snow storm. The base was actually shut down and only emergency vehicles were allowed to drive. Because of that I wasn't able to get home after work on Saturday morning- and had to stay on base. I got about 3 hours of sleep Saturday, had no shower, no food, then returned to work Saturday night exhausted.

Thank goodness we were completely slow. We spent most of the night watching Lipstick Jungle that one of the techs had downloaded on her computer. I was able to sleep a little- not enough though.

Joe came and picked me up Sunday morning b/c the roads were too awful to brave in my tiny car. I came home and slept for almost 24 hours. Jordy was pretty excited to see me! It made me feel great!

Joe taught him to blow kisses! So adorable.

Only two more nights to work till I am back on days! HOORAY!

This is getting painful!

Update on 101 in 1001:
So far I haven't bought anything for myself for the entire month of January. This does exclude food of course.

My real weakness is online shopping. Right now I am dying b/c there are all kinds of sales that I can't get in on!

There are clearance sales at Victoria Secret that are just killing me. They have this gorgeous convertible dress on sale:

I have been looking at this dress forever. It is so pretty and versatile (you can wear it 7 different ways!). Now don't think I am delusional, because I do recognize that I will not look as fabulous as this model in it. But gosh darn it- I will feel good in it! And remember I got this flab by making a person! Remember that will ya!

Since not buying stuff for myself has been one of my goals, I am doing pretty good. Joe has even cut down on spending this month. I think that for the first time we will come really close to meeting the monthly budget. Shocking I know...I almost heard Katie fall over from amazement and wonder! Seriously though, Katie is the woman! She got us all turned around! It is such a good feeling knowing that our money is being used appropriately and we are just blowing every month.

So for now, no pretty dresses, no strappy sandals, no designer bags for me. I am saving all my money for a new house in Florida. Of course once we get there I will be wearing rags, dirty and stinky from not having showered (read previous Post).

Not buying anything for two months (only a few weeks in) and I have already learned how little we need to survive. As long as we have food, shelter, and eachother, nothing else matters. Although things are much nicer if we have a good tv, DVD player, a Wii, Playstation 3, and a lightening fast internet connection. Oh and an good heater and water heater. Boy do I miss the states!

"Cold is when your shampoo freezes"

Joe's Stepdad, Reese, always says "You don't know cold until your shampoo freezes". And up until very recently I didn't know that kind of cold...sadly I do now.

In Korea they don't have heaters like we think of heaters. There is no such thing as forced air. Our heater is actually under the floor. It takes at least three days for the house to warm up, and heaven forbid that you overheat it b/c then you will be roasting the next three days while it cools down.

In the bathrooms the floor isn't heated. To make matters worse, the drains do not have J-pipes in them. I didn't give a rat's ass what this meant until someone explained that this means there is no water seal locking in heat and keeping out mosquitos (as we experienced in the summer). Long story short- our bathrooms are freezing!!

I have an embarassing confession- I have only been showering about once per week! Before you judge me would you want to? As soon as I open the door to the bathroom, cold air smacks me in the face. The tile in there is so ice cold I have to walk on towels otherwise my feet my freeze to the floor. Then it takes at least 5 minutes for the hot water to kick in, then for 30 seconds it is showering bliss with warm water. Then the water turns back to ice. Meanwhile while I am dodging icicles being shot at me from the shower head, I try to squeeze out some shampoo only to realize that the shampoo is frozen. It is seriously like a slushee!

I did my best to wash up, but seriously I was so frozen I didn't care. I jumped out and vowed to never go back. So what if I am known as the stinky doctor at work- maybe less people will come in on my shift!

4am and I'm up...

I couldn't sleep. I don't really know why, but after about three hours of sleep- pop- my eyes were wide open and I couldn't go back to sleep.

I read a really funny blog this morning about Obama's Inauguration. It is hilarious!

All joking aside, today is an exciting day. Today the first African American President will take the reins of the most powerful nation on earth. Today our nation is taking a giant step forward in Civil Rights. Obama has proven that it does not matter the color of your skin, you can do anything with hard work and perseverance.

I only wish that my paternal grandfather were alive to see this day. The day that a black man was sworn in as the President of the United States. Yes what joy I would have in watching my hateful racist bastard of a grandfather clutch is heart in shock, then keel over and die. Oh what a day it would have been. But unfortunately he died just one year ago, missed the whole event. What a shame.

This is Jordy visiting me at work. He loves to run around the ER. For a while he was yelling out what sounded like orders while standing in the trauma bay. I like to imagine he is practicing for when he is a doctor. Although I am not really sure if I would recommend to him to be a doctor. As long as he is as happy as he is in this picture- I don't care what he does!

PPS??

Is there such a thing as PPS? Parent Protection Services?

If there is, I need to place a serious phone call. Our little angel, Jordykins, constantly beats us up!

He comes over with a sweet little grin, all ready to play, then flog us repeatedly with one of his toys. The worst one I have received was with a Simpson Toy. I didn't see it coming when Ralph sped towards my head doing at least 100mph. He made contact just above my left eye brow. Now this was about 5 weeks ago, and my head is still sore in that spot.

My personal favorite, however, is being peacefully asleep and being woken up by a television remote smashing into my skull repeatedly. Nothing gets the juices flowing in the morning like a good concussion.

Joe has many more tales to tell. My personal favorite is the nose story. Joe was asleep when Jordy thought the best way to wake him up would be to stick his little fingers into Joe's nose. Once as deep in there as he could manage, he rakes his finger nails down the side. Joe woke up to blinding pain and a nose bleed. Oh what fun and merriment ensued.

We have tried to teach Jordan to be nice, to be gentle, but nothing seems to be sinking in. Joe used to get annoyed with the dogs, but now remembers that Pezzy got the concept of "nice" in one afternoon. Poor Jordy still hasn't caught on... Any advice for two battered parents?

Who is the military stylist?

Me in my Chem Suit- As you can see Jordy
is so happy to be seen with me in it!

During the exercise I have to wear tons of clothes. I wear my regular work uniform (the camouflage get-up), then over that a really thick pair of pants and a jacket. Then a FLACC vest, which has metal plates in it incase I get shot (usually those aren't in though, b/c if they are in I can hardly move). Instead of the regular helmet I wear a kevlar helmet that is also really heavy. It seriously takes me at least 15min to get dressed an undressed.

This stylish outfit also comes with several fashionable accessories. The reflective belt, which can be seen blinding you in this picture, is a must for every on the go woman. In addition rather than a regular belt buckle, why not use this gigantic pouch which snaps right on to your flacc vest. Every woman must have a sexy pair of shoes, well this outfit has two! Not only do you get to wear a sexy pair of combat boots, but how about wearing a gigantic pair of rubber boots over those! Oh the sex appeal of this outfit is outrageous!



Here we have the male version of this outfit, modeled by Trent. Here you can see the gas mask on his left hip and enormous back pack. Does it get any cooler than this?!

Seriously though, over the last few days at work we did have some fun. Despite the exercise we had some good times-


Here is Travis demonstrating how these seemingly normal paper bags can decontaminate you should you become chemically contaminated.

Here is Eric and I. Incase there is any confusion (as there was that day), I am the Real World Doctor of the Day & Eric is the Exercise Doc. Apparently Eric being all suited up did not make it obviously apparent that he was the Exercise guy.

Here is Eric, showing real passion and enthusiasm over an exercise patient.

In our downtime we did some mock-codes. I did my best to bring
this dummy back to life. No luck :(

This last picture is the only one of a "real" patient. This poor guy was walking back to his room and slipped on a patch of ice, fell backwards, and cracked his head open on the pavement. We stapled him back together again.

So tired....

I have worked 6 out of the last 7 days. 72 hours. Nights. Please just kill me.

This has been a hell of a week. The exercise is in full swing. I am wearing almost every article of clothing the military has ever given me. It takes me about 10 minutes to get dressed, and that is just putting on clothes!

Earlier in the week while I was sleeping Joe came into the bedroom whispering saying there were two women out in the living room praying.

It thought I had misunderstood him, but he reiterated and assured me they were there and now he couldn't get rid of them. Apparently they had buzzed on the outside door and wanted into the building. Joe went out and let them in b/c it was snowing, and then they followed him in to our living room, kneeled on the floor and started praying.

I got up and went out to the living room and told them women that there was a misunderstanding and they would have to leave immediately. They knodded and looked like they were leaving.

I got back in bed, Joe didn't come back to the bedroom so I called him...no answer. I listened really close and damn it, those women were going on and on about an earth mother, earth father, heavenly mother, heavenly father...

I jumped out of bed, pissed. In the living room there was Joe, the women reading out of the Bible, and Jordy (who was having a great time!).

"You have to leave." I explained. No one budged. Am I invisible I wonder?

"In heaven there is a heavenly mother..." The lady babbled on, oblivious that I was even there.

Joe is starting to get that worried look on his eye. This is the look that he gets whenever he knows I am about to entirely lose my shit and he is going to be really embarassed.

"I don't think you heard me," I said a bit louder. Nothing. "You need to leave. I work nights and have to sleep. You are making too much noise." The lady kept reading her bible. Joe is panicking. The other woman with the reading lady is looking like a deer in headlights. The situation is growing tense. Jordy is smiling and laughing, clapping his hands- yes storytime brings out the best in him.

Finally I lost it...I clapped my hands together loudly, "Let's move it people!" I screamed. I grabbed the Bible readers arm and steered her towards the door. Surprising she hardly budged. "YOU NEED TO LEAVE" (before I kick your ass, I wanted to add). She smiled a sarcastic smile and said okay. I slammed her Bible shut, shoved it at her, and escorted her to the door, with her little friend.

Finally they were outside, she turned and tried to say something else to me. I slammed the door and deadbolted it.

What the hell was that all about?? Does she really think that by staging her own sit in she will save souls? The only thing she accomplished her was a good lesson for all of us not to let strangers into our homes. At one point I actually thought I would have enjoyed being robbed more.

Be careful...they are out there...

Another Scrapbook Layout

This is a layout from a trip we took to Seoul. The trip was with ITT (the base travel agent). They schedule all kinds of tours and trips. Honestly the trip wasn't all that fun. Joe was pretty exhausted, Jordy was too. Eric and Robert also went along on the trip (two other docs from the ER) and they both slept almost the entire time on the bus.

This was the first time I saw street vendors selling the silk worm larvae though, and that is one memory that I will never forget...

Incase you didn't know...

I am a scrapbooking addict.


This is the page from Residency Graduation from the Air Force.



The other side of this layout is one of those pocket pages. It is easier than making an entire layout b/c you don't really have to crop the pictures, but the page still loos pretty nice. Plus, I used my stamps. I usually have a hard time coming up with uses for my stamps!

My favorite part of the layout is all my classmates having their names labeled.

Is this ever going to end?

I have an awful confession to make....Jordy still sleeps with us most of the time...a lot of the time....okay damn it! If I am coming clean I will just do it! Jordan ends up sleeping in our bed ALL THE TIME!

When he was about 4 months old, I started back on the inpatient service at the hospital and couldn't deal with him waking up every two hours to nurse. I was exhausted! There was no way that I could wake up every two hours and feed him, then get up at 5AM to go round at the hospital, then work until 6PM come home and do it all again. I was sooooo tired.

Joe and I agreed then that we would make him start sleeping in his own bed. For one terrible night we listened to him scream bloody murder for about 4 hours. It was awful. We eventually went downstairs and huddled together around the baby monitor. I cried, Joe cried. We felt just awful. But in the morning Jordy still liked us! He was fine all the next day. The next night we did it again, only when we put him in bed, he rolled over and went right to sleep.

Things were glorious for about two months. Jordy was sleeping like a champ in his own bed, and Joe and I were well rested normal humans again.

Then we decided to go to California to visit family. This one week of vacation permanently destroyed Jordy's sleeping schedule. The time change was hard, we couldn't let him cry b/c we were staying with family, and when we returned to Nebraska things never really got back on track.

Fast forward over a year later, yes that is right A YEAR!! I keep trying to repeat the magical solution of letting him cry for one night, but Joe, having been traumatized by the first time, can not do it!

When we put Jordy down and he cries, Joe makes a mad dash in there like the kid is on fire! Once he goes and picks Jordy up, it is over. The little guy is attached to him like glue. Then before you know it, he is in our bed ripping out my hair at the root and kicking Joe in the pills.

It is even worse now that I am working nights. I am not there to even give Joe a scowl when he goes in there. When I get home from work, I have to fight Jordy for my side of the bed.

Don't get me wrong, I love snuggling with my little Jordykins. I love how warm he is, and all the cute little noises he makes. I love how he breaths, and how he smiles in his sleep. Sometimes he even lets out little giggles. And sometimes, yes it's true, I end up getting him and not Joe.

But now I am starting to become afraid. I picture Jordan being 15 and still in our bed. Tonight I am home, Joe is asleep in our bed, Jordy woke up and Joe jumped up and got him. I took him and returned him to his own bed. He did cry for about 10 minutes total, but now is resting comfortably.

I think I will have to send Joe away for about a week to get the whole sleep schedule down, then I can reintroduce Joe to the mix.

Any suggestions? How on earth do other people do this?

Now this is really scary!!

I just finished watching I.O.U.S.A.

It is really scary to think of what may happen, or rather what will happen.

Please watch it! There is a 30minute version online you should watch!

Only 6 more weeks...

Okay not buying anything for myself for two entire months is really really hard. I keep coming up with all sorts of devious ways that I could get something that I "need". I thought about continually mentioning to Joe that I need a pair of gloves to prevent my hands from getting frostbite and then requiring amputation so that he would feel prompted to go buy me some gloves. Clearly this would be a manipulation of his tiny man brain (just kidding, his brain isn't tiny, or rather it is- he has a surprisingly small head for someone as smart as he is).

I have improved in my website browsing though. Amazon is definitely on my list of do not visit sites. Mostly I have been reading a lot of saving advice and dreaming of houses that I may someday be able to live in.

In my perusal of blogs I came across an interesting post on homeade cleaners. Interestingly this was one of my goals in my 101 in 1001 (goal #58 to use natural cleaners).

I also found another post, sorry I didn't save that link, about all the uses for bar soap. The author used it for everything from washing clothes to brushing her teeth (seriously!, brushing her teeth). It got me to thinking, why are we so brainwashed to think that we need a different soap for dishwashing, clothes washing, and all other kinds of washing. For face and body soap, I can understand that bar soap may be too drying- but does it matter if your clothes get too dry? Most of us use fabric softener anyways-

OH that reminds me. I found a site that recommended rather than buying fabric softener to take cheap conditioner and dilute it. They said you can use it the same as fabric softener for a fraction of the price. Interesting...I will let you know how it turns out.

Well all of these ideas are wonderful, but they still have to pass the Joe test. If a cleaner, food, or other product does not have a name brand slapped to the side of it Joe automatically declares it is inferior and refuses to use it. Then he will go out, behind my back mind you, and buy all kinds of name brand cleaners. What he doesn't realize is that having a closet packed to the brim of name brand cleaning supplies does not do any good if you do not use them!

Oh Happy Day!

I took boards on December 4th, while we were in Hawaii. Truth be told, I didn't feel very good about it. There was so much that I was just flat out guessing on. I was really scared about getting the results.

For the last week I have been obsessing over it, freaking out, and basically losing it. Just ask Joe, he will attest to my craziness!

Finally today the results were out- I passed.

Thank God!

I am don't have to take that stupid test again until 2015!

We did it!....kind of...

One of my goals for my 101 in 1001 was to go on a date night every month with Joe where we get a sitter. (Heidi please refer to the link to get the low down on 101 in 1001).

Well tonight was the first date night where Joe and I left Jordy with a sitter. In preparation for leaving Jordy with someone other than my mom or Trent's family, I did a lot of investigation. I found someone who has three kids of his own, three grandchildren, is an excellent ICU nurse who is up to date on all pediatric emergencies. If anything happened to Jordy, this man would know what to do.

I felt pretty good leaving Jordy with the sitter. Joe wasn't as sure, and nearly broke into tears when we left. Jordy of course was crying and clinging to our legs...

We made it to the movie theatre and apparently I had read the schedule wrong because I thought we were going to watch the Benjamin Button movie, but instead got stuck watching the worst possible movie two parents could watch after leaving their child alone with a practical stranger...."The Changeling".

Incase you haven't heard of it, which I hadn't, this is the terrible tale (true story mind you) of a woman who has her beautiful son kidnapped while she is away from the house for just a few hours. She then embarks on a heart wrenching journey to find him. Finally the police bring back a kid and she hopes it is him, it's not. Then the police think she is crazy, she gets locked up, then released once it is found that there is a crazy maniac who is chopping up little boys into bits. Some of the images were quite disturbing and I thought I would have to leave.

Surprisingly we made it through the movie. Once the final credits ran, Joe and I jumped out of our chairs and made a mad dash back to our apartment to snatch little Jordy up and hug him tight. Of course our sitter wasn't a crazed maniac, but after two hours of watching innocent little boys get brutally murdered and a poor mother screaming "Where's my son"- who wouldn't get a little paranoid.

As I type now I am tempted to go get Jordy out of his bed and snuggle him tight.

Anyways, next month maybe I will find something else for Joe and I to do on our date night! But I will update my list:

7. Once a month date night where Jordy has a sitter. (1/32)

Buy Nothing for Two Months

It has only been 6 days and this has been really difficult. I don't know how I will continue on. There all kinds of things that I keep thinking about that I really NEED!

Okay I don't need any of these things, as they are not food, shelter, or other life preserving items. More of comfort really.

One of the things is a pair of gloves. It is so cold here in the mornings when I leave work. When I am driving my hands feel like they are frozen into position.

Then while checking my email, I keep getting all kinds of sale notices. All the stores are having huge after Christmas sales. This is so painful.

I read a good posting on a blog by Frugal Dad. It kind of reminded me to be happy with what I have now. I really do have enough.

Oops!

I only put 100 goals on my list of 101!

I can't think of another one right now....I am sure one will come to me.

Any suggestions?

My 101 in 1001

So everyone else is doing it....I might as well too- I am gonna start 101 in 1001.

Reading other people's goals has really inspired me to get things done too. Plus if I write it down, then I will actually get it done. There are so many things that I want to do, but never really make the time.
So here it goes....Before October 3rd, 2011, I will:

1. Become a member of AAFP and complete the monthly CME quiz. (0/32)
   
2. Read the ER book by the time we leave here.
3. Every month while I am in the ER, draw blood and start an IV so I don't lose my skills.(0/9)
4. Go to at least 3 social events with work people before we leave here. (0/3)
   
5. Renew ACLS
6. Take on a new task at work, be flight commander next time Robert is gone
7. Once a month date night where Jordy has a sitter. (0/32)
8. Take Jordy to play group at least 10 times before we leave here. (0/10)
9. Find a wonderful daycare for Jordy once we get to Florida, one that is bilingual.
10. Work with Jordy, when he is ready, to learn spanish.
11. Take a family trip to Everland.
12. Take a family trip to Mt. Sorak.
13. Start going to church here, go at least 10 times (hey I am being realistic!) (0/10)
14. Find a church once we get to Florida.
15. Have professional pictures of us done.
16. Have a big family Thanksgiving where I do the cooking.
17. Take Joe on a romantic weekend alone.
18. Take Jordy on a camping trip.
19. Go on a cruise with family.
20. Make a letterbox and place it.
21. Make 8 weekly menu plans to alternate. (0/8)
22. Learn 5 vegetarian recipes. (0/5)
23. Find and start Master's Program.
24. Go an entire two months without buying anything for myself. (0/2)
25. Go without tv for one week.
26. Get one of my scrapbook pages published in a magazine on a website
27. Close accounts that I am not using.
28. Master Quicken.
29. Make and keep a monthly budget. (0/32)
30. Save "enough" for a down payment for a house in Florida.
31. Start saving for Jordy's College.
32. Get Joe a car when we get to Florida that isn't too outrageously expensive.
33. Get an annual credit report for both Joe and I. (0/3)
34. Start a garden to grow vegetables.
35. Start composting.
36. Have a big yard with a doggie door for Pezzy.
37. Make a cleaning schedule and stick to it. (0/32)
38. Buy Joe the tv of his dreams.
39. Have people over for a home cooked meal and a movie.
    
40. Get pictures from my dad, sister, and a few others to have enlarged and displayed in my home.
41. Send 5 thank you cards to people for how they have impacted my life. (0/5)
42. Test drive an extravagantly expensive sports car.
43. Get Botox.
44. Play golf for the first time, and not miniature golf.
45. Read 15 books from the library (0/15)
46. Stop swearing! This one isn't measurable, but I really need to stop being such a potty mouth.
47. Knit a sweater.
48. Participate and complete the 365 Portrait Challenge
49. Take a Class at the Community Center on making paper crafts.
50. Lasik
51. Recycle aluminum Cans Regularly.
52. Once I am doing the cans, move on to plastics.
53. Stop buying individual yogurt cups, buy the big one and put in my own reusable container.
54. Have one day per week where I don't drive and use public transportation. (0/
55. Buy/Find enough cloth bags to use for grocery shopping. (0/10)
56. Consistently use the cloth bags when grocery shopping for one year. (0/24)
57. Donate old clothes and other things rather than throwing them away. (0/4)
58. Start using natural cleaners in my home such as Vinegar and Baking Soda and lemon.
59. Instead of Air Filters that consume energy, I will buy houseplants that clean the air for free.
60. Stop buying paper towels and napkins for a month. (0/1)
61. Take the clothes Jordan has outgrown to the Consigment Shop on Base.
62. Eat Sushi 10 times (0/10)
63. Go to the Seafood Festival in Florida
64. Play video games with Joe at least 5 times. (0/5)
65. Go to 10 movies with Joe, or watch pirated ones here in Korea, that Joe picks. (0/10)
66. Find 15 new ways to tell Joe that I love him. (0/15)
67. Have a spa weekend with Jennifer, my treat.
    
68. Visit Heidi in Kentucky and meet her family.
    
69. Try 10 new resteraunts. (0/10)
70. Make 100 scrapbook layouts. (0/100)
    
71. Go on a picnic 4 times. (0/4)
72. Draw Jordan's Family Tree
73. Make a photo book of all of Jordy's pictures.
74. Go to Disney World
75. Go to Disney Wild Animal Park
76. Get an account on Facebook
77. Watch a Marky Mark movie with Jennifer while we drink strawberry daiquiris
78. Visit the Park's in Alaska.
79. See 5 plays/musicals/concerts. (0/5)
80. Find a Charity I am passionate about and help them raise money.
81. Participate in Gimme your Stuff
82. Send PostCarts in Post Crossing (0/5)
83. Exercise for health, not to maintain some unrealistic goal for myself.
84. learn to love myself, my body, and mind, even though there are countless flaws.
85. Know that having a few jiggles here and there doesn't make me unlovable.
86. Exercise regularly 3x per week. (0/
87. Run a 5K
88. Get a perfect score on my next fitness test.
89. Laser Hair Removal
90. Do pictures for at least 5 groups of people. They can be family, wedding, kids. (0/5)
91. Stop buying bottled water. Get a filter for work so I can use a cup instead.
    
92. Continue to be a nonsmoker and encourage my patients to quit.
93. Have Joe and I both make "bucket lists"
94. Make a list of 100 things I love.
95. Go Hiking at least 10 times. (0/10)
96. Go to the DMZ.
97. Make Joe a new quilt.
98. Wear heels at least once per month. (0/32)
99. Go to the Florida Keys
100. Write in my blog once per week.
     

Happy New Year

I spent the New Year at the ER working. Normally we have 2-3 drunks per night, so for New Years I was expecting an invasion. Robert was nice enough that he came in to help out. Surprisingly it was really slow. In fact the only patient we had before midnight was Jordy! Yes it's true, my son was the only patient.

Joe called me and said that Jordy was running a really high temp that wasn't coming down with Tylenol and Motrin. Then Jordy was letting out some blood curdling screams and shaking. I told him to come in immediately.

Luckily Robert was already there so I didn't have to pin down Jordy and look in his ear myself. I don't like to be Jordy's doctor, just his mommy! He had an ear infection! I was really surprised! I hope that this isn't going to be a recurring problem.

Now we are giving him Amoxicillin twice a day. It is quite traumatic for everyone involved. Jordy is freakishly strong and fights us. I feel like we are killing him as he sputters and tries to spit it out. Last night Joe brought him to see me at the ER and we had one of the nurses give it to him. He actually did much better with the nurse than us!

Only 7 more days of antibiotics to go....it's gonna be a long week!

I resolve to...

It is only two days until the New Year. This year I have all kinds of goals. Here is a brief run down.


Work Goals:
-Become member of AAFP and read the entire journal monthly
-Renew ACLS
-Read that ER book

Family
-Date Night at least once per month
-Find regular baby sitter for Jordy for date night
-Take Jordy to playgroup whenever I am off work
-Menu planning so that we don't waste so much food

Financial
-Do Monthly Budget & meet it!
-Start saving for Jordy for college
-Increase savings for retirement
-Save “Enough” for down payment for house in Florida (not sure how much "enough" is)

Personal Enrichment
-Find masters program
-Start Masters program
-Stop Swearing!

Fitness
-Get Body Fat Measured
-Work out 3x per week
-Give up the fantasy that I will ever look like Giselle or Heidi Klum & love myself anyways!

Friends
-Call my friends and family regularly



While I am resolving to do all this stuff, let's just take a look back at my last years resolutions!


1. get back to my preprego weight of 140

2. exercise at least 5x per week

3. Read one book per month for fun

4. Complete my Senior Project and do that damned presentation I have been dreading

5.Pass the Family Medicine Boards

6.Read the Bible in it's Entirety

7. Learn about History so I don't feel like such a moron

8. Make sure that Joe and I have once a week date night

9.Read Swanson's Family Medicine Review book by June
10. Continue to be a nonsmoker

11. Scrapbook more


Well I haven't completed a few of them...I didn't read the Bible, learn History, and Joe and I are slacking a bit on the date night since moving to South Korea. But I did get down to my pre-prego weight, scrapbook a lot, read Swanson's, haven't touched a cigarette, read a ton of books, but I don't find out if I passed boards for another two weeks.

The Waste Report

Today, rather than telling you how much we wasted (which as usual was a considerable amount), I wanted to tell you what I saved!

Since I had a lot of turkey left over from Christmas dinner, plus drippings for broth- I decided to make soup!

In addition to the turkey we had left over noodles from spaghetti, cilantro from salsa, and celery too!

I mixed it all together, added some water and spices....then voila! Turkey soup!

Rather than throw away all that stuff, the soup provided us with at least one more meal! I feel so accomplished!

I love my Wii Fit

For Christmas Joe got me the Wii Fit, or actually my mother-in-law got it for me since she is the one who sent Joe the money. Thanks Aida!

Anyways, I love the thing. It has all kinds of fun "games" on it that are exercises in disguise. The balance games are really fun and you unlock more as you go, motivating you to keep going. The cardio section has running, and there is a cute running track that you go along. There is also a strength section and a yoga section. All of it is pretty good. Today I did 40 minutes of exercise and it felt like I was just playing the whole time- but I was actually sweaty and stinky too!

By far my favorite part of the Wii fit is the body fit test. It weighs you, yes the balance board is also a scale! Then it keeps track of it from day to day. It is motivating to see how your weight changes from day to day. One part I don't like about the Wii Fit is that it accused me of being a Wii Fit age of nearly 15 years older than I am, then gave me no instructions or recommendations on how to get younger!

Joe also got me another Wii fitness type game/exercise program. It is called My Fitness Coach. That one is really good too. It doesn't use the balance board, which is kind of good and bad. Not using it allows you to do all kinds of jumping and other cardio. The fitness test on this one is really good and has you do all kinds of exercises then recommends a program for you.

The workouts with the Fitness Coach can get a little boring as she doesn't put them into aerobic routines like a real workout program. She just does random aerobic moves; grapevine x2, then lunges, then step-touch...it gets kind of boring. Luckily though I usually have to dodge Jordy while I am trying to workout, so that does keep me on my toes!

Oh on the Wii Fit, Jordy seems to really enjoy the cartoon look of the people and the funny noises it makes. This allows me to exercise a tiny bit longer b/c he is entertained.

Since I failed so miserably at Operation Stork Attack, my goal to get in crazy good shape for Hawaii, I am hoping all this new fitness stuff will help me at least get in shape in time for Florida (hey I am being realistic!)

Jordy's new Hot Rod

Joe and I were talking about how when each of us was little we really wanted a Power Wheels, but never got one. Then we swore we would get Jordy one when he was old enough. But then we saw them and couldn't resist. I was worried that Jordy wouldn't be able to drive it, b/c well he is just a baby...but we found a guy on the side of the road-really the side of the road- selling these!

And the best part is that they are remote controlled! We just put Jordy in and drive him around. It is so much fun! We went for a walk yesterday and just drove him along side of us. He really seemed to enjoy it. He honks the horn and turns on and off the little blinkers!




Here is a picture of our entire fleet- my fancy new 1995 Kia that I found for a whopping 850 bucks, the CRV, and Jordy's new ride!



Today we couldn't take out the car because it is too cold- we actually got about 2" of snow. Finally I got to dress Jordan up in his little Weebok snow boots that light up when he walks. He didn't quite understand what the snow was and tried to eat the entire yard full of snow.

Another day...

Jordy one year ago!

Today was another day at work. Nothing much exciting happened. Nothing remarkable. It just kind of drug on and on.

It made me really want to get the hell out of this freezing cold country (although Omaha isn't any warmer). I am so excited to get to Florida. Everday I spend hours and hours looking at houses for sale on hotpads.com and get excited to have more than two outlets in my kitchen, have a garbage disposal, a washer AND a dryer, normal trash service... OOOHHH the day!

I miss my mom and dad. It was so nice seeing them in Hawaii. Jordy loved all the extra attention.

Christmas is in three days! I have given Joe most of his presents already, there isn't a lot left for him to open on Christmas. We did get Jordy a pretty cool gift, but I admit that it was mostly for us rather than him. I will post pics of it soon!

Joe has started tutoring people at my work. One of the nurses needed help with Organic Chemistry so he agreed to help her. Then people started coming out of the woodwork needing tutoring. Hopefully it will support his pretty serious video game habit! Additionally I am starting to really enjoy the Wii! So much fun! It is pretty addictive!

Parenting is NOT for the faint of heart

Today I was at work when I got a panicked call from Joe wondering if
he should come into the ER for evaluation.

Apparently there had been an incident at home.

Last night we had enchiladas with homemade salsa for dinner. Little
Jordykins really likes to eat tortilla chips just barely dipped in the
salsa. The only problem is he doesn't really understand how to hold
onto the chip. After a few nibbles, he crushes it in his hands. The
end result is tortilla chip crumbs sprinkled all around our house.

Jordy then likes to pick up the tortilla chips, suck on them until they
are soggy, then force feed them to either Joe or I. He is pretty
relentless in his forcefeeding. He will keep jamming it in your face
until you finally succumb to the soggy chip feeding.

Well, today Joe was watching tv and Jordy was eating one of the chips,
sucking the life out of it apparently. Then Jordy crawled up on the
couch next to Joe and began to force feed it to him. Since Joe was in
the middle of something on the tv, Laker game maybe?, he just opened
his mouth and welcomed the soggy chip....only it wasn't a chip.

Immediately Joe sensed it was something quite different.... POOP!

Jordy had somehow gotten a pebble of his poop, sucked on it till it was
good and mushy, then jammed it in Joe's mouth!

Joe immediately began spitting and wiping his mouth and shouting.

Jordy thought this was great and began smiling, laughing, and applauding in
earnest!

When I asked how Jordy was doing, Joe informed me that he had no idea
as he had been brushing his teeth for the last thirty minutes.

He checked on Jordy, and he was fine watching tv. Joe, however, will be
permanently traumatized.

I'm doing my part...

I keep hearing that the key to economic turn around is consumers. To support this goal I have bought several items in the past few weeks- okay, okay, I bought it all because I wanted it (please see previous post on my consumerism)

Video games have never really been that interesting to me until a few weeks ago when I heard about a game on the Wii. So while in Hawaii, I found the game and broke down and bought the Wii and all the accessories I needed. I love it! What is the game you ask? Well it is a little embarassing....it is All Star Cheer Squad! I love it! It is so much fun! My inner cheerleader is busting out! Tonight I made it through the tryouts, and yes I did make the squad!!

I was interested in the Wii Fit, but haven't been able to find a balance board here in Korea. I keep checking at the base, but no dice yet. Joe got me a similar game, it is the Personal Trainer. Tonight I did the first workout on it, and it was pretty good! It tracks your progress and adjusts to your fitness goals. Hopefully it will help me not become a flabby mess!

Speaking of flabby messes- I do remember my promise to post a sexy picture of myself in Hawaii...and plan to make good on that promise. I will post them as soon as my dad sends me the pics.

I'm Baaack...

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

It has been a long time since I have written, and that must have been disappointing for my one regular reader (thanks Kameron!)

We are back from Hawaii, and yes I took boards. After taking it I really am worried if I passed or not. The entire test was more like Trivial Pursuit than a real exam. For several hours I sat staring at a computer screen answering random factoid questions about nothing of signifigance. I hope that I am not doing this again in July- although maybe we could work in another vacation in a fun place.

As for Hawaii- I was somewhat disappointed at the island. My testing site was on Oahu, so I didn’t have much of a choice there. People always rave about Hawaii so I had some pretty high expectations… but it wasn’t the paradise I had envisioned.
Coming from South Korea, Joe and I were pretty excited to see lots of stores, and Oahu did deliver in that regard. We went frequently to Best Buy and Walmart! One day we spent over 2 hours in traffic- a real surprise to us!

My parents and best friends flew out to see us, and it was great to see them. My mom was so anxious to see Jordy, and even watched him the entire night prior to my test so I could be well rested. It was so nice!

I didn’t get to spend quite as much time with Jenn and Adam as I would have liked, but didn’t want to bombard them with my company either! They were really interested in seeing every aspect of the island-which is hard to do with a child in tow. Frankly after that test, I was content to sit on my beach and watch Jordy play in the sand!
We did do quite a few fun things while in Hawaii. We saw huge waves at North Shore, played in the water, went to several really nice resteraunts, went to Best Buy and Walmart (which after Korea was heaven!), and my personal favorite was the submarine!
Right outside of our hotel there was an Atlantis submarine. I really wanted to go but didn’t want to spend the 95dollars per person to go. Finally Joe convinced me that I would regret it if we didn’t go. When we were paying we found out that they did a military discount! Half Price! So we went, and then later in the day, I went again with my dad! We saw so much stuff; 3 reef sharks, 7 sea turtles, countless fish, an eel- it was wonderful!

The trip back was rough. For some reason it only took 7 hours to get there, and over 10 to fly back. By the time we got home, I was exhausted. I thought I had the day of when we got back, but b/c of the date change I didn’t. So I had about 5 hours of sleep before I had to be at work. And of course it was a crazy busy day- I saw 25 patients!