Chi's Korea trip

Jim's cousin Chi is in medical school and this past December he went to Korea to do some intern work for a couple of months. He was at the Seoul Samsung Medical Center in the cardiology department. It sounds like he had a good time even though he was working for most of it. Here are a few pics from his trip. You can click on the pictures to see full size.
Chi (on the left) and another one of Jim's cousins, Chi Song
I forgot where Chi said this was, love the sculpture
Paging Dr. Chi You

A family get together with his mother's side of the family

So true

Cameo gave me a page-a-day calendar of quotes and this was the quote for this weekend. And what a coincidence! It's also been the theme for my weekend. I have so many things to do like study, laundry, pay attention to my kids (hey, isn't it good for them to learn how to entertain themselves?) Instead I've been playing with the layout of my blog. The html and CSS are fascinating to me, it's like a puzzle and most of the time I don't even know what I'm doing. Thank God for the 'clear edits' button on the template page. It's amazing how time gets sucked away when your on the computer. It's now Sunday morning and after I post this post I will not be getting on the computer for the rest of the day. I have to do that laundry, study that chemistry (Chi is coming over to help me tonight. Thank you Chi!) and most important... love on those neglected kids.

Korean karaoke girls

These girls are hilarious.

My little Yaya*

My daughter has started her own blog. Topics include hamsters, best friends and school. Swing by Fantabulous Me! and check it out.

* Yaya has been Olivia's nickname ever since she was a little one. Like the orgins of many nicknames, she couldn't pronounce Olivia and called herself Yaya instead. And of course that's what Billy and Ruby call her too.

Better than the Olympics

Kirk's basketball season is coming to an end this weekend. I will really miss watching him play and will be looking forward to this summer's season. Kirk's a good player. He has it in his genes(his Dad was a high school basketball star and played college ball) and he has it his heart (he loves the game). When Kirk started basketball a few years ago, I had no idea how much I would enjoy watching him play. Now I know I FRICKIN' LOVE IT! When you watch your child compete you become emotionally invested. That must be what's behind parents yelling on the sidelines (annoying) or those stage moms (very annoying!). I guess parent ego plays into it too, all that living through your child hooha. One time I did try to coach. Me: Kirk you need to stay on your guy! Kirk: We're playing zone defense MOM! Me: Okay I'll shut up now. Lesson learned? Don't give tips on something you know nothing about! What I do know is that I'm proud of my son and I love watching my kid do something well.

This year's hottest toy? The baby sister!

Wrap her in blankets, put her in a box and pretend you found her floating in the river Moses-style.
Re-enact scenes from movies about extra terrestrials.
Dress her up in big brother's dime store bling. Voila! Gangsta baby!

Persistence- A+.....Timing- F

I can't believe this little guy won't give up. Since I last posted about him, it's been below freezing and has even snowed. He's just not getting the hint. The low temp is going to be 15 degrees tonight, so I decided to pick him and his friend and bring them inside. They are now residing by my kitchen window. Flowers blooming in February? What's going on here?

Valentine Castle

This is the Valentine box I was talking about. I can remember we used paper towel rolls for the towers on the sides. I want to thank Tim for making this with me, it's always been one of those happy childhood memories that I've never forgotten. I guess now would be a good time to thank him for all the help he's given me recently with chemistry. How lucky am I to have a Step-Dad that's smart as hell and doesn't mind spending hours on the phone explaining the difference between a trigonal planar and a trigonal bipyramidal. Let me make my gratitude public, THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU!

More Vintage Valentines

I went through my Valentines and picked some favorites. It was kind of hard because they are all pretty cute. It's really fun to read the back of them. They are signed by people named Cora Mae , Billy and Francine. All those old names that I love. Some even have the date, the oldest I saw today was 1932. I haven't bought any in a few years, after looking through them today, I might have to change that.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know it's a hallmark holiday, but I have always loved it. How fun was it to make or buy your valentines, decorate a box and take it all to school for your party. One year my Step-Dad helped me make a huge Valentine castle box for my cards. It was pretty cool and I was so proud of it. I think the other kids at school just thought I was a show off. I may call Tim later and ask him if he could find a picture of it and email it to me. If he can I'll post it. I also collect vintage valentines. I'm going to scan a few more and post those too. Have a lovely day and eat lots of chocolate, it's good for you!

Valentine's Eve

The kids made these cool waxpaper-crayon hearts this weekend. They really brighten up the house. The Martha instructions for these can be found here.

Hell Week

It's been one of those weeks. Everyone has been sick, Ruby has decided not to sleep through the night anymore, appointments with the dentist, appointments with the tax man, Kirk's basketball practice, parent-teacher conference, Jim working late. And to top it all off a big chemistry test to study for. So with what little free time I have, I've either been sleeping(YES!) or studying molecular geometry(YUCK!). I can actually see the fog lifting a little and I hope things are getting back to normal. Whatever that is.

P.S. On a totally unrelated note, I'm really digging this Kate Spade bag.

Thank you Betty

Betty Friedan died yesterday. She wrote many books, including "The Feminine Mystique" and was a founder of the National Organization of Women. She came from a time when women had few choices and she questioned the lost potential of women. Thanks to Betty Friedan, the second wave of the women's movement came about. Thanks to her we have choices and freedoms that our Grandmothers never knew. A lot of women now take this for granted and it's sad that girls these days think empowerment is choosing to flash your tits for "Girls Gone Wild". (That's another post for another day). Feminism needs a renewal, and everything is not well. The conservatives are chipping away at abortion rights and while they may not make it illegal, they are trying to restrict who has access to this right. We need to stop being apathetic and we need to remember women like Betty Friedan.

Mother Nature is a Tease

It's February 2nd and I have daffodils blooming in my backyard. This January was record breaking in terms of mild weather, lots of days in the 50's and 60's. Today the high will be 60. I really want to believe, like this daffodil does, that Spring is here. Unfortunately, I saw the weather forecast, and Winter is not done with us yet.