Winter 2008

Here is a video I created using all the pictures I have taken the last couple of days. We were hit with 8 inches of snow and more is on the way. Enjoy!

The Chemical Brothers - Believe (No ads)

BLA-DOW!!!

Biden in Tacoma

Dad and I went to hear Biden speak in Tacoma at Cheney Stadium. The Tacoma Rainiers gave him a #21 jersey. I thought of Matthew immediately. He said he was ready to get in the game. After his speech, I am sure I am making the right decision. Obama - Biden 2008!! The three women on the stage with him are Senator Maria Cantwell, Senator Patty Murray and Govenor Christina Gregoire. Their speeches were great, as well.

Lin's two moms

What a great opportunity to meet Lin's mother and sister from Taiwan. Little did I know that 6 months after Matthew was born, my other son was born in Taiwan.

Pork Fried Rice

Mek took charge and cooked us Pork Fried Rice made Thailand style.

Sam's Bad Day

Sam had a rumble with something a couple of weeks ago while exploring the outdoors. This morning he went from looking normal to developing an abscess behind his left ear in the matter of a hour. He had surgery and a tube was inserted behind his ear to drain the abscess. He has to wear a cone around his head so he doesn't scratch the wound and is very medicated. We have to apply a warm compress 3 times a day. I took a couple of pictures to share.

Get Well Soon Sam!!

My girlfriend...

Uhm..not sure how to say this..but, I taped my girlfriend on my handphone...uhh...she's greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeattttttttttt!!! Hope you enjoy...wink,wink!!!

Oh, and when her handphone rings (that's what they call a cell phone here..she said, "I'm busy" in Korean...damn right she was.

:)

Sam's birthday gift for Matt

Sam captured a baby rabbit on the eve of Matt's birthday. He was carrying it like a baby in his teeth. I thought it was dead until it's eye blinked. I took it in to make sure it was ok, then we put it in the yard and it hopped away. I quess Sam was offering a baby rabbit as a birthday gift.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT...From Sampson!

Puzzling...

Damn...gotta top it...gotta top it....damn!

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/09/29/germany.puzzle.ap/index.html

Peace and Quite

So, one day after Randy running Jadan to preschool and taking photos, YEAH, he got hired by the State without even appling to take photos! He came home to put Princess Ella to a nap to get some things done....and this is what they found....

Where does the time go?

So I can't speak for anyone else but doesn't it seem like Jadan was just born, like there is no way this little guy could be starting his school career already! I know it's been a few weeks, but Jadan LOVES school so much! He was also chosen to be the first Star of the Day. I of corse cried like a little baby the first day, I thought I had control on the situation, but it all hit me as I saw my little boy jump out of the car like he had been there before and ignored the fact that he was leaving me and Ella for a few hours. I will say that it was weird at first but nice to have a few hours a week just with Ella, we get to see more of her CRAZY personality! Well, I guess I am offically OLD, turing 26 next week and a kid on school, all I need is a fan, and I could be a soccer mom!

Bracelets

This is the emotional flashpoint of the debate for me...admittidely I haven't completed watching the first debate in its entirety, but I felt strongly enough to post this immediately...Sen. McCain mentions his bracelet and that the mother asked that he not give up, that his son not die in vain, Obama counters immediately that he also is wearing a bracelet and that the mother asked him not to allow other mothers to endure that pain and sorrow. For me, this is the crux, do we fight until one side is left dead and there is enough killing on both/all sides to promise enmity and pain for generations to come, or do we stand tall and refocus our gaze and find another solution. An eye for an eye for an eye for an eye...or do we use our vision while we still have an eye...

2cents

Pretty challenging but GREAT reward!!

turn the volume way up to hear the little clicks when you're moving your mouse..it helped a LOT!! Took me quite a few times..but when I finally heard the mouse move..was easier..go slow!!

http://www.planetnana.co.il/moomoo2004/maze.html

Funniest video EVER!!!

Sorry..had to...

Stupid Human Tricks

Here is the Martin's Stupid Human Tricks. Time to reminince.

Like Mother ~ Like daughter

April could crash any where, any time. Ella is a second April. Watch out!!

Russia, their my neighbor!

Check this out for a good laugh.

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/palin-hillary-open/656281/

Tell A Friend...Or better yet..e-mail it to your brothers :)

I am the CUTEST princess!

Need your cable installed?

After Randy got home from work, I noticed someone else getting ready to instal some cable.

Sleeping Beauty

One afternoon, Jadan, Ella and I we watching a movie...or so I assumed. I looked around and noticed Ella was not in her bean bag chair, so I went on a hunt. And this is what I found.

Michael Phelps Learning Mandarin

Alright...the benchmark has been set...we learn Mandarin Chinese and win 17 Olympic Gold Medals in the event of your choosing.

Here's another blast of life...........

Go get 'em you psychedelic freaks!!!

Pray Away the Gay!

Palin believes you can 'Pray away the Gay'. Having many gay friends, I am appalled by this close minded thinking. How can I be so different than my siblings? I am so proud I now am part of an open minded family. . . How do you feel?

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20080907/Palin.Gays/

Health

I know..I started the poll and you guys responded and I didn't...I suck..yeah yeah....

Well here's a little bit of what I've been doing to improve my health..besides jogging with puppy, cutting out almost any carbonated drink or alcohol, and eating much more healthily and regularly, I'm also back to working out more. I bought some push-up stands and have been making great use of those. They reduce the strain on your wrists and also allow you a deeper plane to push-up to and through. Check the product, the blooper, and the action shot of what puppy usually does while I'm trying not to pop a major blood vessel in my forhead.

Puppy's teething

***WARNING*** ***GRAPHIC CONTENT***

-May upset some viewers. Viewer discretion is strongly advised-

So, puppy is teething, April, did Winston go through that? I'd read a bit about it so knew it was coming. And when those little biters at the front go, it was easy enough. Shortly afterwards some new, smoother, rounder, and larger adult teeth were coming in. But knowing the long canines were the last to go, I still wasn't prepared for a night when suddenly there was a smear of blood on my front door, blood spots on my flooring, blood spread all over her soccer ball, and then blood on my forearm and wrist. I was a bit panicky and not sure if she'd just lost a permanent tooth or what. But I calmed down, did some reading, and steeled myself to the fact that she was just losing her teeth. Afterwards the fun part became trying to collect as many as possible.



One night we were playing fetch in the entryway and she started licking oddly, I wasn't sure, but got the sense something was up. So I came over to her just in time to have the second canine fall onto the marble flooring. I snatched it up and kept it. Apparently it is quite rare to find puppy teeth, they usually swallow them. So this past week I've kept tugging at the two canines that are left. Of course the one that seemed solid and unlikely to drop fell out suddenly while I was building the puzzle upstairs. I never even saw it. The last one has been dangling for days and is just firmly enough rooted yet that I don't to cause puppy any pain in my avarice. ;)



Incredibly, while I was sorting some puzzle pieces upstairs one night, I came across a little white fleck that turns out to be one of those little biters she had in the front. It's pretty amazing because she was only allowed upstairs ONCE, and we all saw how that turned out. So I'm considering myself pretty lucky to have found the two, and puppy is healthy and almost through that phase of dog-dom.



Check out the photos of her missing tooth the night the first canine fell out, and also the shots of the stubborn third canine and the new canine growing in the same spot. Pretty cool...



Mom, could we make a Rescue 911 reenactment of this scenario? :)

The Kindness of Koreans

Went hiking yesterday morning with 5 out of 6 students from my Tue./Thur. 10am class. I took puppy along and we got near summitting a mountain I had never been on before. Buramsan. (sp) Was a good hike, puppy was tenacious and never needed to be carried more than lifting her down from a rock that was suddenly shoulder height. The women were really kind, gave me coffee, chrysantheum tea, Korean pears, hard-boiled eggs, even a handkercheif to wipe the sweat from my increasingly bare head. Awww...

In the afternoon I had a class with two girls...one of their mothers, the hiker the fourth from the left showed up as I was leaving the class and gave me a gift. She knew I had been a little sick that morning and bought some plum concentrate for me. It is supposed to be good for digestion. Mix one part plum concentrate with about 3-4 parts water, warm if the weather is nippily, and viola! Instant happy gut. I'll let you know how it tastes after I make a cup.

Enjoy!

Get funky you mother funkers!!

Just something to shock the system a bit...yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

Doggy Diddly Did it Duly-Did you Dig it Daddy Dooly?

Uhh..yeah...whatever that crap means....check out the most recent giant puzzle update along with a reason or two never to trust their cute faces, that's not the look of wanting to be beside you...it's the inner desire to piss you off! Check!

Do you VISA?

Two and a half dozen quail eggs for hard-boiling and soaking in soy sauce-1,120 Korean Won

A kilogram of ham with two spiced ham sticks taped on as a service-5,290 Korean Won

A dozen boxes of 3 minute jja-jang beef curry mix- 7,800 Korean Won

Three bags of Natural Dog Chews for Puppy- 4,400 Korean Won

Grocery shopping on a hot day in metropolitan Seoul without a car- PRICELESS!!!

The Gatekeeper...

$5 gets you by...or the secret password...which happens to be anything ryhming with snausage.

Stop working Daddy!

C'mon Daddy...I'm taking a stand, or a sit, literally....no more printing worksheets or lesson plans or anything until you play with me! Hrmphhhh!

Where's Matt?

Anyone up for a game of Where's Waldo...Matt Style?

I bet we could find hom.....building a puzzle, with "Appie" bitting on a piece. Drinking some kind of beer and snacking on dried octupus....thinking of his favorite sister..."ME" :-) And in my hopes, if it were my choice, getting ready to google flights to WA so we could have a birthday party together SINCE YOU"LL BE 30!

The Truth, nothing more

At last...

Superheros to the rescue!

What is that in the sky? A bird, a plane, maybe a weird cloud. Here are our superhero partners hanging out in the backyard, checking for bad guys....well actually just being crazy like usual!

New Milli Vanilli

If you do not find this new Milli Vanilli couple funny and are not up and dancing to their comical reviews to the music, your sedated . . . LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paRmb0645Lo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IP8g7-VPn4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSPibeE4X8s&feature=related&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZTVYvFURcE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVrIV4SkXYY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSaosfM-RL4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoIv4gUIiDE&feature=related

Sad, but true!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2545387/Beijing-Olympics-Faking-scandal-over-girl-who-sang-in-opening-ceremony.html

What a shame that Yang Peiyi was not able to perform her own singing talent herself and a more perfect model was used because of Yang's buck teeth. It shows how the Games' political overseers exercised their control over the ceremony to ensure the country was seen at its best.

I feel sorry for little 7-year old Yang. :-(

Check out this spoof on You Tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUazTVgoVKQ

The Illusionist

...do not form any identity outside of this moment, it's illusory...

Garden update

He looks cute right??

Sure he does, but between this years twin litters of raccoons and the return of the deer to our yard, the vegetable garden has been wiped out...

Deer just love tomatoes and strawberries and the raccoons...well they don't actually eat anything they just rip things up for the fun of it!!!

The good news is that the herbs are doing great and we're eating basil with just about everything.

We made basil pesto and it's really good!

We might salvage a few peppers and they is one lone tomatoe left...back to the drawing board for next year!

Ella....DARE Devil

As I was making a yummy dinner, and darling Jadan was sitting at the island coloring through his whole spiderman book I heard Kesha hiss...like usual and noticed there was someone trying her best to get that cat! We have learned new ways to get onto and into everything around us, so Ya Ya and Pa Po beware next time she is at your house.

Poor Blankie

We have just been told that Jadan's Great Grandma Harth (Randy's) will be making Jadan a NEW blanket when she comes out here next month! We are so excited and yes mom, I will make sure that the NEW one stays at home while the other lovely one goes in pub=blic all torn and ratted.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/09/10225/

One reason the war in Iraq needs to end.

BraveHeart Speech

Pure gluttony on my part....but he makes a convincing case...do you have your freedom...really...truely...do you....

Enlarge your world

Or at least the pics on the screen. Just making sure, we all know that by simply clicking the photos we're posting, we can see them in a larger size, right? Ok, cool, I thought so...just checking...

:)

William Wallace

Another reason I might not have posted about health yet...ENTER: THE CROSSBOW!!

William Wallace: And if this is your army, why does it go?
Veteran: We didn't come here to fight for them!
Young Soldier: Home! The English are too many!
William Wallace: Sons of Scotland! I am William Wallace.
Young Soldier: William Wallace is seven feet tall!
William Wallace: Yes, I've heard. Kills men by the hundreds. And if HE were here, he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes, and bolts of lightning from his arse.
[Scottish army laughs]
William Wallace: I *am* William Wallace! And I see a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny. You've come to fight as free men... and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?
Veteran: Fight? Against that? No! We will run. And we will live.
William Wallace: Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!
[Scottish army cheers]
William Wallace: Alba gu bra!
["Scotland forever!"]
Army: ALBA GU BRA! ALBA GU BRA! ALBA GU BRA!