Night out on the town...

We decided that even though we are going to Osan tomorrow and even though that's a three hour drive...we decided to take my mom out on the town. :)

Here she is in her first cab ride. :)Guess where we went???? yep! Outback!! Guess who treated us?? My daddy who is in Chicago right now happy and unaware...heehee thanks dad!! We had a great time and did a toast to your goodness and generosity.We were having such a great time that the waiter let us take a picture of him. He fixed his hair and did his best " I am tough" pose. Then they came by and took pictures of us and gave them to us for free!!!!! Hurray!! Free stuff!!!When we finished dinner we took a walk downtown cause it had been a whole three hours since my mom had shopped and bought anything. heehee I'll make sure to post all the pics of our Osan trip by Sunday. So far shes sent off two huge!!!! boxes home.
Viva' La Korea!!!

Quilters have big hearts!!

I joined a siggie swap a while back. For those of you not "in the know" a siggie swap is where a bunch of quilting ladies from all over the globe make a certain kind of block, sign our names on the block and send them to a wonderful person who is in charge of it all. She in turn sorts all the blocks so we all get one from every person and mails them out to us. We get the blocks and make a great keepsake for ourselves.
This was my first swap. The block we made is one I really liked and will do again. I sent my blocks off to Australia and crossed my fingers it would get there on time. Here is where it gets interesting and why I'm blogging about it. As life sometimes does things got in the way. First, some blocks took a bit to get there due to snail mail being the way it is. Second the fabulous lady who is in charge of us (hi Cynthia!!) had some stuff to do which caused a small delay. Now we are waiting on one set of blocks from a dear lady who is going into the hospital for two weeks. Get this...did anyone write and say I want my blocks now! Did anyone complain?? No. To be a quilter you just have to have a big heart. It is a requirement. It's a given. Who else buys fabric (WAY EXPENSIVE!!) to cut it up and spend the next few months of their lives making it into a beautiful "something" to give away. Many of us, after spending years quilting, may have only one quilt for ourselves. The rest have been labors of love all given away with a smile in our hearts. I went on Cynthia's blog this morning and read all the comments left by my "sister quilters". ALL OF THEM...EVERY DARN ONE OF THEM left a nice message of support. We will wait for the blocks. We will pray and think good thoughts to our sister who is going into the hospital. We will comment back and forth to make sure all is right with her. A couple of us will even send her a care package so that she can have a hug from us cause many of us will never meet her nor talk to her. Knowing there is a quilter in need is enough.
I am so thankful and proud to belong to this group of women (and occasionally a man :) ) that call themselves quilters. You and I know better...I think they are angels.
:)

Today I took my mom to see Seou-moon market. We had a blast!!!! We walked around and shopped. We got lace for one of the ladies she works with and we got a really neat doll for my soon to be "sister-in-love", Heather. Here is my gorgeous momma.When we were all out of Won we sat at a corner store, got some water and people watched. I am just fascinated with everyone here.
Just everyday people going about their business but I love watching them all.
Look how busy the streets are!

We got some Korean cookies to take home to the kiddos. :) Have a great Thursday everyone!!!

Searching for Greatness...whatever that is.

Warning...post with a message attached. :)
I was telling someone that a couple of things just "do it" for me. Making a hot meal for my family, listening to the news about their day, greeting my husband after a long day at work. Seems like simple things to the every day person. Someone asked me today if I ever longed to do something great. Here is what I'm thinking. There are people who are meant to do great things in the eyes of the world. Then there are people who notice greatness in others, you notice it, you nurture it, you help them to see it, you believe in them, give words of encouragement when needed. Simple things. But let me ask you. Who has achieved greatness? The one who was great in the eyes of the world?? Or the one who helps others to see the greatness in themselves??

To me being "Simply a Momma" is the greatest thing of all.

Our haul for the day...

I took Grandma-A-Go-Go to the fabric market today. Lookie what she got for you Linda Ladd..........about 13 yards!!!
For herself she got a neat quilt. Sshhhh she got me one too but don't anyone tell my dad!! heehee No daddy, I promise we aren't spending any of your money! :) So she wouldn't feel all left out and be the only one buying anything I got some fat quarters and a really neat panel to make a quilt for a teacher. :)
I think this is supposed to be a book but you know us quilters!
Cynthia...I'm thinking you may need another package soon!! We quilters gotta stick together!! :)
cheerio everyone!

Like mother like daughter....

Check this out....I had my slippers on and noticed my moms. No, we didn't buy them at the same time. She got hers in Chicago and I got mine here. They are the exact same slippers!!! Hers are blue and mine are the pink ones. Cool huh!!!

Dad...meet your competition

I have two balconies in our apartment. On one of them I have this awesome couch and a corner cabinet with some country chachkees (sp). Anyway, you get the idea, it's nice and cozy to sit out there. My mom loves being able to watch all of Korea pass by. One of the locals has taken an interest in her. He sits by the corner store off base and watches her as she suns herself on the 3rd floor balcony. We've taken to calling him "Johnny Knuckles" cause we just know he is a former Korean mobster. He is a pretty spry guy and handsome to boot if you ask me. Dad, I'm thinking he has designs on our girl!!! Meet Johnny Knuckles everyone................................... Don't let the cane fool ya...he can get up to 2 miles an hour when the need hits him. RUN MOM RUN!!!! hahahaha

congrats!!!

Congrats to my bro-hamie who made a 3.7 on his grades this college semester. He is no longer called "the slug in the basement". His name shall now and forever more be......dadadada.......

HE WHO KNOWS ALL!

Love ya little bro!!!! I'm proud of you!!!!
dawn

The house is still standing!!

The Capt has always wanted one of the table grills that they sell here. Whenever we go out to a beef and leaf you use one of these to cook your own food right there in front of you. We love them!!! Today when I took my mom out to Home Plus she decided the Capt...since he's not feeling well...MUST HAVE A GRILL!! We got all the equipment to go with it and some bul-go-gi meat to have for dinner tonight...here is the set up.Of course the instructions were all in Korean so we decided to look at the pictures and wing it. You open up the side and put in the canister of gas. You press it into a sharp ummmmm "thingie" so it will get pierced and then turn it on.Since flammable gas and her daughter were involved Grandma A-Go-Go had this.....A fire extinguisher...think she knows me????Wouldn't you know the grill wouldn't light with the long lighter we had ready! Grandma A-Go-Go said to ask the gate guard. With gleaming eyes...cause you know I love a photo op!...we headed across the street. Here is the gate guard explaining how it works and that you ARE NOT to use the lighter! It will light on its own and "my God woman! Do you want to kill us all???" :)
Success!! Look at these hungry kiddos waiting for some dinner.
Grandma's first taste of bul-go-gi...She loved it!!!
Everyone is full and happy.
Here is middle daughter and one of her friends...no it's not the boy. He is still far far away much to the Capt's delight. Stay tuned for tomorrows episode of
FUN AT THE FABRIC STORE............or............
ADVENTURE AT THE MARKET!

Hey Slug-In-Basement.....

Dearest "Slug in the Basement"......you can call us for free you know! As soon as you wake up and see all the stuff you got coming from here give us a call. The number is on the fridge.
Sorry to all of you who hopped on here expecting to see me in my rockin hot glasses. :) I will let you all get back to your lives now.
dawn

Just for the "slug in the basement"

Dear "Slug in the Basement"....you know who you are. Here are a few things Grandma-a-go-go got for you. You are a spoiled B-Rat and you know you are!!! heeheehee More pictures to follow. :)

Well folks, here she is.....GRANDMA A-GO-GO!

What a first day! We got up early and since the elementary kids had the day off from school due to a teachers day we took Boo-Bear and Jenny-Benny out with us. We stopped at Dunkin Donuts and had breakfast.


Then we hit downtown. Grandma A-GO-GO having her first taste of kimche. :) EWWWWWWWWW!!!!!! She said it wasn't bad and she didn't hate it but it's not something she'll eat all the time. What a trooper!

This is the very first taste of real Korean food. I took her to a place that I've eaten at and knew the food wouldn't give you Montezuma's revenge... :)



We took the girls shopping and met this sweet lady. Jenny-Benny is Korean and speaks the language great so she is our interpreter. The lady was fascinated that my mom came all the way to visit and loved Boo-Bear. Here is my mom looking at the watches and thinking about which one to get. The sweet lady even gave boo-bear and Jenny-Benny free necklaces!!!!!


FREE BLING!





Saw this site as we were walking around. Here is a guy on a moped with a bunch of brooms laid sideways. Who do you think he'll knock down first????
It was a great shopping day. I'll post some pictures of us in our Rockin' Hot Shades later on today. We got a bunch of stuff. She got her first purse! That is one of the things you have to get if you come here. Today we are tackling E-Mart! Thanks to everyone who wrote to say hi to us!!!! Love to Aunt Joanie!!!
Bye!

SHE'S HERE!!!!!

Last night we went to the airport to get my mom. SHE MADE IT!!!!!!!!!! I was so proud of her!!! She left Chicago on Saturday afternoon and got here Sunday night. WHEW!! What a trip! We are up early to get her in the gov't system so she can go from base to base with no problem-o. Then we are off to explore Korea.
All is right with my world.
Have a great day everyone!!!

Major Confession Time....coming out of the closet.

I have a major confession to tell you all tonight. I have struggled with whether I should reveal it or not. I finally told myself that it would be a weight off of my shoulders once I put it out there. Okay, here goes................................................
Oh man, I don't think I can..."deep breath for me" here goes............................

I......read....comics...and....I....am.......weeks......away.....from.....turning.......38.

Whew. It's out. I feel better, I truly do. :) I am a comic reader dear friends. My family has come to accept the fact that I giggle over Zits and I laugh so hard at night reading my personal favorite, Baby Blues, that I make the bed shake and wake the Capt up. I order them frequently and my family has taken to calling the boxes that come in the mail for me "Great American Literature." I hope we can still be friends. I know this confession is a lot to take all at once. I just felt I needed to come out of the closet for all our sakes. So now you know the real me.....Dawn...Keepin' It Real. heehee

Girls night out...and a chance to show how smart I am!!

Had a girls night out last night. We went to see Dreamgirls. Now I am going around the house singing Effies song "I'm not going" in a voice several octaves lower then normal. heehee the hubby has asked me to stop repeatedly but I just can't seem to. And, and I only know that one line..."I'm not going". Good times!!! I went with Walker Leigh and two other ladies I hadn't met yet. Walker Jen was supposed to go but movies aren't her thing...I think she just wanted a night of love with her Major!! :) You go Jen!!! There were no pre-movie margaritas but maybe a pre-movie glass of wine. There was something that happened that made me go hmmmmm. Walker Leigh's hubby asked what my hubby did here in Korea. I answered him "umm-hmm-umm-hmmm". Pretty intelligent don't ya think!? AUGH!!!! Now before you scratch your head and ask why I have no idea what the Capt does with his days. I do have some idea...it's just he has done so many different things over the years that I lose track. Each base we go to he gets a different job...and they are all sooooooooo involved. When we move to a new place he sits me down to tell me what he does so these kinds of things don't happen to me but I get so distracted...I mean there are shiny lights outside and birds chirping and naked Korean men to look at!! When I talk to the other wives they all know what "their" men do. I am so in awe of them that they can keep all the acronyms in order and actually know what they mean. The conversations usually go like this...

In the know wife..."my hubby works in USAF for the 46th on the 25th for the JROTCVM". Smiles contentedly.

Next in the know wife..."oh yes, I seem to remember my Herbert saying he worked with him during the 15 JSTMF 15th." Smiles contentedly.

My turn....."hamina...hmmm...hamina...oh look! Shiny lights......Naked Korean man alert" blushes furiously as other wives look at me astonished. "Do you not know what your husband does dear"? This asked usually by the Head Honcho Wife. SIGH!!!
Last night I came up with what I think of as Witty Banter for Walker Leigh's hubby. I told him that I was sure my husband did something in Korea. As I was telling the Capt what happened and he is looking at me in horrified silence replaying in his mind what Walker Leighs hubby was thinking about me, I reassured him that I was extremely charming so he probably overlooked my not knowing anything about anything. My Capt says, "But D I tell you all the time what I do!! I talk to you about my day EVERY NIGHT!!!" And another huge sigh!!!
I just smiled and sang to him...."I'm not gooooooing". heehee

Finished work for the day...4 hours with pre-K kids. SIGH! heehee Actually it wasn't bad. They are pretty cute at that age and I'm off for the next two weeks since my mom is coming. Life is good! Tomorrow I am going to go with Walker Leigh to the movies and see Dream Girls. I am trying to get her to make margaritas before we go cause hey, it is "girls night" you know!!! Wahoo! The Capt is on dad duty...no babysitting in this house!!! He is "parenting" when he stays in with the prodigys. :) Course we don't say it that way to him. With him it is all...."way to be a great dad honey!!" or..... my personal favorite "I'll make it worth your while big guy" said in the voice of Mae West. heehee
K, enough fooling around on the computer. I gotta go and rassle up some dinner round here...more Mae West. Heehee!!!

Working with the Wee-Ones

I have to work today...I'm doing Sure Start. Sure Start is a program for kiddos that aren't old enough to go to Kindergarten. I think I am just the Aide today. I don't have to go til 11. When I get there it will be playground time, then lunch, then nap, then home. Whew!! What a hard (heehee) day!!! And...and there are only about 6 kids in the class so it's an easy breezy day. Tomorrow I am going over to Walker Jen's house for a crafty/quilting day. I love love love those kinds of days. You go on over to a friends house, sit and talk and you get to work on a craft. Saturday we are going to "the son's" teachers book reading at the book store downtown. He is the German teacher and smart as all get out!! He wrote this huge book that's one long poem in different languages. I bought one and he kindly wrote something really nice in there for the son. Also Saturday we are cleaning the son's room. My mom is going to stay in there for the two weeks she is here. Right now it's fit for neither man nor beast so it should take up a big chunk of the day. He is sooo funny. He doesn't want the cat in there cause he is shedding his winter coat right now and it drives the son crazy. He shuts his door every morning and every morning he tells me not to let Buster in there. I'm like "are you kidding???" How can you even tell in all that mess????! KIDS!! On Sunday "she" comes!!!! Hurray!!! I haven't seen my mom in over a year and I'm ready for a visit. I'm going to take pictures of her getting off of the plane when we go and pick her up. I'll make sure I post them for all the "gals" who work with her.
Okay, enough on the computer I gotta go and get ready to be with the Wee Ones. Have a great weekend everyone and
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ROSIE O'DONNEL!!! Yeah, I know, but I like her. :)

Day out with Walker's Jen and Leigh...

Went out today with Walker Jen and Walker Leigh. We first hit one of my favorite places...E-Mart. It's kind of like a really big Super Wal-mart. As soon as we get there I got this picture before a store employee came running over to tell me "no pictures". So I did the only thing I could do.....I snuck. :)

We couldn't let this picture go. I got the camera..Walker Leigh was the look-out and she acted like we were going to buy something so I could whip out the ole'camera and get this shot. It's a hat. You can only wear it if you're a "ROCKSTART" No plain ole' rockstars here people!!!

After that bit of subterfuge we went over to check out the food section. Here you can see all the employees getting together at the beginning of the shift. Sometimes the Hokey Pokey will come over the speakers and they will all do the dance. This time it looked like they were praying...probably for me to put the camera away already!

Next we got hungry so all of us piled in the van and went downtown for lunch. Here is one of the things I got....yaki-mondu. The slop in the middle is cabbage with a really really hot red sauce on it. Walker Jen braved a taste and said she didn't like it to much. That woman can eat some hot!!! stuff!!

Here is our freebie for the day. A coke with three straws! I love it here!!!

This is what Walker Jen and Walker Leigh got for lunch...bul-go-gi. It's a meat dish and it's one of my favorites. Yumm!!!

When we left the restaurant Walker Leigh saw this sign...Love the way Japanese is spelled!

On the way home we see this wonderful site...what is it you ask??????? If it would've been a dead body can you imagine the post I could've written??? Instead it was...........................

DINNER!!!!! Yep people this is how you get your pork here. They pull up in a u-haul and deiliver it to your door. If you're really lucky you can get the fat trimmed off right there by the truck and they will throw it in the gutter. Now that I think about it...who do you think washes this guys work clothes????????????????????????????????????????Just another day here in paradise... :)