Me, Myself
and Song Min too

I took my hair binder out this evening and it fell to the floor. It landed and I looked down to find this...



I guess I should go practice the piano or violin!

As a young kid, I remember going to visit the yarn shop that my Aunt Nancy worked at, in Illinois. Lots of yarn that we weren't supposed to touch, bubbly Aunt Nancy, and although yarn is fun and everything...it was slightly overshadowed by the fact that we got popcorn balls from a shop close by. Still, yarn reminds me of Decatur, IL, popcorn balls, and my aunt. Fond memories.

Anyhow, about ten years ago, I tried my hand(s) at knitting. I was unsuccessful and stopped knitting soon after I started.

Recently, it was suggested that I try again. So, I went to Michaels. I purchased some bamboo needles (I don't even know if that's what you call them), and a thing of yarn...endorsed by Vanna White (if it's good enough for Vanna, it's good enough for me!).

After four days, here is what I have so far...


I have made countless mistakes. There are holes the size of Neptune! But, I'm still plugging away at it. I figure that if anything, Sally can use it for a blanket...or a scarf (if the blanket idea gets scrapped).

I want a popcorn ball!

WARNING...this post is ridiculous.

I often drink a cup of sugar free hot chocolate, in the morning at work. The trek to the employee break room is fairly far from my desk (it’s not like I have to pack a brown bag lunch or anything to get there, but it’s not just around the corner).

Getting to the break room is no problem. In fact, it’s nice to get the blood moving after the long commute to the office. However, returning to my desk with the cup of hot liquid has always been a slow endeavor for me. It has happened more frequently than I would like to admit (a few times weekly) - the slosh of molten chocolaty goodness tidal waving over the rim and onto my hand and clothes.

OUCH!

I have tried walking slowly…while staring at the hot chocolate and willing it to remain within the burn free safety of the cup.
I have tried walking at a normal pace…without even looking at the cup.
I have tried filling the cup only half full, with a good two inches of an anti-spill zone.

Inevitably, the chocolate pours over the Styrofoam dam and gets on me.

Enter Olga...



I hope that I’m not the only nerd who watched “Little House on the Prairie” nearly every day during my youth. If you have seen as many episodes of the bonnet wearing pioneers as I have…then you may recall Olga. Olga had one leg shorter than the other. When the others would play, she would sit and watch. Compassionate Laura asks her father to help Olga from Nellie's brutal treatment. So, the brilliant and master fix-it man, (every one's hero) Charles Ingalls, makes Olga a pair of special shoes (one shoe had about four inches of wood nailed to it to compensate for her shorter extremity...brilliant!)

Now, I’m not saying that I need a peg leg or a special shoe...and you certainly don't need to start calling me Olga, but I think that one of my legs might be ever so slightly shorter than the other (I KNOW…that totally ruins your preconceived belief that I’m perfect in every single way). When I walk, you can’t see me swaying side to side like a penguin. But, I think it’s definitely manifesting itself in my inability to walk without spilling.

Until the discovery of the decade (thus far)...

I constantly move the arm holding the cup, up and down (slightly and slowly), to absorb my apparently turbulent walk. Yeah, it sounds strange, and I will admit, it would probably look a little funny if someone studied my swagger from the break room to my desk. But, it has calmed the waves and saved my hand and clothing from further pain and suffering. - my shock absorbing system...to be known from this point forward as, “The Up/Down Swayze Strut”.

Thank you to the years of scoliosis screening throughout elementary school, which made me paranoid enough to believe that I have one leg abnormally shorter than the other (they would always put a block of wood under my right foot before checking my spine alignment). And thank you, Charles Ingalls, for giving me the courage and belief that I, too, can conquer my battle of a lop-sided walk.

Sway on...Swayze.



Peace out!

Sitting in the chair at the dentist's office today, I figured out that some things are black and white. You either DO floss, or you DON'T floss...there really isn't any in between (which is funny because that exactly why we have floss...to get in between - I've been around my dad too much). Anyway, although I made it a goal to floss every day in 2009, I could only say that I occassionally flossed, when asked by the hygenist today. It's a failure on my part, but I guess that just gives me the opportunity to work on it again this year.

On the up side, both the dentist and the hygenist told me that I have very very clean teeth. And even better...no cavities! I have six months until I will have to answer the dreaded question again, "how often do you floss".

So, this is information that no one probably needs or wants, but my husband has exactly one chest hair…yup, you didn’t expect that one, huh?

Anyhow, his one and only chest hair disappeared a while back and I sort of thought it was gone for good. Lo and behold, last week, it made its reappearance. When I told Song Min that his chest hair was growing back…without skipping a beat, he did his best Jiminy Cricket and sang “When You Wish Upon A Star…” I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.



I love that I married someone who can keep me laughing!

1) Taking a less stressful job
2) Sally joining our family
3) Seeing my sister and her family
4) Valentine’s Day
5) Master bedroom completion
6) Ambien
7) BluRay player that connects to Netflix, which ties in with our “Lost” marathon (Seasons 1-4…5 is on our “to do” list for January)
8) Extra time with Song Min, family, and friends
9) Massage Envy
10) Karaoke machine

So, I realize that pictures of other people's pets isn't the most exciting thing in the world. But, here I am, downloading pictures of our sweetie pie pup, Sally and our cranky old man gerbil, Snoopy.

Here is Sally with a scarf from my parents...



Sally with Song Min...



Here is Sally checking out the ridiculous amount of snow outside...



Here is Snoopy checking me out and probably using gerbil curse words at me...



Ah yes, I forgot to introduce Snoopy. My husband gave me (upon other wonderful things) a gerbil for my birthday. I was such a sucker for our mouse...named Mouse, that he thought he'd fill her empty cage (after her tragic passing on Halloween). Problem is, Snoopy is not nice. He bites occasionally, but not all that frequently. He is, however, very possessive of his cage space. Cleaning the cage, moving things around, putting your hand near his stuff...pretty much brings the rage out in little Snoopy. He comes barreling out from his pile of nesting material, stands on his hind legs and though I don't understand gerbil...I know he's saying something like "get the %$#! off my property". He's a mean little son of a gun, but we still love him...most of the time!

So, my grandma has been staying with us for the last week. She's eighty-four years old, which she has reminded us of...about once every hour ("it's common with the elderly"). Anyhow, although there are some challenges with having my grandma here, we do feel blessed to have had the opportunity to spend Christmas with her.

We've tried to do some fun things while she's been here. We've watched several classic holiday movies, eaten plenty of sweets (most humans are 55-60% water...the remainder of my grandma is definitely sugar), and drove around looking at the holiday lights in our neighborhood (with Christmas music playing in the car). It's been fun.

One evening, Song Min and I took Grandma to Downtown Minneapolis. Macy's has a display every Christmas. This year, they had "A Day in the Life of an Elf". Here is my Grandma standing in front of one of the displays.



At the end of the display, you can get a picture with Santa. If you're all good, perhaps I'll post our picture. By the way, Santa was looking really healthy. Aside from his beard, he looked like he was in his early 20's...hmmm.

After, we went to the Oak Room for dinner - pretty decent food, moderate prices, and decorated for the holiday season.

Tomorrow, Grandma leaves us, as my parents return home from their trip to Houston visiting my sister's family. I'm glad to have a grandma and that I am able to spend time with her. I'm also glad that my parents had the opportunity to spend Christmas with my niece and nephew. All in all...I think it was a nice week for everyone.