Hi everyone. This year we're going all electronic on our Christmas cards. This helps us, you know, to save paper, time, stamps and ummm, eliminate a lot of tongue sores from licking envelopes. Anyhoo. . . just click below:
Here's our youtube Christmas card
Monday, December 27, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
twiners!
Ariana with her best friend Leila
blackmail picture- Corban came down the stairs one day in whatever his sister told him to wear.
Birthday girl!
Happy birthday to me. I wasn't feeling so excited for this birthday in some ways. Getting old. . .
Here are some of the festivities. Going to somebody else's birthday party- he turned 30 on the same day as me.
My friend Melissa got me not one, but two bunches of roses a princess kitty card, and a ballon. Festive!
I ate this cake with some friends. Tres Leches! Delisiosa!
More pictures!
Party Time! At my mother-in-laws fabulous birthday party!
my hair!
Crazy party guy
All tuckered out!
Pictures!
So, October is a very busy month for us. We went to California not just once, but twice. We went to Disneyland, I got in a fender bender, We celebrated about 5 birthdays and an anniversary. Valley Scare, pumpkin patch, trick or treating. Finally, I decided to spice up my blog with some pictures. Here's some of our California pictures set A. Disneyland, for the most part
Thursday, November 04, 2010
My walk
Every Tuesday and Thursday I walk from the institute building to just a few blocks down to the ugliest and muggiest building on campus, the building without even a name, 1701 University. You know, I used to think that the walk was a little long. It seemed forever until the two intersections that I cross came out with the white little walking guy light. When it's cold, it's probably the most uncomfortable 10 minutes of the day, and I hold my hood closed the whole way trying to see from the little crack for my eyes. When I was pregnant, I waddled. When it was icy, I slid. When it's slushy, my boots push through the slop. But lately, now that it seems like I seldom have 10 minutes that are as relaxing as walking down the street on a cool autumn day, I just spend the time reflecting or getting lost in my thoughts, or maybe listening to something on my ipod or phone. I always look at the view of Minneapolis from the street, which is just about perfect and somehow seems to always in the right light for a picture that I have never taken.
Now that it's getting to be the end, it really makes you start thinking about the beginning. This is my third fall semester at the University of Minnesota and my fifth semester. After this semester, I should be receiving my third college diploma. And now that it's the end, I think about how hard it was in the beginning and how much I wanted to just learn as much as I could. I think about how babysitting worked and how much I cried and she cried in the first weeks that Ariana went to the Chinese daycare. I think about how third year Chinese was 4 days a week and that was hard on me, and how much I looked forward to those Wednesdays without class. But how whenever I got done with the class, I just always felt so good about what I was doing. I thought about the future back then, about how by this year I would only have to go to class 2 times a week and how that was so great. I thought that I would be able to read and write like a pro by now. And that by now we might know what life will hold for us after residency. And now that Reuben has his first offer, we see that the future really is now.
And so I go back to my walk. However slushy, bitterly cold, windy, or miserable it gets during that short walk, I think that I might just miss it when I will be done with this, my last college experience this December. I've been going to college since I was about 16 and have attended about 8 colleges during this time. This long road ends with my short walk to 1701 University.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Quotes from the family
I don't often do quotes in our family because some of the humor is lost in translation (our kids quote in Chinese.) But I'll try it out this time and see what you think.
Our Ariana is getting very confident in herself- still shy- but very "grown up" now. With this, she's starting to get pretty funny.
1) Recently with some weather change, we started getting attacked by cute ladybugs. Ariana saw one inside by her window and called it an ant and wanted to do our normal routine of squishing it and putting it in the toilet. But as I have some affinity to ladybugs, I explained them to her that "she" (of course it's a girl right?) lives outside and need to put her outside to her home. Ariana came back and told me that she doens't live outside, she lives in the toilet!
2) Ariana is starting to realize that she has many names. With her Chinese names and English names, nicknames, and titles, we commonly call her at least 5 different names. She's started to get used to it and now can even pronounce her own name! However, with all these names, she's started to not like her Chinese name and insists on us calling her, of all things, "Big Princess." (Da Gongzhu)
the other two quotes that I wrote just got lost. I'm frustrated and going to bed!
Our Ariana is getting very confident in herself- still shy- but very "grown up" now. With this, she's starting to get pretty funny.
1) Recently with some weather change, we started getting attacked by cute ladybugs. Ariana saw one inside by her window and called it an ant and wanted to do our normal routine of squishing it and putting it in the toilet. But as I have some affinity to ladybugs, I explained them to her that "she" (of course it's a girl right?) lives outside and need to put her outside to her home. Ariana came back and told me that she doens't live outside, she lives in the toilet!
2) Ariana is starting to realize that she has many names. With her Chinese names and English names, nicknames, and titles, we commonly call her at least 5 different names. She's started to get used to it and now can even pronounce her own name! However, with all these names, she's started to not like her Chinese name and insists on us calling her, of all things, "Big Princess." (Da Gongzhu)
the other two quotes that I wrote just got lost. I'm frustrated and going to bed!
Thursday, October 07, 2010
This last Tuesday I was in a hurry as usual on my way to class and to drop off the kids. Of course, when you are in a hurry, things just tend to seem slower. This day, I saw that a local day care building had been surrounded by police cars. This of course slowed me down. I passed through my 1/2 mile stretch on the freeway to enter the one lane highway for a bit and again found myself going 15 mph. Interesting. Finally, I saw that it was another two police cars doing who knows what slowing everyone down. I passed through the construction on the bridge (they are supposedly redoing a local old bridge- they are a bit anxious about bridges here lately- since the 35W bridge fell into the river). I passed the police station, a few more police cars, and then finally made it to the Chinese school. After I then drove to the University parking lot, I had to stop and wait for some police officers on horse! That is a first for me in Saint Paul. I didn't really know that they still rode horses other than in parades.
Anyhow, a big police officer day. Good for me to follow the super slow speed limits (45 mph on our nearby freeway).
Anyhow, a big police officer day. Good for me to follow the super slow speed limits (45 mph on our nearby freeway).
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
A post about the kitchen
Like most nights, I finally finish cleaning up the kitchen about this time at night, usually after putting the kids away. Tonight, instead of putting on an audiobook, watching some tv, or solving nightmare issues with the three year old, I just left myself alone with my thoughts. When I'm tired like today, I try to give myself a time limit goal to help speed things up, but after my time had come and gone, I was still working and thinking.
I thought about the kicthen. My kitchen, right now. We had just had a party for mutual and one of the young women leaders had complimented the kitchen. We have a pretty kitchen, it's true. This led me to think about all the thoughts I've had about kitchens these past few weeks. Today, Corban was playing with his play kitchen having a blast. Is the kitchen just for women? Labor day weekend I saw Julia Child's kitchen in a museum. It was very busy and crazy with everything held up on the way with magnents and a whole lot of copper pots. I've recently been looking at real estate websites as we might (or might not) be in the early stages of thinking about moving- and I've been looking for my dream kitchen. Is it the most important part of the house? The most important room even? (It would have to compete with the bathroom- right, because that place is also very important. But bathrooms weren't even a part of the house until somewhat recently in world history!)
For all my thoughts about the kitchen, all the time I spent behind the sink (for which I finally got a soft cushy kitchen mat for my achy feet), all the cooking, cleaning, and feeding I do, does the kitchen really even matter? That's an odd question, because of course it matters. I usually spend at least 2 hours in the kitchen a day, but many times more. (our kitchen connects to a sort of great room so it's not too bad.) I actually probably spend a majority of my awake at home time in the kitchen area. But for all my time spent in the kitchen, what am I going to remember about it?
I asked this because as we are starting to think about the next chapter in our lives, I begin to think about how this started and where we have come from. I remember my last kitchen. I remember that the granite countertops didn't show fingerprints like our black shiny countertops do now. But I don't remember when I put the cans, or the tupperware, the cereal, and I'm even foggy about where I put the silverware. Isn't that odd? How much time did I spend in that place loading and unloading the dishwasher, pulling out cereal, and refilling the cupboard space. Isn't it odd how I can't even remember those details?
So now that I just cleaned up from a fun party, celebrating the new (and almost only) young woman in our ward, I think that I may just remember this party in another three years. Especially since I baked the cake. But in another three years I might not even remember where I stored my sugar.
I thought about the kicthen. My kitchen, right now. We had just had a party for mutual and one of the young women leaders had complimented the kitchen. We have a pretty kitchen, it's true. This led me to think about all the thoughts I've had about kitchens these past few weeks. Today, Corban was playing with his play kitchen having a blast. Is the kitchen just for women? Labor day weekend I saw Julia Child's kitchen in a museum. It was very busy and crazy with everything held up on the way with magnents and a whole lot of copper pots. I've recently been looking at real estate websites as we might (or might not) be in the early stages of thinking about moving- and I've been looking for my dream kitchen. Is it the most important part of the house? The most important room even? (It would have to compete with the bathroom- right, because that place is also very important. But bathrooms weren't even a part of the house until somewhat recently in world history!)
For all my thoughts about the kitchen, all the time I spent behind the sink (for which I finally got a soft cushy kitchen mat for my achy feet), all the cooking, cleaning, and feeding I do, does the kitchen really even matter? That's an odd question, because of course it matters. I usually spend at least 2 hours in the kitchen a day, but many times more. (our kitchen connects to a sort of great room so it's not too bad.) I actually probably spend a majority of my awake at home time in the kitchen area. But for all my time spent in the kitchen, what am I going to remember about it?
I asked this because as we are starting to think about the next chapter in our lives, I begin to think about how this started and where we have come from. I remember my last kitchen. I remember that the granite countertops didn't show fingerprints like our black shiny countertops do now. But I don't remember when I put the cans, or the tupperware, the cereal, and I'm even foggy about where I put the silverware. Isn't that odd? How much time did I spend in that place loading and unloading the dishwasher, pulling out cereal, and refilling the cupboard space. Isn't it odd how I can't even remember those details?
So now that I just cleaned up from a fun party, celebrating the new (and almost only) young woman in our ward, I think that I may just remember this party in another three years. Especially since I baked the cake. But in another three years I might not even remember where I stored my sugar.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Washington DC
This Labor Day we had a awesome trip to Washington DC to see Reuben’s sister Sunny and her husband Jonathan. Reuben's younger brother Eric and cousin Joman were also able to go along with Jonathan's family. Party time!
While there we traveled the subway with our double stroller- a feat in itself and did lots of stuff in the National Mall, including seeing the capital (from afar), lots of museums, and other monuments. Jonathan and Sunny were awesome and got us on a party boat going down the Potomac River for a dinner cruise. Here are a few pictures.
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