Here She Goes........

At 10:00 o'clock today was my appointment to take the van to start the processing to ship back to America. Sad, but exciting at the same time, because I know that the next time I see the van, we will be back in America! So, this is where it all starts. The seat gets covered in plastic, the floorboard with cardboard, and all of our possessions, like mats and auto paperwork, get boxed up and put in the back of the van. This piece of paper has the shipping information on it, so our van arrives at the correct destination!

Then the outside inspection begins. Looking at every detail, dents, scratches, chipping paint, etc. It all gets annotated and the van should arrive in the same condition that it left Korea in! Here's hoping!

To my surprise and the vehicle processor's, there was only one very small ding in the body of the van. I mean very small; probably from a car door opening. We really lucked out! Because we have had some very close calls. These people really don't have rules, they drive crazy
Like a caged animal, just waiting to be freed! "Hang on girl, freedom is just across the ocean!" Our van leaves tomorrow. Her journey will begin on a truck, then boat, and truck again. See you in TEXAS!

The Day

Well, today is the day. The van and I will start the process to get her shipped back to America. This photo was taken this morning. The last time that she will be parked at 112-B. Hopefully pirates won't attack the boat! Bye, bye van. See you in America!

The Holy Grill!!!

We found an awesome place to eat, hang out, and just have a good time! This restaurant is owned by 3 Canadians. You ask, Canadians in Korea? Why? How? Well, teaching English overseas is a huge money making opportunity. They flock here and make good money. Well, they ended up opening this restaurant and it is really good.

So, two of the four Ya-Ya's decided we needed date night and that we deserved it. (Well, we did!) Then the third Ya-Ya thought it was a great idea too. Our fourth Ya-Ya was in the throws of sorting what precious items would go first, last, or not at all. We had a drink, or two, for her! "YA-YA!" Our beautiful Dawn just had a birthday, so it all just worked out and a night out was the perfect plan.

We really have such a good time together. In usual situations, the husbands like each other, but the wives have nothing in common or visa versa. But we, on the other hand, all just click. I love my girls and their husbands are great too!

We were drinking a June Bug. It was good and complimentary from the owners for Dawn's 29th birthday. One of the owners even came over and did a shot with her. We had a great time and can't wait to go back!

Here are three of the four Ya-Ya's. (Yes, it was late in the night. We were actually getting ready to leave.) As you can see, we had a great night! I love you man! YA-YA!

Until next time...............with all four Ya-Ya's!

Birthday Pool Party

It is really difficult to be creative with birthday parties living in Korea. There are just not a lot of places to go. So, we lucked out with the weather and we held Big Man's birthday bash at the indoor pool! It has an awesome deck with many tables and chairs. So, the kids swam, then took a break for pizza, cake and presents. Then it was back to the pool!

Big man wanted a Lego party and a pool party. So, being the world's greatest mom that I am, smashed them together and came up with this! He had a Lego cake at the pool. (I know, not too crazy original, but it was all that I had!)

This was definately the way to go for entertainment and kids! I would absolutely do it again. They had a blast.

The birthday boy himself! The indoor pool has a small slide that is the center of attraction. It is really for smaller children, but they had a great time!

Where Does the Time Go?

It was just 8 years ago that we were blessed with a little boy. The year 2000. Sweet, cute, and smelling so clean. Then he sat up on his own, said "ma ma and da da", took his first steps, while holding on tight to my finger, began to feed himself, gave many kisses to his mommy, got his first haircut, fell in love with his trucks and dirt, still loves his trucks, but we've added Legos. Then there is the Nintendo DS and the PS2, baseball, soccer, friends, and no real public kisses at the bus stop anymore. My baby boy is growing up. He is such a great kid and so easy going. I love him so much. Happy Birthday little man!

Father - Daughter Dance

The Girls Scouts host an annual Father/Daughter Dance. My daughter is a Girl Scout and LOVES it! She really loves getting dressed up and going out with her daddy. This night was no different. You can see that they both are happy. There was dinner and dancing. All in all a fantabulous night!

It is TIME

We are moving in 56 days. I'm okay with that. Although, I hate the thought of leaving friends, again. That is the hardest part about being in the military. Military spouses make friends so fast and we form bonds that don't compare to anything else in the world. We are all in the same boat; whether it be living in a foreign country or 3 hours from family. We just click. We can purge a house in no time and create a new home in a matter of moments.

But I think I found the one thing, outside of shipping my pets across the Pacific, that is very stressful. It is shipping my van. On Thursday, we turn over the van to start the shipping process. We are shipping the van early, so that it will be waiting for me when we arrive from Korea. You say, "It's just a car." Yes, I know, but it is my freedom, my, "hey, let's go downtown.", my wheels! You just don't know how much you depend on them until they are gone.

I know that I will appreciate all of this once I arrive in the states and I see that my van is waiting for me. But this is where the stress begins!

Sewing Lesson

Well, I have a great friend, Jen the Designer, (http://reannalilydesigns.blogspot.com/), and she has been teaching me some sewing tips, like zippers, fringe, and the such. Well, I am redoing my daughter's room and I was working on two pillows. As I was looking at the fabric, I had a revalation! These pillows need something else. So this is what I came up with. Now, it was wasn't easy working with a zipper AND decorative pretty stuff. There was much *%#@##, but I think that it turned out beautiful and I am very happy with them!

Let me know what you think!

Ya-Ya Weekend in Seoul

First you have to ask, "What is a Ya-Ya?" Well, probably a friend who is so dear to you. You can call them in the middle of the night and just say, "Can I....". A Ya-Ya would interrupt you and just say "Yes." before you can ask what it is that you need. They are your girl friends that you can just sit for hours with and just chat about anything, while sipping your coffee or other beverage of your choice.

So, this weekend was a Ya-Ya weekend. There are 4 of us; three of which are moving back to America this summer, which is sad. But on this weekend only 3 of the Ya-Yas could partake, because our 4th Ya-Ya was running amuck and having a great time in Tokyo! So, here our story begins.

Here we go...........the big toll plaza on the outskirts of Seoul. The pictures doesn't do it justice; the plaza is massive! And there are so many cars............and we are so very excited!

So, we arrive at the lovely Dragon Hill Lodge, a premiere location for any weekend stay in Seoul! Nestled in the heart of Yongson Garrison, (that is Army talk for base). We get settled in our room and decide that it is lunch time and we are hungry..............and thirsty! And since this is a no kid weekend, yes, there are cocktails at lunch! (I know we're geeks, but it was fun!)

First, one friend had a hair appointment, so I and my great Air Force friend decided what fabulous treatment we would get done. There were so many choices! After much discussion, we decided on a 40 minute full body massage. It sounded like a good idea!

Two ladies came to get us and we went into a room that had three beds in it. On the first bed was a small Agimah getting her massage so I stood next to a bed and my friend stood next to one. Then we awaited further instruction. Our ajashees (young women) came over with a small basket for each of us and told us to take off all clothes except our underwear. We looked around for a changing room. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. We looked at each other. The ajashees looked at us. Then they took matters in hand and quietly told us that it was okay. We were to undress right there in front of God and everyone and hop up on the table and then we would be covered. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. We looked at each other. The ajashees looked at us. My friend said, "right here?? In the open?? Just like this?? Right here?!" Her ajashee said, quietly cause we were in the massage room...everything was said in a whisper..."yes, it's okay. Take off clothes." Hmmmmmmmmmm at that point someone whimpered. It may have been my friend. Then we got the giggles which was not appreciated by two ajashees trying to keep everything quiet and serene. We looked at each other again and just decided to go for it. Why not?!?! I remember saying, "I love you man." Yeah, good times! We felt better after the massage. It didn't matter at that point about being naked!

That night was spent enjoying girl time and chatting, sharing secrets, and consuming some beverages. We slept in to prepare for our big day out into Seoul! We decide that we should take the subway. Well, the Seoul subway looks a lot like the NYC subway........many lines of different colors. We figure out where we need to go and try to figure out the ticket dispensing machine. Here is my Air Force friend and Paigee with her beautiful hair looking a little terrified at the amount of choices at the ticket machine.

We decide to check out the Dongdameum shopping district. Well, a little bigger than the Daegu shopping areas that we were very familiar with. First is some fun shopping with vendors scattered throughout. Notice the Tourist Information Center behind the crowd, and yes, it was closed!

This is where you are supposed to find everything and anything. WOW! It was Saturday and very crowded. This building held many, many, many floors of fabric, ribbon and stuff. We attempted, but were overcome! Maybe we were still feeling the effects of our massage and a no kids weekend. It was just too much chaos for us!

And then there was the crazy traffic and people and bikes, and.............."CALGON, take me away!"

We walked around for too long, because none of us wanted to say what a crazy place this was and we wanted to go back to the Dragon Hill Lodge. I don't know who said it first, but we made a bee line for the first cab back to familiar territory! We ate lunch downtown at Outback and headed back to our room for a nap! We woke and decided that we would go to a movie. Then it was back to the room for PJs, secrets, giggles, and more beverages.

We had a great weekend that was restful and meaningful. Love you Ya-Yas!

Spring!

It is finally spring in Korea people! The dark, drab, wet, dreary winter is finally over. The fog has been lifted and I am seeing clearly now, "now that the rain is gone." No more jackets, break out the capris and sandals!

I love this one with the beautiful purples. It almost doesn't look real.



These are blossoms on trees. They almost look like Magnolias. The petals are very thick. Once they bloom, they are not on the tree very long.


Did I already say that I love spring?!