Bodies: Theme Thursday

I think maybe C. Donaldson of the Clan Fame perhaps had my suggestions in mind when she chose this week's theme.  After all, I think my responses to "ideas for upcoming Theme Thursday posts" were 92% body related.  Ne'ertheless, when I saw it, I just thought of Warm Bodies which is, if I'm not mistaken... a vampire movie?  Or TV show?  Or something?  (I'm so uncool.  So hopelessly uncool.)

Sorry. No vampires 'round these parts.  Just the same old kids I keep throwin' at ya every Thursday.  (Seriously though... when will they leave?) (I jest!  I love them!)

To spice things up this week, I finally tried using an "action" on my photos.  I downloaded this one a couple months ago but never tried it because when I watched a general tutorial on actions it was all:

Create new layer (lost me already, buddy)
Use the selection tool to create a clipping mask (hey, watch it. i'll clip your mask!))
Flatten image (uh, I don't have a 3D camera.  it's already flat)*

And so on and so forth.  If by "forth", you mean "to the most confusing place on Earth."

So tonight, as I threw together these photos (when I actually should have been packing for the Memorial Day Weekend Extravagaaaaaaannnnnnnzzzzzaaaaa- yeah baby!) I decided to give it one last try.  You know, so you guys don't quit me like a bad habit.  Guess what?!  With this action, all you have to do is click a button and then watch the magic happen!  Okay, almost.

Original 1:

Coffee Shop Perfect Portraits 3 Action:

What's that?  You can't tell a difference?  Well then it must be your computer.  Or your eyes.  Or your bad attitude.  Cause it most definitely wasn't my lack of technical knowledge that mess this one up.  Heavens no.

Original:

Same Coffee Shop Action:

Why does Ezekiel always look drunk?  He imbibes no actual alcohol, pinky promise.

What do YOU know about actions?  Favorites?  Tips for not being a fool about using them?

You know the Theme Thursday drill.  Off with thee.

Have a great Memorial Day everyone!  I'll be sipping Coronas and watching my kids play in the sand, escaping the crazy packing life for a few days.

*Not the actual instructions, or the proper order for the instructions.  But they were instructions like these!  And they confused the hell out of me!!!!

+++++++++++++++++++++

2 bonus things: (extra credit if you read them.)  (not really)

1) When we get back to the States. my inability to get anything done on time will reveal itself.  It's been nice having a 16 hour jump start on life these last couple of years.

2) I really struggled with whether or not to use kids-in-the-bath photos because apparently there is some registry where  you get listed if you email/post such photos.  A) Is this true?  and B)  What the hell has become of our society that we can no longer see innocence or purity in a child's body?!  Makes me boiling mad.  Consider this my civil disobedience.

Let the Emotional Upheaval Begin

It's not even Friday, and yet all I can think of is an absurd collection of jumbled thoughts.  Usually I save these sorts of ramblings for, well, for Fridays, but today is today and carpe diem and all that.  Here you go.

Our dates have been scheduled:  Our van will be shipped out next week.  Our furniture and other household goods will be packed and shipped on June 4.  We will fly to California on June 15.  I feel myself on the precipice of one of those crystalline moments I talked about last summer.  Here's a tidbit:

This storm of emotion has me up and down and all over the place, getting choked up and/or losing my temper at the littlest thing.
Oddly enough, that's not the crazy part.
The crazy part is I like it.  I like this range of emotions, this deep, soul-moving melancholy.
Weird, right? (read the rest of my torment right here.)

So here we are, on the brink of a major life change, again.  The grief of our final departure from Korea and the joy of our return to California are swirling about in my mind, pushing tears (and tempers) easily to the surface and making every moment precious.

I both love and hate these moments.  Love, because they bring with them adventure, and newness and a chance to joyfully appreciate the subtle nuances of my life that, more often than not, are overrun by the errands and tasks that comprise my day.  Hate, because I am not one who goes forward without looking back, without wondering if we are making the right decision, worrying excessively that my beloved nieces will forget me, forget us.

That somehow our time here will vaporize and nothing will be left but this blog, a few inside jokes, and some photographs.

When we first decided to move to Korea, we got some peculiar reactions.  One of the funniest was that of a friend's boyfriend.  Now, I've always liked this guy, but I think he just kind of tolerated me before.  Which is why his awed reaction to our move was so interesting and - I admit it - flattering to me.  In his mind, I went from being just his girlfriend's crazy friend to being bold and adventuresome, someone he wished to emulate.  He asked me countless questions about our plans, about what we would experience, and what other travel plans we would make when we were here.  I've got to admit, my vanity took over for awhile.  I fancied myself just as he imagined me: wild and brave and full of wanderlust.

But the truth is far from that.  We haven't traveled much outside Korea, we haven't had many grand adventures other than the craziness of raising 4 kids in a foreign country.  (Heck.  That's a crazy adventure no matter where you are.) To be completely honest: we are still ourselves, just living in a different culture.  True to (insane) form, a few weeks ago I had a mini panic attack thinking about all the "Korean" things we haven't done yet, all the places we should have gone.

I haven't had the luxury of indulging those regretful thoughts, though.  Life marches inexorably on, and the time for leaving is near.  Other than a couple of trips we have planned the next two weekends, there isn't much we can fit in.  So I'm finding, or trying to find, peace in the knowledge that I have spent plenty of time doing the things that matter.  Hugging my nieces, eating dinner out with my brother and his lovely wife, living my vocation as a mother and a wife.

Will it be enough to get me Cool Points with people back home?  Probably not.  But then, I've never been very cool, and it seems to be working out alright so far.

*******************

Oklahoma: My prayers go out to the families of those lost in the tornado, especially those who lost a child.  There are no words to console in those situations, so I must rely on heavenly aid.

Please keep another friend in your prayers.  The intentions are private, but she and her family and in need of serious prayers.

In a Jiffy!

~1~

All the contact lens wearers out there, raise your hands.  How many times have you been forced to choose between replacing an ancient pair of glasses or having your years' supply of contacts fully covered by insurance?  It's a hideous choice, and one I've faced nearly every year of my adult life.

No longer.

Check these out, yo.:

Two (count them , TWO) new pairs of glasses for less than $40 total (no insurance), made for me in under an hour.  Here's how it goes:  I walk in and hand over my current glasses. A very nice man points me towards the table of free frames.  (There are over 100 to choose from.)  I choose, and the clerk seats me at a cafe table and brings me a delicious Korean vitamin water.  I chat with my sis in law.  30 minutes later, give or take, I walk out the door with brand new glasses.  The kicker: I'm going back on Tuesday to pick up my fancy back-ordered contacts, astigmatism correction and all!

Think the U.S. could learn a thing or two about eye wear from the Koreans?  Yep, me too.

~2~

This is called suek tdeok.  "Tdeok" is a common type of rice cake here.  Not the crunchy kind most Americans are used to, though.  It has a more gummy texture.  I'm hard-pressed to find a consistency to compare it to, but perhaps raw pizza dough?

"Suek", according to my friend Ji Won's translator, is "mugwort."  I almost laughed when she said it because honestly, I thought mugwort was only found in Hogwarts Herbology classes.

I didn't mind it... it has an earthy flavor to it that was sort of addicting once you get used to it.  The kids, however, wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.  Which made me feel terrible because Ji Won's mother-in-law made them from scratch, complete with going to the mountains to harvest mugwort...  I only wish I was joking.

~3~

I decided to hurry up and try to finish out our school year by the last week of May in order to not be too stressed the last couple of weeks here.  But that means that I've been a bit of a slavedriver with schoolwork.  Gianna has fared the worse, and her most difficult subject by far has been math.

Normally I love our Singapore Math, but I've been really annoyed with the way the book teaches double digit addition.  Today, after Gianna struggled to understand yet another murky lesson, I took matters into my own hands.  We skipped ahead a lesson, I spent 5 minutes showing her how to make a place value chart and stack the addends, and then compute to find the sum.

Boom.  Girl got it in a jiffy, and finished 3 pages of addition in under 10 minutes.  I'm not bragging, people.  It was hardly a stroke of genius.  Just a frustrated teacher-mom following her gut.

Why do I feel like that page makes her seem so grown up?

~4~

Yesterday we went downtown with our friends and spent some time learning about the Korean poet Lee Sung Hwa.  His traditional house is preserved amid urban development in downtown Daegu.

Here is the poem he's famous for, painted for display on an exterior wall:

~5~

Tonight we made homemade pizzas (balsamic onions and feta for the parents- what WHAT?!), ate not-so-homemade ice cream, and watched Homeward Bound as a family.

No one had any fun at all.  See?

~6~

I feel kind of bad about how Ezekiel has been portrayed lately.  I thought I should post some redeeming facets of his personality.

See how sweet he is when he's asleep?

And brother napping together?  Double the cuteness, double the fun.

~7~

I saw this months ago on Simcha's blog, then one of my absolute favorite blogger friends Rebekah posted it on her place last week.  I tear up every time I watch it.  JP II, WE LOVE YOU!

"In His luf, in His luf!"  Have an absolutely wonderful weekend, friends!

Head over to Jen for more Quick Takes.

Animals, or Lack Thereof: Theme Thursday

There are no animals in Korea.  (Uh, wait.  That seems hyperbolic, even for me.)

There are no wild animals in Korea. (Still not right.)

There are very few wild animals in Korea and next to none in Daegu.  (There, I believe that's an accurate statement.)  I could have taken picture of poodles in strollers, but er, um, no.  Oh!  Once I saw a kid bring a hedgehog to the playground!  And it was really cool until all the other excited kids scared it under the pirate ship play structure and as far as I know it was never heard from again.  Sad.

Something interesting: the cultural significance of the tiger in Korean folklore.  We have borrowed this book from the library, Korean Children's Favorite Stories, many times and love it.  Tigers feature heavily among the old tales.

In the Public Domain

Have I mentioned we went to the Philippines a few weeks back?  I did?  Are you sure?  Hmm, I hardly remember mentioning that.  Anyway, when we went to the Philippines, we landed at a semi-rural airport, hopped into a van taxi, and drove along rural dirt roads until we came to our seaside resort.  In that 45 minute trip, we saw more animals that we have seen in the entirety of our life here in Korea.
Water buffalo topped the list, but also turkeys, chickens (roaming free), sheep, goats, cows, (tethered, rather than fenced), and then we we arrived at our hotel: dogs, geckos, lizards, birds, and frogs.  So many frogs that if you walked around at twilight you were likely to be startled by one or two jumping away from you.  Or in my unlucky sister-in-law's case, directly at you as you try to escape them.

Some highlights:

Pufferfish!

f/8, 1/640, ISO 200

After Tuesday's post, are you really that surprised?  And yes, I am the kind of mom that needs to take a picture before taking him down.

Oh, Ezekiel.

f/4, 1/250, ISO 1250

And because... well, just because.  Someone had to document it, so here you go.  This was taken at an indoor playground in a mall in Iloilo, PI.

The Pet Store

f/4, 1/160, ISO 1600  (Auto mode, I believe.)

Bet you $100 I'm on PETA's watch-and-boycott list now...

Love animals?  Well then, head on over to Clan Donaldson for more animals, with (hopefully) less animal cruelty!

Happy Birthday, Ezekiel! (Or: How to Raise a Boy Toddler?)

Happy Birthday, Ezekiel!  2 years and 2 days ago, you came into the world at 10 lbs 1 oz, after taking your sweet time getting here.  Oh, you made me wait and wait as none of your siblings did.  And it was such a sweet thing to finally have you in my arms.

Look at that chunk!

Of course, your delayed birth was only the first  of many (many!) lessons in patience you have taught me.  Apparently, I am a slow learner.

You are now wholly two years old.  You are adorable beyond belief.  You captivate the hearts of every Korean woman around, with your handsome cheesy smile and big gray eyes.  

And heaven help us all, you are, as they say, ALL BOY.  You climb... everything.  You explore... everything.  You take everything out of everywhere. You play with knives hidden so deeply in drawers that even I can't find them.

And sometimes you even light things on fire.

Like this kitchen timer that you removed from the fridge, placed in the (ridiculously low) microwave, and turned on.  Thankfully, at precisely that moment, I walked out of my (okay, our) bedroom and saw the flames from across the house.  Knocking several of your siblings aside on my way, I managed to extinguish the flame in just a few seconds.  I rounded on you with complete exasperation, ready to unleash a tirade of " Ezekiel!  How?  Why?  What the...?!"

But in those soft gray eyes I saw only fear and sorrow.  "Mommy, me sorry.  Mommy, me scared.  Sorry, Mommy.  Sorry!"

So, yes, you test my patience daily (hourly), but you also teach me love and forgiveness and other wonderful things that I might miss out on if not for the crazy it comes with.

I love you, Ezekiel.  Happy birthday to the smallest man in my life.  Thank you for being you.

Mothers' Day Musings

Today I woke up at 9:08 a.m. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)  If that doesn't mean something to you, then either you've never had a toddler, or you've forgotten what it's like to have one.

My dearest love, Mr. Wonderful, presented me with coffee while the kids shoved all-the-gifts into my hands at once.  I got an awesome bag from the MOB Society that is now my current purse, and I got this:

Which, in case you missed it, is the very scarf I shamelessly campaigned for a few weeks back.  Proof of two things: my hubby loves me (duh) AND he reads this blog!  I love the scarf so much that I wore it most of the day, ignoring the fact that we've officially moved into 80+ degree weather here.  Isn't it beautiful?!

And the coolest things about this scarf?  The enclosed card telling about the artisan.  Mine was hand-woven by Yilfashewa!

One of her daughters is in school, but the other (Meseret) has a very serious heart condition which requires daily medication and a surgery that may not be possible in Ethiopia.  From her bio:

My income has grown since Connected in Hope began selling our scarves.  I am very grateful.  I hope sales will continue to grow, so I will have enough money to pay for Meseret's medicine and perhaps the operation that she needs.  I am glad people are buying our scarves.  It gives me hope for the future.

Thinking about how this mother struggles to make ends meet, who works her trade faithfully to provide for her family, who has no less love for her children than I do, no matter how different our circumstances may be... It's a beautiful thing to ponder on this special day.

Another random thought I've been pondering this weekend: Did you know that the Saturday before Mothers' Day is celebrated as Birth Mothers' Day, to honor those women who gave their children up for adoption?  I first learned of it this year.  It got me thinking a lot about all the people to whom Mothers' Day might be difficult to celebrate.

Like people who

-struggle with infertility
-gave their babies up for adoption
-had an abortion that they now regret
-have lost a child
-who didn't or don't have good mothers to begin with
-recently (or not so recently) lost their mothers
-struggle in their role as a mother
-are far away from their mothers

I'm sure there are other reasons out there.  I personally know someone in each category above.  I'll be holding them all in my heart today and for the rest of the week.

I hope that whatever this day means to you, you find peace and are able to celebrate the spiritual, physical, and emotional mothers in your life.

Happy Mothers' Day to everyone!

Happy Birthday, Kev!

Kevin,

Happy Birthday!  I'm so lucky to have you as a husband.  You are perfect for me, and an amazing father to boot. I'll limit the gushing sentimentalism since I already did a lot of that last week and I know how much it embarrasses you.  Instead: I love you, and you rock.

P.S. In case you need proof of my love and affection for you: May I remind you that I once successfully stalled active labor for 18+ hours so as not to have your birthday usurped by baby Zeke?  True story.