Walk the line.

Rob took me to Longwood Gardens as a holiday treat, since I had been begging to go since last Christmas. I remember going once when I was really little, and boy was my memory distorted. The entire time we were there, we were forced to shuffle along in a gigantic line, getting pushed past the gorgeousness of it all. It was worse than Disneyworld. I tried to take a few photos while I was there, but I felt rushed and crowded. Next time we go (if there is a next time), it'll be during the off season!

Anyway, here are a few of the photos I took while I was there. I wish I would have had more time, and batteries.

Catching up.

I haven't been blogging as much lately, but there were a few things that I wanted to share with you folks. First of all, I hope you had a wonderful holiday! I sure did. But pretty soon it's back to the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Rob and I have kept pretty busy lately, and I have done a lot of fun things! From my post above, you'll see my trip to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. Despite the crowdedness of the evening, it was a good time.

My mom got a puppy! I was given the privilege of naming her. Since she is a Morkie (half Maltese, half Yorkie), naturally I named her Mindy. Mindy is the sissiest puppy ever, but she's so adorable, so I love her anyway.




A few weeks ago, Rob and I went to a Holiday Soiree that was put together by the "Young Friends" of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Basically, it was an excuse to dress up and mingle with other Yuppies in the area. We met some interesting people and had a good ole time sampling the free wine. They have a Winter Gala in February, which is a "black tie" event. Depending on our financial situation at the time, we may try to attend that as well.

Here we are all dolled up.



My "holiday" dress, which I happen to be wearing right now.




And of course, there's Christmas! I got my share of toys, including a vacuum (seriously, I wanted one!), a Palm TX and an iPod Shuffle. Our fourth iPod in the household. Now I feel like I can't buy a new video iPod in a few weeks like I had originally planned. We'll see about that. Here are some pictures from the day.

"Starbucks?! How did you know??"



Rob loves books. Even boring ones about the Spanish Civil War.



Check out my new sweet coat from Banana Republic. Who knew Rob had taste?!



Rob only likes toys that are edumacational. What a weirdo.




And lastly, just for fun. My boss's hubby threw her a surprise 80's themed 30th birthday party. Turns out her friends ruined the surprise, but we went along with it anyway. Rob recycled his Magnum PI costume from Halloween, but I didn't feel comfortable parading around my boss's house in my Robert Palmer girl outfit. So I made a new one. I went as Punky Brewster, and if I do say so myself, the outfit is fairly accurate. Except for the vest. I tried to find a pink one, but camouflage was all I could come up with at the last minute.




And I guess that's about it! It's New Year's Eve and we have 7:30 dinner reservations. Then it'll be board games and tv for the rest of the night. After the stress of the holidays, this sounds perfect to me! Peace out, homeboys and homegirls!

Tag, I'm it!

I've been tagged by a SillyMonkee, so now I must share with you my top 5 favorite Christmas, er, holiday songs. And don't worry (Jeope), I won't be tagging anyone else. But if the three people that peek in on this blog feel like sharing as well, go for it!

1. Maybe This Christmas - Ron Sexsmith | Tears me up right away.


2. Bizarre Christmas Incident - Ben Folds | Gross, yet hilarious.


3. Happy Christmas (War is Over) - The Polyphonic Spree | It's impossible to not smile while listening to this band


4. Christmas in Hollis - Run DMC | A holiday classic.


5. Christmas Wrappin - The Waitresses | I know, I know, but I can't help myself.

I'm a bit behind on my blogging. I have some pictures to share with you, but I haven't uploaded them yet. Don't let the anticipation get to you.

My Goofy Husband

Okay, so maybe I love creating new blogs. And maybe I'll run out of stuff to post on here after a week or two. But I had some spare Rob videos lying around and thought it'd be fun to have a place to put them.

Introducing, My Goofy Husband, the blog!

My Arizona Visit

It was nice of Philadelphia to welcome me back from warm, sunny Arizona with chilly down pours. We flew back yesterday morning. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 9:30am. After the drive and dropping off the rental car, we barely had enough time to get some starbucks before boarding. After being on the plane for ten minutes, they tell us there's an hour and a half "gate hold" which is preventing us from taking off. We had the option to get back off the plane, but Rob and I just sat around, watching the clock.

The flight was pretty awful. For the first time ever, I had to make sure there was an air sick bag nearby. Luckily I was okay, though I was worried there for a second. But we landed safe and sound. Phew. After all the travel, we walked into our home around 7:15pm or so. And even though I got a pretty good night's sleep, I'm exhausted today!

Anyway, Arizona was great. Maria and Jamel were such gracious hosts and we are so thankful for all that they did for us. Major thanks to Jamel for entertaining Rob while I got some "girl time."

Click here to see my photos from the trip.

Happy Halloween!

I was thinking earlier about past Halloweens in my life, and I couldn't get this photo out of my head.




This is my favorite photo of me and my grandmother, taken when I was three years old.

I miss my grandmother so much. She was a second mother to me. She was there when I was born, taught me to sew and knit, baked with me, went to all of my school events. She was a strong career woman, a great role model, a beautiful lady. Two years ago, a few weeks before she passed away, I went up to visit her. Rob and I had just bought our first home. As I walked into the bedroom, she whispered, barely audible, "There's the homeowner," in the same positive manner she always spoke. I break down even thinking about it now.

At her funeral, her sister hugged me and said, "Your grandmother was so proud of you." I know that's true. She was never shy about showing it. I just hope I can continue to be someone that she would be proud of as I get older.

Thanks, Nan. You made me who I am today.

FOB-ulous, dah-ling!

Busy busy busy at work so I don't have much time to blog, much to your dismay. But I thought I'd share my new key fobs. So far, I've made about 170, which I think is pretty good! I'll tell ya, they are a lot easier to make than the cards.




I also made myself a new ribbon belt.




Purty cool! Now I just have to figure out what to do with all these dang keychains I have lying around my house.

I'm crafty, and I'm just your type.

I took a good ole mental health day last Friday with the intentions of crafting. And this time I actually did it! Amazing.

I found this website a week ago about making fun little key fobs. So I spent some hard earned money buying loads of ribbon, webbing, and hardware to make at least 100. I was a little nervous that I wasn't going to enjoy it and then I ended up blowing $150, but it turns out it's easy and fun!

I made 75 that day, and it was relaxing just sitting at my sewing machine, plugging away. Here are some of the different ones I made:



And I've already thought about naming them after my wonderful friends. :-) Like the pink and lime one HAS TO BE the "Devon." And the pink one with the little flowers would be the "Maria" because she bought that ribbon for me. And the rainbow one is definitely the "Amy" because she's a r-r-r-r-r-r-r-ainbow!!

I need to figure out how to take some better photos. The fluorescent lights in this house are not pretty. I should probably take my stuff outside to get some good natural light.

That's all for now. I've spent my weekend trying to defend myself against Rob's cold that he's had for over a week now. I've been doing a pretty good job so far, but I had some throat tickles earlier, so I'm getting worried! Oh yeah, and I bought my first pair of Chucks today! Woohoo! They are part of the new PRODUCT(RED) line that was introduced the other day. I was at the Gap, checking out the new gear when I spotted these black Chucks with red trim and I had to have them.

Okay, time to get some ice cream and head to bed! G'night everybody!

Notes from the past week

Hello beautiful people! It's been busy (yet fun) times around my household. Just thought I'd give a brief, drive-by update of what's been up. Here is a list of things I've done in the last seven days.


Went to Princeton

Ate at PJ's Pancake House (a former Friday night tradition of mine in 1999)

Listened to "You Saw My Blinker, Bitch" after Rob purchased a Fresh Prince album. (He also bought Naughty by Nature.)

Took a few naps

Ate a yummy Vietnamese dinner

Saw Takka Takka, Architecture in Helsinki, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah in concert

Saw The Science of Sleep

Played Trivial Pursuit with our neighbors

Went to the Eagles/Packers Monday night game (what an event!)




Went to Educator's night at the Franklin Institute




Saw my first IMAX movie (Galapagos)

Enjoyed a preview of the Darwin exhibit and learned lots about evolution




Booked my trip to Arizona

worked and ate and slept and watched some tv


And that's about it! As for upcoming events, we have the Collingswood Book Festival tomorrow as well as a Built to Spill concert. We were going to go to First Friday tonight but the weather is looking pretty bad, so we may pass. Hope you're all doing well! Have an outstanding weekend!

Look ma, I'm Asian!

I had a lovely weekend, thank you for your interest. Friday night Rob and I drove up to my folks' house and watched Kill Bill Vol. I for the first time. Kinda gross. Kinda interesting. I was a total wuss and covered my eyes through all the nasty parts. With my fear of eyeball stuff, there was one scene that I wish I was warned about!

Saturday we took the train into the city (nyc) to meet up with my pseudo big brother, Steve. It was so wonderful to see him and give him the hugest hugs! He took us around to all sorts of spots of the city that I always miss. Mostly around SoHo and the Village. It was great! Beautiful weather. Wonderful sights to see. Just the day I needed after a hectic week at work.

Today was make-over day for me. My mother took me to her Korean hair stylist lady for a cut and color. I'm pretty happy with the result. I'm back to my natural color so no roots! Yay!

Here is a visual for you guys.




Rob says it makes me look more Asian.


Speaking of more Asian. I bought this dress in NYC on Saturday.




I'll have no place to wear it, but who cares?

Photo Booth Phun in Philly!

Tonight Roberto y yo went to El Vez for Philly Restaurant Week. It was mucho delicioso. I had some shrimp quesadillas, Pan Seared Atlantic Salmon, and fried ice cream. The atmosphere of the place was great and our waitress was super nice, so the whole experience was a thumbs up!

In the middle of the restaurant, they have a photo booth. I used to go to the photo booth in Woolworth's with my friend Becky back in 10th grade, so I got a little nostalgic and forced Rob to participate in the hokiness.

Here's our ultimately cheesy photo strip, sombreros and all:




We're such dorks.

Anyway, I'm spending my Tuesday up in NYC to check out our exhibit space at a convention, so see you all on Wednesday!

I'm going to need more storage...

...if I keep making cards at this rate!

I had another productive few hours this evening and pumped out 9 more cards. Shoulda been 10, but right as I was sewing the last piece on the last card, I made the mistake of thinking to myself, hey, I've gone the whole night without screwing up a card! Cursed! That's when the bobin ran out of thread. So add that to the 9 I made yesterday and I'm on my way to an inventory. Yessir!

Just to give you a peek, here are the two styles of cards I made yesterday and today:







Sorry for the crappy photos. I think I need to explore some different designs, since all my cards are identical. I'm just trying to build up a little collection of cards in this style and then I'll move on. This sudden urge to craft came about because I think I'm going to take a plunge and (if I'm accepted) be a vendor at an upcoming craft fair in Philly. I'll be going out of my comfort zone if this goes through, but I could use a little nudge.

Craft (Product) Variety Show <-- It seems awesome!

So from now until the end of November (again, IF they choose my stuff), I'm going to be a craft machine. Stay on the scene! With the craft machine! Ehem.

Yeah, I labored this weekend.

Happy post-Labor Day everyone! I had a very refreshing three-day weekend and am totally recharged for the work week.

I spent much of my weekend putting together some new furniture that we picked up from Crate and Barrel. And for the first time in a long time, our place is impeccably clean...meaning no piles of crap anywhere! (Well, maybe hidden in some closets and under the bed, shhh.) So Rob spent Saturday doing all the wifely duties, like laundry and vacuuming, while I played around with the power drill. Here's my stuff.

New bookcase for the corner of our living room. Formerly known as "craft pile corner."



New buffet for the dining room. Formerly known as "craft pile wall."



New desk and cd wall thingies.





Captain Oats (courtesy of Amy and Maria) is now proudly displayed for all to see.



Now instead of hearing Rob nag, "Clean up your piles!" I get to hear him nag, "Keep it this way!" Okay, Rob, I'll try my best. But it's difficult to control my pile-making ways.

On another note, I went back to Toms River on August 27th for the first time in about 6 years to go to the Ordination of an old friend I haven't seen since I was a college freshman. While back in the area, I decided to take Rob to see my old home where I lived from 1987 to 1998. Coincidentally, the house was for sale and just happened to be having an open house that day! So I had the opportunity to go take a peek inside. It was bizarre. The place was completely different, and not nearly as nice as it used to be, but maybe I'm biased.

Here's the house. It used to be brown, and my mom always had gorgeous flowers planted everywhere out front.



Ahh, memories.

I survived!!!

Just got back from an incredible vacation to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. To be honest, I planned this whole trip for Rob's birthday, thinking I'd suck it up and endure some outdoor abuse, but it was truly wonderful. Beautiful. Breath-taking. (A little tiring though!)

I thought I'd share a bunch of photos and a quick synopsis of our trip.


Wednesday

After a long drive, unexpectedly long due to horribly incorrect directions provided by Google Maps and Mapquest, we arrived at Skyland Resort. We had to stop at a few overlooks on the way up Skyline Drive because I don't think I've ever seen scenery quite like it. Skyland was okay. The room was very, uh, rustic. After throwing together our gear, we went out for our first hike.

The first hike we tackled was called Hawksbill and included an overlook at the highest peak in the park. The hike was 3 miles long, and the book we had recommended doing the 2 mile gradual incline and a steep decline coming down, but we somehow missed the entrance and started with a steep 1 mile incline instead. I know I'm out of shape, but I thought I was going to die. Not literally, but you know. Rob was racing up the trail and I could barely lag behind. After chugging some ice water out of my handy hydropak, I got a second wind and that was the only time I struggled during the entire vacation. Thank goodness. At that moment, Rob thought he was going to be hiking without me!

But the view was worth the heavy breathing. Here we are at the top. (Don't I look like a real hiker???)








After the hike we went back to the room and watched a deer begging for scraps.




Then we sat on the back porch and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset.




Turns out there was a television in our room (dang!) so Rob flipped around the stations as best he could (it broke like five times) and I dozed off early. Sleep was pretty awful thanks to some neighbors above us and their incredibly squeaky floor.


Thursday

Exhausted, Rob and I had a tasty breakfast at Skyland's restaurant and headed out for hike #2. This time I wanted to go to Whiteoak Falls. This was twice the length as Hawksbill, and twice gain in altitude, but I wanted to see me some waterfalls! We took an hour drive out to the starting point and got on our way.

This one was also a little tough, with some climbing involved. And the dang gnats would not leave us alone! But every mile or so, we stumbled upon a new waterfall.








Rob spotted this little fella on the hike back.




Same thing with this guy.




We were thankful to get back to the car after this hike. Our feet were ready for a break. I passed out pretty early this evening too, and it was fairly quiet since our upstairs neighbors checked out, but this night was not without incident.

Rob woke me up in the middle of the night claiming he saw a mouse in the room. I tried to ignore him and go back to bed, but every five minutes, I'd hear the little feet scurrying across the floor. Rob took all of our things off the floor and turned all the lights and the television on to try to scare off the mouse/mice. It didn't work. The darn thing loved our room and wouldn't leave. So it was another restless night's sleep.


Friday

We woke up early (since we weren't sleeping much anyway) and went out for a quick hike to Miller's Head. I really enjoyed this one since it was quiet, cool, and seemed so secluded.






After our hike we went to get some breakfast and then to the office to switch rooms to one with no furry guests. I was ready to strangle the office girl. It was approximately 11am and I planned on getting a quick nap before our afternoon hike. She told us we needed to check out of our current room by noon and then check into another room at 3pm. I was so upset that they weren't being very accommodating. After some arguing and telling her we'll take anything, with or without a view (in order to not get displaced for three hours), she puts us into another room. We loaded up our car and drove it across the resort. This room had no television (haha!) and loads of bugs (especially in the shower, which freaked me out a bit), but no mice.

I got my nap, which was the only good sleep we got all trip, and we went out for our afternoon hike. This time to Bearfence Mountain. The book said this one wasn't too difficult, but might require some scootching on your butt to get across rocks. Boy was that an understatement!!




We had to turn around! As did almost everyone else we saw on the trail. When we got to the summit, it was climbing over big boulders, which wouldn't have been so bad, but one foot to your right was a 380 foot drop straight down! One misplaced footing and...KERSPLAT!!!! I'm sure I could have finished it, but Rob was too worried that he was going to have to explain to my mother that I fell off a cliff, so we climbed back down.

This evening we stuffed our faces at Skyland's restaurant, which was delicious, but I felt disgustingly full afterwards and fell asleep. Of course this time, in the new room, we had unruly neighbors who didn't have the word "courtesy" in their vocabulary. No sleep again.


Saturday

We got out around sunrise to drive around Skyline Drive and catch a glimpse of some animals.




The sunrise:








After our drive, we checked out, got some breakfast and headed to Luray Caverns on our way home.








And that was it. Now I'm back in the comforts of my own home. I'll retire my trekking poles until the next time Rob persuades me to go for a hike. Overall, two thumbs way up! Sure, the sleeping situation could have been a little better, but that'll just make me appreciate my own bed that much more. Speaking of that, I think my own bed is calling me right now. Ahhhhhhh.