*christineishere ** You are, too!

Obsession

2011-03-29T19:11:00.000-07:00

This winter will not quit, and neither will my obsession with knitting socks. I have now joined an online group that will "knit through" all 19 sock patterns in a particular book. I just may take my blogging prowess (if prowess is defined as doing something half-heartedly four times a year) to another blog. See you at knittinchris.blogspot.com.

One day closer to a "transformed" body

2010-09-21T06:31:00.001-07:00

I'm really feeling positive about this Pilates. It's almost too good to be true. Could an exercise I actually enjoy doing net me some benefits? Time will tell. The website claims 30 sessions to a transformed body. 27 more to go! I've roped Mike into going, too. The place is called Boston Body.

I also completed day 1 of the Couch Potato to 5k. Nothing exciting to report there.

Meanwhile, enjoy the picture of the kids at Truck Day in Burlington.

Couch Potato to 5K Starts Today!

2010-09-20T06:48:00.001-07:00

Now that I am becoming one of those Newton Moms Who Do Pilates, I might as well try to get the most of it. I've been told that I need to supplement it with cardio if I want to do that. My friends Stephanie and Dawn have starting running together. I hate missing out on anything, so my goal is to be able to join them.

Since I was once a runner for about 6 months back in 1993, and again for about 6 months in 1999, running has not been a big part of my life. After all, my daughter did describe me as "someone who likes to sit in chairs and do quiet things."

For those of you who don't know, the Couch Potato to 5K is a 9-week plan that does just what its title suggests. So, if I'm the setting goal type (which, I'm not, but hopefully committing it to the blogosphere will help), I should be able to run a 5K by Thanksgiving. Ha! Maybe I'll even sign up for one of those "Turkey Trots" they have all over the place since the country has become to road race focused.

Since my Pilates studio claims that my body will be "transformed" in 30 sessions (28 more to go!), I'm counting on being slim and trim, or "long and lean" as they say in the Pilates world. OK, I will procrastinate no more. I'm heading to the treadmill!

2010-03-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

Naaaaaay! Juliet rocks her first horse show!

2010-03-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

Juliet had her first horse show on Saturday, and we didn't know what to expect. After getting her all Ralph Laurened up in the appropriate regalia -- which included learning that the collar thingy was for her neck and not for the horse's ankles, she headed off to the ring.

She walked and trotted, which includes that cool move of "posting" in which you move your body up and down to the movement of the horse. (Poor description, I'm sure.)

Check out the pics!!

Another year has passed ...

2009-02-02T15:48:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm finally getting active on my blog again ... again for 2009. Three kids has kicked this 40-year-old's butt! Sleep issues, health issues, school issues, extra activities, discipline, entertainment, safety. Oy, the list of parental duties goes on and on and on. Hence, I have not updated my blog for a year. My kids are now 7 1/2, 6, and 2 1/2, so I'm ready to blog.

Well, the picture on the left illustrates a problem, eh? Seriously, folks. My life is in danger here!

2008-03-19T15:09:00.001-07:00

2008-03-04T07:16:00.000-08:00

I'm back!

2008-02-14T05:39:00.001-08:00

This is a picture of Jae from the fall. Notice the drool. My blog is back up and running. Once I get my Mac problems worked out, I'll be publishing regularly.

Coming through the haze

2007-03-12T17:58:00.000-07:00

We are finally coming through the haze of jetlag and the shock of being a family of FIVE. It was a rough weekend, but we came out OK. I guess we'll just have to focus on getting ourselves on a schedule and in a routine over the next few months.

Tonight, Jae had solid food for the first time. He had a bowl of oatmeal, and you can look at the photo and bed the judge of how much he liked it. ;o)

We're home!!

2007-03-07T16:31:00.000-08:00

Wow, does it feel good to be home. Someone (I think my friend Kym) once said, "no vacation feels as good as coming home does," and that is the truth. We travelled for 22 hours today, and finally got home at about 4:30 today. Thanks to my mother and my sister-in-law Debra, the girls are happy and healthy, and house looks fantastic. Without my mother and Debra, we would not have even been able to go and get Jae Joon Hwi.

Everyone was happy to meet Jae. I can't wait until you all meet him in person. Above is a picture I took right after we got home.

We're heading home!

2007-03-06T14:33:00.000-08:00

It's 7:30 a.m. in Seoul on Wednedsay, which means it is 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Boston. From now until you hear from us we're traveling.

2007-03-06T01:38:00.000-08:00

Jae is now officially ours. We received him at the office of the Social Welfare Society, and it was a very nice process. We met the head of the intercountry adoption department, and she introduced us to the President of SWS, who chatted for a bit, and gave us a beautiful present of a mother-of-pearl inlaid jewelry box.

Jae cried for more than an hour and was inconsable when we got him back to the hotel. He finally fell asleep, and is back awake in the Ergo baby carrier. Wish me luck, send prayers, pay-off soothsayers, knock wood, and do anything else you can do to get us a smooth flight.

We arrive in JFK at 10:40, but won't be back in Boston until after 1. (Please someone tell my mother that.)

We met Jae!

2007-03-05T14:24:00.000-08:00

It's Tuesday morning in Seoul, and we are overjoyed to report that we finally met Jae Joon Hwi yesterday afternoon at his foster family's house. He is quite a beauty, and was very, very calm. His foster mom and foster dad said that he is usually afraid of strangers and cries when he sees them, but he smiled and laughed while we played with him.

He let us hold him for a while, and the foster mother even put him in a podegi on my back. I'm sorry I don't have a pic of that.

They also gave Jae a beautiful Hanbok.

We will receive him today at 1:30 p.m., which is 11:30 p.m. on Monday in Boston.

(Note to my brother: We met a former student of yours from B.U.! He was in your journalism class back in the 1980s.)

Monday Morning in Seoul

2007-03-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

Today, we will meet our son Jae Joon Hwi (pronounced Joon He) for the very first time. At 2 p.m., we will go to his foster family's apartment and spend an hour or so with them. We are very nervous and excited.

We are greatly enjoying our time in Seoul. It's such a great place. Yesterday, we had an absolutely magical day full of all sorts of auspicious moments.

We woke up at about 5 and waited for breakfast. Then, we had a fantastic breakfast on the 23rd floor of our hotel. We pretty much had the place to ourselves. The food is delicious and unique. I'm not sure what they put in the cream for the coffee, but someone told me it's some berry from Southeast Asia. Usually, I don't like anyone messing with my coffee, but this stuff is delicious. I can't tell you what I eat for breakfast, but it's got to be in the oatmeal family.

At 9, we headed out to find the hotel where much of "My Girl" was filmed. (My Girl was a Korean soap opera we watched.) We took a cab, instead of the subway. The subway is really easy and cheap, and worked well for us yesterday. However, the cabs are quite cheap, too, and quicker. We went to the hotel, and sadly, the lobby had been renovated since they filmed the drama. Waaaaaaa! Not to be deterred, we set out to find the steps in Olympic Park where some important scenes took place. We got to Olympic Park, and it was beautiful. Everyone there was roller speed skating. And, as it turned out, you can rent a surrey (you know those bicycle-type things with canopies on them you can rent at the Jersey Shore.) to ride around the park. What a blast!! By 11, we met our tour guide. It was really fun, and we found the steps from the soap opera.

At 11, we met a private tour guide that arranged. We hired this woman independently so that we could really get a feel for daily live in Seoul. She was just fantastic. She is very smart and has great perspective on things. We went to the National Museum of Korea, stood there, and chatted politics for about an hour (not seeing any of the exhibits). We talked about international politics, the international adoption situation in Seoul, views of Americans, and America, etc. She didn't just give "her" opinion. She said, "many older folks think this, but younger folks think that, etc." We really just hit it off instantly. We had a long discussion about the Korean war and Korean attitudes about Americans still having a base in Seoul. When it became clear that we were all more interested in the political history of Korea, she said, "let's get out of here. I'm going to take you somewhere else.

She took us so Seoul's national monument to the Korean war. It is an amazing place It's probably 50 acres, and has all sorts of statues and exhibits that you would expect. But, it also has military tanks, planes, and boats from Korea and and all the allied forces who helped them. There was another exhibit that names every single foreign soldier who died fighting on Korean soil. The American wall was, of course, the biggest. It separated the 34,000 American names by state, and each state was headed up by its name and state flag. I was blown away at how respectful the whole thing was. Sue (our tour guide) explained that older people in Korea have a great respect for America and what is has done for them. (And for what it is doing protection-wise from North Korea) Younger Koreans don't want the American presence anymore, and say that Korea has "grown up" and doesn't need a big brother.

We also just happened to have some discussions about Zen Buddhism in Korea, and some Zen Buddhist beliefs. We were on the bus downtown, and Sueturned to us and asked us if we wanted to go see this world-known American Zen Monk give his weekly dharma talk. Of course! So, we headed through the mountains to this 13th century Buddhist temple, and heard his talk and chanting. I could tell this was a 100% deep and meaningful experience for Mike. I, on the other hand, worked really really hard not to throw up because I had terrible motion sickness from the bumpy and lurching ride through the mountain road to get there!

But, upon further discussion (and my nausea passing) Mike, Sue, and I talked a lot about how meaningful all this was for our upcoming adoption. Believe me, if I explained it to you, you'd think I was a total flake.

We came back to our hotel and had our nightly room service delivery of a club sandwhich, which seems to be the only thing our overtired bodies can handle chewing at that hour. I'll try to post pictures later. I hope you are all well.

We are here in Seoul, South Korea

2007-03-02T17:01:00.000-08:00

Greetings, Everyone!

It's Friday morning in Seoul. We arrived last night at 8 p.m. (6 a.m. Boston time). We were so far beyond exhausted that all I could do was cry and drink water. But, we did managed to order a Club sandwich from room service and crash for the night.

Today, we are going to explore our neighborhood in Seoul on foot. Hopefully, the natural light (even though it is rainy), will help reset our circadian clock and we will feel normal again. For tomorrow, we have hired a tour guide "Sue" to take us around and show us what life in Seoul is really like.

On Monday at 2 p.m. ((Sunday at midnight in Boston) we will meet Jae Joon Hwi. AAAAAAHHHHH! So excited!!!

Our hotel room is gorgeous!! We have two big rooms, two bathrooms, and a private dining room on the floor below.

Seoul is a beautiful, clean, and very vibrant city.

2007-03-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!

Well, after 26 straight hours of travel, we finally made it to our hotel in Seoul, South Korea last night at about 8 p.m. The flight was long and boring, but we did get to watch The Departed. Didn't love it.

The hotel is just absolutely gorgeous, as is our corner suite. The city is spotless and beautiful. We're heading out to do some exploring on foot today, and we hired a tour guide for tomorrow to take us for the day and show us what life is really like in Seoul.

On Monday at 2 p.m. Seoul time (which is midnight on Sunday night in Boston) we will meet our baby Jae Joon Hwi. Kisses!!

We're leaving in less than 12 hours!

2007-02-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't you travel to the other side of the earth for this ultra cutie?

We are leaving in less than 12 hours. We're flying JetBlue to JFK, and then KoreanAir direct to Seoul. We will arrive in Seoul at about 5:30 Friday night. We'll spend the weekend touring Seoul by ourselves (woo hoo), and will meet Jae at his foster family's house on Monday. We will receive him on Tuesday, and spend some good time together before the three of us head back to Newton on Wednesday, March 7.

P.S. You need to click on the title of the blog entry to publish a comment.

2007-02-28T05:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Jae Joon Hwi from a couple of months ago. He is currently living with a foster family in Seoul, South Korea.

2007-02-27T17:25:00.000-08:00

We are finally going to go!

2007-02-27T17:12:00.000-08:00

We have finally received word about travelling to South Korea! We are very excited to be meeting and taking home our baby son Jae Joon Hwi. He was born on Sept. 6, 2006, and is almost 6 months old. He joins Juliet (5 1/2) and Shanna (4), who are very excited to have a baby brother.

I will attempt to use this blog to keep our family and friends updated on the happenings of our trip. We just got word today, 2/27, and the best we could do for a flight was THIS Thursday morning, March 1. Short notice, eh?

***christineishere **** You are, too!