The Kite Runner

I have not had the pleasure of reading this book, but I rented the movie over the weekend and I loved it. I've heard all the buzz about the book and have friends that have read it and liked it, but being that I haven't picked up a book since January (unless it relates to children), I knew I wasn't going to be picking up this one anytime soon.

Most know that I'm pretty emotional, heck, I cry during Hallmark commercials for goodness sake! So you can only imagine how the tears were falling during this movie. I was literally crying from beginning to end.

I'm usually not a fan of 'book to movie' movies just because pieces are always missing and I'm going to assume the same with this movie. But I would recommend this movie. And it's not even about 'having to be in the mood' to watch this movie. Yes, it's sad, but it's a great story. There are subtitles, but how weird would it be if it was all in English? The viewer would have missed the essence of the movie. Heck, Bill watched the movie and he's not a subtitle man at all! I think he was pleasantly pleased.

4 stars (out of 5)

Mmmmm...

Gee, do you think he liked it?

Sole Support for Parkinson's

Most of you know that supporting Parkinson's is a cause that is close to the hearts of my family. September 14th was the annual Sole Support for Parkinson's walk at the Willamette Park in Portland and the family put on their tenni-runners to to a little walking. We have participated in this event for several years now and it's a great way to raise awareness and money to help find a cure for this debilitating disease.

The family had a great time and met friends of my M-I-L. We definitely felt the comraderie amongst all the families that were participating.

If you would like to learn more about Parkinson's, please go to http://www.parkinsonsresources.org/

Jae and Hannah are big supporters!

Sitting Pretty

I just had to post some pictures of Hannah. We were having a mom and daughter morning while the boys were at swimming and decided to take some pictures.

She's like a deer in headlights

Right after bath time

Russell Street BBQ

I don't know about you, but I enjoy my bbq. Last Friday evening Barb and I hit up Russell Street BBQ (http://www.russellstreetbbq.com/). If you've never been, check it out. It's located on the corner of MLK and Russell Street. The atmosphere is laid back, the staff is cool - especially one named Caryn Grunwald, and the food is GOOD!

It was a nice evening out sans hubby and kids. A nice evening hanging out with my sister in law, enjoying good food, quenching my thirst with a diet coke (I was DD), and having my background noise as adult voices rather than a non-stop chatter box named Jae. LOL. Don't get me wrong, I love listening to Jae talk!

I ordered the brisket with collard greens and yams and as Rachael Ray would say..YUM-O! I'm usually not a fan of collard greens, in fact, I would say I'm not a fan of them at all, but the ones at RS are good. The yams were cooked in butter and cinnamon and add the natural sweetness, it was a great compliment to my brisket. And who doesn't like brisket? Barb had the Friday night special special - pork chops with stuffing. From what I was told, it was very good. I was going to get it to go for Bill, but it was sold out!

Most of you know that I'm not much of a drinker and especially when I'm in charge of driving, so I watched Barb enjoy some adult beverages and I will admit that I took one sip. Per Caryn's recommendation, she suggested that we try some ginger infused vodka. So I had one sip of ginger infused vodka. This stuff was very good, however, I knew that if I were to down a shot of this, I would literally be on the floor and someone would need a human sized spatula to pick me up. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it.

Anywho, if you like good food, good atmosphere, and nice servers, Russell Street Bar-B-Que is the place to go. The next time you're thinking of dining out, check them out. And say hi to Cousin Caryn!

Oh and you have Hannah's approval. She may not be able to eat BBQ yet, but she already gives her thumbs up. Thanks for the outfit Caryn!!

Quick Update

It's been a while. Life has been pretty hectic lately. Bill's been working a lot of hours and I've been pretty busy at work too. This just makes for longer days for the both of us.

The kids are great though! Jae is learning so much and he's got such the sense of humor. He's still in swimming lessons until November. We will probably stop for the holidays and start back up in the new year. I've signed him up for a 'kids sports' class at Conestoga Rec Center that goes until November too. This class will introduce him to a variety of sports ie. basketball, soccer, volleyball, baseball, etc. I think he will like this (he's got a very good arm). He did very well in the tumbling class that he was in over the summer.

Hannah is almost 7 months and she's sitting up by herself, she's eating solids, and drinking milk like a champ. She's still sleeping through the night and continues to take 30 min naps (sometimes wish they were longer) every couple of hours. She offers smiles like it's nobody's business and loves getting hugs from mommy. She still has her blue/gray eyes, she blows raspberries nonstop and babbles away. She loves watching Jae and will follow him around the room with her eyes. Everytime he dances/jumps it brings a smile to her face.

We are definitely blessed to have such wonderful kids!

Cary Brothers

I know, once again, I'm behind the times in music. I've actually known about this guy for a while now, but am just starting to get into him. I think the creation of the ipod is wonderful. Now that I have one, I'm finding myself listening to a lot more music than I used to. I never listen to music unless I'm in the car (which, now I don't turn on the radio b/c I'd rather talk to Jae) so I only listen to it on my way to work after dropping off the kids and on my way home..a total of about 30 min a day!

Anyway, since I've gotten my ipod, Bill and I have downloaded all of our cd's and I've also downloaded some additional music thanks to handy dandy gift cards.

So I've been following this guy on MySpace for a while and I like his sound, but since I only listen to music every now and then, I never really paid attention.

So I'm sitting at work and I've got the ipod on shuffle and the song "Ride" comes on and I realize that I really like it! For those of you who have watched the movie "Garden State - the song Blue Eyes" will probably recognize his voice. If you are a fan of Joshua Radin, you will know of/like Cary Brothers.

Check him out at http://www.carybrothers.com/

You won't be sorry.

A Wedding to Remember...

Last Friday, Bill and I went to my co-workers wedding. The ceremony was at the Classical Chinese Garden and the reception was at the Jupiter Hotel in Portland. The event was really beautiful and FUN!

My co-workers fiance is part Chinese so they played on this theme throughout the wedding. The bridesmaids wore traditional Chinese dresses and carried open umbrellas instead of flowers. The bride had on a beautiful, yet whimsical white dress that came a little below the knee and had white polka dots on it with a brown sash around the waist. She also worked a very high pair of heels! I was most impressed. The ceremony was heartwarming with each writing their own vows and I have to admit that I shed a tear or two. The newly married couple was whisked away in a pedicart (bike with a carriage).

We reconvened at the Jupiter Hotel where the party was underway. The canopy was beautifully decorated with lanterns and lights and modern furniture. They had two signature drinks: a blue hawaiian (YUMMY) and a chocolate martini that went along with their blue and brown theme. The booze was flowing and everyone was having a good time. The happy couple was introduced by two Chinese dragons who proceeded to perform a ceremonius (I'm assuming this is what they did) dance for the married couple. It was definitely a highlight of the evening. They provided catered food from Noho's and a very nice looking cake. Unfortunately, I did not have any.

It was one of the best weddings that I have been too and once again, my other co-worker, Katie, got Bill onto the dance floor! I was wearing shoes with a heel that was slightly too high for me, so my feet were paying the price the whole evening and actually into the next day, and now that I think about it, now.

Congrats, Adrian and Georgia!

Ralph Tresvant - anyone, anyone?

Okay, another random musing from me. I'm listening to the ipod and Ralph Tresvant pops up. Does anyone remember this guy? He was in the group New Edition and tried to do his solo thing after they broke up. He didn't get the exposure that Bobby Brown got, but his voice was good (or perhaps it was just because I was young back then). However, I really enjoyed his debut album - Ralph Tresvant. He was definitely the least recognized in the solo career. There was Johnny Gill and BellBivDevoe.

I guess all this music just brings back old memories and to me, that's a good thing. I've got some fond memories of me as a young lass!

The Art of Making Korean Food

Patience! That is the key to making Korean food. Most of you locals know that there is a new Korean market in Tigard called H-Mart. For Bill's birthday, I got him a Korean cookbook, so he could make ME some meals. Ha! We had been talking about making something for a couple of weeks now, but weekends get hectic and it's hard to cook an elaborate meal during the week. So with the Labor Day Weekend here, we decided to give it a shot.

Setting: Monday afternoon, going shopping at H-Mart. Not as crowded as last time and the kids are in a really good mood! We buy the ingredients we need to make Beef with Dangmyun Noodles aka Chopchae and a spicey tofu soup. We head home and hysteria ensues in the kitchen..actually, just a crying baby and two adults trying to get stuff done.

I start my soup since this can sit. Mine is simpler and just requires a couple of ingredients. After I am done, Bill starts his Chopchae..only we didn't realize that's what it was until I was stirring the noodles around. I finally looked at the page with the recipe and sure enough the second word was chopchae. I'm like "Bill, you just made chopchae, I wondered why it was looking so familiar!" So Bill was like WTF when I said this and proceeded to sit down on the couch and sigh. Here we thought we had made some meal that we'd never had before!

All in all, dinner was good. Definitely not my mom's cooking, but edible. Although Bill says that ours tasted better! Unfortunately Hannah bear woke up from her nap and needed attention so we were not able to eat the meal together (one thing I'm looking forward to leaving behind). After the meal was done, we both looked in the kitchen and was like "wow" what the hell just blew through here? Pots and pans and dishes everywhere! Perhaps we need to cook Korean more often so we'll learn how to minimize the dishes used or just not cook it anymore at all?

Lightning McQueen Crocs...

Bill took Jae to get some new shoes. He grew out of his Keen's that he had this summer and was complaining that they were too small and tight. So after the oil change and car wash, Bill took Jae to the shoe store. According to Bill, Jae picked out the Lightning McQueen crocs right away and said "I want the Lightning McQueen crocs"..here I am thinking, "my kid knows what crocs are?". Bill conceded as long as they got another everday pair that could be worn to school - this pair was not as cool.

Needless to say, Jae loves these shoes. Would not take them off the day he got them (except in the car when he fell asleep - see next post)! He wore them on Monday and he wore them to school today. Gosh, Disney knows how to market I tell ya!

Ka-chow!

The Spruce Goose

This post will be big, just like the Spruce Goose!

We went to see the Spruce Goose on Sunday instead of our scheduled trip to head to the coast. We decided to stay inland and went to the Evergreen Air Museum in McMinnville because Hannah got sick and we didn't want to expose her to the weather at the coast, so we made an executive decision to go somewhere that was indoors and dry. This way Jae wasn't cooped up in the house all day.

Well, the morning started out with Hannah waking up with a nose full of snot (actually, the sniffles started on Saturday evening). Her nose was dried and crusted, but surprisingly, she was still smiling. In anticipation of this trip, Bill and Jae went to get the oil changed and a car wash and also a new pair of shoes (see the previous blog)! The morning started out great and then it was time to depart for the Air Museum.

First off, I'm a parent and should know this by now. Don't leave the house with a hungry child, who also hasn't had a nap. So we are driving and Bill brings up stopping at Calamity Jane's (CJ) for lunch. I ask him if he's sure and surprisingly, he is. Normally Bill is the 'to go' kind of guy. While driving I look back and could tell that Jae is sleepy. Hannah is already knocked out by this time. So we approach CJ's and the parking lot looks busy and both of our kids are sleeping, so we decide to pass it up and keep going. We are approaching the museum and Daniel (our British GPS guide) gives us wrong directions and we have to backtrack a little - note: don't always trust those darn GPS devices.

We arrive and start the process of waking Jae up and just like we predicted..cranky Jae. He had taken off his new shoes prior to falling sleep and didn't want to put them back on to go outside, he wanted to walk barefoot. He was crying and didn't want to get out of his seat and the whole time Hannah is just staring at him with the "what's wrong with him" look. She of course was looking angelic..Ha!

So we finally get him out of the car by showing him one of the planes outside. He proceeds to walk towards the plane and we start taking pictures. He turns around and says 'no pictures' I'm like, what are we the papparazzi or something, who is this kid? Now I'm just waiting for the hand to come and push me out of the way with some expletives in the background!

We get into the museum, proceed to pay $13/pp (thank goodness Jae was under 5 y/o = free)! We suggest eating something at the cafe, but Jae will have no part of that. He just wants to see the planes. Yes, we've got our old Jae back. Well, we start walking and he's pointing at the helicopters, planes, trucks, and we want to take all of these pictures but once again, he holds out his hand and says "no pictures"! What, how am I going to document this day? So needless to say, the photos that I have of the air museum are of the back of his head, pointing his finger. I did buy a shirt that says "I saw the Spruce Goose and it was THIS BIG" - semi inside joke. LOL.

Overall, the museum was great with all the old planes, the history! The Spruce Goose is huge. Jae and Bill went in and got the brief tour and they also got a tour of a B-17 Bomber - for $3 dollars (Bill, where's the change from my $10?). Bill even got to do a little wine tasting. By the way, the Spruce Goose Vineyard makes a very yummy pinot noir sparkling grape wine..I would definitely go again when Jae is in a better mood!

Two thumbs up.