I'm a Loser Baby....

Well, it's been a roller coaster for my routine since moving to Korea. I was hitting the gym at least 3 times a week, but haven't had that sort of consistency since September. Luckily, I have a loving husband who allows me to hire a teenager to watch the girls twice a week so I can hit the gym.

Unfortunately, it's a new year and it's time to hit the gym for most folks. Meaning I have to fight for a treadmill and work out in an unusually packed gym of mostly fit 20-somethings. Didn't I just do this last year? But I digress....

To help the active duty members get in shape for the strenuous new PT standards, the base gym is holding a Biggest Loser challenge. 12 weeks of running, strength training and push ups, coupled with 3 team challenges. This should be fun.

I don't think I'm going to be the Biggest loser of all, but if I lose something that would be an added bonus.

It's a RECORD!

Leave it to us to have yet another 100 year record under our belts. Before I explain, let me backtrack.

The first year we were in Texas, there was 100 days of 100+ heat, beating a record set 25 years prior. The next year, the 100 year flood record was washed away (insert groan) by 20 ft! Now we're in South Korea, which has seen it's one day record snowfall total blown away in one day. WOW!

I'll tell ya, we had fun with it though. School was cancelled for the day and Ronnie got home early. So we ventured out to play in the snow. We had a BLAST! We made snow angels, threw some snow balls, made a towering snowman and found a great sledding hill by the house.

Worth the Price of Admission!

Even though the high was in the low-20s yesterday, it was a sunny day so we decided to head to Everland. We got everyone bundled up and packed warm blankets for the girls to cuddle under in the jogging stroller.

We were lucky that the park wasn't too crowded, we even got a great parking spot (ie easy to find when you leave the park) and we were able to walk on to most rides. They also had heaters and warming tents set up around the park which made it nice to enjoy our popcorn and hot chocolate.

They've put most of the Christmas decorations away, and are now in the Winter Wonderland theme, complete with a HUGE snow hill! The 5 minute wait was so worth it! So, for your viewing enjoyment, I give you Holly and Ronnie versus the hill:

New Year in Korea

Happy New Year from South Korea. It was really odd to think this morning it was not just a new day, but a new month and new year entirely for us versus the folks in the states. Strange huh?

We have been having a blast with the winter weather. Yes, it's freezing cold and the wind makes it even colder. But we have had some snow to boot, which has made it a lot of fun for the girls. Luckily, it's not too much and normally it's gone before the next dusting. I bought the girls sleds at E-Mart and they were still in the car when we happened upon a good hill. The girls had a blast playing in the snow, having daddy pull them in the sled, heading down the hill, throwing snowballs, and tasting some of the snow. They also took turns warming up in the car. All this while I got the grocery shopping done.

New Years Eve was a quiet night of food, games and movies with our good friends, the Stockmans. If you ever play Scene It TV edition, just go ahead and guess that the answer is Maude. The celebrations in South Korea were pretty much the same. They showed the Seoul celebration on TV and it was nothing like the scene in Times Square - they ring the ancient ceremonial bell and everyone was pretty stoic. Interesting.... Next year, I think we are going to try to make one of the sunset/sunrise celebrations on the coast.

Today, I made the traditional southern New Year's Day meal of black-eyed peas and cornbread, sans greens. The house smelled so good, but it made me wonder what the neighbors thought. I know I can tell when they are stir frying, but what do they think when I'm cooking. Just something I'll have to ask our neighbors one day....

As I sit here at the end of the first day of the new year, I started reflecting on last year and everything it brought us, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Here's to 2010 and hoping we've been made stronger by our mistakes, humbled by our triumphs, and wiser by our challenges.

There's a Daisy in our House!

Holly had a big week last week. Not only was it Christmas, but she officially became a Daisy Scout! They had their Investiture Ceremony where Holly received her Daisy pin and a few badges to boot. She had to recite the Girl Scout law by memory to her leader, Kristie, so we worked really hard on reciting it loud and clear. Guess it's a good thing I never forgot it in the first place.

Christmas in Korea

It's been a few weeks since I've posted, but for good reason. Ronnie has been in the states for two weeks, and I have been busy lying on the couch eating bon-bons and watching Scrubs.

We kicked off our Christmas celebrations with a very special visit, Santa flew in to visit the kiddos. He even flew an A-10! The kids were so excited to see him, and chased him into the squadron, where he had books for all of them!

Santa spent the night and came out to breakfast the next morning. The girls were so excited to put on their "fancy" dresses and go to brunch at the "Club" with Santa!

The next weekend, we continued our tradition of seeing "The Nutcracker." Sarah went over to Gracie and Kayleigh's house to play, while Holly and I went to Seoul for the performance. I don't think there are enough adjectives to describe the ballet, except to say that it was breathtakingly beautiful. After the ballet, we adventured a bit with a friend and her daughter to find something to eat. You know us, always up for an adventure! We found a wonderful Italian bistro, followed by coffee at "Holly's Coffee." I don't know when Holly had time to start a coffee empire, but I'm still asking her why I don't have a discount card!

Ronnie finally came home and right in time for Christmas. Holly woke us up a little after 6 am with a bellowing "Santa came and he brought us presents!" We couldn't contain her, so we woke Sarah up and the madness of Christmas morning ensued! The girls were so excited to see the things they had asked for and some things they hadn't thought of to ask for.

Merry Christmas from Korea!

Go Daddy Go!

This week has brought a lot of laughs and tears. First, the tears, because I can't finish anything on a sad note. Ronnie's brother, Robbie, was diagnosed with bladder cancer back in March. He has fought the good fight, but the cancer has spread to his bone (specifically his spine). The tumor they cut out of his back/spine in September has regrown and decided to grow a friend. Ronnie will be flying back home to Florida next week to be with his family as they go through this critical phase of Robbie's treatment. He'll be back home in time for Christmas.

Ok, time for some laughs..... We are currently introducing Redneck culture to the Koreans. With all of our furniture in the house, we don't have anywhere for the Christmas tree, except for the porch. Yes, that's right, we have put our tree on the porch. In true redneck fashion, we have way too many lights, including ones that blink, chase and fade but not all together! I can only imagine what the folks in the building behind us are thinking.

You know you're getting comfortable in a place when you just decide to go to Seoul without a map and barely remember the basic Korean phrasebook. Such was our adventure on Saturday. We got up and decided to head to USAG Yongsan and Itaewon. As soon as we got to the subway station it started to snow. Watching the big flakes come down and zoom past the train was really fun for the girls.

The girls watching the snow rush by

It was lunchtime when we arrived at Itaewon, so we headed to the Outback. Way different than the ones we have stateside, but it was really good. The thing we got a kick out of the most was our lunch came with a fruit juice of our choice. We told the server that we really only wanted a Diet Coke, but he said, no you can have both, but I bring you the juice first, then you can have soda. We said ok, because it sounded like what we would tell the kids.

After lunch, we headed to Yongsan so we could check out their BX and the Chosun Gift shop. Unfortunately by the time we found the BX, the Chosun was closed. But we made the most of it. The USO had hot chocolate and pictures with Santa. The girls were really excited to see Santa but they didn't sit on his lap for pictures together. Maybe this year will be the year for a good Santa picture (crossing fingers).

While walking around the BX, an announcement was made that there was a chocolate covered cherry eating contest. After a little pushing, Ronnie decided to enter the contest. The girls were so excited that daddy was playing and were cheering non-stop for him. Holly even started heckling him a little bit, telling him to just eat them all (see the video at the very bottom of the post). It was the funniest 2 minutes of our trip, and probably the most entertainment the BX staff had had in a while since they insisted the girls get in the official picture.

Look, he's smiling... Of course it's because the girls were cheering for him

The final group picture - the BX staff insisted the girls get in the shot