Why I love being home

My friends don't just oblige when I insist on silly photos, but they encourage them!

Our annual mother daughter gathering (with Kyle )

More somber (notice there isn't another somber picture, but that was the title of this pic, "more somber")

Smiling

Shock and awe

Something smells.  I LOVE my moms face in this picture!

If I had time to write a post, a real post, I might write a real list, but I feel as if these pics sum it up perfectly!!

We're LEAVING!!

That's right.  You read that right.  We are leaving Korea for an entire MONTH!!  We fly to Hawaii on Friday to meet the my mama, her friend and Kyle's 'rents for a glorious seven day leisure-filled vacation complete with whale watching, soaking up the sun, and stunning beaches, before we board another plane and head to Phoenix Arizona.  Who do we know in Phoenix?  No one.  Not a soul.  Well, one soul but she happens to be in Seoul! Ha!  I crack myself up.

So why Pheonix?  Because the airline, the ultimate decider, unless I want to pay an exuberant amount of money, and possibly give them my still beating heart to sell as a live organ, we are the lucky ones chosen to have a 12 hour layover on CHRISTMAS DAY in the Phoenix airport!  I know I am looking forward to sleeping on the cold floor waiting and praying for our airplane to decide to arrive 10 hours early just to take us back home.  That's what I should write to Santa Claus.

Dear Santa,
How are you today?  How are the elves?  I think I have some students in my class that might qualify as elves.  They are pretty darn cute. They aren't great at making toys, but they sure can destroy them.  Anyways, to get to the point, what I want for Christmas is not to have a 12 hour layover.  I don't mind a short layover.  I would even accept three hours, but 12, I might end up hurting someone and that wouldn't be good.  Thanks for understanding big man.  Looking forward to a plane neatly wrappted this year under the tree so I can fly myself home.  Have a good Christmas.

xoxox Your favorite on the "good list"

What do you think?  Excellent letter right?  Maybe I should have offered my preschool class as a bribe?

We will arrive home Christmas day, run around like mental cases trying to see everyone we have missed sorely for the last year in three short weeks and fly back exactly one month after we left the dreadful winter of Korea.  If you are planning to be in the area, and you still want to be our physical friend (as opposed to only a facebook friend) give us a ring or shoot us an email.  We want to see everyone!!  At least everyone in the Texas area.  Hopefully the next time we are home we will have yet another epic roadtrip and actually get to see our wind-scattered friends across the continental US of A.

What's the plan when we board the plane back to Korea?  Well, we resigned our contract.  Mostly out of convenience.  We most likely wont do anymore than another year here (in Korea).  We're saving money and thats the point of this venture (besides life experiences of course).

Looking forward to seeing all you wonderful folks!! Merry Early Christmas!!

Music in the Schools

San Antonio is trying to spruce up it's local spice. This is a great city, a huge city, but sometimes, there is a lack of activities especially in comparison with other cities of similar volume. Which is why there has been a lot of initiative taken recently by our city council and mayor to change that. One activity for instance was a summer long battle of the bands competition, culminating in one electrifying show downtown at Sunset Station. Well, it wasn't exactly electrifying, but it was good, and as it was only the first year, it will only get better. We learned about this event through my friend Elizabeth who was going to support a friend, Lynette Brehm, an amazing bilingual, guitar strumming, power-house voice musician who was in the competition. (Check out her website and her beautiful songs.

(a picture of one of her band members, her cellist)

While we were there, it was mentioned several times that Lynette had started a non-profit to help students and schools with their music programs. Along with budget cuts for everything else during a recession , fine arts programs are some of the most badly hit. Instruments are expensive and some students cannot afford them. Lynette realized that without help, many of these schools and students would suffer significant losses, so to aide these ailing programs, she started a community based non-profit to help called Music in the Schools. Sadly, I never took up an instrument, a mistake I hope to remedy one day, however, I was involved in fine arts as theater was my life through out middle school and high school. It was a crucial part of my enjoyment level in my childhood and adolescence and I think that schools lacking in fine arts programs are less enriching and less challenging. To learn more about Music in the Schools, and how you can contribute or get your school involved in the San Antonio wide competition, click on the website.

The Visitors

Texas, the lonestar state, is known for many things, it's big beautiful blue sky, the perpetual and sometimes unmanageable heat, it's size, not only the mere size of the state but the largeness of the people as well (we have three of the fattest cities in the USA), and it's wildlife. The other night we were visited by some very unconventionally beautiful guests. Some in fact might even consider these creatures of the night to be frightfully repelling, especially when they literally walk out of their skin to leave their outer shell hanging like a deserted evening gown hung on the side of a house. Yes, I am talking about ghosts! No, no, no, I kid, I kid. I am speaking of the lovely cicadas that serenade our summer evenings with a orchestrated high-pitched roar which efectively drowns out any other evening noise. If you are unfamiliar with their songs, you can click here: The songs of cicadas





This little bugger was hanging out on the brick outside the front door, a dangerous place for a bug considering the prowling habits of QT, the magnificent cat. However, this particular evening, he was not alone, he had brought along a friend of note, a dragonfly. When we float down the river, a common activity in the unrelenting Texas heat, we often are visited by pairs of dragonflies taking a rest from their manic mating, landing on our shoulders or heads. They are not an uncommon critter. However, this particular one, was quite extraordinary, and in fact, I have never seen it's equal. Because of her remarkable coloring, she will hence forth be called she because if it is a male, he may be confused about his sexuality, wearing pink and purple as his primary colors. And yes you read correctly, pink and purple. Every dragonfly I have ever come across in my life have had green and blue coloring, but this astonishing flying animal was colored to go out on the town and paint the town red, or pink and purple in her case. How wonderful nature is to have such astounding creatures. Nature is something that I have always loved, respected and feared equally. It never ceases to astound me. What is it about nature where you live do you love?



An old post from our Italy blog about critters. It's fun! Go down a few posts to check it out. There are some funny old photos there.

Show us your world!