I'm the lucky girl...

Happy Anniversary!

It's mine and Grant's two year anniversary on Tuesday, May 5th. I know we haven't been married that long, but it's been a tough year. Moving to Korea when you don't want to is not for everyone. This year has only made us stronger. I tell Grant i'm the luckiest girl in the whole world to which he replies, "No, i'm the luckiest girl." Silly, but sincere. I embroidered a couple t-shirts for him with this saying so he'll remember how much I love him. Don't worry I won't make him wear the shirts out in the open. They're black because that's what he has to wear underneath his flight suit everyday, so the saying will be hidden, but will remain close to his heart. We're going traditional with our gifts. Second anniversary is cotton...when do will we get to diamonds?! We are also taking a vacation for our anniversary. Last year was camping at the Grand Canyon. This year is Tokyo, Japan. What a difference a year makes. Good or bad, we're both in it for the long haul.

P.S. The embroidery letters were drawn by hand. My "Sublime Stitching" letters wouldn't transfer on black clothes.

Scenes from a Weekend

Nicole, Summer, Brooklyn and Cole having much deserved fun after the exercise.

I hand-dyed and sewed on a dragon patches on these onesies for a baby shower.

Pawky during a walk today. It was finally sunny after a few gloomy, rainy days.

Ships Passing in the Night

Dear Grant, I hope the flight tonight went well. I'm going to Yongsan with Anna and Brynn tomorrow. I will be up at 7:30 and gone by 8:15 to meet them by 9:00. I will be home at 4:00, so I will probably miss you. Tell me what your schedule is tomorrow please! I hope you get to work on your homework some. I love you! Summer P.S. Nicole didn't make it over tonight! Sad! P.P.S. There's tortellini leftover and some noodle salad. P.P.P.S. I put a load of towels in at 10 p.m. Change loads in the morning, clothes in basket are dirty.

Hey Summer, I have to go in at 1 p.m. Should be back by 1 a.m. Have fun with the ladies! Luz, G.

Fly safely! If you fly. I love you so much. Pawky's fed, no poop. Switch loads plz? P.S. Call and order dog food? S.

Love you! By the way, "setted" is not in the Scrabble dictionary. Rematch?

Hey Grant, Can you take Pawky out to pee one more time? I have to be at base by ten, but I hope to see you for a little bit. What time do you go to work. I love you! I miss you! Summer

I have to go in at 1:15 p.m. Wake me before you leave. Luz, G.

This is our only conversation for the past three days with the exception of twenty minutes this morning when I woke Grant up. I can't wait until this exercise is over!

Grant's Birthday

Buddha's lanterns. They are hung for the living and the dead. On May 2nd, You can write your names on the paper underneath the lanterns and the monks will pray for you.

Lunch. It wasn't terrible...just not good.

Birthday boy next to Buddhist temple.

Grant and I went on a trip through the travel service company on base. Originally we were supposed to see the cherry blossoms, but the company changed the trip because there weren't that many cherry blossoms blossoming. First we went to Mt. Mai 2 1/2 hours away and then Donguk Temple in Daejon. The weather was perfect, but we were expecting more sitting and less hiking. It was fine for Grant and I, but the couples we were with had small children making the experience less than ideal. The travel company tried to make it up to us by providing us lunch, but hmmm...no...it was not good...at all. We ate ten melted Snickers bars after lunch to make up for lost calories.
Other than that, Grant was happy. That's what counted. He turned 31 Saturday a number I will be approaching soon, but until then he is officially robbing the cradle.
By the way...I finished my first original design for a wallet. I hope to come up with a prototype by tomorrow!

Closeup of Purse!

This is the latest purse I made for Lynne. If you want one yourself let me know! You can pick out the fabric yourself (which Lynne did while I was visiting her in Texas) or you can trust me to put some fabric together. It stands up on its own because I put a lining inside it.

This is the lining inside. It has three pockets, one for keys, one for pens and one for Lynne's Blackberry. Let me know what you think?
Any suggestions on how to make it even better?

Sewing Again

My sewing room. Pretty simple, but it works. I have two bookcases with a tabletop perched on top. The laptop is next to my sewing machine so I can listen to "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" on audiobook. I also sit on a panda cushion given to me by one of Korean students for my birthday. Notice the tangle of wires to the converter box. We tried the best we could with what is available here!

It took me awhile to get back into sewing. Some things seem so overwhelming its hard to get started. I took the whole day today to devote to my friend Lynne's purse. I'm a little rusty, but it turned out well. This was the first purse I put pockets inside the lining. The next project will be some little wallets I MIGHT sell at the flea market on base. I went to the Osan Piecemakers Club meeting last night with my friend Nicole and will try my hand at quilting squares. I'm a little nervous, but I think it will only help my sewing. I learned how to do yoyos (small fabric circles) last night. I'm loving the cute vintage look they give quilts. I'm thinking of cascading them down a plain white t-shirt. I'll let you know how that goes!
I also booked a trip to Tokyo, Japan with my husband for our second anniversary. I'm really looking forward to leaving Korea for a little bit and seeing more of Asia. I promise lots of pictures!
Other than that, life is as normal as normal goes here. Grant continues to work a ton and I try to keep myself busy.

Quiet Please

Grant and I went on walk today to see more cherry blossoms with Pawky. When we were finished we made lunch and then Grant went to work. He'll be there probably until two in the morning tonight. I try to keep myself busy during the day... I went to the library and read, stopped at the travel center to discuss a possible vacation in May and worked out in the gym. After four hours of not talking to people the silence of my own voice becomes louder than my own voice. I took the bus home after my busy afternoon and listened to This American Life in hopes of Ira Glass' narration replacing my own. The bus stopped at the college close to my house and picked up around fifty talking students. Unable to eavesdrop in on someone else's story, let alone contribute anything, I imagined their conversations. The lone boy flirted with the girl next to me and the girls behind me whispered in jealous gossip. Their chatter carried me off the bus into the waiting sea of silence...it's only 8:42 p.m.

Happy Pawky after a good day of exercise and Grant being home all day!

Some of the yellow flowers around town. Pawky pooped right next to these. He doesn't appreciate the beauty of Spring quite yet. I think he's just happy to not be in the apartment too!

Cherry Blossom buds down the street from our house. I'll show you an after picture in the next couple days. These trees are everywhere.

You're Getting Warmer

I feel like a weight is lifting off our shoulders slowly, begrudgingly, but still lifting. Grant and I are settling into our lives here. We've been experimenting with recipes from a magazine called Clean Eating. We made "Shrimp and Potato Stew" last week and "Smothered Steak Sandwiches" yesterday. They're really healthy and surprisingly easy. I generally don't eat a lot of meat, but both of these dishes were really good. Grant usually follows the meal with Oreos and milk flushing out most of the nutrients he just consumed.
We also had a really great weekend. The exercise finally finished Friday night and I actually saw my husband. We laid low Friday, but on Saturday we were able to move around town a little easier. We went grocery shopping, picked up the mail and ate lunch with Grant's friend from the Academy. Sounds ridiculous, but it's so nice to be able to get out of the house and run errands! I went from being able to go wherever and whenever I wanted to being trapped in an apartment thousands of miles away from anything comfortable. Saturday night we went to a friends house from the squadron for steak and drinks. Around 2o people were there, so it turned into more of a party...well deserved after the week we all went through.
The weather is much nicer than it was even a week ago. The cherry blossoms are sprouting all over and these pretty yellow flowers decorate sidewalks and staircases indiscriminately. We made reservations to go to a temple on Grant's birthday where the cherry blossoms are supposed to blanket the sky. The Japanese invasion left many legacies, the cherry blossom trees the only one Koreans accept as the weather warms.