It's Been a While

So...now that Christmas is over, I have a little breathing room to provide an update. It was so nice to be able to spend time with my siblings, their spouses and the nieces and nephews. I love my family so much. With each passing event, I grow more thankful for who God chose to be my family. We'll be visiting Kong's family this coming weekend. Can't wait to see everyone.

Christmas was a very stressful for us this year. I was put in a very tough position with the photographer I was using for the girls pictures. I was extremely disappointed at the quality of the photos, the results of my Christmas cards and the professionalism of the photographer. I did not plan to write a Christmas letter this year as I was anticipating an amazing custom Christmas card but things did not turn out as planned. Though this photographer has a great eye, and takes wonderfully artistic photos, she seems to lack knowledge when it comes to the technical aspect of photography, how to run a business and work with customers. For the final products that she produces, amateur prices is more appropriate. There's too many issues to post so I'll spare you the details.

With the recent issues with this photographer, I decided to learn more about photography. I don't plan on ever taking pictures as a professional but I want to be able to take nice pictures of my girls so that I can do fun things with the photos. Here are a few of my attempts to understand the different settings on my own digital camera, lighting, etc...I tried to take pictures during the day time with natural light, and at night time. I wanted to see what type of images I could capture. It was fun and interesting.

Here's the same shot with a different focus.













Our Christmas tree.


















Taylor's first Christmas ornament.

Highs and Lows

Well...after waiting for a year to order my Williams-Sonoma Calphalon cookware, someone stole my stuff off of the porch. I can't believe someone would do that. Over $700. Gone. Just like that. The UPS people delivered the boxes yesterday and since Kong and I had an event and was in a rush, I forgot to tell Kong the boxes were outside. Sure enough, this morning, the boxes were gone. I checked with the mail man who confirmed that he saw the boxes yesterday but that he did not take them in error thinking they were boxes going out. I was frantic.

I called William-Sonoma and they are sending me a replacement set. I was so worried they would tell me there is nothing they can do about it. Thank goodness for William-Sonoma's outstanding customer service. It pays when you do business with people whose price is a true reflection of their products and services. This is not always the case as I recently learned.

On a high note or maybe not so high note, Kong and I attended an event yesterday for the Minnesota Lodging Association and someone did something really creepy to me. I stepped out of the ballroom to make a call to the sitter because we were running late and this guy attending the event walked out right after me. As he walked by me, he stared for a really long time in a really weird way. Then when I finished the call, he came back, stared and said, "You have really beautiful hair." I wasn't sure what to do with that so I said "Thanks" and tried not to make eye contact as he approached me. Well, either he was hitting on me in a really weird way or he is gay and truly does appreciate hair. Who knows.

But today, something else happened that made me truly proud of the hard work I've been putting into working out and eating right. On my way home from having a meeting with a client, I parked in front of the house instead of the garage and this red pick up truck with a bunch of guys drove by me and repeatedly honked their horn and cat called. I think it was directed at me seeing as I was the only person around. Though I probably should have been offended, I wasn't. It's nice to know people still notice me. I guess it helps that I was dressed up both times, and made modest attempts to look presentable.

It was a nice way to end my afternoon considering that I had $700 worth of goods stolen from me. Anyway, more to come tomorrow. I'm going to try to catch up on all that's happened since I haven't been updating my blog.

I'm Finally Going To Do It!

So I finally redeemed all of my Amex points for $900 of gift cards from Williams Sonoma. Once I get the gift cards, I'll going to by a calphalon 12 piece set. I'm also thinking about getting the 12' wok. With the 12 piece set, I'll get free gifts which include the 6.5quart Soup Pot and 10qt Caldero. The 12-piece set includes 10" and 12" fry pans, a 2 1/2-qt. covered saucepan, a 3-qt. covered sauté pan, a 3 1/2-qt. covered saucepan, a 5-qt. covered Dutch oven and an 8-qt. covered stockpot.

If anyone has any input on what sizes are used most an which ones are not, let me know. I may try to buy piece by piece instead of going with a set. I've included pics for the 12 piece, wok and 6.5qt soup pot.

One More Down

I'm down to 163. That's 19 Pounds so far. I have never been so in control of my eating and activities. I feel so empowered. Four pounds left until I break 160. I told Kong that when I get down to 155, which sadly enough was my wedding weight (and sadder yet that I haven't been able to get down to 155 in over 10 years), I'm going to bust out my wedding dress and wear it. I don't know why I'm saving it so I might as well wear it, right? I may even get it altered and dyed. That will be my treat when I hit 140. I'm going to be a hot mama. Yeah!!!!

Ayden and Taylor started Tae Kwon Do this week. Taylor will be restarting Ballet soon and Ayden back in Gymnastics. Tae Kwon Do will be 3x a week, ballet and gymnastics 1x. I'm already feeling over whelmed. We read with Taylor for 30 minutes a night, do homework with both girls and read to Ayden every night as well. I have become involved in a lot of activities and organization so balancing all of this and the kids activities has proved quite the challenge. I had to drag Taylor to a board meeting and a site council training this week. My poor child. I'm so lucky she is such a good girl. She does her homework, reads and waits patiently for me. I'm representing JJ Hill at the Saint Paul Public School National Summit this Saturday from 8:30am to Noon. Too much going on. I haven't even sent out Taylor's Thank You cards from her birthday or get out the notes for my last Hmong New Year Committee meeting. I need to figure out how to scale back. I'm not at the point of pulling my hair out yet but if I keep up this pace, I will.

164!

I'm down a pound to 164. I'm going to poop my pants when I break 160. It's getting easier and easier to manage my food intake and exercise. I've been under the weather this past week so I haven't felt like exercising but I keep forcing myself to go to the gym. I always feel great after I work out but it's getting myself out that's tough. I need to add more variety into my diet without increasing my dairy or grain in take. I have not bought new undies, bras or jeans yet but I plan to this weekend.

Pakou and Nate were just in town and we all had a really great time hanging out. While Pakou was working on Saturday, Kong, Nate, the girls and I went to Allianze and played in the game room. Taylor and Uncle Nate played tennis Wii for an hour and a half. They got a great work out. Taylor even had a toe injury from the awesome serves she was sending Uncle Nate's way. Kong and I played Ping Pong and it was so fun. I haven't played in years but picked it back up pretty quickly. I was sore the next day from the intense competition. To top off the weekend, we played the game Sorry!, a gift from one of Taylor's friends for her birthday. Great fun!!!!

Better Late Then Never

Halloween was really fun. Uncle Philip, Uncle Paul, Auntie Phoua and Gabe came over on Halloween night. Taylor was dressed as a Pop star, and of course Ayden was a Princess and Gabe was...Superman!!!!

Gabe was so cute. He wouldn't let his dad help him carry his very big Thomas the Train candy container. She was so independent and walked the entire way. Paul periodically tried to empty his candy container so that it would not be so heavy. Each time Paul tried, Gabe would shout at Paul. It was the cutest thing. Gabe was so proud of himself and walked with such confidence. So cute.

My big girl Taylor opted to no longer be a Princess. She decided on her own that she wanted to be a pop/rock star. She thought up her costume and put it together almost completely by herself. She even won the costume contest at school. As for my Ayden, always the princess, she wore a pink puffy dress. I'm just glad neither of the girls asked for make up or all of the accessories that really make an outfit believable.

Here are some additional pictures from October.

These are pictures from Rosie/Nicky's funeral. Taylor was super sad. Ayden...not so much. She couldn't get over Rosie's smell.













These are pictures from Paul's birthday. The theme was super hero so Ayden was Wonder Woman, Taylor was Zatana and Gabe was Superman. I especially like the way Ayden's underwear shows underneath her costume.




















Tais Dlaab did take the cake off of the plastic stand so when Paul moved the cake to the end of the tabel, it slid off and fell on the bench. Prior to this point, Gabe was standing on the bench singing Happy Birthday happily to himself and wa anxiously awaiting the climatic ending of lighting the candles and blowing them out. When the cake went toppling over, you could tell it took everything in Gabe's little body to hold back his tears. Then when he could no longer hold it in, he cried. It was sad...but funny too!

Ayden was at a friend's birthday party and came back a cat. Great fun for her as she loves cats. She was sad to wash her face.

Here are pictures from Taylor's birthday. Don't I look good : )

It's Been a Week...

Since I've written anything. There's just so much going on that it's hard to keep up. This is going to be a long one.

Last week Saturday I attended a Montessori event called "Silent Journey". I was so thankful that I went. It gave me great insight into my children's lives away from home. It also confirmed for me that Montessori is so wonderful and that every child should attend school in this setting. Montessori is for every child, not just children like mine.

All of the parents were lead through one Children's House (pre-k and Kindergarten) classroom, Elementary 1 (1st - 3rd) and Elementary 2 (4th - 6th). On our first walk through, we were instructed to just observe the rooms without touching or asking questions. Just to absorb the materials. I found this incredibly difficult. Not talk or touch????? All I could do was think, "Oh my Goodness, this feeling I have inside of me must be what Taylor experiences on a day to day basis." By the way, some of the parents didn't follow direction and touched the materials. Is it odd that that bothered me? Parents who don't follow directions...naughty, naughty. Anyway, on the second walk through, the teachers showed us the Montessori materials and how they work. I was blown away. All of the feelings and emotions I felt took me back to my childhood. Had I only been taught in a Montessori environment, who knows where I would be today. Everything about Montessori is amazing, especially math. It was amazing to see the math beads used to solve for least common multiple. I just can't emphasis how amazing a Montessori classroom is.

At the end of the event, one of the teachers explained that people often do not see creativity and organization as related. He said that what people fail to understand is that creativity comes when people have order for their thoughts, ideas and feelings which in return allows creativity to spawn, develop and make it self real. With out order, these thoughts, ideas and feelings are chaotic and will not produce themselves in a way that can be shared with other people. Dan, the teacher, said it so much more graciously than I put it but his words allowed me to connect the dots.

Montessori materials are all very neat, orderly, and laid out in a very common sense way. Though each classroom from K-6th is nearly the same, all of the thoughts build upon each other until you are able to take the binomial block and use it to solve math equations. Did I say AMAZING yet????? It provides order, and structure at the same time allowing the child the ability to make their own decisions and freedom with the materials. That's how we live our lives at home too. Our children understand that there is a place for everything and that we all take responsibility for keeping this order yet we have the freedom to be creative and feel how we choose. Having the same structure at home and at school has provided great harmony in our lives. People who visit us are often amazed at how responsible and neat Taylor and Ayden are but their behavior is truly a result of Montessori. The order in our home allows them security and an understanding of limits. This may sound counter intuitive but this structure allows the girls to explore in ways other children may not be able to.

This is a big part of why the girls ask me things that I think are so odd. While Taylor was sitting on the toilet this morning, she asked me what a portfolio is. Kong and I explained it to her and she said, "okay", like what we had told her was completely normal. Ayden and I went around last night asking for UNICEF donations. She was such a pro. When we finished, she asked me about poor children and if she was considered poor. We had a very nice discussion. Montessori children are encouraged to ask questions, challenge the norm, and explore all thoughts and feelings. I'm so lucky I stumbled upon Montessori. My girls are amazing people because of it. Sometimes I completely forget that they are only 8 and 4.

So while I was learning, Kong went Pheasant hunting in Iowa. They shot a total of 20 birds. We made Pheasant with bamboo and it was delicious. The natural game is such a great addition to our diet. He's my provider : )

I made it to 165. Woo whooo!!!!!!!!! That's 17 pounds baby! Is it odd that I'm afraid to buy clothes? I have this fear in the back of my mind that I may get big again and the new clothes I buy are wasted. I've been wearing a pair of jeans I bought from Express before I had Taylor. I can't believe I was this big before I even had kids. My goodness what happened to me in my mid twenties? Anyway, the jeans actually look good on me but they are a little torn where my legs use to rub. You know, the area that rubs so much you could start a small brush fire? It's probably time for me to get a new pair of jeans.

I also went to the dentist this past week. I am bummed to report that I have a cavity. This is my first one in over 10 years. I had the first cavity of my life at 22 and now, 12 years later, I have my second. I'm scheduled to get it fixed on November 12.

Lastly, I want to make a correction on a prior post, now that my cholesterol is down to 170, that is actually a 60 point drop, not 30 as I originally thought. This is amazing. I've been using amazing a lot, huh? We'll, it is amazing. I am loved, I am blessed and I'm loving life...including all of the hectic craziness that happens on a day to day basis. Thank you Lord!