Thankful

I'm a little late in saying Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, but....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I have done some reflection and have so much to be thankful for. Here's my list:

1. My loving Ryan, who supports me in all I do, loves me through it all, and who is my eternal optimist. I know I can ALWAYS count on him for an encouraging word, and just knowing that makes me smile :) I can't wait to be back home and living with my best friend again.

2. My wonderful family (immediate and extended), who can't wait for me to get home. I know I have so many prayers from them that lift me up.

3. Crystal, her husband, John, and their 3 little guys - Calvin, William, and Henry. They are my family here in Korea, and they make sure I'm never alone for too long.

4. My awesome job as a labor and delivery nurse. I get to see little miracles born everyday. Not many people can say they share that special moment with a new mommy and daddy. I see unconditional love on the faces of many parents, and I can't wait until I get to share that special moment with Ryan.

My list could go on and on...I have so much to be thankful for! Most days I have to take a few steps back from life to see what I take for granted. Even halfway across the world - away from all I know - I have many blessings to count.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Well, it snowed in Seoul today! I didn't get to see much of it - only got to look from the hospital windows at work. The snow had stopped (and none of it stuck) when I got off work at 4:00pm. Bummer! If I'm going to live in the cold, then I want snow. Just being cold is miserable - snow at least makes the drab winter pretty (until all the cars make it dirty, of course)!

The snow does seem quite fitting, considering I've been listening to Christmas music for a week now. I accidentally didn't pack any of my Christmas CD's to bring to Korea and was very sad when I discovered this. Thank goodness for iTunes! I told Ryan one day over the phone that I was downloading Christmas songs, and he broke out singing "I Believe in Santa Claus," a song from one of my favorite Christmas albums (Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers). Last year Ryan and I drove from Louisiana to Ohio for Christmas, and I think he heard the album at least 25 times (much to his dismay). The drive is about 17 hours, and I forced him to listen to Christmas music the entire way there and back! He can blame my Christmas music preferences on my parents :) I hope everyone is staying warm - I've heard it has been snowing in Ohio and Kentucky, too!

Call Me Ma'am

I finally had my promotion ceremony on Friday the 14th. It's official - I'm not a Lieutenant anymore! Woo Hoo!

Crystal pinning me to Captain!

Serious

Silly!

Group Photo

Unlucky Number 4

My first thought is of the Tower of Terror at DisneyWorld & DisneyLand. For those that don't know, it's a ride portraying an elevator horror from 1939, where the elevator lift plummits 13 stories to your (gasp!) death (or maybe just your stomach lurching into your throat). Thirteen stories. You were asking for trouble. As many of you probably know, 13 is quite unlucky in the U.S. Most buildings completely skip the number when numbering the floors.

Thank goodness I can get 13 out of my system in Korea. I can use it all I want (and I may even claim it as my lucky number while I'm here)! One number to stay away from? Four. Four is Korea's thirteen.

I technically live on the 4th floor of my building. Heaven forbid. Thank goodness no one knows. My apartment is labeled as #501, and the elevator buttons are numbered 1, 2, 3, 5. Whew! Glad I got around that one! At least I was born in 1983, the year of the pig (the pig in Korea is very lucky). Maybe the good luck from the pig and the misfortune from the 4th floor apartment cancel each other out. That's my hope so I can put my superstitions to ease!

My Cribs

People have been asking me for pictures of my apartment, so I finally took some the other day. I don't want you to get too excited...I warned you all that my place was pretty bare inside. Here are the pictures to prove it!

(I'm having some trouble getting all the pictures to show up when I post the blog, so click on the blog alone - so it is the only one on the page - and check back later. You may see more or different pictures, depending on which ones Blogger decides to pick and choose to show!)


Living Room with Sunroom doors on the left and sliding door to Mudroom on right.

Living Room with Sunroom doors on the right.

Living room with Kitchen on the left (sliding glass doors go to the Utility Room). In mid-right, doorway to the Office and Master Bed & Bath. The 3rd Bedroom (not pictured) and Guest Bathroom are to the far left.

The Guest Bathroom.

Kitchen

Kitchen again with dining table in bottom of picture.



The Office.

The Hallway looking from the Office to the Master Bath on the left (where the light is on the floor) and Master Bedroom straight ahead.

The Master Bathroom.

The Master Bedroom.

The Master Bedroom again.

The Sunroom (off the Living Room).

View from small porch off the Sunroom/Master Bedroom.

Hope you enjoyed my tour! NOW COME VISIT! :-)

(Sorry about the crazy formatting - Blogger does whatever it wants!!!)

Tag...I'm It!

My cousin, Sara, tagged me from her blog to write about a picture in my picture folder on the computer. I had to pick the 4th folder with the 4th picture and write about it. Here is the lucky pic:

Who is this? RYAN! I was actually emailed this picture by Ryan himself within the last couple of months. The email he sent read this: "See - I have always used one of these." When I scrolled to the bottom of the email and saw the picture, I laughed out loud. Here's why:

Ryan reads before going to sleep just about every night. He has a reading pillow that he uses, and I HATE IT. It weighs about 20 pounds, and it ALWAYS ends up on the floor by morning. I make the bed in our house, so I ALWAYS end up tripping over it. When I trip over it, it doesn't give (because, as I said earlier, it weighs 20 pounds). As a result, I repeatedly try to talk Ryan into getting rid of this reading pillow and buying a new one that weighs about 19 pounds less. He refuses.

This picture of Ryan as a baby was taken at his late Grandpa Buckingham's house. His current reading pillow perfectly matches the one in the above picture. In fact, I think IT IS the one in the above picture. I am going to surrender. For the record, he can keep the pillow, and I won't bother him about it EVER again. I promise :)

I will have to be more careful where I step from now on when I make the bed. (If you're thinking that I should have been doing this in the first place, then you're right). Plus, on occasion, I get affection from the pillow. The little pillow arms like to hug me and say "squeeze" when I'm not paying attention. Just how can I argue with that???