Our Celebration of Marriage

After a year and a half of marriage, Chris and I finally got our "big" day. It was so wonderful. I experienced the love of my family and friends in a way I never expected. It was all so wonderful. The day I dreamed of for a long time and it was perfect! Our photographer, my friend Gina, at www.ginaesposito.com, did an amazing job capturing the day and its details. Trying to make an album is hard because all of the photos are so good! Here are a few of my favorites...






<3 Mav

A Fowler Christmas

Hello faithful readers! Merry Christmas! Here in Korea it is the day after Christmas. Chris and I have completed our second Christmas together. We've started some new traditions and I think they will stick! Just like last year, Chris made an amazing breakfast for us! We munched on french toast....made with EGGNOG! (This man is a genius!) It was delicious!

From Adventures in Korea

For dinner I made Chicken Florentine. It has green spinach and red tomatoes, and that is why I made it last year. This year, I brought it back because it was so tasty! We watched Die Hard With A Vengeance... which we forgot was NOT a Christmas one...but we love them all, so it was all good.

We were able to chat with family back home and a few friends too. This year my high school friends' Christmas Eve Eve party went international! They hooked up the web cam and I was able to see EVERYONE! It was so fun. Chris and I judged the ugly sweater competition. It was awesome to be included! Next year, we hope to make it in person!

We have a guest staying with us for the month of December. Her name is Daisy. :) Her and Cookie have been getting to know each other. Let's just say that two "only children" take a while to warm up to each other. They are having fun together now though...

From Adventures in Korea

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas with family, friends, or the love of your life.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Bryan Family Farewell

Recently, we said goodbye to some good friends: Jeremy, Madelyn, and Gary Bryan. Jeremy is the one who asked me to start helping with the youth. They are such a wonderful family with a passion to work with kids. They moved to Ft. Lewis and the kids knew we had to surprise them with a farewell party. Here are a few pics from the party....

Everland

Everland is a theme park outside of Seoul. We decided to go over Columbus Day weekend. This was great because everyone else is at work except the Americans. We went with our friends Adam and Amanda. Since it was close to Holloween, the whole park was decorated.

Everland is like the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. I went on one roller coaster, but it was still fun! They had a safari that was so cool! At one point the driver rolled down the window and threw treats to a bear who did tricks for us. (Video on Picasa)

I had fun people watching. Koreans have the most ...interesting... style. Here are pictures from what I like to call, my "Fashion Safari":

School uniforms are no obstacle for these kids.

They "jazz" up their humdrum unis with chucks and fancy colored socks...

Be careful to spot this not so rare sight: a ''man purse.'' This pouch is an acceptable accessory for most Koreans. This completes our safari ride. Please exit the tram and follow signs to the next exhibit of your choice:

Oktoberfest Korea Style

On Saturday, Chris and I headed to Post to check out the Oktoberfest celebration. We had a great time! By the time we got there they had already sold out of bratwurst. So we settled on knockwurst and were very happy with it! They had band playing and I even saw some lederhosen!

From Adventures in Korea

Around the House

When we returned to Korea after a short, but sweet, trip to the States we continued business as usual. I was able to complete a few more craft projects...

From Adventures in Korea

Found a place for my orchid. It was a gift from some dear friends.

From Adventures in Korea

And as September came upon us, I found the time to make a homemade apple pie.

From Adventures in Korea

Hello, Fall! I missed you....

Gid and Kay

One of my friends in Korea is Sharon. Sharon is the mother of two beautiful children: Gideon and Mykayla. I. Love. These. Kids. They are the best! We often have coffee together at starbucks, go shopping at the PX, or get lunch. They have such great imaginations... They say the cutest things!

Me: Wow, Gid, those airplanes look so cool hanging from your ceiling.

Gid: Yeah, we put them up for my birthday. Would you like to come to my birthday party? (his birthday is 7 months away)

Mykayla: Mrs. Marie, I don't eat fish because I get seasick.

My all time favorite is when Sharon drops me off at my apartment. The back windows go down and I hear them both yelling, "Good bye Mrs. Marie, I love you!"

The are the sweetest!

From Adventures in Korea

From Adventures in Korea

From Adventures in Korea

Adventures in Places other than Korea

Recently, I had the amazing opportunity to go back to the States for a few weeks! yay! Most of you dedicated blog readers where among those that I visited while I was "home."

It was great to be back in America. I really forgot how many things we have there and how I have adapted to a different way of life here in Korea. To recap, I was in New York for three weeks and then met Chris in California for his brother's wedding.

Check out the pictures for our journey by following one of the links below:

John and Suzy's Wedding in Baltimore

From Adventures in Korea

David and Danielle's Wedding in Burbank

From Adventures in Korea

I would also like to take a moment to thank anyone who reads this blog. I mostly do it so that my mom and Aunt can share in my experiences, but I am so thankful for anyone else who cares enough about us to read. Please feel free to leave comments and questions for me to follow up on!

Mav

Ruthie and Charlie's Visit: Part 3

Day 5: After giving R&C some time to sleep off the jet lag, we got down to serious business with day one of two in Seoul. We started out with a tour of the "Secret Garden" at Chandeokgung (palace). It was beautiful! I had been there back in November (picture me in a ski jacket). This time, everything was much greener! I didn't take many pictures because I have so many from my first trip. We spent about 2 hours on the tour. I probably could have stayed all day.

From Adventures in Korea

Then we went to lunch at Min's House in Insadong. I found this place in a tour book and it was great! We had a four course meal in a traditional Korean home. It was a really beautiful place and the food was delicious!

From Adventures in Korea

After lunch we went to Jogyesa Temple. It was very cool because Buddha's birthday was coming up and so the temple was filled with people and decorated with lanterns! The lanterns are purchased and people attach prayers to Buddha on them. R&C's whole trip every temple was decorated colorfully-- I was very pleased!

From Adventures in Korea

Our last stop on Day 5 was to Gyeongdokgung (palace). This is the other palace in Seoul and has a some amazing images to capture. Even though we were tired, we were still excited to see more! R&C were very good sports and kept up with the fast pace like true traveling champs!

From Adventures in Korea

1 Year and counting...

June 13, 2009

From Our Wedding

apologies...

I have not been doing very well with updating the blog.

We just got back from our weekend in Jeju Island. It was fantastic! I'll be uploading those pics, finishing commenting on my pics from R&C's visit, and do more posts with details about their week here. ...

...All this after I finish this week.

Ruthie and Charlie's Visit: Part 2

Day 2: After some sleep we wanted to show R&C around our little neck of the woods. We took a stroll so they could see where I get the bus, my favorite bakery, and Cookie's route. Chris had to go back to the office (on a Sunday, ugh...the Army doesn't take a day off!) so I took R&C for their first Korean meal. We had BBQ pork! mmm.... I took them to the same place where I had my first Korean restaurant experience. They were pros! Oh, except when one of the waitresses laughed at Ruthie for using one of her chop sticks as a knife to spread the chili paste on her leave. They seemed to like it, so I was glad. If you don't like the food in Korea, it will be a rough visit.

Day 3: Skype date with the Fowlers back in CA. Then we went and explored down town Pyeongtaek. I took R&C to a Korean market. There are tons of outdoor markets that happen around the area. They sell fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, and much more (ruff, ruff). I had to let them see and experience for themselves. Then we went up to the observation deck of AK Plaza to look down on the city. I hadn't been up there so it was new for me too!

When Chris got home from work we took the car down to Asan. I had heard there was a tomb for Admiral Yi, a famous Korean war hero, down there and it was a short drive. We also saw signs for a "seawall" and thought that would be a cool sight. The memorial tomb had closed by the time we got there (darn gov't workers and their 9-5 hours) so we drove on to find the seawall. We drove a few more miles and then stopped seeing signs for the wall. Chris pulled over into a park area. When we got out, we all looked out at the river and there it was: We had driven OVER the sea wall! There wasn't much to see, so we decided to play in the park for a bit.

From Adventures in Korea

Day 4: We woke up and it was pouring. We decided to head over to Songtan. Ruthie had heard about "Dr. Fish" and there was a place there that we decided to explore. We walked around trying to find it because the only directions I could find were "somewhere down a street on the right passed the Gargoyle bar place." <-- Obviously, we had little to go on. But, we walked around in a few circles, until Ruthie pointed to a sign that read "Dr. Fish"!

The place was a nail salon, so everyone there was getting manicures and pedicures. In the back there was a small pool with fish. You had to first wash your feet with soap and water. Then, slowly lower your feet into the pool. The fish swarmed!! You can watch a video of Ruthie getting in the water here. It was sooo weird. I finally dipped my feet in and I found it hard not to giggle. My feet felt softer afterwards, but I'm not sure if it was the fish, or soaking my feet in warm water for 15 minutes. :)

Then we had a cup of coffee and waited for Chris to get off of work. Ruthie bought a fantastic gold "Coach" bag. Then we went to Chris' favorite restaurant, White House, for Bulgogi. Ruthie and Charlie got to try Soju, which is kinda like Sake, but tastes better.

Ruthie and Charlie's Visit: Part 1

Hello all my diligent blog followers!

We dropped Ruthie and Charlie at the airport this afternoon after a great adventure/visit, not at all relaxing, vacation! I will have to post the events of our trip in parts, because there is so much to say! For now, I will leave you with the summary, table of contents if you will, of their trip to South Korea:

Day 1, Saturday: Pick up from Incheon International Airport, drove home and had dinner and relaxed (little did we know that might be the last time we "relaxed"...)

Day 2, Sunday: A stroll around Anjung-ri; R&C's first Korean meal for lunch--Korean BBQ! Play time with Cookie and a movie at home

Day 3, Monday: Skype video chat with the Fowlers; Tour of Pyeongtaek-- Farmer's market, AK Plaza, Train station; Pizza night

Day 4, Tuesday: Dr. Fish "pedicures," souveneir shopping in Songtan, coffee at a Brazilian place, Dinner at White House (Chris' favorite restaurant)-- Bulgogi

Day 5, Wednesday: Seoul for the day-- Two Palaces, One Temple, Lunch in a traditional Korean home

Day 6, Thursday: Busan for the day-- ride on the bullet train, temple, fortress wall, gimbap for dinner

Day 7, Friday: Seoul again-- Buddha's birthday, temple celebration, Insadong for tea and souveneirs, Chris met up with us (YAY!) and we attempted the Seoul tower cable car, then dinner at a fantastic new place Chris discovered in Seoul Station

Day 8, Saturday: DMZ Tour-- all day amazing learning experience

Day 9, Sunday: Chris made breakfast! Then lunch and good byes at the airport...

I didn't think we could do it, but we packed so much into the few days we had! It was a marathon, but it was so much fun! I wish Chris could have had more time with us, but duty calls....literally. More stories and photos over the next few days.

Thanks all for reading!

-Mav

Productive

I felt assimilated and productive today! (yay!) We have a neighbor, Mr. Yang, who used to work on Post and speaks very good English. He and his wife live in our building, a few floors up. Yesterday, I ran into him and he told me that he was doing some translating for the apartment complex manager. He asked me if I could help translate. I agreed of course, because I wanted to help, and I thought it was about time the office started translating the information for us Americans.

I went to the main office and spent almost 2 hours talking with Mr. Yang, mostly about things other than the translated document! He is such a nice man and has so much to say, and says it so eloquently. He told me out of 720 families in the complex, about 70 of them are American families. I didn't realize there were so many. It felt good to help out and the manager was very appreciative. He asked how long I was in country, and wrote it down, so he could use my help again!

The manager didn't speak English so Mr. Yang translated for him. He told me that the manager remembered me from several months ago when I came into the office to report that I had bumped a Bongo truck (sort of like a pick-up, but smaller, see below) and I wanted to let the owner know. The office workers had laughed at me at the time--because it was so minor-- but he said that he was impressed by my honesty and that I represented Americans very well. I was so happy to hear him say that. (Sometimes the people here are not so nice because I am American.)

Mr. Yang is an avid hiker and I told him I wanted to go hiking sometime with him. He was very happy to hear that. He is a Christian and also invited us to church with him one sunday. Leave it to me to find a friend in Korea, and it is a 65 year old man! (Don't worry, Chris is aware of my weakness for old men--not older, but old....)

Appendix A: More about the Bongo truck incident:

Okay, so I'm not sure I shared this at the time it happened... probably because I thought I had participated in a hit and run.

I was trying to park the car and here in Korea. You have to back into the spots, everything is really tight, and I was parking in the underground garage. So I bumped a Bongo truck with my front right bumper (see: Bongo).

Just that same day, or the day before, I was preaching to Chris about how there is no social responsibility anymore. People need to be more honest blah blah blah.....

So, here I am. I have just bumped a work truck. You can hardly see it. No one was in the parking garage to witness it. Just me and my socially responsible conscience. I tried to rub out the scratch and most of it came out. I decided that I had to do what I knew was right.

I went over to the main office to try my hand at explaining "fender bender" in Korean. Eventually I called my realtor and had her translate what happened. All I wanted to do was leave my name and number in case the driver saw it and came looking for an answer. The manager came with me to look at what I was talking about. He looked, closely, then laughed. Then he said, "Don't worry."

All I could think was thank you Bobby McFerrin for writing a song that transcends language barriers!

Bits and Pieces

I've added a few new photos from our travels in Korea to my Picasa album. We've been very busy lately. Chris has been working a lot! I have been filling my schedule with social engagements and volunteer stuff as usual. Last weekend we did find time to take a short trip down to Daegu, 3 hours south of where we live. It was a nice trip. We went with our friends, Dan and Stef, who have two amazing kids! We ate American-style Chinese...it was soooo yummy! I think we would travel 3 hours just to get dinner there again! :D

Today has been a lazy day. We are enjoying sitting around and relaxing. We had a great chat with Ruthie today. We talked about plans for her and Charlie's upcoming trip to see us! We are so excited and so blessed that they are taking the HUGE trip over to see us! (14 hours in flight spells l-0-v-e folks!)

Enjoy the new photos:

From Adventures in Korea

Spring sighting

After a long winter the sun is finally coming about again! Recently, Cookie and I have been enjoying long walks in the morning. Sometimes, our friends Emily and Rilee (the rottweiler) join us.

The cherry blossoms are in bloom here and they are beautiful. I took my camera out on Friday and had some fun taking pictures. There are a few on Picasa:

From Adventures in Korea

Chris worked most of the weekend, so I mostly just sat around and watched TV. I've applied for a job that just opened up as a career counselor. I am hoping to at least hear back for an interview. I don't know what's worse, being rejected, or never having the chance to get rejected, from a job. Here's praying they at least let me fill out an application before they turn me down!

In more exciting news.....RUTHIE AND CHARLIE COME TO VISIT IN 34 DAYS!!! I am so excited to have a little piece of home coming to visit! I know Chris is excited too! There are many preparations to be made, so I will soon get busy doing that. I know I have a month, but I'm a planner in the truest sense of the word! (Ask Chris, I've been talking about their trip since Christmas...)

Have you seen spring yet?

-Mavie Anne

Easter Sunday

From Adventures in Korea

Frozen Seoul

I wanted to share a post from a blog I follow called "Hi Seoul." I have to say, it would be really cool to be there on Sunday...

Hi Seoul, April 1st Post

(Check out the video to understand what's going on...)

Happy Easter, everyone!!

-Mavie

A little treat

Tonight is the night before Chris leaves for his field training exercise. We just watched some amazing home movies that our friends' back home made. And I made a little treat that I found a recipe for today. Doughnuts--easy and sooo yummy!

Luckily, I will be busy while he is gone. I am going up to Seoul for a PWOC conference. I'm looking forward to a weekend with the girls! Next week I have the usual schedule and if it's nice I plan to take Cookie for many walks.

Puppy-sitting

This Saturday we watched our friends' dog, Rilee. She is a beautiful rottweiler! She's the same age as Cookie, but twice her size! It was nice Saturday morning so we took the "girls" for a walk. Then they played all afternoon. We were nervous at first b/c Rilee is getting strong, but Cookie really held her own. They were wrestling and Cookie pinned her a few times. I would look over and here is this 25lb rottweiler, shoulders pinned down under a little beagle pup. Chris and I had fun watching them. I have to say, two dogs is a lot of work! We had to make sure they weren't eating eachothers food, or playing too rough. After Rilee went home Cookie slept, then she went to bed with us, then when we got up she slept some more! I guess we need to schedule play dates more often, because it was such good exercise. I am looking forward to nicer weather so that Cookie and I can take more walks!

Chris has off Monday (yay!) so we are enjoying this extended weekend. We plan on getting Chinese food at AK Plaza as a special treat for dinner tomorrow night. We've been there once before and it was really good! He leaves for a week on Wednesday, so I'm relishing the chance to hang out before then.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Long Time, No Blog

It's been a long time since I last wrote; over a month! Chris and I have been busy. He has been working dilligently and I have been volunteering and, of course, socializing. But as I'm writing this I'm doubting I've done anything productive since my last post. Let me open my Starbucks planner (which I received free, after purchasing 12 coffees....) and see what I have done in the last month........

I've had:

3 PWOC Executive board meetings

3 FRG meetings

2 Vet Appointments (for Cookie) ;)

2 Bake Sales

5 great conversations with friends from back home...

1 Gaba Gaba-themed birthday party (ask me if you don't know...)

1 Promotion Day for my husband (yay for 1LT !!)

5 PWOC bible studies

3 trips to Osan Airforce Base (their Ville has great purse selections)

1 Day of substitute teaching (which went great!)

1 Hail and Farewell Dinner

1 Girls Sleepover

and an undeclared number of coffee dates at Starbucks with friends.

I guess all in all I've done a few things. But, I've been following other blogs and I notice that they are not always lengthy, but rather simple thoughts for the day. I think I will try to be more diligent and try to post shorter thoughts more frequently.

Dish of the Week: Last night I prepared Salmon. I seasoned the fish and then wrapped the filets in phyllo dough. Then they baked in their envelopes of goodness. It was awesome! So simple, but really good. (I got the high-five of approval from the love of my life.)

Enjoy your week everyone!!

Mav

Cute Puppy Photo of the Day

From Cookie

Comfort Food

Psalm 119:76 says, "May your unfailing love be my comfort..."

I think it should also say something about food in there. Sometimes, food is a great comfort to me. Especially Italian food. After working at Alfredo's for more than 4 years, I know a thing or two about preparing the standard Italian American classics: Meatballs, Chicken Parmigiana, Baked Ziti, Eggplant Parmigiana, Penne al La Vodka, and the list goes on. Ever since I moved out on my own, whenever I wanted to really feel the comfort of a warm meal, I turned to these trusted friends.

Don't get me wrong, I love Korean food. There are so many new tastes (and smells...) that I have tried and enjoyed. Who knew I could handle spicy food like Bibimbop, or Kimchi. But, when I've had a long day, or Chris is having a long day, and we need to warm our souls, I reach for Italian. So, this week was going to be a long one, so I prepared ahead, got some carbs in the pot, rolled some meatballs up, and voila: Pasta and Meatball Dinner on Monday night:

From Adventures in Korea

And the next day the leftovers were gone at lunch time ;)

What food do you turn to for comfort?

Youth Retreat Weekend

Last weekend I went away as a leader on the youth retreat. It was so great to hang out with a youth group like I used to back home. The kids were so much fun. My birthday was Saturday, and they all sang happy birthday at our night session. I even found a card in my bed that night signed by all the kids and leaders!

Our high school kids have it rough here. I'm sure it's similar in the states, but here, many of the kids are into drugs, drinking, under age sex, and probably more than I could even imagine. I don't remember my high school experience the same way. Sure, that stuff was present, but it didn't slap me in the face every time I walked into the school building. I had great friends who stayed away from all that. For our youth group kids, spending time with us is their break from the drama and the mess that they deal with at school. I'm always praying that I could be a person that the girls feel comfortable with. When they are with me, they can relax and just be themselves. It can't be easy being today's Christian teenager.

So we went to Lotteworld: Seoul's inside/outside amusement park:

From Humphreys Youth Retreat

From Humphreys Youth Retreat

We had an "olypiad" of sorts where the kids could earn points and win iTunes gift certificates:

From Humphreys Youth Retreat

From Humphreys Youth Retreat

We had some fellowship time:

From Humphreys Youth Retreat

It was a great time:

From Humphreys Youth Retreat

From Humphreys Youth Retreat

The Newest Addition: Cookie

We adopted a puppy! That's right... For all of you who know me, you are probably thinking, "What is she thinking?" It has been a wonderful experience! Cookie was found abandoned in family housing. Our friends, the Cooks, found her and took her in. They already have two dogs--which is the limit for on post housing-- so they couldn't keep her. Heart broken, they put the word out to everyone they knew to try and find a home for the pup. They told us about her after church one night. I took one look at Chris and knew he would love it!

So, I caved... I have to admit: I thought I would hold out longer. I thought allergies, renting, being a neat freak, were all good enough excuses. However, I took one look at this dog and said "okay." She's a mush: she loves to lay in your lap and nap. She's very smart: potty training only took a few days-- albeit a few difficult days. Having a puppy is a lot of responsibility. It is giving Chris and I yet another way to exercise communication and patience in our marriage. We share the chores that come with the dog, but also enjoy her together when Chris comes home from a long day at work. Sometimes I have to tell Cookie to back off so I can snuggle with my husband! ;)

I've posted a few photos and videos from our first couple of weeks:

From Cookie

From Cookie

The Haircut

I cut Chris' hair for the first time (technically) yesterday!

Back in July, while visiting CA, we purchased a razor set so that we could "save money" on haircuts. It's a requirement that Chris keep his hair groomed a certain way...not that he would have it any other way. My mother-in-law tried to teach me however, my first experience shaving left him looking more like a man who let his 5 year old use the razor. I think he's been afraid to let me touch it since. ...And I completely understand (being that I've let only one person in the entire world touch my hair for the last 8 years) and so I accompanied him to the barber every two weeks, ever since we were married.

I watched carefully and took mental notes every time I watched the barber (or barberess?). I observed what my husband didn't like about the haircut and what he did like. Until last week I made my move...

"Babe," I said with confidence, "I can cut your hair for you this time." He looked at me. Paused. "Okay," he said, "if you think you're ready." The look in his eyes told me he thought I was. I laid out the tools. I prepared...prayed, really.

Thirty, or so, minutes later my masterpiece was complete! The cut was pretty good. "I looks great," Chris said with excitement and encouragement. "This is how I've been trying to get it cut everytime, but they never understand."

*sigh* I succeeded!