New Year's Prayer

Thursday Thunks

1. Have you ever started your Christmas tree on fire? eeeek! not yet *knock on wood*
2. How many rings do you wear? none at the moment...I have kids, so I wash too many dishes to wear my rings!
3. I say "dog barking", you say _______? SHUTTY!
4. How many pictures are in the room that you are in? 2 frames but 5 total pics....all of the kids of course...oh no, I am becoming one of THOSE moms! Time to go through the photo box :)
5. Do you decorate the outside of your house for Christmas? I usually only decorate outside for Halloween
6. What's your favorite Christmas song? "All I Want For Christmas Is You", and "Santa Baby"
7. What do you fill your Christmas stockings with? candy, scratch tickets, and little things that are too small to wrap
8. How many times a week do you charge your cell phone? my cell phone doesn't work out here, but I used to have to charge it every other night...it was my main phone, so it got a lot of mileage :)
9. Do you own any exercise equipment? What are they? my hubsy has the total gym thing, he wants ab's like Jason Statham he says...I am not objecting :)
10. What's your cookie jar look like? it's a big glass chinese take out box!

Thanks for the Christmas questions Berleen!!!

Thursday Thunks

1. If you had to have a brain transplant and had to choose between a cat brain and a dog brain, which would you choose? Oh wow, that is a surprisingly tough question! I think I will have to go with a cat. It's a pretty simple life and people would leave me alone for the most part.
2. Why do you think bananas are shaped the way they are? so it's easier for monkey's to hold onto as they swing from vine to vine...DUH !
3. Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip? I like them both on different things...mayo for salad sandwiches, and miracle whip for a turkey and cheese :)
4. Do you use keyboard shortcuts? no, that's way to complicated for me...although I do use copy and paste from time to time.
5. Are you a member at InsanityCafe Forums & Arcade? If not, you should be. no, I got enough to keep with as it is...look how much I have been slacking on me beloved blog, eeep!
6. Where I live it was a low of -19 degrees this morning - what was your low last night/this morning? this winter I am in Arizona....last winter I was in Maine...do you really think I am paying attention to that thermometer?
7. Do you like hard boiled eggs? yes please
8. Have you ever drank green beer? do you mean like Heineken ? it's disgusting! I am such a girl when it comes to beer...pass the Michelob Light please!
9. Whats your favorite cleaner? pine sol
10.White or whole wheat bread? wheat! man...with all these food questions I am starting to crave an egg salad sandwich!
11. Everyone has some type of phobia - whats yours? what the phobia where you are afraid of everything? ya, that's the one I have!
12. Aren't you glad there weren't any Christmas related meme questions? boo, I was actually hoping for some Christmasy ones! I am trying to work on my holiday spirit here! but thanks for the thought anyways :)

Almost a year....

I cannot believe how fast this year has gone by! The twins will be a year old in just a couple of weeks... it seems like just yesterday that I was pregnant with them. I thought I would post some of my favorite photos of them over the past year...there are so many! Here is some of my fave from the first few months....

This photo is my favorite of them together at the hospital! I love Bella's smile here, even if it wasn't a real one, lol. I don't know if you can see Brayden's name tag, but when he was born, his name was Devon. We saved that tag and his hospital bracelet for him for when he is older. We changed his name to Brayden the day we left the hospital, talk about confusing! I have since been "introduced" to a special little girl named Devon, it has so much more meaning to me now when I hear the name, because I think of her.


This is hands down, my all time favorite baby pic of Bella. This was also the day they were born...she looks totally exhausted, but so adorable! I am planning on editing this pic and framing it for her room once we move.

This is my handsome little dude... even though he looks like an old man here, I could already tell he was going to be a heartbreaker.... or maybe I am just partial? :)







I miss the days of when they could sleep together, it was always so cute!


This one is Brayden and Oma, he has been very attached to her since the first time she held him...I am almost jealous!



Bella all bundled up before getting strapped in... that winter in Maine was brutal! brrrrr

Their first Valentine's day.... and Brady power!


Some early male bonding



First trip to Chinatown in Boston! Oma was with us too, so much fun!


A very chunky Bella, and Brayden threatening to beat up the bullies...or maybe he just likes waving his fist :)


Twins 1st Easter...we went to a friends house for dinner and she thought it would be cute to put them in the easter basket. They actually kinda liked it despite the looks on their faces,lol

I will post more when I get some free time!!!

Friday's Meme's

I have been so super busy lately with an exciting new project for my friend Luca, so I haven't had much time to keep up with my blog lately :( For now, here are some Friday meme's...maybe you will find out some silly stuff about me you didn't already know :)

1. Snow angels.

2. I'm looking forward to Oma Lani coming for Christmas.

3. My coffee this morning is the best coffee ever! (it was a loooong night again lastnight)

4. One of my favorite old tv shows is Magnum P.I.

5. I'm done with cheese balls.

6. The most enjoyable thing around the holidays is everything! I love this time of year, especially since it doesn't involve snow this time :)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to bed early, tomorrow my plans include getting up early and going shopping out of town again (am I crazy?!) and Sunday, I want to be lazy and watch movies all day!

http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com

"This year, the economy in its current state has really hurt a lot of people. So this week’s meme is about spreading holiday cheer on a budget!" ~ from Friday Fun

1. Did you do the so fun Black Friday shopping? No, but we did do some online shopping!Did you get any really good deals? Yes, I think so! And, it is so much easier then fighting the crowds, that's for sure!
2. Does your family do gifts for everyone or do you draw names? We have been meaning to do the name drawing thing, but we all live in different parts of the states now! I wonder if there is a virtual way of doing it? hmmmmm
3. About how many people do you have to gift this year? Too many! haha (j/k!)

4. How about that big holiday meal? We don't know what we are doing for a holiday meal yet, but it is just going to be me, Dave, Oma, and the twins this year...so whatever we have, it won't be too big or pricey.
5. What are your top 5 tips for saving money this year on gifts? Well, my advice is a little bit late...because I did most of my Christmas shopping this summer! If you see something on sale that you think someone would like for Christmas, grab it, even if it is only May or June :) They also tend to jack up the prices right before the holidays too, so shop early...that's my advice! That is my top 1 tip, I got nothing else, sorry!

http://www.multifacetedmama.com/FFun

Childhood Indulgences

1. When did you last have a mid-day nap? Oh wow, ummm, maybe a couple of months ago? I try to have one every day while the kids are napping, but it never works out!
2. When did you last have milk and cookies? Ohhh, the other night....love the Oreo's :)
   
3. When did you last have a bubble bath? Not since I was pregnant
   
4. When did you last jump on the furniture? I was probably 6 or 7?
   
5. When did you last play in the mud? When I was 4, my brother and I used to make mud pie's and we actually took a bite once...it didn't taste like brown sugar :( soooo disappointing!
   

http://www.friday5.org

Manic Monday

Manic Monday #144

It's "Cyber Monday" today, the ceremonial kick-off of the holiday online shopping season in the United States. Do you do much online shopping, holiday or otherwise? Yes...I am kind of an amazon.com addict! But it's cool, I got most of my shopping done earlier in the year, so it's a much less stressful holiday this year!

Are you a Mac or a PC user? Why? I am a pc user just cause I can't afford a Mac! I would love to get one someday. I love the one my older brother has....very cool :)

What website do you spend more time on than you care to admit? Facebook! It's quite addicting :)

Is he Korean?

This weekend we went to the commissary @ a "nearby" AFB ....we go every other week or so and stock up on baby food and whatnot. Anyways...most of the people who work the check outs are older Korean women (I think I have mentioned them before?), and there is this one lady who says the SAME thing to us every time! We go often enough for her to remember us, but she still acts as if she is seeing us for the first time...and she always points to my husband and asks, "Is he Korean?", and I say no, he is Chinese....I don't even go into the whole Indonesian thing now cause it just confuses her. Then she will say to him, "You look more Korean then Chinese!". He just smiles and nods and we try to get out of there as fast as possible before the other ladies come over and hijack Peanut from us and show her to the other ladies. She did look at Brayden this time and said he looked more asian then Bella. That's a first, nobody says that! I think it's true though...Bella looks like her dad who is asian so they just think she looks more asian...when really, she is just a white version of Dave. Brayden has the same coloring as Dave and his eyes are definitly more asian....Bella just looks like an Anime character, hehe.

So, next time she asks, I think I will just say...why yes, he IS Korean....good eye!

Thanksgiving MEME

1. Which do you like better: Cooking at your house, or going elsewhere? I like going somewhere else, it's less stressful!

2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird? well, considering that up until last year all I ate was TOFURKEY, I haven't had much experience with turkey, so we get frozen.

3. What kind of stuffing? cornbread!!!! I am a southern girl at heart :)

4. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie? Pumpkin pie...which we FORGOT, omg, I am heartbroken

5. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing? Who doesn't love thanksgiving leftovers?

6. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu? Green Bean Casserole.

7. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock? EW, carcass? seriously? why on earth did I stop being a vegetarian?

8. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier? my mom and nannie...this year it's just me, Dave and the kids

9. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour? I like late afternoon

10. If you go to somebody else's house, what's your favorite dish to bring? Green Bean Casserole or Broccoli Casserole
11. What do you wish one of your guests wouldn't bring to your house? sweet potatoes, yuck!
12. Does your usual mix of guests result in drama, or is it a group you're happy to see? At my mom's house their is always drama, Thanksgiving or not,lol

13. What's your absolute favorite thing on the menu? it's a toss up between stuffing and broccoli casserole

14. What are you thankful for this year? My children

photo fun with picnik!

The one thing I might love more then blogging is photo editing...I am not a professional, but it's so much fun! I have a few programs on my pc, but my newest fave is one I can use right online, it's called picnik ! Here are a few I did today {can you tell I love Polaroids?}, I am actually going to incorporate them into the banner for my "first year blog" for the twins!

These are just a few options....there are 1,000's of other things you can do with your pictures. Let me know what you think of picnik... if you use it, I'd love to see your photo projects too!



p.s., the white borders around the pictures are not apart of the pictures themselves, blogger just adds them to the pics I post for some strange reason....argh!

Monday's a Bitch

Pop

1. If you had to join a pop band, which one would it be? NKOTB, I would be their water girl :)
2. Go back to the early 00's. Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera? Why? C.A., she is far more talented
3. Hanson or Jonas Brothers? ew, neither!
4. Backstreet Boys or N'Sync? Why? I love my Justin Timberlake, so I'm gonna go with N'sync
5. What's the most embarrassing CD or song you own? (BE HONEST) I don't think I am embarrassed by any of my musical preferences

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: The Favorite Meme

Fill in your favorite for each of the following:

1. Political show: SNL

2. Picnic food: egg salad sandwiches

3. Mixed drink: one I made up myself! I call it the Zinger...it has Malibu, Raspberry Vodka, and Coke (or Pepsi)..it tastes just like a Raspberry Zinger! *yum*

4. U.S. President: nobody has stood out as really great since I have been old enough to know better, but I have high hopes for our president elect Obama

5. Kind of student to teach: my little ones

6. Hobby you do or wish you still did: scrapbooking...I'd love to start again when I get some free time AND free space!

7. Sports commentator: I have no idea

8. Sport to watch on TV: baseball

9. Animal to have as a pet: my akita, Ziggy

10. Halloween costume you have worn: my Geisha costume a few years back, that was fun!

11. Kind of dessert: Cherries in the Snow...google it, it's delicious!

12. Comic strip: Garfield of course

13. Ice cream flavor: mint chocolate chip

14. News source: CNN

15. Vacation spot: any at this point!

16. Wine: the sparkling kind

17. Way to waste time instead of working: blogging!

18. Reality show: Jon & Kate plus 8...of course

19. Childrens movie: Brave Little Toaster

20. Celebrity you wish would retire: Tom Cruise

Weekend Pix

Here are some pics of the kids from this weekend in a photobucket slideshow. No special occasion, just some candids!

Saturday 6

1. How often do you visit a coffee shop? If you do, do you drink coffee there, or just pick it up to go? I don't get to go as often as I like since we now live in the middle of nowhere. I probably go once every other week when we are at the airforce base shopping. And I always take it to wander around the stores with.

2. What is the latest time of day you can drink regular coffee (or tea) without messing up your sleep? I can drink it anytime.....for me, when it comes to bedtime nothing keeps me from falling asleep.

3. What is the highest number of cups of coffee (or tea) you’ve had in a single day? I had a couple of pots...it was a bad day, haha

4. Take the quiz: What flavor of latte are you?

You Are a Pumpkin Latte

You are always up for a celebration. You are a very festive person. You look forward to every holiday, and you are nostalgic for good times after they're over. You appreciate the small things that make life special. You love little treats. You often look at the world with childlike wonder. There's so much to enjoy!

What Flavor Latte Are You?

5. Consider the highest price you’ve ever paid for a cup of coffee and the highest price you’ve paid for a gallon of gas: which of the two items was more expensive? Sadly, I think it was coffee! But that's my bodies fuel, so it's as important as gas :)

6. What is your favorite holiday-flavored coffee? I don't like Holiday coffee, it always tends to have too much cinnamon in it for my taste.

once bitten twice shy

Here is a bite that I got yesterday on my arm...Gross, isn't it? I was hoping it would look a little better today, but it looks worse!

What horrible little creature would do such a thing you ask?

Yes, that would be my son Brayden! He has bitten me 3 times now...this one being the worst. I don't know what to do...the sad part is, I think he is doing it out of affection, cause that's how he "kisses" his stuffed monkey. Either that or he is practicing for the sequel to Twilight!

*ouch*

under construction!

Hey everyone! My blog is going to be under construction over the weekend...so I apologize if things look out of whack the next few days :)

Friday

1. The last band I saw live was Chris Cornell in Audio Slave.
2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is PIE!!!!!!
3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is half done!
4. Thoughts of coffee fill my head.
5. I wish I could wear cute shoes...my feet are too big! They don't make them in my size :(
6. Bagpipes are cool...I'm Scottish, so I have to say that, haha
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging out with my hubby, tomorrow my plans include shopping in Mesa and Sunday, I want to watch Tropic Thunder!











Feelings...

1. What made you happy this week? my kids
   
2. What made you sad? The Twins board
   
3. What made you angry? The Twins Board
   
4. What are you looking forward to in the next week? not much happening, just hanging out with the kids! OH, and looking forward to House as well :)
   
5. What are you not looking forward to? cleaning and organizing the house!
   

Thursday Thunks...and an evil Bella!

1. Do you like potatoes? What kind?Yes....I like garlic mashed potatoes, baked potatoes,potato chips, shredded potatoes...I could go on.
2. If you were dressed up in a fish costume and you went underwater and a shark saw you, what would you do? YIKES! First off, I wouldn't be in the water where there is a potential for sharks...but to answer the question, I would take off the costume, DUH, and try to punch it in the nose if he tried to eat me!
3. Does Jello make you happy? jello shots, YES
4. If you could have any animal, exotic, extinct or other type, what would it be? I have thought about this since I was little, I want a Panda!
5. Would you fill up a pool with pudding and jump in? of course
6. When you are feeling icky with the sickness feeling, what is your first choice for feel-better medicine? ginger ale
7. Do you count with your fingers or in your head when it comes to mathematical equations? BOTH
8. Do you have any key chains on your keyring? How many? What kind? I used to have too many, now I just have one of Autumn from school pics
9. What do you dunk your french fries in? BBQ sauce from McDonald's, yes, I save them and keep them in the fridge! But I don't really eat fast food these days.
10. When I say "Moo I'm a duck" do you think of a cow or a duck? I think of a cow
11. If you had the chance, would you go to the very bottom of the ocean? No, I think I like the mystery of the ocean, I like to think the bottom is where the mermaids live and I don't want to be disappointed!
12. Would you rather be spiderman or batman? The Dark Knight baby!
13. Would you rather be in a hurricane or a tornado? hurricane, definitely , I've been through many of those.

13 is bad luck...

14. Do you like pumpkin pie? Do you cheat and buy a premade one or do you make it from scratch? Heck, do you even make pumpkin pie at all? I love pumpkin pie, I don't care if it's homemade, store bought, in ice cream, whatever...it's DELICIOUS! I have never made one from scratch myself.


Now onto my evil little Bella...she is not evil so much as she loves to give us the evil eye lately... it's really creepy when you catch her doing it behind your back too! I managed to get a pic of her doing it...this is not as evil as she usually does it, but you get the idea:

I think it's all in the eyebrows...I'll try to catch her in full evil eye mode next time!

Martabak keju

So, I have a new guilty pleasure...and it involves pancakes and cheese! OMG, can you imagine the calories? I don't even want to know! My husband ordered some Indonesian food from a place in Maryland, we just got two big packages yesterday. The "cheese pancake" is actually called Martabak keju , and it's considered to be a crepe. I don't know any crepes that look quite like that! They also have one called Martabak Manis, which my husband ordered for himself, it's filled with CHOCOLATE instead of the cheese. No way am I even touching that one, i'd gain 20lbs just going near it!

The place is called Indonesian Food Mart, here is the link: http://indonesianfoodmart.com
They have a lot of other great stuff....and he ordered some things I haven't even looked at yet, but I'm sure I will be eating them....and posting about them soon Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ !!!

Wednesday Media Mix

Wednesday Media Mix, 11.19.08

Listen: Name an album that makes you feel warm and fuzzy.

"Till the Sun Turns Black" by Ray Lamontagne

Watch: Is there a movie you disliked at first, but then your mind was opened to it? If so, please explain.

I would have to say Rush Hour 1 & 2...I had never really gotten into them until my husband bought Rush Hour 3, and I thought it was funny.So he made me re-watch 1 & 2, and I realized that they were pretty hilarious. I think I just half assed watched them before because I wasn't open to "guy" movies at that time. Anywho...when Chris Tucker sings, it cracks me up. Here is my favorite moment:

Read: Same for books or stories: anything you didn’t like when you first read it, but eventually had a different perspective? Catcher in the Rye...I read it in school but I didn't appreciate it until I read it again a couple of years ago.

PJ'S!

We got the kids some new pj's this weekend, and I couldn't be more excited. We have been struggling with them keeping warm enough at night since they love to take off their socks & they hate to keep a blanket on themselves. The footie pajamas we had put them in previously would over heat them, so we didn't know what to do. We finally found some fleece footies that were PERFECT, and perfectly priced too! We got the Carters pj's at Sam's club for under $7.00 each {we ended up getting4} and they had the most adorable prints , the kids have slept all warm and snuggly soft since :)

Thanks again Sam's Club, you are awesome!

10 on Tuesday

10 Things You are Thankful for This Year

1. Brayden
2. Bella ...those 2 were easy :)
3. Discovering my love for Vietnamese food!
4. Obama being voted as the next President of the USA
5. my ipod, for those moments that I need to escape
6. reconnecting with old friends
7. my new nephew
   
8. Cheerios
9. Oma Lani
10. my family & myself being healthy
    

Happy Birthday Jeff, we miss u still

November 17th....

Today is your birthday, and it's hard to imagine you anywhere else but here with us... we miss you eternally. Today we will not think of you in sadness....today we will celebrate your life and what you gave us for the short time you were here.


We love you...always

Jeff Buckley
November 17th 1966 ~May 29th 1997
"You gave me more to live for...more then you'' ever know"

To find out more about Jeff and the birthday celebrations, visit:

Jeff Buckley.com

to meet other fans or to light a candle, stop by my sites:

JBC: The Official Jeff Buckley Community

Light a candle in memory of Jeff Buckley

Sweet Rain

Anyone that knows me knows that one of my favorite actors in the world is Takeshi Kaneshiro...and surely if you have seen any of his movies, you are a fan as well. I think it's safe to say he is the Johnny Depp of Asia?! He is definitely one of the most versatile actors I have ever seen... it's too bad in a way that he does not want to be a "western" film actor, he would probably be very big in the USA, but I respect him for wanting to remain faithful to Asia as well. At the moment I am trying to find his latest film, Sweet Rain, on dvd ...I don't think the english subtitled version is out yet though :( How much longer will I have to wait?! That's one of the bad things about being a fan of asian cinema...waiting for the US releases {boo}. But, this movie is a must have since I have managed to collect all of his films thus far, and this one has a dark theme to it which I tend to love.
Here is the trailer with English subs from you tube:




Synopsis of the film from amazon.com :

"Sweet Rain" is the recent most popular movie in Asia. The story is about the life of a handsome shinigami (Japanese for "death god") whose sole purpose in life is to be the deciding factor between those who die in the mortal world and those who deserve to survive. Over the years he has barely ever met anyone whose life he has spared, and his outlook on human beings is one of disinterest. The only thing he likes about the mortal world is music. However, that is all about to change when one day the shinigami meets a young woman...

It is hard to say which of his films are my favorite, so I will list my top 5

• Turn Left, Turn Right
• Perhaps Love
• The Returner
• Anna Magdalena
• House of Flying Daggers

If you'd like to know more about Takeshi, these websites have the best info:

• http://www.takeshikaneshiro.org
• http://www.takeshi-kaneshiro.com
• http://www.takeshikaneshiro.net
• Wiki: Takeshi Kaneshiro

*And did I mention he is the new face for Armani? Move over David Beckham! Stay tuned for the winter ads coming to a magazine near you...

Year of the Rat....or Pig?!

With the twins 1st birthday approaching, I realized that I didn't even know what their Chinese Zodiac is?! How could this be? I think time tends to get away from you fairly easily when you have 2 little babies, not to mention the first 2 months of their lives is kind of a blur! So, I went on my favorite resource, Wiki, and did some research. I found out that the kids sign was the Rat. The Year of the Rat is also considered The Year of the Mouse, because of how it translates in their language :) I also found out that the Rat is most compatible with Dragons and Monkeys...which is mine and my husbands signs, so this is a good sign, right?

Now for the plot twist... upon further investigation, I found out the kids are actually born in the year of the Pig/Boar! WTH?! The year of the Pig goes from Feb 18 2007 - Feb 06 2008, and the year of the Rat goes from Feb 07 2008 - Jan 25 2009 . So, if you think just because you were born in a certain year that your are automatically the sign listed on your Chinese menu....check the dates carefully, especially if you were born in the months of Jan/Feb! It's funny because we bought the kids golden Chinese pig banks months ago, now they have a little bit more meaning to them :)

According to the Chinese horoscope,the Boar type is usually an honest, straightforward and patient person.

Ideal Job for the Pig: Researcher, Scientist, Chemist, Technician, Musician, Restauranteur, Social worker, Fundraiser, Builder, Chef, Delicatessen owner, Personnel manager, Administrative officer, Civil servant.
Lucky Numbers: 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 16, 18, 34, 41, 48
Equivalent Western Sign: Scorpio
Element: WATER
Color: BLACK
Yin/Yang: YIN Direction NORTH-NORTH-WEST

Positive & Negative Capability

Positive: The Boar can be sensible, sensual and sensitive, sweetly naive, caring, self-sacrificing, erudite, talented, open-handed, candid, outgoing, amusing, charitable, obliging, graciously hospitable and virtuous.

Negative: The Boar can also be hot-tempered, pessimistic, outrageously epicurean, earthy to a fault, sardonic, snobbish, snide, authoritarian, competitive, know-it-all, stingy, victimized and sometimes downright criminally mad at the world.

Pig Compatibility
Compatible with : Rooster, Ram
Less Compatible with : Pig, Rabbit, Horse, Ox, Rat, Tiger, Dog, Dragon *sniffle*
Least Compatible with : Snake, Monkey

Oh well, the compatibility is not so great news, but we will do our best to make it work for us!!!!


{the above pic and info found at http://www.gotohoroscope.com/chinese-zodiac-pig.html}