What's my motivation?

So um....I'm supposedly going to have a baby in like 5 weeks. When did that happen? Seriously? How did I get here?

Most days, I vascillate between being really, really anxious for the baby to just show up already (I can't wait to meet Baby) and being really, really apprehensive about the whole labor/delivery/instant motherhood thing that I lecture Baby on the benefits of gestating as long as possible.

[It really didn't help matters that I got to hold the most adorable two week old baby girl for about an hour at our Book Club meeting this past week. I kept thinking, "I get to have one of these soon!" and "Holy crap....I have to push one of these OUT of me soon." The fact that Baby kept kicking the sweet little girl in my arms through the walls of my belly certainly didn't help me think that all my lectures about long gestation periods are getting through to my little monkey.]

I think most of my apprehension comes from a sense of ambivalence and lack of motivation to do those things I think that I should be doing in preparation for my baby. While I experienced a huge urge to nest at the beginning of my pregnancy, I have no desire to do so now. I walk into our nursery at least once a day now, look around, sometimes touch the few little newborn outfits we have with excitement, and then promptly turn and leave again. While we have all the major items we need for our baby's arrival (crib, car seat, stroller, glider chair, and onesies), I haven't had any desire to decorate the room at all. There's no bedding. No colorful wall hangings. No babyish extra frills. I've been using the crib as a nice storage space for all my fabric and Suyom likes to take the occasional nap in the chair. And I don't know if I will ever get around to making up a beautiful, sweet little space for my little baby because 1) I just don't have the motivation, 2) I can't hang anything on the walls anyway.....there's concrete under the wallpaper and 3) the baby will be sleeping in our room for the first few months anyway and will only spend a few months in the nursery before we move. And yet, I feel some strange sense of guilt, like I should be pouring in all this time and effort into creating a loving atmosphere for our baby.

I also have a stack of books I've been meaning to read about natural childbirth and/or preparing for a baby's arrival. I read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth several months ago (and it was excellent) but I keep thinking I should re-read it again and take notes so that I remember all the things I had wanted to do during the delivery. I also have a labor coach book I've been meaning to read with David so that he'll be prepared to help me through labor (since there are no classes we can take on base and practice is important for a successful delivery) but David is so busy and burnt-out with work and school that I haven't wanted to pester him to look at hundreds of pictures of naked women giving birth. (And quite frankly, I haven't wanted to look at them either.) While I feel that I have adequate knowledge about the process of labor and delivery and have quite a bit of confidence in my body's ability to naturally birth a child, I still feel that it's important that I be as educated as possible. And yet I can't get myself to pick up these books and gather up all these useful and necessary information.

I don't mean to sound as if I'm panicking or doubting myself. Generally, I'm more excited than nervous about being a mother and more confident than scared at the thought of childbirth. I have very little doubts that I can be a good mother. I have great confidence in being able to give birth naturally. I think that those feelings of successfully meeting my goals has made me rather complacent in being AS prepared and ready as I would ideally like to be.

So how do I get over that? How do you think I should prepare for this exciting, miraculous thing that's about to happen to me?

Seriously, people. Speak up. I need your help and maybe just a little bit of encouragement and motivation. The clock is ticking.

Seoul Zoo

In high school, when I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my response was always that I either wanted to major in American history and work in a museum or that I'd major in zoology and work in a zoo. Obviously, I went with option #1. History, writing papers, reading, etc. has always come easily and naturally to me. And I enjoy it immensely. While I really like the sciences (no really, I do) it simply does not come easily to me. I have to work very hard to understand even basic scientific principles though zoology/anatomy are much easier for me. Still, I chose the path that I loved and knew I could excel at, rather than the path that I loved and knew I would struggle at. But there are brief moments when I wish I'd picked the harder path. Generally, that feeling most frequently rears its head when I visit a zoo, go to the vet's office, or see a sick or stray animal wandering around. I love animals (okay, so insects and spiders aren't high on my list) but I have a great amount of love and compassion for most of God's creatures. Growing up, we always had memberships to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park and I've always loved going to zoos. (And no zoo I've been to has ever come close to matching San Diego's.)

Wednesday, I went to the Seoul Zoo with some friends. A women in our ward issued an open invitation to visit the Seoul Zoo on Wednesday, so I made plans to go with my friend and her two children. I thought a few other women with their kids might show up but it actually turned out to be a huge group of women, all with multiple children and their strollers. We were quite a sight. Korean people tend to freak out over foreign children, especially if they have blonde hair and we got quite a few stares.

This tiger greeted us at the entrance of the zoo. The zoo is part of what is called Seoul Grand Park which includes several other attractions including a museum, rose garden, and an amusement park. Admission into the zoo was ridiculously cheap (only 3,000 won or less than $3) and we paid an extra 2,000 won to see the dolphin and sea lion show. I wasn't expecting much from the zoo but it was actually a rather decent-sized zoo though some of their enclosures could use a little expanding and updating. Luckily, the zoo was pretty empty so we didn't have to compete with a lot of other people to see the animals.

Ostriches are such socially awkward, funny looking birds. I think that may be why I feel a certain bit of kinship to them. Sometimes you just have to love the ugly animals as much as you love the cute ones.

Like baboons. Sure they look all cute and furry but then they turn around. Seriously, what is up with their butts?

The younger baboons were just as fascinated by the children as the children were with them. It was really fun to watch the baboons jump at and stare at all the kids as if they were the attractions.

I can't remember what kind of monkey this is, but look at the little baby monkey! So cute. There was also a nursery where some zookeepers were feeding baby gorillas bananas with a spoon. I'd love that job. (Though if I had become a zookeeper, I'd definitely be working with the big cats...shocking, I know.)

Seriously, how can you not love cats of all sizes? I love just watching them sleep....they seem to get just enjoyment out of it. Look at the smile on the male's face. Pure bliss.

I interrupt the cat photos to bring you a common sight in Korea: the artistic use of kimchi pots. They do make a great fountain. I'd rather they were used this way rather than storing vile, frementing cabbage. But that's just me.....


So back to the cats. How about this snow leopard? So beautiful. I just think that cats are such graceful creatures. Unfortunately, too many zoos (and Seoul Zoo was no exception) stick their cats (and many other animals) in enclosures that are just way too small. The lions and tigers often get better accomodations, but still no where large enough for such active, powerful beasts. It always makes me sad. Even Suyom has more space to run around and play in than some of these beasts who are 20 times her size. (That's why I love the San Diego Wild Animal Park....most of the animals are given wide open spaces to roam around in which more closely mirror their natural habitats.)

This beautiful white tiger was quite entertaining. He kept straddling this tree branch and rubbing his face all over the bark. When you've got an itch....

Most of the cats were sleeping (since it is what they do best and it was insanely hot out....I don't blame them for wanting to just sleep through that). A friend asked which animal we'd prefer to come upon in the wild: a bear, a lion, or a tiger. She meant which animal we'd feel would be easier to escape from and most people were very logical in their responses and chose the bear because they believed bears were easier to scare away and run away from. But my rationality escapes me when comfronted with either lions or tigers. I'd totally forget to run. I'd probably just want to call them a pretty kitty and pet them, completely forgetting the fact that they could rip my face off.

After two or so hours of walking around the zoo, we went to the dolphin and sea lion show. It seemed a little weird for there to be such entertainment at a zoo in a city 30 miles away from the ocean (since I associate dolphin shows with places like Sea World and aquariums) but it was an amusing diversion, though nothing terribly spectacular. Plus it was all in Korean so I didn't really get anything educational out of the program. It only re-confirmed to me that Koreans have very different entertainment standards than Americans.

We decided to head home after the dolphin show because it was just too hot and humid to continue to spend much more time in the sun. On our way out, we passed the Stork Village and of course, I couldn't resist getting a picture taken. Where did we ever get the notion that storks deliver babies? From a fairy tale? I wonder if Asians have the same myths.

We also passed some meerkats on our way out. There's just no helping it....these creatures are just adorable and hilarious to watch.

And we passed the majestic giraffes. I loved how their necks were all intertwined as they reach around each other for food.

The Seoul Zoo was definitely worth a visit but I'm glad we left when we did. Not only did it start to rain just as we reached the car, but I was exhausted and had to sit on the couch for the rest of the day. I always seem to forget that my body has very different limitations now and just doesn't want to move as much as it used to. Baby, however, enjoys kicking and twirling and bumping into me every chance it gets. I am quite afraid that with our combined genetics and history of being very active children, David and I will have a little monkey on our hands in no time.

Well, I did always want to work in a zoo. I guess this is my chance. :-)

Letters from the Editor*

Dear Body, Thanks for being so awesome at being pregnant. Honestly. You've got good genes. I hope you are just as good at getting this baby out of you as you are as growing it inside of you. Otherwise, you may be hating life in about 6 weeks.

Dear Baby, I can't wait to meet you and to hold you. I hope you feel the same. I think we're going to like each other. But please go easy on me. I've never done this before. You're my first.

P.S. Maybe you'd like to ease up on trying to see how far your foot can stick out of my side. Just a thought.

Dear David, You're the most wonderful husband a girl could ask for. Thanks for how hard you work and how much you love and support me. You're going to be an amazing father. I hope our kids get your eyes but my nose. :-) Also, the Nintendo driving music is still cracking me up. And making my belly jiggle. Thanks for that.

Dear Baby Clothes, Stop being so cute and small and stuff. I don't have a baby to put in you yet but I can't stop looking at you.

Dear Korea, I think I can handle another year of you. But maybe we can negotiate this humidity thing you seem to think is so wonderful. I've got some suggestions.

Dear America, I miss you. Do you miss me too?

Dear David: Part 2, I think you can do anything. I seriously do.

Dear Suyom, You bring us endless entertainment and joy. I especially love how you carry each of your rats into our bedroom during the night so that when we wake up, there's an army of rats to greet us. But maybe you could try to keep just a little bit more of your litter inside your litter box. Though it does sound like you really enjoy digging around in there. Crazy beast.

Dear Baby Quilt, Please finish yourself. I've lost interest. And I'm done battling my sewing machine. You win.

Dear David: Part 3, No seriously. I'm not lying. I have inifinite faith in you.

Dear Car, Thanks for taking us where we need to go and for not getting hit by all the crazy Korean drivers. Just watch out for the buses. They're trying to kill us.

Dear Dirty Dishes, You are the bane of my existence. That is all.

Dear Friends, You have taught me so much about life, love, and myself through your kindness, examples, advice, and stories throughout the years. I am a better woman, wife, daughter, sister, [almost] mother, teacher, and person because of each of you. Thank you.

Dear David: Part 4, You are my best friend in all the world. I love you.


* I stole this idea from my friend's blog. Just so you don't start assuming that I'm this creative.

Food Candy - Beef and Shrimp Won Tons

I've saved the best food candy for last. This, my friends, is my absolute favorite thing to eat in the whole wide world. At least, it's been at the top of the pack for as long as I can remember. This is the meal that I requested for every birthday dinner growing up (I don't know why my mom would ask what I wanted every year because I always said won tons) and one of the few recipes of my mother's that I still continue to make. (While my mother is an absolutely fantastic cook, the meals we grew up eating are a bit on the heavier side and David and I generally prefer to eat lighter meals.)

Won tons always seemed like a special treat because my mother didn't make them very often because they can be a little time intensive. They certainly aren't hard to make, but stuffing each won ton and then frying them up does take a lot of time, especially if you're making a lot and we always made a lot. Because we ate a lot of them. Seriously. You just can't stop eating them. Here's our cast of characters and the recipe:

Beef and Shrimp Won Tons

1 beaten egg
1 cup finely chopped bok choy or napa cabbage (I actually use closer to 2 cups)
¼ c. finely chopped green onion
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated gingerroot ( I find this a little too much and use less)
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ pound ground beef
1 – 4 ½ oz. can of tiny shrimp, drained
40 wonton skins
Oil for deep-fat frying

In large mixing bowl combine egg, bok choy, green onion, soy sauce, gingerroot, sugar, salt, and dash of pepper. Add ground beef and shrimp; mix well. Wrap, about a heaping teaspoon, of meat mixture in a wonton skin. After all of the meat mixture has been wrapped, deep fry a few wontons at a time at 360° or medium high heat until crispy brown. Dip in hot mustard, cocktail sauce, or sweet and sour sauce.

Won ton wrappers can sometimes be tricky to find at some grocery stores but they're often located in the produce section, next to the deli counter, or by the dairy products. They have to be refrigerated, so look for them there. Most packages contain about 40 won ton skins (which is what the recipe calls for) but that will only feed about 3-4 people. Unless I'm just making this for David and myself, I always double the recipe.

Now some of you may remember from my last post that I don't like shrimp. And I still stand by that claim. I don't like shrimp. Not the big kind you spend lots of money on at restaurants. But these are teeny tiny shrimp. You won't even know that they are there. I didn't know there was shrimp in this recipe until I started making it myself. It's just dang tasty and that's all that matters. (The tiny shrimp in a can are found next to the canned tuna.)

So you chop everything up and mix it all together in a bowl. This is before adding the beaten egg, which helps to hold everything together.

Making the meat mixture is the easy part. Now it's time to fold your won tons. I always like to set up a bit of a workshop. I use a plate or cutting board to lay out several wrappers at a time and spoon out the meat onto each wrapper. You also want to have a bowl of water in which to dip your fingers. The water is used to seal the wrappers together so your meat stays nice and snug inside its new home. I also like to keep a towel nearby because your hands will get wet and dirty. You can wrap your won tons any old way you like, but I use three methods.

Method #1: The Envelope

Place your meat in the center of the wrapper and fold one side of the wrapper toward the center of the meat. Dab with water. Fold the opposite side of the wrapper over and seal each corner with water.
Dabbing more water onto the seal, bring another corner of the wrapper to the center. Be careful that there are no gaps in the skin. Seal with more water if necessary.

Finally, bring the fourth corner toward the center. Make sure all ends are properly sealed. (You don't need a lot of water, just a tiny bit to be effective. Using too much water can make the won tons soggy and stick together before frying and are a pain to pick apart.)

Method #2: The Fortune Cookie (okay so I just made that name up....I don't know what else to call it)

This time you want to place your meat closer to one corner than the other. Wet two sides of the wrapper and fold it diagonally to make a triangle.

The wrappers don't make perfect triangles, but just make sure both sides are sealed.

I then bring both ends of the triangle toward the center and seal together with a little dab of water like so. I think these look the best but do take more time than the other two methods. Plus, you have to get just the right amount of meat or they're impossible to seal. The other two methods will allow you to work with a lot or a little meat.

Method #3: Quick and Easy

Dab water over half the won ton wrapper's borders.

Now just fold over and you're done. See? Quick and easy.

Once you've wrapped all your won tons, you're ready to fry them. I layer my won tons on wax paper but you want to be sure to leave room between each won ton because they do tend to stick to each other if they sit for too long and the skins often break or tear as you try to pry two won tons apart.

Heat oil (vegetable or canola) in a large skillet or wok and fry each side for about 1-3 minutes. My mom had an awesome electric wok that you could set to a specific temperature. I've been on the hunt for a good wok myself and despite the fact that I live in Asia, I still haven't found one I like. Go figure.

Getting the temperature right for the oil can be tricky. You don't want it too low or else the won tons will take forever to cook and you'll be there all night. But you also don't want to heat it too high or else the delicate wrappers will brown very fast and the meat won't get completely cooked. I'm constantly adjusting the temperature as I fry the won tons. You'll eventually get a feel for what temperature your stove needs to be on to get nice, golden brown won tons.

Like this. The won ton skin should be golden brown and crispy while the meat inside is thoroughly cooked.

It generally takes me about 15-20 minutes to fry up 40 won tons. I keep them in a warmed oven as I fry up the rest. (You could also boil them, but I love the crispiness of the fried won ton.)

Once they're all fried, serve with sweet and sour sauce (or other dipping sauce of choice) and watch them disappear.

Man, I really want some won tons right now.

Tales of the Crazy Pregnant Lady

Normally, I'm pretty much a happy pregnant woman. I haven't been sick my entire pregnancy and the only thing I can complain about is gravity's ability to make my belly feel like it weighs 50 pounds at the end of the day. I try to maintain a positive attitude because I believe that my emotions have a direct effect on the baby. And most days, I feel like I'm pretty successful at staying upbeat and drama-free. But there are days when I become a frighteningly hormonal emotional crazy pregnant lady. Last Friday was one such day.

It all started when I woke up way to soon and after way too little sleep. Normally, I would have attempted to take a nap after being awake for a few hours but I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for 10:40 a.m. that day and didn't want to chance falling asleep and not waking up in time. So, I read the news and poked around online until it was time to head to the base's hospital.
The hospital's policy states that you need to be at your appointment 15 minutes before your scheduled time or else you are considered late. I don't know why they just don't schedule your appointment for 10:25 if that's what time they expect you to actually show up, but I'm always paranoid about being late anyway so it's not really a problem for me.

Except that Friday, in my sleep-deprived and pregnant state, I completely forgot about this rule. I left my house in what I thought was plenty of time to drive to the hospital in the pouring rain (monsoon season has begun), find a parking spot, and check in for my appointment with a few minutes to spare.

I realized just as I was pulling out of our parking gargage that I hadn't accounted for the 15 minutes and was now almost certain to be "late". What if I drove all the way there and they told me I was out of luck and had to re-schedule?

Instead of calmly continuing on my way (would they really cancel my appointment for being on time?), I did what any sane, logical person would do.

I started to cry and to think my life (and my baby's by extension) was ruined.

Because I was not sane or logical. I was crazy and hormonal and pregnant. And driving a moving vehicle.

I was making good time until a truck pulled out in front of me and proceeded to go 25 KPH (about 15 MPH) down the only road that connects one side of the base to the other. So I cried some more. Didn't Mr. Truck Driver realize he had a very distraught pregnant woman behind him who NEEDED to get to the hospital right away?

I eventually got around the truck and pulled into the hospital parking lot which is almost always completely full. I noticed one car had its lights on and so I waited for a little while, thinking they might be pulling out. They didn't budge so I continued on my way. And a few moments later, the car finally pulled out. There wasn't another open parking spot available so I prayed that I'd be able to get back around to the open spot before someone else beat me to it. Just as I was rounding the corner to get the spot, a car entered the parking lot and took the spot.

So I cried some more. Didn't that car realize that I was seven months pregnant and I NEEDED that spot so I wouldn't be late for my appointment and suffer the condemnation of the punctually-challenged?

Through my tears, I drove to the overflow parking lot some distance away from the hospital entrance and pulled into the first spot I saw. I grabbed my umbrella and purse and started walking as fast as my pregnant body would let me to the OB-GYN clinic (which is, of course, as far away from the hospital entrance as you can get). Unfortunately, my umbrella was no match for the monsoon rains and so I arrived at the hospital distraught, disgruntled, tear-stained and wet, my shoes now squishy and completely soaked through.

I high-tailed it to the OB-GYN clinic. It was 10:35 when I checked in, expecting to be berated for my "late" arrival. The receptionist didn't say anything and told me to go wait in the waiting room. All those tears for nothing? Stupid hormones.

I sat in a chair for a few minutes, trying to calm myself down, when an Army medic called my name to get my vitals. She weighed me and took my blood pressure. Now, I never look at my blood pressure reading because I have no idea what those numbers mean (despite David explaining it to me multiple times) and I'm always told that my blood pressure is normal anyway. The medic didn't say anything about it, so I thought nothing of it as she led me into an exam room to wait for the doctor.

When the doctor finally arrived, she said that my blood pressure was a little high and they wanted to run some tests (including a blood test and a 24-hour urine collection) to be sure I didn't have pre-eclampsia [hypertension which can lead to seizures]. The doctor noticed my less than happy response to this news. Even though I tried to explain that my "high" blood pressure might have something to do with me being a raging hormonal basket case, and that if they took my blood pressure again--now that I'd had time to calm down--it wouldn't be high at all. No such luck. I had to do the tests even though I have absolutely none of the other symptoms and signs of pre-eclampsia. None.

After my regular check-up, I went to the lab to have more blood drawn (which I HATE with a burning passion) and to collect my massive urine jug in which to deposit all my urine for 24 hours. (Another sign of pre-eclampsia is protein in your urine. Why they'd need a whole day's worth of urine to test for that.....I have no idea.)


My urine jug. Nice, huh? And you want to know the best part? The urine had to be refrigerated. Yup, my urine got to sit in fridge next to the apple juice and eggs.

I spent the rest of Friday sitting on the couch, staring into space with a sad, melancholy look on my face. David just kept giving me a small, tentative smile with a look in his eyes that read: "Holy crap, what do I do with my crazy pregnant wife?"

Luckily I got over it. And for the record, I drank so much water the day I "collected" my sample that I filled the whole jug up, much to the surprise of both David and the fine folks at the lab. That's what you get when you mess with a hormonal pregnant lady. I also took my blood pressure today and it was absolutely normal. Stupid tests.*

*Of course, I'm all for being cautious in situations like these, but I felt given the situation and the fact that I have no other indications of pre-eclampsia, it was a waste of everyone's time. I'd rather they had me monitor my blood pressure for a week to see if it remained high and then ordered the tests.

Anyway, sorry for all the talk about my urine. I'm sure most of you didn't want to read about that. Or about my raging pregnancy hormones. The next time I decide to be an emotional wreck, I sure hope it's over something substantial.

Ah pregnancy. It sure is fun sometimes. And since it's been awhile, here are some pictures of my ever-growing belly.

29 weeks, taken June 19th

32 weeks, taken July 6th


Me and my babies :-)

Food Candy - Easy Salmon Cakes

I have two more food candy recipes to share. Next up is one of my absolute favorite meals: salmon cakes. Seriously. I'm not lying. I love them. Loooooooove them. And anyone who knows me, knows that I'm not the biggest fan of seafood. Shrimp, lobster, crab, clams, oysters, squid, octopus, and most types of fish are not within my food vocabulary. But a few years ago, I started trying new seafood dishes and have discovered that there are some creatures from the sea that I actually do enjoy like salmon, sea bass, halibut, tuna, and tilapia. I really love this recipe because 1) it's super quick and easy, 2) I almost always have the ingredients on hand, and 3) I find it delightfully delicious.

The recipe I use is from Eating Well's Serves Two cookbook, which is perfect for just David and me. This recipe makes 4 salmons cakes, two apiece. If you want to make 4 servings (or eight salmon cakes), you can use the recipe at EatingWell.com. The ratios are slightly different. So here are our cast of ingredients and the recipe:

Easy Salmon Cakes

3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup finely diced celery
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
7 ounces canned salmon, drained
1 egg white
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in parsley; remove from the heat.
3. Place salmon in a medium bowl. Flake apart with a fork; remove any bones and skin. Add egg and mustard; mix well. Add the onion mixture, breadcrumbs and pepper; mix well. Shape the mixture into 4 patties, about 2 1/2 inches wide.
4. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the pan over medium heat. Add 4 patties and cook until the undersides are golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a wide spatula, turn them over onto the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake the salmon cakes until golden on top and heated through, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve salmon cakes with sauce and lemon wedges.

A few notes about the ingredients: I generally use Bumble Bee's 5 ounce can of skinless and boneless pink salmon. The recipe calls for a 7 ounce can but I find the 5 ounce can to be sufficient. Plus, it's so worth your time to buy canned salmon that is already boneless and skinless because it takes forever to pick all the tiny bones out of the other ones. Also, for a cup of fresh breadcrumbs, I generally use two slices of whole-wheat bread. I discard the crusts and pulse the bread in my food processor to get fine breadcrumbs. I know some people complained of the salmon cakes being a little on the dry side and recommend using less than the stated amount of breadcrumbs, but I find the amount to be just right. (But I think I like drier fish than most people.)

After all the ingredients are mixed, you form four salmon cakes on a skillet set at medium heat. After baking just one side, you transfer the salmon cakes to a pan, baked side up, and stick it in the oven for 10 minutes.

Within half an hour, you're ready to eat your salmon cakes. Eating Well says you should serve them with a creamy dill sauce (the recipe is on their website) but we only use fresh lemon juice and I find that that is plenty delicious. I often serve them with rosemary roasted potatoes. Mmmm. So delicious. Even if you don't like seafood or don't know how to cook fish, you should try this recipe. It's very easy and hard to mess up. And I'm not lying when I say it's really good. So good, you'll forget that you're eating salmon.

Fourth of July

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I've got several posts in the works that I've just been neglecting to actually sit down and write.

Fourth of July is one of our favorite times of the year because David and I love America so much. It's hard to be so far away from home on the Fourth and miss so many of the traditional celebrations and festivities that accompany the holiday. It was especially sad that we didn't even get to sing any patriotic songs at church yesterday. (Because we're an "international" ward and not everyone is American, although I'd say over 75% of us are.) At the same time, though, living outside of America always makes me appreciate it even more. Despite what I saw during my graduate school years as academia's delight in disparaging America (past, present, and future), I have always steadfastly maintained my belief in American exceptionalism: that, in my view, America is the so-called promised land where we can enjoy our naturally, God-given freedoms and that our Constitution was a divinely inspired document written by men whom God raised up for that very purpose. That isn't to say that America is perfect or that there aren't terrible and tragic things in our past. But I also don't think that means that we are a terrible and horrible people now who need to repent for those past misdeeds.

This quote has always best expressed how I feel about America: "American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it." -- James Baldwin

I think we need to understand the truth about our past but to still recognize that through it all, America is a pretty darn wonderful place to live. Sorry for the minor diatribe. I just really don't understand Americans who seem to have very little patriotic love for their country.

Anyway, we had an interesting Fourth of July. We started out by visiting a tiny little Korean ward in the northern part of Seoul (it's always interesting to see different parts of Seoul). A Chinese girl, who's in Korea studying Korean, was recently baptized and they wanted David to translate some things into Chinese so she could understand them better. David always loves the opportunity to speak Chinese although he said it made his brain hurt quite a bit since he had to recall a lot of words he hasn't used in a long time. We then went to our own ward (arriving a bit late). After sitting through part of a Sacrament Meeting in Korean, I was additionally grateful that we have an English ward here.

After church, David and I came home to eat dinner. I also needed to finish making the Fourth of July cake I had started making the day before. I saw this red, white, and blue cake and decided I wanted to attempt something similar. So I made a red velvet cake and a white cake (from boxes....I still think they taste just as good as cakes from scratch) and layered them to achieve a red and white striped cake look.

I used vanilla pudding in the center because I though using more frosting between each layer would be too much and I was right. The pudding tastes really great and doesn't weigh down the cake as much as 3 pounds of buttercream frosting would have.

I used a simple buttercream frosting recipe for the frosting (3 sticks butter, 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 4 cups powdered sugar) and it turned out pretty great. (I have frosting problems so I'm always pleased when I make a semi-decent frosting.)

Then, I dipped a star and circle cookie cutter onto a plate of food coloring and applied it to the cake. It didn't come out looking as fun as the original cake, but I still really liked the effect.

And it tasted great.

Of course, David and I weren't about to eat this whole cake by ourselves (although, let's be honest, I could probably do it....) so we went to our good friend's house to share cake and watch the fireworks. They live on the 36th floor of a high-rise building that borders the base and we had a perfect view of the fireworks display with the added bonus that we didn't have to sit out in the oppressively humid air of Korea in order to see the fireworks.

This isn't the greatest picture, but it does give you an idea of our view. It was really cool to watch fireworks from near eye-level. I'm so glad we got to see them this year because we didn't get to watch the fireworks show last year (David was working).

David and I came home and finally sang the Star-Spangled Banner together. All three verses (the third verse is actually my favorite).

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause. it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Happy Fourth of July!

China - Day Three

Our last day in China was a little bit more low-key, especially after a day of climbing the Great Wall.

In the morning, we spent two hours at the Temple of Heaven.
The main complexes within the Temple of Heaven are the various temples and sites where the Emperors would come annually to offer sacrifices on behalf of their subjects for a good harvest.

This building is the main temple which was built without using a single nail. The roof is supported by something like 30 free-standing pillars.

Everything is incredibly symbolic in Chinese architecture including the color of the tiles used on the roofs. The blue was used because it represents heaven.

So this picture was taken only two weeks ago but I already feel like my belly has doubled in girth in that amount of time. I should really take some more photos.

Anyway, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests includes other buildings and a few beautiful carvings. Of course, there's never a dragon far away when you're in China.

And here are the many fire pits where the sacrifices were burnt. As David says, the Chinese are really Jewish....they just don't know it. There are a remarkable number of similarities between traditional Chinese beliefs and the laws and ordinances practiced under the Law of Moses.


More dragons. This was near the altar, where the animals were sacrificed.

The Temple of Heaven has three main components: the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the circular mound altar. We only entered the first complex because you have to pay to get into each of them. After visiting the first complex with our tour group, we were allowed to wander through the rest of the place, which is just a really large park where many (mostly retired) Chinese come to exercise, play cards, or hang out.

We even passed this large group of singers which had congregated in the middle of the park and were having a great time singing Chinese songs. They even had a keyboard player and several conductors to lead them all.

The park also had a lovely rose garden which fortunately still had many roses in bloom.


This is really just hundreds of individual potted plants set up along the stairs.

After the Temple of Heaven, we were taken to a Silk Quilt Factory where we learned all about how silkworms are raised and how the silk (from their cocoons) is used to make clothing and quilts. A single thread of silk used to produce cloth and clothing is taken from about 10 cocoons woven together. But, when two silkworms build a cocoon together (which happens more frequently than I imagined), the threads become so intertwined that they cannot be separated to form a single strand. Instead, the cocoon is opened and stretched out in layers to form a soft batting. (Silk is amazingly stretchy.)

David and I were both big fans of this silk bed set. Of course, we weren't big enough fans to spend the hundreds of dollars to purchase it. We did, however, buy an adorable set of red silk pajamas for our baby.

After the Silk Quilt Factory and lunch (at an unimpressive Mongolian restaurant), we drove further out of Beijing to visit the Summer Palace. On our way, we drove past the Olympic stadium. This was the best photo I was able to snap from the bus as we drove by. The water cube is right next to it.

The Summer Palace was, as its name suggests, the summer residence of the emperors and includes this rather large man-made lake and has lots of trees and shade, which David greatly appreciated.

There's even a marble boat......which just seems a little counter-productive if you ask me.

After walking halfway around the lake, under a mile-long corridor, we rode one of the boats back to the entrance of the palace.

It was a beautiful area, but three days under the hot China sun and six months of pregnancy finally caught up with me and I was simply exhausted. I was ready for a break.

The tour bus then took us to a market complex full of designer knock-offs and Chinese products where we were given some time to shop around. While most people high-tailed it to the basement to buy knock-off Coach bags and Nikes, David and I spent most of our time on the top floor bartering for Chinese items. We've really wanted to buy a huge fan and we had scoured most of Korea and Taiwan looking for one with no success. We found one woman who had several big fans for sale and we were able to talk her into cutting the price in half. (Of course, they start the prices extremely high anyway.) But she also gave me a little stuffed tiger because our baby will be born in the year of the tiger which I didn't even realize but which is really awesome because I love cats. David also bought a traditional calligraphy set with brushes, ink, and paper in order to practice writing his Chinese characters. Then, to kill time, we ate some delicious ice cream at Coldstone.

After shopping, we were taken back to our hotel and given free time. By this time, it was nearly 7pm and David and I were so beat that we just decided to stay in our hotel, pack, and watch a little TV. It's so lovely to just lay in bed.

The next morning, we ate breakfast, checked out of our hotel and were driven back to the airport. It took us nearly an hour to get through immigration (apparently, it's harder to leave the country than to enter it) and then boarded our plane which then promptly sat on the tarmac for an hour for no apparent reason.

Before we left, however, David and I took a photo with our tour guide, Bibo. She was a fantastic guide and had some very fascinating things to say which I'd like to talk about in another post. (And I'd especially like David to talk about his impressions of China and his interactions with the Chinese since he, you know, actually talked to them.)

If I haven't said it already, China was amazing and I kinda fell in love with the place. Which is a very good thing, I suppose, since David likes to tell me that there's a very good chance we'll live there someday. And from what I've seen of Beijing, at least, I don't think I'd mind living there at all. I guess I'd better go learn a little more Chinese than just "I love you," "I'm tired" and "good." Thankfully, I've got a good teacher.