HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE!

So, Joe never reads my blog - he makes fun of it actually - but I thought I would post a GINORMOUS Happy Birthday to Joe on here.

Kind of reminds of Monkey... Actually, this is what Monkey looked like!!!!

So to my favorite man in the whole wide world - HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I'm so glad you were born! Love you muchos!

Monkey No Mas.

Today is a sad day... Monkey has passed from this wonderful world. He had been running on his wheel for the past three days (after not running on it for about a year) and this morning Joe made a joke that Monkey gave himself a heart attack while on the wheel. I ran in there and I thought he was just sleeping - he likes to bury himself in the bedding - but he wasn't breathing. He was already gone...

Monkey touched many lives in his three years of existence... He was so friendly, always poked his head out of his house to say hi, and always bit me when I reached inside his cage. But in his last few months, he was more friendly and wanted to be held - He loved Melissa and Teaghan holding him - and just the other day he let me hold him without biting my fingers.

I remember when I first bought him - he was half the size he was today - and he was such a lovable baby. Then he went through his teenage years - Always talking back at me, not eating his vegetables, and not exercising to stay in shape. I was so happy when he got over himself...

I will always remember the sweet Monkey he always was...

He hated his ball... But Kitty was always "watching" over him.

Teaghan & Brittnee...

Joe and I invited Teaghan and Brittnee up for the weekend - I'd like to think we all had a fantastic time together (I hope the girls enjoyed themselves as much as we enjoyed them).

We started the weekend with renting some movies - Brittnee chose Hannah Montana - I'm so proud of Joe for watching the entire movie! And we picked Madagacar, Escape to Africa - Funny movie! We watched Hannah Montana and ate ice cream!

The next day, we went downtown to watch some festivities going on... There was a Palio event - where different organizations in Chico build horse models and race them around the City parking lot - They had real horses there that did a dance routine as well... We walked to the City Plaza where different groups could purchase a square and show off there chalk artistry. Here are some pictures of the best ones we saw.

This one looks yummy!

The artistry work on this one was phenomenol... I wish I could've seen the final product!

We next went mini-golfing. Teaghan made TWO hole in ones and I made one as well!!!! The other two were inferior to our golf performance.

Aren't they cute???

We went swimming at One-Mile after that - The golf course was totally in the sun so we had to cool off somewhere! The water was actually very cold. Everyone was brave enough to jump in all the way except for me! I was not going to freeze to death!

We went bowling after that - I think the girls had fun, but Brittnee had some trouble throwing the ball straight down the middle of the lane. We helped her and she definitely improved during two games.

Last, but not least, that day we made personal pan pizzas! We rolled our own crust out, we decorated them the way we each wanted and then we PIGGED OUT!!!!!!!

Kitty decided she wanted to be in on the fun!

The finished products!!!!!

Joe had to work on Sunday, so I spent the morning playing board games with the girls and we ended our fantastic weekend by meeting Doug in Yuba City for the hand-off.

We were so happy to have the chance to spend quality time with the girls. Thank you to Doug and Kristin for sharing their children with us!!!!!!!!!

It's Official...

I'm promoted to.... Drum Roll Please... OPERATIONS MANAGER of New Beginnings!

As you can see, I'm very excited about this new title. With it comes some perks...

1. Authority to run the front office/desk
2. Help in making some minor procedure/process decisions
3. Support in some minor business decisions
4. Support with hiring

AND THE DOOSY...

5. A car!!! Yes, that's right ladies and gentlemen... New Beginnings is going to lease a new Honda Accord for me. I took the car instead of a cash raise. Who wouldn't?!?!?!?

So, everyone may now call me Ms. Operations Manager from now on... I've deserved it!

Thank you.

Pre-Flight Child Report.

My mom gave me a little treat the other day... My Pre-Flight Child Report. This is the report my parents received before they received me! I was 10 months when I flew over so I don't remember anything about my adoption, so this kind of clears some of my babyhood. What a treat... It definitely clears up why I have some of the habits I have. So, I am sharing the "treat" with all of you! Just remember, this was written in Korea so that English is not very good... I entered it here the same as it reads on the report. Enjoy!

PRE-FLIGHT CHILD REPORT

Date of report: 2-23-82

Name: Yung In Kim (that's my Korean name)

Eating habits: Takes well to 200cc of milk mixed with rice powder 7 times a day with good appetite
Likes to eat biscuit, bread, candy, which she can hold in her hand
(This is great because I LOVE, and I mean I LOVE, candy... See where I get it from? The orphanage addicted me to candy)

Sleeping habits: Sleeps from 8pm to 7am and wakes twice for milk
Takes two naps for 1 hour daily
(So this is funny because I cannot function with anything less than 9 or 10 hours of sleep. I guess this habit came from the orphanage as well. And what is even funnier is I love to take naps and will take one any chance I can get!)

Toilet: I won't share this one, but for those with babies - My bathroom habits were healthy

Speech: Recognizes her name
Says "Ubbuba" - carry me on your back
(I have a lot of pictures of Papa carrying me on his back when I was a little baby. I guess he understands Korean baby talk!)

Abilities: Holds out hands to catch a toy and carries it into her mouth
Stands up if holds her by hand
(I was a talented 10 month baby! Kind of reminds me of baby monkeys and how they carry things in their mouths... Hm....)

Personality: Is not shy with strangers
Gets along with them very soon if she is loved
Likes to be cuddled or touched the skin surface
(This is still true of my personality. I will love you if you love me!)

This report is a very special part of me and I'm so happy my mom decided to share it with me! As she starts to pack up the house, she is finding more and more things from my childhood to share. It's kind of exciting to see things from a time I was too young to remember.

I hope you enjoyed this report as much as I am! It has helped me understand some of how I have become who I am today!

Relaxation Vacation...

Last week I went to Point Roberts, WA to visit my parents for a few days of relaxation. My boss actually spared me some vacation time!

Rewind...

My parents bought five acres of land up in Point Roberts, WA to retire to. Currently they are building a barn to live in while they build their house. So for the past few months, they have been traveling back and forth from Chico and Point Roberts... It's weird to have my parents move so far away - I grew up in Chico in the same house on the same street with the same neighbors. Now, if you really knew me, you would know that I am not comfortable with change... Especially with something that I have known all my life. So this is a big step for me... Slowly I have been preparing myself for THE BIG MOVE. Enough about that... Makes me want to cry...

Fast forward...

I flew up to WA... Well, first I made Collette, Joe's mom, drive me to the airport at 4:30 in the morning - THANKS SO MUCH COLLETTE!

Point Roberts is the little pennisula off Canada. In order to get to down into it you have to drive through Canada for an hour and back down into WA. My parents have a Nexus card that gives them free passes through the border from either country, while I only have my passport. So I was privileged enough to walk across the border while my parents drove through the Nexus line. I totally forgot to get a picture, but there is a beautiful park on Canadian border with a beautiful Canadian flag made out of flowers.

The first day I was there, we drove to Richmond, Canada and ate at Pajo's - THE BEST FISH AND CHIPS place known worldwide. It is on a little dock and always has a line. To give you an idea of how delicious the fish is - We had to wait 45 minutes for our order.

The second day I was there, we drove to Mt. Whistler. This is where the 2010 Winter Olympics are to take place! All the buildings have a Scandanavian feel to them and everything is so clean. Canada, in general, is very clean.

This is from an outside cafe we ate lunch at. This is Village Stroll - just a street lined with mini-shops on the ground level and various lodges and hotels on the top levels.

We went to the Olympic Store where I tried my hand at bobsledding - SCARED OUT OF MY WITS!

And these are the Olympic mascots. They were friendly enough to let me rest my feet.

Point Roberts is surrounded by water - well it feels like it. We spent the evenings on the beach watching the sunset and listening to the waves.

On one of the beaches, people built forts with all the driftwood that floats up on the shore. These were pretty elaborate with little benches made with the flat wood and windows and doors.
The next day, my mom and I walked all over the town. She showed me the library - which used to be the school house - and the clinic - and the fire station - and the one grocery store - and a cute little cafe on the beach. This is where my parents spend most of the day since it has wireless. My parents have made a lot of friends up there as well! They walk with a group of people twice a week and they are known at the cafe as well. It's so cute to see them interact with their new friends.

All-in-all I had a wonderful time. Not to mention I hadn't seen my parents for five weeks before I went up there. I am very excited to go up there for Christmas - Sorry Bassetts - It'll be my first Christmas with them up there and I want to be with them!

When I flew back - Thanks to Melissa for picking me up from the airport - I started really missing my parents. I didn't miss them until I spent some time with them... Funny how that works... Sigh...

Anyway - I'm better now. It's late and I'm super duper tired. Hopefully this post made some sort of sense...

I definitely had a great time - the town is small and quiet, surrounded by water, and full of very nice people. I will have to make sure my boss continues to give me time off!!!!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...

Last weekend a couple of girlfriends and I went to an Oakland A's baseball game. What a great time... Mostly we sat there "people watching" and checking out the weirdos. There was a big group of guys on a bachelor party, drunk, and LOUD! They were really funny to watch until they decided to move a few rows in front of us. Every time there was a great play, this guy would stand up in my way. I should've thrown my hot dog at him. But seriously... If I was to have a bachelorette party... I would totally want my girlfriends to take me to a ballgame. Giants would be the better pick if I had a choice though! I made sure to plant that thought in Lauren and Sonja's little heads...

The weather was perfect. We got down there early to hang out and we decided to drive to Vallejo and hang out with a few of Lauren's friends by a pool. The sun is brutal down there! But I got a nice tan, which is all that matters! Haha... On Sunday we were going to check out the Gay Pride Parade going on in San Francisco, but decided to check out the Thai Temple instead. Lauren has been talking about this Thai Temple ever since she moved to Oakland and Sonja and I wanted to finally try it. It is a temple in the middle of a neighborhood and they make authentic Thai food. I had yellow curry chicken over white rice, Sonja had red curry beef, and Lauren had curried pumpkin. And we had the most amazing dessert... It's called Mango and sticky rice. It has a white rice and a purple rice marinated in a coconut or something very sweet with mango slices on top. Oh my goodness - I couldn't stop eating it! I can't even describe the flavor... Delicious. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. It's probably even worth driving to Oakland tomorrow just to eat their food again...

Here are some pictures from the ballpark - Had a great time!