Oskar and Flat Stanley

So my nephew Gabe is doing a "Flat Stanley" project for his school. For those of you who don't know, "Flat Stanley" is the name of a book in which a little boy named Stanley gets flattened and then mails himself to different places. For his project, Gabe chose me as his destination, and I got a little, flat "Gabe" in the mail. Despite the fact that he was sending his "Flat Stanley" to a foreign country, where I could possibly take pictures with it in lots of interesting places, he was adamant about one thing: I had to get a picture of it with Oskar. Now, despite the overwhelming number of pictures I have of OKB that might speak to the contrary, this dog HATES getting his picture taken. I swear, any good picture we have of him is pure luck. Anyway, I knew getting his picture taken with "Flat Stanley" would be an adventure. What follows are just a few of the series of pictures I took in attempt to get ONE good picture for Gabe's project:

Picture One: "What the heck are you doing? What is this thing?"

Picture Two: After multiple "no's" and "stop biting it," I promptly got the "I am completely ignoring you" face.

Picture Three: He finally got fed up and tried to jump off the couch. I stopped him and reset the "Flat Stanley." His look says it all: "I really hate you right now."

Picture Four: After trying everything I could think of to get him to look at me, I finally mentioned the word "cheese," and which point I was able to snap this picture. This is his "I'm only doing this to humor you until I get my treat" face.

After giving him the promised piece of cheese, he hid behind the couch for the rest of the afternoon. So very sorry, Your Majesty.

A Cure For (or at least Distraction From) The Blues

I've been feeling a little blue lately. Now, I don't want anyone to freak out--I don't have pre-partum (is that a word?) depression or anything. I've just been feeling a little off. It always happens around this time of year. The weather starts turning warmer so I get antsy for summer, but it's not quite warm enough to do those summer-y things (plus, two days later the temps are back in the 30s). To me, this is when living in Korea is most difficult. I long to just drive on some back road with the windows down and ENJOY being outside. This is not an option here, for many, many reasons (pollution and traffic, just to name a few), so this adds to my restlessness.

But, I will be honest, this season in my life has definitely given fuel to my end-of-winter blues. PCS season is upon us and, especially with this next upcoming change of station, I have emotions so mixed that I don't know how I feel about it from one day to the next. I am both excited and terrified about moving back to America, and knowing I will have to do it without the community of friends I have come to love over the past 5 years is extremely hard. On top of that, the uncertainty that is surrounding our move in regards to my pregnancy has my stomach in knots. Where will I have the baby? Will Jonathan be there? So many unanswered questions. . .

This past weekend has been especially hard. It was the weekend of the Seoul marathon. As some of you may know, I was training for the half-marathon before I got pregnant. I was up to 10 miles before the doctor called knock-it-off, so I know that finishing the the half-marathon was a goal I definitely could have achieved. Granted, I know I DIDN'T run it for a very good reason, but it's still hard to see a day come to pass when you know you could have achieved one of your goals. I wanted so badly to be there to cheer on my friends who were still running but, with Jonathan gone, I had no one to watch Oskar, and I was unfortunately stuck at Osan for another weekend.

All of these things were going through my brain Friday night as I struggled to sleep, and I woke up Saturday morning realizing why pregnant ladies "nest": they need projects or else their pregnant lady brain will drive them INSANE! I couldn't see spending another weekend mulling over all of the above drama, but nesting is not quite an option for me since we are leaving before the baby is born. However, I realized, I did need a project---desperately. Then, I remembered the cute skirts my friend Chris had sewn for her two little girls (check out her blog about it here), and her mentioning in passing how they would make GREAT maternity skirts. Project question solved.

First things first. Measurements and a pattern, made simply out of pieces of computer paper taped together:

Next up, some beautiful material from Happy Quilt that I loved but couldn't figure out what to do with. I cut six of my pattern pieces out of the material.

Next I sewed each piece together wrong sides together until I created a "tube" of fabric.

Then, I turned the skirt wrong side out and sewed each seam again. This created 'french seams' all around the skirt.

After heming and top-stitching the bottom of the skirt, I took some elastic that measured about an inch smaller than my hip measurement and stitched it together to make a loop.

I then pressed and folded over the top of the skirt, encasing the elastic, and top-stitched around the top of the skirt to hold the elastic in place. Viola'! A skirt!

The finished skirt on me. Don't mind the mis-matching colors. My red IU shirt didn't QUITE match the fabric, but I wasn't going to change my ENTIRE outfit just for a picture. I'm pregnant and lazy, remember?

Knowing my luck, I'll grow out of it before the weather gets warm enough to wear it, but at least it was easy enough to make that I can make another one if I need to. But it looks like I'll need to make another trip to Happy Quilt. . .

Pregnancy is Bizarre

Pregnancy has been the most bizarre experience of my life. I don't mean that in a bad way; I just mean there is no other way to describe this experience but bizarre. It's strange to be a stranger in your own body. It's changing in ways I never thought was possible. The girl who was training for a half-marathon just three months ago now gets winded and exhausted from a 5k. I once spent my afternoons doing at least something active (walking, playing with the dog, etc); now, its all I can do to get through the morning and make it to my afternoon nap on the couch. And dry heaving! Oh Lord have mercy--the dry heaving! Although I am so thankful that I am only puking about once a week now (as opposed to every single day), not a day goes by that SOMETHING does not make me dry heave. And it's the weirdest things too; smells and sights that never used to bother me suddenly make me gag. One of the weirdest? The inside of the toilet. The toilet could be sparkling clean and still glisten with Lysol. . .but if I see the inside of it, I will gag. Weird, right? Speaking of toilets, I used to be able to hold my bladder for hours on end; now, I get up at least twice a night to pee. Food has become my best friend and worst enemy at the same time because, although I am ALWAYS hungry, EVERYTHING gives me heartburn. In addition to heartburn, I'm dealing with all kinds of things I've never had to deal with before: gas, pimples, dry hair. I'm like a smelly teenager. And, even though I'm not going crazy and "eating for two," that "adorable" bump keeps growing and my cute clothes no longer fit. It's insane to watch yourself expand as a result of something completely natural and NOT from an obsession with Krispy Kremes.

And it's not just my body. It feels like my mind is longer under my control either. I have the strangest and most vivid dreams. I had one the other night about the BTK killer. I mean, really. . . what is THAT about? Pregnancy has also made me borderline bi-polar. I can go from deliriously happy to uncontrollably weepy to insanely angry to manically depressed to pleasantly contented---all within the course of a half hour. My poor husband had no idea when I got pregnant that he'd be trading his loving wife for a psychotic one for the next 9 months. And, bless his heart, he's constantly asking what he did to make me so sad or angry or who knows what else? I have to just tell him it's because he left the toilet lid up and I saw the inside of the toilet. I know he would not understand (or believe me) if I told him the truth: "You did absolutely nothing! I am just a crazy pregnant lady!" Oh, and the pregnancy cravings? How in the world does my mind convince me that I need to eat an entire jar of pickles or my body will wither away and die?

So, Baby W., I love you already, and I cannot wait to meet you. But you have turned my mind and body into a freak show. You and I will need to have a serious talk when you get here.

Knocked Up

Well, we can officially announce that I am knocked up. Yes, the Woogies are expecting their first child in August (tentative due date is August 26). We've known for quite awhile, and it has been SO HARD not to share this exciting news, but we wanted to be absolutely sure that everything was fine before announcing it to the world. In fact, people will say I'm crazy, but I swear I knew that SOMETHING was up the day after conception. I might not have known I was pregnant per se, but I knew SOMETHING was off with my body. So much so that I didn't even drink at the squadron Christmas party (only 3 days after I got knocked up). And, sure enough, two weeks later, I peed on a stick and it looked like this:

Then came the moment of panic. "What is that? What is THAT? What does a plus sign mean? Am I. . . ? Oh my gosh I am." I walked out of the bathroom where Jonathan lay in bed waiting for the result. "I think I'm pregnant."

My sweet husband was ecstatic! He started yelling and pulled me into a great big hug. Me, on the other hand? I was in tears. Who knew a little bit of pee could make your whole future look so scary?

We went to the doctor a few days later, and he confirmed it: I was definitely preggers. As he gave us the news and shook Jonathan's hand, my husband said the one thing that will be on his mind for the next 20 weeks: "Is it a boy?" Sorry sweetie--a little too early to tell.

I got sick almost immediately, and it was really hard to explain to everyone that yes, I was sick but no, I was not dying of the plague. The morning sickness was so intense that on some days, I couldn't even leave the house. But, of course, it didn't bother Oskar. I'd be in the bathroom vomiting, and he would walk in a put his ball at my feet, wagging his tail.

Anyway, we finally hit the end of the first trimester this week, and I had my first doctor's appointment. Everything looked good but, at just shy of 12 weeks, it was too early for the doc to hear the heartbeat. This turned out to be a blessing because we got to have an ultrasound instead. I was worried about not being able to see it (think Rachel on 'Friends') but that kid was right there as soon she put the thing on my belly.

Our first look at Baby Wright. All I could think was: "Holy cow--there's a baby in there!"

Snuggled up. This was AFTER he/she did multiple jumps by literally kicking off of my uterus. Uh-huh. . . THAT'S why I've been feeling so sick!

Waving hi to Mom and Dad :)

It's got arms and legs and hands and feet. These are two happy parents :)

I think we're both over the panic stage and are getting to the excited phase. I mean. . . we're gonna have a BABY. Seriously. . . it doesn't get much cooler than that. :)

I'm A Writer. . . No, Really!

Anyone who has known me for even the shortest amount of time knows that I've dreamed of becoming a writer since I was a little girl. Well, to be honest, when I was a little girl, I wanted to be the next Jane Pauly. I followed that dream all the way to journalism school, where I learned that most journalists are unhappy people with ugly hearts and no souls (and that's putting it nicely!). In other words, I realized I didn't want to become the type of person it takes to become a journalist. So, I left graduate school with the heavy heart of someone who's seen their entire future go down the drain. Most depressingly, journalism school made me hate writing. I was 24 years old, and I had no idea what to do with my life. Yes, 24 is young and maybe its not a big deal to not know what you want to do with your life at that age, but for someone who has had a "life plan" since I was 10, this was a bit unnerving for me, to say the least. Luckily, God distracted me with a wonderful guy, a beautiful wedding, and a breath-taking move to Europe. However, after a year in Germany, I found myself getting restless again. I actually missed writing. Cue God again: He dropped in my lap the opportunity to take a class about writing for children. Writing for children? I'd never considered it. But, if it gave me the opportunity to write about something other negativity, politics, and biased agendas, I figured I'd give it a shot. And I loved it. I loved, loved, LOVED the freedom that comes from writing fiction---and, not only that, but writing fiction for an age group that still enjoys the innocent things in life like puppies and ice cream. Naturally, after writing for awhile, I knew it was time to take the next step: getting published. It's a scary, tedious process, and after a year and a half of straight rejections, I was so ready to give up. I was almost ready to admit that, okay, maybe I'm not a good writer. Maybe this isn't what I'm meant to be doing. Today, I opened the mailbox and my heart sank: I saw before me a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope). When you submit a manuscript for publication, you also submit a SASE. This way, the editors have an easy way of sending you a rejection letter without having to put too much time or effort into the process. Anyway, I'd seen so many SASE's in the past 18 months, that I almost threw it away. But, curiosity got the best of me, and I wanted to see why I'd been rejected again: "Your piece doesn't fit our publication needs at this time" or "We've decided that your piece does not fit into any of our upcoming themes" or just a flat-out "NO." Imagine my surprise when I opened it and found these words: "Congratulations! We would like to publish your work in an upcoming issue." I had to read it several times before it finally sunk in--I was being published! Someone actually thinks my writing is worth sharing!

As you can see, the piece will be published by Skipping Stones magazine. Find out more about it here. There's some slight editing to do (which I've chosen to leave up to the professional editors at the magazine--I'm not good at editing my own stuff), and the Editor-in-Chief told me they should be done editing by March or April, which means they will make a decision on which issue to feature it in then. So exciting!

I've always been told that you can't really claim you're a writer until someone else says you are. Well, someone said that I'm a writer. So I'm a writer. . . no, really!

Mahalo!

I needed to get away. Temperatures in Korea were dipping below zero, the wind never fell below 15 mph, and the snow just kept piling up, up, up. I was grouchy and sun-deprived, and my poor husband couldn't take another minute of it. The only solution? A week in Hawaii on beautiful Waikiki Beach. . .

24 hours ago, these feet were shoved inside Ugg boots. :)

We looked forward to snorkeling, but the water was absolutely FREEZING. So Jonathan settled for taking pictures of the fish from a pier on the beach instead. . .

A beautiful sunset over Waikiki. . .

Diamond Head Crater, as seen from a pier on Waikiki Beach. . .

The forecast called for rain, rain, and more rain, but we weren't going to let that stop us from site-seeing. Now that we'd gotten some relaxing in on the beach, it was time for the first "must-see" on list: Pearl Harbor.

The U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. Such a sad, humbling experience. . .

The names of all the sailors who lay entombed below our feet. It gave me chills. . .

One of the most sobering sights from the memorial was the oil that continues to bubble up from the sunken ship, even almost 70 years later. . .

The U.S.S. Missouri

On the deck of the ship

Spot on the deck where the Japanese officially surrendered, ending WWII

Old air control tower on Ford Island, still damaged from the Japanese attack. . .

Hangar 79, still damaged from the attack, but now part of the Pacific Aviation Museum. . .

Now, everyone knows that I am a HUGE fan of the TV show 'LOST' (and Jonathan doesn't mind it), which was filmed on the island of Oahu. My sweet, sweet husband agreed to go on a tour with me to see some of the filming locations for the show. But, you know, even if you're not a fan, you have to agree that the views are spectacular!

We got to see a TON of different places and, to be completely honest, if you don't know anything about the show, the next few pictures will mean absolutely nothing to you. But, here are some highlights of the tour anyway. Here's us at one of the Dharma stations. . .

The 'Jug-head' Tower. . .

Pushing the Dharma van down the hill. . .

Hiding from the T-Rex where they filmed one of the scenes from 'Jurassic Park'. . .

Golfing with Hurley on the 'LOST' golf course. . .

Attacked by the Smoke Monster!

For our last night, we decided to go to a traditional Hawaiian luau, complete with entertainment and all-you-can-eat buffet. Only problem: it was FREEZING. There was a big storm coming in, and the wind off the water was brutal. The picture below is of us at the luau, waiting for it to start. You can't tell, but I'm wearing sweatpants under my dress. I broke down and was THAT girl. But I didn't care how white trash I looked. I was warm.

Beautiful music and dancing. . .

The most amazing stuff happened after it got dark but, of course, my camera doesn't do that well in the dark. These are the best two pictures I got, and they are pretty awful.

I gave up on the pictures and started taking video instead. Keep in mind, these videos are coming from a little hand-held Canon camera, so the quality is not great, but it gives you a taste of the ambiance of the place. This guy was supposed to be the number one fire dancer in the world. Is that true? I have no idea. . . but he was good.

Again, quality is not great, but you'll get the general idea of the luau.

We woke up the next morning, ready for our long journey back home, not knowing we had one more little bit of 'LOST' to experience. 'Hawaii Five-O' was filming in our hotel, and look who happened to be standing by: Daniel Dae Kim (aka Jin)! Jonathan played paparazzi for this photo.

Alright, no more playing around. We really do have to go back to cold, snowy South Korea. Aloha, Hawaii. You will be missed.

Want to see more pictures of our trip? Check out our Shutterfly share site here.

Hawaii Bound!

Aloha, Korea! The Woogies are Waikiki-bound! We'll be spending the next several days in the sun and surf, away from all this cold and ugly snow. We'll see you all when we return!! :)

P.S. I know you're all wondering but no, Oskar is NOT accompanying us to Hawaii. It will be hard to be away from my best friend, but I know he'll be having tons of fun with our good friends, the Haughs :)