let's catch up

man oh man does time fly by! i just realized the last post was back in april and here we are in the middle of june...geez! well, let's do some catching up:

CHINA 2009: absolutley an amazing trip and gift from my in-laws! beijing, xian and shanghai were all so different and filled with rich history that i actually enjoyed. we ate well (besides the goose liver and duck dinner) and experienced some interesting cultural differences. beijing was HUGE...everything was just big. xian had the first dynasty and amazing history all built into the city. shanghai was very westernized and the city where we got lost! we packed in our trip with lot's of touristy outtings and were ready to come home! to say the least, i missed charlie EVERYDAY. not sure he missed us as much seeing that he had a blast with cousins obi and vader and his new best bud, hurley!

the month of may had some good times and some challenging ones. first, happy mother's day to my mom. she is a strong lady and can't imagine my life without her! we love you!!!

next, one of my closest and dearest friend sarah, delivered her precious baby boy on may 27th, three months early...he is heaven sent and is a little fighter! we continue to pray for the vogt's during this time...to follow their story, go to: http://jacksonvogt.com/.

sarah and i were to walk together for graduation but her water broke the day of...this is why graduation for me was SO bittersweet. but, i walked in honor of sarah and glad i did. my best friend and family was there to celebrate so we had a fabulous time...

we also welcomed the newest member, xavier raymond lions! we are so happy for ray and mandy (the proud parents) for this little bundle of joy...i love him already.

charlie sitting

i took this morning to type up a "how to" or better yet, some pointers on how to care for our little charlie...man oh man am i starting to feel bad for those that will be watching him...so many pointers that i want to mention without sounding like a crazy person! special thanks to bobby & the soukups while we are away on our two week vacation...
we also discovered charlie has "allergies"...whatever that really means. he basically sounds like he's wheezing and about to hack out a lung...but after all is said and done, his tail is still wagging, so i think he'll be okay...
* today's nap-alarm: charlie tooted his heart out! i'm talking, loud as in i thought i did it...but right after his big toot, he turned around in the direction of his little toosh and had that startled look like, "did I do that?" LOL...tee heeee *
i've had so much fun spending the days with charlie. i'm definitely going to miss the little guy while we are away...

endearings...

so it's been a while but i have so many endearing charlie moments that i wanted to get them all down before he grew out of this puppy stage so i

could remember for all times...as i write this particular blog, the little one is curled up in my lap for a quick morning snooze.

~ charlie knows the routine. he starts off sleeping in his crate and then stirs anywhere between 5 - 6am. he quickly goes shi shi & #2 and is invited onto the bed. he excitedly gives papa tons of kisses and then when i return from the bathroom, he waits for the covers to be lifted to snuggle next to scott. within seconds he is on his back for scott to rub his belly and proceeds to pass out and take up 1/3 of the bed...

~ right around 10:30pm he gets his burst of energy and does the crazy run around the whole house! the first time he did i laughed so hard i was snorting...hee hee he's a speedy little guy...he zips around the corners of the island so fast that his two little ears tuck back...i really need to catch a video clip of him...

~ charlie is an expert sleeper/napper. he is also a lover of comfort and for him that means getting in that perfect position and so he turns and moves to get there. most of the time he's on his back with all four paws up in the air. his stretching is B E S T.

~ now that uncle harley (the rottweiler we're taking care of for scott's parents) got the boot and is no longer allowed in the house, charlie makes it a point to say good night and waits by the laundry room every night. charlie also gets so excited when we get harley's food ready. funny pup...

~ when charlie is sleeping and i try to move him he makes this little noise. i L O V E this noise. i move him purposefully to hear it sometimes...

~ one of the most heart-warming things charlie does is when he's home with scott and i come back from wherever i've been, his little face and tail wagging just warms me in such a way that melts my heart. there are no words to describe it...

i know i'm truly becoming "one of those dog owners" but until you have your own, you may never understand the joys of being one and all the little endearing moments you get to encounter each and every day. i LOVE charlie-bear!

a little piece of greece!

i'm sort of all over the place in timing with this blog, but that's okay because this is mostly for me anyways. so, i was in chicago last week visiting my family, june and aleko and also bringing home charlie. the first few days were spent with just june and aleko and i can't tell you enough how much i loved just being with them...

all we did was spend time together. we lounged, took naps, conquered some champions (way to go team!) they also took me to this greek restaurant that served yummy food! i wished my stomach was feeling better so i could have eaten more of the dessert...i also watched some greek futbol with them...man oh man is greek soccer different! at least the fans are anyways...

even after we picked up charlie, i was lucky enough to meet aleko's family. i fell in L O V E with them! his mom, which june calls mana is the essence of living life! she is so full of energy and is always trying to feed you! mmm good! her home cooking is one of the best i've ever had and just the family feel with the rest of aleko's sister's family left me with warm fuzzies inside. i almost didn't want to leave because i wanted to experience more of it...i came back to oregon to explain and describe what it was all like but truly, you just have to experience it yourself.

i loved when mahna says, "BRAVO junaki" and also loved all the toasting that went on during dinner...i had water but they still included me on the toasting.

thank you to the brentano's family...charlie and i miss you already.

so much time, so many possibilities...

so today is the start of my week long media fast. that means, NO: tv, movies, music, facebook (omg!), magazines...you get the point. so after discipleship this morning, charlie and i took a nice long nap to pass the morning. now charlie's been fed, laundry has begun and the dishwasher is loaded. my mind is going blank with all the possibilities that i can cease but when it comes down to it, maybe i'm just plain lazy. like i want to be able to say i've had this long list of books i've wanted to read, but i'm not that cool.

(ADD moment) today, charlie came all the way downstairs by himself! yaayyy for this big first

okay, so back to the media fast. i thought that since this is my way of journaling, blogging doesn't count as media. i find this media fast hard to do being unemployed. i told scott his morning, "at least i have charlie..."

in the next week i am hoping to finish a great book, keep this blog current, do a lot of home-cooking and be with people! i feel very blessed to have family here but selfishly i want them ALL here...that way i can go visit, spend quality time and also do brainless-let's do nothing together-activities. the only thing scheduled is charlie's first offiicial play-date with hurley (another fellow maltese) saturday morning and a few other visitors. besides that, scott and i are doing taxes (which really means my wonderful hubby will be doing them) and a younglife banquet on sunday. to say the least, i am looking forward to being with other human beings...(sigh).

love @ first sight.

his name is charlie. he is the new addition to the wang family and we L O V E him!
as he quietly chews on his chew toy, i can quietly reflect on the past several days. it has been so much fun and also filled with some challenges. to me, getting this new pup was a commitment to myself because the last dog i had i was a horrible dog-owner. so i kind of feel like this is my way to make up for sunshine's life... i don't mind waking up at 4am to have our little charlie relieve himself. i don't mind that when he's invited on the bed that he licks and affectionally paws my face. i don't mind picking up his little #2's. i can't tell you enough how much i crack up when he cries because he can't understand the glass shower door that separates us. he's my little heater and is the best snuggler. i hope he never loses that puppy trait. this morning, in my half sleepy state my husband tells me in passing: i will tell you this, you are way nicer in the mornings since we got charlie. i hope this is telling of how i will be with our kids. let's start that prayer now!

a "touching" moment...

SOME of my OCD tendencies are: checking to make sure the door is locked by tugging on the door twice; running back in the house to see if i unplugged the straightener; checking the locks on the door (yes, again) but right before bedtime; certain doors need to be closed shut before sleeping...and yes, the list and go on and on. but i wanted to share about this morning...
so scott and i had a rough night. i went to bed upset and we worked things out in the morning. the whole time, scott was gently caressing my face...it was actually quite sweet. and in this moment, scott says:
"wow. you've never let me touch your face this long."

and that, was the end of our touching moment.
(if you haven't guessed, yet another one of my OCD "things")

he also told me my retainer stunk.

isn't he just precious?!

pressure to be funny

so i'm a facebook junkie. i have no shame in saying it...lately though, people have been posting "25 random things" about themselves. for the most part, people's posts have been funny (to the point where i laugh out loud....which doesn't take much, but still) and super thoughtful. now, i have been wanting to do it because again i love being relational and getting to know others and would love for others to get to know me...but there is WAY too much pressure to be witty, funny, thoughtful, not too cheesy...i do realize that i am doing this to myself but others will read it and i don't want it to be lame.
my good friend sarah has read it and already told me she was laughing while reading it. sarah also is the sweetest person you'll ever meet...thanks for laughing sarah. makes me feel good.
anyways, here is the actual post:

Once you've been tagged, you have to write a note with 25 random things, shortcomings, facts, habits or goals about yourself. At the end, choose at least 15 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.

1. writing this "25 things about me" brought on pressure.
2. in 2008, i did reach the beach - a 55 mile bike ride without any sort of training...will i do it again? most likely not.
3. i was a ballerina...from the ages 4-10. loved it!
4. currently, i am wearing a hoodie from the 6th grade and don't plan to retire it anytime soon.
5. you can't give me directions with the words: north, south, east, west...i'll never get there.
6. when scott and i had one of our first talks about kids, he already had a girl's name picked out...riley. i thought that was awfully cute of him.
7. you can say i am a tad OCD. okay, maybe a lot. i fully admit i'm a bit coo-coo.
8. i ran hood to coast, but couldn't finish my last leg due to stress fractures. my goal, is to do it again and finishing the race!
9. since being married, i am learning what it means to be an adult...meaning i pay for everything. no more asking mom/dad to buy this or that.
10. it has JUST been confirmed, i am allergic to dairy and eggs...what the...??
11. my husband is my best friend. he makes me laugh so hard i cry a lot of the times...he truly is my better half.
12. my dad starting speaking spanish to us after we got back from our honeymoon. scott and i got a kick out of that!
13. i don't get catty people. let go of the past...
14. like becky, i L O V E the smell of gasoline. not enough to have wanted to work there, but i would've visited you becky...maybe everyday
15. the food network is on almost 75% of the time at our home...i love to watch and cook...it's inspiring!
16. i USED to have road rage...i am still working on it.
17. i secretly wanted to be a back-up dancer. hehehee they're so cool...
18. YL and my senior girls have changed my life.
19. i believe maturity comes with time.
20. something that gets me pretty fired up are arrogant/unprovoked rude people.
21. more than sugar coating, i love and repsect those that speak truth into my life.
22. one of my mini dreams is to have a garden full of fresh herbs. they are so freaking spendy at the grocery store!
23. i can go for a day and a half not showering. this is the recent trend.
24. i have finger toes, according to priscilla. this just means i can pick up almost anything easily with my "finger" toes. i consider this a talent
25. i am super blessed by the people in my life. i love and adore my family and dear friends.

not too bad, eh?

OMG. do you know why i have all this pressure? it's because derek had this blog while he was in south africa and it was HILARIOUS. not just hilarious but deep. way to set the standard derek...

maybe this should've been my first blog...

so, this isn't my first time trying to blog on this sort of website. i believe i tried this before when i had moved to california for nine months of my life. i wanted it to be this super insightful, inspiring and witty blog but i shortly realized that i am not a writer...nor do i think i write in such a way for viewers to want more.

i'm one of those that L O V E to read other peoples blogs and secretly catch up on their lives. i'm not quite sure why i'm so intruiged and drawn to other peoples lives...my reasoning is because i'm a relational type of gal. i truly enjoy getting to know other people - their past, present and future dreams; weird quirks; their fav starbucks drink.

* sidenote: my husband thinks i'm quite the stalker/creeper for reading other peoples blogs, mostly pertaining to people i don't know all too well *

anyways, this blog is mostly for me...to have sort of an online journal of my life. i just need to figure out how to post pictures, because that is another love of my life: photos. so enjoy...!

a team decision

last thursday night, scott and i made one of our first big family decisions together. we decided that we were ready for a new family member...HUNTER! he is our puppy to be, in exactly TWENTY days! (can you tell i'm excited??!) i'm flying out to chicago and staying with june and aleko. it's going to be an adventure flying back home with a 14 week old pup that has a four-hour flight time with a lay over in seattle and then another hour to portland. yikes.

also, can i say that petsmart is much too overwhelming. i think this whole idea of getting this pup is crazy...i mean i've been wanting this for A LONG time but it's a live animal! the last time i had a dog was when i was ten. all i did was dress up and wrap my little dog in blankets, pretending it was my baby. i even pretended it was a cat for crying out loud...i know, a little coo-coo. i like to think that i was a very creative and imaginative kid.

anyways, i keep watching for new pics of my new pup. overall, i am thrilled for team decision. GO TEAM WANG!!