Wordless Wednesday

What are the odds we would stumble across an all you can eat Crab Tuesday Night?! I told the waiter "Don't Judge me!" and when Alex gave me a funny look at the amount of crab I was about to inhale I said "Don't make me Crabby!" Now I'm sweatin' buttah!

It's like riding a bicycle!

Yesterday was the FIRST time I've ridden a bicycle in TWELVE years. As in, it's the first time I've even SAT on a bicycle seat let alone make it move! Alex took me to a wonderful park without any hills or cars so I was safe and sound. Now I'm hooked!

Oh the weather outside is FREEZING

Actually, Denver has been pretty mild. Just freezing in comparison to Hawaii! We arrived in Denver Thursday after a long red eye flight to visit Alex's dear Uncle John. Before departure we did our ritual routine: Meet Alex's parents at the brew pub for dinner, hand over the dog, and have 1 parent take us to the airport. At dinner we got an adorable phone call from our 16 year old host daughter. She said "You guys! I miss my host parents!! I miss Moki!! Last night we were making a great dinner and dancing around the kitchen and now today you guys are gone!!" She is staying at our neighbors house while we are away. I'm shocked at how many people initially thought we would leave her home alone all week! Come on people! I'm not THAT parentally ignorant!
Last night I went to my very first hockey game! How have I gone almost 29 years and never seen a hockey game? Especially with my NHL Hockey star uncle as a relative? My beautiful cousin Kelsey, his daughter, has taken on his love and passion for hockey. Now, after seeing fights on the ice, slamming into the walls, whacking with sticks, I am horridly nervous and worried for my cousin! I had no idea Kelsey. No idea! I would be screaming in a high pitched voice, skating the opposite direction with arms flailing. Not a classy sight.
Today I have some blog time because Alex and Uncle John are at the rental car dealership. I'm still battling what I believe to be an untreated low grade sinus infection. Today I feel worse, but I dressed up to the nines in order to trick myself into feeling better if I feel like I LOOK better than I feel. Old Navy online has adorable sweater knee length dresses. Paired with boots and a hat, I feel eskimo chic! Now we are off to explore downtown Denver!

Our So Called American Life

Update on the Wacky Woodbury Household:
Picture Number 1: Alex levitating off the living room trying to escape the ceiling roof window

Picture Number 2: 2 formal ladies post Jessie's Symphony concert

Video Number 3: Moki's Eggplant: He has somehow learned on his OWN to BOUNCE the eggplant kong ball to get the treats to fly out of the ball. Sometimes he actually takes the Kong up the stairs and bounces it down the stairs; slurping his tongue in the air collecting the flying tid bit treats!

Video Number 4: Alex's Helicopter test run. For his 31's birthday, his parents and I went in on a dingo blade. We both must have felt that maybe we should get one more little thing for him, and didn't feel the need to consult each other on such a matter. So at the table, he opens my extra gift of a helicopter and his parents eyes pop wide. They got him the exact same helicopter toy! Not only that, we both got him PIRATE birthday cards. I guess his parents and his wife just know his THAT well. My parents got him a robot that cleans gutters. He's such a boy!

Happy Birthday Alex!

So I promise I won't be one of those bloggers who can ONLY talk about my brand new week old 16 year old teenage child. haha.
So this blog post is about Alex on his birthday.
Last year was your big 3-0. Wifey Jessie made a boat load of eggplant and chicken parm. Lots of friends. Lots of planning. This year, I love you just as much, and even more. But the next BIG bash will be at the next big milestone. We will enjoy a quiet, family Birthday this year love.
Where do the years go? I just cannot believe when we first started our relationship, you were this young 22 year old college student, and I was just 19!! I have loved watching us grow up Alex. You are a man now! Your mother told me life would never be boring marrying a Woodbury. And I must say! Life certainly is NEVER boring!
So Alex, I wish you a Happy Happy Birthday. May your year bring even more excitement and joy. I am so thankful you were born.

Meet Tehniyat

(Double click the photo to get a closer look)
Tehniyat (I misspelled her name in the last 2 posts!) arrived yesterday at 3pm. What a fantastic girl! She is super animated, talkative, smart, and very cheerful. When we moved all her boxes into bedroom, we instantly sat down in the living room and talked politics (she wants to be a politician when she grows up and her uncle just ran for PRESIDENT of Pakistan). She is very involved in the debate team at Parker School and on Saturday won a trophy for the team. She speaks 8 languages. We took a long walk with the dog and she skipped along and said "OK house rules!" and we just talked about a few rules we would like to see (no boys when we are gone. Curfew at 10pm but she can stay up doing homework etc as late as she needs), Keep area tidy, etc. I think she gets a kick out of seeing us lay down parental rules since we don't have children yet and are a young couple. Saturday we made Thanksgiving dinner so Sunday we had leftovers and explained that she was about to eat the most traditional American meal she could possibly eat! She wanted a picture, but we told her she would eat the same meal on the right American holiday next week. After the long walk and dinner, we sat out by the chimnea and talked by the fire. There is a Arabic symbol on the back of our chimnea and we told her the catalog says it says 'The top of the pyramid" and she said "YES that is what it says!" Her school is about 3 minutes away by bike. (probably 4-5 walking). It's only 1/4 mile away. So I think this will be an incredible experience for all of us. When we go to Denver for Thanksgiving, she will stay with our neighbors who she knows very well. Moki has figured out that there is a new sibling in the house. So I keep petting him and reassuring him that he is still the precious baby of the household!

Is you is, or is you ain't, my baby

OK, it's 10:20pm on Friday night and I'm friggin' NESTING! Strange, never felt before mother hen instincts are kicking in (and scaring both myself AND Alex). We are gluing the broken desk so she has a place to do homework. I've thoroughly cleaned her room and drawers. Alex has had an Arabic prayer rug for years, and I placed it in her room facing Mecca (yes I Google Earthed to find the exact coordinated as to not offend her). We are fashioning curtain rods and confiscating curtains from other rooms so she has privacy. I just downloaded a ton of Pakistani pop music so she feels like she is right at home (and I'm currently listening to it over our speakers as we get her room ready). I am epicurious.comming traditional Pakistani dishes so she feels comfortable (and wikipediaing dietary restrictions). I just brushed up on the 5 pillars of Islam. (10th grade English/History class just came rushing back to me!) Oh gosh. Did I just open Pandora's box to motherhood? Tomorrow is our last supper. We are having 2 friends over for a mock Thanksgiving dinner (since we will be cooking for Uncle John in Denver ourselves). And Tehmiyat arrives Sunday! Stay tuned!

BIG NEWS! WE'RE HAVING A......16 year old!!

So last night I'm just trying to get through my 15 hour teaching day. My last lesson was running late and Alex nervously starts to tell me that he has interesting news. I'm like "Alex, come on man, spit it out! I gotta teach in like a minute!" I'm thinking he's about to tell me he needs to stay in Maui longer than expected for work. But instead, he tells me that there is a 16 year old Pakistani Muslim foreign exchange student who desperately needs a home or she's sent back to Pakistan and she would need to move in by Sunday. My jaw drops. My student's at the door. I calmly (and nervously) smile and say "Honey, can we talk over dinner?"
So we talk till midnight. And after sleeping on it, this decision seems like a good idea and meant to be. So today we made phone calls, filled out forms, and talked with the director and figured all our questions and concerns out. Concerns being, #1 there is a major reason we don't have little Jessie and Alex Juniors running around. We both work 15 hour days almost every day. I'm not kidding. We don't have an eating schedule, and I'm lucky if I can scramble to find something semi edible to cram down our throats at the end of a long exhausting day. Most host families have children, and hence are already in the zone for schedule and routine and structure. I'm 28, and hardly old enough or qualified to be a parental figure to a 16 year old. Yes I'm a teacher and my day is constantly filled with energetic excited children whom I teach, discipline, and love. But I get my hug quota filled for the day and they go home to someone else. I won't be able to guarantee driving because of my crazy schedule.
But after expressing all these concerns, something just clicked. It was around 1pm today I felt this calming peace about the whole situation. I have always found it a great significance that Alex and I both have adopted Korean sisters. We both grew up in multi cultural homes. I know one day we are meant to adopt an international baby. And giving Tehmiyat (that is her name) a safe, comfortable, caring household for the next 6 months and learning about her culture and religion seems like something Alex and I would find ourselves doing. And to freak him out even more, I told him "Yeah Honey, great idea!! And if I get used to having a child in the household and miss her when she leaves in May, maybe that means we are ready for children!" And that made HIS jaw drop!
Oh, and the director needed me to e-mail a picture of the 2 of us. I couldn't find a SINGLE picture where Alex isn't making a funny face or just staring blankly at the camera looking like a stoic serial killer; I found lots of great ones of me WITHOUT Alex in the picture; And I couldn't find a single picture WITHOUT the 2 of us holding a glass of wine.

OBloga

I DID listen to my parents and I agree that I should stay away from politics on my Blog. This isn't about politics. This is about HAWAII! I live in Hawaii. As in, have been living in Hawaii for almost SIX years now!! And to see Hawaii now represented in the White House is truly incredible. This is the FIRST TIME IN HISTORY somebody from the Aloha State has gone to the White House. Too bad he is known as the Illinois Senator and not the Hawaii Senator I guess!
But all joking aside, Republican or Democrat, Left or Right, Red or Blue, we are still the United States of America. Unitedly, we all wish the best for our country. Unitedly, we all want our country to be strong and thriving. Unitedly, we want the world to be a better place for our children of the future.
The other day I was talking to Mama Cathy about her childhood in Georgia. And she remembers when there were segregated bathrooms. People of color were not allowed to use the white persons bathroom. As a young child, she just did not understand why. These were fellow childhood friends having to follow different rules. Segregation is still a vivid memory in this lifetime. So yes, this history breaking candidacy is very moving and touching. It reminds me that we ARE United. That our country will ALWAYS continue to grow and change.
But again, this isn't a political blog entry. This is about HAWAII! A place most of my family and friends STILL have yet to visit me since I started this blog! What's keepin' you? The palm trees? The turquoise waters? The sandy beaches?

Post Halloween Eve Recital

WOW! I just learned that if you double click a picture, you can see it zoomed in full screen! Try it with the picture of all my students by the piano!

Even though this time of year is incredibly busy for most families (and myself!) my wonderful students talked me into doing a Halloween recital where all the students wore their costumes. It sure takes the pressure off of playing in front of others when you are dressed goofy! Suddenly it doesn't seem so serious and nerve wracking! My students continue to amaze me and I feel truly blessed to continue to have such a strong, excited, talented studio full of students. It warms my heart to know that parents put their child's education top priority in such difficult economic times. We are all making cut backs this year; less trips to the mainland; more vacations at home; cutting back on our Starbuck's addictions......but I am so happy to see that music lessons are still a top priority for my families. And I hope that my love and excitement for music inspires my students to always have music a part of their lives. My whole life I have known that I wanted to be a music teacher. And I am so very lucky to be able to continue living out my dream job! Congratulations students on a wonderful performance!