New Years Eve Party!!!

This year I had a New Years Party at my house. It was fun to plan a party and have my friends over...I hope to do it again sometime.

We had spinach and mushroom quiche

Mini Cheesecakes


Pizza BreadSushiCrab stuffed mushroomsShrimp CocktailOne of Ty's friends brought a cakeI also made a red wine Sangria, white wine Sangria, Champagne and Soju Cocktail and Eggnog with whiskey. It was a great party.

As always you should make resolutions for the new year. But first let's visit how I did last year.

DONE1. Travel outside Korea twice (Jamaica, Philippines, Germany, China, or Greece are some of my options.)
DONE2. See a Korean Traditional Village
DONE3. Go bowling in Korea (I actually broke 100 two nights ago...)
DONE4.Bungee Jumping
DONE5. Get lost on a Seoul City Bus
6. Teach Dambi a new trick in Korean and English
DONE7. Find the spiciest Dukbokki in Seoul
DONE8. Get my 2nd Degree Black Belt
DONE9. Run a 10k (or maybe just a 5k)
10. Try 20 different beers (But I did lose like 14 lbs. so would've been impossible...)
DONE, NO PICS 11. Ride in one of the 3D machines
DONE12. Play in a Korean arcade
13. Go to a Casino (New Year Plan...)
DONE14. Go to the American Embassy
DONE15. Go to the DMZ
DONE16. Have a Barbecue party at my new house
DONE17. Make a video of my new house
18. Go to a pool party (or just a pool) (I really want to do this!!!)
DONE19. Go to the library in Korea
DONE20. Go to the Korean National Museum
DONE21. Go to the Kimchi Museum
DONE22. Go to a Meetup Meeting
DONE23. Go ice skating
DONE24. Make Jam (Made a Gingerbread House instead)
DONE25. Eat Silk Worm Larve
DONE26. Drink Alcohol in a Tent
DONE27. Go to the Zoo (I've heard weird things...)
DONE, NO VIDEO 28. Order Food to my house (and catch it on video)

so my NEW resolutions now...
1. Maintain weight
2. Go to a Casino
3. Go to a pool party

4. Finish my Korean books (STUDY)

5. Save more money

Have a good 2011 Everyone!

Resolution #5

So today I "got lost" on a bus. Not really but you know...What I did was walk out of my building and to the bus stop (in the direction that I don't really go, there are buses going 4 different directions near my house, I live at a huge intersection...). I got on the first bus that came. I plugged in my head phones (so I couldn't hear the bus stop names) and rode the bus until I felt like getting off. I got to here:

It doesn't look like much, which is why I got off. Usually the signs and buildings and things like that make it too easy to know where I am. Anyway I wondered around for a while. Then Ty messaged me and told me to pick up some McDonalds on the way home...Luckily I was sitting in a cute little coffee shop across the street when I got this message, because I honestly didn't know where I was gonna find McDonalds in a part of the city I don't know. I don't really know where to find McDonalds in parts of the city I do know. I don't really like McDonalds much. Anyway, then I got on a bus back home. I have to admit that if I couldn't read Korean I would be lost, because I forgot what bus I got on to get here. But since I could read the bus schedule I got on the bus that went back to my house. Not to entertaining I guess...

Gingerbread Saga, Resolution #24

Ok so this year I attempted (and succeeded) to make a gingerbread house. I think once in my life before we tried this and it wasn't easy...but anyway. New tradition for me, gingerbread house during the Christmas season. I researched this thing for a long time and the #1 tip was, make sure you have time. That is why I made it in this week that I have off from work and don't have anything else to do. So here's the process I used.
Day 1 Dough Making
Today I made the dough. Most recipes said that you should refridgerate the dough for a couple of hours but over night is better. I did the overnight option. I don't really know what the difference is but my house is still standing and this could be the reason...I did run into a problem or two the the dough making. First you should know that I don't have a mixer here so I had to make the dough by hand. For this particular cookie that is not an easy task. But I did my best. Also molasses in the syrup form was not available in the WHOLE country. Well maybe not but I found this and used it. I made it into syrup by boiling it on the stove with water. I needed about a cup so I used a cup of the sugar and boiled it is a cup or so of water. It never did get really sticky like molasses, but it got close. To make up for this fact though I just used a little less water in the dough...
Day 2 Bake Pieces
Today I cut out and baked all the pieces for the house. Not an easy task for a couple of reasons. My oven is only big enough for one piece at a time. Also I don't have a lot of counter space so where to cool the cookies was a problem. Also, stupid me didn't know that the pieces matching up was that big a deal. It was mentioned in all the tips that you could trim the finished pieces to be exact but to be careful because it's easy to break a piece like that. Well, I though I would rather use extra icing to fill in holes between the seems of the house than try to fix a broken wall. I found out later that making the thing exact is the way to go. Note for next year. Also, no flour on the top of the cookie like it says to do. Do it on the bottom and stop. If you do it on the top it is hard to get off and the cookie looks messy. Day Three Set Base
Today I set the foundation for the house. As advised I painted on the doors and windows before standing them up. This part went much better than expected. I used two batches of royal icing. I got through the first batch and the house was standing well, but I was skeptical so I made another batch to reinforce the bonds. Then I let this sucker dry overnight. At this point the pieces not matching perfectly still isn't a problem...Day Four The Roof and Chimney
Today is the day to finish the structure. On goes the roof and chinmey. Here is where the pieces MUST MATCH. The face that my roof-piece edges aren't straight and the wall-piece edges aren't straight made it impossible for the roof-pieces to have enough support from the house to stay on. There was really no place to attach the roof. They just didn't match up well...I used the cardboard pattern pieces from the front and back of the house inside the house to hold up the roof. Real houses have rafters and so does mine...Also the angle of the Chimney is really hard to guess until the house is together. Even though I made a pattern out of cardboard first and built the chimney to match that, the pieces being uneven plus forgetting that lots of icing would be holding this together made the chimney hard to get on. But it did make it! This also gets a day to dry...I had extra dough and icing, so I made snowmen...Day Five Decoration Day
Ty is the one with all the genius behind the decorating. We went to the store and he got a bunch of candy that he thought was "cute". He told me to make the icing for him and then leave him alone. I did, because I had so much other food to prepare... here's how he did.FrontSideI did make the snowmen and this back is all mine. I couldn't see all the candy go to waste...and I couldn't eat it. I think overall we did a great job. Next year we plan to do it again. But next year will be better because I learned alot about what to do better next year. Plus our candy selection will be better in America!

Resolution #14

So today we started out doing things I've been meaning to do for a while. First we stopped by a coffee shop that I saw once and really wanted to try...As most of you know I don't really drink coffee much but this coffee was delicious. I even drank it black. The difference in this place and most coffee places (believe me there are millions in this city) is that they roast the beans in house...or something like that. Anyway a noticable difference.(Ty had off work today too so we got to spend the day in Seoul)Next, a building that I have been meaning to visit for a long time: the embassy. Just like everyone said, "it's ugly" is the only thing I have to say about it. We couldn't go inside, we got there too late. It's not hard to do considering they are open for abotu 30 minutes a day...Anyway I know where it is now. So easy to find.Lastly we visited a museum dedicated to King Sejong. He is important to Korea (so much that his face is on the $10 bill) because he helped invent Hanguel, the lanuge that Koreans write with. There is a museum and it is really nice. It is built underground...Me on the throne, my proper place. Me writing with a paint brush...All foreigners get there picture put on the wall, see the wall behind me...

After that we visited the Olleh KT building. They are a company that does cellphone plans or TV or something like that...Anyway they made this building with all the newest gadgets inside for people to play with. I spent an hour playing with the new iPad and Ty was on the new iPhone 4. The building is really nice and includes a little theater that has a jazz concert everyday for charity. There is also a coffee shop inside...anyway, nice building. Long day.

Resolution #27

Today I went to the zoo. It wasn't the best weather for it but that left me the whole zoo to myself and no lines to wait in... I went alone. No one thought that the zoo on a snowy day would be fun...

The bears:The camels:

The tigers:

A snake:

The turtles:

A leopard:

The foxes:

The mountain sheep:

I took some other pictures too. These were the best. Overall it was a good day. The snow was beautiful and it made the park empty. With a city the size of Seoul it is hard to go to the park (any park) and for it to be empty. It was nice....Also, I heard bad things about the zoo in Seoul. I don't know if it was becuase there we no people there or because everything was covered in beautiful snow or because I remember the Chinese zoo, but this zoo was cool. It was big and had lots of animals and lots of space for the animals to run and play. It looked good to me. Also, it was super cheap, less than $3 for entry. I think I spent like $5 dollars the whole day, money to get there, ticket in, and a train fee once I got inside...I was the only one on the park train...

Resolution #23 and Christmas Festivities

So this week was especially busy.

I went to the Christmas play that was put on by my old school on Tuesday. It was nice to see my old students on stage.

Then on Wednesday I got together with the twins and Jessica. We made so many cookies to give to our coworkers for Christmas.

Then on Thursday I went to a Holiday Party at my boss's house. She has one of the nicest apartments I've ever see. It is big and full of marble. She had the dinner catered. It was AMAZING!

Then on Christmas Eve Ty and I went to see the biggest tree in Seoul and some lights near the river. After that we got together with some of my friends. We had pizza and snacks and movies. It was a nice evening.


On Christmas Day Ty and I headed over to some of my old coworkers house for Christmas dinner. We had turkey, potatoes, rolls, cake, mac n cheese, stuffing, cranberries, and pumpkin. It was delicious. After that Ty and I headed to the ice skating rink to do some ice skating, fulfilling one of my resolutions.

Resolution Update

Ok, so last and final update of the resolutions. I have 2 weeks left and I WILL do them! I'm excited! What's left?

2. See a Korean Traditional Village (no excuses, I NEED to do this)
5. Get lost on a Seoul City Bus (virtually impossible, I can read better than ever and know the city well, but let's try)
6. Teach Dambi a new trick in Korean and English (sorry, not gonna happen...)
8. Get second degree black belt... DONE! I'll post pics!
10. Try 20 different beers (in due time)
11. Ride in one of the 3D machines (technically done, not documented)
13. Go to a Casino (found, will do!)
14. Go to the American Embassy (this is important!)
18. Go to a pool party (or just a pool or an indoor water park...)
23. Go ice skating (it's cold again. I'll go soon!)
24. Make Jam (I'm having a New Year's Party at my house..all the food there counts instead)
27. Go to the Zoo (I've heard weird things...and after seeing China's version...)
28. Order Food to my house (and catch it on video) (this has been done so many times!)

I have two weeks left! One week I don't work so I might make it happen! Who knows?

Resolution #12

So today I fulfilled another of my lasting resolutions. I went to an arcade. They are very similar to the arcades in America except (sadly) no skee ball and an abundance of Japanese games. Jess and I playing...Jess winning. Shea and I playing...Shea winning. It's a little bit hard to understand what was going on because the directions were in Korean so we had some trouble, but we also had a lot of fun! Anyway, 1 more down and like 12 left to go!

Resolution #20

Today we went to the Korean National Museum. After the Kimchi Museum I wasn't really expecting much...But boy I was wrong. This museum was so nice. Also it was huge and held many objects. I went with my "special Korean friend," Ty...he said on the way there that he was sure it wasn't going to be that nice and that was because Koreans didn't really go to museums. I was inclined to believe this statement because I've been to other museums and haven't been impressed, but this one actually blew us away and we plan to go again. Also one of the lunches from the G20 Summit (some stupid meeting where people from all over the world get together and talk...) was held here. I can't tell you all I saw because it was too much. But anyway here are some pics.

Resolution #21

So another of my awesome resolutions were fulfilled this weekend. I made a trip to the Kimchi museum. It is conviently located in one of the biggest and nicest malls I've ever been in. On my way to the museum I was waiting for my friends and I decided to do some shopping. I have finally realized that Korea has gotten too cute. In Korea it is really common to have cell phone charms. (I have 3, two of them are Hello Kitty, so what?) But now cell phone charms have charms. Take a look at these pictures and notice that next to the charm is a littler charm attached. Too cute...

So the Kimchi museum was a tiny bit disappointing. It was small. We did get to taste some though, and I love kimchi so I was excited. There were tons of things that I didn't know about kimchi. Like that it is made of many different vegetables. Also, different places in Korea make different kimchi. A long time ago when there weren't refrigerators, ancestors would bury the kimchi pots in the ground to be able to keep it longer, it was the perfect temperature for fermentation. Also there are about 20 really interesting fusions of Kimchi that exist. Like kimchi bread and kimchi stuffed chicken and pork rolls... Anyway, some pics.