Korean Drama I'm Watching: The Moon that Embraces the Sun

I'm again hooked to a new "historical fantasy" drama called "해를 품은 달" translated by hancinema.net as  "The Sun and the Moon" but it's more popularly called "The Moon that Embraces the Sun."   Episode 5 shows why the drama is entitled like this...

I'm not actually expecting a lot about its ending as what will you expect from a King falling in love with a Shaman?  Hehe.. But then again, it's a fantasy story so anything can happen and I'm willing to go through the anticipation week after week again as I did with "The Princess' Man."

I watch this drama for the following reasons:

ONE. Yang Mi Kyung is in it, the very lovable Lady Han in Dae Jang Geum.  

She's been in several movies and dramas after DJG but I never tried watching even one of them.  In DJG, she tended to be introvert or less expressive of her thoughts and feelings while in this drama, she really shows a lot of "motherly" emotions that tug at the heart...  I came across this drama at the episode/scene where she was crying for her daughter who just passed away...right there and then, I got hooked. 

TWO. It is set in the Choseon dynasty or it's a period drama I prefer watching.  Although the King himself is a fiction here, I really want to follow the story on how politics and economic affairs were being handled.  I just read that the actor Kim Soo Hyeon playing the young King is a musical actor. No wonder he acts really well... 

THREE.  The OST... Please listen to or watch it so you'll know why... (This isn't the official MV..) 

Need I say more?

Ah, yes.. It's currently the number 1 rating drama in Seoul and nationwide...

Watch it  H E R E!

Our 2012 Lunar New Year

Exactly 2 weeks before the Lunar New Year's celebration last year, SooAe decided to finally come out and so I was excused from the preparations and entertaining of guests at my MIL's house.  Instead, my sisters in law with their families came to visit us here.  

This year is actually SooAe's 2nd "Seollal" or Lunar New Year and have I told you already that by Korean age, she's actually 2 years old now?  My God! Haha..  I excitedly taught her how to bow to the elders for the holiday's greetings.  To her grandma's delight, SooAe performed very well when she finally became familiar with the other relatives.  She entertained them with her antics and as always, she favored going or playing with the men or boys than to her aunts or grandma. I don't know why... 

We weren't able to go to my MIL's house on New Year's but it was still a holiday on the 24th and the whole family was actually still there. After Alex' work, we excitedly went to Incheon knowing his nephew from the military service was there too... 

SooAe was in a good mood and instantly found a playmate... 

Definitely her favorite cousin... 

(Mingi is my 2nd sis-in-law's son. He came home for the holidays and

went back to the military base on Wednesday before 9am.)

We didn't know that the family waited for us so we all had a late lunch.  As usual, Koreans eat "tteok mandu guk" (rice cake with dumplings soup) this time of year for good luck and after eating, you officially added another year to your age.. I mean life, hahaha! 

After cleaning up, my 2nd sis in law invited everyone for a bowling tourney.  Maybe the other inlaws just felt too old already (after eating tteok guk, haha) so most of them decided to stay to sleep while we went outside.     Since my 2nd SIL and I don't feel old at all, we played 2 rounds with his son and our youngest nephew.  

The alley was full but we were in time for these nice spots.. 

While Mommy played, Daddy babysat... Only fitting after all the stress he gave me the previous day..  

After feasting on a half gallon of baskin robbins ice cream I got after the game and a simple dinner,  the relatives from Seoul decided to leave immediately to avoid the rush.  We, together with my BIL's family, stayed with MIL till 10pm.  MIL was definitely tired.  Alex wanted us to stay some more but I told him she needed rest badly...  As we hit the road back to Gimpo, it started to snow heavily.  Alex pulled up at a quiet area and transferred beside me at the backseat.  I asked "Why?"  He said the place looked romantic and I replied "Romantic or romance is just an illusion."  "Aish!  Why do you have to break the mood?" he complained.  "There's no mood to break." I answered.. hehe.. What's happening to me?

Anyway, I honestly dread the snow now that I have a baby.  I actually dreaded winter.  I long for the warmer days ahead when we can go out and enjoy the sunshine again.. 

Now that SooAe's 2 birthday and Lunar New Year's celebrations are finished,  I'm hoping to do something else more productive.. I'm looking forward to a more blessed and stress-free 2012...

Again, Happy Lunar New Year to all of you!   

Happy Lunar New Year From Kim Soo Ae!

"새해 복 많이 받으세요!"

Best Wishes for the New Year!

~0~ 

She got busy with her Hanbok's tie..

She used to bow like this..

She Just Turned One, The Fun Has Just Begun...

Is it just me?

I observed that she's become MORE confident, daring and fun loving after her 1st birthday...

She's more expressive of her feelings too.

I guess that's because I'm more confident in her too... 

On the 14th, we had a simple celebration with my friends in Incheon 

at an American grill and salad restaurant.

(Reservation for 10 guests.

We made it small and intimate as the place was quite far from Seoul.)

I chose this especially for the vegetarian guests/friends..

Plus, they have this mashed veggies and the mango salad also good for babies.

Or just for my baby? haha! 

Although I brought along her homemade food,

SooAe definitely enjoyed these salads and the mushroom cream soup.  

(for children, fun coloring sheets are provided)

SooAe's guests:

Too sad to have not taken the photo earlier 

while my Korean couple friends and their baby were still with us... 

The youngest one... 

Her regular play date... hehe... 

Having a good laugh with her Aunt Mimi.. 

And thank you cousin Jebee for this wonderful shot... 

On her birthday, the 18th, I just prepared a simple dinner for us: 

spaghetti, ginger toast, sweets and fruits...

and of course, the cake... 

She was sleepy at first... 

I made her eat her cake.. indulge in it I should say.. It's her birthday and her cake anyway..

So the end result:

I love it that she had the time of her life..^^,

~0~

On the 21st, we celebrated her birthday with my husband's relatives

at her aunt-in-law's brother's "meat"/samgyeopsal restaurant.

I thought it was going to be boring but it turned out really fun

because of Alex' boisterous AIL.

She'd go in and come out of the kitchen with her hands always full.

It was raining side dishes, soups and meat.

There were also "pickled?"/preserved crab (which i hate btw,LOL!) 

and the usual delicious fish they serve 

in restaurants like this. I forgot the name of it.hehe! 

It satisfied me to see the guests really full and happy.

Samgyeopsal, I hate eating it with the vegetable wraps. I love the piece of meat

with just salt and rice. So Alex' BIL, from the other table, 

kept on calling out to me to eat them properly.

It bothered him that I didn't touch my crab at all too, hehe.

I just told him I had to eat fast because of this... 

...the owner, who SooAe really likes (we met him at the wedding in November),

patiently babysat for me while I ate. 

~0~

The original plan was to bring the family to the same restaurant we went to with my friends but Alex changed his mind days before the weekend.  We were even supposed to go out with them today, the Lunar New Year.  He said his family aren't that adventurous when it comes to food but I told him I think otherwise.  

But all is finished... I'm just happy that SooAe had a great time with her grand aunt.  Her son and DIL have 2 dogs and SooAe enjoyed very much chasing after them.  The night ended wonderfully as SooAe cutely bowed "Annyeonghaseyo" and "Kamsahamnida" to everyone as we gave them her simple tokens.  

And speaking of bows, let me leave you with this video of Lunar New Years greetings we've been practicing which I think won't be seen by the elders as just 30 minutes ago, before my husband left for work, he told me we might not be going to my MIL's afterall because of his sore throat...

   (I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was holding the camera this way... ^^,)

New Love: the Giveaway and the Gift...

Drinking warm or hot beverages has never been this exciting...  

I could either drink from one of SooAe's birthday giveaways I kept for us or from this Corelle stoneware mug I received as a gift from my cousin and cousin in law, Keith and Jebee.

These are the available colors for SooAe's giveaways btw... 

This was the original photo and design for the insert but I guess those who made it didn't notice that SooAe's supposed message, written in yellow, was indistinct.  The message isn't just a design but also a "Thank you" note for her guests.  It also depicts her personality.  So I had one of SooAe's photo album spread printed at the nearby photo shop whose equipment and materials are antiquated such that the print came out a little blurry but at least the message could still be read (as pictured above)... 

We had a simple and intimate advanced celebration for Sooae's birthday with my friends here in Incheon last Saturday, January 14, at an American grill and salad restaurant.  

Although my cousin wasn't able to attend, his wife was really very kind enough to bring with her our belated Christmas gifts along with SooAe's Birthday gift.  When we arrived home, Alex and I excitedly opened the biggest box from the bags.  When the "CORELLE" print greeted me, my jaw dropped.  I said "Dad, it's a Corelle set."  Alex, who couldn't believe what he was seeing either said "Or maybe they just used a Corelle box?" LOL!   I said how could it be?  Of course my cousins wouldn't do that. I know Jebee very well, hehe!  The sides of the box were glued.  I excitedly looked for the right flaps to open and indeed, we were surprised to see a 16-piece set of this gorgeous dinnerware.  Alex immediately requested I bring out just 2 of the 4 mugs and keep the rest.

When we first transferred here in Gimpo, I was really frustrated to see my MIL packing all her old stuffs for us to bring.  As a wife having her own home finally, I was so excited to be able to finally buy my own kitchen stuffs and everything but I was so disappointed.  Also, after a very irritating incident with Alex' sister in law in Chuseok of 2010 (it had something to do with Corelles at a Homeplus), I vowed to fill this house with sets of the said dinnerware brand.  As a remembrance or anniversary wedding gift for me in 2011, Alex bought me 16 pieces of the dinnerware after recounting to him what his SIL did to me (I kept on telling him that I was even very pregnant then, LOL, so much drama ba...). The set costed him $110.  So receiving a 16-piece set really made me want to jump for joy. Here in Korea, one Corelle dinner plate is about $9.  

So my kitchen has become more endearing to us because of SooAe's tumblers and the mugs.  Alex himself would always go pick up one of the tumblers just to look at our baby's pictures in it... 

^,^

Of SooAe's Free Book

Yesterday, we finally picked up SooAe's free book from the Gimpo City Library.   We were informed about it 16 days ago but Alex always reasoned out there was no need to travel that far to pick up JUST ONE book...

I was actually expecting it to be a thick English baby stories book, even imagining they might give SooAe more than one so I kept on bugging him we go get it.  He finally gave in to satisfy my curiosity.  Besides, I've been wanting to check the Library for English novels anyway.  

With a very disgusted expression, he handed me this cute canvas bag with the book in it...

After getting back into the car from the library, I opened the book, showed the pictures to SooAe and she liked it.  She likes the "If You're Happy and You Know It" song from Barney and she immediately imitated the baby, while making her muffled SooAe-sounding "Hooray!!" 

And she was even cuter when she saw this one.  She also covered her eyes and again "said" her version of "Kka-kkung" (Korean for peek a boo).

For ONE "free" little book, I told Alex that there wasn't a waste of time or travel at all in getting it.  How each picture elicited positive responses from our Little One definitely warmed our hearts and showed that each book her chubby little hands grab and open will always teach us ALL something.  And by his surprised look and waahs and wows at her feat, no book is too LITTLE... 

(I think she wanted me to read one more book to her but I fell asleep 

while I was reading to her. hahaha... 

When a phone call woke me up, I was surprised to see this.

She was holding one of her favorite book blocks from 

Fisher Price given by Ate Betchay of buhaykorea.com.

Taken last Wednesday afternoon.)

Besides, SooAe wasn't supposed to receive this book (by www.bookstart.org) but my Korean language teacher applied for her although she wasn't born in 2010.  Not claiming it right after calling and texting us about it would be so rude and very insensitive of her efforts to claim one for SooAe too... 

So let's always read to our little Bunnies.. They'll definitely start reading back to us, in no time at all....

(Taken on Dec. 30, 2011 @ past 2am... She caught a terrible cold and the clogged nose kept her awake.  To pass the time, I brought her out to the living room again to read her favorite books to her. I think she got bored with my sleepy monotonous voice already so she climbed down from my lap, sat herself like what you see in the video and started to read to me...)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Organic: How Far Will You Go?

My two Korean mommy friends here use only "organic" produce with their babies.   At times, I  almost go speechless when they ask me what brand of "pear" or "meat" (for example) I feed SooAe.  And when they keep on looking at me, waiting for my answer, I just shrug my shoulders and say "I don't know.  I really don't care about brands. I just buy almost everything from the (Lotte) mart."  Then they'd talk about the organic products/produce stores in the area. 

I'm really not that very particular with how foods or goods are produced.  Don't we all know very well that these farms and companies also follow strict regulations.  I just do my best to wash the products, peel or cook them very well.  I stick to the 4-day rule of thumb when introducing something new to her though. The only organic products I kept on buying were her yogurt and cheese by Namyang.  There are times when I tease her with yogurt so I settle for the flavored "Maeil" Pure yogurt from the complex' store more often when I couldn't go to the big marts where I get the organic ones.

Please don't be surprised with the expiration date on the yogurt's box.

This was taken a long time ago. It's actually a long overdue post, hehe!

They stress and shell out more on organic products but they tell me that they don't see any significant improvements in their baby's allergic or skin conditions so I really don't see anything special in giving our babies only organic products.   

There's a small "organic" products outlet not too far from here and their products are actually very interesting.

They don't stock up much as organic products/foods are less shelf stable.

The skin care products are also very tempting but really expensive... 

The SA ajumma was encouraging me to sign up (?) to get discounts.   She was trying to convince me to use only organic products with SooAe.  Indeed, aside from tasting better, I suppose, fewer preservatives and pesticides are always better.  

SooAe will be turning one this month and I am excited to introduce new foods, especially fruits, to her and I might be getting them from this store.  With the way I let her eat fruits and veggies, I might go 50:50 for her diet.  

Her 12th month general check up is fast approaching, by the way, and I'm so excited to know some things about her growth rate.  She's really small framed but as agile as ever.  Although born big, SooAe seemed to have stopped growing. LOL. I've read about "growth swings" and I hope that there's nothing wrong with her...  

How Did You Greet 2012?

For New Year's, how did you kill time with your family?  Many New Year's eves ago, I almost accidentally stepped on the bowl of rice stuck with money (like shown below) my Aunt had placed by their doorway.  She said it was for attracting good fortune, goodwill and health for the new year.  She also said that rice, salt and sugar containers must be full.  

I mixed 3 grains and the black soy beans.

I didn't see any harm in following them.  We tried doing those at home too and I still do it here every year.  

This time, it's even more fun doing it with my Little One. She'd always remove the bills and try to crawl away with one or two of them.  

I think that like how we believe Santa Clause do come

on Christmas eve, good luck, vibes and health will also come

this new year that's why we have these customs.

In the past, I also tried throwing coins under the bed and sofa like what my mother usually does but with the Little One now, I skipped this one and did my best to keep the house as safe as possible. 

Then I opened the doors and windows a little to let the bad luck or negative vibes go out and let the cool air with the good luck and positive spirit in.  I handed SooAe her snack containers to shake, to make some noise (to shoo the negative vibes out).  Since they were very big, she kept on dropping them so I looked for one of her rattles in her "memory" box but she kept on dropping it too... She preferred my piggy bank with coins... 

She dropped her rattle with a frown... 

I picked it up and gave it it to her again but look... 

"I said I don't like it. I'm too old for that already!"

LOL!

Customs or not, they bring the "goods" or not, I will keep on doing these with SooAe every New Year's...  We don't only wait for the clock to strike midnight but we look forward to doing something fun together.

I was actually bracing myself since last friday coz someone here sent me a message last 23rd, telling me on how I should celebrate my "Christmas" away from home.  I was on my way to pick up the Philippine goods I ordered the week before from my Filipina friend's store so I didn't bother to answer her anymore.  I was rushing to get back home to SooAe and Alex then. Sometimes, or most of the times, people just think they have to say something that actually "occurred" to you already... That unlike them, you don't have the slightest common sense... I do whine about wishing to spend the holidays back home but that doesn't mean I do not celebrate them here like we do at home...  (Sorry for the "slight" rant, I'm just so full with this someone then... I always try to not fire back and just imagine in my head I must do it in the future. So I blog about it to get it off my chest finally,hehe!)

And again, I'm bracing myself for this year.  I hope that I can manage everything trying or challenging that comes our way wisely and gracefully, LOL!  I don't try to be the expert on life's lessons but I learn from my past.  I do my best to forgive and forget but learn from every experience.  Thanks to my Mom's infectious positive outlook every time I call her up.  

For the cake, we waited for Daddy to come home last Sunday night.  It has been a tradition for us already to wait for him whenever he couldn't make it on the day or time we're supposed to celebrate something.  As always, he's the one pictured with her... 

We were telling her to blow the candle, 

signifying our first (Christmas and) New Year's as a family.

Her arms were held high coz she kept on trying 

to smack the cake.. haha!

Overall, it was a fun celebration or observation of tradition and customs.  My first two New Years' here were celebrated intimately as my MIL wasn't as enthusiastic as Alex was.  Last year, I had an enjoyable one with Mama and now, we definitely had a blast with the Little One.. 

Although 2011 was very memorable for me, with the arrival of SooAe, I'm also so excited for this New Year.  

~~~~

Lord, thank you for always keeping us in the hollow of Your hands... Hold us and teach us to grow in Your Love....