Whoo. Christmas.

Had a great time. Visited shin's sister. I saw friends. Visited my dad. It snowed!!! Made it back home to Bart.

SO thankful all went well and there were no accidents (we saw so many wrecks and abandoned vehicles on the ride home).

December

I used to blog. And read. And run. And then December came and now I get to do all those things a lot less.

Christmas is coming!!! Yay!!!

Good Stuff

A Jon Foreman song I love is based on these verses... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrY1-gPM0KY&sns=em

A really good reminder.

Amos 5:14 Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed.
15 Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people.

21 “I hate all your show and pretense— the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.
22 I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.
23 Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.

6:12 But that’s how foolish you are when you turn justice into poison and the sweet fruit of righteousness into bitterness.

I did it!

Yay! Completed my first running 5K at appx 12 min/mile! We had a great group from Gateway and I think my next goal is a 10K! :-)

Woo hoo!

My dad is a retired Marine. When I was a kid, about 10 or 11 years old, he was involved in some kind of American Heart Association event. There was something for adults and then all the kids got to go to this big tent and do kid activities. They were all about staying active because it's good for your heart. One of the activities I remember was running a couple laps around the tent. I began to run with everybody else and it was hard. I began to fall behind, my shins were KILLING me, and I had a hard time breathing. I quit running and went and told the leader I couldn't run because I had asthma. I knew that kids who had asthma had breathing problems and they didn't have to run. So that must mean I had asthma too. I eventually realized asthma's a legitimate thing and I had unintentionally lied. Regardless, from that point on I can remember knowing in my head 'I'm not a runner.' 'I don't run.' 'I hate running.' I always considered myself someone who could walk for miles, but couldn't even run for three minutes.

Well, ladies and gentleman, I have some great news. Today I ran 3.58 miles!!! I'm ready for next week's 5K! It's going to take me like 40 minutes, but I physically CAN do it! Thanks to my sister, Julie, Mika, and Shin for encouraging me and even keeping me accountable. Also, tons of thanks to God for giving me the ability and motivation. So many times I've been literally praying to make it the next step. He's always kept me safe and allowed me to continue! Woo hoo!

Widows and Orphans

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27

This verse has been weighing on my mind for a few days. My mental interpretation is "God is especially pleased when you're involved with caring for widows and orphans." Then I feel guilty. My guilt comes from the fact that I don't personally know (or can't easily think of) any widows and orphans. Adding another layer of guilt: I don't actively seek out widows and orphans in my community. 

The other night when I read this verse, something occurred to me that may seem obvious, but it sincerely lifted my spirit. "Widows and orphans" of James' time were the people who were helpless and neglected by society. Widows were powerless (couldn't own property or manage their own finances) and relied solely on the benevolence of others to live. Orphans were children who were completely alone; they needed guidance and someone to meet their very basic needs. These two groups of people have significant overlap, but I can now clearly see the verse is calling us to care for people who are lonely and/or helpless.

I know in the past I've specifically prayed, "God, please make me aware of *literal* widows and orphans so I can care for them." But once I realized that the verse is calling us to concern ourselves with people who are helpless and lonely, I was amazed by how many people God has placed in my life to help and spend time with. I don't know any widows or orphans, but I do know an old man who is lonely and a group of kids who just need to know somebody cares.

So, if you've read this verse before and thought "widows and orphans? how can I do that?" Then I would encourage you to open your mind to anyone who is lonely or helpless, and then try to serve and bless them as often and consistently as you can. With this idea in mind, I feel more willing and open to serve anyone in need who enters my life.

Oh, and if you are interested in helping literal orphans, I hope you'll consider India Child Sponsorship. Many of the children in this program are orphans or have parents unable to care for them. The school these kids attend and live at is directly involved with physical, spiritual, and emotional care for North India's orphans. I hope you'll become or stay involved with orphans in your community, but also consider supporting an orphan on the other side of the world.

Pictures

Not a lot happening around the Jeongle these days. We went to a Halloween party as a Cereal Killer and a Pig in a Blanket. Julie sent me an adorable cat card which I temporarily decorated my desk at work with, turning me into a full-blown cat lady for a few days. And we've babysat for friends allowing me to watch two of my fav movies, The Muppets and Beauty and the Beast. I promise I don't just TV babysit, we did other stuff too. We read stories, played outside, took a cake break, etc. :-D

Camping!

Wind Creek State Park was wonderful! We camped and hiked and had a lovely time.

Weekend Update With Alycia

Not as funny as Seth Meyers, I can assure you. But an update nonetheless. :-)

Campus tour from Jules, an evening with Pippin (and Fassy), and fun with family = great weekend.

Today was

A good day. I promise this isn't going to be a running blog, but I ran a whole mile, walked two tenths, and then ran another mile! Total distance on the treadmill was 2.3 miles. And most of it was running! Woo hoo!

I also got to take a friend out to celebrate her 16th bday and she let her little cousin tag along. It was a lovely afternoon for everyone.

Unfortunately, it's my sister's 20th birthday and I did NOT get to take her out or do anything with her. But I sent card & $, texted, called, and sang. So I'm hoping all of those make up for not actually being there. I also publicly blogged about it- HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY SISTER!!! (see picture to appreciate her cuuuuteness)

Oh! And I have some shmancy photos to share. The other night, Shin and I were invited to join his boss' family at a fundraising event featuring Laura Bush. We got dressed up real profesh! Laura looked decent too. ;-)

Great Day!

I got a raise! Woo hoo! It was totally unexpected, and totally awesome.

I bought ticketS for us to visit my mom, sister, and grandma!!! (And step-dad and grandpa and step-sister and Belgian waffle and Norwegian elkhound... we're visiting a lot of peeps) It's a big deal that Shin is going with me because we didn't think he could. So that's doubly exciting.

And possibly more exciting for me in this moment, I RAN A MILE! Now, you may not think this is a big deal. Shin definitely did not grasp the significance. But basically, my whole life, I've never thought I could just run a mile. I have no problem walking forever. I like walking, nay, I LOVE walking. But I've always thought I hate loathe running.

Tonight I was at the gym with Shin and we literally dragged ourselves there just to walk. I was so sleepy and so tired, I was proud of myself for going just to walk. And every time I'm at the gym I always respect the chicks with tight butts who just run and run and run and run and run for. ev. er. So I was telling Shin that I can only run for like two minutes and then I have to stop or fall dead. At the end of our walking time, I wanted to see how long I could actually run - I assumed it would be like three minutes MAX. I hopped on the treadmill and I just kept going!!! It wasn't easy, but I didn't die! I really didn't die! I ran a whole mile and could have done more, but we had to go and I wasn't mentally prepared to go further than that.

Next time... next time I'm aiming for 1.5 miles. :-D We'll see how this goes.

Anyway, I truly a great day. I hope you had a good one too!

Remember that one time...

We went to Korea. And I finally made a photo book from Shutterfly (that I got for free- just had to pay shipping).
 

Click here to view this photo book larger

Create a gorgeous, high quality wedding photo album at Shutterfly.com.

Shin's bday pt 2

Americans celebrate with birthday cake... Koreans lurve seaweed soup. Shin's birthday dinner was a success. He said 'best miyeok guk EVER!' and I've been making it every year for three years. Felt pretty good to finally get it right. It's not my favorite dish, but I'm really glad it turned out tasty for him.

I also got him his favorite cupcakes from our favorite cupcake making friend. And his favorite lemonade from Chick-Fil-A. Basically everything I got him was perishable. But I believe the way to a man's heart is thro... Jk. I'm pretty sure there's more to Shin than his stomach. But he does like when I get him his favorite things.

Happy birthday week end :-D

A Time for Birthdays!

Today is my husband's 32nd birthday. We met at a Bible study on our college campus almost 5 years ago, and it's been a fantastic adventure ever since.

Neat thing: We met studying the book of Ecclesiastes. Everyday I try to read a little bit of the Bible using One Year Bible Online. Today's verses are the very beginning of Ecclesiates! (proof: http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/september.asp?version=51&startmmdd=0101)

I think these verses are perfect for his birthday:

A Time for Everything
3 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.

We've gone through a lot of these 'times' and I look forward to many more years and birthdays together.

This is my blog post

August is almost over. Shin and I started another TOFEL class. I've been writing a grant for my church's after school tutoring program.

We went to Atlanta and visited my dad one weekend and went to GA aquarium. My friend from Atl visited me for the first time in Montgomery and we ate delicious red velvet cupcakes.

I have been tutoring and actually increased my hours even though I'd rather decrease. We've been driving across town, picking up 4 kids, bringing them to church, and taking them home every Wednesday. I'm now an AWANA scripture listener.

I cried at work at something because I have unreasonable expectations of myself and fears of being reprimanded. My boss is wonderful and I overreacted entirely. I am helping plan our upcoming staff retreat.

Our roommates moved out and our house is all ours again. We steam vacuumed the house and I love it being clean.

I started a Bible study with my friend an my sister. It's slow going. My sister moved VERY FAR AWAY to Montana.

God is good. I should write more focused posts more often. This has been too much.

SHIN TURNS 32 ON SUNDAY!!!!!

Awesome

I just read this in Ezra 8:

'21 And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that He would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, “Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship Him, but His fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.” 23 So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and He heard our prayer.'

This passage is so awesome to me. Do you see it? Re-read it if you need to. Ezra basically says 'I told the king that my God would protect us and kill the bad guys. And then the king actually believed me and He was gonna let us do what we asked. But then I was scared. I wanted the king's protection. But I couldn't go back and tell the king that, so I had to get everyone to for-real pray about it.'

...and here is the awesome part. God wasn't like 'WHAT?! Ezra?! You think you can talk so big about me and then not actually believe in me and still expect me to come through with it? No way, Jose. You didn't actually think I could do it, so you're on your own.'

Nope, not at all. It says, 'He heard our prayer.' Later on in verses 31 & 32 it says, 'We broke camp at the Ahava Canal on April 19 and started off to Jerusalem. And the gracious hand of our God protected us and saved us from enemies and bandits along the way. So we arrived safely in Jerusalem, where we rested for three days.'

God didn't see their rushed, desperate cry out to Him as an insult to His goodness or His power. He knew their doubt, but He saw it as an opportunity to reveal His gracious hand of protection and salvation. This is SO encouraging. Because it clearly shows that despite my initial intentions, God sees me and hears me and loves me.

Quite often I feel like I talk big or try to look spiritually strong, like Ezra, and then I think 'oh crap! How am I gonna prove that God can actually do it?!' I know, ridiculous. Because I'm not gonna prove God can do anything. All He wants is for me to seek Him and follow Him, and He is more than happy to surpass my wildest expectations for HIS glory, not mine.

So, I think the goal is to believe the big things you say you believe about God from the very beginning. But, just in case you don't, they're still true, and God is able to prove you right anyway.

Olympics 2012

YAAAY!!! The Olympics are here!!! So the opening ceremony was kind of weird to me, but anything featuring Kenneth Branagh is weird. I still got all weepy when I watched the all the volunteers perform. I'm a sap for any event that looks like tons of hard work went into choreographed movement and scripted talent (Russian Folk Dancing Performance, Fiddler on the Roof, Mamma Mia, Nanta). My favorite part was definitely Mr. Bean, the petal torches folding up into a massive torch, and Paul McCartney's close. I also teared up when I watched the Parade of Nations. Not the whole parade, but occasional feelings of awe and pride wash over me when I see tiny teams from tiny countries who are just SO EXCITED to be there. I waved back at Barack and Michelle when they were waving at the team. They probably didn't see me.

I'm really looking forward to this afternoon's swimming matches. I was a bit crushed when I woke up this morning to learn that Park Taehwan was DQed in his 400m. But, I've just learned that he's back in the race, so I'm very excited to see who's going to win!

*Update- Park Taehwan won silver!!!
The only thing is that the Olympics makes me miss my friends and family who love to watch it. Go here to watch all the events LIVE!

Just One of Those Days

This is an incredibly true story...

I woke up and went to work Wednesday morning, with one clear goal. I wanted to use a one-day only Old Navy coupon to get some discount capris and a cute, free tote.

I got to take my lunch early in the morning, go check the mail, and head on over to Old Navy. As I left the post office, I realized I didn't have my wallet ($ & DL). I called Shin, he looked around the house and couldn't find it. I headed home - NOT on the way to Old Navy. Looked around for my wallet. I couldn't find it as my lunch hour slowly ticked away. I called my work and asked my boss to look in my desk- it was there. Also NOT on the way to Old Navy.

Well, I grabbed my old wallet from home that had my temporary *paper* license and my Old Navy credit card in it. I asked Shin which way he thought would be fastest to get to Old Navy, he suggested a main thoroughfare and not a backroad. I left and took the backroad- I thought it would be fastest due to less traffic.

I rounded the corner on my way to the store and a police officer came out of the woods on a motorcycle. I slowed down to let him go catch the car in front of me that he was clearly racing after. I was wrong. He pointed at me and directed me to the curb. I was definitely speeding as I had already wasted 10 minutes on the wallet. Unfortunately, I didn't have my DL with me! I explained to him that I only had the temporary one as I was going back to work to get my real one. Thankfully, he accepted it and was patient with me while I searched through every single piece of paper in the glovebox until I came to the last scrap of paper that was my insurance. He quickly wrote me a ticket for going 21 mph over the speed limit.

I drove off in shame to my stupid Old Navy capris. I called Shin to let him know what had happened and he reminded me that I hadn't obeyed his advice. Fortunately, I have an awesome husband who wasn't mad at me, he just liked informing me that he was right. As I approached Old Navy, Shin asked me where his keys were. I looked in the seat next to me to realize I had both sets of keys. He was stranded at home (late for work) until I could get his keys back to him.

Now I had to race into Old Navy and rush back to the house all before my lunch hour was up! I only had 30 minutes left to get the pants, checkout, run home, and get back to work. The capris had been moved around since the last time I was in the store, but I was able to find them, find my size, and jump in line. The checkout took MUCH longer than I wanted, but I still got out of there with just enough time to get home.

I called Shin on my way home and asked him to grab me a nectarine out of the fridge and meet me in the driveway to exchange for his keys. He kindly agreed and was standing outside when I pulled up.

***Let's step away from this scene for a moment and rewind a couple hours earlier in the morning. At work, we all were just given pepper spray by my Executive Director (for our safety as independent women out and about). I decided to test my pepper spray so I could feel comfortable with it when I put it on my keychain. It was fairly anticlimactic. The pepper spray shot off like it was supposed to. The only problem was that it drizzled down my hand as I let up off the trigger. I went inside and washed my hands a couple times. There was still a bit of a tingle, but no major problems. Now, back to the story.***

I drove off from the house towards my work and was actually going to make it on time- miracle! As I pulled out of the neighborhood, I thoughtlessly rubbed at a slight discomfort in my left eye. My eye immediately burst into flames and exploded out of my face.

As tears streamed from my eye, I attempted to see, keep driving, and look at the clock, I really needed relief. I knew it would take just as long to turn around and go back home as it would to keep going to my work. I didn't have any water, eyedrops, or ice near me. I grabbed the chilled nectarine next to me and shoved it in my eyeball, continuing on to work. I wear glasses, by the way. No simple trick to drive straight, keep the right lens on the eye, and keep a nectarine on the left eye. I laughed out loud the whole way back to the office as I tried not to rear-end anyone in front of me.

I pulled into the parking lot all crazy-lady style and parked my car diagonally like those people nobody likes. I ran out of the vehicle, nectarine on eye, liquid (tears? juice?) running down face, with cute tote holding capris, phone, and keys. I got into my office, ran to the bathroom to wash my eyeball, and had to explain everything to my boss who watched me stumble into the building... she also took the picture below. Oh, I made it on time and I did get eyeball relief after a thorough washing.

So, several morals to my lengthy story: 1. Keep your wallet with you when you go out. 2. Only take your keys with you. 3. Listen to your husband's driving instructions. 3. Don't speed. 4. Don't touch your face after using pepper spray, no matter how well you washed your hands. 5. Thank God for this crazy life, and that this doesn't happen every day.

P.S. I learned from my cop neighbor that I can probably go to traffic school and it will keep my very first speeding ticket off my record and from increasing my insurance.

Brief Update

My stitches dissolved into my body. My foot is almost fully healed.

We're house/dog sitting for a coworker who has her own pond. I've been fishing twice. We're going back tonight!

I caught a brim! (Aka bluegill)

I asked Shin to toss him back. I was a little freaked out. But it was still so fun. Now I have high expectations for tonight's fishing.

My cyst

So, I've been hesitant to post about this because I fear people will make a bigger deal than they should. But I'd like to update concerned friends, coworkers, and family in one convenient place (Facebook) and I feel like an explanation is necessary. To answer a few questions you may have:

1. The cyst itself does not hurt and it's not cancerous, I'm having it removed because it is 2x2x1 cm and it's difficult to wear any shoe that covers my foot.

2. I've had this done before (3 years ago). It's genetic and it will possibly come back. Hopefully in longer than 3 years.

3. My surgery is at 1:30pm on Fri, June 15 in Montgomery. I should be home by 6pm. Shin will be with me. The actual operation should only be 30 min. I will be anesthetized (which is why pre-op and post-op take longer than surgery).

4. I shouldn't need crutches, although I do have a pair just in case. I will probably have to wear a special shoe for a few days. I plan to go back to work Tuesday, possibly Wednesday if I'm just super tired or something.

5. I am not worried about the operation as much as I'm afraid of being super hungry. I can't eat ANYTHING from midnight tonight until after surgery. I've had surgery before, but I've never gone that long without anything to eat.

6. I know that makes me a whiney, pudgy American who has no concept of what most of the world lives like AND a Christian with no concept of fasting.

7. I'm going to eat as big a meal as I can handle as late as possible tonight. :-D looking forward to that.

8. I am also looking forward to sitting and not doing anything for days.

9. I know points 7. and 8. also sound a lot like something a pudgy American might say.

The end.

More Trip...

A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. Acts 2:43

My prayer as I finish this final day of an amazing trip, is that God would rekindle a deep sense of awe in me about who He is, what He has done, and what He is doing.

Philly

Having a great time!!!

DC Day 1

I'm not sure how many chances I'll have to blog the trip, but here's a recap:

4am- wake up. Drive to Atl
10am- board flight to DC, take-off and land on time (sleep a little)
1pm- meet up with Mika and Katie for first time all together in 2+ years!
2pm- CVS stop and Mika's apt
3pm- delicious Vietnamese lunch
4pm- walk around *lovely* farmer's market in Alexandria (with colorful cauliflower)
5-7pm- take taxi to Kennedy Center and enjoy free opera performances
8pm- delicious dinner at Hank's Oyster Bar
10-12am- walk to Washington monument, walk home
12am- sleeeeeep!

Btw, we walked at LEAST 4 miles. Today there shall be even more...

In the Kitchen

I can't believe there are people who cook like this daily... I made breakfast muffins, zucchini bread, and a steak dinner with sautéed veggies and salad. It's been a kitchen-y day.

Not to mention Bart has fleas so we gave him frontline AND powdered all the carpet (including moving furniture), swept the powder into the carpet, let it sit for several hours, and vacuumed it all up. We'll see if it actually worked.

Anyway, I'm posting the recipe for the breakfast muffins since a friend asked. I got this recipe from a coworker...

Breakfast Muffins
-lightly spray muffin tray with oil
-preheat oven to 325
-cut up ham and/or bacon (I used one slice of each)
-grate cheese (I just grated til my arm got tired. Did not measure.)
-2 eggs
-finely chop chard or spinach (optional, but I'm trying to use my greens)
-tube of regular (not jumbo) biscuits
-seasonings (salt, pepper, whatever you like)

1. I used a mini-muffin tray, but it would also work with regular. I separated the biscuits into thirds and lined each muffin cup. For regular sized muffins just use half a biscuit; for jumbo muffins, use a whole biscuit.
2. Mix everything together in a bowl (egg, meat, cheese, greens, seasoning). The mix was pretty thick. Lots of meat and cheese for us.
3. Pour into biscuit-lined muffin cups. At least 3/4 full.
4. Cook for 10 mins. They come out a little liquidy looking, but they continue to cook out of the oven. I mostly just made sure the muffins were lightly browned.
5. Consume.

Here's the delicious zucchini bread recipe I used: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moms-zucchini-bread/.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Two Years

We've been married for two years! We've been together over four years!
Woo hoo! It's been quite wonderful. We didn't make any plans for anything fancy, but we still had a lovely evening together. We enjoyed late night appetizers and drinks (thanks to my friend's inspiring tweet). And now we're wrapping up the evening like most nights: gazing adoringly into our iPhones.

Sidebar- No offense to babies, but my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all had babies by my age/stage. I feel like we Jeong's have broken a cycle of bi-decade reproduction. In college I learned that most marriages are much healthier if they enjoy two childless years together before popping out spawn. Now, obviously textbook research is not actually predictive of all real life relationships, but I still feel better knowing we made it two years and we still lurve each other. Here's looking forward to many more committed years of love and marriage.

What a Sap

So Shin and I have signed up for the free trial month of Netflix. Before it runs out, we're streaming every documentary of anything we have the slightest interest in. When Shin took his Sunday afternoon nap, I settled in with Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey. It's extremely rare for me to watch anything by myself, but I knew he wouldn't want to watch it with me (I was right).

Anyway, I watched Sesame Street and Muppets as a kid, but don't have any huge attachment to Elmo. I don't have any memories of liking Elmo specifically. I was just curious about a behind-the-scenes look at Sesame Street. Nonetheless, the movie made me cry. It was the part when I learned that meeting Elmo is the dying wish of terminally ill children. And Elmo hugs and kisses them and they LOVE it. By the end of the film I had tears AND sniffles.

Sigh. All I can say is that I'm a bigger sap than I realized. And I recommend the film, although it's a little slow at parts.

Movie info: http://beingelmo.com/

Commerce St., 10th Floor

I kind of like Montgomery. I wouldn't say I love it, but this is nice.

Kitty kitty

We really like Bart around here. Maybe you noticed. But just in case you hadn't...