Six in Seoul

I can't believe I forgot to show you all the tablecloth I had made in Dongdaemun!  I had it made for approximately $28 USD.  Now, I could have had it made cheaper than that, but I was so overwhelmed that day and couldn't find what I needed, so I bought the black fabric from the lady that made the tablecloth.  Also, she told me she was more expensive than others would be to make a tablecloth. Since she was so honest, my friends have used her in the past (for drapes), she spoke some English AND I wanted my tablecloth NOW, I went with her. She did a great job, and made it exactly how I wanted it.   I will be having more made every holiday! 

I know the tablecloth doesn't look great on this table; I had it made for my rectangle table back in the states....the one I love, the one in storage.  So imagine the table below is a rectangle. 

Staci, as requested here is a better picture of my ring.  Do you know how hard it is to get a good shot of a ring?  I took at least 30 pictures with different background, at different angles, in different light, with a flash, without a flash....  Aughh!  This is the best I could do.

OK, I tried the Double Chocolate Chip Cookies with chunks of peanut butter cups, and they sucked.  They were too dry & not sweet enough, but I think I figured out why.   When I made the cookies the first time, I goofed them up a bit (I was in a hurry and on the phone), I  thought I balanced it out - however I didn't follow through on my corrections and only corrected the amount of butter after the goof up. So, I am going to make them AGAIN today with PB cup chunks in them.  I have updated the recipe to include my goof up. 

Next:  Remember my rose bushes?  I transplanted them from my neighbor’s house?  Remember?  I told you about them a long time ago, I thought they were dead, but a few of you told to be patient and they would come back next year.  I also did some research on the internet and found out you guys were indeed correct, they typically go into shock and come back the next season.  Something I read on the internet said as long as you see green in the stem of your bushes they should come back the next year.  All three of my bushes had green in the stems, so they were good.  Well, there is this one older Korean man that works the grounds of our neighborhood, he does all sorts of things, keeping the lawns mowed, sweeping the sidewalks (everyday), raking the sand on the playground and so on.  Anyway, he would walk by my rose bushes look at them and shake his head.  He ask me several times in Korean and in hand gestures if I would like him to pull my dead looking bushes up, I would tell him no in English and hand gestures NO, and to leave my rose bushes alone.  Every day I would see him walk by my bushes, stop and shake his head.  He could not stand them and it was obvious.   One day a couple of weeks ago I came home and he had pulled up 2 of my bushes and was working on the third.  Then he totally cleaned out my flower garden.  I guess he had enough and could not stand looking at my sad looking flower garden anymore.  I never see him walking by my house anymore. 

These cookies were SO GOOD!  Boy 1 and I rated them an 8 on a scale from 1 to 10.  Hubby rated them a 7, but what does he know?  Today I am going to try a variation of these with broken up pieces of peanutbutter cups - I'm thinking this will be even better!  I got the recipe off the back of the Nestle Chocolate Chunks package.

2 cups all purpose flour***
¾ cup cocoa
1 tsp salt
2 sticks + 2 TBL butter softened
1/2 + 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 + 1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 package (11.5oz) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks

Preheat oven to 350 F

Combine lour baking soda & salt, set aside.  Beat butter sugars and vanilla in large bowl till creamy.  Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.   Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in chunks Drop by tablespoon size onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or till cookies are puffy and centers are set, but still soft.  Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely. 

***Most of the time I use Eagle Mills All-Purpose Unbleached Flour made with Ultra Grain.  "It contains 9 grams of whole grains per serving; looks, tastes and bakes like white flour".  I like to feel as if I am doing my part in making my cookies just a little healthier!  :)

Everything is an adventure here in Korea.  We went to pick up my ring on Monday.  When the jeweler pulled it out, it was missing the big diamond.  He told us he was taking us to the factory where they would put the diamond in.  We left the store, out the back door into an alley, turned onto a road, then down another alley, then another, and finally up some very steep stairs.  Now, had we been anywhere other than Korea, I would have been totally freaked out thinking we were about to be taken into a dark alley where someone could rob us worse.  I mean we had a ton of won (cash) on us as Koreans don't like to deal in plastic.  To be fully honest I was a little freaked out and was thankful Hubby went with me to pick the ring up. Once we reached to top of the stairs this is what we saw....

All these guys work very hard to make the rings we wear today.  Each one has a different job, one sets the small diamonds, one sizes the ring, another polishes the rings and so on.  The next picture is of the man that actually made my ring, although each of these guys worked on it. In the picture below he is putting the diamond in my ring.

And, here is the finished product!!!

Sorak Mountain is located in the Northeastern region of South Korea.  It is about a 3.5 hour drive from our home in Seoul.  This trip was not very well planned, I didn't do much research and booked the hotel only 2 days out. We decided to go because A: Mnt Sorak is supposed to be BEAUTIFUL this time of year, B: it was an American holiday and C: we just bought a new van & had to try it out.  (Our hooptie broke down weeks ago & we have been car less.) 

First, the van.  I SO DID NOT want a minivan again and I knew if we bought new, I would be driving it for years to come, and I DID NOT WANT A MINIVAN, I've been there and done that.  I want a sporty little convertible BMW.  Well, the minivan was practical, we could all fit in it and we needed a car.  Hubby found this one and got such an amazing deal on it, we could not pass it up.  I agreed to drive it for at least 5 years. (GAG) AND you know when we get to the states back to the states Hubby will get some cool little car & I will be jealous.  Anyway, now that we have it, I am really digging it.  I don't know why in the past I was so opposed to the built in DVD player for the kids, I guess because when I was a kid we had to ride sitting on someone’s lap (there were 10 of us children), and if we fought, well, we just had to fight it out.  I don't know about you, but I CANNOT stand when my children fight in the car, especially while driving in Seoul, Korea, crazy driving capital of the WOLRD. Anyway,  I have discovered that the inventor of these  DVD players are actually magicians, this thing hypnotizes my children and I don't hear a word from them while it is on.  I mean it is conflict, conflict, conflict, then the DVD player turns on and silence!  What a heavenly invention.  I would like to say thank you to whoever invented this.  I am now good with driving this minivan for 5 years, as long as the DVD player works. 

OK, back to Mount Sorak.

As I stated before, the drive was very nice, the children were so quiet and the country side was beautiful.  I was driving, Hubby was the navigator, this works best for us, as I cannot read a map to save my life. 

Our first stop was our hotel.  We stayed at the Daemyung Condos.  They offer the military 70% off their normal rate.  From what I understand, this is a very nice hotel for Korea.  Here are some shots of our hotel....

Explanation of pictures in order:

1. This is the bedroom, you sleep in traditional Korean style, on the floor.

2.  Picture of the "beds".

3. Kids after making their beds.
 
4. Master bedroom, don't let the bed fool you, it was as hard as a rock.

Some interesting facts about our hotel:

·          There were no closets

·          There were no dressers

·          I think the pillows were actually sandbags

·          The floors are heated, not unusual in Korea.  Most floors are heated, this is very nice, your feet don't get cold, I love it, that is until it is the middle of night, and everything suddenly becomes very HOT.

·          No shower curtain

·          No microwave, but they did have a rice cooker

I am not complaining, just telling you some things you may not know about the Korean culture.


Next we drove up some mountain, I’m not sure which one, but I do know it was beautiful.  This next picture freaked me out.  I did not like Boy 3 being on Hubby's shoulders while standing this close to the rail.

Our next stop was the Goseong Hwaamsa Buddhist Temple.  I love the temples, they are so peaceful and have such amazing beauty. 

You can't see it very well, but there is a huge bell and a huge drum in the structure to on the left side of the picture.  See the big rock in the background?  We hiked to it and up to it and then ventured off to the right. 

This next picture is the inside of one of the shrines.  Check out the details.

I just like this next picture, it is of the roof tops, (obviously) but what I like about it are the kimchi pots, that seem to be full and brewing the kimchi!

Hiking....

Taking a break...

Next stop on our little adventure was the BEACH!  Yes, the mountains and the ocean are right next to each other.  Very cool.  The kids wanted to play in the sand, even though it was cold, we let them.  Once they took their shoes off, all was fair game; they were headed towards the ocean.  We kept saying no, but they kept heading that way.  I knew they would end up soaked.  (I was really just thinking about how my new minivan didn't even have 300 miles on it yet and now it was going to smell of the ocean)  I was right; they all ended up very wet, and VERY COLD!  Before getting in the van to leave, we made them take all their clothes off.  (We had blankets in the van) Boy 1 was mortified.

The view from our hotel...

The next day on our way home, we stopped at a stream, where we had tons of fun....

And where Boy 1 fell in the water and got wet again.  He had to travel home with no pants on...again.

This past week, I worked hard taking the children to their jobs.  Girl worked for Benetton, Boy 2 worked for Bambino & Boy 3 worked for Elle. 

When we went to the festival, I took a picture of this, specifically to show you.  An ATM truck!!

This past weekend we attended Oktoberfest here on Yongsan.  It was fun, just a little different. The beer drinking contest was with NEAR BEER, poor saps that entered.  We went with people from Hubby's office; here they are having a nice (nasty) shot of Jagermeister.

I had to have my picture taken with the German, Korean announcer.  Dan, the goofball in the background just wanted to have his picture published on my blog so he was pretending to be lost, not really that far fetched.  I think he had one too many shots of Jagermeister.  Me, I had none, honestly.  I did come in 3rd place (with my partner T, the one in the jean jacket) in the "Chicken Dance" contest!  Whoo - hoo!!   AND, so what if my husband was one of the judges.

I was pronouncing this "bock-jay", when it is actually pronounced "beck-jay", so imagine my Korean friends confusion when she thought I was telling her I had gone to the "stuffing" festival, when in reality I was at a type of cultural festival.  It took her a day to figure out what I was saying, before she figured it out she couldn't imagine there was a festival for stuffing!  We both had  a great laugh at my expense. 

The festival was in Buyeo-gun (I think) about three hours away.  We took a USO tour.  Before the hitting the festival we stopped at the Buyeo National Museum....it looks like the kids had great fun, doesn't it?

They really did have a good time, they just don't like posing for all the pictures I take....for goodness sakes, they are "professionals" now and can't tolerate all Moms’ pictures!  :)

So, these next sets of pictures are pretty funny (we thought so anyway).

No, I didn't goof up and put up a sign for the rest room.  We were pretty happy to see this sign, as someone in our group always needs a potty.....

So, imagine our surprise when we saw it was actually a "RESTING ROOM"

How fun is this country?  I love it, a resting room!!!

I ask the kids to "pose" for the next picture, and this is what I got..

For the next picture I was a bit more specific, "look at the camera and smile"....still it didn't help too much, I forgot to mention, don't grab your package.

Korean children always want to have their picture taken with my children (it's the blonde hair), most of the time my children are happy to oblige, but today the boys were running wild, playing a game of tag, so Girl jumped into the picture with them, this time I snapped on also.

After the museum, we headed out to lunch where the Mayor of the city of Buyeo-gun treated us all to a fabulous spread.  (I didn't take a picture of the food)  There was great Korean food, as well as spaghetti with red sauce, and cereal and (cow's) milk.  When you see this you know you are being treated well, how thoughtful it is to include some American favorites.  Girl was happy to see this; she is my only child that doesn't care too much for most Korean food.   Hubby and I were happy to see the sashimi, and sushi, all the boys were happy to see the bulgogi.  We all stuffed ourselves silly here.  


Hubby and I outside the restaurant, feeling very full....

After lunch, our next stop was the "stuffing" (hahahaha!! I crack myself up) festival.  We had so much fun here, the only downfall was we did not have enough time here!

Boy 3 was in heaven!  He LOVES trains, so when he got to ride this one he was so excited.  Plus, the guy running the train thought he was so cute, he kept letting him ride it over and over and over!

All the little ones had fun playing in the bouncy things...

This is where we sat and waited while the little ones played.  These really nice Korean's invited us to sit on their mat and hang out with them.  We tried to have conversation with them, they knew some English and we can understand a little Korean (with hand gestures) so we had an enjoyable time.  The one man in the back of the photo with the white shirt on is a minister, and reminded both Hubby and I of my brother Glen.  This is not the first time a Korean has reminded me of Glen.  Hummm..... maybe I should give Glen a call.

Hubby had a good time...

The first picture he was hanging out with some cute young girls....

In the second picture, this guy pulled him up on his stage, the audience was involved, laughing and cheering, then the guy took a picture of Hubby, out of the camera came a picture of a black heart.  Everyone LAUGHED, we had no idea what had just happened.

Some random pictures of us having fun.....

Check out how high off the ground this guy is.....

Time to head home.....check out the curtains on the bus!