Latest Projects

I have working on a few fun projects lately. Found some very interesting websites and learned how to mod podge. So, I mod podged pictures on a wooden frame to replace the broken one in the kitchen. Johnny and the kids thought I did an amazing job and they truly enjoyed looking at it.

A few weeks ago, the kids and I went to a thrift store and got this nice looking rattan chair for $7.50. No kidding... it's a steal! After I cleaned up the cushion with some antibacteria spray, I sewed the cover with a floral patterned and make a pillow for that also. It just looked so good now!!!

Ok, Jady had outgrown her poncho, so I got some fleece and make her a double sided poncho. It looke pretty cool and she thought herself being the super hero!!! :) Should have matched the pattern on the front. Oh well....

Nursemaid Elbow Again!!!

Oh my goodness... Jady had another nursemaid incident again. This time happened to be at the church. Jady was playing with Jeannie's friend, and her extended arm was pulled while piggy backing. She was screaming, and refused to use her arm. All we could do was to stablize the elbow and toold her to the Dr. first thing in the morning. She was feeling all better right after Dr. Safier popped it back into place. Hope this won't happen again. It was her left arm last time and right arm this time!

Geothermal

We finally made the decision to put in the geothermal system in the house after a month of researching. With the global warming concern and the high rising cost of fuel, gas and oil, Johnny and I thought it's not a bad idea to invest some "green" and valuable system in our home.

The guys came in on Monday to line up all the pipe works and vents throughout the house. The digging started on Wed. and Thursday. Four tons of loops were put in our backyard... so no pool in the future!

The guys did the pipe works were excellent!!! They were Vietnamese, hard working people. They came here on time, and cleaned up so well. There wasn't much dust to clean up after putting some 30+ vents in the whole house. All vents were spaced out and installed onto the ceiling in each room. I am 120% satisfied with their job! We instantly feel the warm in all three floors after it's been installed. It will be a test in the winter though! Will be excited to see how much we can save for the month...

As for the digging... they are ok! We had a problem Sat. night and find out that the main drained was clogged. I started the washer while in the laundry room when Jady had an accident. It was actually a blessing that she had an accident because I was cleaning her up in the utility sink, but to find out the pipes, as well as the toilet attached to the laundry room were clogged. I went and tried to plunge the drain, but nothing seemed to work. So, I called the home warranty company and wasn't able to get any help from any one at all... For one, they don't have "guaranteed" emergency service, and second, both the companies on their list were lined up with jobs and not available until Monday. I was terribly desperate!!!

So, we started calling our neighbor and tried to get a referral from him. The plumber was excellent and came over right away. What he and Johnny found out was that the worker who put in the loops had dugged up our sewage line. What???? That's my first reaction!!! Haven't they checked with the city of all the lay outs (pipes and cables) before the digging? I was totally overwhelmed with the cleaning already, and now I had to think about the bathroom issue for the next two days??? I left the room and had Johnny took care of that. Thank goodness, the workers came within an hour and dug a big hole (that able to hold 1000 gallon) for us so that we can do our usual cleaning and stuff.

All I can say in this whole situation is to count our blessings!!! Had Jady not had an accident, the washer would be pouring 40 gallons of water in a minute and our whole basement would be flooded. That would be a total disaster!!! I can only be thankful that we were watched over!!!

Johnny's Birthday (Oct 11, Sunday)

It was Johnny's birthday yesterday. We came home from church and had an egg custard pie (since we are not fans with cake) and some curry pasteries. I guess it's a mom's thing... I felt so fulfilling when the crew empty everything on the table. :) Then, Johnny opened our gifts:

• Jeannie got daddy a car scraper
• Evan bought daddy a T-shirt
• I mod podged a pencil jar and a personalized birthday card for my husband. Well, I got the idea from a flyer at a craft store and spent a few hours looking on the website to find out how to do it. In fact, it's quite a simple, but fun project. I love personalized, homemade stuff!!!

Talent Show/Pumpkin Painting/Indoor Gardening!!

It's was a well pack Sat morning (Oct 10). We attended a Primary Talent Show at church, then went pumpking painting at the Y, out to dinner and celebrate Johnny's birthday (10/11) at the hotel across the KOP mall.

Evan's talent show picture at the church when he was doing the bike tricks. He went so fast that I was not able to snap a good picture of him.

Then, we went to the Y and paint pumkins with Jady and the kids. Jady had so much fun that she did not even want to leave.

Went home, clean the house, and out to dinner in celebration of Johnny's birthday. We did not go out on his actual birthday because it fell on Sunday this year! The dinner was awesome and everyone in the family seemed to have a great time.

After dinner, we spent about half an hour at the mall. We saw this AeroGXXX for a great value of $50 instead of $129 at JCPXXX. That's exactly what I asked my husband for my birthday!!! So, Johnny got the system and set it up running as soon as we got home. (It's funny that we don't give surprised gift anymore.... Johnny and I don't like the idea of returning birthday gift that was given by our spouse.)

sure, you don't have to wait until your birthday though
On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 2:01 PM, Pauline XXX paulinexxxxxx@xxxx.com wrote:
hun, i really want this for my birthday!!!

http://www.herbkits.com/medicinal.htm

Evan's Second Week of Middle School

Evan came home with a detention slip that needed to be signed and returned. Why? This kid has been forgotten to bring his completed homework twice, and work folder back to school once. We told him to put his homework back into his backpack after our checking every night, and yet he chose to ignore our warnings and left it on his table. What's more??? He lost his new gym uniform... How? He claimed he has put them in the locker and they were gone the next day. Ahuh..... Should I forget that he has a habit of leaving his drawer open when he is done picking his clothes??? Evan, Evan, Evan........ I just hope these are all the bad news I heard from him.

Of course, I was totally mad at some point, but my wish is that he would be learning from all the mistakes right from the beginning. I know I am "Ah Q", but thinking positive is really impoartant in this situation. So, I sat down and wrote a thank you note to his teacher, Ms. Henry for thanking her follow through with my son, and not letting him get away with his consequences.... got to print the email out and put it in his book! :)

Choice of Herbs and Pots

I love herbs and especially fond of cilantro, chives, mint and basil. These herbs are not only flavorful, but also had tons of medicinal properties.

http://www.liveandfeel.com/medicinalplants/basil.html

So, I have decided to grow my own herb garden this Winter.... had been out shopping for a big ceramic pot for awhile, but did not have much success. They are either too small or out of my budget. Sometime last week, I went to TJXXX and found this beautiful huge ceramic pot for $10 at the clearance section. It was so beautiful that I couldn't take my hands off of it. The only problem was that the color of the flowers on the pot doesn't match the house decor. So, I spent about two hours putting a coat of dark chocolate paint on it. I am just thrilled with the turn out.


After the painting, I mix up some soil with potting mix, and the fertilizer (all organic), and planted three of my favorite herbs, cilantro, chives, and basil. I am hoping to see something real soon!!!

By far, I've found the following website has the best forum on home gardening. The people there are very helpful with questions regarding seeding, watering and harvesting any individual plant.

http://www.gardenweb.com/

General Conference

It was the 179th Seminannual General Conference on Sat (10/3) and Sun (10/4). There were so many good talks by church leaders, but the one that stays in my mind the most was from President Monson titled, "What have I done for someone today??"

We often forgot about others when we are busy or so focus on ourselves, and that's not how life should be. There is nothing we will bring with us when we pass on, but only good works and deeds. I just love our prophet, President Monson. I had a book of him full of stories about his work and ministry, and the people who he associated with or make a difference in life. It's just amazing to me how the Lord had prepared a man to be his servant since their early age.

Here is his talk: http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1117-27,00.html

There is also a website of all the talks on both days. I would like to figure out how to attached the video on my blog, but for now they are available online.

http://lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,23-1-1117,00.html

Acupuncture Session

It was Evan's first time to the acupuncture last Sat (9/26). I bet it did scare him at the beginning, but he is now all fine and not having any stuffy nose. So, it's all convincing to him that acupuncture dose work!!! I believe Jeannie might need another session. We will have to decide when they are done with the herbal medicine. In fact, those medicine have been working great. The kids appetide has been improving; and they tend to eat more.