Apologizing to the Woman You Love

Gone are the romantic days of flowers.  Gone are the days of chocolates and teddy bears.  Gone are the surprise trips that were planned so spontaneously. So it is true.  The romance does die after marriage.  Heck, I barely even get an apology after an argument anymore.

Gentlemen, why is that?

I hardly argue with my husband.  But when we do, we really argue.  And his temper…wow.  I always try to stay away from him.

I accidentally ran into this article online this morning.  I don’t remember how I came across it, but the article warmed my body.  If only I can have a man like that!

In the story, the man describes how he just quarreled with his girl.  Given the degree of the argument, he thought it was best to buy her a bouquet of flowers.  The problem was, his work hours did not permit him to visit the florist as he works too early in the morning.  So instead of buying flowers from the florist, he made her a floral bouquet instead – out of short pastry!

Ladies, we all know how we love to compare our men to other more romantic men.  So check this short pastry bouquet out!  Isn’t it amazing?

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For tips on how he made it, visit his site: Short pastry flowers.

Honey, if you’re reading this, I don’t need your apologies. I want a short pastry bouquet, damn it!

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Having Fun at the Library

I used to go to the library quite a bit growing up. Especially for school. I guess it is because not everyone had a computer at home then. Nowadays, you’re considered “weird” if you don’t have a computer at home. I loved the library. When I had to write a paper or had to study for an exam, that’s where you will find me. Sometimes, I’ll even visit the UCI library even though I was only a junior in high school. There’s just something about it. The smell. The quietness. The books. I felt like I was among the elite – the nerds of the world. And I loved it.

But that was over 10 years ago. I don’t think the word “library” even exists in the kid’s dictionary these days. In a world of computer games, who has time to go to the library, right? I think we as parents need to start exposing our kids to the library at a younger age.

This past Saturday, I brought Little Mochi to the Lakewood library for the very first time. He loved it. I let him run around the children’s section of the library. It’s got a colorful mat in the center where the librarians do their weekly reading program (they’ll read to the kids). Along one side of the wall, there is also a big shelf full of developmental toys. You can guess that is where Little Mochi headed! He grabbed a toy and ran all over the library, giggling and laughing. It was the cutest sight. Along another wall there are CD’s upon CD’s that we can borrow. Parenting CD’s, Lamaze CD’s, children’s CD’s from Einstein, Playskool, Sesame Street, and even good old Barney the Purple Dinosaur! I was amazed.

But it wasn’t as amazing as meeting this little girl who was about 10 years old. Little Mochi ran straight to her, stared at her for 30 seconds, and stuck his hand inside her bag to grab something. She had a few books, some toys, and some putty looking thing in small buckets. Little Mochi was holding one when I got to him (he runs around fast – it’s hard to keep up with him sometimes!). I apologized to the little girl and told Little Mochi to return the putty. He did, but the little girl said that Little Mochi could keep it because she has so many. I was touched. It’s great that she was so willing to share. Perhaps those reading programs teach your kids how to share?

But what strike me even more than her sharing characteristic is that she said she loves the library because there are so many things she can do there. I was darn impressed.

So parents, start bringing your kids to the library when they are young. There are many things your kids can do at the library. It’s especially nice if the kids are on summer break and have a little more time to enjoy their summer vacation. Here are 8 ideas to help get you started:

  1. What are other kids reading at school? Perhaps he can pick up that book too.
  2. Pick up his favorite magazine and curl up in a corner of the library.
  3. Look up new and unfamiliar places of the world with a map or encyclopedia.
  4. Find videos and music CD’s to borrow.
  5. Learn more about your favorite baseball player or animal.
  6. Do research for his homework with all the available resources.
  7. Become a better reader by joining their summer reading program.
  8. Listen to storytellers / authors read their books to other children.

I’m inspired. I am going to make sure we bring Little Mochi to the library more often now.

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Exchanging Dr. Brown’s Bottles for Store Credit

I walked into the Babies R Us in Westminster a few weeks with my ten 8 oz Dr. Brown’s bottles. Surprisingly, I got a credit of over $50! Not too bad, eh? I really didn’t expect to get that much back. So I exchanged them for the BPA free bottles. If you have not seen the BPA bottles before, they are milky in color instead of the clear plastic that we normally see. It’s not so bad. I like it because, well obviously because they are BPA free, but also because they seem easier to rinse. Don’t ask. *shrug*

You get a better deal if you buy the 3 pack instead of the individual bottles. You get a few bucks off per pack compared to the individual prices. For the $50 in store credit, I purchased five of the 3 packs. The total was $60 so I paid $10 more. Not too bad of deal, I’d say!

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Traveling Abroad? 3 Traveling Tips for Going Overseas

I just returned from a one week trip to Taiwan.  It wasn’t a vacation, although some may call it that.  I went back with my husband’s family for Grandpa’s funeral.  The last time we went back (two years ago), he spent the entire week in the hospital to be with him.  Back then, the doctor said he had 6 months to live.  He lived another 2 years.  So in mid July, we made arrangements to attend the funeral.  Several things happened during this short one week “vacation” that I wish we had prepared for.

1. Tickets to Taiwan in July are truly expensive!  It costed us $1400 per person.  PER PERSON!  Normally, when we go in October, it’s only around $600 – $700.  AND, the weather is much nicer then.  But I suppose everyone is on summer vacation in July.  Before you decide to travel abroad, find out when their peak season is.  It’s best to go when it’s not in their peak season.  You’ll end up paying twice as much for airfare.

2. The weather in July is extremely hot and humid.  You literally in drenched in your own sweat from just sitting there.  Your neck is constantly feeling sticky.  And constantly are washing your face.  The first few days of our stay there, Taiwan was hit with a typhoon.  In retrospect, I really appreciated the typhoon.  In fact, I wished for it to return after a day or two of hot and humid air.  The rain and winds actually made it cooler for us.  In addition, there was mosquitos everywhere!  I brought back a leg full of mosquito bites.  If I had known it was mosquito season, I would have brought bug spray, although my sweat might have washed it off!  Therefore, before you go abroad, be sure you find out how the local weather is so you can bring the necessary gear and clothing.

3. The night before our departure, my husband looked at his passport and laughed at the expiration date.  “Look honey!  I’ve got only one month before my passport expires!  I barely made it!”  I quickly double checked mine.  I was relieved to see that it expires in December of 2008.  Five more months.  No problem, right?  Wrong!  At the check in line, the attendant said we are not able to fly to Taiwan without Taiwan’s permission.  With 2 hours before take off, the lady told us they had to ask Taiwan if we can be admitted with what they call a “standing” visa.  That’s a one-time 30-day visa.  I had a better chance because my passport expires in five months.  My husband’s however, may be questionable since his expires in a month.  I guess they don’t your passport to expire while you’re overseas.  In any case, after an hour of waiting, we got an answer from Taiwan.  We’re both able to go.  However, we had to go directly to the VISA office at the airport to purchase our standing Visas.  I thought it was $30 US.  But it ended up being $160 US per person!  That’s pretty much the spending money that we brought.  *sigh*  So lesson learned.  Make sure your passport is not within 6 months of the expiration date when you travel overseas or you may not be able to go at all.  I blame this part on our incompetent travel agent who helped us book our air fare.  Aren’t they supposed to know the passport regulations?

Happy traveling and be safe!

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