Locks of Love III

It had been over two years since I last donated my hair. My hair had gotten long enough to donate again so a few weeks ago, I had another 12 inches of hair cut to donate to Locks of Love. It was wonderful to be able to do this again!

Before

 

After

Snow!

Even though this blog is not about snow, I am happy to present to you these photos - of snow - from a couple of weeks ago when these little white flurries came along!

Outside

Front Yard

The sun came out and Hubby having fun on sidewalk while snow was melting

Commemorating the special occasions. :)

And Happy Chinese New Year!

Oh, and happy belated Valentine's Day too!

Pink Candle

A few weeks ago, as I was doing some cleaning for the new year, I finally started burning the candle I had received as a bridal shower favor. It smelled good in the house!

While enjoying the candle, somehow I remembered joking with a newlywed couple about the wife moving in and "decorating" the house with pink, smelly and girly stuff. It then occurred to me that maybe I should ask Hubby what he thought about the candle - it was pink, and the scent was pineapple.

So below was our conversation, re-created from my memory -

Me: Babe, can I burn the candle in the living room? (I actually had started burning the candle already)

Hubby: Yes.

Me: But it's pink and it smells like pineapple.

Hubby: That's fine.

He did not mind! But wait, something was missing.

Me: So you don't have a problem with it?

Hubby: Yes, it is being left unattended in the living room.

Oh, right. We were in the TV room. But that's my Hubby! :)

Locks of Love II

Four years ago, I donated my hair to Locks of Love for the first time. To this day, I still remember how light I felt after the cut, not to mention the joy I had knowing it was not just another other haircut, but one that contributed to a special cause. Because of that, I had wanted to do it again.

Four years later, my hair had gotten very, very long. Hubby loves long hair so it took a few months before he said yes to my haircut. :-) He was very sweet to let me do it again. He also took my "before and after" pictures, so here we go:

Before

After

It feels so good to be able to do it again!

Washington DC

Two and a half months ago, we took a road trip to Washington DC, the nation's capital.

It came about when one of the few original copies of  "my map" (the 17th-century world map I worked with for my thesis), was featured in one of the exhibits at the Library of Congress. The LOC did not own the map, but made a rare exception to show an item on loan. Since this was the first time an original copy of "my map" was on display in America, I wanted to go! Hubby had a few things he wanted to see in the area, so it expanded into a vacation. It had been about 10 years since we had been to DC (separately).

A long road trip of course meant the license plate game! The goal was to spot all 50 license plates on the road (seeing license plates in the issuing states does not count). Usually we would get about 35-40 plates and it was almost impossible to get Alaska or Hawaii, let alone both. But this time, we got both!! We did not get all 50 plates, but we did have 45!

On the way there, weather was not the best; but while we were there, weather in DC was beautiful! It was sunny, pleasant, with clear blue sky! On the first day, we visited the Library of Congress (for my map, among other things). It was so great to see one of the few original maps in its original size (in 6 panels)!

While Hubby visited the National Museum of the Marine Corps, I indulged in more early modern history with a trip to the Folger Shakespeare Library.

We also visited the National Mall, several Smithsonian Museums (Air and Space, Freer Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Natural History, American Indians, and American History), Chinatown, Arlington National Cemetery and Old Town Alexandria. It was a lot of walking, but it was a nice trip (and riding the subway daily certainly reminded me of home)!

Hubby got sick about half way through our trip so we cut our stay in DC half a day short and I did most of the driving on the way back. It was the first time I drove that much! To add to the adventure, on the way back, there was even snow - real snow - in our own state! Because of that, we changed our route but could still see - and safely drive through - some snow. Pretty phenomenal.

So, enjoy the pictures!

Tagged

My sister-in-law tagged me so here we go -

Here is how it works -

1. Go to the 4th picture folder on your computer
2. Post the 4th picture in that folder
3. Explain the picture
4. Tag 4 more bloggers

I have to apologize to Hanes, because this is not a good picture of her at all. The picture was taken in September, 2007. She had been sleeping on our guest bed but apparently I woke her up and she was not the happiest about it. Sorry, Hanes!

If you would like post your picture, consider youself tagged!

Cat and Mice

While Hanes was hanging out in the living room earlier today, I thought she might be interested in playing. I lined up the mice in front of her, but alas, she was not in the mood to play. She did not even touch the mice. So I left her alone and went about my business upstairs. When I went down to get water in the kitchen later, I saw the following -

Bird's eye view

Side view

Hanes sleeps in this "Garfield pose" sometimes and I always find that funny. But doing so in front of the lined-up mice just cracked me up! She has been teaching me many serious things (see previous posts and more to come); she nonetheless has a lighted-hearted side!

From A to Z - Hubby Edition

Special thanks to hubby for sharing his responses in his own words. Enjoy!

Attached or single? Attached.

Best friend? The owner of this blog.

Cake or pie? Both (depending on the flavor).

Day of choice? Friday!

Essential item? 1911.

Flavor of ice cream? Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (Blue Bell, of course)

Gummy bears or worms? Worms (more fun to eat)

Hometown? Alvin, TX

Indulgences? Books.

January or July? January.

Kids? Nope.

Last movie seen in a theater? Wall-e.

Middle name? Aristotelis.

Number of siblings? 3.

Oranges or apples? Oranges.

Phobia or fear? Neither.

Quote? $165.00 for 6 months.

Reason to smile? Flying!

Season? Fall.

Tag 5 more? Nah.

Unknown fact about me? The owner of this blog says I have red and grey in my beard.

Vegetarian or oppressor of animals? Meatatarian! (Note: I was a Meatatarian before Wendy’s made it cool)

Worst habit? Sweets.

X-rays or ultrasounds? X-rays.

Your favorite food? Lasagne.

Zodiac? I prefer the CH750.

From A to Z

I got tagged by one of my sisters-in-law (SIL) so here we go!

Attached or single? I have a wonderful hubby. I can’t believe it’s been 6.5 years already!

Best friend? It’s hard to pick one. I have been very blessed to have met several best friends at various points in life to share our journeys together

Cake or pie? No preference/neither

Day of choice? Thursday and Sunday

Essential item? Probably my glasses/contacts, and laptop

Flavor of ice cream? Blue Bell Cookies N Cream and Dutch Chocolate; and most gelato flavors

Gummy bears or worms? Both (my mom would get these for us as special treats when we were kids so I like both)

Hometown? Hong Kong

Indulgences? Hong Kong clips on youtube

January or July? January

Kids? No biological ones yet, but we have a sponsored daughter from Ecuador, and 5 wonderful nephews and nieces

Last movie seen in a theater? Wall-e with hubby and SIL

Middle name? I don’t have one – no, this phrase is not my middle name

Number of siblings? A sister and a brother, both younger; plus in-laws

Oranges or apples? Both

Phobia or fear? That I am not moving forward in life

Quote? "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4: 6-7

Reason to smile? I am going to heaven :)

Season? Autumn

Tag 5 more? Everyone who reads this blog!

Unknown fact about me? I can’t dance, I can’t whistle, I can't tell jokes, and I have two birthdays – the "regular" one and the Chinese one

Vegetarian or oppressor of animals? “Oppressor” sounds serious. Can I just say I eat both veggies and meat?

Worst habit? Probably “extreme multitasking” - starting/working on too many things at once

X-rays or ultrasounds? I have had both

Your favorite food? Probably rice and sushi; I like Nutella too - does it count?

Zodiac? I don’t know the answer, sorry

I hope to read your answers soon!