Fashion School Bug

An episode with Mr. Woo and Mr. H in the afterschool room, and Mrs. Woo on the side entertained...

Mr. Woo: Boys, do you know how to dress yourselves?

Boys: We wear uniforms!

Mr. Woo: Okay, here's what you do. Alright, you boys ready? You ready to write this down? Boys, if you have a hard time dressing yourself here's what you do: it's two words - get married.

Student: Or live with your mom!

(Mr. and Mrs. Woo look over at Mr. H, who is currently living at home due to the minimal subject teacher's wage - and maybe his super generosity.)

Mr. H: You know what? It's not the clothes that make a man (Note: this is how this whole conversation began). It's how big his heart is.

Hm, maybe you had to be there, but it was pretty funny. It makes having students in my classroom ALL day worth it.


In other news...

I was afraid of the jumping bug that one of my girls pointed out, so being the calm, composed, and slick teacher that I am... I asked for a boy volunteer to squish it. But let out a small yelp when I witnessed it jumping. very high. toward my desk. which I was questioned about later by one of my boys, "Mrs. Woo, what happened back there?" -_-

Room of Living

I'm becoming quite fond of our living room. Not because we've finally acquired more seating (that's another post to come) but because of the fond memories in this room.

Thus far, we have had:

• one gymnastics competition
  
• a couple proms
• few movie nights
  
• several dinner + movie dates
  
• and countless study halls

...all by our two-some. :)

Which room do you enjoy living in most? Why?

How do you wake up Lady Gaga?

Poker face!

Get it??? HahahAHaHa
(courtesy of Christine M.)


Poker Night #4 was a quick (or long) one - depending on which side of the spectrum you were sitting on.

Contestants:
plus, yours truly.


Dinner:
Whole wheat penne rigate
with onion and garlic marinara sauce
and shrimp
Garlic bread

Dessert:
Pazooki
(French vanilla + Chocolate chip)

How dare you think that I was cheating!
I just wanted a picture of the pazooki!

Update:
We're always changing up "the look" of the dealer button. Once a capo; another time an egg shaker. This time, Mr. Woo brought out the awww-factor.

(Note: The picture was taken this past year when Lifetouch came to school for Spring Picture Day. The photographer posed us, and the kids in line took turns in yelling out "ewwwwww!!!")



Our defender from the last tourney was actually the first one out. The plus side was that he could enjoy his cookie worry-free.

In the end, it was the two who aggressively wanted in on the Hall of Fame. It was pretty humorous to find out, near the end, that DMT had been playing this whole time (this being his second time) thinking that 2 was the highest. That's Deuces (aka Big Two), brother...

In the end, a long way there, it was Mr. Woo who (finally) earned his place in the championship tournament that is to come in the future. Congratulations, Hubby! Good effort, DMT!














See y'all next month... if you can put your chips where your mouth is. :P

Walls + Neckties

"How was your summer vacation?" one of the parents asked me tonight. Well, let's see... I taught summer school, had a huge class, which included special needs students, and had one week off before being summoned back for meetings and prep even though the first day of school is August 19... "Not long enough."

I thoroughly enjoy meeting (most) parents because their children make so much more sense to me once I do so. This year's Orientation Night was an exciting one because most of the students have seen me around and may even had some interaction with me (outside of yearbook signing, which some turn into a competition of who can collect the most).

It went rather smoothly, and some students who showed up (despite being asked not to by the school) seem to like me already. I already have one picture to hang on my wall! :D

Because I only have a (drama-filled) class of 14 this year, I'm quite ambitious in what I'd like to accomplish. One of these goals is to even further create a warm learning environment. The first thing I did was put up lots of color.

This is my Welcome Board. All of 3rd grade class really needs to get along. Of course, only God can change their hearts (since the problem is sin - not behavior modification like some like to believe) so we will be diving into the Word for some massive light-shining. One of the ideas we 3rd grade teachers had was to use puzzle pieces to show that they are all the same and a part of a whole. None of this "No, you're MY best friend!" nor "You're ugly!" business. (If I hear one thing like that in the classroom.... ohhhh, boy/girl, you better apologize immediately.)

This is my Accelerated Reading board. All students are required to reach a certain number of points for this program each quarter. Once they have done so, I will write their name on a big, glittery sun and add it to the board to show that they have met their goal. I haven't added a caption to it yet. I'm thinking "AR Stars" or "Above and Beyond." What do you think?

My favorite part of the entire room (not because it's behind my desk) is the last wall I can show you tonight. I came to learn early on that I was a stars and apples teacher - I liked all things stars and apples. My calendar had to an apple, my welcome sign on my door had to be an apple, the name labels on students' cubbies had to be apple, their nametags on their desk were apple. You've seen the star theme for my AR board, and on top of that I bought more star labels, stickers, and even use "class stars" as one reward system. But one change I made this year, aside from all this color, is my "real" tree! It's beautiful with its pair of green leaves that I cut and folded myself. My class verse (Proverbs 9:10) will be posted on it soon, as well as a nest with a bird - once I make them. This season board will journey through all the seasons will us. In the fall I'll change the leaves to orange, yellow, and red. When winter arrives, I'll make my tree "barren" and with "snow." The nest, of course, will be empty since I have no motive to kill any birds - unless it's two or three with a stone... Then in the spring I can bring back my birdie and its nest and then(!) add those little fluffly chicks!!! How excited I am to incorporate all these new ideas this new school year. Even when I am on vacation, my brain is still working as a teacher (the teacher curse) and in times like these, it really pays off. Hoorah!

Apparel. Because we were rushing to complete a number of tasks before dashing out the door, Mr. Woo asked me to pick out an outfit for him to take to school (we had left in the morning). So I filled the shoes of Stacey and Clinton and picked out a couple of outfit. Both were created business casual and a look that I'd be happy to see my husband wearing.
How'd I do?

THE LEFT (modern/trendy) - Grey pants with white pinstripes. Blue striped white shirt. Black Tie. Cufflinks required.

THE RIGHT (simple/safe) - Khakis. White shirt. Blue/white striped tie.

Mr. Woo picked the one on the left. However, he later changed his mind due to the difficulty he has in tying that particular tie.

It's that time of month...

Poker Night #4!!!

You're invited!

Who: The first 5 people to sign up!
What: To our monthly PN
When: Monday, August 17 @ 6pm
Where: The Woo Residence
Why: For some "all in" action

Entrance Fee: Free, includes dinner
Rides: Not provided

Those who reply after the first 5 will be considered the "waiting list." Don't delay; reserve your spot today!

The Woo Society's Hall of Fame:

1. Mrs. Woo
2. (J)onny/Mrs. Woo
3. Freddy
4. It could be YOU!

By the way, there will also be a championship tournament for all those in the Hall of Fame, so get your name in there!

Getting stood up... or so he thought.

Today, Fred redeemed his voucher to a meal + bringing a "date," as he called it.

Mr. Woo and Fred met up for accountability prior to our meal, but after a while I realized that his date was over 45 minutes late! After putting the dessert in the oven, the door bell rang. Though we wanted to play it off as if we already ate and were ready for the next course, we decided to be nice.

Who was this date, you may ask?
Bernard, or B as I like to call him, was stuck in traffic.

With a free-for-all menu setting, I thought the winner would have requested something like steak or ribs but our dear brother Fred asked me to make miyukgook (Korean seaweed soup)! This is traditionally eaten on birthdays and after giving birth (the seaweed is thought of as beneficial for the mom's health and breastfeeding). Neither was the case for Fred, but as promised his request came to fruition.

As Mr. Woo doesn't allow kimchi in his house, Fred decided to surprise him by bringing some banchan (Korean side dishes) - including kimchi. While this was enhancing our Korean meal, I was wide-eyed to hear Mr. Woo announce, "This kimchi's good!" o_O Note to Fred: You are more than welcome to come over for dinner whenever you would like. And feel free to bring any dishes you would like to convert Mr. Woo to eating *cough* mushrooms *cough*.


We also had minor kimchi spillage on the tablecloth, so we took out the Tide pen and saw it work its magic.

The Woo household encompasses a lot of eating, but we also like entertainment. Not too long after returning from our honeymoon, we had a bag of grapes (eating) and threw them in the air to catch them in our mouth (entertainment). When that wasn't hitting the "max factor" we threw grapes into the air to each other. This memory came to mind when Mr. Woo decided to reinact it with the kong banchan (seasoned black bean).

Let's play a little game. One round of the Spot the Differences game. Ready? Alright. Here are your two pictures. What/where are the differences?















.............. A .................................. B ....................


If you said:

Picture A is no good! You can see the kong next to his neck.
Picture B shows Mr. Woo's success with the chopsticks + kong.

then you are correct!

Congratulations, and thanks for playing! :)

The longest train ever!

Do I look like the gal who would post a picture of Thomas the Engine? I'm talking about the train of a wedding dress!

Back in the days, we common folk would use rings as a token to symbolize our love, but this guy is something else...

To express his love (or apply to the Guinness Book of Records?), he bought his now-wife this dress with a train that was more than 1.2 miles long! All trailing behind her! It took guests 3 hours to roll the fabric out. Her reaction? It's reported that she laughed and cried.

It doesn't even look like a train. When I first saw the picture I thought it was a close-up of some yarn... or some crazy sprinklers on a farm... o_O I wonder: Did the guests lay out the train while she was wearing the dress or did she come back later to put it on?

Would you be laughing or crying?

Tying the (cherry stem) knot

When we had planned to eat with my parents tonight, it was not for a particular reason that we were meeting. It only dawned on me recently that today would mark the day that exactly one year ago, Mr. Woo proposed to me at the beach.

Today, as I reflect on God's goodness in our lives, I'm thankful our very own paparazzi bigcowvegetable and gasoo. Because of their servant's hearts I am able to re-member this day with pictures!











Perhaps it seems a rather silly to celebrate something of this sort, but I'm realizing more that each day holds a list of its own miracles. For example, isn't is wonderful how God created legs for us to propel ourselves to and fro? And the air in our lungs for breath? And it fascinates me so the way that babies begin their life (little people!) with exactly the environment they need - in their mother's womb! With that, I rejoice in today's events and blessings.

How we celebrated our one-year-since-we-"officially"-committed-to-marriage:

• We were (sadly) late to corporate worship at Teachers' Service
  
• Mrs. Alina and I walked our TM toddlers through some "I'm sorry for ______. Will you forgive me?" action
• Mr. Woo preached to the CM kids on Matthew
  
• We heard the wonderful news that baby Annalise (sp TBD) Tan would soon make her appearance into the "real world"
  
• We met a visiting guest who will be starting his senior year at CAL and wants to marry early (hint hint, single ladies!)
  
• Mr. Woo, Nolie, and I drove down to San Jose for dinner with my parents
• We saw curry on sale at the market and literally bought 10 boxes of it
• We ate at Palace - the "get your money's worth" method (overstuffing with mainly meat) instead of the "sane consumer" method (eating lots of greens and a rational portion of meat)
• Mr. Woo fell asleep - in the same spot from where he had been devouring cows
• I woke him up to show him my very first cherry stem that I had tied with my tongue!
  
• Mr. Woo and I had a cherry stem knotting contest
• We had a rematch
• Then Nolie joined us for another round
• Mrs. Mom laughed
• As we said our good-bye, Mr. Daddy told me, "Your stomach is sticking out. Go use the restroom to empty it out." (It was funnier in Korean... Direct translations never convey the same meaning.)
• We came back with our clothes and hair reeking and our tummies very satisfied.
• Jonny staying/sleeping over (tentative)

What are you celebrating today?

Tag, you're it!

Or "Tag your wife" in Mr. Woo's case.

Today, his gift for me arrived! Several weeks ago, I was getting ready for school (the teaching side of it) when Mr. Woo informed me that he had slept really late because he was making something for me. When he said he made one for our future kids too (and that he couldn't finish because he didn't know all of these kids' names), I thought he was kidding.

Turns out he purchased the one for me and saved the other projects as drafts. Without further ado, the dogtag/necklace that he made for me...


One side is a picture of us from our wedding that says, "I love you, Boo." And the other side is a picture form our engagement session that says "God loves you more 1 John 4:19". *grin*


I wore it since the moment I opened it, but now I must take it off to hop in the shower.

Re: More teachers needed...

In regards to an earlier post about CSUs and the budget cuts...

The list is out, and it's actually a lot more inclusive than it sounded like it was going to be. (Surprise that math and science are on the list?)

Hoorah for the CSU Chancellor's Office! The education field (and our future generation) thanks you.

Still eating it...

Curry that is. Every day.

Leftovers from Poker Night. (That's another 4 days he's eaten it!)

But knowing how much Mr. Woo really likes curry, is that a surprise?

The man suggested Curry Woo as a future son's name.
(Poker friends, he's also suggested having curry for every PN).

With love, and every spoonful of the 18-servings of curry that I made in that huge pot, Happy 7 months, dear Husband! :)

Up-and-coming

You may have noticed a few minor changes around here...


1) Another contributor has been invited to blog.

You may have noticed over here to the right ............................................
that the Mr. Woo himself(!) is now officially able to write guest posts. With that said, look forward to his up-coming post. It's geared toward the men (not boys, but manly men), but you gals are definitely welcome to keep an eye out for it as well.

Here's a hint about the topic:












Other changes:

2) All readers/Gmail users are now able to comment.

Woo-hoo! Keep those comments rolling. Feel free to leave any suggestions and/or questions in that area too.


3) A search box has been added.

Now you can search the blog for words like "cake" and this post will appear as one of the several results.


4) I added a picture.

I call this Hubby & Me. :) I took it as we were strolling in the beautiful Butchart's Gardens in Victoria, BC during our Alaska cruise.


5) My profile and user name has been changed!

I am no longer a miss, but now a missus and (legally ... just in time for our 7-month anniversary) a Woo!