Culprit found!

My eczema, that I had outgrown for over a decade(!), came back. Initially it was only on the legs, on and off, during my last year or two in college. Then last year, it started creeping up my body and appeared on my torso, then back/shoulders. Finally, it reached my neck and face the past couple of months. It's not painful, but horribly itchy. I even scratch in my sleep, only to find out in the morning when it's too late. The worst, though, is when I'm kept up all night because I'm aware and scratching so much. The thought of seeing a doctor crossed my mind, but I knew what would happen: prescribe some sort of cream and send me away. It's happened before to no avail. The way I saw it, why bother? But when parents and middle school students started asking what was wrong with my face the past couple of weeks (and Open House coming up), I knew something had to be done.

Bad News
(1) I call the advice nurse. Tells me to take Benedryl. (2) Got a phone appointment. Doctor says she can't assess me over the phone. Duh. (3) Was able to be seen by a doctor. Leaving out details but she must have been new or just not thinking that day. (4) Finally got my referral to see specialists!

You know what this reminded me of? College pre-req "weeder" courses. I just wanted to get started with the upper div classes!

Good News
The allergist was very helpful. We talked over my symptoms, diet, family history to determine which skin tests I should take. Each test would be a prick of a needle on my forearm. She narrowed it down to 30. I thought she was kidding. Nope! Before I knew it I had consented to sitting in a chair with 30 holes in both arms. It looked something like this, except the nurse scribbled HUGE numbers, lines, and abbreviations down both forearms with a blue ball point pen:

The first one that I reacted to was histamine to make sure I didn't have any anti-histamine in my system to show false results. Yes, it itched very much. After the 30 pokes, I noticed that only the second allergen was turning into a welt. It, too, was calling for my fingernails to dig into it. The culprit: dustmites! These pesky creatures (aren't they butt-ugly?) are everywhere!

 

Hear me roar.

The dermatologist was also helpful. I'm so glad I had Mr. Woo there with me because the doc came in with a "visiting dermatologist" (student?). With two men hovering over my back (to see my ugly eczema patches), I was feeling a bit uneasy. But it was quick, painless, and professional. Even with my personal questions that I asked, to which I (finally!) received answers. I found that some of my symptoms to which I had other concerns were actually common in women. Hoorah! (kind of...)

The best doctors' visits, hands down.

Conclusion

1. There's no cure for eczema, but there are some "preventative measures": 
1. Moisturize like crazy, 
2. Don't scratch, and 
3. Get a topical steroid cream for the aftermath of when you do relieve the itching.
2. Google is my friend.
3. Kaiser and I are "aite" now.

6 more weeks of Christmas in a cup

I had a great day today!

Let's recap: I woke up early, got my Starbucks, arranged neatly on each of my students' desk a Happy Groundhog Day pencil with a mystery picture worksheet (sorry, no picture), students were excited and grateful about the colorful pencils, taught normal academic subjects, read a story about Punxsutawney Phil to them, talked about sin and why it should bother them, left early for my Kaiser appointments with two different specialists, Husband drove and came with me for moral support, discovered the culprit to my allergy(!), received a cream for my eczema, asked questions I've literally had for years since I was there anyway, ate dinner with a friend of ours, finished one item off of my to-do-for-Open-House list, am relaxing while blogging, and will soon be watching American Idol on my new laptop, Onesimus 2.

One of the events I'd like to highlight...

Punxatawney Phil came out this morning (more like forced at the break of freezing dawn, the poor thing) and saw his shadow - 6 more weeks of winter!

Speaking of winter, a couple months ago, I watched a movie with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds called "The Proposal." In it, he gets her coffee for her every morning - a Soy Cinnamon Dulce Latte, which they refer to as "Christmas in a cup." I don't know if it was the scene that prolonged the coffee's appearance (he spills one on himself, but like a good assistant, he always buys two..) but I just had to give it a try. So after one of our date nights, we walk over to Starbucks and I tell them exactly what I want. It went something like this:

Barista #1: Hi, what can I get for you?
Mrs. Woo: Hi! Have you seen the movie, "The Propsal"?
Barista #2: Oh, yeah, I have!
Mrs. Woo: I can't remember what that drink was called, but do you remember the one that Sandra Bullock always gets?
Barista #2: Yeah, it's the, um... Cinnamon Dulce Latte!
Mrs. Woo: Yes! Can I get a Soy Cinnamon Dulce Latte please?
Barista #1: Sure.

And so, I walked out a happy patron - Soy CDL in one hand, Husband's hand in the other. The evening brought a crisp breeze as we strolled down the street to where we parked. The light scent of cinnamon was close, and the smell of wood in a well-burning chimney was near. Winter bliss. :)

Capture A [Birthday] Smile

So I told you about the gift that I'm not going to be able to top (It's been affirmed by Mr. H.), right? I'm not finished, but having assembled most of the pages together I decided to show Mr. Woo his birthday present. It's only fair - I didn't get him a Christmas present... or an anniversary gift... *clears throat* Moving on...

The semi-arc of space you see toward the bottom right was where I sat... for days.

A birthday card arrived in the mail - from my parents to their son-in-law!

 

  

  

  

  

And my two favorite of the night...

  

 Reminiscense

 

Funny.

The gift was a scrapbook filled with entries of friends and students, whom he all loves like family. I compiled, formatted (but did not edit - all you who had typos!), and arranged the responses to my 7 questions.

1. What is your fondest memory/ most memorable moment with Mr. Woo?

2. Mr. Woo reminds you of which animal? Why?

3. If Mr. Woo were to learn how to cook one dish, what should it be?

4. How have you seen the Lord use Mr. Woo to further His kingdom?

5. What's the best advice you heard/ were given for the early years of your marriage?

6. What will our first child look like? (You can submit a drawing or a paint file to me in person as well.)

7. Any last encouraging words/ birthday wishes for our dear brother?

Thank you so much to all those who contributed in verse and illustrations! As you can see, he was overwhelmed by your kind, and often humorous, words. It was also a sweetly encouraging time for me as I read of how the Lord has been using Husband in many ways. 

Press on, Pooki! I love you!

Could you please leave suggestions for what I can do for his next birthday? Don't worry, he might read it, but he'll soon forget it. His brain has so much in it with all his responsibilities that it doesn't have room to remember this kind of information.

It's Your Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR POOKIIIIIIII

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUUUUU! :)

It's my best friend's birthday today and, alas, I am not finished with his anniversary/birthday gift. But it's really the best tangible gift ever (for him). I don't know how I'm going to top it... Here's a preview:

Since I've been using every moment to put this homemade and personalized gift together, I didn't get a chance to organize a get-together (Sorry, Pooki!). And besides, if I did that on top of the other present, I'd be setting the bar unbelievably high for the following years. No bueno.

But Mr. H asked a few of our friends at work to join us for dinner. Maybe he just didn't want to play "third wheel"?

And my parent sent him a Happy Birthday Son-in-law card that arrived today too! So cute.

Let it also be noted that they don't have Facebook...

Ironically, my gift also arrived in the mail today. Mr. Woo purchased my Christmas present the day after Christmas, which I'm all for if we save 50% and get free shipping. I try not to use this phrase much, but... I love it. I love it because the man I love picked it out for me with much thought. (You should hear the story about how he picked my ring.) Ready for it?

It's a 14k gold necklace with a ruby and emerald pendant apple because we're teachers!

Well, "two shall become one" so I guess it is my birthday today too. hehe.

Bubbly

The wrinkles on my face a cause from  my husband???

I was having a teacher conversation with ChristineM when the topic subtly merged with the ideas of wrinkles. I told her about how my face has aged more the past 2 years than ever before (I'm no longer perceived as a 12 year old!), particularly my forehead wrinkles. Personally, I was thinking it's because I often look up without raising my head, plus all the disciplining and other stress factors in teaching. But she brought up an alternative potential cause...

me:  my forehead has major wrinkles

i think it's b/c i look up a lot

w/o raising my head

Christine:  hmm..

not to mention your hubby is a lot taller oo

too

ahahahhaa  If Mr. Woo is the cause of my wrinkles, it's only my laugh lines. :)

I take that back. They call marriage a "School of Sanctification" for a reason. We laugh, we fight, then we laugh again. :D

It starts in my toes and I crinkle my nose.
Wherever it goes I always know
You make me smile please stay for a while now
just take your time wherever you go 

One Year Later

I've shared some more pictures and words from our big day one year ago, and can't believe how fast time travels!

While Mr. Woo and I were talking about our anniversary plans, he remembered that he had a CM meeting Saturday morning. "Can't you just cancel it?" (I had no shame at the time, and yes, that's how selfish I am.) But being the diligent CM director that he is, he proceeded with the meeting while I slept in.

When I awoke, it was to strangely familiar sounds coming from the kitchen. Unless it was a generous stranger who broke into our place to leave us some goodies and paused to whip up a meal as well, it must have been my dear husband! Soon enough, he came in announce words that I rarely hear from him, "Breakfast is ready!"

Now, I have to mention why this is such a big deal to me. Mr. Woo doesn't cook. In fact, he doesn't like it. In his words, "I hate cooking. It takes too much work." And now his Safeway trip the night before all makes sense. Usually, if he wants to go and buy something, he'll ask if I want to come with me. But this time he didn't. And when he came back, he didn't leave the bags on the kitchen table. He put things away himself. I should have known he was up to something!

So without further ado, breakfast made by Mr. Woo:

(Yup, that's what I wear to sleep when it's cold.)

Then, he drove us to the city as he had planned. (He wasn't able to find another Bed & Breakfast that looked appealing to him for an affordable price.) We walked around, bought calamari and shrimp, watched spray-painting artists, cheered for a group of breakdancers, saw the silver painted robot-man, admired the ginormous Christmas tree with just as huge presents underneath it,


went to Aquarium of the Bay with the free tickets we received,

ate Ben & Jerry's, picked up an dinner to bring back home, watched an episode of The Office (Christmas gift), then called it a day. Very chill. Very nice. :)

Thank you for planning, Pooki! We could be doing anything, and I'm sure I'd love it - all because you're my favorite kind of company. (heart) I could even wear a shark hat on my head, and you'd still stand next to me! Is that a great friend, or what? :)

Unforgettable

It's our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! :)

In celebration, I'd like to share some good 'ol memories from the "big day"...

One year ago: 

My favorite shot of the day:

If we had a fireplace, I'd hang this one above it. CAL has some great architecture for photo ops, my veil was caught by a gentle breeze, and Mr. Woo just looks GQ. Gorgeous shot, Yong.

For the slideshow, you can click HERE. Our photographer was extra-nice and put it together for us as a gift. :)


Our super MCs had guests wrote haikus for us. They were gathered and are still sitting in a bag, waiting to be added to our guest book. Here are a few selections from our friends and family:

I will write a poem

For you, Cyrus and Jane Woo

Dang I'm out of space

Let me remind you that haikus are a Japanese-style of poetry in which there are 3 lines - the first and last having 5 syllables while the second has 7 - which make beautiful imagery and/or metaphors. Let us proceed...

Roses are red HAH

Violets are Bue HAH HAH

Cyrus & Jane are cool!

Yup, make it work.

This one I was impressed with because it, like the others, came from a male:

Rise, the new day comes

the Radiance fills our Hearts

Don't forget to smile

I'm telling you, these guys are so ready to romance a lady friend. Ladies, start dropping those hankies!

A kiss, tis so sweet

It fades swiftly from the lips

Like the ebbing tide.

This one was anonymous, but it looks like male handwriting (Is that safe to say?):

Under unseen stars

Your ship sails strong in love's hold,

Grace your compass-guide.

From couples:

Korean Chinese.

Together like ham and cheese.

Make marriage sandwich.

The night is still young

Sanctify the marriage bed.

Have lots of babies! :)

Jane and Cyrus Woo

Now the man has a helper

God is so faithful!

Not a haiku but I like it, nonetheless:

The Old Woman Who Lived in a shoe

There was a young couple,

played a game with their shoes

'Cuz on this special day,

they both became Woos.

Asked myriad questions,

they learned many things

Among them that marriage

is more than just rings.

And this person was so compelled that he (with the help of a she) wrote us three matching haikus:

Cyrus, don't get fat

Even if the food tastes good

Cyrus, don't get fat

Jane, do not get chubs

Don't be tempted by the grub

Jane, do not get chubs

You guys don't get plump

Go to exercise and jump

You guys don't get plump

Very heartfelt indeed. And with that inspiration, I'm off to get "chubs" by sleeping instead of exercising.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, POOKI! (heart)

Pooki and Boo Woo
Treasured times from our journey
By God's grace, with love

Looking forward to this next year being each others' mirror! 
Lord, help us - we're going to need it! :)

Any one-year haikus?