jane & heather go to Insadong

We took the faster train instead of the subway in from Suwon. I think we are crossing the bridge over the river into Seoul as Jane tries to find a good place to have lunch in Insadong on her iphone.

Arriving at Yongsan station. As the train arrives at the station they always play a korean instrumental version of the Beatles song "Let it Be." I think that is cool but wonder why.

Is there some significance to that? hmmm.

Off the train and into the station.

We now need to transfer to the subway. This is where you buy the tickets

Walking to Insadong we spot some people in traditional Korean dress. It isn't out of the ordinary, or just for a costume. I love it! I should of taken a picture of the store that sold

modern and traditional korean dress, they look so comfy. Love the muted colors.

So what exactly is Insadong you ask? It is a shopping area of Seoul that is a bit touristy but still really cool. There are a lot of antique stores, but some are on the pricey side. You can always bargain!

I love all the pottery. There are so many different kinds and mostly hand made. I wish I would have bought a couple of these here. This was the first place we went and I was still a bit overwhelmed.

This antique store was soooo cool!!! I wanted everything. I don't know if the prices were inflated or not, I just knew they were out of my range that day.

I really wanted one of these oil lamps. Reminds me of the parable of the 10 virgins.

That would be a great lesson prop. smile. They were solid brass and super heavy, and too expensive for a prop. ha.

an old scale.

from another pottery store. I bought a few things in this store.

Next post I will show pics.

I am sad this is blurry, but I had to show it. i loved it.

This machine was located on the main drag. What is it for? look below.

Why it is for whenever you feel unconvenient of course. ha ha

ok, this was the coolest thing ever. These guys put on quite a comedy routine showing how they make a famous korean candy out of honey fermented for two weeks. They do like a sing song rap (in english). It is hysterical. I wished i had a video recorder (next time). I found it on YouTube but it wasn't as good as these guys, and had some bad language. It looks like he is saying here, "unbelievable!" I loved their accents when they spoke english. so funny.

They take this hard like a brick piece of honey, keep submerging it in cornstarch, and stretch it and twist it until it becomes...

16,0000 strands that are as you can see, thin and web like. The then cut off portions and wrap a almond or peanut mixture inside and they look like little cocoons, which kind of gross me out in a way, but you should taste them. DELICIOUS! As they two men say, after which they say, "show me the money!"

Jane did, and we enjoyed. She gave me the rest to take back and share with my family.

I am ashamed to say that most didn't make it into my sweet childrens's mouth. (they'll be mad when they read this. I owe you kids!!!) I did share a couple with dave.

They simply melt in your mouth and are such a unique taste.

I think someday i will put together a korean giveaway. These will definitely be

one of the items included.

Jane also took me out to lunch at this fun Indian restaurant.

There actually is an indian restaurant by our house that is one of my favorite restaurants

on earth. Every single thing melts in your mouth! We find every excuse to go there and tell everyone about it. I didn't even like indian food until i went there.

If you come to visit, I will definitely take you there.

I thought you would like this store kelly.

this hand made hat shop was so amazing.

notice the little sign that I am pretty sure means not to take any pictures. I didn't notice until after i did. Dang, is it dishonest to post them? smile.

OK, this store was breathtaking. You can't really appreciate the artistry in these pictures. Each and every piece is hand made and the textures and style of each are so unique and beautiful.

You could see the detail in this one because it is so big. So many were

so subtle and delicate. beautiful.

a million fun stores and window fronts like this one.

I am not sure what this turf covered store is selling. interesting.

who can resist a store like this? Not I!!

the view from outside that brought me in.

one last little treat before we left.

(this is my fifel hat. You know from "the american tale")

ok, this was the saddest story from the day. There are a bunch of art galleries everywhere and tucked away in the back of a little gallery I found these old japanese scrolls and i fell in love with them. It was the first place I went into and I asked how much they were. She said 100,000 a piece (about $100). I was amazed at the price, but still it is something to consider and i didn't want to carry them. So after the end of the day on the way back to the subway station we finally find the store. I am all excited and ready to buy them, and try to bargain her down a little more. She brings me over to the computer to show me the price. Much to my despair she had told me the wrong price. She meant $1 million korean won, which was $864 a piece. I was so so sad. That is definitely not in the budget. Luckily the owner corrected herself before I handed over my debit card. That would have been a big shock later, and dave certainly wouldn't believe that i was innocent. ha ha.

Getting dark. It was sunny that day, but so dang cold!

walking on a little side street back to the subway there were so many little food places. That is the cool thing about korea. Within one block of your house you really could do any shopping that you really needed to do.

Waiting on the platform for the train was this advertisement for chevrolet. In case you were wondering how to pronounce their name. smile.

On the fast train (the KTX OR corail as they are called) there is a car that has a snack bar, video cames and little cubicles (on the left) that have massage chairs in them. ha ha.

This could possibly be the best part of the day. We went back to Jane's and her wonderful husband made us his specialty. Blueberry pancakes, bacon and hot chocolate. You know what they do? They heat us the syrup and butter together in a cup and pour it over. Why didn't i think of that. It is too scrumptious for words.

I came back to their house to teach them yoga, but we were so tired, and then so full after Joel's making us eat more and more pancakes that we just plopped on the couch and talked.

I told them, I would come back and help them with yoga any time. smile.

Jane and I both bought one of these mugs that day in Insadong to commemorate our trip. That is the two of us running around Insadong. Aren't these mugs the cutest?

Have you tried these?

I am totally obsessed with these Amy's Organic frozen meals.

They are all sooooo delicious!

I haven't had one that I don't like. I don't know how much

they cost in the states, but they are relatively reasonable priced here.

Their frozen pizza is really good too. They just don't taste like frozen meals!

YOU MUST TRY THESE! (well, at least if you are into this kind of thing).

We are cutting down our budget yet again to try to pay off our credit card debt as

quickly as possible. My kids were ecstatic! They are hoping I will start buying hotdogs, top ramen, and macaroni and cheese exclusively. I don't think I can do it! They all fight me about trying to eat healthy (i have my fair share of junk food too). Jacob's favorite phrase is

"How do you find this stuff?" When he sees my turkey , non meat, high fiber version of everything. When I was lamenting this morning that I won't be able to buy organic milk, Dave was like....who cares. I was aghast! Not really, Dave likes his bacon and everything processed.

How can he be a doctor and not recognize the importance of eating healthy? He thinks eating fast food for lunch is just fine. It doesn't matter. Of course, this is from the guy who has had two heart attacks. But his health problems are genetic. He said in college he followed their strict diet and his cholesterol was the same. So maybe he just sees it that way. It isn't the same for everyone else. Everyone else isn't on 20 daily medications to stay where they should be.

So am I wrong? Will it really not make a difference if i insist my kids eat healthy? Will they be just as happy and healthy in life? Will they live just as long? Because, really, so we just die when God decides? What do you think? We all love to watch "The biggest Loser" and at least then i feel totally vindicated! Everything that they teach their contestants my kids already know and we practice, so how can they argue with bob and jillian? ha ha. Plus, look at the huge obesity problem in america. Plus, I feel horrible when I don't eat healthy for the most part.

I think Dave just comes from an unusual point of view. His problems are genetic and can't be fixed by diet (so he says), it certainly can't hurt. As far as my kids go.....kids always feel good, they are young, plus they do eat healthy so they don't realize they could feel worse. right? ANDDDDD, it is the word of wisdom to eat healthy whole foods right? Help me out here?

So, does anyone have advice for eating healthy on a tight budget?

It is going to be hard because I have started to really cook the most delicious meals. I have cooked more new recipes since I have been here than in the past 10 years. I am especially obsessed with lime and coconut right now. I have to share with you all of my favorites in another post. Also basil, and I am going crazy because it is not available to buy right now. I have so many recipes that i am waiting to make that call for fresh basil. Wait until I share those. MMMMMM. I need to obsess with exercise as well. smile.

I will welcome your comments on this matter.

P.S. As far as comments go. I have been wanting to tell you all how grateful I am for every single comment that you make. Especially those of you that I haven't met. It really means a lot to me, and makes my day. So please keep it up! It makes me keep blogging. If I can help, uplift, or inspire even one person it is worth it!

PPS-I have been loving how yummy the light yoplait yoghuts are. I tried them after I saw it advertised on the biggest loser. I was loving them that is until I just looked at the back and it reads that it has high fructose corn syrup, modified food starch, and aspartame! All big no nos. Again, does it really matter?????

ziplocs and the purpose of life.

Don't ask me why, but as I shared a bowl of oatmeal with ammon this morning, my mind wandered to how my mom loved name brand ziploc bags. Especially the fancy zipper ones. She would never buy them growing up because they were a luxury item for her that just wasn't in the budget. So for Christmas (just a month before she died), I sent her a big box filled with name brand ziplocs and saran wrap. She was delighted. When I came to Tahoe at the end of January for her funeral I opened a drawer and saw all of the ziplocs. Of course I cried when I saw them. They were all neatly organized and hardly used. I know her, I know she was conserving them, and could hardly use them. They were not an item she would frivolously use if a no name brand, cheap, fold over baggy would suffice.

As I fondly recalled this memory, I thought of her death and how meaningless ziploc bags were to her in that moment. Ziploc bags would be far from her mind, and of little use to her. We come here to this life for a reason. There is a purpose and things that need to be done. That would be on her mind. Did i do what was necessary? Did I get done what I needed to? There are things that bring us comfort and happiness in life, they have a measure of importance. And I believe that Heavenly Father cares about what we care about. but..... they are not necessary. They aren't needful. It is so easy to get caught up in the unnecessary, and lose sight of the overall picture. In that moment, when I was standing in the kitchen, mourning the loss of my mother, all that is really important was at the forefront of my mind and thoughts. Death has that affect on us doesn't it? In the moment of loss of a loved one it is hard to see importance attached to anything. All life seems to stand still. Like you are looking at it from above, with new eyes. We understand that this life is temporary. It isn't the end all be all. It is a time of learning and growth. Do we know and understand everything? Of course not, but we know enough.

I clicked on this video clip because the add for it had a picture of a woman reading the scriptures that reminded me of my mom. She is the one looking to the side with short dark hair. The video really touched on what I had just been thinking. There is a greater purpose and plan. I have faith in that plan, even if I don't know everything from the end to the beginning. So today, I need to act according to what i know. Not to get so caught up in temporary physical things and activities and spend some thought and energy on why I am truly here. To do all that i do with more purpose and meaning. Every service for my family, and others is a joy. To love, care for, and teach can be done with more intention and purity of thought ( in other words, don't be irritable, negative, complainy, mean to my husband and kids. ha). There are reminders all around us. We don't need to experience a death of a loved one to bring us back to what truly matters. Anyway, here is the video clip below, and here is a link if you want to know more about this purpose that I speak of.

All this because i thought of ziplocs. smile.

Jeongseon Rail bikes

Back in November we went on a trip with the stephensons. We did and saw so many cool things. Here's one of them. Riding these cool bikes on an old railway track through a scenic area. They weren't hard to peddle, and it was so refreshing. The fall colors were almost gone, but it was still so beautiful. Are you ready to ride?

I was in the third bike with dave and rebecca peddling. I just had to sit and enjoy. I just raised my camera up and took this picture. See my bangs blowing in the breeze at the bottom of the picture? ha ha. Jacob was peddling with Kason in front of us.

There were really fun tunnels along the way.

this tunnel had lights and music playing.

The quaint homes and farms a long the way.

Ammon loved it!

At the end a train comes and takes you back to the start. It started rainy as soon as we got on the train. Wow, that was lucky. Ammon made some friends on the train.

Every where we go people are so friendly, and love to have their children interact with ours.

I guess we kinda stand out. Smile.