#family
This was my life a nutshell. I was watching both Seahawks’ playoff games at the same time… LOL
Tuesday:
I had lunch with one of my oldest friends, Linda! I’ve known Linda since I was 8 years old. I haven’t seen her in a real long time so I was excited to catch up with her. I forgot to take pictures but we grabbed dinner at Santouka Ramen! DELICIOUS! Shout out to Linda! She’s at the Super Bowl!
Wednesday:
My favorite part of Wednesday…
Thursday:
Jason and I went out to Ma'o ono chicken for dinner! It was delicious! Jason’s been telling me for a while that he wanted to go with me and I’m glad he suggested it! Good times!
Friday:
Stacey and I wanted to get jjajangmyun. Glorious….
Saturday:
Saturday was Audrey’s birthday! Audrey is such an adorable girl. I love her so much. It’s a pleasure to watch her grow. Crazy how she wasn’t even born when I started dating Stacey and now she’s a big part of our lives. I was sad that I missed everyone else cause I had to work before attending her party. But we got to see the birthday girl! She was having a tea party when we arrived… haha
We bought her a headband while we were in Korea. She looked pretty with it on!
She took selfies on my phone…
She even took pictures of me with my phone… LOL
Afterwards, we went to Homegoods and found a mirror for our home! WOOT WOOT! Shout out to Stacey’s dad for picking it up for us cause we didn’t have enough space in our car for it… haha
Sunday:
No games this week. Stacey’s parents came over for lunch. Stacey’s mom wanted her to check out some of the dresses she was thinking about ordering for our wedding. Fun times!
Afterwards, we went to The French Bakery. Picked up delicious goods!
And for dessert, we went to Vovito Gelato at Bravern! I got the Red Velvet and Cookie and Cream Gelato… AMAZING!
Next. Super Bowl.
Hope everyone had a great weekend! Have a great week, everyone!
My tourist partner, forever…
What’s vacation without…
Monday:
My grandmother literally does something all the time…
Stacey and I went out to have lunch with my cousin, Saewook and his gf! Saewook visited me a year and half ago when he was moving back to Korea from Vancouver… if you go back far enough, he’s in the blogs… haha Anyways, this was his only day off and it was great to spend some time with him! He picked a delicious Korean buffet restaurant! Great times!
Afterwards, we went and got some hoddok… lol Stacey really loves hoddok. We got yelled at for taking this picture…
She was cool with us taking pictures after we bought some hoddok… LOL 
It’s fun to play tourist.
We went shopping some more and Stacey found a coat! YAY! The stuff they sell at malls in Korea makes me laugh. lol 
We went back home afterwards. Because the chicken we had the night before wasn’t Frypan, Yeonjoo got Frypan for dinner! It’s SO GOOOOOD! haha
Tuesday:
We went and got some snacks to bring back in the morning. Most of them were really delicious!
For lunch, my mom’s cousin took us out for okonomiyaki!
After lunch, we grabbed some nutella latte and nutella sundae! AMAZING!
For dinner, we went out to Gangnam to meet up with my cousin’s family. They gave us an amazing wedding gift! They gave us our engagement photos with an UNBELIEVABLE album included! I was genuinely speechless. It was an amazing gesture and we were so moved. No words. And the pictures turned out AMAZING! I posted a few on instagram but I’ll post more :) We grabbed dinner and coffee in Gangnam before we said our goodbyes!
What a beautiful family.
Wednesday:
On our last day, we went out for food with my grandmother!
She’s a great woman. It made me incredibly sad cause I knew that these were going to be the last pictures that I take with her. As I leave, this is the last time that I’ll ever see her…
Before we left, we ordered some jjajangmyun though. lol 
We had to order in for Stacey to have that authentic experience…
Anyways,
As I leave, I reflected on so many things. This trip changed my perspective on life. I knew that I was visiting Korea to basically say “goodbye” to my grandmother. She won’t make it til the next time I visit, and most likely, not even when I get married. Life is weird thing. It’s awful that death is inevitable. But it’s beautiful because it comes to an end. It’s beautiful to build a family and watch them build their own. It was amazing to see my family. I haven’t seen so many of them in so long. They all have busy schedules, yet they made time for Stacey and me. I’m not sure what it’s like for other Korean-Americans but I was born in Seoul. It’s my hometown. My entire extended family lives there. I had a great trip and I’m so glad that Stacey came along with me. They all need to meet her and know who she is. And without being able to speak Korean, she won them over. She’s just that special. I’m glad she got to meet my mother’s mother. Life is a blessing and I will never forget that. 
10 Hour Flight later…
We’re back home! LOL It’s still Wednesday cause Korea is a day ahead. I don’t want to talk about the flight. Too many crying babies… Anyways. I got to open up my birthday gift. Stacey just gets me. Chicago 1’s. Beautiful.
Thursday:
I spent most of Wednesday sleeping. I was so tired. It was an exhausting trip. For lunch, we grabbed Garlic Crush and it was DELICIOUS! But they really messed up Stacey’s name… lol 
For dinner, we went over to Stacey’s parents house for dinner! Stacey’s mom made a delicious meal! We told them about our trip and showed them pictures!
Friday:
For lunch, we went to Bombay House for the first time! It’s a Vegeterian Indian spot and it’s very good!
For dinner, we went to Taqueria La Venadita with Jillian! It was very good and we haven’t seen Jillian since Christmas Eve. So, it was nice of her to hit us up :) 
We went to Yogurtland afterwards for the Dessert Queen to get her fix. But… they had this flavor. If you’re “The Parent Trap” fan… you understand.
Saturday:
Stacey and I hosted the NFC Divisional Game against the Panthers! MANNNN! The Seahawks did beautifully! But we expected nothing less! So much fun having Jason, Soojin, Tyler, Alan, and Kelli over! Special shout out to Stacey for cooking and cleaning. She puts in so much work for me to have a great Seahawks parties! :) We also used it as a “late” birthday party for me. lol So, Stacey made a nutella cake. She’s incredible forreals.
Hope everyone had a great weekend! Have a great week, everyone!
I want to see the world with her.
I would like to start by saying that this blog and next blog entry is SUPER late… hahaha It’s because I was in Korea! I'l explain that part later… so let’s rewind back!
Monday:
Jillian and Nica came over for dinner and games! We played Taboo and it was a funny night! hahaha I think I took these pics when Nica and I won… LOL They’re a lot of fun!
Tuesday:
I started feeling a little sick. I think I got sick from NICA! But who knows… lol Holiday tradition! This is our family movie. I watched it twice this year though. haha
Wednesday:
Every Christmas Eve, I go to Mass with Stacey’s parents and then we go to their family Christmas Party! By Wednesday, I was feeling REALLY sick so it sucked. lol After Mass, we headed over to Auntie Lenny and Uncle Rey’s house. I was felt like crap. But I hung in there… I didn’t drink at all. Clearly, they were devastated…
But in all seriousness.. the food was delicious as always!
Auntie Emi made our favorite spaghetti!
Auntie Cadie made our favorite Trifle!!!
We got presents for days…
We always have a lot of fun!
Emily took a lot of selfies lol 
Shout out to Nica for the only paying attention to this selfie LOL 
I was giving Audrey and Emily piggyback rides. Then Nica wanted one. haha They grow up quick… kind of
This is my family.
Thursday:
We sleep over at Stacey’s parents’ house on Christmas Eve and open up presents on Christmas morning together! Stacey’s mom made a vegetable omelet! It was delicious!
Stacey’s parents got me this CRAZY tool set that has literally EVERYTHING! I feel like it was very symbolic… like giving me tools to take care of their daughter… haha I’m corny like that. But really, it was a great gift!
They also got me a bunch of other things including Blu Rays. They know that I love films. Stacey also knows that I love documentaries… in specific, the ESPN 30 for 30! She got me the 5 year anniversary pack on BLU RAY! IT’S AMAZING!!! It’s INCREDIBLE!
Then we had to head back to our place to pack for Korea! And I use “we” very loosely cause I’m worthless when it comes to packing… haha
As we were leaving the house, I took another look at our Christmas cards and felt very blessed…
Then we had Christmas dinner at my parents’ house! It was TERRIFIC!
Friday:
We were off to Korea! I hate saing bye to Ari.. lol 
So, I haven’t been to Korea in 14 years. Whether it was college, work, or whatever. Something always seemed in the way of me going back. This was just the right time. A few months ago, I found out that my grandmother has cancer. They found out late and she’s opting to not take Chemo. I don’t blame her. Instead of living the rest of her life suffering and in pain. She just wants to live as is. I wanted to see her before her time is up. I wanted Stacey to meet my family. I also wanted Stacey wanted to see my country. I can’t lie, I was worried. Korea is not exactly the most open culture to Westerners or mixed people. But I wanted her to come and be with me cause she’s my rock. My mom also came which made life so much easier. So, we were off!
Saturday:
12 hours later, we were in Korea!
When we arrived at my aunt’s house, they had a “Welcome to Korea” sign for Stacey and they were in Santa hats! haha It was very sweet of them…
I still couldn’t believe I was in Korea with my family.
I saw my cousin’s son for the first time!
Sunday:
I wake up in the morning and my grandmother is like “do you want Squash porridge”, and she makes a terrific one. I wasn’t prepared to say “no”… LOL She literally makes everything from scratch…
It was amazing! Stacey and I walked around to see the neighborhood. I think I was just hyper… LOL 
They had a BBQ Chicken right next to their house. We have one at UW and my family was surprised when I told them. haha
We ended up buying some stuff at Paris Baguette! 
When we got back to the apt, my aunt had food ready! I feel like they were constantly feeding us everywhere! LOL 
For lunch, we had plans to eat with my cousins on my dad’s side. My cousin, Han picked us up! I’ve never his wife or his son, so I was very excited! His son, Jin Sol is so cute!!! His wife, Catherine was very lovely and sweet!
We ate my cousin, Sae Wook’s restaurant! All of the guy cousins were there! My sister is the only girl on my dad’s side so everyone except she was there. They all missed her. His restaurant is called H3 Bistro! Koreans, LOOK IT UP!
Afterwards, we went to my cousin, Han’s apt!
Jin Sol was cute even when he cries. haha
Then he went right back to playing with his Uncle’s!
Can’t lie, I was a little tipsy. We had dinner plans back home at my aunt’s house. My cousin, Jin Kyung was over with her daughter, Ji An! I’ve seen photos of Ji An for a while now. I knew she loved Frozen, so we brought her back some Frozen clothes, blanket, and bag pack! She was a little shy at first, but she was sweet and I loved her instantly!
We had dinner and then went shopping!
Then we went to a Chicken and Beer spot. Korea has a TON of them! It’s just weird cause kids can be there… LOL Shout out to Ji An for always being in the background of my beer pictures. It was not intentional. LOL 
After drinks, Ji An wasn’t as shy no more… haha
Sunday:
After breakfast, they drove us by the Blue House (The Korean equivalent to the White House) and a national park. Every park have these exercise machines… haha 
Sidebar: Coffee is EXPENSIVE in Korea… but they have a Coffee Bean everywhere!!! Stacey and I were happy about that. haha
We were walked around insadong and some other spot. lol Churros are apparently popular in Korea.. haha
Then we walked over to Gyeongbokgung! 
Then we went to a market and ate a bunch of food! haha 
After we got back, we went out for dinner with the family… LOL We literally ate all the time…
To Be Continued…
Love these hyper ones. 
Monday:
My car was in the shop, so I hung out with my family while it was in the shop. They really love and spoil him. LOL 
After lunch, my sister took me to the mall so I can do some Christmas shopping. Shout out to her for the ride!
After work, Tyler stopped our home and kicked it with us! It was his birthday and he stopped by on his way home from his mom’s! Happy Birthday to my bro Tyler!!!!
Wednesday:
I came down for lunch with my parents. Twice in one week! hahaha We went to a Vietnamese restaurant, so I ordered the Vermicelli noodles! 
I got to see Ari twice this week as well! :) 
We’re all going through long days… Stacey suggested Red Robin and I will not refuse… LOL One of my favorite burgers. PERIOD.
Thursday:
After work, Jason came by our home and we went and got Wingstop! It was my first time. Pretty good too! We got BBQ, Original Hot, and Garlic Parmesan… I liked all the sauce wings… the dry rub was okay. haha
Friday:
For lunch, we went to Tammy’s Bakery on MLK! Alan got me some Banh Mi from Tammy’s and they were delicious! I had to bring Stacey! Shout out to my boy, Alan for showing me the bomb Vietnamese places!!!
It was also Blue Friday!
Friday was our Black Belt Class Christmas Party!! It’s always a lot of fun with lots of food, Talent Show, Limbo Contest, and Dance contest too! haha
Stacey’s the best. She’s very kind to the kids… Making root beer floats for all of them!
Saturday:
We went out for Sullong Tang with Emily and Jillian! It’s been a minute…
Then we went out for Coldstone cause we needed that Birthday Cake Remix Inception… well at least, Emily and I did… LOL 
Afterwards, Stacey and I had Paulina and Alyssa over for dinner and games! Stacey made Salmon with Avocado and Tomatoes!
Intense conversations… LOL 
Then we played Disney Hedbanz!!!
We ended the night with Cards Against Humanity!
So much fun having them over! Love them!
Sunday:
Sunday was Stacey’s family’s Holiday Cookies day! I always look forward to it. I love cookies… hahaha 
Then of course, the food. Emily had little patience…
Aaron got some blue candy… hahaha
I have no idea what Nica was doing with Audrey… LOL 
But Nica did make a great scary cookie. hahaha
Aaron, Audrey, and I took a series of selfies…
We all got to take home a lot of cookies though!
What a great week! Got to spend time with family and friends pretty much all week! I got to reflect on a lot and I’m very blessed. I looked under the tree and we got so many gifts and cards from people all over. Even my Tiffany & Co salesman sent a card. The lady who cuts my hair even got me a gift… LOL The glass is all the way full. Can’t believe it’s almost Christmas! EXCITED!
Hope everyone had a great weekend! Have a great week, everyone!
