This post is about a week late, but I have been so busy with Christmas, that I haven't had the time to sit and finish this post.  I started it last Sunday, and now it's Saturday and I'm finishing it finally.  So please, just forgive the mixed tenses.  Thanks

Since I had the day off work today, I made plans to drag Drew to this underground shopping mall in Seoul.  I went a couple days ago with friends, and I really wanted to go back!  I talked this place up like crazy.  Drew was even excited and he knew it was a day filled with shopping!  (We both hate shopping... why was this ever a good idea?!)
It was an absolutely beautiful morning, in my midwestern opinion!  It was snowing like crazy, and the roads were covered in snow.  It was just so pretty!  

We got super lucky on the train ride into Seoul.  Normally, we're lucky to get a seat for even half of the ride.  This time, we got a seat THE ENTIRE WAY.  That is the best thing ever on an hour and a half train ride!
Once we got to the Express Bus Terminal, we went to the flower market that was currently turned into a GIANT Christmas bazaar.  Just imagine Christmas vomited all over a building.  It's like you were there.

We walked around the Christmas market for a while, and I finally found some ornaments to buy!  They were bulbs, made to look vintage, with Santa inside.  MADE IN CHINA.  lol Oops!  But they are beautiful and I can't wait to hang them on our tree next year in Virginia.  (I never took a picture of them and they're already packed away and ready to be shipped back home in 5 months.)
After we were all Christmas decoration-ed out, we went next door to the Shinsegae mall.  Korea has the biggest malls ever.  I mean, I get lost in Glenbrook Square Mall, and I've been shopping there for 23 years!  I don't know how anyone finds their way around malls here.  This place was incredible.  We could NEVER afford to shop at any of the stores, but it was so fun to window shop!  Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Balenciaga, Dior... the list goes on and on.  The mall was gorgeous, and everything and everyone in it was as well!

The mall was 10 stories!!!  The higher up we went, the less expensive everything was, but it was still not in our price range!!  There was also a basement FULL of food!

The last two pictures are pieces of fruit, dipped in chocolate, and then covered in a fondant type of thing.  We each bought one and they were pretty tasty!
After walking throughout Shinsegae mall, we walked across the street to the Express Bus Terminal to the GIANT underground shopping mall.  First- before shopping... we needed a little something to eat!  Sushi Bar!  I REALLY wish I liked sushi.  I think it tastes alright, but I can't get past the texture and the fact that it's raw fish.  Ugh.  Drew chowed down on sushi, but I stuck to anything cooked.

After eating, we walked around and checked out all of the cool/weird/pretty/hideous things that were for sale in the mall.  I ended up only buying one thing, and Drew didn't buy anything.  It's hard to buy clothes here; they're too dang small.  BUT... if you are an adorable little child, you can find all the clothes you could ever dream of.  And be the most stylish kid ever.

After we walked to both ends of the never-ending mall, we stopped for a snack before heading home.  Korea makes us fatties, but we don't care because it all tastes SO GOOD.  We went to a cute little coffee shop and got "Honey Bread" and bubble tea.  (We did not drink the bubble tea because it was DISGUSTING and we both got sick :( )

And that, my friends, was our day of shopping in Seoul.

For you to fully appreciate this post, you need to play this song while you read.  That will get you in the same mood I'm in while writing it. :)

Here we are, two days before Christmas (for us; three for everyone at home.)  Drew is at work.  Rooney is laying on the couch next to me.  The Christmas lights and tree are lit.  Evergreen candles burning.  Asparagus Quiche baking in the oven.  Yorkshire Pudding batter chilling in the fridge.  Gingerbread men and cinnamon rolls waiting to be made.  Christmas music playing (a little too loudly) as the background music for my day.  With all of this going on, I had to take a moment to chill out and deal with this overwhelming sense of homesickness.  My mind is so full of Christmas memories and flashbacks.  My soul is ACHING to be home with my family and loved ones during this holiday season.
Drew and I are incredibly blessed to have grown up in families that celebrate the holidays together with traditions, love, laughter, and God.  So many of our Christmas memories revolve around tradition.  
For me, Christmas starts right after Thanksgiving.  (Another holiday that is full of tradition and love.)  As a family, we pick out a Christmas tree (well, it's a fake one now; much to my dismay.) and decorate it all together.  Every year we argue about where the tree should be placed in the living room.  I usually win the argument and the tree goes in the middle of the windows.  It's a big deal to decorate the tree.  We all help and it is such a happy evening filled with love and the first Christmas music of the year.  After the tree is up, it is acceptable to play Christmas music any time of day, any day of the week until December 26th.  Our red and green flood lights go up in the yard and the icicle lights are hung on the porch.  The wreaths go up on the windows, the tree on the dock, the kid's tree in the family room.  The house is so much warmer and more inviting.  It constantly smells like good food and Christmas tree.  I can picture walking into the front door of my house, hearing Harry Connick Jr. ruining "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year", smelling the tree, and seeing my mom in the kitchen baking something delicious.  (Well that or taking a nap on the couch, but whatever.)
This is Christmas, though.  All of these sounds, sights, and smells.
Christmas is my mom, my aunt, and our friend Dianne, baking Christmas cookies for an entire day.  Me helping for about an hour and then getting sick of it, but not sick of stealing some of the goodies!  And then days later grabbing handfuls of bun bars, turtles, and peanut brittle from the fridge in the back room.  Oh, and I can't forget about Dianne's white chocolate covered pretzels with sprinkles!  I'm getting fat just thinking about all of these Christmas treats!
Christmas is walking through Von Maur and hearing the Christmas music on the piano and seeing all of the beautiful decorations.  It's also walking through Glenbook mall and wanting to punch everyone for being in your way! ;)  Also hearing the little kids screaming when their parents put them on Santa's lap.
Christmas is sneaking into my parents' closet to see just HOW MANY presents my mom has purchased, even though she says she's "cutting back this year."  (That never happens.)  
Christmas is trying to be the first one awake every morning so you can put the piece on the advent calendar.
Christmas is trying over and over to think of a gift to get my family members, and ALWAYS failing miserably.
Christmas is the day before Christmas Eve when my mom makes quiche, cinnamon rolls, and prepares the prime rib for the next evening.  
Christmas is waking up on Christmas Eve and being SO excited that tomorrow is Christmas!  It's spending all day in lazy clothes.  It's getting all made up and dressed to get ready for midnight mass.  It's Dianne coming over and everyone snacking on delicious cheese and crackers until dinner is ready. 
Christmas is coming downstairs to the white table cloth, cloth napkins, china, crystal, and silver on the table.  It's watching my dad cut the prime rib.  It's searching for the most well done piece of meat so I don't make him mad by putting my meat in the microwave!!  It's fighting for those last few pieces of Yorkshire pudding!  It's rushing to make sure you look perfect for mass.
Christmas is me texting Kati Wright to make sure midnight mass is ACTUALLY at midnight and not 11pm like my mom always thinks.
Christmas is the cold car ride into town, in dresses and heels, and running into church before we freeze.
Christmas is hugging every member of the Wright family and not wanting to say goodnight!
Christmas is coming home, opening our Christmas Eve jammies.
Christmas is putting out cookies and milk for Santa before bed.  (Don't forget carrots for Rudolph!)
Christmas (used to be) Isabel, Liam and me sleeping in Liam's room.  Me on the floor in front of the door so Liam can't go downstairs to see if Santa has come yet.  It (used to be) Liam waking up every hour of the night and asking if we can open presents yet.  It (used to be) waking up at 6 in the morning and waking our parents up.  We had to wait for coffee to brew and for my dad to get the video camera ready, though!
Christmas now is everyone sleeping in their own beds and waking up AFTER our parents.  We still run downstairs to see what Santa put under the tree after we went to sleep!
Christmas is sitting in jammies on the living room floor and reading the note Santa left, reminding us of the real reason we celebrate this holiday.  It's laughing and opening our stockings.  It's getting pomegranates and POM juice.  It's taking turns, one at a time, opening a gift and throwing the paper and boxes in a pile by the door.  
Christmas is "knock knock!" and Dianne coming over to join us.  It's sitting at the table, saying Happy Birthday, Jesus and eating homemade cinnamon rolls, quiche, pomegranates, and mimosas.  
Christmas is trying on all of our new clothes and parading around the house.  It's trying to find a home for all of our new things.  It's getting ready for lunch at a relative's house.  It's choosing which new clothes to wear that day.  
Christmas is spending time with those that you love the most.
Christmas is the constant reminder of Christ and his birth.  That none of this would be possible without His love.
I am so blessed to have all of these amazing Christmas memories and traditions.  It's been a struggle for both me and Drew spending our first Christmas away from ALL of our family.  We are doing our best to keep traditions alive, mix traditions together, and make new Christmas traditions to share with our future children.  I can only hope that I give my children Christmas memories as wonderful as the ones my parents have given me.  
Christmas is tradition.  It's love.  It's family.  It's Jesus.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.
And, I guess that's Christmas to me.

So you remember those adorable kittens I found in our garage a few weeks back, right?  Well, I sure won't ever forget them.  They were cute, sure... but I will never again bring in a stray kitten that I find in Korea.
Anyway stray kittens.  So after we captured those cute little fur balls, my friend, Sara, took them into her house.  Her kids and dogs helped take care of them.  My other friend, Laura, took them to the vet about a week later.  They got their shots and a clean bill of health, except that the vet said they had "dry skin."  So after a few days later.. Sara's kids broke out in some kind of rash.  The doctor said it was eczema... so whatever.  On with life.  (Or so they thought.)  Within a few days, all four of her kids had gotten worse!  The kittens moved to Laura's house a day or so after Thanksgiving.  Shortly thereafter, like a day or two later, Laura noticed a few spots on her skin.  She went to the doctor and was told it was ringworm.  Sure enough, she ran into Sara and her kids at the doctor and they were told the same thing.  The kittens got medicine... end of story right?  Wrong.  As soon as I heard about all of this, I was itchy all over.  I couldn't stop thinking about it.  Every itch I felt was sure to be ringworm.  SURPRISE!!!!!!  The day wasn't even over before I found a spot on my forehead.  Just one spot, but that was enough for me to panic.  I immediately started using the medicated cream I got from Sara, and trying at home remedies to get rid of it.
MEANWHILE, spots started showing up on one of Sara's dogs!  (Rooney had just been over there to play a few days prior, so I was freaked!)
Luckily, my spot didn't spread; it stayed all by itself in the middle of my forehead.  Drew didn't get it.  Rooney didn't get it.  Only ONE of the girls got it; Julia had one small spot on her back.  My spot went away.  Julia's went away.  Weeks went by, and I thought we were in the clear.
That is until last Thursday.  I came home after work and Drew pointed out a little spot on Rooney's nose.  "Is that ringworm?"  all nonchalant like it was no big deal.  YES IT WAS FREAKING RINGWORM.  I called the vet, who told me to use the shampoo and medicated drops from the kittens and see if that helped.  I freaked out and scrubbed him all over.  I covered him in this medicine.  Sara even brought over some pills from her dogs.  I was getting rid of this ringworm.  The next day, I found another spot on his shoulder.  PLEASE DON'T SPREAD! I called the vet again to tell her it had started spreading and that I wanted some pills.  She never got back to me before they closed and now it was Friday night.  I kept obsessing over the shampoo.  I washed all of his blankets and everything that he had touched.  He wasn't allowed on the furniture and he had to sleep in his cage.   (Like a peasant!  I know, so sad.)  The worst part was that he was so frustrated that we wouldn't snuggle or pet him!  Saturday morning rolled around (by this time I had found a spot on my leg) and Rooney had two more spots on his front paw.  Since his first spot was on his nose, I figured it would spread anywhere that he could lick.  I called a Korean vet and made an appointment for that afternoon.  By the time I got to the vet, Rooney had another spot on the same paw.  It was getting ridiculous.
The vet was an interesting experience.  The guy spoke PERFECT English, which was refreshing.  He told me he had studied in Kentucky (and hated it) for two years.  He had never seen a German Shorthaired Pointer before and couldn't believe how big he was.. HAHAHA Rooney?? A big dog?  That's the funniest thing I've ever heard.  (Also don't tell Rooney he said that; as far as he's concerned he is a lap dog.)
He checked Rooney's spots, put medicine on them, scrubbed them, cleaned them, gave Rooney treats, was amazed that he knew tricks, and prescribed some pills.  He also suggested I "cut his hair" to make it easier to see if the ringworm is spreading LOL!!!!  This was the conversation... "When was the last time you cut his hair?"  "Never.  He has never had a haircut."  "WHAT?!  Never?  You should cut it when you get home so you can see where it's spreading.  What color is his skin?"  "Uhhh.. skin color?  I don't know.  He's always had fur covering it."  "You've really never cut his hair?"  LOL it took everything not to burst out laughing.  So, he gave me 10 days worth of pills (2 a day), medicated gauze to clean the spots, and ointment to rub on.  You won't believe how much this cost me (including the visit itself!)  41,060 won... which is about $41!!!!  I was in pure shock.  I can't even imagine how much that would cost at home.  
Anyway.  So we got home, Rooney stayed locked in his room.  We started loading him with meds.  

He's gotten a total of three more spots.  Mine hasn't spread at all.  Drew still hasn't gotten it.  None of the girls have gotten it.  Rooney is doing so much better now.  His only problem is licking the spots and making them sore.  Hopefully this wonderful gift from those disgusting kittens is on its way out.  I sure won't miss it.
I have learned my lesson.  Cats are gross... in all countries.  ESPECIALLY stray cats that live in  your garage and feed off of your food trash.  I will never again ask Drew to let me save a kitten.  Dogs, however, different story.  I have totally not ruled out stray dogs.  There is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL Golden Retriever that just showed up down the road and lives outside on a 2 foot rope.  My new mission in life is to set him free and find him a new home.  Shhhhh.  Don't tell.  I have this new problem recently where I cry when I see the dogs outside.  Mainly because I know how cold I am and I can't imagine how cold they are.  Chained up without even a dog house to go into.  I have cried over this Golden on multiple occasions.  Drew hates the dog and me (probably.)  I can't help it.  I like dogs more than 90% of the humans I know.  I just want to save them all.  Maybe I can open a zoo.