trees are not supposed to do this

so check this out. this is maryland, the street where we live. look at the uprooted sidewalk on the right - we couldn't believe what happened within one short hour! we were actually on a romantic stroll down maryland to st. louis bread co. for dinner (yes, romantic)... when the storm hit. it was really weird. good thing we made it inside before the torrential rain fell from the black sky. let's say it was a quick hit 'n run.

in the aftermath of last week's storm, trees were down everywhere - and i mean everywhere. maybe 2-3 big trees fell at every block in the city. our car was blocked in for two days, and our traffic light blew off and disappeared completely. some 30 people were injured at busch stadium during the cardinals game, some fans were hospitalized. another one of our friends was on the highway and felt like he was going airborne! it was bad news for businesses, traffic, city foresters, crowded hospitals, and people with pets. the best news for us is that we miraculously didn't lose our power or AC... but many of our friends did, for nearly a week. anyway, thanks to all who called to check in on us. we're all good. :)

p-glo

two of our good friends left st. louis today... off to california they go, bringing with them the knowledge of games such as screwy louie and bang, the love of tom-yum soup, bowling, and anything in maui, and the pursuit of all things LOST and the number 24. we'll miss you guys...

btw everyone, pat still owes me a beer.

one year ago

Starting all over again is never easy. This week, my husband hangs up his 'intern' hat and begins his second year.

I remember one year ago, the unknown was pretty scary. exciting, but scary. One year ago, we were moving from Houston to St. Louis and didn't know a soul here. One year ago, we drove into the city with a low-riding, jam-packed car, and found our way to our new, empty home. One year ago, we didn't have a church, didn't have friends, and josh was on call for his first day at the Pediatric ICU, while I was upstairs painting all day in the hot summer humidity. it was a pretty lonely few weeks, and the library (and free internet) was our new best friend. We set up our blog to connect with old friends... and to really, have some semblance of familiarity. crazy! how things have changed.

We are blessed with wonderful friends here, a really nice home, great church... for those six last months in houston, we had prayed - and our prayers had been answered! Josh worked hard at the hospital, then came home to care for me. Sometimes he comes home from working 30 hours straight, and if there are dirty dishes in the sink or laundry to fold, he just does it. He has done an amazing job this year, and I applaud him for making it through what is usually known as "the toughest year" (and that's for both marriage and work!) Also, we have been challenged in the Word, growing in our marriage, serving in the young adult ministry, and yes, doing the music worship thing... As I look back and reflect, I can't help but praise God! As friends here in St. Louis move onto their new beginnings, we are sad to see them go, but always remember how faithful our jehovah jireh will be.

this week: josh starts as a second year in the Cardiac ICU. 5 am every morning, extremely long days... and i'm getting pretty used to sleeping alone every fourth night (although i often can't sleep well without him). but i write with a thankful heart, as i remember all the ways the Lord has blessed us this past year, and how coming to St. Louis (and not cincinatti... or chicago... or michigan) was indeed in God's perfect plan. He knew - we see that now.

Please pray for Josh as he starts his second year as a resident at Children's. This month will be a particularly tough one to start on. There are never too many kids to take care of at the hospital, and he will need renewed energy and strength, espeically for the next three weeks...

toiletology

after taking apart and putting our toilet back together the other day, i'm proud to say that i've fixed the leak in our bathroom. all it took was a trip to home depot, a couple borrowed wrenches, and my trusty black & decker home repair book courtesy of sarah's brother paul. so i didn't do the whole wax ring removal thing, but hey - a leak's a leak, isn't it? feel free to call me for your next one. =)

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Wu

Congratulations again, Gordon & Yvonne !! It was a beeeea-utiful wedding.

Congrats, Jon!

Look out, Wash U... here he comes!

where the red fern grows

this past weekend a bunch of us drove a good 175 miles to central Missouri, home of the Lake of the Ozarks. thanks to Rudy and the generous chocolatier Mr. Nestle, we enjoyed our own private lakehouse complete with four bedrooms, full kitchen, indoor pool, sauna, and hot tub, and a huge deck overlooking the lake. this place was incredible. we couldn't have asked for anything more (except maybe more people to come share the experience with us). pictures don't do this place justice...maybe we'll post some video if we ever get around to doing it. thanks again rudy and thanks everyone who came out!!

check out the grill - big enough to fit burgers, brats, kebabs, and buns. needless to say, we ate well.

that's rudy on the left telling us how hot the hot tub was, and on the right the boys are sweating it out in the sauna. sexy!!!

photobucket!!

so we're trying a new way to upload pics since the free flickr account only gives you so much space. photobucket seem okay so far. kinda frustrating, but relatively easy. anyways, the long awaited pics from our trips to NY and DC:

in NY look for: walking the city, central park, 2 broadway shows, statue of liberty, the met, ground zero, the brooklyn bridge, good eats, and a naked man holding his breath in a glass ball.

in DC look for: our walk on the mall with mike and lydia, baby panda at the national zoo, huge crab cakes, josh's cousin andrew, sarah's friend sylvia, and the reappearance of the biggest cat you've ever seen. =)

back to reality

for some reason sarah and i have this tendency to stand under big tall monuments and take goofy photos of ourselves. i must admit that we're getting pretty good at it too. all it takes is a really long arm and good aim.

we got back thursday night after a long seven days of walking, sight-seeing, eating, walking more, watching broadway shows, shopping, visiting mike and lydia and my cousin andrew, and walking even more. who knew that a vacation would be so fun, but so tiring...

thanks to all of you who gave us such great recommendations - most of which we took extra effort to check out. more pics to come soon... check out our flickr!

and of course, happy mother's day, mom(s)!

baseball baseball baseball

Berkman, Astros jump out early, hand Cards third straight loss

okay, it wasn't a playoff game, but the win still was nice. besides, we're living in enemy territory and we're surrounded by st. louis fans. here's to a fun season ahead against the cards: go 'stros!!

tough choice

for you baseball fans out there:

mets vs. braves at shea or yankees vs. orioles at camden yards??

i've been to camden before but i heard shea is just one big ugly place. what say you?

NY & DC in seven days

Hey there!

we need some input. making plans for a trip to the east coast in early May (sarah's first time!) and we've gotta blow through two huge cities in a short amount of time - we definitely want to make the most of it. So... we need the scoop on the best places to spend our time, maybe 'off-the-path' sites to visit, or your favorite restaurants in the area?? here are some topics of interest...

restaurants & fooood
museums
parks
shopping (or best-deal shopping)
nightlife
shows

yeah... so if you've been to New York City (we'll be staying in Manhattan) or the D.C. area, or if you have some 'have-to-see' favorites, we'd love some advice. thanks!!

You did this to me!

haha. always amusing to see asians on the screen, right? i'm sure you've seen this already, but for those of you who haven't been watching TV, this one's for you. we don't even eat dq, but the ad's a keeper. anyone of you parents (or parents to be) identify with this? :)

click on the link if you want to watch the ad.
http://www.dairyqueen.com/en-US/DQ+Ads/default.htm

President Charles Logan.

Does he really look like an honest man to you??

i guess people do love us

ok. i gotta backtrack here. we had some visitors come in the last couple of weeks, made our usual rounds of the arch (yes, i went twice in the same weekend), soulard farmers market, university city, chocolate bar, forest park, city museum, lots of restaurants...

so here's our shout out to: sonya kooboo - good 'ole college friend who just matched in SanDiego for her residency! wooo!! mmm. fitz's...

rocky & laura tsang - cute couple from arkansas... they drove over 6 hours just to see us, so we let them steal our favorite spot under the arch. ever met a chinese guy with a southern accent?

paul & karen chong - awww... they would make a cute couple too, but they're my (sarah's) brother & sister. the one on the left is taken, the one on the right is available.

3 weeks later...

wow...either we've had absolutely nothing to post or we've had too much to post. i think it's more of the latter. you know how once you get behind on something you're always too lazy to try and catch up? maybe that's just me...

anyways, we've had countless visitors here in st. louis and travelled a bit ourselves over the last three weeks. i've been working in the ER, and no, it's definitely not like the TV show. or like scrubs, or house, or grey's anatomy. please.

congrats to the lovely couples married this weekend: john and michelle mao (austin) and roger and karen lin (st. louis)!!!!!

try this

check this out! ... probably one of the coolest places we've been in st. louis. they took junk from all over the city and built a giant playground for adults, including lots of coils, caves, and caverns to contort your body through. a true test of agility & heights for the adventurous. not to mention the aquarium, two airplanes suspended outdoors, giant slides, and a bus overhanging the top of the building. bizarre, yes. but we had a blast. knee bruises, rope burns, and all...

showers galore

two showers in one weekend -- phew! things couldn't have been more exhausting! but it was so good to see old friends. a drive with carol up to austin, a lot of funny hats, tea bags, memory keepsakes & tears, quiche, a drive back to houston, a lot of hugs at church, mini tiramisus, a giant poster of gordon, and literally an overload of food. congrats, michelle & yvonne!

flowers, food, fun

here's an ode to gloria's post - our eventful week, mixing in a couple sleepless nights in the hospital:

a quiet dinner date at home on tuesday - yes, that is steak. my wife really is pretty amazing. did i say that on the last post?? but i lit the candles, thank you very much. and yes, i did get her something too.

and later during the week the guys cooked an awesome dinner for the ladies. in return, we got to sit on the floor. =) wayland and wendy got to show off some of their licorice-eating skills too. nothing like a friendly battle of the sexes!

ok, no pics from me during the weekend...i was alone in the hospital catching the flu from sick kids. i'm sure sarah will post the fun from her weekend in texas...

more fooood

man, i feel so spoiled. and full. tonight i went to a valentine's ball with my mom. she wanted me to come back for this weekend. she hadn't gone the last couple of years because my dad usually took her, but she may be retiring next year, so she wanted to attend. so gladly, i accepted the offer -- i was, of course, her "date" and got to enjoy all the schmoozing around (yes, i like that word) with doctors and hospital people... the high life, man, that's all i can say. carrying on conversation with strangers about random things for hours was tiring, but the food was worth it. i've never had such fancy hors de vors, including endless crab legs with the meat just hanging out! at the open bar, introduced my mom to the sour amaretto... which she loved (heh) and then when the plated entree comes out, of course it has a huge stuffed lobster tail & filet mignon. i only ate most of the filet and half of the tail. pity.

but nice way to start out valentines week, right? well... i have a feeling it will only get better. especially since i will get to see josh again tomorrow. :) i've got some planning going on, and josh has some planning going on, so this should be an eventful week. i think i'll be happy with a quiet evening with my hubby, i already can't wait to go back to st. louis and be with him. ok, it's late. signing off from chicago...