word vomit

I've decided that I think too much about things. So I decided to just write down things I'm thinking and see how many things come out in 22 minutes. Stream of consciousness, here we come!

Time 9:44

1. Sean's playing Wii Fit. We just got it from our credit card points. It's like it's freeee!
2. My job is slightly boring right now. They main thing I'm in charge of uses certain electrodes and those are on order right now, not to come until Mid-September at best. So I have to busy myself, and that's not so fun.
3. Today was actually a day I'd describe as a "nice day" weather-wise. Blessed over-cast skies.
4. Sean and I both got really sick the week we started school/work. You know what it was? Swine Flu!
5. Probably.
6. Apparently someone had it during Sean's orientation, which Sean caught (hand shaking is a germ's best friend) and promptly gave to me. Half Sean's class got it. We didn't go to the clinic or anything because it was announced that what we had was Swine flu after we started getting better and they said it'd be pointless to go to the clinic.
7. It really wiped us out but now it's kind of cool that we had the epidemic flu.
8. I've gotten sick the last several times I can remember that I started a new job. It stinks because you ought to stay home but you can't stay home because you're just starting your job!
9. Houston has a weird smell. Not a general overall smell but pockets of bad odor. There's never a garbage or anything around, I don't know what it could be.
10. Maybe it's a sewer nearby. It's reeeaally stinky.
11. I've been biking to work. It's the only way to get there without paying (for the light rail train or for parking).
12. If I could drive without having to pay, believe me, I would.
13. But at least I get some exercise, right?
14. I can't say I love what it does to my hair though. Helmet pressure plus an excess of sweat makes for some deflated, askew hairstyles.
15. I need a new hairstyle anyway.
16. I don't wear some of my favorite shirts because I don't want to sweat in them. And biking in a skirt is out of the question.
17. I have only been rained on once so far. It was on my way home. It was actually kind of fun. Though, if it had been in the morning, I'm not sure I would have liked it so much.
18. The ride home gets really windy which makes for some slow peddling. You'd think the breeze would be a welcome coolant, but it's usually pretty thick, hot wind. When I breathe out it forces my air back in my face, making me feel like I'm choking on my own exhalation. Not so pleasant.
19. Sean's parents came to visit a couple weeks ago. It was really fun.
20. I'll put on some of the pictures but I used up all my space in my flickr account so I have to wait until there's more room.
21. Because I have to wait, I haven't even loaded them onto the computer so far. That's lame.
22. Sean had his White Coat Ceremony. Kind of a funny tradition, but it was fun to see my sweetie be the center of attention for a moment.
23. My parent's are coming this weekend and I'm so excited! Especially because they're bringing Pogo and not taking her back!
24. There's something about this place that's giving me more headaches. I feel a lot more pressure on my head. Is it because of the humidity? The lower elevation? I better get used to this quickly!
25. The S key on my keyboard is tilted wierd and is hard to use. It' tupid.
26. I had sushi twice in one week span. That makes me extra happy!

Time: 10:06

Hmm. I wonder what it all means.

1. Katie's playing the Wii Fit. She's fitter than I am... It keeps making fun of me for being scrawny. Stupid game.
2. I'm going to have a dog! I'm excited!
3. Muaj ib hnub, aub tom kuv. Kuv quaj...
4. I'm studying anatomy of the thigh right now. So many muscles!
5. Katie just caught me doing this.
6. I like bacon
7. Really excited for the next season of LOST in January. Can't wait!
8. I love my wife

YimLeej?

As of yesterday, Sean's been home from his LDS mission for three years. To commemorate the occasion, I thought it was about time that I explained a little something about this blog. A little something called the URL.

http://yimleej.blogspot.com/

Yimleej? It looks like some sort of code, as if trying to say "Why I'm Lee J." What does that have to do with us? Let me 'splain.

Sean served his mission in Minnesota, specifically working with the Hmong people, speaking the Hmong language. When he first arrived in Minneapolis/St. Paul, a family met with him and, after some careful thought, gave him a hmong name. That name? Vaj YimLeej . That's pronounced Va Yee' Lang ('=glottal stop). Vaj is a clan name, while YimLeej means Eight People. Apparently some great warrior of some sort is his namesake. So that's special.

Sean went by that name for two years. He still thinks of himself as YimLeej. So, when Sean set up this blog, the name naturally become the identifying web address.

Is it all a bit clearer to you now?

Good. Now I'm going to get back to reminiscing about three years ago, when I waited and waited and waited by the phone. And finally, after being apart for two years, was able to hear his sweet voice again. Mmm...

Reuion- Rocks, Falls, Love, and Conclusion

Alright alright alright. I can tell this reunion stuff is overstaying its welcome, so I'll just throw the rest of the pictures into one last post

Are you ready for a whirlwind of fun? Here... we... GOOOOO!

Rock Throwing
What is it about chucking rocks into water that's so appealing? When mom took a couple of the kids out to throw pebbles, most of the other kids ran to join in the fun.

D4 found a nice weighty rock to make a big splash.

A way better rock than her dad's bit of gravel. Sheesh.

Look's like J3's got a perfect, J3-sized rock for prime splashage.

Dad began teaching J1 how to skip rocks. "First you find some nice flat rocks..."

"Then you side-arm fling the rock so the flat part skips along the water, like this!" Dad procedes to skip his rock six times. "It's simple!"

You may not guess it from her expression, but she just succeeded in skipping her very first rock! Practice makes perfect!

These two on the hunt for boulders... and a little mischief.

No mischief to be found!

Only nice, juicy slabs of earth, which may not fly very far but will make a nice ker-plunk.

And there's mom, always keeping a watchful eye. I wonder, if someone fell in, would she jump in to save them? I don't see her swimming much...

Though, I do hazily remember one family gathering when I was much, much younger in which I slipped into a pool and flailed around underwater for a half minute or so until my mom reached in and saved me. So I guess she is up to the job.

Fall Creek Falls

Sean took some of my favorite pictures of the reuion, including these two of the Fall Creek Falls. He ventured into dangerous territory, sacrificing his safety and security for the beauty of photography. He's my man.

I heard tell that this waterfall is the tallest free-falling (not hitting any rocks partway down) waterfall east of the Rockies. ... Impressive, eh? Oh yeah, way impressive.

Us

That color green is a kind of weird background color, isn't it? No matter, Sean looks so happy to be looking at me, which makes the picture wonderful. Sean had to leave the reuion early to attend his mandatory school orientation (we planned this reunion several months ago, being sure to hold it at a time before all Sean's possible med schools were to start. None of us thought about orientation, however. Good going, us).

That was probably the closest we've ever come to using up our allotted cell phone minutes. Thank goodness for technology, I would have gone crazy if I wasn't able to talk to him! We even had those silly long goodbyes where we said we'd hang up and then wouldn't and we'd giggle and say lovey-dovey things and sigh and take ten minutes before one of us would finally disconnect. Sickening, I know :)

Look, I'm as light as a feather! Sean has no problem swinging me to and fro, as if I weighed nothing at all. But lo, what's this? A bulging forehead vein? Could this be causing him strain after all? Perhaps I'm not as light as I'd like to believe...

Success

All-in-all I think everyone had a fun time, at least a little bit :) Twas a good week and I'm excited for the next one!

Reuion- Sunglasses

My clever mom brought along some supplies to decorate sunglasses. How do you like the results?

Reuion- Bon fire + Horseback riding

For some crazed reason, we decided to roast marshmallows for smores with all the kids. Man, I can't tell you how many near eye-skewerings I experienced. The smores were good though.

Wuh oh, B2's head is on fire!

Most of the pictures I took looked like this. I was waaay out of my league.

But the sparks I could handle.

Another fun excusion was horseback riding in Fall Creek Falls. I rode a horse named General.

Guess what? They let three-year old J3 ride! With a guide for his horse, of course.

Cracks me up! Walking on up to the horse as if he's done it a million times.

Look at him! He's so tiny and the horse is so big!

J2 had a turn too. He looks only slightly out of place. See J3 hanging out by the fence out there all by his lonesome- kid's got some courage.

Ah, J1 is a much better size.

I didn't take many pictures while riding and most were blurry (constant clip clopping causes a bit of instability) but we sure had a fun time!

Reuion- Close ups

While not taking pictures of my pretty family, I was taking close-ups of this and that...

It seemed like there was a new moth hanging out on the cabin exterior every morning.

This feels Christmasy, doesn't it?

Millipedes move in such a cool way, undulating hundreds of legs at a time. Fascinating.

I like this moss color. Is it moss? Or is it lichen? Sean thinks it's lichen. I think he's cute. And right.

A lil' Praying Mantis!

I found this old tennis ball behind the cabin and thought it looked neato.

Looks like dried peppers.

Who doesn't love curly weeds?

I've never seen anything like this. Who knows what it is?

Dew!

This makes me think of femininity. Why?

Please observe a moment of silence for the fallen.

Oo, I like.

Reuion- Paddle Boating

The family visited a nearby state park in TN: Fall Creek Falls. I think my favorite part of it all was the paddle boating. It feels so serene, the lapping water. Even though a whole lot of sweat and leg work creates that serenity.

On our first paddle boat adventure, dad and I paddled while D3 steered. I have to say, he was pretty adept.

Oh boy, that boat was trouble. Splashin and bumpin and disrupting all that well-earned serenity.

Now they knew how to take it easy. Just enjoying the water and the company.

Life jackets get in the way a bit, don't they?

Uh oh, I see some mischief brewing there.

My second trip, J2 was at the helm while mom and I peddled. He was awfully eager to please. He wanted to try peddling and laid flat on his back so his feet would reach the peddles. Atta boy!

Ah, the easy life.

And how about me taking my camera out on the water? Talk about crazy!