Last night we celebrated our cousin's 30th birthday. This is the same cousin who had the tumor two weeks ago but got it removed last week. Her surgery was successful. Although the birthday celebration was pretty casual with only family members present, it felt pretty special to me that she was out of the hospital and on the road to recovery on her birthday even with her shaven head.

On another note, I noticed that I'm limited to 195 blog entries and that some of my old blogs have been deleted. Is this happening to just me?

Five more days of work left!!!

my lovely niece 

My mind is already on vacation even though my body is still at work. Only a week and a half more before my six week vacation begins. The anticipation of rest and relaxation is more exciting than when it actually happens in a way. It's almost the end of the school year and testing is on my mind; language arts tests, math tests, state tests, etc. It's stressful but right now it doesn't bother me so much knowing that the time of rest and relaxation is fast approaching.

Ashley's Wishes

A few weeks ago, Jeff brought home a wish bone for Ashley to make a wish. I happened to be sitting on the couch with her watching some cartoons so she said that she wanted me to pull on the other half of the wish bone. Of course I didn't pull so she could get the bigger part. "Now you could make your wish!" her dad told her. And you know what she said in her jumpy excitement? "I want to love my Auntie Lauren more!" Sigh... This is why I love her even though she could be a major brat sometimes.

Then last week as Erik and I were taking Ashley and Brian to the park, she saw some dandelion seeds and pulled them up to make a wish. She blew on dandelion and said, "I want to love my Auntie Lauren more!" Haha... I couldn't help but smile and feel the warm fuzzies. Erik's response was, "Hey, what about your uncle?" So she made a wish to love her Uncle Erik more with another dandelion seed.

Yesterday, Ashley picked up another dandelion seed on her way to the park with her mom and she made another wish. She said, "I wish my Uncle Erik and Auntie Lauren will love me more."

Family Emergency

Last two days have been a very stressful time for our family. On Monday our cousin was admitted to the hospital due to severe headaches which we later found out were caused by two tumors in the brain. We were all shocked. She is only in her late twenties. She had been having hearing problems for the past few months but the doctors didn't find anything wrong with her ear. We now know that the hearing problem was caused by a huge tumor which is growing by her left ear. Yesterday we went to visit her at the hospital and found out that there is going to be an operation to remove at least one of the tumors, the one by her ear. It has grown to one fourth of her brain size. Surprisingly, she was in good spirits. She was talking, joking around, and laughing. She is very brave. Her mom, on the other hand, looked like she's been crying all day. Her eyebrows were furrowed in tension and her face was red.

I had one of the crappiest day at work yesterday. At one point the stress was making it difficult for me to breathe. And yet I realized that life is not so bad nor so difficult for me.

The Best Mother-in-Law in the World

I have been blessed with the best mother-in-law in the world. Not only did she make shrimp eggrolls just for me during the Chinese New Year, last week she got up extra early just so that she could make me some moi(rice porridge) to take for lunch since I could not eat normal food after my oral surgery. I was incredibly touched by her kindness and tender loving care. It makes my eyes well up in tears. Of course she is just as nice to everyone else in the family. She made chicken curry tonight because she knew that Jeff likes it and their family was visiting. It's comforting to know that we, who married into the family, are treated like family. Even though we had a bumpy beginning.

First Surgery

Last Friday I had all four of my wisdom teeth taken out. It was my first surgery ever and I had been feeling anxious about it for days. When I got to the dental facility, there were three people in the operation room, the oral surgeon and two helpers. They hooked me up to the EKG monitor and a gas tube. She told me to let them know when I started feeling lightheaded. It took about thirty seconds then I faded out very quickly. Although I knew that the room was brightly lit, I was engulfed in darkness. I could still hear the dental assistances talking about their upcoming weekend plans and feel the coldness of the alcohol wipe as well as the pinch of the needle being hooked on my right arm and I wondered if this is what death feels like.

When I came to, it seemed an eternity had passed but Erik said it only took forty minutes. I saw the glare of the light and heard voices. I could feel them tugging inside my mouth. Then my sight finally came back and I knew that I was okay. The rest of the day was a bloody mess. I had to use ice packs on my face all day to keep the swelling down. I even got canker sores on my lips.

My jaw still hurts when I open my mouth. It’s a pain to eat anything, but I have to since I’m on antibiotics. I can’t wait to eat anything I want.