This is a response to Thu's post. 

Keane's picture:

My picture:  I work around the corner in the COMMONWEALTH building!  There's a lot of bail bonds because the Court House is near by.

Check out both of our pictures...both pictures have a bunch of sun glare....interesting.

When are they going to be in southern california?!? 

I still play "hair salon" ...as long as I have a willing participant.

Here's a picture of my loyal client getting his first haircut in Romania:

Paula and Nic are so different in how they manage money. 

Paula will spend every dime she gets as quickly as possible.  She would buy knick knacks and is very impulsive.  Good thing she doesn't know about credit cards yet.

Nic is a saver.  He likes to save for the big ticket items.  He's also very generous with his savings, always offering to buy things for me (he's such a mama's boy).

So last night we went clothes shopping for Tet (Vietnamese New Year's).  Paula wanted sky blue glittery/shimmering skinny pants.  I said "no".  When it was time to pay, Nic brings me the same pants and said that he was buying it for Paula with his Christmas money.  He was excited with his negotiation with Paula...she was going to throw in $10 towards the pants so he didn't have to pay the full price!  I was so furious with Paula...1) for bypassing my decision to not buy her the pants 2) for taking advantage of Nic's generosity and naivete.  You see...she has $20 from babysitting; Nic has $150 from Christmas that he has not cashed in yet.  She convinced her brother to spend his Christmas money to buy her stuff and she wasn't even going to contribute all of her money towards it.  I gave her the whole speech about how important it is to be an "independent girl" when she grows up...to earn her own money and pay for her own things....and especially NOT to take advantage of other people's money...

Just to clarify, I don't make my kids pay for their own clothes.  This is the first time they have "money" to manage ..I thought it was a good idea for them to understand the value of money...but maybe they are too young and I'm being too harsh towards Paula?

February 1 marks 16 years of marriage for Adrian and me.  I feel fortunate we made it this far. 

Paula said she would wear my dress for her wedding....I doubt it, but wouldn't that be special...

(wearing my actual dress with her kiddie veil)

Found this old picture dated 1997:

There is a house in my neighborhood that really stands out among all the little houses.  A Greek restaurant owner bought 2 lots for his Italian villa.  He planted lavender in his front yard and has a small vineyard in the back.  This would be a typical house in Houston or Atlanta, but what I find so special is the lavender field in the front yard!  Adrian and I walked through this house late one night while it was being built.  So fun to dream....

First warm day to play with our Christmas gift from Adrian's Mom.  It fits the 4 of us comfortably.  WE LOVE IT!!!!  Thank you so much Bunica Maria!

Nic's "culture" poster for school....reminds me of one that Emma did a long time ago!

It just occurred to me that Nic's shirt reads "An American Classic"...my little Americano talking about his Romanian heritage and Vietnamese influences.