Shannon Yee

Since the chef is taking the week off, I’m listing instead 5 actions that I like to do… Enjoy!
1. Talking with my husband!
2. Dancing.
3. Reading.
4. Running outside.
5. Giving advice, but without being responsible for what happens if it’s followed! 😉

Appetizer
Invent a new flower; give it a name and describe it.
A sparkling, wispy sort of purple petal with lots of petals making up the flower on top of a thin stem – inspired by Eila and therefore that would be this flower’s name.

Soup
Name someone whom you think has a wonderful voice.
Brian, my husband. He could be on the radio as a speaker, as our high school US History teacher once told him. And, I love to listen to him sing. I love to see other people’s reactions when they first hear him sing. I feel sort of proud, as if I had anything to do with it – Ha!

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how clean do you keep your car?
2. I cannot remember the last time my car was washed; I have two young kids who eat snacks, play, read books, etc. in the backseat and when we get home we are often so eager to just get inside that I don’t go back and clean up so it piles up very quickly.

Main Course
How do you feel about poetry?
It’s nice.

Dessert
What was the last person/place/thing you took a picture of?
Josiah climbing in his crib…

Appetizer

What does the color dark green make you think of?
Christmas. More accurately, it makes me think of evergreen trees. Smells, being a strong memory trigger, bring the joys and fun of many Christmas celebrations around an evergreen tree.

Soup

How many cousins do you have?
Two related by blood (& that I know or have even met). Their names are 7 and 10^12 (Trillion, for those of you not great with large numbers.)

Salad

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?
5. Any other answer just wouldn’t be honest! That’s not to say that I lie half the time – I suppose I just don’t say everything that I think – fortunately for those listening…

Main Course

Name something that is truly free.
My first thought was salvation – Jesus paid the cost, so it’s free to those who believe, but some would say that if someone paid the cost than it’s not truly free and I’d have to agree. So, my next thought was breastfeeding. And, monetarily it is truly free, but often there are sacrifices involved for moms (with great reward as well) especially when there are problems, which are fairly common. So, my final thought is the beauty in nature/creation. When I see the stars on a clear night in the middle of nowhere, there is no cost at all and I gain perspective as well as appreciation for this life that I live.

Dessert

Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.
Several pretentious redheads invent nothing genuine.

Drugs and I do not mix. I had a giant coffee this morning and I’m still reeling from the effects. I have been super productive as well as shaky with a slight feeling of spinning. I’m really starting to believe that water is the only drink for me – maybe soon I’ll start to act on that belief.

Appetizer

Given the choice, would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?
For living, I’d like to be in the city. It’s so convenient to be able to walk to the store or dinner and parks are close by. But, I love to visit the country.

Soup

Who is the cutest kid you know?
Currently, Josiah is the cutest – with his scraped nose, chipped tooth and crazy red hair running around in Daddy’s shoes and cracking himself up ! But, Eila is a close second in my book…

Salad

Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard ___________.
I couldn’t believe it when I heard my friend, Kristen, was pregnant again.

Main Course

If you could star in a commercial for one of your favorite products, which one would you want to advertise?
I’ve always wanted to be in a Pantene commercial. Those girls have such beautiful, thick, long hair and I’ve imagined that would be the award for best hair. But, I don’t use Pantene, so I probably won’t get hair like that with cheap imitations.

Dessert

What type(s) of vitamins and/or supplements do you take on a regular basis?
My doctor recommends that I take a calcium supplement and a multivitamin, but I don’t take anything.

Appetizer

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how much do you like your own handwriting?
5. My handwriting isn’t anything horrible or special, but it does look a lot like my mother’s and my sisters’.

Soup

Do you prefer baths or showers?
Showers. Long, hot showers.

Salad

What was the last bad movie you watched?
Borat. It is even worse than Dancer in the Dark. Although, I disliked them for very different reasons.

Main Course

Name something you are addicted to and describe how it affects your life.
I’m addicted to watching my husband play WOW. I waste countless hours each week sitting on an uncomfortable chair pretending to do something else or talking to myself. I know far too much about a game that I don’t play.

Dessert

Which instrument is your favorite to listen to?
I love the violin, partly because I used to play and partly because my grandfather always went on and on about how beautiful it is.

Appetizer

If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be?
I would want to be Condoleezza Rice because I am curious what she actually does and would love to have all that power!

Soup

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone?
3. I really don’t like talking on the phone, but I do it because I love the people I talk to.

Salad

Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to).
Samaritan’s Purse, and I just got a nice magazine with heart-felt stories about how so many kids were helped by my donation (and many, many others).

Main Course

What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month?
Cookies or cereal.

Dessert

Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year?
We all had the stomach flu twice. Josiah had pneumonia while Eila had a fever and aches with no cough, which to me is the flu virus.

I am not currently involved with regular ESL teaching, but I do know of a couple of options. I used to teach full-time at a local university and really enjoyed the students and the teaching, but making a living in ESL is really hard, especially in my local area My training was a B.A. in Linguistics and French with some teaching part-time along the way. My real training came on the job as is usually the case with ESL. I think for volunteering, the only real training needed to a willingness to

Most university ESL programs and community classes need classroom volunteers, often for 1 hour 1 day a week to do small group activities, role plays, discussions with students as well as conversation partners to meet 1-on-1 with students at a time that works for both of you. This was a great experience all around for me (fun, getting to know the students, relaxed, no prep), the only con was the drive & the unfortunate fact that meeting with my kids didn’t work out (too crazy especially with their kids) and I couldn’t find regular childcare so I’m not volunteering right now, but probably will in the future.

I’ve also volunteered with the Arab-American Friendship Center, which is a local missions organization trying to build bridges to reach Arabs with God’s love. They offer free English and citizenship classes to women during the day and free classes in computers and business English in the evenings. The classes are M-Th for 2 hours and usually a teacher volunteers for one day per week. With the commute it was about a pretty big commitment, plus prep time. They do have childcare at the center for the women in the class and I used that a couple of times, but had a friend who watched my kids for free while I volunteered (as my kids didn’t do well at the center and they had tons of kids in the room there, so I didn’t want to add more kids for them.)

One thing that I liked about the AAFC was that my kids were able to see me helping others and share me with others, which was good in some ways. I want my children to develop a heart for helping and caring for others and giving to others, even sacrificially. In my opinion, volunteering is difficult, but worthwhile in the the long-term as well as short-term benefits. Right now, my volunteering is with a MOPS group, which I love, and my kids love MOPPETS, so the only sacrifice is the time I spend preparing and making it all work. One day, I’ll return to ESL, because I love that too!

Do you see the family resemblance? Here is my mother and myself with my sister’s kids.

Appetizer
Have you ever played a practical joke on anyone? If so, what did you do and who was your victim?
In my youth I did several practical jokes (none of which I remember and always because of peer pressure!), but I’m so sensitive and hate being the butt of jokes, so I tend not to want to do them to others either.

Soup
What do your salt and pepper shakers look like?
Salt is in a clear glass shaker with a cobalt blue top and bottom. The pepper is conveniently in the container in which I purchased it…

Salad
Where is the next place you plan to visit (on vacation or business)?
I am very excited to visit the Walls to see my new nephew, niece and sisters (and maybe my brother-in-law too).

Main Course
What kind of lotion or cream do you use to keep your hands from getting too dry?
I used to use Lubriderm, but have recently switched to Eucerin.

Dessert
Make up a dessert, tell us its ingredients, and give it a name.
This is my favorite late night snack: Club crackers slathered in peanut butter dipped in a
steaming mug of hot chocolate. I call it Cookie Substitute.