Five for Friday

I know it's actually Saturday, but I just didn't have time yesterday. Sorry!

This week has been a little crazy. It's been very up and down. Monday started off my week awfully, then the week improved some, then threatened to go back down the toilet Friday, but was rescued by a silly birthday party Friday night. I have so much going on at work the next couple of weeks, so I really hope that nothing else bugs me. I can deal with bad work days, but bad personal days on top of that really bring me down.

I'm so excited about my summer vacation this year because my bro John is coming for 10 days to visit! EEP! Yay! I don't know exactly what we're going to do, but I can tell you it's going to be a very busy trip. DMZ, Lotte World, camping, going out, bbq, shopping, experiencing Korea fully for the last time for myself. Sounds like a fabulous time to me!



Good quote to live by.



I would like to dream about this cheesecake.




This is a bed I could stay in all day long. It's simple and inviting. Sigh.



Got lemonade this week and I feel like it's finally summer. That and iced tea.



I have been in love with this dress from BHLDN for several months now. It's sooo lovely. It's a shame I can't afford it! lol.

97 days and counting

I just want to point out a few happy things today:

--I have only 97 days left in South Korea. There's so much to get done and see before I go, but I know I can get it all in. So much for a quiet summer then.

--My brother John is going to come see me for 10 days at the end of July. I get to introduce him to soju and crazy Korean nights out in Hongdae (oh Lord, I'm not ready for that!), finally get to visit the DMZ, and half a million other things I've not done here (including Lotte World).

--Tai is officially booked for his quarantine space in NZ. There's just a few more steps to take before he's all set to go. I'm going to miss my vet here though. He worked so hard to translate Tai's entire medical record for me and wrote a nice note. I need to drop off some cookies for them since he worked so hard for me. Aww.

--I have a new yoga mat now and it makes a huge difference. My old mat was slowly being destroyed by Tai and wasn't nearly as cushion-like as I needed. This one is much better.

--Speaking of yoga- I noticed tonight that my Asana's are improving a lot now. Yay for that! I'm more bendy now.

--Tomorrow I get to watch The Fox and the Hound for 3 classes. Cue "awww" again. Love that movie (although I forgot that Todd's mom is shot by hunters in the first 3 minutes). Gotta love classic Disney where every main character loses their parents somehow.

--I hardcore cleaned my bathroom and kitchen today. As in I used bleach. It's starting to warm up and I REALLY don't want to encourage buglife to proliferate in my apartment this summer. I really don't want that. ps- I might be a little high from the fumes.

--J called me last night and we caught up. I needed it. After my awful Monday and shaky weekend, I needed a good evening with a phone call and catch up.

--I got a couple new t-shirts today for only 5 dollars each. They may only last this summer, but they're thin, cute and comfy...perfect for teaching in 90 degree weather.

--I tried on my birthday dress I've been working on...and it's too big now! YAY! I was making this made-to-measure for a few weeks now, but then I started a stricter diet and exercise regime. I won't make any adjustments now, but I will in a month so it will fit properly for my birthday. It is really cute though. Except I still have to sew on 40 buttons. Lord help me.

--I just needed to post some happy thoughts while they were all in my head so I remember that my life really is pretty awesome right now and I shouldn't let the small things get me down.

xo

5 for Friday

Can I just start with how glad I am that this week is over with? After two weeks of partial work, free days and way too much deskwarming, I was not looking forward to a full week of classes, new afterschool classes and no chance to breathe. Although, upon looking back, I am actually glad to be back to normal because now it's Friday!

I have a new trial in my life for the next couple of months. His name is Taejung. He's a 2nd grader and he's back in my afterschool class. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 1:50 to 2:30, I have to attempt to teach phonics to 14 kids and keep Taejung under control. See, he's a special kid. His mom works at my school and he's spoiled rotten. I don't know how he is in his homeroom class, but I can tell you for sure that he HATES having to be in my class. He yells, he drums incessantly, he scribbles over his book instead of working, he runs around like a madman and generally repeats everything I say with the lung capacity comparable to myself (which is impressive since he's 3 foot nothing and probably 45 pounds). I may be exaggerating a little on his size, but he's still small! He's the reason I have a sore throat.

Moving on. It's been a couple of weeks, but last week Blogger was down and I didn't feel like posting on Saturday. Here you go!



The past two days I have had an intense craving for red beans and rice. Let me tell you that I don't know why since I've only had the dish once. I'm determined to make it at some point this weekend or early next week. I will eat it and I will enjoy it.


The phone calls I get remind me that yes, I am being thought of. It's a warm, fuzzy feeling that I love.



Right...so I think I may have found another one of these people. I met the first one my freshman year of college in a one-act play...the second? a few months ago. I don't even think it's weird that we can easily talk for 5 hours at a time and still have more to talk about but we're just so tired. I love that even when I'm really exhausted and can't think of anything else to do (because bed at 8pm is just silly), I call him instead and we have a brief talk with lots of laughter, catching up and a few hopeful mentions of the future when it's not just talking over skype that we have, even though they're vague because we are shy with each other.



I found a funny website this week that had some really crude romantic cards on it, but this wasn't crude. It was just sweet. I like sweetness in my life right now.



Ok, why can't everyone just label paint this way? Seriously! This was by far the funniest thing I found this week.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with love and joy. If the world ends on Saturday like it's being prophesied then I guess this is the last 5 for Friday for ya. Filled with love and hope and not a smidge of regret. ;) See you next week.

love it

"Even if we were missing the fireworks, music, and choreographed dance number...I must say our reunion was incredible. Somewhere, somehow, every single 80s movie is nodding their head in approval."

--quote from Letters to Crushes (a random stumbleupon page at work today)

Five for Friday

This week FLEW by. Thank goodness! I think it's mostly because Tuesday I had no classes because it was Sports Day, Wednesday I only had 2 classes because of fire drilling and Thursday was no school because of Children's Day. And guess what? I don't have school until next Wednesday now. I can't complain about this week at all. Well, except for my sore throat I have today. Which I think is because I randomly threw up last night. Painful throwing up for no apparent reason. I think my stomach acid burned my throat. Was that too much information? Anyway, apart from that randomness, this week has been pretty awesome. I'm now at 3 months and 26 days...in 16 days I can start counting down by days only as it'll be at 100 days then. Moving on. This week's top 5.


I have started dreaming about going back to New Zealand. I usually have this happen a couple months before a trip or a big move. It's normal for me. Vivid dreams about being back home, seeing everyone there, starting a new life. Wait, why WOULDN'T I be dreaming about this?



I dream about a lot of things. I dream about what I want in my life, I dream about where I'll be in 5, 10 years, I dream about what I'll cook for dinner (told you I dream a lot). Just a reminder to never stop dreaming.



I like how this living room is totally kid friendly without compromising style. A lot of the spaces I see online don't look like family friendly spaces, which then makes them appear unlivable in my eyes.


I caught this movie on TV last night, only watched it for 20 minutes before bed, but I remembered why I loved that film, The Last of the Mohicans. Romance, adventure, Daniel Day Lewis refusing to abandon the woman he loves. Cora having more balls than most of the men in that film. I might need to sit down and watch the whole film this weekend. Oh, and the soundtrack is pretty amazing too!



Umm, I labeled this picture "aww" when I saved it. I can't really think of anything else to put besides that. I can't help that I'm a super-sappy romantic. I've been denying it for years, but I can't deny it anymore.

20 in 20 day 19

This will be the final post in this series because day 20's project is for Mother's Day and my mom reads my blog. So project 20 is a secret for a couple more weeks, then I might post it if I remember.

This last one is a pair of fingerless gloves for biking in the early morning. My hands are always pretty cold riding to work and I thought some gloves in jersey wouldn't be as hot as wearing my woolen ones. I made them from an old pair of leggings.







I want to say I am very proud of my work this last month. It was certainly challenging to make something new every day, but I have expanded my repertoire of crafts and explored new mediums of creativity. Overall? Success...though maybe not going to keep making a new thing every day for awhile!

Little reflections

It's April 30th right now (though this post will say it's May 1st when I put it up because my settings are for New Zealand, not South Korea) and I want to explore a few things that have changed about me recently. I don't know how important these are, but acknowledging them hardens the certainty that they are here to stay.

I practice yoga a few days a week. At home, alone mostly. I am not a very disciplined woman and find it easier to waste time watching crap on TV instead of doing yoga. Now it's different. With yoga, I can do a shoulder stand. My feet are straight up in the air and I'm very nearly close to a perfectly straight back on this. I never thought I could do this.

I also am at 75 sit ups a night (well, tonight in any case). I feel this is the first time in my life I have actually stuck with exercise on a near daily basis. Again, this is huge for me.

Among my favorite foods now are mushrooms, eggplant, red peppers, and carrots. Four foods most of my family refuses to eat and I continuously surprise myself with my desire to eat them. When at school I don't gag on the weird plant life ridden soups we are served. In fact I try to get more veg in my soup than broth so I fill up more.

I do not miss regular pasta anymore. I barely miss bread now. Rice pasta is now my go-to for spaghetti nights. I also discovered that bacon and milk are critical to making a mean bolognase sauce.

I am more creative than I thought. My hands do still remember how to hand stitch and making something new is unbelievably rewarding. One of the girls last night had me sign the craft she got from me. Most of them told me I should be selling my stuff. That made me feel good about my hobbies I spend more money on than I should and create shopping carts full of supplies on etsy and amazon only to delete it when I see the shipping costs for it.

I've been thinking a lot lately about traditions I want to continue doing in my life. Seder, 12 days of Easter, Advent, family holidays, crafts with kids, recipes from my childhood. I feel that I've been disconnected from my past for a long time because I wasn't sure how I wanted it to fit in with my life I created after moving abroad. I know now that when I do start a family, there are traditions from my parents I want to continue doing. There's a heritage I want to pass on. There are new traditions I want to start with my own kids someday with living in New Zealand and having opposite seasons. I look back at my favorite traditions as a child and they all center around the church and my faith. It's hard to keep it going here in SK since I don't have a true church family, but I still find that my faith is still there. My decisions still are influenced by my past and my hopes for the future.

I don't know when I'll be back in the USA. Truly I have no idea. I had planned on going home for a few months next year before moving to New Zealand, but things changed and I don't have that chance now. In looking ahead, I don't know when I could go home. I have to get a job asap in Nelson so I can apply for my residency. I will have to be a real adult again with all the financial responsibility that entails (rent, car, insurance).

Today I realized I don't know when I'll get to visit Stephen's grave next. I was gone before the headstone was installed and I know when I do finally go home to visit, that will be a very emotional time for me. I will never forget my little brother. Every day I see his picture at home and at work, I see the tattoo on my arm in his memory, I try to recall stories from growing up with him. I don't ever want to forget my brother's memory. It's an integral part of who I am and has profoundly changed my life since he passed away. I've stopped wasting my time and eagerly take the steps I've wanted to for my life. I'm tired of living in transit I'm ready for some roots instead of wings.

So I'm taking a flying leap with my life, taking control of things I've ignored for years. Avoiding things I shouldn't be doing or eating (mostly things I shouldn't be eating), and instilling new habits into my life that are beneficial. I have only one life and one body given to me...I want to make the best of it. And with that, I'm going to go do 75 sit ups and then read before going to bed.

ps- Upon re-reading this I feel it sounds a bit disjointed. But like the knot at the top of this post, everything is interconnected and eventually I get right back to where I started. That's my heart, btw. It all begins and ends there.