Cherry Blossoms 2012

I am not sure where today has gone, but it has flown by.  I am desk-warming today.  I had a whole list of stuff to do.  So far, only 7 items have been crossed off.  Oh well, such is life.

A few weeks ago, the cherry blossom trees were blossoming here in Daegu.  Ian and I went for a walk to try to capture some of the gorgeous colors and enjoy the long awaited spring weather!

There is a river in our neighboorhood.  We stopped to watch people out on the paddle-boats.

It was a warm day.  Ian got tired and decided to lay down on a bench to rest.



He claims it is comfortable.


I took pictures while he rested.


I love this gate.  We walk past it everyday on our way to school.  It looks so, well, Asian.



Here is a collage of pictures we took.  (I have this need to post every picture we ever take.  It is a bit ridiculous on my part.)

My favorite part of the day was spending it with this guy!

Can you tell I found a new photo editing site to play around on?

A to Z

I get pretty pumped about these types of things. Just for fun:  (sorry, I don't know who started this)

A is for age: 26 Korean, 24 American
B is for breakfast today: Blueberry muffin from Costco (!!) and a bowl of granola, strawberries, and bananas.
C is for currently craving: coffee...I am trying not to drink any between now and the marathon (that is not going to happen)
D is for dinner tonight: hopefully Lasagna!
E is for favorite type of exercise: running
F is for an irrational fear: the elevator doors closing while I am still trying to get in
G is for gross food: Octopus or squid (I am not a fan of the texture)
H is for hometown: Troy Grove, Illinois
I is for something important: Jesus
J is for current favorite jam: Red Raspberry
K is for kids: I am going to assume that my 500 Korean kiddos don't count for this one.
L is for current location: My desk at work
M is for the most recent way you spent money:  We went out for the hubs' birthday this weekend...best burger I have had in a llloonnngg time.
N is for something you need: a vacuum
O is for occupation:  ESL Teacher
P is for pet peeve: an untidy house
Q is for a quote: G.K. Chesterton, "An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered."
R is for random fact about you: Um, I always pull out the, "I lived in a teepee for a summer"
S is for favorite healthy snack: banana + peanut butter
T is for favorite treat: cinnamon rolls
U is for something that makes you unique: have you heard me laugh?  
V is for favorite vegetable:Sweet potatoes or green beans? I can't decide. Is rhubarb a vegetable? If it is, then rhubarb.
W is for today’s workout: I will run 5 miles after school
X is for X-rays you’ve had: teeth, I think I had my abdominal x-rayed in like 3rd grade... had some CT scans and MRI on my brain...I can't remember anything else at the moment.
Y is for yesterday’s highlight: Eating out with the hubs: great food and even better company :)  (a second would be nailing my 20 miler)
Z is for your time zone: KST - Korean Standard Time  (fun fact: there is no Daylight Savings Time in Korea)

Once every 6 months or so....

About once every 6 months of my life, I get caught up.  I think, as of this moment in time, I am as caught up as I am going to be!

• I am completely caught up on my two online classes.  I have no homework to grade hanging over my head!
• I am completely caught up on my letter writing/pen pals!  
• I wrote two blog posts from last year:
• One about the details of our trip to Tokyo
• The awesome art festival my school had in Nov.
• I am completely caught up on Bible Reading and maybe even a little ahead!
• I am one or two Facebook messages away from being caught up.
• I am one or three emails away from being up-to-date.

It has only taken me a week of desk-warming to get here.  Hopefully I can finish up my emails and FB messages soon.

I am sure by next week at this time, I will once again be behind.  Such is life.

New Strengths

So the college I went to was all about the Gallup Strengthfinders.  As a result, some people who went to my college LOVE strengthfinders and some people HATE strengthfinders.  I don't think there are people who are really on the in between on this one :)

I will let you decide if I am a lover or a hater.

My roommate recently told me about a free online test that is very similar to Strengthfinders.  I.had.to.take.it!  Seriously, I have been wondering for years what my #6 strength is!  The man who created it, does say that it is not exactly like the real strengthfinders...but it is free and I figure it is close enough!  Before you head over there, know it is 170 questions.

Also, I made Ian take it.  I can't remember what all five of his strengths are but I do remember: Belief, Learner, Input, and Ideation.

My old strengths (from my Senior year of High School) are: Belief, Learner, Restorative, Achiever, and Intellection.

My strengths (as of right now)

1. Intellection
2. Discipline
3. Strategic
4. Focus
5. Context
6. Ideation
7. Maximizer
8. Significance
9. Activator
10. Analytical
11. Responsibility
12. Belief
13. Achiever
14. Learner
15. Restorative
16. Self-Assurance
17. Arranger
18. Communication
19. Futuristic
20. Harmony
21. Competition
22. Relator
23. Connectedness
24. Fairness (a.k.a Consistency)
25. Input
26. Deliberative
27. Developer
28. Command
29. Inclusiveness
30. Individualization
31. Empathy
32. Adaptability
33. Woo
34. Positivity

Yes, all of my top five strengths are either Strategic Thinking or Executing Strengths.  I think my obsession with "doing things the most efficient way" has started showing through.

Christmas Letter 2011

Here is our Christmas letter.  Just in case you are wondering, I got the idea from here.

And here is our Christmas picture.  Not too bad considering we do not have a fancy-smanchy camera and we just used the self-timer.

Right now...

...I am listening to Christmas music, addressing Christmas cards, and enjoying a nice glass of warm water.  The kiddos are taking their final exams, thus I have nothing to do (desk-warming!).

I have about 10 blog posts in draft, and I promise to get working on those soon : )

For now, you can enjoy the photos that did not make the cut for the Christmas card.

This is one is okay....

Oh man!  This one reminds me of the video we made last year!

Next week, I will let you see the one did make the cut!  Speaking of Christmas videos....here is ours from last year.  I still crack up when I watch the end of this video.

A morning in the life of an EPIK teacher!

I have had a lighter load of classes this past week. So I have become a little restless at school, which only means one thing...more blogging!  Yeah!  Sometimes people ask questions about my life in Korea.  Sometimes they ask what I do.  I know, I know, you have been dying to know what each moment of my day looks like.  I think it would be a little much to cover the whole entire day, so this post will just cover the morning routine.

5:35 A.M.
Wake Up.

5:48 A.M.
Go for a run.  I have really streamlined my morning routine so that I can roll out of bed and be out the door before I realize what I am doing to myself.

6:45 A.M.
Get back from run, make the bed, start making breakfast {really, I walk around and just try to stop sweating}

7:02 A.M.
Eat breakfast. This is my breakfast: oatmeal + banana + honey + cinnamon + dried cranberries + sliced almonds and I drink about a Nalgene of water.  I still usually get hungry by 10:30 at school.

7:08 A.M
Get oatmeal soaking for tomorrow.  Soaking grains is a new adventure for me.  If you have any ideas as how to soak successfully without the oatmeal tasting like glue, I would gratefully accept any help.

7:11 A.M.
Turn on the hot water and take a shower.

7:25 A.M.
Wash the dishes.

This is my huge kitchen.  I wash the dishes here.  

7:28 A.M.
Read the Bible with my amazing husband and pray.  I usually try to sneak a sip of his coffee at this time.

7:34 A.M.
Check E-mail.

7:45 A.M. 
Sweep the apartment.  I always feel very Little House on the Prairie when I sweep.  "A clean house is a happy house" (who said that?)  Sometimes I wipe off the table at this time.  It depends how messy I was eating breakfast.

7:55 A.M.
Turn off the hot water.  Brush teeth.

7:57 A.M.
Get dressed.  {Confession: I am such a messy Bessie! If I get dressed in my school clothes early, I spill something or get toothpaste on myself, or something tragic happens resulting in me needing to change.}

8:00 A.M.
Leave for school.


* Keep in mind this is just one morning of my life.  This is really what I did one morning this week, I carried an index card around with me and wrote the time and activity.  Living in Korea has taught me flexibility!  I do not freak out {now} if I leave for school and everything is not perfect.

The Last Day of...

Well it is the last day of February AND it is the last day of desk warming.  Bittersweet.  I think I could be a professional desk warmer.  I rock at it.  So far in the few hours I have been here today I have sipped on my coffee, checked my email, listened to my Daddio-in-law's sermon, chatted with my college roommate, did a Sudoku, caught up what is really happening in the world (I wasted a bunch of time on Facebook) and checked out my sister-in-law's pics from her recent trip (with my brother of course!)  I feel so productive.  On the docket for this afternoon is 1.) look up the definition for docket 2.) cross stitch 3.) make a meal plan for the week 4.) make a grocery list (I love grocery shopping!  love.it.)  I do think I might cry whenever we get back to the States and I walk down the cereal aisle.  What a day of rejoicing that will be!

I read a book this weekend.  Honestly, I was a little disappointed.  It was too emotional draining for me.  I felt like I got run over by a semi when I got done and it was fictional.  All of that for emotion for fake people.  It talked a lot about Christmas in America too (Christmas in America = longing for an oven).  However, I still think that Lauraine Snelling is a great author.  She has written a book in my top 5 of all time favorite books.  Better luck next time?  I hope so.

Did you know that Koreans love karaoke?  true story.  They love it!  It is called the Noribang (nori = sing and bang = room however do not confuse bang with bbang.  bbang = bread so nori bbang = singing bread)  I "got" to go to the Noribang this weekend.  So this is how it works.  You pay for hour, then you get to go in a little room (over sized closet) and you get to karaoke to your hearts content.  awesome.  Nope - no singing from this girl (or my amazing husband).  One nice thing is to only have to sing in front of the people you came with instead of, well, everyone.

While I am rambling about my weekend, just thought I would tell you that my amazing husband made me pancakes this weekend.  We topped them with strawberries.  Delicious!  He also took me to Paris Baguette from some mocha cream bread.  He is such a good guy.  The end!

truth and Truth

truth: I like things to be clean

truth: This is day 20 of desk warming (20 days x 8 hours = 160 hours that I have "warmed" my desk)

truth: I like googling things

truth: Putting your (WET) kitchen sponge in the microwave for 2 minutes will sterilize it (ours gave off a weird odor, I am not sure if this is good or not...the smell of dying germs maybe?)

truth: dry kitchen sponge in microwave = potential fire

truth: white vinegar is my new favorite.  Add some to your laundry, clean your mirror with it, and maybe the floor too

truth: My international (they have lived in America and South Korea) running shoes are dead (i.e. they have 600+ miles on them)

truth: It took me 20 minutes (which is a long time) to find some vinegar at the store yesterday

Truth = Jesus

Pondering #14 while Desk Warming

Well, I am currently at school desk warming (one of the joys of Korean schools.  I come to school all day, but do not teach any students.)  Desk warming is super fun for several reasons.  One of the reasons is that I get to wear jeans (!).  Korean schools do not have casual Fridays, so today is the third time I have worn jeans to school in the three and half months we have been here. Another reason is that I get to catch up on email, blogging, facebook, reading etc. So I thought that it is time to reveal song number 14 on the countdown list!

Christmas Carol Countdown #14: Breath of Heaven (also known as Mary’s Song)

I really like this song.  I always think of Amy Grant singing this song.  There are other versions of this song sung by Point of Grace, Sara Groves, and Jessica Simpson (and others).  This song is about Mary’s journey and thoughts leading up to Christ’s birth.  I did a little bit of research (on http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=14730 ) and I think Amy Grant was not the actual writer of this song.  She heard the song and adapted a little to the version that most of us know.  I think it was interesting to note that she was pregnant at the time she modified the song.  My favorite lyrics from this song are, “Breath of heaven, lighten my darkness, pour over me your holiness, for you are holy.”  That is my prayer this Christmas, I can become more holy.

On the docket for this weekend: CHRISTMAS SHOPPING and I am going to try some Christmas BAKING!!  I am going to find Christmas lights if it is the last thing that I do