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Archives for October 2012

I wish I were…

Written by: Amanda // Category: Writing Challenges

This week'sWeekly Writing Challenge asks bloggers to answer the phrase "I wish I were..." This phrase has so many different meanings. Age, appearance, knowledge, locations, languages...there are so many ways you can answer this question. What do I wish? I wish sometimes that I could be 'there,' not 'here.' Hold on with me for a moment while I explain what I mean. I never realized how big the world was until I took that 36 hour trip over here to South Korea from America. It's the moment when you realize...hey, there are things that I'm gonna miss out on because I can't just board a plane and be to my destination within one day. It's an absolutely terrifying thought sometimes. There are a couple, quite significant, events that I ... Read More

Foreign

Written by: Amanda // Category: Food, Weekly Photo Challenges

This week's Weekly Photo Challenge asks readers to post a photo of something 'foreign' to them. As most of you know, I live in South Korea as an English teacher, and have been for the last eight months. Seriously, everything is foreign to me. I'm constantly caught of guard by little things, and this reminds me even more that I'm an alien in a strange land. I've gotten pretty used to the food...but sometimes a certain side dish can throw me of guard. It's quite normal to get a side dish of pickled radishes, seaweed, kimchi, rice, cabbage salad, and some sort of grass salad with red paste on it. What I wasn't expecting was, when we went to a BBQ restaurant, to get a side dish of chilled octopus tentacles covered with red paste and served on ... Read More

Sorry if i’m rude, i’m american.

Written by: Amanda // Category: South Korea

It has become strangely clear after 8 months, our culture (American)  and Korean culture are completely different, especially when it comes down to customs, etiquette, and manners. I am still constantly learning 'no, no's,' which a concerned Korean will so gently mention to me AFTER I have done something 'offensive.' Sigh. Yes, I know the stereotype is that we're all just rude, loud, obnoxious foreigners, but I really wouldn't mind living life without offending the natives each and every day. What am I talking about? Check out the list I've composed of rules to live by. 1. DO NOT blow your nose in public...or wipe it for that matter. For the first several months I was constantly sick. I swear I've never had so many sinus colds in my life. ... Read More

Expat resources

Written by: Amanda // Category: Baking, Expat Living, Food, South Korea

Hey readers...especially expats! Check out the new page above labeled 'Expat Resources!' I've started compiling a list of online resources that ship to Korea/Worldwide! This not only helps me, but it may help you. Enjoy. :) ... Read More

As the days get colder

Written by: Amanda // Category: Expat Living, South Korea, Travel

Fall is not a season that wants to linger here in Geoje. The farmers have almost harvested all the rice, and the fields are left an empty burning mess. I swear there's a haze that just won't leave, as the smoke refuses to rise. We were not blessed with spectacular trees here in Geoje, although I heard there are some absolutely amazing natural fall 'decor' a little north of here. I do miss the bright oranges, yellows, and pink leaves of the maple trees though, along with the pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks (who would have known that Starbucks in a different country doesn't celebrate my favorite season with this delectable drink?!) , the sound of geese migrating south, and of course the excitement as the holiday shopping draws near. It ... Read More

Big

Written by: Amanda // Category: Writing Challenges

For most people, when they think of the word 'big' they're thinking about the biggest ice cream cone they've ever seen, the biggest race they've ever won, the biggest steak they've ever eaten. On an normal day, during a normal week, I'd be thinking along the same lines. But I'm not. It's big news that has spurred on my inspiration to write/blog about this week's photo challenge subject. What is big to me? It's the moment when you hear about something that touches down to your very soul and you can't help but want to react. This is Mr and Mrs J, with one of their many grandchildren. I have known this family since before I could remember. I grew up with their children, worked at their non-profit Christian camp (Sagrada Scholarship Bible ... Read More

Colors of change

Written by: Amanda // Category: South Korea, Writing Challenges

Red, yellow, orange, pink. The colors of fall look quite a bit different on this side of the world. I'm used to the vibrant pink and yellow leaves of maple trees, the bright orange cheery glow of pumpkins that are for sale at a nearby grocery store, the clever reddish/brown fall pattern on my 'to go' cup of my delicious spiced latte. Fall looks different here. Blue, gray, white, green, purple. I stare out at the blue ocean bay that only hopes to change color by reflecting off it's surface the colors of the sun. I walk through the tall gray and white buildings that have been here for less than 30 years, but from the looks of it, they have not fared so well. The dark green silhouette  from the pine trees on the mountains remain the same ... Read More

Chuseok

Written by: Amanda // Category: Expat Living, South Korea, Travel

It took me a while to actually figure out the title of this post. Yes I know, how can a person get any more basic than 'Chuseok?' I wanted to think of something clever, something sentimental, something that would truly define this ever-so-welcome Korean vacation, but the truth is-I couldn't. You see, there was just too much to tell for a mere title, to many memories. A few words cannot even due it justice >>Wait a moment as I go grab my can of beans that I have warming up for dinner (don't judge). I'm settling in for the long haul on this post.<< Alright. Chuseok. It's a national Korean holiday celebrating harvest and prosperity, as well as paying tribute to ancestors. Most of my students were pretty excited about this ... Read More

24

Written by: Amanda // Category: Baking, Expat Living, South Korea

My 24th birthday. To be honest, I feel a little cheated about my 24th year, because in Korea I'm actually already 25. I'll be 26 when the lunar new year hits. I seriously had to think about how old I was, and it took a while to figure out I was only turning 24. Where have all these years gone? I know im still 'young' and 'fresh,' but I feel like it was just yesterday that I got my first job working at Sonic Drive-In, or walking into my first class at College of the Ozarks (Comp 101 8:00 am with Dr. Barnes). I used to look forward  to turning another year older...but after 21, my mind started changing...and now i'm like CRAP. I'm getting old. You don't start to feel old until you teach kids who were born in 2007, and they can't even ... Read More

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Our adventures may be few and far between nowadays Our adventures may be few and far between nowadays, but the ones we get to take are oh so sweet. 

My daughters are now 2.5 years and 6 months old. Life never slows down, but only gets faster with each day we’re blessed to live. Social media may not be a part of my life how it used to be, and instead I’m working on living life intentionally each day as we raise our girls during these crazy times. 💕
2020 has been a year has it not? As much as I love 2020 has been a year has it not? As much as I love social media, I found myself taking a break as the things we were all going through made social media so insignificant to me. 

In January/February I had a miscarriage. It was a horrible way to start the year, and little did I know it was just the beginning of it all. 

Even with the loss, hardship of moving back to the US in the middle of a global pandemic, and navigating our new lives here, we were given many blessings. The greatest of those was finding out I was pregnant again in March.

It’s a scary time to be pregnant right now, especially after a miscarriage, because doctors visits are very minimal. Also, Derik was never able to come to a single visit. I was terrified something would happen and I would be told bad news and have to face that alone. But God was gracious to us. 

We kept our special little secret to ourselves, and it wasn’t until our third trimester before we told immediate family and close friends. My pregnancy was very private for me, and a special time to bond closely with the babe growing inside me.

Our sweet little girl arrived November 30, and yes I had to deliver with a mask on, but she is perfect and I truly feel our family is complete. 💕🌈
 
“When a rainbow appears, it doesn’t mean the storm never happened or that we are not still dealing with its aftermath. It means something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy, and hope.”
I am in love. As I’m sure every other plant/mons I am in love. As I’m sure every other plant/monstera collector is when you get to behold such a beauty in real life. If there were ever #plantgoals, this is it. 

Since moving from Germany, it has been a long and slow process getting our life back to normal. All of our belongings have yet to arrive so we’ve literally been camping in our house on an air bed and camping chairs for two months. 😂 All that to say, having to start my plant collection over again here stateside has been so much fun! I will miss the plant prices if Germany, but the selection here blows my mind. Anyone else obsessed? We’ve lived here for almost 8 weeks now and I already have 11 plants 😂😬😬😬. I don’t have a bed or a couch, but by golly I have greenery. 😂🤦🏼‍♀️🌱
Oh my heart. I’ve been trying to figure out the Oh my heart.

I’ve been trying to figure out the words to say about our time in Germany, but my fingers can’t seem to type out how to express my love, gratefulness, thankfulness, sadness, and heartbreak I feel about leaving. Every country we’ve lived in has taught us something and has given us so many beautiful memories, as well as opened our eyes a little more to different cultures and ways of living.

But Germany was special. The first time we stepped foot into Germany was in 2015, and we loved it so much we stayed the extent of our travel visa (3 months). I was able to visit again in 2016, and then we officially packed everything and moved in 2017. Germany has always had my heart: the people, the festivals, the food, wine and beer, the immaculate home landscaping, and even all the rules that every resident is just expected to follow to a tee (like recycling every tiny scrap of trash). Our family grew from two to three while in Germany. Bringing our daughter into the world, and raising her for a year and a half in a different culture, will be one of the most beautiful memories of my life.

Our move was impacted by the COVID pandemic, and it took three long months of delays, red tape, and countless phone calls to get everything together so we could actually get on a plane and have our stuff packed and shipped to our new home. 
I am breathing a sigh of relief to know all the stress of everything is over and our new adventure can begin. I am mourning the loss of leaving Germany. I am in a weird transition right now trying to grasp it all, but here we are jumping into new things head first! We are back in the US for a while, in the beautiful state of Tennessee, and look forward to many new memories, travels, friends, and being able to spend time with family! 
Photos from my sweet and talented friend @juliejayphotos
I feel like I failed hard this year at Christmas m I feel like I failed hard this year at Christmas markets. We went to a total of ONE market, which is exactly 19 less than I told myself I would go to this year to make up for not going to any the year before 🤦🏼‍♀️(I was 40 weeks pregnant and not feeling crowds). I will say, it was a great one and the weather was so nice, we stayed out until the market shut down.

If there’s one thing I will miss most about Germany when it is our time to move, will be the sheer enthusiasm this country has for Christmas, and I’m not talking about consumerism. Food, laughter, friends, family, music, dancing: celebration. Also, Germany shuts down for not only one day, but THREE. Stores are closed, mail is not delivered, people aren’t out and about. Everyone is home enjoying time with family, and I love it. However, I may have gone into full blown panic mode Christmas Eve when I realized I had a total of 8 diapers to get us through until the 27th. 👀
We spent Thanksgiving back in North America: Whist We spent Thanksgiving back in North America: Whistler, Canada! A 10 hour flight from Germany , and I can’t say this one was better than the one we took over the summer on our trip to Alaska, but we survived! Entertaining a 11 month old for that long is much harder than a 6 month old, especially when they aren’t into sleeping on the plane AT ALL. 🤪

Whistler was beautiful despite the lack of snow, and we enjoyed our time with family, the delicious food, and as much sightseeing as one could do with a jet-lagged baby. 
This was actually my first trip to Canada ever, (unless you want to count the move my parents took up to Alaska from Arkansas when I was two. 😂🤷‍♀️ ) and I loved it! We would really like to take a big Canadian road trip someday and explore more of the country! 😍😍🇨🇦
Being a mama may mean I don’t always have time t Being a mama may mean I don’t always have time to put myself together, but I would rather spend the extra moments making special memories with our daughter that she can cherish forever. I doubt that she will look at this picture and see a tired, messy haired mama that’s barely had time to wash her face nevermind carefully apply makeup, but am hoping she will see a mama that never tires of carrying and cuddling her, or sharing new experiences with her. 💕
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