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Archives for January 2013

Weird Wednesday (01/30)

Written by: Amanda // Category: Uncategorized, Weird Wednesday

I've never liked bugs. I wouldn't say I'm 'scared to death' or anything by them, (except for one time in Panama City, Panama when a hissing cockroach turned flight to fight. The thing was the size of a baby's shoe...and had eight girls running for their lives. Terrifying.) but I don't have any interest in bugs. A few months ago, I was teaching one of my beginner English classes about pets. After getting through the basics...(rabbit, cat, dog, hamster, fish) I asked them about what pets they had at home. One little boy piped up that he had a _____(korean word ?). Having NO idea what that was, I spent the next 15 minutes of class trying to figure it out. Finally in pure desperation, I had him draw a picture. One thing about little Korean ... Read More

I practice my hobbies on saturdays…

Written by: Amanda // Category: Uncategorized

Saturdays are my 'relax' day. I absolutely love Saturdays. I know this sounds terrible, but I've become a fan of doing absolutely nothing. My week is filled with go, go, go moments, and honestly, I'm not left with much fuel in my tank. This past week I had been particularly stressed; my husband made me promise that when the weekend rolled around I would take some time to myself. I have to admit: I'm like a two year old child. There's no way I can sit for hours doing the same thing. I start multiple projects and jump around trying to complete them throughout the day. I love it. This week I had to challenge myself to do something I really enjoy doing. It's what the hubs wanted. It's what I NEEDED. The laundry was to remain unfolded, ... Read More

Weird Wednesday (01/23)

Written by: Amanda // Category: Weird Wednesday

I knew it was just going to be a matter of time before a strange item would be sighted in a bathroom stall. Public bathrooms are just strange here. Not only do they make miniature toilets for the little ones, but they give you moist towelettes to wipe down the seat before you go. If you need to use the restroom in a more 'lavish' area, many times they have bidets instead of normal toilets.  If you're not sure what a bidet is, it's basically a toilet that 'cleans' you, instead of you using toilet paper. Some of them even have heated seats.  I don't even know how many awkward situations I've been in...looking at all the buttons (in Korean btw), and trying to figure out how to flush the stupid toilet! I'm actually not writing today to talk ... Read More

[Vietnam] the time i ate sea urchin

Written by: Amanda // Category: Travel, Vietnam, Vietnam

Our vacation in Phu Quoc was just getting started. We booked an all-day fishing and snorkeling excursion (only $15 dollars a person) around the south tip of the island. We weren't sure what to expect, but were ready for the tropical adventure. We headed out first thing that morning, and on the way to our tour boat, we stopped by another pearl farm. It wasn't long after the pearl farm visit that we arrived at our destination. Our tour boat was pretty small, and we had about twenty other people with us for the day. We immediately picked the 'prime' location on the top of the boat-halfway in the sun, halfway out of the sun. We could already tell it was going to be a hot day and lathered up the sunscreen. Thankfully sunscreen in ... Read More

The candid series: farmer’s market

Written by: Amanda // Category: Photography, South Korea

I love photography. If you know anything about me, you don't have to be a genius to figure that out. I'm always snapping pictures everywhere I go. If I don't have my DSLR with me, I use my trusty smart phone...and then (of course) proceed to load all my pictures on Instagram. I'm addicted to photos; I love looking at them, taking them, playing around with editing them. My husband knows this as well...and as most of you know, bought me a spiffy new camera for Christmas. I've been dying to take my 5D Mark ii on a test run for days, and decided today would be the perfect day. I've also have been thinking about ways to challenge myself when it comes to photography, and that's where I came up with a 'shoot-from-the-hip' idea. I love ... Read More

[Vietnam] landing in paradise

Written by: Amanda // Category: Travel, Vietnam, Vietnam

Day four of our Vietnam travels brought us to the sunny island of Phu Quoc. We weren't sure what to expect; our acquaintances that had been to Vietnam before knew nothing of this island. Ideally we were looking for a tropical getaway where we could relax on the beach and do 'beachy' things (i.e. snorkeling, fishing, swimming). Well...we found the goldmine when it comes to a location in paradise. If anyone ever tells you that Vietnam doesn't have white sands, crystal blue water, and palm trees-they're lying. It's only short thirty five minute flight from Ho Chi Minh. Phu Quoc is a small little island (actually comparable to the size of Singapore) in the Gulf of Thailand. The 'essence' of the island is comparable to Hawaii with a little ... Read More

Weird Wednesday (01/16)

Written by: Amanda // Category: Weird Wednesday

Today on Weird Wednesday I'm bringing up my students. I've observed many foreign things when it comes to what my students wear, eat, act like, and mention in everyday topics. Even just yesterday I had one of my 5-year olds throw up out of the blue on our way to his next class. The desk teacher (they're pretty awesome ladies who do not mind doing all the dirty work) came up behind the student and started hitting his back repeatedly...hard (meanwhile I was running to get a trashcan...I guess they don't do that here?) I'm used to a gentler approach of rubbing the rather sick individual's back, and maybe applying a cool cloth to the back of their neck. Ok, well whatever works. I've also noticed quite a few kids running around with tissue up ... Read More

5D

Written by: Amanda // Category: Holidays, Photography

What goes down in the books as the most monumental Christmas present ever? The title would go to my husband, and that would be giving me a 5D Mark ii, complete with a 50mm (f 1.4) lens AND a 28-105mm lens. I've been drooling over this camera ever since my love affair with photography began in 2008. I'm definitely not claiming im a good photographer or skilled in any way, but I love it. It's my hobby. It's a challenge that always presents itself in new, refreshing ways. I hit the limit of what I could do with my trusty Canon Rebel (xsi) that I bought in 2009 and used for my first college photography class. That camera and I had seen a lot of things, traveled many countries, and definitely logged our time taking pictures. I hit the limit of ... Read More

[Vietnam] a morning in the bay

Written by: Amanda // Category: Travel, Vietnam, Vietnam

Our second day cruising in Halong Bay started early with a'tranquil' Tai Chi session  that Derik joined on the sundeck of the ship. To be honest,  as I observed the session with taking pictures, I felt like the Tai Chi Master may have been making up more than half the moves. It was still fun enjoying the quiet, foggy morning with a cup of thick-as-tar coffee in hand.  No joke about the coffee-that stuff was cruel. After Tai Chi, the cruise continued with our next tour destination in the horizon:Surprise Cave. The sights along the way were as beautiful as ever. We even sailed by a floating village. This guy was selling snack items and water to tourists and locals for the hike into the cave. On the way out, we met a ... Read More

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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. 💕
Oh Switzerland, you beaut.🇨🇭 We spent a coup Oh Switzerland, you beaut.🇨🇭 We spent a couple days enjoying the beautiful weather in the land of chocolate, cheese, mountains, and cows with bells 😍😍🤩. If you remember, we visited the same area  a month shy of two years ago but but the weather was quite the opposite! I’d have to say though, when you visit such a majestic and beautiful area, it doesn’t matter what the weather is, you’re going to be in awe and love it anyway!
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