Snapshots from the Weekend

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was pretty good, but nothing out of the ordinary. Here are some quick snapshots of what I was up to.

I had to wait a few hours for Jake's plane from Korea to get in, so it was a perfect excuse to relax at my favorite bagel place and get in some thrift shopping. I discovered that American vintage items here are pricey. Like $300 for one small wooden chair. It is so fun to look at all of the cool things, though.

I picked up Jake late Saturday afternoon. He surprised me with these fleece-lined leggings from Korea because he knows my legging obsession. They are so comfy, even if they are kind of interesting colors.

Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day. We woke up and decided to take Lexie down to the beach. It was lowtide and so picturesque.

I've been doing really well with my eating, but the girl scouts tempted me into buying some cookies. I love girl scout cookies and look forward to them every year, so I didn't feel too bad.

After lunch at our favorite sushi-go-round and a shopping trip to the new Walmart type store, we headed to check out some beautiful scenery and for Jake to try out his new fishing pole.

Our good friends just got to the island and we are so excited! We took them to see the beach and to all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ. It isn't easy making friends here, so we are so glad to have some more great friends to share this beautiful place with!

I have a full week of subbing ahead and I am so excited! I love being in the classroom! 

High Five For Friday 01/10

Hello! I am so excited for my first H54f, my favorite blogging day, of 2014.

{one}

To be honest, this week was a complete struggle, if Monday's post was any indication. I feel like Thailand chewed me up and spit me out. No joke. It just so happened that Monday, while I was still exhausted, I got my first call to sub. I was so excited about it and really enjoyed myself. It was nice being back in the classroom and getting a reminder that teaching is what I love. Even though I really enjoyed my first day, I was glad not to get called in the next couple of days so I could recover. I slept 2 days in a row and now I am back to myself. I even managed to put the laundry away, unpack, and take down the Christmas decorations today. So I chalk this week up as a win.

{two}

Before we left, our back yard/view looked like this:

When we got back, it looked like this:

Notice the giant pile of dirt where bushes once were? I may or may not have freaked out slightly. I started worry whether a house or building is going to being built right there. We have this amazing, unobstructed view and I do not want it blocked. I am happy every single morning when I wake up and look out of my window. It really does make life here that much better. I would be so sad if my view were to suddenly be obstructed by another house . I decided to go ask the guy dumping the dirt what was going on. I think he was very surprised when I came walking up and didn't speak any English. I was able to use google translate to discover that he is not building a structure/house in this spot, but that is all I have figured out. I am guessing they are putting a garden in, similar to the one next door to our house. It will be interesting to see what happens. 

{three}

When we got home, we had quite a few packages waiting for us at the post office. It was a nice little extension of Christmas. I got a little bit teary eyed from the amazingly thoughtful gifts and it made me miss our family and friends. My sister made a Kentucky state outline sign for me, and it was so perfect. She always gives the best gifts. It's always nice to have a little piece of home to look at everyday. 

{four}

It is so nice to get back into a routine after vacation and holidays. I feel so much better now that I have gotten our house back in order and things are back to normal. Once I was rested up, I was ready to get out of the house. I went to lunch with friends on Thursday, but when Friday rolled around I felt like I didn't have much to do to get out. I realized when I want to get out of the house, I usually go shopping or something else where I spend money. I have been trying not to spend money, so I feel like I have nothing to get me out of the house. Since I can spend money on food, I went to three different grocery stores/markets today. This is a common routine since I like to buy my meat at the Okinawan grocery stores, produce at the produce stands, and other stuff at the commissary. Good thing I love grocery shopping or this routine would get a little old. 

I love these $2 flowers I get at the market here

{five}

I know everyone is waiting for a Thailand update/pictures. I promise to get it up ASAP. So check back next week and hopefully I will have lots of amazing things to show you! 

Linking up with Lauren, Darci, and Jennie

New Year's Resolutions

I know I'm a little late on this one, but like I said in yesterday's post, my life has been bit hectic since getting home. It seems like people are really against resolutions this year. I know the stats behind them and that I personally have forgotten mine by february, but I like to take every opportunity to try to make myself better. I love a fresh start and having a reason to make more of an effort.

So here are my resolutions:

-Start running again. Which means running at least 2-3 times a week.

-Get to the gym twice a week. This can include Zumba, Yoga, and strength training.

-Walk Lexie more. I feel like she doesn't get as many walks now that she has a backyard and is outside a lot. I know she would enjoy more walks and I would benefit from them as well.

-Continue to cut out all overly processed foods and eat as many vegetables as possible. Eating clean is important to me and I need to make it more of a priority.

-NO SWEETS. I am going cold turkey. I recently watched a documentary about how sugar is as addicting as Nicotine. I totally agree after my recent addiction to sweets that I have never had before. So that means no sweets will be allowed in the house and I will not be eating any at all. I have done it before, so I know I can!

-No online shopping. This will be a hard one since I miss shopping in the States SO MUCH. Truth is, I don't NEED anything, so I need to stop.

-Stick to the budget. We are pretty good at saving money, but bad at having an actual budget and sticking to it. We plan to save as much money while we are living in Okinawa, so we really need to crack down.

-Find new hobbies and grow current ones. I want to fill my time with as many uplifting things as possible. i want to try something new and also see other ones flourish. I want to read more and craft more.

-Speaking of hobbies, I want to continue to grow this blog in 2014. I want to find what direction is right for me and this space. I guess I'm not quite sure exactly where I want this blog to go or what I want to happen with it. I like where it's at, but I think in this community it is important to grow and adapt.


What are your New Years Resolutions? How long do you keep your resolutions?

Traveling is Exhausting

If you follow on Instagram, you know we had the trip of a lifetime in Thailand and are now back to our little island with a lighter wallet and a load of memories. We really enjoyed ourselves and everything went as smooth as possible. It was a mixture of everything and we feel like we got to see a good chunk of what Thailand has to offer. We relaxed on the beach in Koh Samui, we experienced culture in Chiang Mai, and we enjoyed the hustle and bustle in Bangkok. The highlight for me was the cooking class and the elephant riding in Chiang Mai. 

I can't wait to share all about our trip on here. It will take me awhile to edit the hundreds of pictures and get the posts together, but it will be worth it when I'm done! I am so glad I have this blog to document all of our adventures.

As much fun as we had, traveling is the most exhausting thing ever. We are so glad that we saw all we wanted to see in Thailand, but traveling to different places during our vacation made it extra tiring. We spent lots of time on airplanes and in airports and an entire 12 hours on a train. On the way home our flight was at 2am, so we basically missed an entire night's sleep. We got home the following day feeling  dead. Jake was sick as a dog, throwing up and feverish, and had to leave the next day for a work trip. I came home exhausted, sunburnt/peeling, eaten up by bugs, nauseous, and feeling dirty from traveling.

I am still trying to get our life in order. The laundry is overflowing, the suitcases are unpacked, there is no food in the refrigerator, there is stuff strung out over every room in the house, and I don't have an ounce of energy to do anything about it. 

This is just a small sample of what my life looks like right about now

While I try to get the shambles of our life together, I will also try to get back into blogging. I am not going to apologize for the lack of posts, etc., because I was out living life, but I do appreciate all of the responses and support I got on the posts I did manage to get up. I hope to respond to all of the comments and tweets as soon as possible. I am excited to start this new year and continue to grow this little space in 2014.

Linking up with Logan and Kimberlee