Lazy Bones

Okay, this morning I was supposed to wake up and do a HIIT 15 workout followed by a 30 minute sculpt session. Instead, I hit the snooze one too many times.

No worries, I am up and adam and plan on completing the workout tonight. Missing one morning of the Turbo Fire makes me miss how good it feels to finish it before work. My plan is to go to bed at a decent hour tonight (re: not at 1AM) so that I will be awake and ready for the 55 minute workout scheduled for tomorrow.

Every day is a new day. I love it. I wake up and know that my choices I make today will further affect my health and weight loss goals. So yes, I did had a nice sugary beverage last night at Cafe Benne while talking money with Matt. Did I feel really bad about it? Not particularly. I ate well yesterday, and so I didn't get upset over a 200 calorie drink. Now that I haven't exercised this morning though, I am more aware of the importance of doing it tonight. It's really important for me to reflect on how I ate the day before and use it to propel me into today's diet and exercise choices. That is what's going to get me through this. That is what's going to push me to get into a routine where I don't feel the need to buy a sugary drink because I don't crave one. Because it's so early on and I don't have a lot of results to motivate me, it's especially important to mentally reflect. Once things get going and I can see some drastic results I know I will be more likely to stick to healthy drinks and snacks. It's just going to take a few months!

Today's a new day :)

30 Days...

until this...

Are you kidding me? In no way is that water real. As it stands I will be the skeptic until I feast upon this view with my own eyes. Let's hope it doesn't disappoint.

On that note, I just received a package in the mail from my mom for the upcoming Malaysia trip: a new bathing suit, some capris, bug spray (the 98% DEET kind) and some real sunscreen.

No sun burning or malaria for this girl :)

Blue, Blue Wedding

Okay people, in no way am I insinuating that our wedding is going to depressing, anything but! This post is just about how incredibly obsessed I am with the color blue. I am so psyched that my wedding colors are going to be blues, and I'm pretty sure Matt is sighing in relief as well. No flowery, pink patterns for us! Of course, those elegant weddings are gorgeous, just not our style. The dark, vibrant blues that I chose for the wedding compliment both of our tastes.

After scouring the internet for blue wedding inspiration, I've come to the conclusion that the majority, and I mean majority, of blue weddings are either teal or light blue. Although it's hard trying to picture my wedding in my color blue, it's kind of nice because to me, it seems like it's rather unique. Of course our wedding is going to be anything but cookie-cutter. We're a unique couple, living 8,000 miles away in an East Asian country, with no desire to pull off a black tie affair. Because of this, we can be as fun as we want. Living in Korea has given us strong opinions against anything deemed "standard" (I'll write another post about Korean weddings later).

So this is our engagement cake, just in case you never saw it. Isn't it gorgeous? We were engaged in January in the bitter cold of Maine, and our good friend Pam (who is one of my bridesmaids), made this cake for us when we came back to Korea. Actually, she's going to be making our wedding cake as well! She has quite the knack for baked goods. I can't get over how awesome this cake was. And it's blue! The blue icing for the snowflakes and lettering is more along the lines with the wedding color. I can't wait to see what she comes up with for our big day :)

This is one of the only online inspiration boards I found on Google that uses the blues I am interested in. It seems to me like this wedding could have easily been in Maine: blueberries and a lobster motif?? Also, hydrangea! The same picture I used in an earlier post. This inspiration board makes me happy!

It feels really good solidifying a "look" for the wedding so far in advance. It makes things a little easier. When I am searching for reception decor, if something doesn't come in the color I want, I just simply toss it. Hopefully by the time we start purchasing items for the wedding we will have a polished idea of what we want everything to look like. This is the joy of having such a long engagement.

What's for Dinner

The past two nights Matt and I have been feasting on this.

What is this concoction that may or may not resemble something digusting?! It's Penang Curry, and it's freakin' delicious.

Our friends Brian and Miyoung found a world food market located in Daejeon that caters to mostly other Asian cuisine. There you can find 10 kilo bags of jasmine rice, durian fruit (one fruit I WON'T try), and an array of different spices and curry packets.

Taking their advice, we visited and left with penang curry, chicken masala mix and a couple cans of coconut milk.

I've surprised myself with the dishes I've made since coming to Korea. I am not a big fan of cooking ever since I made stuffed shells without cooking the shells first (okay, you can stop laughing now) and cried like a baby. My mom ended up un-stuffing each shell, cooking them, re-stuffing them and baking them again. It was a mess.

But I have slowly taken it upon myself to try new dishes. Matt has been a blast to cook for, especially since I don't need to impress him..or maybe I do..besides..we're not married yet...haha.

Here's the dealio with the penang curry:

First, cut up a healthy portion of carrots and onions. Take a couple sweet potatoes and zap them in the microwave until soft. Cut those up too. Along with the curry mix and cocunut milk, you're good to go.

Now, since we're not vegetarians, we also add a generous portion of chicken. In one skillet, brown the carrots, onions and sweet potato. In another skillet, brown the chicken. Add the curry sauce packet to the chicken and mix thoroughly.

Yes, it's a two burner operation. Thank god we were given a stove and not just a hot plate! It's the little things in Korean life.

Anyways, once everything is nice and cooked and brown, add the two skillets together and pour in coconut milk until it looks good. No, I didn't measure anything when making this dish, sue me. hehe.

After letting the whole thing simmer, you should get something that smells absolutely to die for.

Most of the time one would eat curry with either long grain rice or naan bread. Because we had neither, we decided to use some plain old bread. It did the trick.


This time the consistency was a little thicker than last time, but no matter. YUM. We had ours with a side salad.

We're on a tight budget this month, but that's because we were able to send home a bunch of money and put a significant amount into savings. That's right, SAVINGS. Along with paying our bills, we cut out some other expenses and put aside our first large amount of savings. It feels SO good. This money will go towards the wedding and future travel. We're not too upset about having to make this meal more than once, along with some other cheap favorites. Tonight I am prepping black beans for a crock pot Mexican stew. Who said eating at home had to be boring? :)

Week 6 Recap

So, it's hard to believe that it's been 6 weeks since I started really exercising and dieting! Crazy how time flies.

So this week was so good!

I not only started the Turbo Fire workout, but one of my goals was to wake up and exercise before work and I did it every day last week, so I'm pretty happy.

The workouts are intense, but I can already tell that I am getting stronger and increasing stamina. Once you get all of the moves and routines down you can really concentrate on putting as much effort as possible into the workout, so the past few have been really good. I can't believe how tired I am after finishing, but then I have so much energy for hours on end. The other night Matt and I completed a workout and I ended up blasting music and dancing for another 45 minutes afterward. So great!

So I made the mistake of forgetting to weigh myself on the accurate scale at the jimjilbang last night (Korean spa), so I don't know how I am doing weight wise but I can definitely feel and see a small difference in my stomach, obliques, and arms. I won't take measurements for another 3 weeks, but I can only imagine that there will be some change by then. YAY!

The best thing about intense cardio exercise is the feeling you get when you're done. Even though I might not have lost any weight yet, it feels so good to sweat it out everyday. Not only does your body feel good, you get this natural high from all of the endorphins pumping through your body. I had forgotten what regular exercise feels like. I completely understand how people get addicted to this!

Running was so boring. I dreaded every single step. I rarely broke a sweat with Power 90, and that too was painstakingly boring for me. But Turbo Fire reminds me of why I enjoyed the step aerobics classes I used to take in college: they're so fun. Class flies when you are constantly moving to upbeat music and changing routines every few minutes.

So, one awesome week down of the Turbo Fire. 19 weeks to go! I have 5 more weeks until Malaysia, where I will have to take a break. But I plan on coming back and getting right back into the routine. Hopefully I can keep up exercising with all of the hikes we plan on doing.

It scares the crap out of me that I only have 4 months until I have to send my measurements in for my WEDDING DRESS! Ah!

A Look Back: Mongolia

Maybe it’s the sticky weather that has triggered it, but lately I’ve been daydreaming about Mongolia. It’s been almost a year since we ventured to my favorite country, and sometimes I wish we had chosen to go back for our vacation this year.

Traveling is thrilling. Traveling reminds you of things that you had previously forgotten the importance of. Like your assurance in mankind, the truly wonderful feeling you get from a genuine smile from a stranger, and the way fresh fruit is really supposed to taste. This is why I keep going back for more.

In the case of Mongolia, these feelings intensified. Never in my life have I been confronted with the kind of emotions that I had while traveling for 7 days on the outskirts of the Gobi Desert. Part of the reason for this is that I was disconnected from the world. With no technology, no internet or cell phone, I was completely left to the raw experiences that one has when dealing with their present surroundings. It’s ironic that when I took time away from apparatuses that connect me to friends and family, I found myself more connected to humanity.

Mongolia opens your eyes to the sheer magnitude of our planet. Driving hours and hours on end without seeing a single man-made structure is overwhelming. I felt a lot of things. Sometimes I felt helpless, that if something were to happen, we would be stranded. Sometimes, despite the vast expanse, I felt claustrophobic. Sometimes I felt serenity in the rocks, hills, meadow grasses, wild horses and sunsets around me. It’s incredibly soothing not to rest your eyes on any geometric structures like a building or another car.

The way your eyes roll over the fluid landscape is the way my mind felt the majority of the time. The most striking feeling though, was just how small I felt. Perhaps one might have this feeling when in a crowd of millions, or when atop Mt. Everest, or sailing the seas on a sailboat built for one. It’s a feeling that everyone should experience at least once in their life. Knowing how minuscule of a role you play in the scheme of things might seem depressing, but not to me. I can only describe it as refreshing. When you come to terms with your role on the planet, things seem simpler. You feel part of it, part of it all.

It reminds me of a Buddhist concept my high school history teacher (one of my role models), introduced to us: you are everything, and everything is you. Nothing is everything, and everything is nothing. Pretty deep stuff for day to day life, but when picnicking on the dry soil of a high desert, I found happiness in this. I felt truth in this.

Mongolia is a place I will always go back to, whether for real or in my mind. It’s raw terrain, it’s thick skinned people and it’s ability to teach us all about ourselves beckons me to re-live my experiences there.

Jang Ma, You're Making Me Crazy

So Wednesday, Jang Ma (the rainy season) hit like a blow to the head. Well, not as violent, but you know. Tuesday was bright and sunshiny, little humidity, Wednesday was a mess of on-again-off-again down pours. A Thunderstorm Wednesday night brought in the humidity, and now commences the “Dani Teacher, you, curl hair!” comments from students. Never gets old. They think I permed it. Little do they understand that this is what humidity does to other’s hair. Koreans are blessed with flat, shiny, gorgeous black hair that never seems to curl or crimp. Jealousy ensues.

Anyways, waking up this morning to do my 55 minute workout in the pitch black of my apartment was not fun. It’s bad enough waking up an hour earlier than usual, it really sucks when it’s absolutely pouring outside and I feel like a rodent living in a wet cave. But, I pushed through. I ramped up the air conditioning, blasted a fan and somehow got through my first 55 minute Turbo Fire workout. All I have to say is thank God it was scheduled for a Friday morning.

Considering this weekend is going to be a wash (haha), I am ardently looking forward to sleeping in and being lazy. Yeah! I still have to workout, but whatever. At least I don’t have to wake up at 6:15 to do it! Hopefully I can get back to some wedding planning. It’s been more than a week, and I am having withdrawals. Naw, just kidding, but it would be nice to relax with the fee-ance over some wedding notebooks and a caramel macchiato. Okay, so maybe not that caramel macchiato. Or maybe… ;)

5 weeks until Malaysia. Watching this rain from my desk at school makes me anticipate it even more. Even though it’s going to be hotter then hell and humid there, at least I will be jungle trekking and snorkeling. None of this why-don’t-they-turn-on-the-friggin-air- con-we’re-dying-in-here business.

Over the Top

If only I had the time, energy, crafty prowess and vision to see a project like this Save-the-date through:
Wow. I mean, the pink and green are definitely not me, but the cute numbers coming out of the envelope, so creative! This picture is from (you probably guessed it,) Martha Stewart Weddings. Of course anyone can pay hundreds of dollars to have some super talented Etsy artist make them. For the rest of us, it's either an extreme DIY project, or something we just have to forgo.

For me, it's just too much. It's bad enough that I've already spent God knows how long looking at envelope liners online. Envelope liners?! Me?! Seriously?! I know. For those who know me it might come as a surprise. Heck, I didn't even know what an envelope liner was until I started reading all of the DIY blogs.

(For those of you who might not know, *cough* boys* cough*, it's the pretty little decorative paper on the inside flap of the envelope, like the green striped one shown in the picture).

If I choose to go the envelope liner route, that will be as far as I'm going. Although we are planning on using some easier crafty tools to give out STDs (I know, worst acronym ever, right?) some creative flare. I will not give it away though, so you'll just have to wait until the fall.

Speaking of STD's (Save-the-dates), we have decided to send them out rather early. After a lot of huffing and puffing and research, we're just going to bite the bullet and get them out this fall. Yes, that's almost a year in advance, but with a lot of our friends planning on traveling from afar, it's never too early. Besides, it's a summer wedding, right smack dab in the middle of prime vacation time. We want to give everyone a big heads up. Some people might argue it's too far in advance, but frankly, we don't expect people to keep our save-the-dates on the fridge forever, just long enough to mark down the date on a calendar or planner.

So what does this mean for us? This means we'll be shopping for paper, envelopes and supplies next month, will hopefully order it all when we come back from Malaysia, and be ready to start sometime in September.

Many have asked why we don't just order postcard save-the-dates and call it good, especially since we've living in Korea. We've thought long and hard about this, and in the end the two of us are just really excited to be a part of it all and design our own. Postcards are easy, efficient and honestly really cute, but it's just not what we're looking for. Of course, on the 70th invitation I'll probably be bitching about the decision, but oh well! Besides, this is something Matt seems to be passionate about (the design). He's really added a lot of input, most of it awesome, to the idea of making our own. I figure I got a good thing going, why do something else? If this is what he's going to be into, then so be it. I don't mind one bit :)

HIIT me!

So this morning was the first time I have ever done a HIIT workout. HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training, and it's exactly that: INTENSE.

For 15 minutes, you alternate between spazing out for 45-60 seconds at 110%, and then recovering for another 45-60 seconds. To give you an idea of what you are required to do during a HIIT, I'll give you some examples.

The first set of 3 HIITS we did this morning consisted of jump roping in place really fast (without a jumprope), jumping jacks, side punches, and "sumo" squats, which include getting down on your hands, throwing your legs back behind you (like you're going to do a push-up) and then jumping back up. All of this is done super fast and at 100%. We did this set 3 times. Then we moved on to another set which included jumping jacks, touching the floor on either side of you, side jumps, and more punching. THEN we did another set of 3 with different moves.

Let me just say that it was tough. Tough, I suppose is an understatement. We did a total of 9 HIITS, with 9 breaks in between. As hard as it was, and even though I didn't go 100% every time, I was still able to finish, AND it was kind of fun, in a out-of-breath-heaving sort of way.

But, who cares?! It was over in 15 minutes. That's the joy of a HIIT workout. After we had a 10 minute stretch and then it we had breakfast and ran off to work.

It's so amazingly awesome to finish a workout before your day even begins, knowing you can kick back for the evening.

Tomorrow morning I have a rest day, which is great. At first I wanted to switch it from Wednesdays to a weekend day, but I soon realized that I should stick to the schedule. That way I get a break mid-week and can sleep in for a few extra minutes!

Ever try a HIIT workout? I applaud those who love them. Eventually I will work up to a 30 minute HIIT workout. It seems impossible right now, but in due time :)

Week 5 Recap and Some Results!

So week 5 wasn't too great on the exercise front. Matt was super busy for the last two weeks and it finally caught up to him, which meant that he didn't go to his nightly taekwondo session which led to us going out and having fun on the weeknights. I'm not blaming him, I could have totally done the Power 90 and he would have been supportive, but I was tired too.

Last week I suffered from a lot of headaches, and my sleep schedule for some reason got all out of whack. A few nights I had trouble sleeping and couldn't get to bed until 2AM, which led me to coming home in the afternoon and napping, which just perpetuated the cycle of no sleep.

But no more excuses!

On Saturday Matt and I spent an hour or so previewing the Turbo Fire videos. He thought it would be a good idea for me to see what some of them are like. Because this system includes 12 different videos and has a set schedule of different activities, I thought it would be good to see what I was getting myself into. It was really helpful to watch them, in that it solidified my decision to take on the challenge, and it reassured me that this program is going to completely kick my ass.

Kick my ass it did. On Sunday Matt suggested that we do a trial run. We did the first video on the calendar, which is a 30 minute cardio followed by a 10 minute stretch. YIKES.

We were pools of sweat 5 minutes in, and although I completed the video, the last 5 minutes of the cardio I was breathless, which is the first time I have been so out of breath since I can remember. I take this as a good thing. I know it was pushing me to my limit.

Last night we took my measurements and some pictures, which is my least favorite part. Good news is, after looking at the pictures we took of me back on March 1st, you can already see a difference! I was shocked considering I haven't lost any weight, but there is a considerable change in the way my stomach, arms, upper back and torso look in the pictures. It was great to have Matt point out all of the changes. Even though it was hard for me to let him take pictures of me like that, he is so supportive that I realize it doesn't matter. The pictures gave me a boost of confidence and I am excited to get this program started!

It's Monday morning and we (yes, Matt got up an extra hour early too!) just completed the first video of day 1. This time I was able to get through the whole thing with the same amount of energy, mainly because for a few harder moves I modified them and followed the trainer who was doing the less-impact version. It feels SO GOOD to get the workout out of the way before work!

Now I can go home tonight and totally relax!

Only 139 days left..hehe.

The Next Step

So when I first started this whole adventure to a healthier me, Matt encouraged me strongly to pick a workout regiment that I could modify or change to my liking. He expressed that if I start a certain program and I don’t get the results I want after a period of time, I should not feel bad about changing workouts.

Yesterday I realized that I am not being challenged enough, and that I want more out of my workout than what Power 90 can give me. Although many people have suggested “graduating” to P90X (which is Power 90 Extreme), I’ve decided to go without something that is more cardio focused.

Even though I am 50 lbs overweight I have noticed something about my stamina and fitness level. Over the years despite my weight gain, I have been able to bounce back into a fairly strenuous workout. Although I am carrying around a lot of excess fat, I never feel winded when I climb the stairs (like so many of my fellow Korean teachers who weigh 90 lbs do). Without exercising for months and months I can quickly pick up a jogging regiment or a step class. I hiked for 3 weeks on the Appalachian Trail, and while I was certainly pushed extremely hard and had many head between my knees moments, I was still able to hike up and down mountains for 8 hours a day. On my longest day I hiked more than 21 miles.

I remember back at college working out with one of my best friends and dorm room mates. I had just starting working out after a few months and invited her to join me. She swore she had been working out nightly for weeks, but when she got onto the treadmill next to me, she could barely jog for 1 minute before having to walk. She weighed around 110 lbs. I am saying this because sometimes I need to remind myself that just because someone is thin doesn’t mean they’re in shape. Koreans are the best example of this. I live in a country where only 3% of the population is overweight. You are hard pressed to find any clothing above a size 4 in most stores. Obese Koreans have to shop online or travel to Seoul to shop in the “plus” or “big” stores (that are normally frequented by foreigners). The majority of Koreans, frankly, look amazing. They are so fashionable and girls are always donning mini skirts and high heeled boots, regardless of season or weather. But when taking a closer look, you realize that it’s all for show. Watching an average Korean climb a mountain (aside from the old, tougher than leather ajummas and ajosshis) is pretty pathetic. If you are able to stare at an average girl’s legs (without drawing too much attention to yourself), you notice that there is absolutely zero definition. I have seen so many times Korean women try to pick up items to carry back from the grocery store only to make it 3 feet before handing it over to their counterpart.

Just because I am overweight doesn’t mean I have to start “slow”. It doesn’t mean I automatically start sweating profusely when I walk more than half a mile or have to pause between each staircase. People have preconceived notions about all obese people and frankly, it’s just another stereotype.At first I had convinced myself that I needed to take it slow and order the P90 instead of the P90X, because so many people had warned about it being too difficult. Now I am realizing that I was downplaying my level of fitness simply because I’m fat.

Well, not anymore. Even after graduating to level 3-4 of the P90 I am finding myself not challenged enough. I need more cardio, I need a tougher workout. I want to be drenched in sweat the entire time and feel absolutely amazing when I’m finished. Right now I am not feeling that way.

I’ve decided to try a program called Turbo Fire. It’s an intense cardio burning workout that looks like a ton of fun. I had absolutely zero fun doing the Power90. It was so boring and frankly, I dreaded it every night. Hopefully this new program will inspire me to finish it.

Along with switching cardio workouts, I am going to make a few big changes to my routine. I am going to try extremely hard to workout in the mornings. Yes, you heard me. I have a lot of trouble getting up in the morning, but I think this will be the best way for me to stay focused, commit to the program and stay on a schedule.

It’s all starting Monday!

The Tao of Pooh

So yesterday I caught myself browsing through one of Matt and my favorite books, the Tao of Pooh, looking for possible readings for the wedding. I know, I know, it’s probably too early to be doing this, but give a girl a break. I only have 5 English language books here in Korea and sometimes I crave being able to read something without spending hours trying to decipher it.

I know that I want to incorporate a Buddhist reading or two in our wedding, along with readings from other faiths. In college I took a course on Buddhism and really fell in love with Thich Nhat Hanh’s books. There are so many passages relevant to love in relationship to the world that I found so refreshing and natural. Although I don’t have any of his books on hand, hopefully I can acquire a few before next August.

So yesterday I flipped open the Tao of Pooh and began reading at a random spot (which works well for this book). To my happiness, I came across this passage right away:

Those who do things by the Pooh Way find this sort of thing happening to them all the time. It’s hard to explain, except by example, but it works. Things just happen in the right way, at the right time. At least they do when you let them, when you work with the circumstances instead of saying “this isn’t supposed to be happening this way”, and trying hard to make it happen some other way. If you’re in tune with The Way Things Work, then they work the way they need to, no matter what you may think about it at the time. Later on, you can look back and say “Oh, now I understand. That had to happen so that those could happen, and those had to happen in order for this to happen..” then you realize that even if you’d tried to make it all turn out perfectly, you couldn’t have done better, and if you’d really tried, you could have made a mess of the whole thing.

I remember listening to Matt read that excerpt while we were cozied in a tent for two while hiking along the Appalachian Trail. I had brought the book for him when I met up with him in Northern Virginia as inspiration for his 2000 mile journey. We spent many a night in headlamp light reading from that book. I remember agreeing with Pooh’s words then, but the truth resounds within me now more than ever.

My life in the past 2.5 years has followed this path. Whether I wanted things to happen or not, they did. I couldn’t find a teaching job right after graduating. My ex-boyfriend of 6 years broke up with me. Matt’s ex-girlfriend of 3 years broke up with him. I found a job as a before and after care teacher to elementary students. I got back in touch with Matt. We fell back in love. Matt was laid off from his well paying analyst job after only 6 months. With his severance, his was able to hike the trail, a dream he’s had since childhood. Because I worked at a school I was able to join him, only to find out halfway through my hike that I no longer had a job to go back to. Desperate, we both went back to the grocery store where we had worked since 16. Matt finished the last few classes of his degree. Because we both had 4 year degrees, we could apply for teaching jobs in Korea. Because of Korea, we are incredibly happy, and can pay for our bills. Because of the low cost of living, we can travel on vacations and experience the world together. Over the next year we’ll be able to save and pay for our own wedding.

It’s amazing how things work out. If you told me 2.5 years ago that I would be able to pay my student loan bills, travel every 6 months and pay for a wedding, I would have never believed you. But it’s a reality now.

Of course every reality has positives and negatives. Although I lead a blessed life, there are still things that I have to sacrifice for all of this. Living in Korea is hard, especially for more than a year. A lot of people can perhaps deal with a year away from family and friends easily enough, but when you’ve made the decision to stay for a longer term, it becomes real. Things happen at home that we wish we could be there for. Time passes without seeing family, without playing with my dog, without enjoying a frozen custard on a hot summer’s day in Maine. You give things up to get things. Matt and I both know how fortunate we are, but we also never forget about our lives back home. 3 years is not a long time in the big scheme of life. We are content here, and we know that the sacrifices we make now will benefit us in the future.

Life is a game of give and take.

I hope it just keeps on giving :)

Incorporating Two Worlds

So, we live in Daejeon, South Korea. Home of Korea's most prestigious science and technology university (KAIST), an autumn hot air balloon festival and 4 unattractive government complex buildings that were relocated from Seoul. We also have a pretty cool blue and red pedestrian bridge over the Gapcheon River a mile from our house.
Okay, so it's not the most exciting Korean city. It pales in comparison to the vibrant insanity of Seoul, but we love it here. Daejeon is our new home. South Korea is a "foreign" country that we no longer consider foreign.

Of course, we've only been living here for EXACTLY 16 months today, not an incredibly long time some might argue. But when you move to another country and secure your first "real" steady, full-time job, it feels like the new life you have created for yourself has become something bigger than you ever thought possible. It's true, we didn't plan on staying in Korea for more than a year, most people don't. Most people come for the experience and move on to bigger and better things, or go home and settle down, or continue traveling. But not us. Korea means something more to us, and it's extremely important for both of us to incorporate it into our special day.

Deciding to have the wedding in Maine was obviously a no-brainer. We can't possibly have a destination Korean wedding, being 8,000 miles and a $1300.00 plane ticket away from the majority of our friends and family. Besides, even though Korea is our home, Maine is where we met in junior high, where we share so many incredible memories with those we love, and where we will eventually go back to.

So, how do you weave two completely different lives into one wedding day?

That's the fun part. Although I don't want to spoil a lot, I will share some ideas that Matt and I have come up with already.

We are going to be using an Asian symbol in our wedding, for the stationary, and also as decoration at our reception. Although the actual symbol is Japanese, it also is strongly associated with Korea and Koreans have certain beliefs about this symbol.

We're also going to use lanterns at our reception. While most likely Chinese lanterns, they will give the party an Asian feel, while still being surrounded by gorgeous Maine woods.

We will be singing a few songs in Korean at the reception.

Tables will most likely be labeled as cities that we've been to instead of by numbers or letters. We really like the idea of including our love of travel in the wedding.

Depending on how everything goes, we might have a reading and/or Korean tradition woven into the ceremony.

One last thing is a big surprise, but includes some kind of culmination of our time in the Land of the Morning Calm. After the wedding, we will only be in Korea for another 6 months before heading off to travel. To wrap our lives up here we will be showing our guests something special to give them an idea of some of the experiences we've had here.

We can't wait!

I'll reveal more details at a later date :)

Week 4 Recap

So although this past weekend was another "wash", last week wasn't terrible. What I ate wasn't so much of the problem as my lack of exercise. I only ended up exercising 4 days last week total. Bummer.

Oh, well. A new week has begun and it started off last night with a healthy dose of the Power 90 workout video. I have "graduated" to level 3-4 now (instead of level 1-2) so let's just say the cardio is enough to keep me lightheaded and sweating profusely for the entire 45 minutes. Tonight I am starting the 3-4 level in sculpting (weightlifting) and plan on adding in a 2 mile jog/walk into the mix.

While on the whole we've been eating better and exercising more these past 4 weeks, I am not getting the results that I want. Although I haven't weighed myself and have gotten a lot of compliments from teachers at school about my "slimness", I don't think I've lost anything. My pants fit a little loser, but nothing dramatic. After 4 weeks I was hoping for at least a little more.

I've decided to ramp up the exercise. Doing the cardio video 3 nights a week while adding more cardio to my sculpting nights will help.

I also really need to cut the crap. I did NOT need that ice cream last night. I didn't need that iced latte from Dunkin' Donuts the other night, either. Although my diet has drastically changed, it hasn't changed completely.

Even though I am not seeing the results I'd like, I am still optimistic. Each week is a new week and each day that goes by where I make smart choices is one step closer.

Goals for this week:
add cardio (even if it's just a walk) to my sculpting nights
go on a hike/long walk on my one day off a week from the exercise video
cut out all of the "freebie" snacks/drinks
continue to eat healthy, balanced meals
buy bus tickets for the airport for MALAYSIA!

Okay, so I threw that last one in there for good measure :)

June.

Oops. So it's been a while. I wish I had a good excuse like teacher training or lesson planning, but last week was pretty easy. I am giving speech tests to EVERY student at school so I've had a break from "real" teaching.

This past weekend Matt and I journeyed on public bus to a sequoia recreational forest outside of the city. It was so beautiful and might be a potential site for an engagement photo shoot. What?! I know. We've been engaged for almost 5 months but that's not stopping us from wanting a Korean photo shoot.

Although I have not posted on here lately, both of us HAVE been actively wedding planning. Almost every day this week we have spent some time hashing out save-the-date ideas and searching online for card stock and envelopes. When I said I was going to have a DIY wedding, I meant it. Fortunately, Matt is just as engaged in the invitation process as me, and has had some awesome ideas and input! This whole thing would be a lot more stressful without any help :)

paper products and colors have been decided, and even though I don't want to give away what everything will all look like, perhaps I will eventually post pictures when the save-the-dates have been mailed. Even though that won't be until later this fall, we're estimating around 75 altogether, so it's going to take us some time. Besides, this summer we'll be busy with summer camps and traveling, so it's never too early to order all of the materials.

Sometime this week I will post some awesome ideas I've gotten from this amazing blogging website: The Wedding Bee. It's a community of bloggers who all update on their wedding planning and preparation and it's just fantastic!

Before we know it, it will be July and I'll be getting ready for summer camps and buying bottle upon bottle of sunscreen and bug repellent for Malaysia. You can never have enough of either!

Until next time :)

3 Weeks Down

3 weeks down! I am not happy to report that this weekend was a wash. Although we had copius amounts of Korean food (re: relatively healthy), we splurged on a few meals that we're not happy about. But such is life.

Back into the routine today after a wonderful 3 day weekend away with friends at a national park.

Exercise stats for week 3: I exercised 5 out of the seven days, 6 if you include long walks and a few smaller hikes.

Eating stats for week 3: Good during the week, but bombed on the weekend. We ate out at one of our favorite Italian restaurants (first time eating real pizza since starting the diet). We also drank some beer with friends this weekend, which we don't care too much about. Yesterday after checking out a new Costco-esque store in town we caved and ended up eating food court for dinner to see how it compared to the real Coscto. So over-all, not very good. Time to move forward, though.

The new goal for the next two weeks is to not eat out at all. This should be easy since we just went grocery shopping and stocked up on tons of fruits and veggies. With a 3 kilo bag of frozen chicken and some turkey burgers we are good to go!

The humidity is picking up here, and I'm not liking it one bit. I am sitting here writing this at school and practically dripping. Korea's summers are brutal, and with just a few weeks until the disgustingly hot and humid rainy season, we are already counting down the days until fall. Fortunately we will be leaving Korea for 2.5 weeks in August for Malaysia (again, another sweltering country), but at least we will be able to enjoy it beachside.

So, to wrap things up, week 3 wasn't that spectacular in terms of diet or exercise, but week 4 will be better!! :)

Inspiration Board

Here are some pictures from an article I read on the broke ass bride website. (If you're planning a wedding or love weddings check it out! Here is the link to the article: the broke ass bride)

I am really loving this. Stressed about which colors to pick? Want to choose more than one or two? Why not the whole rainbow! These pictures show how awesome a rainbow colored wedding could be. Part of me (maybe the part whose trail name while hiking for 3 weeks on the Appalachian Trail was 'bow after a rainbow!) totally wants to do this.

I mean, skeptics behold this amazing cake:
Fantastic, huh? On the outside it looks like a seemingly boring cake but NO! The inside is fabulous, time consuming to make, but fabulous. Although I am not going to have a layered rainbow cake, I am planning on putting some color into my cake, but that's a surprise! Fortunately, one of my bridesmaids and good friends from Korea is going to be making my cake for me. I am so lucky.

And these dresses! Of course finding a different colored dress for each bridesmaid would be stressful, so why not just wear black and accessorize? So great.


I feel like the flowers is where you could really go all out in a rainbow wedding. Of course, for us DIYer's, I think it would cost a pretty penny unless you planned ahead.

You could let the rainbow theme run wild: different colored table clothes, rainbow paper cranes, rainbow lanterns, rainbow everything!

Too bad I've already settled on blue :)