In my Free Time.

 As with most people who are addicted to the internet, I spend a “few minutes” every day checking in on various social sights, blogs and the like. Since getting engaged, the list of sights has grown tremendously.  The online wedding planning world is one of the most extensive internet research categories I’ve ever come across. I thought that the world travel sphere was huge, but weddings have taken the cake, literally. You can spend entire days reading blogs and checking out examples of every single wedding detail you can possibly imagine, including cakes:  cake toppers, cake cutting utensils, who cuts the cake, the pros and cons of cake face smashing, what flavors, what bakeries to use, which frosting is the best for whatever weather, what style will match your wedding attire, etc. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

Trying to keep it all in perspective is key when searching through the plethora of amazing online wedding sights. I have narrowed my search down to a few blogs that I have found the most useful and entertaining.

The first and foremost one is called Wedding Bee. For any bride (or groom for that matter) who has gotten married in the last few years, this site should be well known. The blog is updated dozens of  times a day by “bees”: recently engaged women, as well as recently married women who share their wedding planning journey with the rest of the universe. Their ideas and inspiration have led me to consider a lot of things about my wedding that I never would have thought of. The idea of our invitations comes from a crafty “bee” who blogged step by step picture instructions. Amazing. Along with blogposts about everything from what to get your bridesmaids, to the wording of your save-the-date to spa treatments, the site also has message boards where everyone can contribute and get answers.

If there are any girls out there with a ring on their finger, or hope to have a ring on their finger, or who just LOVE weddings, check out this sight. You won’t be disappointed. 

www.weddingbee.com

Progress.

Tonight we should be receiving the final draft of our save the dates from our friends, Claire and Kait. Tomorrow we have plans to go to old downtown here in Daejeon to print a test card. If everything looks good, this weekend will be go-time. We’re thrilled, envisioning cozy nights on the couch with some good music and perhaps a beer or two while cutting, stamping, writing and sealing. Of course, it might end up being more annoying than not, but we’ll stay optimistic until we start :). The goal is to mail them out from here no later than the following weekend. They should arrive in one big bundle to my mom’s house, and they she will mail them out locally from Maine. If all goes according to plan, people should receive them before Thanksgiving. That was what we hoped for, to avoid the holiday rush of mail. Fingers crossed we can get it all organized!

Less than 300 days to go!

Here is a quick list of the progress we’ve made in planning so far:

Dress: sending in measurements this weekend to Vietnam!

Officiate: my childhood priest has agreed to marry us :)

Ceremony location: church has been booked (months ago!)

Reception location: also booked (months ago)

Tent/tables/chairs: sending in deposit next month

Music: in contact with DJ, awaiting quote

Flowers: in contact with local farm, awaiting quote

Photographer: Thank goodness for awesome cousins!

Food: vendor confirmed and booked.

Cake: thank goodness for friends/bridesmaids!

Paper products: Save the dates almost done, invitations to come

Ceremony details: awaiting pamphlet from church in the mail

Ceremony musicians/readers: still need to coordinate

Honeymoon: home is our honeymoon! The real trip begins 3/1/2013 when we’re done in Korea. More on those exciting plans to come!

That’s all I can think of for now.

The sun is shining today, albeit cold. My fingers are numb from giving speaking tests in the freezing hallways. Because construction in Korea constitutes building from concrete and slabbing wallpaper directly over it, to say that there are mold problems here is an understatement. To try to keep mold growth at a minimum (and to "better your health"), schools keep most of the hallway windows wide open, even on the coldest of days. That's all well and good, except for me, the lonesome English waygook teacher who is stuck sitting in the hallways for the next two weeks of classes. sigh. Such is life here: you have to roll with the punches. Tomorrow I'm donning a hat and gloves :)

Home is Whenever I'm With You.

Happy 3 year anniversary to the most incredible person in my life. Through thick and thin, our friendship has spanned over 12 years, more than half of my life, and I can't wait to spend the rest of it with you. I love you Matt! <3

A Look Back: Thailand

In just shy of 80 days I will find myself back in the Southeast Asia of my college days. Besides Korea, this will be the first time I have ever revisited a place.

Maya Beach long tail  boat in the rain

I am excited to experience Thailand again, with a set of fresh eyes, eager to see how it’s changed, morphed, or (hopefully) stayed the same.

Thailand was the first Asian country I’ve traveled in. I spent the first 2 weeks and the last 2 weeks  of a 10 week Southeast Asia trip in Thailand, which I find appropriate. Thailand is comfortable, and despite liking other countries better (Laos in particular), Thailand is everything that you would want in an exotic Asian experience and then some. If you didn’t have time to visit more than one country in this region, I would wholeheartedly recommend Thailand without reservation.

Bangkok skyline at sunset

Thailand is covered in steamy, elephant dwelling jungle. It has amazing temple ruins from the early days, when it was called Siam. The flora and fauna is spectacular, especially in its national parks. The southern isthmus is blessed with some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Although tourism has perhaps ruined a lot of once-coveted places, you can still find your little slice of paradise if you search hard enough. The food is to die for (I mean, c’mon, who doesn’t love Thai food?), not to mention it’s ridiculously cheap. The fresh fruits will make you rethink your conception of what a fruit should really taste like (re: juicy pineapple pieces on a stick).

Railay Beach abseiling

They don’t call Thailand the land of a thousand smiles for nothing. The people are genuinely friendly (the majority anyways). Even if you find yourself being ripped off by a tuk-tuk driver after already agreeing on a set price, you will, minutes later, be laughing at the pah thai man as he grins at you with a toothless mouth while mixing your noodles with peanut sauce.  This is just how it goes. It’s such a laid back atmosphere you can’t help but go with the flow. This is what makes Thailand great.

Thee Lor Sue Falls

I was fortunate enough to experience a lot of the country back in 2006. I spent a lot of time in Bangkok, so much so that I grew to like the little area I was in (despite the rather negative opinions most travelers have for the giant city). I went trekking in the hills along the Burmese border, and met Burmese refugees fleeing their homeland for a better life. I spent 5 hours on the back of an elephant in thick jungle. I wandered through numerous night markets in Chiang Mai, an awesome city in the north. I biked around ancient temple complexes, and, at the end of my trip, experienced the gorgeous beaches of the southern coast.

So, I find myself extremely blessed to have a chance to go back. After a whirlwind week in Vietnam with my mom, we will take a short flight to Bangkok and, after meeting up with Matt, will continue down to the southern coast to enjoy the beach for another week. I can’t wait to share this experience with the two people I love the most!

We've got STDs, People.

No. We have not contracted some horrible disease! We have (almost) finalized our Save-the-dates. Yes, it's probably one of the worst wedding acronyms ever (and there are plenty), but it is what it is.

Yesterday afternoon we met with our South African friends, Claire and Kait (ridiculously creative sisters) and hashed out a plan. They showed us what they've come up with, and besides a few minor adjustments, we were really pleased with their ideas. While they designed a 100% digital card, Matt and I wanted to be a bit more crafty with some parts of it, so we're combining the two. They're designing the basic fonts, layout and colors and we're adding a few more scrapbooky details. We can't wait to put it all together!

After the brainstorming session Matt and I headed out to old downtown in Daejeon to one of our favorite stationary shops to by a paper cutter and some supplies.  It's real now! We have something to look at, work with, rearrange, print, cut, paste and process. We're super excited to get this all going!

Our goal is to send them out before the holiday rush, so we plan on mailing them home to my mom no later than mid-November. Then she will send them out from there. 

On another front, I'll be sending my dress measurements in in just TWO weeks! Although I am not at my goal weight, I'm confident that adjustments can be made when I go to try it on and also when I go home to Maine. I'm not worried, just anxious! It's crazy how someone in Vietnam is going to start making my dress in just a few short weeks!

To come: more on fitness (which I'm determined to increase!), healthy eating and the 12 week push to our SouthEast Asian adventure!

Crisp Air

Ahhhhhh. What a beautiful fall Monday morning in Daejeon, Korea. The sun is shining, the leaves are turning (finally), and there's not a hint of humidity anywhere to be found. Now if only we didn't have to work!

But thankfully I am in a good mood. I always feel like Monday can be one of two things (never any gray): horribly depressing or surprisingly do-able. You either enter the workweek desperately trying to grasp onto the previous weekend or content to let a new week begin. Today I feel the latter. I am excited to travel to Busan this coming weekend. We're going to take the train down early on Saturday, visit an ocean side temple, and then watch am amazing fireworks display over a bridge in Busan harbor that night. Sunday is a free day. Maybe we'll go to the fish market, or explore another beach or go on a small hike. This small (anniversary) weekend getaway makes me excited to get this week over with. The amazing weather this morning helps the good mood along!

The Ring

Sometimes I can't believe that we've already been engaged for almost 9 months and that I've been wearing this ring for that long:

I remember being entranced with how sparkly it was in the very beginning. I couldn't take my eyes off of it! Of course I still stare at it from time to time, especially when it does gather and reflect the light. I love this ring because it's small, delicate, and fits perfectly with my personality. It's simple and doesn't look ridiculous on my small, chubby finger.
   

 One of my favorite parts of the ring is the small inscription on the inside:
 

forever and always