Friday, November 23, 2012

Scarf Swap Goodies!

After a crazy busy last 2 weeks, and vacation coming up tomorrow (we head to Thailand for 5 nights), I just barely had time to squeeze in a post with all the goodies from the Scarf Swap I hosted! Hope all of you who joined in on the fun, received your goodies... and have some adorable neck candy to show off to the world. If you're a blogger... I want to see... so be sure to link up down below!

I had the pleasure of swapping with the sweetest lady around... Lacey! And she SO treated me to MANY goodies... I just had to share them with you all.






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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Turkey Trotting...

It's Thanksgiving... and today was the day... I pushed it back 2 days, to make it super special... but I did it... I made it to 5K! I tested myself, and hosted my very own "turkey trot" here at my house- well, around my neighborhood. I could have done it awhile ago... yes, I could have pushed myself at least 3 weeks ago to do it, but... I would have been "feeling" it after the big run, and my breathing would have been off, and I might not have had a great pace... So, I stuck to the plan... to do a little at a time, add a little at a time... giving my body the proper rest in between, and cross/strength training in between each run.




I went out strong friends... super strong... I made it to my halfway point in 12:41... the second half was a little rough- I was definitely sweating more than I would have liked- a little overheated- but, I made it back. 


So now, it's time to enjoy that sweet Thanksgiving meal... and maybe indulge in a little pie... and then get right back on the horse... time to add more mileage... Thank you family and sweet friends, you inspire these legs to keep going... and that they will. I'm SO thankful for them, and hope they love me back to keep on going... Happy Thanksgiving All!
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Sunday, November 18, 2012

Week 10 Complete

Another week of homeschooling down... The weeks keep on coming, and somehow I manage to get the time "in", in our schedule. The next two weeks, we'll be a little 'lax with it, since next week is Thanksgiving, and the week after, we'll be in Thailand. But, that's the great thing, we can bring school wherever/whenever! We had lots of fun with the letter "k" this week... and although we did a bunch, I didn't manage to photograph it all. I definitely put down the camera A LOT this week, because I knew this weekend would be busy with it... as it's been my FINAL weekend here in Korea where I took on photoshoots.

Charlotte loves to write the letter "K", and she managed to figure out how to draw a diamond shape... a very "rough" looking diamond shape, but one nonetheless. We've been doing TONS of matching with flashcards, puzzles, and we started "telling time" this week (it wasn't successful). We traced some "k"eys (which she was easily frustrated at doing), and have the parts to create a kaleidoscope (even though we didn't get around to that- we'll get to it next week). She'll even tell you, that my name, "Karen" starts with a "k". Oh she loves learning, and I adore her drive... I wish I had her drive when it came to preparing the week of schooling... even just a little bit of it, I would gladly accept.




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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Piling Up...

And today's "dragging day" is brought to you by a yummy snack for Charlotte from Starbucks, and a caffeinated yummy snack for Mommy... outside. Yup, cold/fresh air, and some liquid motivation (for me) is the only way to get through today.











Everything continues to pile on top of one another (why am I blogging? oh that's right, to remember this time in my life!) and although things are getting marked off the "lists" of things "to do", more pops on it. Have I mentioned that next Saturday we leave for Thailand, for a few days, and then as soon as we get back, we pack out of our house? Yup. I'm crazy for keeping my schedule busy all the way until next Friday... what's with me? Oh, that's right... I strive under pressure. For now, I must compartmentalize, and figure out what needs to be done day by day... it's the only way to get through it. How do you cope with tackling "to-do" lists?
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Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Quick "Pick Me Up"


You know there's nothing like curing that "dragging" feeling in the afternoon... with a walk. You know the drag... the kind where 4 cups of coffee don't do a thing, a 30 minute nap does NOT refresh, and your sleep cycle was interrupted that night because a little one decided that 4 am was an acceptable time to come and say "hi" in your ear. We also had MOPS this morning, which meant I needed to have Charlotte and I (I have NO idea how moms with more than one do it) out the door by 8:45, to make it "on time." When 4:00 pm rolls around these days, it's sort of like the dreaded hour or so... since she kicked the "nap", it's time of the day, where she's restless, but yet has all this "extra" energy (that she doesn't share with me), and she starts getting antsy. It seems to be the time of the day, that I always try and spend out of the house. I think it's because when she's out, she's less likely to complain, ask for 4 snacks before dinner (she's a bored eater), less likely to get frustrated, and is usually just excited to be "out". Sometimes we run errands, other times, we go for a walk. Today, because I was dragging... and wasn't feeling like errands... we managed a 30 minute walk. Lets just say, with the temperatures dropping, it DEFINITELY woke me up. It was the quickest "pick me up"... just going out and exploring with the little one.

All the cabbage heads are being plucked, and stored away... 














It's amazing how with the rain we've had, how the temps have dropped... as have the leaves from the trees... We did find one maple, that was still a sight for tired eyes... It's holding on strong to its leaves, and I don't blame it, it was beautiful.

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Monday, November 12, 2012

Morning Sewing Session

This Monday morning, was spent the way I plan on spending most of my mornings this week... up in the sewing room. Tons of things are being created for this craft fair coming up on Black Friday, and I'm trying NOT to procrastinate. Yes, it means some early mornings getting things done, but... they're getting done AHEAD of schedule. So today, I just wanted to share with you some of my sweet little views from this morning's sewing session...

In the first 15 minutes, I accrued a small little scrap pile, and whizzed through a spool of thread... when I mean business, I mean business... you should have seen this after 3 hours of sewing!


My pile of "to do's" is slowly dwindling down... except that I keep adding more to the pile... 

One of my favorite sights from the sewing machine... 














I think I totally got this "scowl" from Runyan because of what I was sewing in that moment...


And then he promptly sat on my lap, just to show me how much he LOVED me, and didn't care that I was sewing "dog patterned" creations... 


Such a sweet sweet morning... 
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Saturday, November 10, 2012

Week 9 Complete!

Another week down... and instead of taking on two letter like last week, we kept with one, "J". Charlotte has difficulties with letters that have curves, so I wanted to make sure she really got the hang of this one. Along with letter writing, we tackled more scissor cutting, matching, and gluing. We did TONS of "j"umping... I think her favorite was the game of "J" hopscotch... she had to jump through the "j's," but couldn't step on any of them. I'm pretty sure that occupied her time for at least 30 minutes, making sure her feet never touched the chalk. Sweet little girl definitely has a little competitive gene in her... just not a gene for doing "j"umping "j"acks... I wish I had snapped a photo of those, but lets just say, they're not her forte. Schooling has been challenging, with my "to-do" list a mile long... but somehow Charlotte wakes up every day (even on the weekends) and asks to do her school work. She definitely loves it.

We even played, "10 Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed"... and I let her go to town on her bed... thankfully no Charlottes were harmed during this performance.




All this girl wants to do these days, are puzzles.... puzzles... and more puzzles. 















With those handprints we created last week, we made ourselves a "JOY" banner.


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Thursday, November 08, 2012

Sweatshop

My sewing room, has gone from an organized mess, to a complete mess as of late. I've recently been asked to be a part of a "Black Friday" shopping event on the base, filled with fun vendors... and I've been a "creating machine"... that's right, I've pretty much converted my very own sewing room into a sweatshop... But I think it's going to be way fun... and if I don't sell much, I'll at least have tons of stock for when I'm in America.  If you're here in Korea, come on out for it, it's going to be grand- details coming soon!






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Wednesday, November 07, 2012

We Ate Well...

Well, one thing is for sure... tonight, we ate well...
















You can find the recipe here... I altered it some, because we aren't doing potatoes anymore... only sweet potatoes/yams. But the switch was FANTASTIC. I also added a little bit of celery. Before placing the beef in the crock pot, I actually took all dry ingredients (onion soup, some salt, some garlic, and meat tenderizer-even though the recipe doesn't call for it) and rubbed it into the meat. I poked it with a fork a bunch of times to help get the marinade in. It made the meat super juicy and fell apart as I scooped out servings... It makes PLENTY, and we'll definitely have leftovers for another meal.
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Monday, November 05, 2012

found ENJOYMENT

Dare I say it... oh yes... I shall...

Just a little recap of how things are going in the "running" world... I'm more than half way through my 5k training... and lets just say that I'm feeling great (other than the unusual lightheadedness that I recently acquired.) I've upped my water, electrolyte and protein intake... so now I'm just trying to figure out the lightheadedness...

I've also added some CrossFit for strength training in between... on those days that says "rest or run/walk", and I'm definitely maxing out my walking time on Sundays. Somehow, in all of this, I have found ENJOYMENT, in it. I NEVERINAMILLIONYEARS would have thought that I'd "love" running...

I was the girl in highschool that NEVER ran the mile for the physical fitness test, but rather walked it... and would make sure to make it in just under 20 minutes, so that I would "pass" and could be deemed "physically fit". When now, I can RUN (or in my case slow jog) 2 miles in just about 20 minutes. And the best part, I catch my second wind right when I'm about to stop... yup, my body likes this. Weird.

I started running "barefoot" with my Vibram toe shoes... and although I adore the feel of them, my left ankle/heel did not... well not entirely. I was able to get through 3 weeks, before it started acting up. So, I recently purchased a pair of Minimus New Balance, that give me just that little bit of extra support in my heel/ankle... and I have been fine since. I am however, running in my toe shoes for my midweek "shorter" run and using them for my walks. But when it comes to races, and longer distances, I'll probably stick with the Minimus ones.

I'm in the transition to cold weather... and yes, it hurts my little lungs, but so far, I'm able to tolerate the cold. I think for now, I'll have to "pack away" the warmer attire, and start bundling up... but not too much. I did a run the other day, and it "looked" cold outside, and lets just say I "overheated" along the way... Yup, fail... but, now I know what temps my body can handle with specific attire. I guess the idea is to still feel a little "cold" in whatever you're wearing... because as soon as your body starts going, you definitely warm up.

If you say, "Um, Karen... I can't even do a 5k plan, because I can't run 1.5 miles..." then I laugh in your face and say, "YES YOU CAN!" because I was in the same boat. Even though this plan says I completed 4 weeks, I've actually been at it for over 6. When I started, I was running/walking... and it began at 3/4 of a mile... yup, that's all I could do. I could only walk/run 3/4 of a mile before I felt like DEATH. But, you have to start somewhere... and then push your body... because it WANTS to do it... it's usually your mind that keeps you from it (or at least that was my case). Remember, this is a journey, and no one just gets where they "want" to be at the snap of a finger... although that'd be REALLY cool if that could be the case. You just have to keep "pushing" yourself.

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