As usual, my poor little blog gets neglected...

Vacation, while relaxing, has also been somewhat draining. Dealing with jet lag (among other things I'm not quite ready to get into just yet) has left me exhausted and looking to hit the sheets WELL before my normal night owl times. The friend I'm staying with has been dealing with her own problems due to an ex that I'm sure she had wanted to be done with before I arrived but unfortunately, is getting dragged into more and more as time goes by. As for me, surprising news has left me somewhat shocked and unsure what to think.

It's just a lot to take in and deal with, that's for sure and it definitely doesn't leave much time for blog writing. John has, for the moment, taken over my other blog since he is the one who is with Natalie at this time and so far, he's not doing too badly with it. We talk on the phone and online and quite a bit since there now seems to be a lot of things we need to figure out and decisions that we must make that will have an impact on us for quite some time. It just all makes me wish we could come home and angry that the economy here is still fragile and not improving very quickly.

Not much else going on at the moment though, just resting and enjoying what may be my last vacation for a very long time.

I made it to the US in one piece.

It was a pretty long trip and I was definitely exhausted by the time I got there. I don't sleep well on planes unfortunately. I'm enjoying my vacation so far though I ended up getting some news that have kind of put me into shock. I'm not quite ready to divulge what the news is quite yet but suffice to say, it was the LAST thing I expected to happen at this time. I'm dealing with a lot of emotions due to that. I'm trying to not think too much about it though since anything can happen in the next several weeks and just try to enjoy the time I have here since it may be the last time I'm able to visit for a long time.

I'm happy to be back though. I really missed being here and it's nice to have space for me and a place to put all of my stuff. The bed is nice and soft and very comfortable to sleep in. I bought a coffee pot and some coffee and I'm looking forward to making a pot of that. I'm also looking forward to Thanksgiving. I just wish I wasn't so worried about the future but I am right now. That's the only bad side to everything, that and the fact that my appetite is down quite a bit. I'm still hoping everything will fall into place though, just didn't expect the news I got, that's for sure.

Today's the day!

It's after 2 in the morning and I'm trying to relax enough to go to bed for at least two hours. Yeah, that's not working out too well. I hate having pre-flight jitters, especially since I really do not sleep well on the plane, well at least the last time I flew which was the first time I flew. I'll be in the air less than 9 hours from now and man I really wish I had not looked at the clock because that SO did not help my nerves. I'm pretty much packed though, just need to shut down the computer and put it in the laptop bag. I have the documents I need and I'll just have a few things to throw into the bags tomorrow morning and then I should be pretty much set to go.

I got some pictures of the apartment tonight so I'll post those once I get all set up at my friend's house. Then you all can see just how much of a shoebox we live in!

Well, guess that's that. The next time anyone will hear from me online will likely be once I make it to Minneapolis. Ooh, that reminds me, I need to forward my flight information to my husband. Later!

So much for that.

I was trying to do a blog entry ever day for the NaBloWriMo even though I hadn't actually signed up for it. Yeah, didn't last long, what I get for trying to do it the same month I'm going to fly home. There's a lot I'd like to blog about but I just do not have the time to actually sit down and write about it and naturally, if I am going to write about things that are important to me, I'd like to have a bit of time to do so. I can't even sit down and write my poor mom a letter! Less than 48 hours to go and I still have laundry to do (though nothing I'm taking with, thankfully, just the last of Natalie's summer clothes) which is taking twice as long to dry now that the weather has gotten cool, dark, and damp; packing to finish including figuring out how much I spent on all of the stuff I bought here that I'm taking back to the states with me; dinner and a movie since I'm hoping to watch The Time Traveler's Wife before I go (read the book, want to see the movie); and just getting all the last minute details figured out including how to get to the airport possibly on my own since Natalie tends to be such a pain in the behind about going out anywhere and it would just take less time and less stress to go alone (pity we can't get her a babysitter for the day).

So yeah, that is what is going on with me and now, I really should get off of the computer and get some things done because I need to take off after John gets home from work for Gangnam to see what time the movie's playing tonight.

Less than five days to go...

...and I'm already starting to feel the stress of trying to get everything ready and packed and set for Sunday morning. Still have details to figure out for Sunday itself as far as getting to the airport and all that good stuff. My flight leaves at 11am Sunday the 8th (Korea time) and I will land in La Crosse, WI Sunday the 8th at about 2pm (Central time). Yes, time traveling rocks. While it will only have been about three hours time wise, I will have really been traveling for 18 hours and since I will be up at 5am, it's going to be a LONG day. Just hope I'll be able to sleep on the plane this time around.

I won't lie; I'm glad Halloween is over.

I don't celebrate Halloween. To be honest, it's not really a holiday I've ever gotten that much into. Sure, I've gone trick-or-treating a few times and I've been to a haunted house or two. On occasion, I've worn a costume and have gone to a Halloween party but it just does not interest me all that much. Part of it is being married to John, I'm sure. He doesn't celebrate Halloween and, with his religious beliefs, wants nothing to do with it. But even without that, unless I had married a die hard Halloween fanatic, I probably still would not be all that much into Halloween. First of all, I'm not that into horror movies and scary stuff. I don't choose to watch them and I definitely don't own any. Second, I'm not into the being sexy and strutting myself downtown thing. Third, I think the money that is charged for costumes is insane and I think the time and money that goes into getting ready for a night of mayhem is a little excessive. All this for some candy? Why not go to the store the next day and get it for half off? Oh, it's FREE...that's why... So what? You can't pick the candy you get and most people will buy the cheap garbage anyway and give that to you, that nasty old peanut butter taffy stuff that's in black or orange paper. And if you're too old to be out trick-or-treating, you won't get candy anyway!

I guess, I just don't see the point of it. I love fall. I think pumpkins rock and the weather is beautiful and the colors and smells the best of any season. But, I can have all of that without celebrating Halloween. Granted, Natalie would look absolutely adorable in a costume but, what's the point? Most years, (especially in Wisconsin), it's freaking COLD! I remember a couple of years going out in the SNOW! One year, I was especially blessed to be delivering papers on Halloween and since back then Halloween fell AFTER the change to standard time, I was out in the dark and in the rain. Not a fun night, that's for sure though I did get a couple of pieces of candy for my troubles. Why not just dress your kid up in cute costumes for pictures instead? In fact, there are studios in Korea that do just that! You can dress your little girl up in princess costumes (Snow White especially is quite popular here due to the dark hair) and get their pictures taken. Perfect. And you won't even have to try to wrestle a whole bunch of bad-for-them candy from them later on. We try to teach them every other night of the year that all things should be in moderation but let them go crazy on one night? Doesn't make much sense.

I don't know, it's a day that just takes over the entire month of October. And yet, when it's over and done and November rolls around, not much is said about Thanksgiving until it's pretty much right on top of us and then, it's usually eclipsed by Christmas (which I won't go into right now). Let's think about this for a minute. A month that contains a holiday that's about being thankful is boxed in by two months that really have more to do with asking for things than about anything else (and do not go there about Jesus being the reason for the Christmas season because He's not). And those months with their holidays are glorified while Thanksgiving is barely mentioned except in terms of dinner, Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade (complete with Santa riding in at the end), Black Friday, and maybe pilgrims if you have a child in elementary school.

I have wondered about Thanksgiving at times, wondered if it is part of one of the Biblical holidays known to us as the Feast of Tabernacles. I have wondered if it was sort of separated from that and made into it's own American holiday due to the one that was celebrated here between the pilgrims and the natives. I don't know. For me, since we don't celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving is considered more of an American holiday since it doesn't have the pagan origins that other holidays do, Thanksgiving is the big family holiday for us. And Thanksgiving is the time to remember those blessings that we have received during the last year.

So, let's take this month to remember our blessings and not be so quick to shut it aside for the two holidays on either side of it. It's those blessings that make life worth living.

A brand new month and less than a week before I head home!

Things are just crazy, crazy, crazy around here as I get ready to go and still try to keep on top of the other things I've been doing here. I did get a couple of short stories written in October for the Writer's Guild including one that just positively creeped out those who have read it so far. I actually don't do too badly with writing really short stories. There's not much in the way of details you have to have and you can just sort of end it anywhere, it doesn't have to be tied up all nice and neat. It takes a little time though to sit and write so not every week has been productive and this week especially nothing is going to get done because I'm leaving. But it helps to get some of those writing juices going again since I hadn't done any real writing in a very long time, just blog writing.

I'm also getting more involved in the knitting group, especially now that there's a local one for me to attend. And by local, I mean REALLY local, just a few blocks away! That's REALLY nice and it helps that the person who set it up pretty much lives in the same neighborhood. Spending a Saturday morning knitting and talking I think is a very nice way to pass the time especially as John doesn't do anything on Saturdays and this Saturday in particular was cool and rainy (and Halloween and I didn't really want any part of that). I've been meeting up with other members as well and going on outings with them. I met up with two of them on Thursday in Itewon (the foreigner district) for a manicure and pedicure (that's pretty much my birthday/anniversary present since John never really got me anything). I also met up with one of them the next night for a trip to Myeongdong which is a large shopping area. Last week was a trip to Dongdaemun, a HUGE craft shopping area and I'm not kidding when I say huge, the entire basement floor of the place was knitting stuff including yarn, knitting needles, etc. I got several balls of yarn and a thing if needles for a total of around $22. Not too bad and I like the colors I got. I'm still working on my first project which isn't much, just knitting practice and something that will end up being a blanket or something for one of Natalie's dolls but it helps to practice both knitting and purling, casting on and hopefully casting off (haven't done that yet). The next project will be more of the same but maybe practicing more of a pattern, we'll see. I just want to get the basics down so I can make something more complex later on.

There's definitely a ton to do and a ton to see here. I'm getting into great shape with all of the walking and stair climbing I'm doing. It's not always possible to take the elevator or the stairs so yeah, I do a LOT of stair climbing, especially in subway stations. And one a busy walking day, I definitely am going, going, going. The only thing I'm NOT doing is carrying Natalie around (even I have my limits!). John does that though, poor thing, she's not exactly light. Today, we went to Insadong which is a huge art shopping area. All kinds of crafts and things to check out and lots of items to buy, some cheap and some quite expensive! It's a pretty long street so we did a bit of walking there. Then we grabbed a bite to eat, got back on the subway and went to Myeongdong so I could pick up more socks from that shopping area. I had picked up a few pairs the other night and loved them so much I had to get more. They're the really soft socks and they come in all kinds of colors.

From there, we got back on the subway and headed for home. John and Natalie had to get off at the Express Bus Terminal because Natalie had to go potty. We had planned that I would stop in Ori and pick up a few things from the Home Plus and head home. Well, I realized I had almost no money to do that and John's the only one with a bank card. So I wanted for him at the transfer point in Suseo to see if I could catch up with him there. I waited and waited and finally, just as I was about to get back on the subway, I get a phone call. He had called me from a pay phone to ask me about Natalie's gloves. I didn't have them but I was able to tell him to meet me up in Ori. lol He did find the gloves and we agreed to meet in Ori at the exit near the Home Plus. I got there probably a good half hour before him so I finished watching my Voyager episode on my MP3 player, walked out of a different exit, stopped over at the Tom N Tom's coffee place and grabbed a cinnamon chocolate hot chocolate drink. YUM! It was getting cold out so this was a nice fall treat. John and Natalie met up with me shortly after that and we did our shopping. We got a new blanket (since it was going to get COLD) and a few other items and took a cab home. It was a LONG day! We left the house at around 11:30 so that I could meet up with this guy who had gotten a letter that my mom sent me by mistake (I do not know what was up with that, especially since John had been going to the post office almost every day for the last almost two months) and we didn't get home until almost 11pm. I'm hoping the rest of this week won't be quite as hectic, next Sunday is going to be crazy enough since that's the day I fly home.

And that's just a small example of what we've been doing the last month. Every weekend, something's been up and I've been gone or all three of us go out somewhere and do something and weekdays can get pretty hectic too. I'm looking forward to actually getting a chance to RELAX! lol Going home will REALLY seem like a vacation though I do plan to do a lot, it's just not going to be quite as hectic as it has been here. I'm definitely looking forward to it.