Small Town Festavel & Flood

Hey Ya'll!  It feels like it has been forever sense I have blogged on a Saturday but Ryan and I are spending the weekend down in GA at Stone Mountain and I thought I would use this time to post one of my many not yet finish but now finished drafts!  Hope you enjoy and hope you are having a great weekend!

So if you are new here I lived in Korea for a year or so and taught English.  It was amazing, I miss it like crazy, and there are so many memories I want to share and hopefully never forget.  The past few months I have noticed that I have had a few drafts hanging around....this one is sadly over a year old.  However rather than just delete this halfway written up memory I figure I would spell check it, add some photos and just go with it! So here is what I wrote about a small town festival that Ryan and I went to last summer. The photos are dated September 18th, 2010 so I would have to guess that is probably close to being around the time.

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For the past month or so we have seen fliers all over the bus stops, seen huge banners on the way to Lotta Mart and have had a few kids in class mention this festival that was going on last week over in Anseong.  The teachers mentioned that they were all going last Thursday however it rained all week so no one went.  Ryan and I had talked about going however we really didn't see the rain letting up anytime soon and we were not even too sure of where it was, not that Anseong is a big place, or what would be going on.  All the banners have shown a Korean on what looks like a tight rope line and one of my classes pulled up videos online of past festivals.  So when the sun came out on Sunday and it was a nice warm breezy day we decided to head over and see what it was all about. 

So on the way over we decided to stop at the  McDonald's because we had taken a few weeks off from the good old Big Mac and felt it was time to treat ourselves.  It was before two so they were still running the lunch deal and they were packed.  I grabbed a table as Ryan waited in line to place our order.  They have seem to have given up the whole sixty seconds or you get a free fry deal and that was fine with us.  After a few minute and the people who had ordered before us got their food our order popped up but just as it did so did a little Korean man who grabbed tray and headed off to sit down with it. This bothered us but at the same time we figured that he must of just ordered the wrong thing and thought it was his.  So we stood there waiting for two more Big Mac's to pop up however after about fifteen minutes when they didn't we started to think something was up.  So Ryan grabbed the manager and tried to explain that we never got our food, and well when he didn't seem to understand Ryan just said even louder (because when people don't speak English it is always better to just tell them everything slower and louder...however it never helps just makes you look crazy) "that man (as he pointed to the man) took (as he did the motion of taking our tray) my Big Mac." At this point I think he was starting to put it all together thanks to the hand signals and the big upset looking white guy.  So he swapped out and order said he was sorry in broken English and "fixed it"; however at this point Ryan was too mad to eat because the Korean man and his wife were laughing and enjoying their free lunch.  So I ate quickly we packed his up and headed out to the market and to hopefully find this festival we had been told about.

As we made our way around the market we saw normal Korean things fish, squid and other sea animals for sale along with fruit, peppers, cleaning supplies, and even found some other cool things.  We were able to find a really unique gift for my brother Chris for Christmas when I had just about given up on finding him anything.  After about an hour of random wondering we had checked out  a few "quilt" shops and made our way down to a pet store.  As always I had to drag Ryan in to see what we could find; sadly this one didn't have the same welcoming feeling that the one we like to like at Lotta Mart. 

Once out of the pet store we noticed big balloons in the sky and well have come to learn that these normally are around where ever there is a festival.  After making our way down a few side streets we found one packed with food vendors and people and as we passed a man selling coconut milk out of coconuts we knew we were in the right place.  However I did wonder why there were coconuts at a Korean festival but hey when in Rome drink coconut milk!

We made our ways through the vendors down towards a river we never even knew was there only to look out and see lots of colorful tents all set up, but as we made our way closer we noticed that they all seemed empty and like something wasn't right.  Once we were at street level and parallel to the river we could see that all the tents were flooded because the river over flown onto the banks and then some.

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And that is where I stopped.  My guess is that whatever class I was teaching was about to start, or Ryan and I were headed out to see friends or explore.  So lets see if I can wrap this up with a few thoughts from the festival before just ending this.....

I remember walking around a bit, being shocked at how much the water had risen from the rain, people watching, and having a good time.  We didn't ride any rides, we didn't really eat any food outside of our coconut milk, but it was something I can say I did.  We walked from one side of the river over the bridge to the other and made a loop.  After walking around for a bit we made our way back to the main part of town to catch the bus back home. 

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And last but not least we have some photos from the day....as always sorry they are so big blogger and I don't get along. Oh photos from Korea always kind of make me a little home sick.  I know I don't have any family there but I did make some great friends and the country really is amazing if you are open minded and willing to change your way of thinking.

First we hit our small town market for a little bit.  Side note they did have stores like Walmart only nicer and more high end but some people still prefer the markets.

Fish from our market.

Bags and bags of my fave! Hot red peppers!

Some chicken and all the different parts.

Down at the festival...we followed the balloons in the sky to find it.

Roasted piggy

Coconut milk

Ryan and I just thought it was odd they were selling coconut milk at a Korean festival...I never once saw a coconut tree.

Where everything was set up until the rain came.

The bridge and to the right you can see the sidewalk that was flooded.

The walking path.

View from the bridge back towards the festival

The  mountains I feel in love with in my short time there

View from the other side of the river

Korea is really big in to characters.

A Korean Christian group singing songs.

View from down at the other bridge. 

Korean carnival rides....don't worry I didn't ride any of them

And another ride. Really Koreans are good at this ride....they just sit down on the edge and the ride tries to toss them out into the middle...no seat belts or anything.

I would say that this flood was a sad event and that it was devastating for the town.  Oddly thought that was not the case at all.  Yes it did flood their festival however the vendors still came out and sold their goods, the families still came out and had a great time.  Koreans are hardy people. The rebuilt the walking paths, and were just happy to have the rain.  When walking back over the second bridge Ryan and I met some Canadians who wanted to talk to us about how sad this festival was for the town, and I wanted to just yell back about how it wasn't sad at all.  It was great that this town was strong enough to over come things like this, carry on with their lives, and rebuild.  It shocks me that they could not see that this was not bothering the Koreans at all, they were still happy and going on with the events they had planned.

Maybe we could learn something here.  This small Korean town did not go looking for a hand out from some of the other, larger towns, they didn't ask for anything spacial.  They took care of themselves.  They didn't want or ask for help.  Really anytime anything happens in America we good looking for a hangout, demanding help, make it a disaster, and don't take care of ourselves.  Korean people are proud people and yes they care for one another but they also care about being independent and taking care of themselves. 

Over all I remember this day as being a great day, I remember most days in Korea as beging good days.  Days that now feel like they are years ago even thought they have only been maybe a year or so. 

Ahh memories of Korea!

Date Night Wrap Up

Each of these "Date Nights" originally had its own post started, key word there "started" and well rather than finish up and post however many different post I just thought I would roll them in to one and do a quick run down with a few details, photos, whatever....this will also help keep my sanity in check (and seeing as how I use this blog as my own personal little diary this update is needed because my memory is not that great and some of these are starting to run together)  So where to start where to start? I guess we will just go back a few weeks more like months now I guess to:

That Saturday that I got the bright idea to cook some "Spicy Turkey Egg Rolls" from a few different recipes that I had seen on the Internet, followed up by a Mike Epps concert (or whatever it is you call it when you go see a comic), and then wrapped the night up with a trip to the Carolina Ail House (yummyness to the 10th power).

So well...I guess I could give you a play by play of the night but instead I will just share some photos and maybe toss in a few words here and there.

Start with the guacamole (one of my favorite foods!):



Now on to the egg rolls:


And the finally product after I swore I was never making egg rolls again:




I really feel the need to put out there that they taste better than they look.

Next we headed over to Ryan's friends to pick them up and head over to the...concert hall? Now I really don't know how to explain the rest of the night....for starters both of his friends spent the ride quoting different Mike Epps skits.  Now I have seen the movie Friday but other than that I have not seen much of his stuff.  So if you are like me and you need a quick "Who Is Mike Epps" then check out Wikipedia. 

Once there I quickly noticed that umm... I was the center of attenion and I didn't quite fit in. Oddly even thought everyone was stareing at us and I was trying not to stare back it was fun! I don't really ever go to see comics, or even really watch them on TV, and I don't know what it is but watching comics in person is so much better than on TV....maybe it is hearing some of the laughs of other people....you know what I am talking about there is always that one in the croud that has the crazy person laugh that just makes you luagh.

Yep see I told you I couldn't describe the night. But here are some of the few photos I took fromt he night:

I always get two trys and then Ryan is like no more photos. 

Yea for big beers!

Anyways after a fun, educational, stand up session we headed to grab some dinner and drinks before dropping Ryan's friends off and calling it a night. One fun night that I doubt I will ever forget!

Next up (or I think it was next) was our first date night where I choose where to go. So I choose to take Ryan to Miyako’s for some sushi (mainly because I had never been and had been really craving sushi...oddly enough I am craving it again now) followed up for a quick stop in to Main Street Pub for a few drinks before calling it a night all before 10:30. Really we are that couple that got full time jobs and do nothing but sleep right now because we are not use to the whole working 40 hours a week thing (haha that makes me laugh because it was from the original post I typed and things are still pretty much the same...we are that old couple that is in bed by 10).

Anyways here is a photo of some of our food before I dropped my phone in the food and Ryan made me put it away. 

Sorry it is so blurry....that is probably becuase I dropped the phone.

 I loved the sushi and cannot wait to go back for more! I mean one of these rolls was called a ABC Roll stuffed with "asparagus, beef, and cream cheese" yumm so good!

The next weekend was Ryan's date night and he choose to take me to Long Horn and then to see the Lorax 3D. I know, I know we are such adults. Dinner was great and the movie was even better! I have always loved Dr. Seuss and this movie had some really good lessons for kids. I took a photo of us in our cool 3D glasses but dang if it isn't more blurry than the sushi photo!

The next weekend was my turn again and I had been craving Thai food like crazy so I choose to go to the Lime Leaf. Do you see an Asian thing going on with all my dates? It was good as always. It is right down town, cute, and makes for a sweet date with dim lights, and small cozy tables.

Then we had Ryan's birthday dinner the weekend before his birthday with his parents at one of those Japanese restaurant where they cook on the table. I have always loved the fact that the restaurant that they have always taken him to for his birthday is the same one my parents always use to take me too growing up for mine too. It is like a sign I swear!

The next weekend we babysat, got Mexican (my choice I love Mexican almost as much as I love Asian food) for lunch one Saturday, and then my parents took us out to Carolina Ale House for Ryan's Birthday.

 Then it was Ryan's choice and after we both had long weeks we opted for some Chinese takeout and a movie called My Man Godfry, a movie from 1957.


 
It was cute, funny (and that good kind of real funny not dirty or dumb funny), and I would highly recommend it if you are looking for a chill movie night and like old movies. The plot is basically that the one sister finds this "forgotten man" and wants him to be her family's (crazy and let me stress CRAZY family) butler because she is in love with him.

Easter weekend was a fun weekend. Friday night we had dinner with mom and dad. Then Saturday we had lunch with Ryan's grandma, his cousin and his wife. Then we took a trip up to Lake Lure to walk around and eat dinner at the Bay front Bar & Grill on the lake. Sunday was Church, then over to Ryan's parents for lunch, then back to the house to watch the end of the Masters and eat dinner.

Here are a few photos from our trip Saturday:





And the view from our table at the resturant:


I cannot wait to go back, the food was great, the view was pretty, and the beer was cold!

Let's see last weekend I babysat Friday, Ryan drove his mom and grandma down to Charleston to see his aunts. Saturday I spent the day shopping with mom, which is always so much fun! Then Sunday was church, chores, and then Ryan and I stopped by to support one of his friends at an event he was having.

 Where has the time gone? All of these things feel like yesterday! How is it already May 18th? Ryan and I have noticed that the weekends always feel so short, so we have been trying to pre plan out our weekends to make sure we get the most out of them and that summer doesn't fly by before we can everything we want to do. 

Ok well I don't think I left anything out... Any suggestions for some fun day dates?

The First 24

of being 24 were quite nice and I cannot believe that they are over (or the weekend for that fact).


For starters Ryan and I hit the gym keeping up with our every other day work out plan as we work slowly but steady to get back in shape. Next week we plan to up it either with our time at the gym or make it every day. I don't like to just jump in and push it hard core because then I end up hurt and spend the next few weeks (or months) on the couch avoiding the gym.

Then mom and I headed down to the Junior League's Santa's Shoppe. Mom and I have gone to this for years together and every year we have a blast. It is great to walk around and see what everyone is wearing, old friends, what all everyone is selling (some years I want to buy everything and then you have this year where I really didn't want to buy anything). Last year I missed getting to go with her to this, so this year it was just that much more special to me as we spent the day together.

When we got home a package I had been waiting for forever had finally showed up! I have been reading about how great Erin Condren products are all over blog world and then I found this web site that had a get $50 for $25 deal going on for Erin Codren so I decided to give it a try and order a Life Planner for mom for Christmas. Well I may of been just a little excited and ended up giving it to her right there on the spot. I won't lie I might have a gift giving problem but until it starts harming others I don't see a problem with it!
Later that night Ryan joined us for birthday dinner.

Mom made mini beef wellington (amazing!)



Ryan brought a homemade cookie cake his dad made.



As always it was a nice dinner full of laughing, love, and just amazingness. It is really hard to explain our family dinners unless you have been to one.

Ryan and I wrapped up the night watching:



I cannot thank them all enough for making my birthday a great one!

Just in case they read this thought I will thank them one more time!

Thank you mom!
Thank you dad!
Thank you Chris!
Thank you Ryan!
And why not lets even thank Clair for just being an amazing dog!

For those of you that are new to my blog this is Clair:



She was helping mom and dad rake over the weekend.

Nothing Makes A Rainy Friday Fun Like...

a few job assessment test (I think I am up to 8 or so for the day), some of which even speak to you, yell at you, or ask you to type crazy names and what not into the appropriate box and get to the very last question and then kick you out for no apparent reason. Yep looking for a job really is almost like having a job some days only without the pay check.

I really don't understand why it's relevant for a company to know what percentage of Americans cheat when filling their tax, or how many politicians I trust, or if I play video games, or how often I go to the grocery store and if when I am there how often I buy baked goods for my family, and I could go on and on and sadly I wouldn't be joking or exaggerating about any of the above.

I know these questions have all been designed and put together in such a way that by the time I am done with the assessment test the company should know just about everything about me, but sadly it doesn't work that way all the time. For starters people could just lie on these test, and well then you have those who just happen to really be that truthful and look like they are lying because really who is that truthful? I wonder what companies did before someone came up with these assessment test to learn about their potential employees.

Do I trust everyone? No

Do I think everyone is out to get me? No

Do I think most people would steal given the chance? Well I know some people would but then I know some people wouldn't so why is there not a maybe button for this one?

These test are 100 plus questions most of the time and then a few reading comprehension questions or those dreaded word problems and I hear there is no right or wrong answer but yet there has to be, otherwise they wouldn't have these test to start out with. I would really like to get like a "you passed" or "you failed" back when I complete the test and then a list of the "approved answers" you know because none are right or wrong...some just aren’t what they were looking for.

Ok anyways enough of that little rant time to get back to it!

Oh and the NaBloPoMo prompt today is: When you are writing, do you prefer to use a pen or a computer?

-Well I like to write with a pen every now and then, but a comptuer is just so much quicker and catches all those pesky spelling errors.

What about you? Pen or computer?

It's Already November

And I have no clue where this past year went so I think it might be time for me to check in on that list of New Year's Goals I made.  I really wonder how many of them are even relevant now that I am back state side.

1. Branch out and learn to cook new and different things; I have seemed to have gotten stuck in a chili, beef stew, taco, and fajita rut. I need to stop using my lack of kitchen space, spices, and oven as an excuse and instead embrace the small kitchen space I have with the limited spices I have.  
• Being back at home I almost never cook, and when I do it just doesn't seem as fun and challenged as it use to.  Also it never turns out as good as it use to.
2. Get back into a work out routine, maybe not everyday but a few days a week. I use to be in great shape and always hated my workouts however afterwards I was always in a great mood and felt amazing.  
• I have been on and off this one all year.  Going to the gym for days on end then falling off for a day or two and just never getting back into the swing of things.  I am working on this one again as we speak and as always I just need to make up my mind and do it!
3. Read one book a week two books a month. I got an Amazon Kindle from my amazing parents who also love to read and I can barely put it down.
• I have read 34 books already this year.  That is averaging 3 books a month and I have slowed down a lot the past month or so. My goal though is only 36 so no doubt I will be able to read 2 books in the next two months.
4. Read one business book or educational book at month. I use to love my business classes and want to stay current on what is going on in the field. I also want to learn more about life, hobbies, other countries, and history. Just because I'm not a student anymore doesn't mean I can't or shouldn't continue to learn.
• This didn't happen.  I don't think I even read anything even close outside of a Historical Fiction and those are only like half, if even, true.
5. Work on my new soon to be new hobby with mom via email and web chat so we have just one more thing to share and bond about as friends and mother and daughter! I hope to blog about this new hobby soon to fill you all in on it!
• I thought I had time to make jewelry this past year, and well that may of been because Korea has a huge fabric/bead/everything you could ever need for this hobby maybe an hour away from where I lived.  Well I loved going, could never make up my mind on what I wanted and some how ended up getting no where.  I have not given up on this yet....I think I will always have crafting dreams!
6. Take more pictures! I know this one seems crazy however I wont be in Korea for ever and I take some of the sights I see and experiences I get to take part in for granted and I want to be able to share them not only from my memories but also from pictures. As they say a picture can say a thousands word.
• I have taken more photos but well just as far as day to day things go I have kind of stopped now that I am back home.  I mean the states really aren't that cool....or are they?  One day I will want to look back and remember these times....so keep working on the photo thing! Haha you would know about all the photos I have been taking if I blogged more and shared them all!
7. Travel more and take in what I can while I can.
• I didn't do this and it is now driving me crazy.  I thought we were going back, I thought I would have so much more time, I thought I could see it later, or get it later, or try it later and well now later is here and I can't do it because I am back home.  Not that I regret my choice to stay home and find a job one bit, just wish I would of taken in more of Korean when I had the chance.
8. Work on staying on top of my school work, and things around the house so I am not wasting my weekends catching up. Work on trying to make my lesson plans more interactive and challenging for the students.  
• This one I did get much better at!
9. Improve me Korean at least when it comes to understanding what people are saying for now.  
• This one is now null and void but I still wish I could speak Korea
10. Work on my blogs more and keep them up to date and blogging about things sooner rather than later.  
• Do I really need to comment on this one?
11. And maybe the best one of them all: Be happy and worry less! Try to not let others bring me down and to kill people with kindness!
• I think I have gotten better at this.  I still freak out and have meltdowns, worry about things that really won't matter a month down the road, and cry because I feel like things aren't going my way.  However, who doesn't worry or get upset about small things every now and then?  At the moment some of the small things feel HUGE and like I am fighting a losing battle but yet at the same time I won't give up. 
• I have gotten better at taking joy in the small things, and going out of my way to enjoy the simple things in life!

So yea I learned a lot about myself this past year, I am still growing, but now I think I know what I am trying to grow towards, I know what I don't want, and I have gotten some the of the experiences of a life time that I will never forget.  2011 will be hard to beat and I am happy that I still have 2 months left to enjoy it!

Oddly this list and the fact that in just a few days I will be 24 has made me start to think about my "bucket list" or just a list of things I want to do in my life.  I read a few other bloggers list for things to do before they turned 30 or 40 and well I have oddly already done a lot of the things on their list, got to Alaska, life in another country, been to a NFL food ball game, and so on a so forth but yet there are so many little things I haven't done yet.  But anyways I hope to get that list finished and up sometimes this month. 

Anyone have a bucket list? If so what kinds of things do you have on it?

The Post That Never Posted

So this was all ready to go about two weeks ago now and I have no clue why it never posted.

And just in case

...you have been missing little old me I guess I should update what is going on in my life, besides my lack of blogging.

Well not much it seems because every time I sit down to blog my mind just goes blank, this was really so much easier to do when every other weekend I was off to explore a new and exciting place, or had kids to keep me on my toes with all the crazy things they said. 

You know what I think we need? Well of course you don't because you can't read my mind but if you could that would be great and we so need to get together and give it a try because who knows what other cool powers you have, or do I have them because you can read my mind? Wait sorry back to what I was saying, we need a photo blog update so rather than just read about what has been going on over here you can see it too!

The quilt mom has been making out of all my old soccer shirts from Ohio:



The pretzels Chris and Ryan helped me shape...sadly they were so-so and so not worth the effort to make them at home, however I am not giving up and will be trying again...just maybe not soon.



Clair got to enjoy a good bit of swimming and fingers crossed the weather is nice and she can go this week.

We are all so proud because she is 12 years old, and this is the first time she has ever really been in a pool, or well water deeper than 2 feet.

Ryan and I went down to Charleston S.C to see his family for a quick few days.



We ate way to much food, went on a ghost walk, ate some more food, went on the Thunder Boat ride, and enjoyed a good home cooked meal by his aunt and uncle.

Ryan and I also went to a wedding for some friends this past weekend (I know your shocked but I really didn't take that many photos).



Mom had a birthday!




Mom and I painted my room, well mostly mom did but I did help.

Ryan, Chris and I took mom to the gun range.



She shot everything from a 20 caliber to a 40 caliber.  In the photo she is shooting the 40 and getting ready for the kick back.  Mom is like me and likes the 20 caliber the best.

I have been spending lots of time here, looking for a job...really I never thought life was going to be like this.  Don't get me wrong I love living at home with my family, because umm they are amazing (I mean have you met my family? No? Wow don't even know what to say to you right now) but I kind of want to get back out there on my own.



And it is hard to find a better view than that.

I think that might be it for the photos and with just what has been going on right now.

Oh wait I did picked up a few hours at the mall and didn't take any pictures but did get to hear some really...interesting things like this:
-Do you have anything in gold? (After spending about 30 minutes wondering around a store full of silver and glass).
-Do you have any bigger money clips? (Then the man pulls out a huge and I mean HUGE wad of cash. I had to walk away at that point because why in the world is someone just walking around with that much cash and showing it off?)
-What if I don't want it to say that? I mean what if my name is not Sarah? How do you change that if it is already on there? (For starters I engrave at work and most of the things have plates we can change out or we give you a new one, the ones on display are just the displays. To make it better this lady had apparently shopped with us before when I went to ring her up.)
-Do you fix clocks? My son bought me this pocket watch for Father's Day and it is broken.  You guys sell junk, no crap...crap....crap....crap!  (I offered to do an exchange or a refund for this nice man and neither one of those made him happy, so after telling everyone that came in for about 20 minutes about all the crap we sell he left unhappy with his broken pocket watch.)
-I have bought so much stuff from here but never use it.  Oh what does this do?  How many of them do you have? Can I get 2?  (Wow you are my dream customer!)

This weekend Ryan is off to see his new nephew with his mom and dad and Chris and I are headed to Ohio to go to Oktoberfest Zinzinnait. 

*Update everyone is back safe and sound in our lovely little town and Oktoberfest had it's ups and downs but over all was quite a sight to see.



But more about that later and the past week I had at the Reebok Outlet Sale.

Hope everyone has had a great weekend and is ready for the week to come. I am ready for fall, pumpkins, colored leaves, soup, pies, hiking, camping, fires, smores, blank weather, and so much more!

Life is....

Good Fun Funky Dull Crazy Suspenseful Hard Enjoyable Stressful Laughable Sad Confusing Happy........

I could go on and on but really now we all know that life is just life....I really don't think there is just one word you can use to describe it. Everyone has their ups and downs and some days we hate life but then the next week we cannot get over how blessed we are and how great our life is. Do you ever wonder if you are living the same life from day to day when one day your here and the next day your there? How can it be that we can feel so many emotions all in one year, one month, one week or even sometimes one day? I don't quite know if that is one of the great things about life, one of the hard things about life, or one of the parts of life that is something you can't control.

Anyways I have just been floating along living life felling all of these emotions, watching others feel these emotions just trying to do the one thing I know I cannot, figure out life. I don't know why I so badly want to know all the answers about life, or what I would do if I had them. I just like to think it has to be easier to know all the answers....right....well what if I don't like the answers? Can I change them? Well then we get in to faith and destiny and then I start to think of a movie Ryan and I watched a few weeks ago called "The Adjustment Bureau" and how I didn't quite love it or hate it. It was just kind of strange, different, out there, more than I wanted to think for a movie night.

So how has life been over here in the Bartholomew house? Well for starters I still love being home and getting to see my family every day, I mean really some days you just can't make up the stuff my brother is going to say or do, like running around the house with a banjo playing music and pretending to be a ghost....humm well you would have to be here to see it and it is quite funny. I love having my family so close after being away for a year and at the same time kind of miss having my own place, you know for those days you just want to lay around in your PJ's and watch TV all day eating ice cream? Those days don't really fly around this house hold.
Mom, Ryan and I have also been walking about 5 miles a day for the past 3 weeks. I know you’re in shock about this 5 mile a day walk right? Well mom and I use to walk about 3 miles a day and then Ryan started joining us so we upped it to get as much out of our hot Carolina mornings as we can. This all being said none of us have lost a single pound.....please insert shock and awe here.....and we have all cut back what we eat and are making healthier choices (not that we didn't eat pretty good to start out with). So what emotion am I feeling with this? The life is not fair because anyone who drinks Coke, Pepsi, or any other soda can cut it out and just drop 10 pounds like that. Really I don't drink soda, I don't eat junk food, I work out, and nothing.

Ryan and I have been home from Korea for over 2 months now and we are still waiting to get our FBI background checks all in order so we can start applying for new schools. We have gotten our FBI background checks back and now we are just waiting to get them back from Washington where they are getting apostilled now. I know all this just to teach English in Korea, however I love Korea. Then once we get them back and start looking for new schools we have to figure out if we really want to go back to Korea. It is a great experience and it is a job however it is just one more year we both put off finding a job here, even though there don't seem to be any jobs anywhere here. So that is up in the air with to go back or not to go back. Why can't the answer just be plain and simple and right there in bold print on the fridge when I got to get my milk for my coffee tomorrow?

So did I mention that there don't seem to be any jobs anywhere in this town? Well, there are jobs but I don't have a license to drive a truck, I have never driven a forklift, I have experience in sales but not the right kind, I went to college for 4 years so I am lacking in pretty much any experience they want you to have these days.....so well maybe it is just me.....but I am not someone to give up easily so I have been applying for jobs like crazy online and got two calls today about "fast pace marketing jobs" that once I Googled them found out that the first was a door to door sales for windshields and the second one was a business to business sales type of gig where you make commission and well just seemed kind of sketchy. This has lead me to learn something that I have already known but had to relearn again, that if it is too good to be true then it is. I mean both of these places emailed me within 24 hours of when I posted my application and then called and then emailed me again that they called and I needed to get in touch with them before all the positions filled up. In better news I did get a call from a staffing agency who thinks they might have an internship that could turn in to full time work doing Internet research for a company. So fingers crossed for the interview Monday that if I am not right for that job that maybe she has something else for me. I am not a patient person however I am learning that patients is a virtue.

Ryan, Chris and I took my mom to the gun range this Wednesday to let her try out a .22, .32, .38, and a .40 caliber gun. I think she is like me and liked the .22 the best, it has the lest kick and is the easiest to shoot. It was fun but hot, I guess that is what we get for living in the good old south. Ryan and I also hit up the Olive Garden for dinner to check out their all you can eat pasta bowls and somehow we came home with 2 whole to go boxes of pasta. We have been getting into True TV a lot lately and spent the night watching South Beach Tow and some other reposition show.

We have been taking little old lady Claire swimming to work on her back hips and she is improving so well. Today she even swam without any assistance from Ryan or I and it only took the small bribe of an animal cracker. She is such a sweet dog it must stink to have your back end not work.

Last night was Thursday so it was Jersey Shore (guilty pleasure) night and some amazing (as always) take out from Thai Taste. It is shocking at how I use to watch a ton of TV in Korea and we only had 4-6 English channels and now I am home and have tons yet there is really nothing much on I want to watch outside of a few reality shows. Oh have I mentioned that Dance Moms is crazy and I am sucked in? If not it is true and sad all at the same time. I would have to say I am about half on the side of the moms and half of the side of the dance teacher.

School started for Chris this past Thursday and I won’t lie I kind of miss school but not enough to go back for my MBA.

This weekend Ryan is cooking dinner for his family on Sunday with a practice run here on Saturday if it goes well I will post the recipes.

The quilt that my mom and I are making out of all my old soccer shirt has turned more into my mom is making me a kick butt quilt of all my old shirt.  I really need to get some photos of how it is going because it looks really good. 

Oh and I have gotten sucked in to Pinterest and it is so much fun and yet so bad for me.  Let me know if you want an invite to the sight and I will get you hooked up other wise go check out mine and don't judge I have been busy so I have not been pinning to much these past few weeks. http://pinterest.com/meganbart/

Ok and what other random thoughts do I have rolling around in my head……I feel like there is something I am super excited about but just cannot think of right now……oh well if it comes to me I guess I will blog about it again.

Oh yea did I mention that life is just confusing? If not I am sure you can tell! I hope everyone had a great week and has an amazing weekend! Oh Alaska yea I cannot believe it has been over a month sense I have been back…..can I please go back to Alaska?

Weekend Recap - Just a little late or is it early?

This past last weekend (as in two weeks ago) was amazing, I mean amazing to the point where it is now Thursday Sunday and I am now just thinking "Oh crap I need to blog!". So let’s see if I can recap everything in a nice, short, simple way with some photos and maybe a little explanation here and there.

For starters last weekend we more or less kind of had an "around the world" night with food from our kitchen. It is so great to have a family that is open to trying new things, driving to the next town over to find the food, and then letting us use their kitchen (huge mess I make an all) to cook it and never once complain about it!

We need to go back to last Saturday when we all got to enjoy some German dishes that Chris picked out for us and helped make. Here are some photos of our German meal!

Cheese right off the grill

Some sort of German hotdog with Curry Ketchup.  Mom and Chris made the Curry Ketchup

Potatos

You have no clue how great this meal was, looking at these photos almost brings back the taste of it all.

We followed it up Sunday with a Korean meal that mom and Ryan helped me make. Mom was amazing and went all over town helping me find the ingredients I needed, and Ryan came over and cooked the meat on the grill when it was about 99 degrees outside. After dinner we all sat around talking and just enjoying the night on the porch as Chris played the guitar.

Kimchi stew I made.  I think it cleared out everyones sinuses.

Cooking the meat (Korean Pork), mushrooms, and onions.  Ryan was such a good sport with the
 fact that it was still about 90 out and the grill was also hot.

Our after dinner music, and Rum Beers.

Monday was the 4th so as always dad cranked up the grill to smoke ribs and chicken wings, and as always they were great! The day was wrapped up with Ryan and Chris killing squirrels, some nice cold adult drinks, and fireworks.



The 4th was also mine and Ryan's anniversary (for dating) and in honor of that we lit some of those super long sparklers, kiss under the fireworks, and spent the day together going back and forth between my parents and his parents.

Below is a photo from our first ever 4th of July together and then there is a photo from our 1st anniversary together up at the Biltmore House.

Tuesday and Wednesday are both just a blur and I have no clue what went on.
Thursday was Dad's 50th Birthday so we had a nice family dinner, some cake, and exchanged gifts.

Bag full of things you need when your 50

Friday night I went out with Chris and Ryan to Cracker Barrel for dinner the wrapped up the night by starting a movie called Rose Red by Steven King. I say start because we got 2 and a half hours into it and then I was ready to pass out so I have my fingers crossed that we can finish it later today. I mean really A) Dear Mr. King why do your movies have to be soooo long B) Why is this house making women disappear and men kill themselves C) And wow the lady from Bones looks so young in this movie.

Saturday I spent the morning trying to pack for Alaska. Later in the day mom and I went over to the new Jo-Ann’s Fabrics that just opened up and had a great time going up and down all the aisle looking at everything and then finding some fabric to go with the t-shirt quilt I am going to make from old soccer shirts. We had Low Country Boil for dinner (one of my favorites) and then mom helped me cut down some of my shirts to start on the quilt.

Sunday I spent working on packing, seeing Ryan's grandma, enjoying dinner with Ryan's family, followed up by some squirrel hunting in the back yard, and finally finishing Rose Red.  As far as my thoughts go on that movie I am still a little confused and just kind of...well I don't know....I liked it a lot but sadly the fact that it was like 3 and a half hours long kind of stinks because I spent most of the movie wanting to know why everything was happening and well then at the end I still don't think I know why everything happened. 

Photo of Clair and her buddy Ryan:

Today is now Monday and I am doing my last minute check for Alaska and trying to contain my excitement.  Tomorrow at 4:15 Ryan and I are off to the airport (thanks in advance dad for the ride) to catch a 5:30 flight to NC then were off to Seattle to catch the bus to the docks to board the boat and start a trip that I never thought I would get to take! Everyone in my family has been to Alaska for one reason or another, be it a cruse for mom and dad or a fishing trip for dad and Chris. I am so excited to finally see what all the fuss is about!

Ok well that is that!  Life is going good and I am looking forward to Alaska and whatever else summer has to offer! 

See you in a week! Hope everyone has a great one!