When we left the US for the Philippines in 2011, we had one way tickets. The only return date I ever had in mind was after Andrew graduated high school, five and a half years later. We had already moved the kids once, and didn’t want to shuffle them repeatedly throughout their high school years.… Read More New Seasons and All That Stuff.
Longshan Temple is one of the top tourist destinations in Taipei. Built in 1738, it was a gathering place for Chinese settlers to worship, and continues to be a place of worship today for Buddhists, Taoists, and other deities. I always have mixed feelings about visiting temples. I love the intricate architecture, as well as… Read More Longshan Temple: Finding Cultural Balance While Traveling
This is our first Christmas alone in 20 years. Our first Christmas was 16 days after we were married. Dan bought me an aquarium, I bought him a Tigger sweatshirt from the Disney Store. I think he finally surrendered it when we moved overseas, cuffs frayed and the whole thing faded. It would have made… Read More Christmas 2.0
Two days ago was the six year anniversary of our family of four arriving overseas with nothing more than a handful of suitcases and stomachs full of butterflies. The past six years have been a double edged sword of emotion and experiences. We’ve had some incredible highs, and experienced things we never would have dreamed… Read More Cheers to the Next Chapter!
We just passed our one month anniversary of being official empty nesters. It’s weird. For over twenty years we’ve looked forward to being young, kid free, financially secure, with the world open to us. Nothing is ever what you think, the image people have of empty nesters doing their thing is usually something like this:… Read More Party of Two
Who read this as a kid? Alexander had a bad day, made up of little things like waking up with gum in his hair, not getting a toy in his cereal box, and having to eat lima beans. He threatens to move to Australia repeatedly, because he knows it must be better “anywhere but here”.… Read More Mars and Her Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
What happens when you burnout doing what you love? I’m not talking about work, I’m talking about life. I don’t hate life, I don’t think I feel depressed, I’m just…tired. And easily annoyed. Tired of the lack of organization, annoyed by the traffic, tired of dealing with the daily cultural nuances, annoyed with advice on… Read More Burnout, Hong Kong, and non-Pinteresty “Creative Spaces”
Hey! I got a job! If anyone told me a few months ago I would be saying those words, I would have been confused, skeptical, and probably a bit frightened. What about my free schedule? My ability to pick up and go somewhere on a moment’s notice? Well, passion comes in several forms. Over the… Read More Unexpected Words: “I Got a Job!”
Is there a difference between “writing” and “typing”? As our world gets busier, we constantly look for shortcuts, and ways to make life more efficient. Sitting down at a computer and typing what we want to say seems to make sense and save time. But, from personal experience, I know most of those saved hours… Read More “Writing” vs. “Typing”
So Last November, I wrote a blog post titled “20 Things No One Told You About Moving Overseas“, while determined for the twentieth time to maintain a regular blogging regiment. That post had the highest number of readers ever, somewhere around 130 views. I was ecstatic. Then, a short time later, life got in the… Read More Just Keep Blogging…Just Keep Blogging…
Beware the Comfort Zone! 