what i have been up to....

lately.  sorry i have been quiet.  it has not been intentional.  i got the new chrome and changed some apps on my home page, so i don't see my blog everyday as before.  this might be an idea that i need to change it back to my blog.....i digress.

we have found a church.  yeah!  we have committed to a great little community and have been going every sunday for about a month and half now.  the pastor is a colleague of mine.  he and his wife moved to cambodia from south africa via taiwan to plant a church.  it's really for the locals, but we love it and feel like God wants us there too.  it's taken some adjustment, but we do feel like we are in the right place.  we also started a small group on tuesday evenings at their house.  it's just the four of us for now and it's great.  what a difference it makes to be in community with other believers.  i did not realize how much it influences my life until we had it again.  praise God for new opportunities!

i also started exercising.  about four weeks ago i went to the doctor to check in and start a relationship with an ob/gyn here.  i know that is a lot of information, but i don't know how else to explain.  one of the reasons we decided to move from korea when we did b/c we are hoping to start a family and that was not possible with my job situation there.  so here we are over the six month mark in cambodia and thinking about the whole family thing.  with all that in mind, i needed to get to know a doctor.  i know i need to be healthy.  she suggested that i try to get fit too in addition to working on losing some extra pounds before we begin the process.  that was motivation for me.....so i started the "couch to 5K" about 3 weeks ago.  it has been great so far, but could not run/walk last week b/c i had a bummed shoulder.  stupid muscles!  i feel good and so far have lost about 3 pounds or so.  i am kind of keeping track, but not manic about it.

we have had quite a situation with our apartment which is a long, complex story.  for now, i am going to spare you all the details.  it's been hard, full of emotions and uncertainty.  just pray that we can figure it out and do what God wants with the whole thing.

the next few weeks/months will be busy but good.  this weekend we have friends coming to visit from seoul, D, S & C.  the weekend of march 3rd we are going to bangkok so i can visit an established PYP school there.  i get to spend a day there and ask lots of questions.  i am excited and hope that some of my confusion will be cleared up and some questions to be answered.  i am such a visual learner that i hope "seeing" an established school will help me feel more affirmed in what i have been trying to do.

until next time...

spirit week

i am rocking the "fashion clash day" like no other. my kids are so proud of their crazy teacher. the funny part is the head of school commented on my outfit and how much he liked it without knowing it was spirit week. seriously? does this craziness really suit me? ok, maybe i don't want you to answer that question.

oh my!

Jen and I went to lunch and then to Bloom Cafe for dessert. Oh my...we had a great time. We each had five cupcakes, yes FIVE! it was outrageous! here is my selection....there were new flavors to try and i could not resist! they were amazing! my favorite was the coffee cake with bailey's cream cheese icing. YUM! here is the picture of the amazingness! Enjoy!

passions

i am reading the book, The Element, by Ken Robinson at the moment.  it was a suggestion from my husband after he saw Ken's TED talk online and insisted that i watch it.  he knows that i love all things about education reform, creativity, and rethinking how we are teaching and loving on students.  anyhow, i bought the book.  i am reading it and cannot put it down.  i am reading two books and loving both, so i have to share the love and keep up with both.  i find myself carrying around both and deciding which to read and then taking turns the next time i have a chance to read.  ok, back to the point.....

books like these have me thinking and reflecting all the time.  i think about my own life, my interests, my desires, things i am passionate about.......and then i ask myself questions such as, "do i love what i do?  do i love it so much that nine hours feels like twenty minutes?"  last week, i was thinking more along the lines of teaching is not really my "element" as Ken puts it.  although today i am thinking it is.  it seems that i could change my mind daily for the rest of my life.  i am a nerd.  i think more than anything i love to see kids learn and LOVE it.  i love to read about kids who are passionate about a topic and learn all they can.  i love to see learning "click" in their heads.  it is an amazing thing to witness and be a part of.

just now, i was catching up on reading blogs in google reader and i come across this post written by Kristen.  her son is a third grader and has just learned about money, entrepreneurship and getting out of debt.  her writing is real and it makes me laugh.  i read her post and i am reminded that i love watching, hearing and learning of kids loving learning.  he may not get his multiplication tables done in less than a minute, read independently b/c he loves it, but he does GET the economics system his teacher has going.  that is awesome!  that is a huge deal!  so much more than grades on a report card or standardized testing.  i don't know these folks personally, but i know that her son is awesome and if i were his teacher i would be so proud and energized by her son's passion for starting his own business.  stories like this make it all worth it--the crazy parents, the days when you just want to go back to bed, behaviors that test patience forever, being judge judy---stories like this one encourage me.

i am passionate about learning.  i am passionate about helping kids finding their passion for learning.

turning over a new leaf....

this week i began doing to the "couch to 5K" running program. basically, one goes from being a couch potato to being able to run a 5K over the course of training slowly in nine weeks time.  for nine weeks, i am exercising three times per week.  this week i ran/walked three times--monday, wednesday and friday.  monday was brutal, wednesday was rough, but friday was good.  i am excited to start working on becoming more fit over the next eight weeks.  a friend that i teach with, K, is exercising with me which makes it much more tolerable and the time goes by faster when we work out together.  fun times!

i am also trying to keep an eye on what i am eating.  i am trying to keep it to healthy choices as much as possible.    i feel that i am pretty good at portion control, but i need to make sure i am keeping track of what is going in and making sure it is a healthy choice.  i also have given up alcohol since it's all empty calories.  i am reserving glasses of wine for once in a while and special occasions.  for instance, tonight at dinner i had a glass of white wine.  i felt like i needed to reward myself for the great job i did exercising all week.  i only had one glass and drank lots of water in between.  it felt great!

here's to continuing to make great choices to treat my body like a temple and not a trash can....

today...

• i slept in until 10:30am
• i made breakfast for myself
• i caught up on blog reading all the blogs i follow
• we went to lunch at a new cafe called la pitou on street 19
• we went to bayon supermarket for a grocery run
• we came home
• we watched episodes of the sopranos
• we decided to go to dinner at yumi, one of our absolute favorites
• we stopped so paul could get a latte at brown on street 51
• we came home
• we watched the newest episode of portlandia

love this....

a blogger i follow posted this on her blog lately and i was inspired and encouraged....


Jeremiah 29:13
“When you seek Me you will find Me when you seek Me with all of your heart.” --NIV

“When you come looking for Me, you’ll find Me. Yes, when you get serious about finding Me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” --The Message

love it because i never get this far--- one of my favorite life verses, Jeremiah 29:11, about hope--is where i usually stop, but i love this verse too.

good stuff for my heart and head.  :)