Traveling to Korea

I expected moving to Korea was going to be stressful, but I didn't expect the level of stress to be so incredible high. I guess with Christian being hospitalized, it added a bit more factors than a “normal” move would have presented.

At least the worst part is over. The actual trip seemed like it took forever. Jensen did much better than I had anticipated. I was afraid the loud noises of the plane would scare him, but he was actually exited about the takeoff. He enjoyed looking out the window as we took off. 

We left Savannah May 14 to visit my in-laws in NC.  They had just moved there from TX and we wanted to spend at least a couple of days with them.  Our house was packed up by Monday the 12th, but we had to take care of some things and make sure the house was cleaned up before leaving.  

It was about a 6 hour drive to Christian's parents house.  It was just over the border of GA and we drove past the Blue Ridge Mountain area.  It was really nice place to visit and their new house was out of the way and it felt like we were staying on a mountain vacation home.

This was essentially their backyard.

 

 

 Giving Nana a kiss.

Since we were flying from Atlanta, we decided to take Jensen back to the aquarium.  He loved it so much the first time around.  My Mom and brother Rich came to join us for the weekend.

I love this photo.  I was about 5 seconds from getting slapped for taking this one. Love my guys!

We also met up with Maryann and Mai for dinner.  I also met up with Kemp, but forgot to take a photo when we had breakfast.

 

Our flight was 12:04 pm on Sunday, May 18.  It was Jensen's first flight and he seems excited to be traveling.  I wish I had taken more photos of our actual trip, but this is the only one I got.

He doesn't look like it, but he was actually pretty excited.

We had a layover in Detroit, fortunately it was a small airport and it was easy to find our gate. We definitely knew we were at the correct gate since most of the passengers were Koreans.  Once we arrived in Seoul, we had one last connecting flight.  The problem we ran into was we only had 50 minutes to get to our gate.  If we didn't have to pick up our bags and go through customs, we would have made the flight.  It was the last one for the day so we had to take the KTX bullet train.  It was past midnight by the time we arrived at our hotel.  Tim, my sponsor was there to meet us.  I was able to call him to update him.  The lady at the counter was nice enough to let me use her phone to contact him.  We also had a difficult time with all our baggage.  We were unable to use the carts to transport our 6 bags plus his car seat.  Koreans are one of the most friendliest and helpful people.  We couldn't have done it without strangers helping us. 

Moving to Daegu, South Korea

It's been 3 weeks since we arrived here in Daegu. According to Christian, it's been 3 hellish weeks since we arrived here in the armpit known as Daegu.  Of course, he's just joking, but it has been extremely stressful to say the least.

I recently accepted a job here with the RCCK.  I am a tier 2 support tech for the SCCM group.  I spent my 2nd week here at a SCCM class given by a certified Microsoft trainer that they flew in for the class at Camp Henry. So excited to finally be managing images and supporting this application.

We are currently staying at the Camp Walker Lodge.  It's on post and very convenient for me since I can walk to work. I'm glad that we have a kitchenette and living room area. Plenty of room for Jensen to have his own space.

I started applying for overseas positions last November.  I also applied for an opening in Italy, but Korea offered me a position. I had my interview on January 23.  The only private place I could think of having the phone interview was in the bathroom.  I guess I instinctively made a bee line for the master bathroom, since becoming a new mother that is the only place I can get some privacy.

I still can't believe we are living in Daegu.  It's nice to work and live on post at the moment.  It feels as if we are still back in the States while we are on post, but the subtle differences in the architecture and landscaping definitely feels Korean.  All post commissary and exchange stores accepts only dollars except for the Katusa snack bar and they only take payments in won.  I'm still getting used to carrying 2 types of currency, among the numerous things that I am getting accustomed to here. 

The hellish part comes from Christian's experience with his health condition.  He was admitted to the Fatima Hospital last Wednesday and was discharged yesterday.  He had minor surgery for an existing condition that had been an issue for quite some time.  We were pleasantly surprised with the healthcare system here in Korea.  Not only did it feel like we were staying in a 5 star hotel, but the cost of the procedure was much less that it would have been if we had it done back home.  We did have to pay the whole cost up front, but we as soon as we send the receipts to our insurance company part of the cost will be refunded. The room was cleaned everyday by housekeeping.  I've never had a hospital stay were they cleaned the room every single day. The hospital room was much nicer than our room in the Lodge.

The TV in the room was bigger than the one in our hotel room.

Jensen had a great time meeting the nurses.  Kylie even invited her friends that also worked in different departments of the hospital to meet him.  I tried to get him to smile for the photo, but he was pretty tired and I think was just overwhelmed with all the ladies.

The pill dispersion was a bit different as well.  I'm used to pill bottles, but they gave us the pills in single packet "servings".

Tutorial - Cassette Tape Mini Journal

This is a tutorial I added on Cut out and Keep website a few years back and thought I would add it here.


See Cassette Tape Mini Journal and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep

Shop the Swap

I have been involved in a swap on craftster.org called Shop the Swap. I totally love it!
This month is round 17 and I joined at round 14. Basically, points are currency to "buy" items in other shops that have joined the swap. You get 3 points to start and you "price" your items accordingly. Here is my shop for round 17: Reese52's Swap Shop

A few items that I have "sold":

Floppy Disc Pen Holder

World of Warcraft Notebook

Guitar Picks made from recycled gift cards



Bookmarks made from recycled keyboard circuit


Here is what I was able to "buy" from other participating shops:

Custom carved stamp w/ my original design
(by: loves2experiment)


Glass Pendants (mine were in red and black)
by: Moonfairy


Original Artwork by PhizzyChick "Whimsy"
I love her work!


Original Artworks by the_bees_knees
printed on cards and I happen to have a frame that fit perfectly

Stamp Up Workshop

I attended a Stamp Up workshop last night and here are a few things I learned how to make. I was invited by Ashley who is a colleague's wife. We both like to scrapbook and do crafts. We finally met and I had a great time. I'm definitely going to host one of my own. My favorite is the red, black and white card. Of course, since it has my favorite colors.

Mini Cooper S 2007

Here is my all black Mini Cooper S 2007. Thanks for the great photo, Stephanie. I tried to locate a used one when I was shopping for it, but had a difficult time finding exactly what I wanted. I went ahead and special ordered it from Charleston, SC on my husband's insistence. I bought her exactly a year ago this month.


I recently attended my first Mini Cooper meeting this past weekend. We met at Sonic on Montgomery Crossroads, but the location will be changed to Starbucks on Victory Drive next month. If you happen to read this and you are a Mini Cooper owner, join us there every first Sunday of the month at 10 am.


There were only five members there, but it was really cool to see all the Minis lined up at the front of the parking lot. Christian drove his Lotus Elise and Heather recognized it right away. She's driven a Lotus before and we are hoping to ask her for some pointers since she is a race car driver. Maybe the the group will "adopt" Christian's car since it is a British car, but not quite a Mini. ;-)

Record Notebooks

I've always loved records. I still have a small collection of my own. I've seen a few record covers turned into journals and have wanted to give it a try.
I also love to thrift shop and go to garage sales. On a recent visit to a thrift store, I found an interesting cover to an Anne Murray record. I thought it would make a great recycled journal. Anyway, here is what I made. Tell me what you guys think. Any constructive criticism would also be appreciated.