My Visit Home: Georgia On My Mind

Like usual I had a great time visiting with my family. Here are some pictures of the last week in Georgia. 

See you in a year Georgia family 

Getting Crafty: Shaped Crayons [A Tutorial}

While I was home for the summer, the kids and I decided we wanted to get a little crafty. So I turned to a few of my go to blogs and found a project that the three of us could agree on. 

Make your own Shaped Crayons from My Sister's Suitcase. 

This was perfect because all you need is:

Crayons {We used a bunch of leftover crayons we had laying around and they worked perfectly.} 

A Knife and Cutting Board

And a Muffin Tin or Silicon Mold 

*You guys probably have most of these supplies laying around your house! 

All you need to do is peel your crayons and chop them into small pieces. 

*Note: I had the kids peeling while I chopped. 

Each kid had their own plate where they divided the colors they wanted to use. 

When that is done, put the crayon pieces in the molds. 

Each kid had their own row, so they could determine what their own crayons looked like. 

When this was done, we popped them in the oven at 250 for about 10-12 minutes. 

*Note: We didn't use all the muffin tins because we were tired of peeling the crayons. While I was happy to recycle the crayons we had, it definitely made peeling the old crayons pretty hard. 

When we took them out of the oven we were a little concerned because they looked really ugly. 

But here is how they turned out. 

Pretty cute if I do say so myself! 

Friday Flashback #60

Oh the good ole' days of hiking Stone Mountain. 

Joe, Coda, Me, Chantal, and Alex 

Friday's Letters #1

*I thought it would be good to start this new series Friday's Letters to share what's going on with us in Korea. Note: I got this idea from a few travel blogs I follow. 

Dear  Matt, I am beyond excited to be reunited with you after being apart for so long. I can't wait to see  your face and start our wonderful adventure! P.S. please don't be late picking me up from the airport :) 

Dear America, I sure will miss you. I'll miss your wonderful holidays (Labor Day, Thanksgiving, President's Day, etc.) But I hear Korea has some good holidays too, so it should all work out. I'll miss your super sized lifestyle and your wonderful reality t.v. Thank you for Hulu Plus and Netflix so I can keep up with my entertainment. Stay safe America- I'll see you soon. 

Dear Chik-fil-A, I will really miss you. I will miss your chicken sandwiches, and your wonderful lemonade. If you could please open a store in Korea that would be great. At the very least could you please figure out a way to send me some lemonade. 

Dear Family, I really will miss you. Please send lots of letters and keep in touch. Get skype and we can talk all the time. Dear Friends, you should do the same. In fact, you should all start Following the blog so you know what's going on. :) Have a great year- I'll see you in 2014! Dear Asian Babies, Please don't grown up too much. And don't have too much fun without me. Good luck with your 5th and 4th grade school years. Take care of Gibbs for me, and don't forget to change my Betty Boop calendar.

Dear Suitcases, I am getting a little tired of living out of you and hauling you around. I will be very happy to finally unpack and put you guys away. And on the flight to Korea, please stick together and actually make it there. 

And finally, Dear Korea, Please be nice to me. I promise to try to adapt to your culture and lifestyle, but there will be an adjustment period, so please be patient. I look forward to seeing all the amazing things that your country holds. I look forward to teaching your children English. I look forward to attempting to learn Korean. I'll see you soon.

Happy Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to this foxy momma

Happy Birthday to the woman who always has my back

And who always makes me laugh

Happy Birthday Mom!

Thanks for being so great. I love you to the moon and back. 

The Snail Mail Collective- July

Last month, I signed up for the first ever Snail Mail Collective to meet fellow bloggers around the world. This collective is brought to us by the two wonderful blogs Lost in Travels and The Nectar Collective. 

Every month you are paired with someone that is currently living in a different region of the world than yourself. You are to contact them, get to know them, and at the end of the month send a small meaningful gift and postcard. 

This month I was paired with the wonderful Jess from Stamp in my Passport. Who, funnily enough, is from Georgia! 

It was so great meeting her this last month, and the two of us found that we have a lot in common- especially when it comes to travel. If you have time, you should really go over and check out her blog. 

This month I was not really on the ball when it came to pictures, but I sent her a postcard from Hawaii and I made her a one-straw lei for her upcoming graduation. 

In return, I got a beautiful postcard from France (where she did her study abroad), a Chick-fil-a cow, and a box of peach flavored tea. She really nailed Georgia to a T. 

I am so glad that I was able to participate in the first ever Snail Mail Collective, and can't wait to see who I will meet this month. 

Expat Diaries: Fears and Concerns {A link-up}

Happy August fellow readers! I can't believe how fast 2013 is going! The start of the month brings another addition and link up to the series The Expat Diaries brought to us by Chelsea from Lost in Travels and Rachel from Postcards from Rachel.  If you missed last month click here. 

  

As most of you know, my husband has been in South Korea since the end of May, and I will be joining him on August 9th. As my travel date gets closer, I find myself in this weird wishy-washy state.

I am beyond excited to see my husband after 8 weeks of separation. I am excited to see this new place and be able to experience a new culture. I am excited to have a new adventure with my husband. I know living in South Korea is going to be awesome, but it doesn't make me any less nervous/ apprehensive about leaving the United States.

There are a few things that scare me about moving across the world, and I thought that would be the topic of this month's Expat Diary. My hope is that experience expats could give me advice on how to handle/ overcome these few concerns about moving.

Alex's Fears and Concerns About Moving to South Korea: 

1. Food- This is probably first because without food- I am going to starve! You are reading about the girl who lost 35 pounds in London, England after only being there for 6 weeks! Seriously, if I can't eat in England- how am I going to eat in Korea. I have heard the food is good. I have met tons of people that have lived/ visited Korea, and they rave about the food. And then my hubby sends me pictures of food that really just looks like blood soup and it completely freaks me out. Trust me- I will be happy to lose weight in Korea, but I also don't want to be starving my whole trip. Now don't get me wrong- I am going to try new foods, and I am going to give Korean food a chance. But I am worried about this.

{image sent from Matt}

2. Crowds- I hate being in crowds. I really do. I don't even go to Wal-Mart all that much because there are way too many people. Don't ask why I am moving to one of the most populated countries, but there you have it- I am really concerned about loosing my personal bubble. When I was in England one of my professors explained that each culture has different views on personal space and what is and is not appropriate. But understanding that fact, and being used to the differences are two different things!

3. Language- There is something a little unnerving about not being able to understand the conversations around you. I don't think this is as big of an issue for me as the food is, but I know initially it's going to be hard to get around. Plus, I don't want to go all paranoid that everyone is talking about me behind my back- there is no need for me to relive middle school.

4. Family- I have never gone a year without traveling home to be with my family. In Hawaii, Matt and I couldn't go home too much, but we still saw our families about every 6 months or so. I talk to my mom on a daily basis, and I can't imagine going a year without seeing my family. I am so glad we got everyone worked out with Skype and FaceTime!

I don't want to sound really negative before I leave on my new adventure, but I think there is something about really facing your concerns and trying to overcome them. I do not want to leave for Korea with this impending sense of doom, but I wanted to share with you guys that I am nervous. And I really think that is okay. Because overall, I am just excited and very thankful that we are getting this opportunity.

If any of you have any suggestions for me, please leave your comments below!