Nothing like a good belly laugh!

Do you remember the last time you laughed so hard your cheeks hurt and you got that flem stuck in your throat?!  Those moments are the best, aren't they?!  My friend Lyndsea (from California) found a website that lists hundreds and hundreds of hilarious auto-correct texts from people's iphones!  I spent all 4 of my break times, this morning, reading these and laughing so hard I almost fell over in my chair a couple times!  I was laughing so hard I was making my kids laugh... What's better than contageous laughter?! 

These are some of my favorites... Granted, there are some that are even funnier, but probably not apporpriate for the blog! :)

ENJOY a good laugh!

 

Hope your cheeks hurt!!

Happy Wednesday!

"Great deals to fill out you studio apartment - BED FOR SALE!"

I've been searching Koreabridge (my favorite Craigslist style website) for a bed and armoire for my new place!  Granted, I could just inheirt one from the teacher I'm going to be eventually taking over for, but I'd have to wait untl March sometime to get it, it probably wouldn't match my new place, and I have the money to buy my own, so why not, eh?!

So, I found an ad from a husband and wife in Millak who were selling their gorgeous dark wood (my favorite) bed for 25,000 won!!  (American friends, that's $22!)  I'm a lover of all things bargain, so I jumped on the opportunity and e-mailed the guy right away!  After e-mailing back and forth a gajillion times, we finally figured out how to cheaply get the bed from their place to mine - a TAXI VAN!  He said that when I got to their place, he would help me dissasemble it and that we could try calling a taxi van to transport it for me!  Genius, since moving trucks cost an arm and a leg around these parts!

So, after work today, I jumped on the subway with my little hand written directional note in hand...

and made my way over to lovely, Millak!  I walked for about 10 minutes along the river (in the freezing cold)...

until I finally reached their posh and gigantic apartment complex!

When I called to ask what their apartment number was, Nikole, the wife answered the phone and said in a cheerfully-friendly tone, "Oh, I'm actually in front of building 102, and the bed is all packed into a taxi van and ready for you!"  You can imagine my EXTREME excitement when I realized I didn't have to attempt to dissasemble a bed, carry it into the elevator, drag it to the curb, and then wave down a taxi van!  What a huge blessing it was for them to do all the pre-packing!! 

Buying a bed, second hand, and then attempting to communicate how to get it from one part of town to another (in Korean) was an experience in which I figured I would have lots of funny things to blog about... but as it turns out, it was easier than pie!  

So, Nick and Nikole, if you're reading this...  Thank you for making the process so easy... and for the record, I love my new bed!

Here's a little sneak peak of it, all made up with the newly-hand-sewn bedding!  Yep, I did it again!  I can't seem to ever find bedding that I like in the store, so I create my own!   I bought 2 sheet sets when I was home in December (1 blue, the other brown satin) sewd the flat sheets together to make the duvet, cut and ironed out the fitted satin sheet to make a bed skirt, and the other scraps were used to make decorative pillows!  By the way, anyone can do this!  It doesn't take rocket science!  I did it in a matter of about 3 hours! I'm really enjoying the calmness that blues and browns bring to a room - and who doesn't love a little pop of avocado green, right?!  :)

So, tonight, I'm all cuddled into my new bed and loving that fact that I'm no longer sleeping on my floor!  My hip bones and shoulders will be very thankful tomorrow morning!

Date night!

Last Saturday night, Aaron told me to get ready, because he was taking me out for the night!!  Woo hoo! What girl doesn't love a good date night with her love?!  We met up in Seomyeon around 7:30pm and went to a charming little Italian place! 

We both eat Korean food all the time; so endulging in some Italian was a really nice surprise!

I've always loved the idea of dating a handsome, chivalrus man, who orders the meal for both of us!  So, when Aaron picked up the menu and asked if I trusted him to order, I sat back and took in the moment!!

The  garlic bread, thin crust margherita pizza, lazangna, and red wine were to die for... and while we didn't slowly feed each other every bite of food like the young Korean couple next to us, we did enjoy each other's company and conversation!

After dinner, we were given a "free coffee card" from the cashier for the adjoining coffee shop!  What a fun surprise!  The cafe was darling with every type of yummy pastry and coffee drink imaginable!

1 caramel frappocino and a chocolate mocha please!

Then came the BEST part of the date...

The Wii bang!

Yes, Aaron took me to a Wii bang, where you can rent a very small room (approx 5ft by 5ft) to play Wii, watch a DVD, or surf the internet!  But this was not just any Wii bang!  This was a fancy pancy Wii bang that had a complimentary cookie bar, ice cream area, coffee counter, soda machine, and even fresh caramel popcorn!

They led us down the hallway in their tuxedo style uniforms, to our own private room...

While I'd like to say we got right to playing Wii... it wasn't quite that easy!  Every game's instructions were in Korean, so sounding out the hangul symbols and trying to understand what we were reading took a long time!  I'd be lying if I said we didn't have to call the workers over to help us out about 5 times! haha!

We opted to spend our allotted 2 hours to playing Wii, which entailed lots of Mario Cart, Olympic Winter Games, trampoline competitions, carnival games, and tennis!  And yes, I beat Aaron a few times, and no, he didn't let me win!  I won fair and square!  Don't under estimate my video gaming skills!  I was a proud owner of the original Nintendo as a child!

We had such a fun night, and loved that we experienced something new and exciting together! 

Have you taken the time to have a date with the one you love lately?!  If not, please make it happen!  Every relationship, new and old, needs a good old' fashioned date night!

The beauty of connecting...

My best friend during junior high and high school; the amazing, beautiful, talented, inspirational, positive, and sweatest heart I know, Jessica Hoffman, has embarked on a journey she calls: "30 Days of Beauty," where she creates 1 new daily video about something she believes is beautiful!  I have been so inspired by some of her messages that I've felt the need to share them with you!

Days 1-15...

Day 1 The Beauty of Beginning

Day 2 The Beauty of Inspiration

Day 3 The Beauty of Balloons

Day 4 The Beauty of Compliments

Day 5 The Beauty of Baking

Day 6 The Beauty of a Journey

Day 7 The Beauty of Discipline

Day 8 The Beauty of a Road Trip

Day 9 The Beauty of a Crown

Day 10 The beauty of a Sunset

Day 11 The Beauty of a Lip Gloss

Day 12 The Beauty of Literature

Day 13 The Beauty of a Wish

Day 14 The Beauty of a Dream

But today's post really struck me, because it was called:

Day 15 The Beauty of Connecting...



"In this digital, facebook age we live in, it's a rare treasure to actually connect with the people in your life on a one on one, face to face level... but what a joy it is." Living 3738 miles from home makes connecting with loved ones really difficult for me... and I've seen some of my favorite relationships fade to dust, if you will, because of the distance.  I'm a little bit sad this morning, thinking of the joys that we get from connecting with good friends and family, and how I'm really missing out on that by living so far away.  Facebook just isn't cutting it for me anymore!  So, with that, I'm urging you to take 5 minutes out of your day to e-mail me (calocal@aol.com) or skype chat me (jillersanderson) and let me know how you're doing!  It's only fair right, since I share every detail of my life with you! :) 

So, let's connect!  I'll be here all day! :)

First glimpse of the new place!

This dining area of my apartment is was the ONLY part of my apartment that was finished as of Thursday night...

But by Friday night, I realized I wanted to scratch the red and flower scheme and go for blue instead!  So with some left over fabric from the new duvet and bed pillows I made, I sewed some pillows and recovered the wall canvases!

Ahhh, much better!

My new place is slowly coming together and I'm loving it more and more every time I come home to it!