overseas life and faith
Before I get to the chocolate, read further for a rundown of the kitchen blender mishap that occurred last week. … Winner winner Turkey Dinner. I made this for Expat Thanksgiving and it was such a hit. One little boy who doesn’t even like dessert was asking his mom for it and devoured it! It’s a rich melt-in-your-mouth chocolate explosion.
When you live abroad, you don’t always know what your breakfast options will be. Masala veggies, oily bread, beans, or dry toast. For our weekend retreat, I was going for something a little more American and familiar.
Let’s be honest– for many of us, working out at home will actually make it possible for us to be able to work out at all. Whether you are a mom with kids at home, live overseas and don’t have a gym option, or working out at home is flat out just more doable, I have a kick butt solution for you.
We had many conversations about marriage and we both knew we were in it for the long haul. I don’t think it was a certain moment. I remember asking my friend how she knew she was supposed to marry her hubs. She said there comes a point when you know enough about someone, his hopes, dreams, plans for life, and you just decide that you want to spend the rest of life with him. I realized there is usually not a clear voice or a crazy calling.
There’s just a moment –a moment when you realize you are better together than alone.
Meal planning helps everyone! It means no ones asks, “What should we have for dinner tonight?” in the midst of a growling stomach. It means there are healthy snacks in the fridge and it means less stress. Which we all want! My friend and I were discussing things we would like to do more consistently this year and meal planning was one of them. It helps the whole week go more smoothly and it’s just something that needs to be prioritized. So I sat down, organized my meal planning life, and came up with a solution that I’m excited to use.
Our first Christmas married abroad wasn’t like I expected it to be. It wasn’t depressing or sad or lonely. I didn’t event cry–which I have done plenty of since we arrived. I don’t know if I can even claim to not be “a crier” anymore. Christmas was surprisingly wonderful, cheery, bright, and beautiful.
I was at a place of such contentment in my singleness that I felt pretty neutral about a guy who was living on another continent having my number. My friends said great things about him, so it couldn’t hurt to talk or text, right? I didn’t have any expectations and I thought, “Why not give it a shot.”
There are a lot of awkward moments that come with language learning and I am trying to learn to just embrace them. For example, imagine that you’ve only said 3 sentences but have already exhausted everything you know how to say. The only thing that is coming to mind are sentences like, “The blue pen is on the purple chair. The pretty picture is near the fast fan.” You just sit on the bed and look at the auntie and her daughter hoping they will start talking at you or to each other so you can at least learn a few more words from them and not be sitting in silence with nothing to say.
Last week, we enjoyed a motorcycle ride around the city watching fireworks and looking at Christmas lights during a holiday in our country that is basically a cross between Christmas & the 4th of July. We each crammed an AirPod in one ear (which really does feel crammed with a helmet on) and listened to Christmas music together as we pretended that it actually was the holiday season, despite the fact that it was only the being the beginning of November.
A county where the norm when buying a pumpkin is to buy a piece of a pumpkin. Yes, just a slice. “How many KG’s (Kilograms)?” is the question I get. What could you possibly use or need a whole pumpkin for? It’s one thing to cook a pumpkin because of a pumpkin craving but be aware… it might just be white inside and not smell like a pumpkin at all (not that this happened or anything).
