Week 1 of School and The Things I Miss...

So...I've almost finished my first week of working. The kids did not kill me and I did not kill any kids. I call that a win. I joke, but really - I think it was a successful week. I had a couple of kids who wanted to test me - just a little - but I shut that down quickly and I think they realize I'm not a sub that they can steamroll over. Let's hope the next few weeks are equally as successful.

And as I came home Wednesday I started thinking about the things I missed since I was back in the working world...so today's blog is dedicated to that!

1. Coffee. I had one cup of coffee this week. Just one. Really, it's a miracle the kids did survive. I can be a raving bitch without coffee. (Yeah, yeah...keep your comments about how I can be a raving bitch with coffee to yourself!) I wish coffee shops opened at 7 a.m. - even 7:30 a.m. - so I could grab a cup on the way to work. But, alas, that is not the case and I will have to limit my coffee to weekends...and substitute in many Coke Lights until Christmas.

2. My 8 a.m. CrossFit Peeps. Oh, I miss my morning WOD!! And I miss the morning peeps! (A special shout out to Jo!!! Save my bar for me!!) I only made it to one 5 p.m. WOD this week due to the kids' schedule and my schedule and, well, life. I'm a morning girl for sure! Evening workouts S-U-C-K!!! So, the next few weeks will be challenging in that respect. Next week I may have to try getting up with Blaine and doing home WODs. Oh! The horror! We all know a home WOD is not nearly as gruelling as heading to the box. I can cherrypick what I'm going to do...although I promise to throw in some burpees. (I did them this week at home...I was a good CrossFitter.)

3. Writing. I miss my morning writing time. Not just the blog, but when I would email friends. When I would brainstorm ideas. When I would gather my thoughts and put them in my ever-so-cute notebook. (Thanks Alissa for my fabulous notebook! It gets used a lot!) I still need to work out time to write, but it will come as I fall into a routine.

4. ?

5. ?

Hmm...I can't think of a 4th or 5th thing I miss. I call that a win, too. Because really...all of the things above are minor. Really minor. And by Christmas...things will return to the way they were. So life is good.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Hong Kong and Vietnam...

We had a great time in both places...that's all I can really say!

Here's some pics from our trip!

We stayed at the Disney Hollywood Hotel...very relaxing!

The kids had two full days at MickeyLand!

This involved lots of walking and, well, I can't tell you how many times we did the Buzz Lightyear ride...too many to count.

And we had lots of smiles!

Toy Story Land was a big hit! Caleb did the RC Racer ride - once! He said that was enough!

The boys are still not too old to pose for pics with Chip and Dale - even giving hugs!

The new parade was a hit!

And we also toured Hong Kong! We walked right through the Umbrella Revolution!

Sampling pork jerky and egg tarts with our guide, Amy.

Victoria's Peak - An amazing view!

Dim Sum at the famous Maxim's located in City Hall. They even have the little trolley which goes around the dining room allowing you to pick what you would like! So old school, yet classic.

A trip on the Star Ferry to see the Walk of Fame.

The boys had to do their best impression of Bruce Lee.

Then it was off to Vietnam. We took a day tour to the Mekong Delta.

Our guide was Nhi and she took us to a Buddhist pagoda on the way. It was just beautiful.

My happy Buddha had his photo taken with a real happy Buddha...so huge and made of marble.

Then it was a trip on a junk on the Mekong. The water is filthy...I will not be doing any triathlons here!

We visited a coconut candy making shop and Blaine sampled some snake wine.

Then it was a horse cart ride to listen to some traditional Vietnamese music and sample some local fruits and honey.

Then it was time to row a boat to lunch. Elephant ear fish and all sorts of yummy stuff! Plus some local beer!

Friday was a relaxing day at the roof top pool!

Friday night was the AO Show at the Saigon Opera House. I highly recommend it! My kids really enjoyed it!

Dinner that evening was a Cuc Gach Quan. Nate was supposed to meet up with us, but got caught in the incredible Ho Chi Minh traffic. It's okay...he made it to our hotel later and we managed to order  some delicious dishes.

This restaurant is famous because Angelina and Brad (yeah, we're on a first-name basis) brought their son (who was adopted from Vietnam) here when they brought him back to explore his culture. It was yummy...I don't care who you are!

And Saturday morning before we headed home had us drinking coffee with Nate at this great café called Myth. Nice atmosphere, good conversation and fantastic coffee.

 

 

Our next adventure will have us off to Cambodia in early December. The blog may be quiet until then as I started back teaching today! (And it was lots of fun! Just like I remembered!)

Fab 5 Thursday?

Hey peeps! It's Thursday and another week is coming to a close! School break starts tomorrow at 3 pm so I'm going to crank out a Fab 5 today (if this publishing a day early crap continues I'll have to rename this - Fab 5 Thursday just doesn't do it for me) and then I need to get packing!

Here we go!

1. The Walking Dead. Yes, one of my favorite shows has returned. But, I want to give a mention of the cool display that was over at Publika to draw attention to my favorite show. It was a really cool container that had holographic walkers - both inside and outside the container! It was super cool!

2. Date Night/Olive Oil Tasting. Saturday night Blaine and I went out without the kiddos! Woot! Woot! We started the evening with an olive oil tasting at For Goodness Cakes. Such a great night! We sampled many olive oils and had some very delicious food. It was informative and tasty! A big thank you to Sheila for arranging this experience. Then, Blaine and I headed over to Publika to meet up with our friend, Hub, and have a few adult beverages. Always a fun night when Blaine and Hub are together. I feel like these two are cut from the same cloth! It was a great Saturday evening out.

3. Cross Country. Saturday morning started with a cross country meet for Grayson. We're still amazed that this child did cross country as he is not a runner, but he did a really great job on Saturday. But, my real proud mommy moment came when he went and helped a fellow teammate. His friend, Daniel, experienced a terrible side stitch during his race and stopped running early on - and was very visibly upset. (Think big, huge sobs!) Anyways, Grayson went and got him, held his hand, told him it was going to be alright and brought Daniel over to the nurse. It was one of those moments where you know you are doing something right with your children. I know my friends who are parents know what those moments look like...and they make up for all of the times when your child is driving you absolutely crazy!

4. Chex Mix. Okay...all you people who think pumpkin is the only fall food, well, you can keep it. For me, fall is the time of homemade Chex Mix. Yeah, I don't know why. I think it's because my mom always made Chex Mix in the fall - even though it's good all year round - and it's just stuck with me. So, Sunday I decided I was going to make Chex Mix. Yes, this did prove to be interesting as I could not find all of the things I like to put in my mix (Bugles for one! And those little pumpernickel garlic round things! You know what I'm talking about!) But, we did manage to throw a batch together! And everyone was happy to have a little taste of fall!

Yeah, don't ask me what those things in the green bag are! They were quite tasty, though!

5. Vacation. Fall break starts tomorrow! So we're off to Hong Kong and Ho Chi Mihn. Wahoo! I'm excited! Never been to either place and it should prove to be lots of fun! Hong Kong Disney and a tour while we're there. Then off to Vietnam for a day trip on the Mekong Delta, a show one night and catching up with some friends. And the weather forecast doesn't look too bad!

All right! No blogging next week as we will be traveling. Then, I start teaching - so posts may become sporadic! But, I hope to get you caught up on our travel adventures, at the very least, when we return! 

Fab 5 Friday...A Day Early...

It's that time of the week again...Fab 5 Friday time! I'm bringing it to you on a Thursday as things are going to be changing around the Blackburn house...and you'll see why when you read today's blog!

1. Club Med. Club Med gets a huge shoutout for our long weekend away last week. It was a nice weekend with our kids and with neighborhood friends. Hanging by the pool, reading, going to the spa, kids doing the kids club thing...just relaxing.

2. Hong Kong Guide. So...it all worked out. I found a guide for Hong Kong and she sounds ideal - mother of two who just seemed to get it when I said my boys were not into mounds and mounds of historical info...just give us the basics and keep us rolling along. I'll let you know how she works out!

3. Betty's Midwest Cafe. I had my first trip to Betty's Midwest Cafe this week when I had lunch with a friend on Tuesday. And yes, it is a little taste of the Midwest set right down here in KL. The owners once lived in Des Moines and the menu included corn dogs, meatloaf, pulled pork, juicy Lucy's, pork chops, and macaroni and cheese. And, as always, lunch convo was great .I always feel like I'm on the same wavelength with this friend...kids at similar ages, from the Midwest, husbands not working in oil and gas...it just seems to click.

4. Perseverance. This goes to Caleb this week. He had to do a presentation on a current event, and, as always, we told him to pick something that interests him. He chose Derek Jeter's retirement - apropos for my sports loving child. But, as he sat down to work on the project with guidance from his parents...we could see the frustration. He wasn't sure where to go with it and we didn't have a lot of info on the project - so we were leading him where we thought he should take it. Finally, we just let it drop for the night. All of us were grouchy and tears were starting to well up in his eyes. He went to school the next day and listened to a few presentations and came back with a clear idea of what he wanted to do and the direction he wanted to take it. With little help from us, he put together a pretty good current event presentation...putting aside the negative feelings from the start of the project and coming out happy at the end.

5. Teaching. Yes, here's the big news. I've accepted a long-term sub position for a maternity leave. So, for the next 8 weeks I'll be back in the land of the working, back teaching kiddos, back in the classroom. I'm anxious and excited all at the same time. It will be challenging, yet, fun. And, in the end, it will probably help me decide if I truly want to go back to teaching or if that's something that will remain a part of my past, Either way, for the next 8 weeks I will be putting my heart and soul back into the classroom!

So there you have it. I may take a break from blogging for the next 8 weeks depending on the work load at school...or at the very least, it may be a bit more sporadic. Enjoy the upcoming weekend!

Procrastinating...

I actually wrote the post below about two weeks ago, but I see that I never published it. Seeing as I'm currently sitting in the exact same spot, doing the exact same thing...I think I'll hit publish today.

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I’m procrastinating.

I’m not a procrastinator by nature. I’m a list maker who takes great pleasure in crossing things off. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction to get to the end of a day, look at the list in my notebook (yeah, so old school) and see that everything is finished.

 

But, once every few years this task comes upon me and I dread it. It gets written in the notebook. It needs to be done. It’s part of the process. And I love what comes out of it. But, I despise this task. I even try to get my husband to do it for me.

What is it you ask? What could be so bad?

It’s writing my resume.

I know people who have had jobs they love for 10, 15, 20, 30 years. I am not that person. I have had jobs I love. In fact, I have had many. But the longevity of these jobs has been relatively short.  Four to five years at the very longest. More often than not, I have wanted to stay. It just wasn’t possible.

And no, I haven’t been fired from any of my positions. The companies haven’t folded and declared bankruptcy. There was no big blowout with a co-worker who stole my idea and submitted it as his own and I quit to prove a point.

You see, I’m a “trailing spouse.”  My husband has a great job that has offered him many career opportunities in the past 13 years, and, in order to help him move up the corporate ladder, I have followed him, “trailed” behind him, as we’ve moved. (Please keep in mind, I didn’t come up with the term “trailing spouse.” I really don’t like it. But, I live with it.)

It started in the States. We moved from the New York to Wisconsin to Iowa. Our most recent move has brought us to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

It is here, in a café,  that I am putting off the inevitable task of reworking my resume.

Many people have asked if I’m resentful.  Don’t you feel like you’re making all the sacrifices and he’s getting all the rewards? Don’t you just wish you could stay put? Continue with the job you had?

I can now say, “No.” Each move we’ve made has allowed me to re-invent myself. Each move has made me better. Each move has improved my skill set. Each move has benefitted me – maybe more than him.

I started my career as a teacher. I pictured myself teaching in a school until my retirement kicked in and I had taught the children, maybe even the grandchildren, of my first students. That was not to be.

I cried when I quit my job to follow my husband the first time. Huge sobs. At the time, my father essentially told me, “Suck it up, buttercup. He makes good change and you need to support him.” Okay, that’s not an exact quote, but you get the gist.

So we moved and I needed to establish my identity. I was not a teacher anymore. Who was I? What was I going to do?

I decided my health would be my focus. I needed to lose 150 pounds. This would be my job. And I accomplished it. It wasn’t easy. Probably the hardest and most frustrating job I’ve ever had. But, I did it.

Once this goal was reached, I knew I was ready to find a “real” job. I sat down and completely overhauled my resume. (I would rather have been at the dentist having a root canal.) Should I return to teaching? It didn’t feel like the time. Maybe I could use my personal transformation to springboard into something new. This led to a career as a leader for one of those well-known weight-loss companies. A very fulfilling career helping others achieve their goals.

And then we moved again. This time I was excited. No tears. The last move had brought such an amazing physical and emotional change in me, surely this next move could do the same.

And it did.

I once again put the focus back on myself. Certifications and self-education was my focus. I became a certified group fitness instructor and personal trainer. Once again it was time for my least favorite task - dusting off the ‘ol resume.

My resume served me well. I found a career at a locally owned gym that allowed me to put my skills to work. It even allowed me the chance for advancement as I became the fitness programs manager for this club. I loved it. I loved the people. I loved the job. I loved everything.

And you can guess what happened next. We moved – to Malaysia.

I have spent a year here already - focusing on me. I don’t have a work Visa - so my work options are limited. But, for the past year, I’ve been writing. Purely for pleasure - for my friends and family. For a magazine that liked something I sent their way and asked me to contribute more. And I now think it’s time to see, once again, what’s out there career-wise. It’s time for my least favorite task – rebuilding the resume.

I know I shouldn’t dread it so much. My resume has brought me so many good things. I look at it and see the timeline of my marriage. It’s a reminder of the amazing people I’ve met and the wonderful places we lived.

I will focus on that today as I once again jam the thumb drive in my laptop and work quickly to make my curriculum vitae as relevant as possible to what I want to do. What will come next? Where will my resume lead me? Who knows? But, based on past experiences, I know my resume won’t let me down. It just needs a little TLC to guide me in the right direction.

And some TLC it will get – right after another cup of coffee.