22 October, 2010

My Balcony.


It's small, there's nothing to it... but it's my favorite place in the entire house. 

I can spend hours standing and looking outside. Even though I see the same alley way, the same buildings, the same Vietnamese families walking around... it never loses it's interest to me. 

I can picture myself being an old lady, sitting on my rocker, watching people from my porch. Or Balcony.  I find something therapeutic in silently staring out into the world. I am able to let my thoughts wonder, or think of nothing at all. 

I encourage you all to do nothing for at least 20 minutes. It's worth it. 

15 October, 2010

Sick.

I knew it would happen. You can only spend so many nine hour days with 22 sick five year olds before you come down with something yourself. 

It's taken me out of commission for a little over a week. No exercise, no private lessons, only three and a half days of work, and no social life.

While taking time to rest is amazingly rewarding and has helped me bounce back (to about 75%, here's to the last 25% percent coming back easily! ) it's also sent me a little stir crazy. Something about being sick with a head cold makes reading a HUGE challenge, and reading is one of my favorite things to do. 

Since I've put all of my favorite things on hold (gym, reading, climbing, red wine, socializing etc) I am hoping to dive back in tomorrow. Go Vap Orphanage in the morning, climbing in the afternoon and possibly some Octoberfest activities in the evening. Bring it on. 

Also this week in the exciting world of Cori, I finally bit the bullet and purchased my ticket home for christmas. While it was a huge financial blow, the decision was easy. I get to see my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister-in-law, my AMAZING niece and my family of friends in Portland. Who could ask for anything more? 

I also have the blessing of saying goodbye to a very challenging 2010 and welcoming in 2011 with some of my favorite people in the entire world. I think I've earned a warm comforting holiday season with family! 

Feeling a bit healthier, a bit more optimistic and a lot more happy. 

I hope nothing but the best in health and happiness to all those out there that read this. 


10 October, 2010

Hello Again, Go Vap!


It's been far too long. 

I have spent the past 4 months or so, devoting my heart, time and energy towards myself. Sorting myself out, figuring out what things I needed to add or remove from my life to be happy and getting a handle on teaching yet again. 

I've discovered that I LOVE teaching preschool. When I do return to the States I will be a preschool or kindergarten teacher for sure. I've also re-discovered my passion for rock climbing. A hobby that reminds me who I am. 

I've agreed to start leading a group of volunteers to Go Vap every Saturday morning, this week was the first trip and unfortunately I was the only one who showed up! It's partially my fault because I only agreed to it half way through the week and also there were two other people that were planning on going that bailed out... 

However, it was still an amazing trip.  Was able to feed a few precious babies and play with some happy little toddlers. I can't wait for this to start becoming a part of my weekly routine. Just being there fills my heart with complete happiness and an array of emotions. 

Here's a few from this weeks trip: 






Looking forward to many more visits and more volunteers to share it with! 

05 October, 2010

Wish List.

Red TOMS shoes. 

SLR Camera, preferably Cannon

A NOOK. I travel a lot, enough said. 

Endless supply of these

And that's pretty much it. These items would make my life complete... starting to save now, hopefully. 

03 October, 2010

Fighting off boredom...

Two sites I found that are a lovely way to dumb down and waste time. 


zefrank.com - interactive toys are my favorite part

The Fitness Challenge (revisited)

So initially I posted an entry about getting back on the fitness track. And I failed! 

So about a month ago I said to myself enough is enough and purchased a gym membership. I've surprised myself by going three to four times a week before work. I love it. 

I have been feeling great and I'm sure it shows. It's not even a challenge made out of vanity, it's purely to feel myself again, and it's working. I'm more myself now than I've been in a very long time. 

So the gym had been going great for about two weeks when my friend and I finally stopped talking about getting memberships to the climbing gym and did it. 

We've started climbing twice a week (I hope to push it to three times) and I have found my personal form of meditation. Review my previous post about my love of the sport here

I'm in love with the motivation, the dedication and getting my heart and body moving. It also feels fantastic having my time filled with such wholesome activities. I don't sit around and watch TV all day or laze around and do nothing. I have a place to be and have a great time with all of my hobbies. 

Finding my groove in life again is turning out to be much more fun than I thought. 

His Dark Materials


I re-read the golden compass, remembering that it was a fun read, and I was sucked into the series. 

It's a brilliantly fantastical journey through unlimited worlds of imagination. 

I wasn't aware of the religious context of this series until I read it and I was pleasantly surprised and challenged by the complex views the author brought to the surface.  

This story tells of an existence I wish was true. 

A phenomenal way to get lost for a few hours, I highly recommend the entire trilogy : )