Warpaint - Love is to Die + General Update

Somehow it's already the middle of December (yesterday at the beach people were playing volleyball, mostly wearing shorts and T-shirts and the like, California are you real?) and next week I'm going to Japan! Only for ten days, but that is awesome nonetheless. Christmas in Osaka is something I can definitely appreciate in all its glory.

This past week I attended some workshops and meetings at work, but now winter vacation has officially begun and I almost don't know how to prioritize everything that needs doing...there's so much to catch up on, lots of music to listen to, a few Christmas presents to search for, and winter clothes to pack (if I can still find some in the back of my closet). I recently finally got an electric guitar and a record player so I'm musically spoiled and am having trouble getting to other things. I feel like a kid at Christmas and just want to play with my toys all the time, yay!

Trader Joe's has way too many holiday treats right now. I've started drinking coffee again, just because of their Gingerbread and Wintry coffee flavors - they are so delicious I cannot resist. 

It's so sunny and gorgeous right now. Listening to good music and drinking (gingerbread, yay!) hot coffee in the somewhat chilly morning. Feels good. I'm just going to accept the fact that I now enjoy being lazy (hopefully not for a prolonged period of time).

Buddha's Birthday

This past weekend was a lovely 3 day long holiday weekend. The holiday? Buddha's birthday! Paper lanterns are hung along many roads, crowds of people head to Buddhist temples (usually located in the mountains), and we can enjoy an extra day off work. 

This year I joined my boyfriend's family at one of many temples for one evening. Other than that, I spent the time frolicking outside, eating oodles of ice cream (and bread, and spaghetti, and pizza oh my!), meeting lovely friends, and enjoying the beauty (and glorious warmth!) of spring. Finally, I don't have to wear socks (my hands and feet are ALWAYS cold so this is a big deal for me). 

Long weekends are the best. I love the feeling of going to bed on Sunday and not dreading Monday morning - one more day of sweet freedom! 

Now I'm looking forward to more frolicking, ice cream eating, leisurely reading, and hopefully watching Moonrise Kingdom. And Game of Thrones. Winter is coming! But not really, because now it's all about delicious summer! :-)

Playing Catch-up

This week was marked by a few notable events.

Event the 1st: I moved into a new classroom at school, hooray! My new room is much more spacious and it has windows! With a view of the mountains! Natural daylight and fresh air, here I come!

It was actually quite fun being back at school. There was plenty of tea time with other teachers, lots of catching up, and yesterday we all went for a delicious sushi lunch that wrapped up the week quite nicely. 

Event the 2nd: Valentine's Day. Not really a huge event, but fun in its own way. In Korea, only women give presents/chocolates on Valentine's Day. Then one month later, on March 14th, it's the man's turn to give something to the woman who gave something to him. Oh, and it has to be something white since the official name of this little holiday is White Day. I gave chocolate to my bf and we went to our fave restaurant for dinner. I also made him a card...I made it at school and attempted to use crayons...which is not as easy as it seems. I prefer pencils.

Anywho, lots of people complain about Valentine's Day and its commercialization and various other things, but really - it's a day to celebrate love and tell the people around you just how much they mean to you. Yay!

Event the 3rd: My one year anniversary living in Korea! I arrived exactly one year (+ a day) ago and the year went by incredibly quickly! Now I have less than 6 months left and I want to enjoy them to the very fullest! I can't wait for spring!

Here's to more fun, laughter, chocolate, sunshine, and spring flowers in the very near future!

Happy Halloween!

Agh, wow, it's November next week, when did that happen? Not that I'm complaining - I can't wait for the holiday season :-)

Yesterday we celebrated Halloween at school and it was oodles of fun. Most of the students don't have this holiday in their countries so they were taking photos of each other's costumes all day with great enthusiasm. Of course I forgot my camera, eek!

But there was a reason for that! I found out that my EPIK application had never been received after I'd e-mailed it so I spent Thursday evening preparing all my documents and handed them in to the Korean Consulate right after school on Friday. STRESS!!! I hope everything goes more smoothly now. I should have known by now - it's always better to do things in person.

This is a photo from a traditional Korean restaurant in downtown Daegu. It was sooooooo good. The mandu in the middle tasted pretty much the same as Russian dumplings, I was so surprised. Mmmm, delicious :-) And because there were five of us we got plenty of side dishes :-)

Okay, time to get the weekend started! Have a spectacular day!

Happy Canada Day!

Ahhh, I love holidays! Especially happy and festive ones like Canada Day :) It's grey, it's gloomy, and it's raining, but the celebrations will continue nonetheless and we can enjoy some lovely time off to relax, recharge, and do something Canadian. Maybe I will eat some maple syrup :)

This kind of weather always makes me want to listen to Jeff Buckley. I'm like the dog who hears Pavlov's Bell :) Soon I'll have to stop though - because I'm going to get my hair cut this morning!! Eek, this time I will ask to keep it as long as possible, I don't want it too scary, military short!

Have a wonderful holiday day :)

Happy New Year!!!

Wishing everyone everything wonderful and sweet for the new year! I hope we can all experience more peace, love, community, hope, and joy :) Here's to a healthier, greener, happier planet!

Happy Father's Day!

What a great day to honour our dads and show them some much needed appreciation :) One way of doing this is to have some delicious buttermilk pancakes! Some farmer's markets offer these up, but you could also make your very own in the comfort of the kitchen. Then maybe take them outside to savour in the fresh air, surrounded by some greenery :) Here is a recipe for buttermilk cornmeal pancakes:

1 cup flour

1 cup organic cornmeal

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

  1/2 tsp coarse salt

   3 tbs sugar

   2 large eggs, lightly beaten

   3 cups buttermilk

               4 tbs unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/2 tsp for griddle

1. Place skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tbs melted butter, and whisk to combine. The batter should have small to medium lumps. 

2. Using a ladle, pour the batter in pools two inches apart. When the pancakes bubble on top and are slightly dry around the edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on the bottom, about one minute. 

Have a wonderful, festive day!

P.S. This photo is from UBC Farm - simply gorgeous!