A Day In The Life of Kristine

Many of you may be asking yourselves "What does Kristine do to keep herself busy while living it up in South Korea?!" Well, I am about to take you on a wild journey and show you what it's like to be me for a day!

*****WARNING! VERY LONG POST!*****

Ready to relax? Ok..here we go!

My day starts usually around 8:30-9 after a wonderful night's sleep on our too small of a bed, in our minimalist Asian inspired bedroom. After a delicious cup of french press coffee (thanks to the in-laws!) I wake up and start my workout. 3 days a week Zack and I go to a gym that is in one of the guys' dorms here and lift weights, and on the other days I do at home DVD workouts like The Biggest Loser Cardio Max and No More Trouble Zones by Jillian Michaels. I can honestly say I enjoy working out now and I look forward to it (most days!). I can definitely tell mood wise when I haven't worked out..my endorphins just aren't flowing like they normally are and I feel lazy and gross!

After my workout I make a delicious breakfast of either oatmeal with blueberries or a breakfast scramble with tons of veggies. Cereal keeps me full for..oh probably...30 minutes..so big breakfasts are the way to go!

I usually clean in the mornings after breakfast...do the dishes, sweep, tidy up. Our apartment is small, and Zack and I can't stand it for long when things are messy and the kitchen isn't clean. I figure that since I'm not working anymore it's my job to do the housework and I don't mind at all. I am enjoying being a housewife for the first time in 6 years! Bu I have to give credit where credit is due...Zack is wonderful and always helps me..it's not like I'm always slaving away cleaning and

cooking by myself!

The first semester here I would take the bus into town most days around noon and go to the grocery store to pick up a few things or just go to a coffee shop and read, but now that it's summer it gets so hot and muggy around noon, and taking the bus feels more like a chore, so since I don't have to go into town..I don't! It's no fun walking 20 minutes to the store, carrying bags, and walking another 20 back to the bus stop in the crazy humidity! So, lately I go outside to the back of our apartment and sit at the table with my water and my Kindle and read for a while and get some sun.

I do a lot of reading, now that we have a Kindle. Thanks again to Dave and Cary! (my in-laws) I've always read a lot, but it's so much nicer having the Kindle because you can read multiple books at one time..if you like doing it that way! Right now I'm almost done reading The Hobbit, and I think I'm going to download The Lord of The Rings and try my hand at that novel. I love the movies, so I'm sure the book will be amazing. A few other books I'm reading are: Les Miserables,The Sisterchicks Down Under, So You Don't Want To Go To Church Anymore, The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland, and Pride and Prejudice. If you have any recommendations, please let me know!

On rainy days, such as today I've been catching up on my movie watching. Since I worked nights for so many years I just never watched a lot of good, classic movies..we would usually go to the theater or rent new releases. So..my dear husband has been opening up a whole new world to me! I have finally seen: The original Star Wars, Karate Kid I and II, Godfather and Godfather II, 300(amazing!!), Contact, and Braveheart. On my list to watch are Meet me in St. Louis, Roman Holiday,Changeling, and The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

As many of you know, I absolutely love cooking and baking. And I have the best husband because he honestly loves about 99% of everything I make. Our kitchen is tiny-consisting of one large and one small burner that barely fits two pans on it simultaneously, one small toaster oven, and a microwave. Luckily I stay motivated to try new recipes and don't let this deter me in any way. The fresh open markets here are amazing and inexpensive..so I have fun shopping and loading up on tons of fresh veggies and fruits for almost no money! I make a lot of stir-fries using carrots, zucchini, bell pepper, hot peppers, onion, garlic, chicken or tofu, sesame oil and soy sauce..and Zack and I could probably eat that every day, but I try to be more creative most days. Meat here is pretty pricey, so we stock up on chicken from Costco, and I buy tofu now because it's ridiculously cheap. We recently bought a small crockpot from Costco and we both LOVE it. Whatever you put in it will be so juicy and tender in 6-8 hours! Our favorite is just frozen chicken,a jar of salsa, and if you have it..some sour cream at the very end..and voila! A delicious chicken salsa mixture to put in a tortilla or on rice.

Baking is a bit more challenging because I only have a tiny toaster oven...but I still make cookies, even if it takes 5 hours because I can only bake 4 at a time! It's well worth it. I definitely miss my Kitchen Aid stand mixer..but my cookies turn out just fine using a wooden spoon and some arm strength. I'd like to start baking bread, and I think I will try regardless of my oven size. Tiny loaves of bread will be cute, right? Big loaves of bread get stale and moldy faster too..so small is better! If you need some baking (and cooking) motivation, check out these blogs. These women are incredible, and it makes me wish I could just bake all day. Which I would definitely do if I had a regular oven! www.joythebaker.com, www.smittenkitchen.com, and www.bakingbites.com.

I love listening to music (Martin Sexton, Lisa Hannigan, Death Cab for Cutie, Spoon, Feist, and anything jazz), but lately I've been listening to a lot of podcasts, especially on the bus and when I go for walks around campus. My favorites are: How Stuff Works, Stuff You Missed in History Class, Radio Lab and This American Life. I really like Stuff You Missed in History Class because it's easy to follow, most of them are around 20 minutes long and you learn something! :) Radio Lab comes in at #2 favorite. They cover things like Laughter, Choice, Deception, Race, Love..it's really fun to listen to and it's very eye opening and it makes you think. Their website describes Radio Lab as one big investigation around one "big idea," those being what I listed above. So..it can be interesting and informative at the same time.

Another fun thing to do is collect "EngRish."  It's basically poorly translated English..and you can find it anywhere..on T-shirts, store signs, food packaging, appliances, almost anywhere. It's fun and hilarious to me and Zack. Here is an example.

The viewer is to find

say trying

no create

we try to humanise them

just whell

So..after exercising, reading, knitting, baking, cooking, cleaning and an occasional lunch date with a friend, Zack and I have a nice dinner together and curl up on the couch and watch movies...and on the nice weekend nights we hang out with other professors and their families on their patio and enjoy the nice summer nights with good food and drinks.

Sorry this was so long..but I hope this helps you to get a better idea of how I spend my time here in lovely Korea. I still don't miss working (sorry Oz!! ) and I am having the time of my life!