久々！

Oh dear, it's been so long since I last posted. I'm still here, I'm OK, really! The past few weeks have just been super busy, finishing up the semester and fussing with visa documents and whatnot. I've also been a little down, really coming to terms with this being my last semester of school for a while. I'm hoping to take my last two M.A. courses online somehow next spring. I want to finish the Ph.D. as well, but the M.A. is my priority right now because I'm *this* close. It's really been bittersweet finishing this semester. Of course there's the rush of turning in final papers and doing presentations, but also that realization... I've been trying to enjoy it as much as I can since it may well be the last time I have this experience. Even so, it was hard to enjoy having to do a 25-minute presentation on experimental methods of vocabulary retention in the second language, haha! The neat thing is that I got to draft a research proposal as part of the presentation, so if I do go on for the Ph.D., I'll already have the layout of a study to conduct for a conference presentation paper. Someday. きっとできる。

K and I also went to a beautiful beach that we'd never been to before. South Carolina is so amazing in that regard-- there are so many amazing beaches just waiting to be discovered, but there are also great mountain hiking trails in the opposite direction. When we come back from Korea eventually, I really hope we can come back to SC. Anyway, we had a wonderful time, and the water was even warm enough to swim in already! The only unfortunate thing was that we didn't wait long enough for the sunscreen to soak in, so both of us got a little sunburnt on our backs. Ouch! But there are lots of outlet shops in the area, so we indulged in a tiny bit of retail therapy to ease the pain..hehe...

I love the beach!

It's my goal to enjoy my country as much as possible before I leave this summer. We don't have tons of extra money to spend, but I can at least share pictures of some of my favorite places around here on my blog. I know I gush about SC a lot, but it's just so nice! Ok ok, so we have a really high unemployment rate, and a relatively high poverty rate, and most SC drivers seem to have gotten their licenses in Happy Meals, but if you overlook the negatives--just like with any place-- there are plenty of things to love. Like, a month ago the city seemed to be covered in wisteria, which has since disappeared, but now honeysuckle has taken its place. It's already hotter than Hades down here, but it's so nice to step outside and smell honeysuckle in the day, and night-blooming jasmine at night. There is nothing like the scent of summer in South Carolina.

For today I'm enjoying a cup of dark-roast coffee with honey. It's my new favorite treat!! It's especially fun to sip it from our new antique cups and saucers. We've built up quite a hodge-podge of mismatched antique English china now, I just love the effect. Someday I want to decorate part of my house in old English cottage style. What do you think? Do you like coffee with honey?

I'll just keep it to myself in the sun

I LOVE this shirt! I know there are boyfriend jeans, so since this is oversized and soft just like boyfriend jeans, could it be a boyfriend shirt? Well, with the crochet detail, maybe not. Still... super comfy and perfect for these warm spring days.

I also love wearing my hair like this when I'm busy and I don't want my hair getting all sweaty on my neck. TMI? Sorry. Hey, it's hot down here. In fact, my city's slogan is "Famously Hot." Yes, I'm serious. And yes, I think it's incredibly corny.

I'm so excited about this weekend because it's K's birthday and to celebrate we're going to the beach! Of course the water is still probably too cold to swim, but hanging out at the beach is so nice anyway. Plus, we're gonna be super hip and go to Medieval Times. What, that's corny too? I guess this place has rubbed off on me. Personally I'm totally looking forward to eating chicken without a fork and watching jousting, and you cannot convince me that there's a better way to de-stress before finals.

I hope you all will enjoy your weekend too!

top - Belk / jeans - dunno, old / sandals - Payless

Purple Kinda Day

Here's my latest handmade dress! I used an airy linen blend for it. I thought it would be a nice contrast with the retro-inspired shape of it.

Let me just tell you, this pattern was NOT the easiest thing I've ever worked with. I can't believe the dress even came out, I thought the stupid pattern was cursed. The first time I bought it, I took it home only to find that someone had already cut out the skirt pieces and taken them! (?!) Honestly, who DOES that? Then, when I tried to return it, I got Customer Service Lady from Hell who literally, I kid you not, got right in my face and yelled at me for trying to return it and told me she wouldn't do an exchange, but would only give me a gift card worth 50% of the lowest price they've ever had for that pattern. I think there's just something about my face that says "Be mean to me! I'm a wimp!" cause K was with me and he said he'd never seen such nasty people who are supposedly in customer service. Unfortunately it happens to me all the time. That's OK, I found out the name of the store manager and reported her, and then took the pattern to another store of the same chain which happily (and politely) gave me an even exchange.

Then, it seemed like every time I wanted to start cutting the pattern out, something stupid happened and I had to take care of that instead. Once everything was cut out, I started doing well, and then got confused and accidentally sewed the back to the front backwards. So I'm shocked that it even turned out looking like a dress at all, even if it is rather large in the chest area. Although, truth be told, I have that issue with a lot of clothes -_-***

The cats kept creeping into the shots today. How come when I want to take a picture of them they run away or look stupid, but when I don't, they're suddenly all photo-happy??

Then K got creative and started playing with some filters on my camera, hahaha.

The other night, K made some of his yummy pizza from scratch! Hand-made pizza crust just beats the pants off of any frozen or restaurant pizza that I've ever had. We topped them with leftover summer squash and eggplant, and K put some cottage cheese on his. Doesn't it look tasty?

Right now I'm finishing up coursework for the semester, ugh. That last rush and flurry of activity before exams is getting more and more annoying. In the meantime, we're gathering our visa documents for the move to Korea. I had forgotten what a hassle applying for visas is, oy. I think we're on track, though. Mine are mostly together and K's are getting there too. One step closer!

And now, I leave you with a picture of Boscoe, debuting his lovely new tie from Target. Very chic, no?

dress - me! / tights - Steinmart sale $6 / shoes - Target

Stripes and fences

I haven't gotten my hair thinned in almost a year now, and it's really starting to show! I've been letting it dry naturally lately so it's super wavy. I used to hate it like this, but I've learned to embrace it.

It's much cooler outside today, but dark clouds are rolling in and K just told me there's a tornado watch. Hurrah! At least I won't be tempted to blow off my work to go outside, right?

I love love LOVE this oversized top. I have a feeling I'll be getting a lot of use out of it this summer.

My total cost for this outfit is around $70 including shoes and accessories. It's a little higher than I like to go, but the jeans were only $20 and I've had them since 2006. Not a bad buy, huh?

By the way, thanks again for all the kind comments and e-mails. Even though I've never met most of you personally, it's still nice to know that people are kind enough to drop a little note. I am truly excited about the move to Korea. I'm starting to prepare mentally and make all the necessary arrangements. I'd much rather do all of that with plenty of time to spare. I am soooo not a last-minute person when it comes to things like this. As part of my mental preparation, I think I should visit my favorite local Korean restaurant more often. Which means lots and lots of bibimbap in the coming months. Hey, it's a sacrifice I guess I'll just have to make ;)

top: JC Penney / necklace: JC Penney / jeans: Filene's / sandals: Target

Endings and Beginnings

Today is Easter, which is of course a Christian holiday, but also falls around the same time as many non-Christian spring and fertility celebrations. This time of year is all about new beginnings and hope. That makes it just slightly easier to deal with all of the changes that I've been dealt.

I don't like to put too many personal details on this blog, but it's going to become obvious that something is different over the summer. No, I'm not pregnant, thank goodness.

The story started over winter break when I was in Okinawa for a research field trip to gather information for my thesis, which was mostly written at that point. My thesis director informed me, out of the blue, that I hadn't gotten approval from some board that was necessary for working with humans subjects, even though all I wanted to do was interview them and I had already asked many people who had agreed to participate-- most of whom, I might add, were very enthusiastic about my project. She told me that since this wasn't done, that I was not to conduct any interviews because even if I did, the board wouldn't- and she wouldn't- let me use them to finish my thesis. No matter that I had funded the whole thing on my own dime since I could not get funding from the school because of budget cuts. She said I would go back the following year, and there was plenty of time since I am now a Ph.D. candidate anyway.

I was set to graduate with my M.A. and TESOL certificate this May until that point, which was the track my director had put me on. I had been doing my program for the past year and a half with a part-time assistantship, no tuition waiver, and working an additional part-time job to make ends meet while taking a full schedule. Even when I was admitted as a Ph.D. candidate in the fall, I was not offered additional funding. And since I've already taken out the maximum amount of student loans that my university approves for graduate students (which is much lower than the government has approved me to borrow, but that's beside the point), after this semester school is not an option for me. Especially in light of K's hours getting cut at work due to the lovely economy.

Since winter break, I've been grappling with the fact that I will not be graduating this year or possibly ever since grad school credits are only good for a few years, even though my GPA is 3.85 and I graduated from undergrad with a 3.88 and from high school with a 3.9. Not to mention volunteer work, clubs, and working part-time and summers during those times. Sorry, but it's hard not to be bitter about it.

K and I have thought long and hard about what we can possibly do since his job seems to be little more than a sinking ship and I can't find any full-time positions that pay more than minimum wage in our area, and forget about benefits. Gardening is really therapeutic in times like this.

Well, we came to a decision about what we should try to do. We've been working on it for the past couple of months, and now it seems that the wheels are definitely in motion. Here it is.

This summer, K and I are moving to South Korea.

The best jobs that we can find are in Korea. Pretty amazing, huh? Well, at least it will be a great adventure. I'm excited and nervous and scared and happy all at once. This is the second time in my life that I'll have moved abroad. I'm so happy that this time I won't be alone. It'll be so much fun to explore a new place with K. 

I'm hoping that in a couple of years I can save up enough money to come back and finish the last 6 credit hours of my M.A., or even try to do it from a distance while still in Korea. It's not an ideal situation, I know. But this is the best financial move that we can make right now. And I'm trying to make the best of it. I mean, I love Korean food, Japan is just a stone's throw from Korea, and I get to learn a new language! (Yes, that's a positive for a linguistics nerd like me :) )

This week we're starting the process of gathering visa documents. Just about four months to go at this point. So if you've ever been to Korea or know much about it, I'm open to any and all advice!

In the meantime, check out some of the steals I found at Easter weekend sales. Were the sales not amazing this year?!

Definitely minimal hair, makeup, and even clothing today-- 91 on Easter, good lord! Sorry if my pasty skin offends you :)

Total cost of this outfit: $40. Love it!!

By the way, my city is covered in wisteria these days. It's so beautiful! I've never lived anywhere else where it grows wild everywhere. It smells like heaven in the evening. Is your city or town in full bloom too?

romper - New York & Co. / sandals - Payless / necklace - JC Penney

Hitchin' a ride

Except for the time I accidentally hitch-hiked, this is the closest I've come to nabbing a ride with a stranger. What, you don't believe you can hitch-hike on accident? Trust me, it can be done.

Just kidding! About trying to hitch today, I mean. I really did accidentally hitch-hike once. True story.

How amazing is this mural? One of the things I love about this city is the random murals around town. This one has a special paint so that in the evening it looks like the sunset in it is glowing!

Another hot day today- 91! Summer really has come all at once. I was really happy I decided to buy this lightweight top last summer. It made it a little easier to deal with having to wear pants to cover the last of the bites...yucky.

Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy the weekend and Easter~

top - Forever21 / pants - New York & Company / bag - Target

shoes - Ito Yokado (Japan) / sunglasses - Filene's Basement

Ants in my pants

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. Yes, the weather has been gorgeous, and spring is really and truly here. Maybe even summer, since it's supposed to be 88 tomorrow. I've been slightly incapacitated for most of this week. You see, last weekend was also really nice, and I decided to go out in the yard and sit on the grass. Of course there are a lot of dead leaves and old grass under the new growth, and I was getting a little itchy sitting there, so I got up and walked around instead. After a few moments, though, I realized I couldn't stop scratching my legs. I thought that there must have been some unusually scratchy plant remains there. When I looked down, I saw that my legs were covered in big bright pink welts. Let me tell you, not a pretty color on me. I figured I must have sat in some poison-ivy-like plant or something, put some Calamine lotion on it, and try to go about my day. I didn't get too far, because soon after that it turned into blisters. Some swelling, pain, and a trip to urgent care later, I found myself taking 9 pills' worth of antibiotics per day for an infection caused by fire ant bites.

Yippy skippy!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, one of the biggest hazards of living in my beloved South Carolina is fire ants. I thought I was an old pro at avoiding them, but the sneaky bastards were under the dead growth. Evidently, they didn't like my thighs crushing them on their scouting missions. So, I've been kinda out of commission this week. It's getting better, but having to wake up at 2:00 and 6:00 to take pills is getting old really quick!

I felt bad that I had to cancel my lessons on Monday, but today my students gave me "o-mimai"-- a get-well gift!

In this case, the o-mimai is this adorable box of bunny cookies! I was so touched! (And the cookies are mighty tasty to boot!)

I also received an Easter-basket-by-mail from my mom. She loves Easter, and we always went all out when we were kids. We even had an Easter tree. K looked confused when I said this. Was my family the only one to do such a thing?

Look at all that loot! She even put some flower bulbs in there for our little patio garden. I'll make sure to wear pants and rubber boots when I go out to plant them.....

Better updates to come soon, I promise!