Annyoung

Leaving Korea in around 12 hours from now after over nine years living here. It feels very surreal. In the last few days, I have not sat down to rest until after Grace is sleeping. There was more I wanted to do before I left, but obviously there is no time left. I even forgot to make a few phone calls to friends today to say good-bye. I was literally going non-stop. At one point, I even had to send Sejin out to the store with Grace so that I could pack a few things. Grace kept getting in my business, taking things out of boxes and suitcase, and driving me mad. As I type this, it is 9:45 pm and she is still awake, singing in her bedroom, and we have to be up at 5am. What a journey it's going to be.

I likely will not get to post here for a little while, but I will be back. I'm going to give this blog a facelift and will hopefully have some fun stories to tell as we settle into a whole new life. Wish us luck!

Breaking down

Both me and everything in my house. Last night I slept a grand total of 2 hours...from 7am-9am. I have so much on my mind that it is preventing me from sleeping. At around 6am this morning I decided that something has to give -- I cannot possibly crank out nearly 200 pages of workbook material for P publisher and a student book for D publisher, plus pack up my apartment, tend to last minute things, see friends, etc, in 20 days. Not physically possible. So I emailed D publisher and apologized and recommended a friend. I felt relieved enough to sleep for two hours. When I got up, I had received an email back saying basically 'No, you can do it! We can do it together!' It's nice that they want to work with me, but they don't seem to understand that I cannot clone myself to get to the work done. (Side note: I originally turned down this contract because I knew I would be too busy at this time, but received several emails begging me to accept. Lesson learned: obey your first instincts. I'm so easy pressured into things.)

Anyway, I got up, had a bite of pastry that husband had picked up at a local bakery and got a long dark hair in my mouth (definitely not mine or SJs...long, dark, Asian, probably female). That was nice. Opened the freezer to find that everything is thawed out -- chicken, pork, shrimp, all the soups I had separated and froze. Freezer's broken. It seems things have been breaking down all the time around here. Our lamp is making really weird noises, our oven doesn't work propery, and Grace broke her bedroom lamp/nightlight. I'm really trying hard not to buy much before we go. Freezer guy is coming tomorrow, and I really hope I don't have to pay much for 20 days more worth of usage.

So it's been a bit of a rough week as I realized I have waaaay more to do than I thought I did. I'm waiting for a reply back from D publisher since I emailed her again and explained that this project probably won't work out. Usually she is very prompt, so I bet she is discussing the matter with her boss to see about moving the deadlines.
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Just received email back as I was typing this, and I was right, she was talking with her boss, and they have agreed to delay the deadline by a month. This might be for the best, as the paycheck might be very welcome come fall.
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So that's all with me. I'm feeling stressed and sluggish from not sleeping well. I'm upset with P publisher for dragging this project out so long, but I must buckle down and finish it, hopefully within a week and a half.

Also important to me is seeing my friends before I leave Korea, which is proving more difficult than I thought. Everyone has busy schedules, most not quite as flexible as mine. I hope to see some people this week between writing.

Grace has been very happy since recovering from her illness. She was excited to go to daycare today to celebrate two of her friends' birthdays. She has been very well-behaved in general these days (in contrast to about a month ago). It seems everything comes and goes in phases with children.

Happy Canada Day!

Yep, still here

I do have online time in the evenings after Grace goes to bed, but I have not had the energy to post here. I think that will change once work gets done and we actually make the move. I'm a little overwhelmed right now with all that needs to be done. I've been trying to see as many friends as possible before I go, keep up with work, pack, and devote some time to planning my future. I also set aside a little bit of time for reading/crafting...but lately I have no time at all for that.

On top of all this craziness, last week Grace came down sick with hand, foot, and mouth disease...a bit of a tough case, too. She was in a lot of pain and couldn't eat for several days. I had to feed her liquids with a medicine syringe, and even that was painful for her. The week was tough. It was all the more stressful because during the week I received emails from two publishers requesting materials, that I admit, were overdue. I had no way of catching up on this work while nursing Grace to health, so just had to do some deep breathing and finally, the week came to an end. Grace has recovered and is making up for lost time by acting sillier than ever. I'm happy to see her so happy, but I'm itching to get to work tomorrow and get caught up with things.

That's where we stand. Departure is July 21 and I am very nervous. I have an incredibly long list of things to do before we go including finishing entire books, packing and shipping our belongings, and wrapping up countless last minute things. It would help if husband were around more to help, but unfortunately he's a slave to his job and has been working 7 days a week. This leaves me almost like a single mom at times and is pretty frustrating. But we keep positive and remind ourselves that that's what this move is all about.

Grace is recovered and back to making a mess.

In the Know Mom giveaway

In the Know Mom is giving away two huge gallery wraps from Mpix.com. My chances are slim, but why not? I won a giveaway recently (some Sarah Gardner textures), so who knows, maybe my luck is changing. I get an extra entry by blogging about it here, so sorry if you're disappointed in this post. Maybe you should head over and enter....

Still around

CedarBough was kind enough to nudge me the other day on facebook about not blogging in a long time. I haven't felt much like blogging, probably because I'm kind of busy. This is what I've been up to these days.We finally mailed SJ's immigration application and now I've moved on to packing, which inevitably involves cleaning and organizing. I'm trying to get as much packing and shipping done in the next couple of weeks before work starts up again.

Grace has been doing well. I can't believe how much she's growing and maturing. It's fun to watch. Today she went number one on the potty at daycare, and number two on the potty at home. To other moms reading this, you know how exciting this is. I swore the last time I ordered diapers that it would be the last delivery. I hope that's the truth! We also found out through a blood test that she is allergic to dust mites, so she was on medication for a while, and now I'm trying to keep the house as dust free as possible (which is difficult here).

I doubt I'll be posting too much in the next couple of months, but I plan to give the blog an overhaul soon and regular posting will resume, hopefully with more exciting updates as we basically start new lives in Canada. So don't delete me from your blog list just yet!

I just spent all afternoon cooking healthy foods to get me through the weekend. Something snapped in me yesterday and I realized how unhealthy I am getting. I excercised and I'm incredibly sore today. But the pain will pass and I'm pretty confident that I am finally in the right state of mind to work towards bcoming healthier through exercise and healthier eating. Hopefully I can shed a few pounds before heading home.

Speaking of heading home, we are finally done translating documents. All that is left to do is for SJ to get his medical exam, I will edit all the applications and documents once more, I need some photos (proof of our relationship) developed, and then we can stick it in the mail along with a money order of $1000. That will hurt. But it will still be a good day. At that point I will also start looking at plane tickets. It's very exciting, although I think it will turn scary once we land in Canada and think... now what?

Thank you, Uniqlo

If you don't know, Uniqlo is a Japanese clothing brand with several stores across Korea. There just happens to be one in Uijeongbu of all places. I went there today on a mission, in search of some new clothing for myself. I've been wearing the same two pairs of jeans forever because they are the only ones that fit me. I thought Uniqlo must have something.

Well, I was wrong. 99% of the pants did not fit me, and the pairs that did fit sure did not accentuate what should have been accentuated. In the fitting room, I saw myself for the first time up close in a full length mirror in about three years.

So, thank you, Uniqlo... You have truly motivated me to get off my butt and finally lose 20 pounds.

Grace thanks Uniqlo, too, because she got some awfully cute dresses, leggings, and a skirt. We all came away with something today.

Ever feel like

Ever feel like people think of you at the same time? I was thinking some time last week, gosh, I guess those Korean publishers I used to work with found other good writers. They used to be knocking down my door and they haven't contacted me in months now. I am not joking, but the next day I got emails from two publishers proposing projects. Plus an old Korean friend called me. Weird. Anyway, the good news is these publishers are willing to work with me even if I'm in Canada. I'm so relieved to hear that because that means I will have some sort of income, although small and sporadic, while I'm getting settled. I have a feeling this move is going to cost much much more than I'm anticipating.

Speaking of the move, the applications are officially DONE. Documents are a problem because SJ needs to gather them all from the gov't offices/police station/hospital and then he must translate them (I was very happy to hear that he was allowed to translate them!).

In other news, I've been coke-free for over a week now. I'm also trying to cut down on the junk I eat in general, so I guess I can call it a diet. I'm going to weigh myself every Monday and record it on the calendar. I would really love to get to pre-Grace weight one day.

I'm two days behind in the knit/crochet blogging week, but I'm going to catch up. I just don't have to energy to think of much, look for photos, etc right now. I had a very long day with my Grace today and just need to rest.

A Tale of Two Yarns

I totally forgot that knitting and crochet blog week started today! If you want to participate, see Eskimimi's site. It is appropriate that this event starts today, because I just entered my 100th project into Ravelry, and I'm pretty proud about that.

So now I have to throw together a post without much thought. The prompt is to write about two yarns you've used or want to use and what you love or hate about them.

Unfortunately for my readers, I mainly use yarns available to me at the wholesalers in Korea, so you will not have heard of them. Well, that's not entirely true. Once in a while you can find recognizable brands at the wholesalers. If you want imported yarn brands, you can try My Knit Studio in Insa-dong. She has gorgeous yarns that I simply can't afford right now. She also carries a wide range of English knitting books and magazines. It's a fun place to check out!

I got off track. For me, it's the wholesalers. I like being overwhelmed by the sheer variety literally towering over me. And part of me likes the hunt for a good yarn that no one else has heard about. But then there is also that part of me that gets frustrated that I can't just go out and get the yarn others are using for a pattern I'm considering. At the end of the day, I like the hunt and using unknown brands has probably improved my understanding of yarn qualities and guage and that sort of thing. Check out this picture taken on Saturday at the wholesalers. There are hundreds of vendors crammed into the basement of a huge textiles complex. I love it!Anyway, a yarn that comes to mind that most knitters have heard of is Noro Silk Garden, actually one of the most popular yarns on Ravelry. I had really wanted to try this yarn and saw it at My Knit Studio for around 15,000 won per ball at the time (here it is in her store for 19,000 won! Holy smokes!). That's expensive. One day while leisurely strolling through the wholesalers in Dongdaemun I came across a vendor near the back of the complex selling that very yarn. Out of curiousity, I asked how much. The man thought to himself and said 70,000 won. He was holding a bag of 10 balls. I said I'd buy it for 65,000 won and the deal was done. So, each ball ran me only 6,500 won (currently, that's around $5.83) -- possibly the deal of the century. I still have not knit up that bag... it's kind of precious to me since I know the amazing deal I got. I knit my sister a scarf with it, and I crocheted myself a skinny scarf and I still have 5 or 6 balls left. It's lovely to knit or crochet with, and who can resist those slow colour changes?Recently I bought a novelty yarn. Don't judge. My idea was to knit a sort of mini blanket with it for a photographer to use in a newborn shoot. I see these types of props used all the time. Only thing is, now that I've finished the wee blanket, I don't want to part with it. I found the bag of 8 balls (for 10,000 won) in a cardboard box at the wholesalers. Talk about great deals. Regarding the quality of the yarn, it's ... different. I haven't used a novelty yarn in a long, long time. Actually, it is difficult to knit with, but it knits up so fast that you get over that. I knit up all 8 balls in two evenings. The finished blanket feels like a fluffy sheep, and it should since it's almost pure wool.I have one other memorable experience down in the depths of the giant textiles complex. I was looking for laceweight wool for shawl knitting. Koreans don't seem to be big on laceweight so I couldn't find much. I found some 100% cobweb wool on a huge spool which is actually supposed to be used on a machine. The seller got quite a kick out of my interest in a 2 pound spool of wool. Anyway, I got the thing for 20,000 won and it should take me about 15 years to knit this up. I think I've said this several times in this blog, but I love Dongdaemun!So, that was actually a tale of three yarns, so shoot me. And it was more about shopping than yarn qualities, but perhaps that part appeals to me more. Hopefully my other posts won't be as garbled as this one.

There will be six more fibre-related posts coming your way, so stay tuned.

On our way, sort of

Still doing immigration paperwork stuff. Filling in applications is mostly done. But now comes the really crappy part...the document gathering phase. There is a long list of documents we have to gather, and some must be translated. This will suck.

But at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Before the task seemed so huge and daunting. Now I see that we will be finished all this sooner than later, and then I can actually look at plane tickets and escape here before the summer heat arrives.