this week

Happy Friday!

This week I resolved to be super-productive, creating to-do lists and prioritizing my scheduled activities.  I really need to learn some major time management skills. I read in an article this week that people who are harder on themselves for setbacks and minor failures tend to do worse than they otherwise would have.  For example, those who condemn themselves for credit card debt may end up accumulating more credit card debt, or those who are kicking themselves for breaking a diet end up binging more.

I think this can apply to my productivity.  When I don't get a lot accomplished for my studies and fall back on work, I end up being more lazy and procrastinating even more.  I think it's to avoid the feeling of failure (and anger at myself) at the overwhelming work ahead of me. 

Anyways, some random pics from this week:

  

Traded in my gray Hunters for black, loving the shorter Huntress version.  My previous boots were so high that they dug into the back of my knees.  I didn't want to buy the kids' versions, which some other petites recommend to do, since I wasn't a fan of the shiny safety patches on the back.  I also sized down this time, these boots run so big!
Bought a leather crossbody bag; a must for hands-free grocery shopping and running errands in Germany, where I walk everywhere.

Huntress Boots | Fossil Leather Crossbody

Accessories for the week

Nails are Rival de Loop, a drug store brand in Germany.  Comes in so many pretty colors and only 1.99 euro!  I like it better than my OPI for Sephora and Essie brands; it layers much smoother, in my opinion.  

Red nails for Valentine's Day

This week I had my first Valentine's Day as a wife, but sadly, my husband and I had to wish each other a happy Valentine's Day over skype.  :(

Valentine's Day isn't as a big a holiday in Germany, and a few weeks ago my hubby was venting how he thinks Valentine's Day is a commercial holiday exploiting couples and making single people feel depressed.  I was a bit bummed when he was saying this, since I still like Valentine's Day, so I pointed out the story of the Catholic martyr Saint Valentine that is believed to be associated with this day.

Me: But don't you want to have one day in the year where we can celebrate our love for each other and go out and do something romantic and sweet?

Hubby: If you want to settle for that...

oh... good answer :)

On Tuesday, I woke up that morning feeling sadder than I thought I would be and missing hubby so much, but this package cheered me up.  

Flowers and chocolates

Can't believe we've already been married for almost 10 months.  The time really flies.

Winter in Europe

As soon as I finished my semester, I flew back to Cologne to be with my husband this winter.  It was our first Christmas and New Year's as newlyweds, and we drove to Paris (~4.5 hours) after Christmas and flew to Berlin after New Year's for some short getaways.
The holidays in Europe is lovely.  My husband thinks that Christmas and New Year's are not as big a deal as in America, and that might be true, but I was gushing over the sparkling lights and decorations in downtown Cologne.  And Paris was another whole story.. so exquisite.  :)

I flew back to DC at the end of January, and once again, saying goodbye at the airport was heartbreaking.  I cried throughout the plane ride home; when I woke up from a long sleep and realized I wasn't with E, I started quietly sobbing again.  The next time we're planning to see each other is in May (~94 days from today..)  I have to say, being in a long-distance marriage is so hard.  I always feel sorry for us, that we're missing out on our first Valentine's Day, birthday, and wedding anniversary as a married couple.  We're both praying to be strong during this time, to cherish the time we have apart and to do what we can to maintain closeness and communication even while separated.

Anyways, here are some random photos from my iPhone:

Christmasmarkt near the Cologne Dom.  The lights were so lovely.
Reminded me of the movie Tangled :)

These are unedited photos straight from my iPhone.
The Eiffel Tower really is this stunning and beautiful.

CLASSY McDonald's in Paris

Montmartre

Avenue des Champs Élysées

Our apartment-style hotel in Berlin.
Small, modern, reasonably priced

Weather was gloomy, so we hit up the Berlin Aquarium

Mongolian BBQ, with all kinds of meat for grilling,
including kangaroo and shark

Christmas gift from my sister
Personalized heart mugs (notice my name is written in pink:)

Lessons

I can't believe it's already been six months.  Marriage has been an incredible time, more than I could have ever imagined. :) 
We received a lot of marital advice from various people before marriage, but most of it seemed really abstract and theoretical during our engagement period.   "Don't have too many/too high/any expectations!"  "Remember, the only person you can change is yourself!"  "Marriage is work!"
Since we're still newlywed novices, we haven't yet gone through some of the experiences that other married couples have told us about. 

But after marriage and living together, you do learn a thing or two about yourself and each other. Below are some of the simple lessons I've learned.  Sorry if they might sound cliche and stereotypical, but in our experience, these are some of the words that have rang true for us.
What would you add to the list?

1)  Men are fairly simple and easy to please.  Women are not.
2)  Open and honest communication is important... but timing, tone, and choice of words are important too.
3)  It's true what my pastor's wife said shortly before our wedding.. "Men never remember.. women never forget."
4)  A home-cooked meal goes a long way (see #1)  I really think food is the universal male love language.  It's so funny the positive impact that good food has for the hubby.
5)  Romance goes way beyond chocolate, gifts, and flowers.  It's sweet to notice and appreciate the little, unconventional, romantic things you do for each other.




6) You're not always going to be the rational, calm, level-headed person you want to be.  Factor in stress, sleep deprivation, or PMS (female or male PMS, yes I do kinda think it exists), and you've got one moody spouse.  In those cases, the voice of reason is still there (including that archive of all that grand marriage advice you accumulated), but you just don't care. What I love about my hubby is that he has a gift for encouraging me and calming me down, even when I know I'm being completely irrational.  At that moment, he doesn't try to prove himself right, isn't dismissive of my feelings, and doesn't lecture me with logical counterarguments.  Instead, he listens, tries to understand, and does his best to comfort me.  His loving and patient response sometimes catches me off-guard, because I'm expecting him to treat me the way I deserve.. but I hope I can treat him and others with this kind of grace.
7) Living together also allows you to learn from each other's strengths.  I've learned from E's patience, loyalty to his friends, respect towards his parents, and generally accepting nature towards all kinds of people.
8) Genuine words of encouragement can really lift up your loved one's spirits.. and negative words can have the exact opposite effect.
9) Give each other the benefit of the doubt...
10) ..But don't dwell when things don't go exactly the way you want or expect.
11) Praying together and for each other is so important.
12) Thankfulness is one essential part of being happy.  Thankfulness to God, appreciation of each other, and a sense of gratitude for the people around you who have supported both you and your spouse.

Our case is unusual because we're doing the long-distance, international marriage.  A few people have asked us how we're able to survive, being newlyweds.  It is really hard.  :(  There were times where I thought, I would do anything to find a flight to Germany right now.  Maybe one day I'll write a post on our experience in a long-distance marriage.  For now, all I can say is that I just want to be thankful.

Married life is sweet. <3
(and thank God for skype).

Happy anniversary love~

New blog and Photo overload

New name, new blog!
I'm hoping I can use this blog to write and post pics and keep in touch with friends and family, especially since they're scattered all over the place now.. And it'll give me a good excuse to procrastinate in the middle of studying.  :)

I don't have much to say for now, so I'll just present a photo overload.
Some highlights from this year:

I got married!

One of our photobook pages.  Layout and photography by Jun Kyeung Photography

Lived in Germany for the summer.  I love how easy it is to country-hop in Europe.  The Netherlands is about a 2 hour drive from our home in Cologne, and Paris is about 5 hour drive!  It's like driving to Philadelphia or NYC from my home in Washington.. although gas is more than double the price in Europe.

Cologne and Kaub | Germany

Made a day trip to visit Amsterdam.

Went to Budapest, Hungary for E's work trip

Went to Alicante, Spain for our honeymoon. 
Alicante is a quiet beach town with beautiful beaches, warm and friendly people, and delicious food!