No, this post is not about the weather! :) What this post IS about is this strange pattern I see show up year after year in January! Here’s what it looks like. January (and the lead up to it in December) always start off with a bang. I spend hours reflecting, getting inspired and...
Sarah Novak
I think one of the coolest ‘take aways’ from our time in Manila is an honest-to-goodness appreciation of the concept LESS IS MORE. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve known that saying for a long, long time but never really understood it in the profound way I do now. You...
In accepting this cancer work, I knew that facing loss was part of the deal . . . although part of me was hoping I wouldn’t have to deal with it so soon. Sadly, I lost my first cancer client last night at 6:55 PM. And even though I mentally prepared for that moment, it still hit...
Hi All- One of my favorite annual traditions is to reflect on the year I’m finishing and set some intentions for the year ahead. This year I happened to stumble across a really great tool that is facilitating the process for me. Â It’s an online writing initiative titled...
I jumped out of bed this morning, eager to get online and see what replies had come in response to my first foray at putting myself out there as a cancer coach on some public forums. I had spent a long time crafting a thoughtful discussion item that I hoped would both incite conversation...
I know we’re new to this Foreign Service thing, but I have a hard time imagining that we’re going to find household staff in other countries that love and care for us as warmly as Norma and Rudy. I’m not lying, they feel like part of our family now and I’m going to...
On Monday we had the pleasure of taking Nick’s parents to Ocean Adventure in Subic Bay for an up-close-and-personal encounter with the dolphins. Nick and I did this back in May of 2010 and decided it was one of those must-do experiences for his parents. Boy oh boy did they love it...
Hi All- One of my favorite annual traditions is to reflect on the year I’m finishing and set some intentions for the year ahead. This year I happened to stumble across a really great tool that is facilitating the process for me. It’s an online writing initiative titled...
The night I had been waiting for months to arrive was finally upon us! After all the fundraising, all the wrapping and all the transporting, it was finally time to give out the gifts… and what a grand time we had folks! It’s impossible for me to describe the level of joy I...
WAHOOOOOO! Presents for Pinoys was a SMASHING SUCCESS! I will have lots and lots more photos for you tomorrow morning, but bed is calling my name right now. More later… In the meantime, check out what your generous donations bought for the kids! Every 9-11 year old girl got this:...
My expat friend Naomi over at DelhiBound wrote a fantastic post that caught my eye this week. It captured the Expat experience so brilliantly that I thought I’d share an excerpt from it. A Little Background Information: Naomi and her family have just arrived back home in Kansas and...
So as you all know if you read my REVERB post, INSPIRED ACTION is my theme for 2011. I’m done doing things because I should and am doing what moves me instead. Here’s a little tune I’ve chosen as my theme song for the year – I know it will bring me back to task...
Hi All- One of my favorite annual traditions is to reflect on the year I’m finishing and set some intentions for the year ahead. This year I happened to stumble across a really great tool that is facilitating the process for me. It’s an online writing initiative titled...
I am well aware of the fact that I talk about my undergrad Alma Maters frequently. And some of you may even be thinking, jeez, why doesn’t she just move on from college and embrace her adult life. And I probably would … if I had gone to a ‘normal’ school. But quite...
It seems fitting that a monstrous snowstorm took out the Metrodome’s roof. I wonder if that’ll be the end of the Vikings playing there??
Seriously, watch this clip, it is mind-blowing to see the power of mother nature!
Today was our annual Holiday party with the kids from Friendship Home. Each year we take them out to do something ‘special’ during the holidays. In December of ’09, if you remember, we went to the IMAX. Well this year I thought we’d change it up from movies and do...
Well, it was a big day here in Manila… my elves and I wrapped nearly 100 presents in 4 hours time! If you’ve been reading my blog lately, you know that these presents are for the Presents for Pinoys Project that we’re doing this holiday season. I never should have...
Hi All- One of my favorite annual traditions is to reflect on the year I’m finishing and set some intentions for the year ahead. This year I happened to stumble across a really great tool that is facilitating the process for me. It’s an online writing initiative titled...
WE DID IT! Presents for Pinoys is fully funded with over $1000 being generously given by this blogging community! All I can say is WOW – I am humbled and totally in awe of how you stepped up to support this endeavor. Here’s an update on where we are with the project: The first...
If you paid close attention, you may have noticed that Sam Tsui is frequently shown in videos with his friend Kurt, who plays every instrument known to man. I came across this amusing video that Kurt did and couldn’t resist sharing it with you. Happy Monday! And do...
Until I have a kid of my own, I’ve officially adopted baby Leni as my surrogate daughter. In real life, she belongs to our good friends Andrea and Brian, who are also in the Foreign Service. Today we had the privilege of attending her 1st Birthday Party. I thought I’d share a...
I’m confident that if Sam knew about Presents for Pinoys, he’d support it too! :) Enjoy this week’s mashup.
After all sorts of moving around, Nick and I decided to base ourselves in Auckland for our final week. It’s been a nice change of pace, even though the lack of moving has made me a bit antsy. Our strategy for our time here has been to use Auckland as a base from which to take day...
My crazy travel schedule got me off my usual Thursday Sam postings. Since I’ve been missing him, I assume you have been too! Hope you enjoy this new duet “Just a Dream.”
I take risks in many ways in my life but the physical realm is not one of those areas. So you might imagine how out of place I felt in the Adventure Capital of New Zealand, beautiful Queenstown! Quite honestly, I have never seen more Northface-clad, dred-wearing, barefoot, care-free...
We had just wrapped up our stay at the B&B/Farm when Nick threw another surprise my way – he told me we’d be spending two nights in a private apartment on a vineyard in the Otago Valley! I’m sure you can imagine my delight… everything about it sounds romantic...
Although New Zealand food has been some of the most expensive I’ve ever paid for (thanks, in large part, to the falling price of the dollar) it is also the most consistently superb food I’ve ever had. Meal after meal is fresh, beautifully plated and scrum-diddily-umptious...
Nick put together a five minute video of our helicopter ride over the Glaciers in New Zealand. It’ll give you a better idea of what this majestic experience was like. Enjoy!
After we got done with our helicopter ride, we continued driving south to Fox Glacier where we had booked lodging at a 700 acre working farm/bed and breakfast called Clearwater B&B. We had never stayed in a B&B before and the fact that it was a farm made it all the more...
I know I said that sailing past the Sydney Opera House was as good as it gets, but I’m going to have to retract that because the last 24 hours topped it. This last day was out-of-this-universe good and it was all because of my fab husband, who put hours and hours of research into...
Finally got a chance to break in my new ZOOM lens that Nick got me for my birthday. It was a ton of fun to get so up-close-and-personal with the animals. Hope you enjoy the pics! Lots more on SMUGMUG.
After our patience-trying flight experience, we needed things to take a turn for the better. Thankfully, that’s exactly what we got. We arrived in Sydney and took a cab to Darlington, a suburb of Sydney where my high school friend Ann lives with her husband Will and daughter Freya...
This is one of the first Sam Tsui songs that got steady play on my IPOD. It’s called “Down” by Jay Sean. I think you’re going to love it as much as I do… did I mention it’s acoustic too?
Warning: This is not a standard Novakistan post! I’m hoping you won’t mind though, as I’d really love to get your initial impressions. Over the past few weeks I’ve been working with Sonia Miller of Surpass Your Limit on a Vision for my new coaching business...
Greetings all – We are T minus five days until our 23 day ‘rest and relaxation’ trip to New Zealand. Because we are at a hardship post (I know some of you would debate that, but I swear we are!) we are REQUIRED to leave the country once during our tour and spend some...
As many of you remember, last year was a VERY tough Christmas for me. After those challenging few days, Nick and I made a pact that we would change things up for Christmas 2010 to ensure we didn’t end up in the same predicament… To prevent further sadness, we are doing two...
Seriously, this is too good not to share. In case you missed it, on Thursday Oprah reunited the family Von Trapp for the 45th Anniversary of the movie’s release. I was amazed to learn that they had never all come together for an interview since the movie’s release...
It was a joyful week here in Manila. I had the privilege of hosting a recruiter from my Alma Mater, the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. She was only here for five days, so we ended up with a pretty jam-packed schedule. It was worth it though because we made a TON...
As is the tradition, we put on a big ole Halloween Party for the kiddos this week. Man was it fun! Their energy is especially infectious on ‘special days’ like these when we go all out to celebrate something. Due to lack of costume options, two out of three kids were...
On Saturday Nick and I were graciously invited to join a group of Filipinos who were traveling two hours North to Pampanga to experience the food, churches and handicrafts of that region. It was one of the most ambitious agendas I’ve ever seen (it put my itineraries to shame...
One of the many volunteer hats I wear is that of Worldwide Recruitment Specialist (my self-appointment title) for the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University (CSB/SJU) in Minnesota. I’ve talked before about how my experience there changed my life, so it’s a no...
In coaching, one of the fundamental beliefs we hold about our clients is that they are naturally creative, resourceful and whole – meaning that they have the wisdom and ability to create anything they want in their life (and overcome whatever obstacles may stand in the way of...
One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice– though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. “Mend my life!” each voice cried. But you didn’t stop. You knew...
This will be my third and final post about Hong Kong. Today’s post will actually focus on Macau, an island that is a one hour ferry ride from Hong Kong. Macau is best known as the Vegas of Southeast Asia, full of eye-popping shows, gold-plated everything and poker tables galore...
Oh man, it doesn’t get much better than this. Sam doing a cover of Sara Bareilles’ King of Anything… be still, my heart!
Just one week before we left for Hong Kong Nick and I were having one of our nightly debates/discussions. The question was: Which sense would you LEAST like to lose? I insisted that sight would be the worst while Nick maintained that touch would be unbearable. The debate raged on over...
So after three days in Hong Kong, Nick and I can say without hesitation that we prefer to live in big Asian cities rather than visit them. It’s not that they’re bad by any means, they’re just exhausting when you try to jam all sorts of experiences into a short period (in...
I don’t usually post videos two days in a row but this parody is so hilarious that it merits some rule-breaking. Nick and I couldn’t stop laughing – highlights of the video for me included Coke-in-a-bag and Magic Mic. Leave your comments and let me know what...
This week I have the privilege of meeting up face-to-face with Christine, one of my long-time blog readers. This is the 4th or 5th time that I’ve converted an online friend into a flesh-and-blood friend. Blogging can be so one-way at times that I relish any chance to see who’s...
Ok, let’s start with the facts. I adore Christmas. Not just any old Christmas, but the snow-covered, sweater-wearing, eggnog-drinking, fireplace-roasting type. Perhaps some would call that a traditional Christmas. Call it whatever you like, that will always be what my image of...