Big day today. After an extensive search, I finally selected my Prenatal Yoga Studio. I ended up choosing Blooma in St. Paul, which is devoted exclusively to Pre and Post-natal Yoga, in addition to Mom & Baby Yoga classes. The studio is located in an adorable house on Grand Avenue and...
I know you’re sick of hearing about baby and my amazing garage sale finds. The thing is, that’s what I’m obsessed with at the moment. I think garage-saling is my form of nesting since I don’t have a home of my own right now or a nursery to decorate. There’s...
Last week was stressful. So stressful, in fact, that I couldn’t even write about it until today when all the residual stress had been massaged out of me. And what, you might ask, had me in such a state of misery? USED CAR SHOPPING, that’s what. I’m sure some of you think...
Little did I know that when I got back to the States I’d become a garage sale addict, but boy is it intoxicating to find great deals on barely-used baby stuff. Seriously, for those who haven’t thought of purchasing baby clothes at a garage sale before, contemplate this: 1.)...
I know I’ve been MIA for too long by the large number of emails and FB messages I’ve been getting about why I’m not posting. Thank you all for being such devoted readers who appreciate my blogging (and hold me accountable for doing it!) It’s been a...
Hi all- I hit the halfway mark of the pregnancy this week and thought I’d post another picture since I’m finally starting to have a legitimate belly. Just pulled out the first maternity clothes this week so there’s no going back now… Sorry for the lack of posts. I...
Click the photo to check out the highlights from our most recent photo book!
I know I haven’t written much about my favorite up-and-coming-singer Sam Tsui lately and that’s mainly because he’s been busy finishing up his Senior Year at Yale (which doesn’t leave much time for YouTube video-making). Had to share this with you as proof of Sam...
Over the weekend I had the privilege of touring a Garment Factory that one of my expat friends owns. It’s a large-scale production, producing roughly 25,000 pieces per day and employing over 1000 people. I’ve had a thing for factory tours since my Target days when I used to...
24 years my senior, I never expected for Marisa and I to become so close. I originally met Marisa during my volunteer work at Carewell. She was a frequent attendee and ended up participating in several of my group Life Coaching sessions. Although a bit skeptical about coaching at first...
I’m less than three weeks from returning to my beloved homeland and man oh man is . . . MINNESOTA ON MY MIND! Bring on the cabin and Caribou and changing temps and State Fair and lawn games and strawberries and sunset at 9 PM and breakfast boat rides and (I could go on forever, but...
I used to think of moving as a simple (but annoying) process where you threw everything you had into boxes, stuffed them into a Uhaul, drove across town and then unloaded those same boxes into your new place. Oh how I LONG for a move like that…. alas, never again. What I...
Our Tentative Travel Schedule I’ve been getting lots of questions about our schedule for the next year from friends and family. Although we do not have our official orders yet (which means there’s still a small chance things could change), I’m going to go ahead and post...
Me and heart-touching stories go together like peanut butter and jelly. Suffice to say, this is one of the most remarkable I’ve come across in some time… Please allow me to introduce Chooka Parker, a 16 year old Farmhand from rural Australia. In this clip Chooka is showing up...
A Joint Labor of Love One of Nick’s many roles in Manila is President of the US Embassy Club (USEC). USEC is the charitable arm of US Embassy – Manila that supports 13 local charities. USEC provides both monetary and volunteer resources to our charities (one of whom is my...
Baby Novak’s Brain! (a top view) As you all know, I’m quite impatient in general, so this whole baby gender thing has been on my mind since we found out we were pregnant 11 weeks ago. Thankfully, Nick also had a desire to know early (and was okay with me telling the whole...
How freakin’ cool is this that I can share our photobook online?!? Nick made this one, but I’m on Year 2 (which will be released sometime in the next month). Hope you enjoy it! PS – We HIGHLY recommend Blurb for making Photobooks. Inexpensive, good quality and lots of...
Happy Easter to all my friends and family around the world!! Please enjoy one of my favorite Easter songs of all time: Glad’s The Easter Song.
On Tuesday at 12 noon Nick and I watched as a massive black cloud began to rise from an area called Guadalupe, which is part of Makati City (where we live) and blocks from where many of our Rockwell-residing friends live. We found out later that a squatter village burned to the ground...
So last week I had the chance to go on my first-ever Medevac for the Foreign Service. The term sounds a little scary and that’s because usually it is just that – A Medical Evacuation. Medevacs are used when appropriate Medical care for your condition cannot be garnered at post...
I’m well aware that I owe you a MAJOR apology for not posting for the last week. It’s just that I’ve been so damn tired and I had to go on Medevac to Singapore for three days (more on that in my next post – nothing to worry about). I was thinking the best way to...
I’m all about trying new alternative therapies (especially after having such amazing results with Network Spinal Analysis a few years back), so when my friend Selina suggested I check out an Energy Healer she had visited in Manila, I was all for it. I wasn’t sure what to...
I don’t know about you, but I get such a kick out of OK Go’s music videos. They always have such a fresh, creative element in them. This one is no different, featuring the Notre Dame Marching Band. I suppose this would be a good time to share with you that for all four years...
This is a nice combo: Favorite Song of the Moment + Favorite Up-And-Coming-Singer. Sam Tsui hasn’t been releasing much lately, so I was glad to see this one come through. Pretty sure you’re gonna love it!
Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about ABC’s new show Secret Millionaire. I first heard about the show through my coaching network, as several of the Millionaires are motivational speakers or coaches I’ve followed for a long time. I knew I’d immediately...
After MANY, MANY weeks of being cooped up in the house, my dear friends Andrea and Brian took pity on me and invited me on an overnight with their family down to San Pablo (Nick was busy working all weekend, so I would have been all alone). San Pablo is one of my favorite places and I had...
If you remember back just three short weeks ago, Baby Novak was a 1/4 inch, lentil-sized blob with a little flicker of a heartbeat in the middle. Fast forward three weeks and we’ve got a one inch, grape-sized gummy bear, complete with arms and legs (and what we think is an above...
Good morning all! I have a DELICIOUS treat in store for you today. . . The 25th Anniversary of the musical Les Miserables was celebrated in London this past December. Not only did this magnificent tribute feature the current London cast (including Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers), but...
So here’s how we’re divvying up the overwhelming amount of baby-related information to learn in Novak land. It’s really quite simple, I take care of anything that has to do with my body, including: Pregnancy Health/Nutrition Birth/Labor Breastfeeding Nick gets everything...
Hilarious, helpful tutorial on the “Filipino Accent.” No lie, I run into comprehension problems on a daily basis … now I can decode better!
A couple weeks ago, I shared the touching story of Maria Aragon, a 10 year old girl who caught Lady Gaga’s eye with her down-tempo version of Gaga’s new single Born That Way. Maria’s YouTube version went viral when Gaga tweeted a link to Maria’s video plus the...
Awhile back I wrote about Chris Medina, whose story I fell in love with on Idol Season 10. I was instantly captivated by the unconditional love that radiates from him and the message he so BOLDLY put out into the world. Although he isn’t in the top 24 on Idol, his radiant love...
Nick here. I very rarely post on ‘our’ blog as it’s Sarah’s pet project and I want to keep it that way. As always, my views are my own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the US government. With that being said: Today I met my childhood hero, Ken Griffey...
I feel misled. I was told that pregnancy was magical. And I believed it – hook, line and sinker. I was ready to GLOW from within and feel an INSTANT BOND with my unborn fetus. Instead, I am miserable. Today I went so far as to try and barter my seven week ‘blueberry’...
There’s nothing like a little end-of-the-week baby scare to get a soon-to-be-parent’s heart beating faster… Earlier in the week on Tuesday morning I had a bit of dark spotting (for those not as familiar with pregnancy, blood = bad). I texted the doctor (how cool is that...
Can I just say that I am thoroughly enjoying my Photoshop Class and all the cool new tricks I can apply to my photos. And no, I do not consider that ‘cheating’, it is merely ENHANCING the beauty of the shot. You’ve still got to get the shot in the first place – now...
Last Saturday I had the privilege of having an impromptu photo shoot with these lovely little girls who were playing in Fort Santiago. The photos were simply stunning and as I was uploading them to my computer, I couldn’t help but think how fun it would be to print out a batch to...
Dearest blog readers – This story is way too heartwarming NOT to pass along. Allow me to introduce you to Maria Aragon, YouTube’s newest singing sensation. Her version of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way has racked up over 4 million hits in 3 days! Not only is...
If you’ve been following me on the blog or Facebook lately, you’ll know that I’ve been very vocal about my top goal for 2011 which is (Drumroll, please….) TO HAVE A BABY. Being the powerful intention setter that I am (and with a little help from Nick), I’m...
I was at Fort Santiago last Saturday enjoying lunch with my friend Christine while on break from our Advanced Photography course. We started wandering around the park after finishing up and stumbled upon these delightful little girls frolicking by the flag pole. Once they saw our cameras...
Hi all- please forgive the lack of posts this week. I have felt like absolute crap and needed to use all my available energy to drag my butt to a 10 hour Photoshop class on Friday and an 8 hour Advanced Photography on Saturday (which I didn’t make it all the way through). I am...
It is decided. We’re going ALL-OUT for our final trip in Southeast Asia. I can’t even begin to explain the ginormous amount of pressure we had placed on planning this trip… You see, it was absolutely critical that we pick the **PERFECT** trip because: It is the only...
If you’ve been reading for awhile, you’ll recall that on Day five of being in Manila I started a Basic Photography Class in Fort Santiago. Just five weeks later I was a Proud Graduate of Photography 101 and was no longer afraid to touch my camera! Since then, it’s pretty...
Am stuck in bed with my umpteenth attack of the “Manila Crud” (will NOT MISS that aspect of living in Manila – pollution really impacts your health!) Doing everything I can to keep my spirits up including eating my favorite foods, watching TED Talks and listening to...
Lately Facebook has been abuzz with talk about an exercise class called Nia. Whenever I hear something come up again and again, I just trust it’s a sign that I’m supposed to explore it further. So that’s exactly what I did in this case. I went to the Nia Website and...
Got really nostalgic watching this love fest about my beloved Minneapolis/St. Paul (although may I just say that it doesn’t look like any of it was filmed in St. Paul). Makes me excited to get some extended time there this summer!
On Sunday our good friends Mark and Kristen invited us to join them for Dim Sum at Golden Seafood near Mall of Asia. Nick had been there once before with them when I was home in Minnesota, but this was my first time trying Dim Sum in Manila. You could tell this place was the real deal...
I was first introduced to the concept of FLOW during my Master’s program while taking a class on Creativity. We were asked to read Mihaly Csikszentmihaly’s book Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. Although laborious to read at times, I ended up...
This Monday morning inspiration is dedicated to all the AMAZING women in my life who ROCK MY WORLD on a daily basis! XOXO, Sarah
Two weeks ago my dear client (and friend) Magne died of cancer. She was only in her early 50’s, so her death left many young children and grand-children behind. I knew it was important for me to find my own unique way to say goodbye to her and honor her life. As I reflected on what...