Around Manila

A Case of Over-inflated Ego

by Sarah Novak on October 20, 2011

This is very amusing (and definitely makes me sound more important than I am).  Browhaus, my favorite eyebrow threading place in the Philippines, turned my blog post into an endorsement of their shop!  I can’t stop giggling – it makes me look like some authority on the matter.  Definitely a day when I miss the Phils… thank you Carla Trunk for bringing a smile to my face!

PS – Here’s what the ORIGINAL POST looked like, in case you’re curious!

PPS – I am now offering endorsement services.  I will endorse anything you’d like for the small price of a Caribou Coffee Gift Card.  :)

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The Best of Garage-saling 2011

by Sarah Novak on August 6, 2011

I had promised myself that Garage Sale posts were over.  I mean, who wants to read posts about the same thing over and over?  I sure don’t.  But then after my Baby Shower I was showing off my “baby stuff room” in the basement and had several people beg me to do one final post with my recent finds.  How can I say no to that?  So here is me relenting.  And I swear, this will be the last garage saling post….. from Minnesota, that is!  (Anyone know if DC is big into garage sales?)  As always, feel free to cast your vote for your favorites so I know what to put Nia in most!

 

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Nick Goes Minnesotan

by Sarah Novak on August 5, 2011

Nick and I spent the last week hanging with my family at our cabin in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin.  While our ultimate goal was just to relax and enjoy each others’ company, Nick managed to try out a few key “Minnesotan” experiences.

Nick’s proudest moment of the week was pulling in his first-ever walleye on a 5:30 AM fishing outing with my Dad.  He went for the total experience by learning how to clean it (with Dad’s help) and fry it up in home-made batter for dinner.  I can testify that it was one good fish!

Nick’s catch was 20 inches long and managed to feed 4 of us for dinner.  Very impressive honey… way to bring home the bacon fish!

Nick was also courageous enough to try water-skiing for the first time.  He almost has it down, but didn’t get enough time to practice because the lake level got so high that they were asking people not to use their speed boats for the majority of the week.  Guess that’ll have to be on the to-do list for next time.

Nick also had the opportunity to cook and eat one of the Miller favorites, a Hobo or Camper Pie.  We’ve been having these for as long as I can remember and boy oh boy are they sensational.  Has anyone else had these before?

The basic concept is that you take an iron (see photo above) and butter two pieces of bread, placing the buttered sides against the iron.  You then fill with the topping of your choice to create a nicely sealed pie.  When we originally started making these, we used canned pie fillings exclusively (apple, cherry and blueberry are best).  As we became more advanced hobo pie makers, we began to experiment with pizza flavors and grilled ham/cheese.

I love this picture below.  He looks like a pretty happy camper, doesn’t he!  (pun intended)

I’m sad to be leaving the cabin shortly, but am also eagerly anticipating my first visit to Bend, Oregon and Seattle, Washington to visit Nick’s parents for 3 weeks!  Don’t worry, I’ll surely keep you posted on those adventures as well.  Hard to believe that in one month’s time we’ll be settling into our place in DC and frantically preparing for Nia’s arrival.  My how time is flying…

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Nick Gets His Wish!

by Sarah Novak on July 29, 2011

Have I mentioned that my husband amuses the heck out of me?  Get this.  He’s been begging me for months to find him a baby that he can practice diapering and swaddling on.  He initially wanted a real baby, but I told him that was out of the question.  I thought he’d eventually stop asking, but his persistence increased once he got to MN and saw all the new baby gear.  He finally managed to convince my mom to bring home a life-size doll from the preschool on Thursday.  Here are some of the photographic  highlights from his practice session last night:

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Blissed Out

by Sarah Novak on July 5, 2011

One of the best pregnancy benefits I’ve experienced thus far has been an increased awareness of my body.  I think this occurs naturally for most pregnant women, but to varying degrees depending on the degree to which you let it affect you.  As with anything, I realized that there were two ways I could decide to respond to this increase in body sensations.  I could either choose to be annoyed with all the physical changes or allow this experience to give me a heightened understanding of my incredible body!  I bet you can guess which one I chose…

In the past, I thought of my body mostly as a vessel or container.  I didn’t pay much attention to it and expected it to function at all times.  If it was sick, I expected it to push through.  If it was tired, I expected it to ‘get over it’.  That way of tending to my body phased out around age 25 when my body DEMANDED that it be taken care of.  It went into full-on rebellion, gifting me with 2 years of physical pain, anxiety, depression and panic attacks.  And let me tell you, when your body wages war on you, YOU LISTEN!

Let’s just say that I got the message and employed every resource I could think of to make it stop.  I got a therapist, found a chiropractor, did physical therapy, hired a life coach and started Network Spinal Analysis, all within the period of a year.  It was slow going, but over time I learned how to care for my body and it responded in the most amazing way (translation: I feel the best I’ve ever felt in my life and now trust that my body has the capacity to heal itself.)

Surprisingly, the body awareness that came with pregnancy was on a different level (more like a class titled Body Understanding 201 vs. the 101 learning I had to do in my mid-20′s).  I have enjoyed taking care of myself these last few years, so with a little encouragement from my husband (and the gift of open time on my calendar), I entered into a period of radical self-care for my body.  It sounds easier than it actually was.  I had a lot of guilt at first as my gremlin whispered a constant stream of nasty messages in my ear:

  • You are being WAY too self-indulgent!
  • What a waste of your time this self-care is, you should be producing something!
  • Are you really going to nap AGAIN?  You already slept 10 hours last night!

I eventually was able to ignore the messages after my husband reminded me at dinner one night that the most important thing I could do for our family right now was to grow a healthy baby (which starts with taking care of myself and remaining in a sound emotional state).  What a smart man I married!  Somehow that released all the guilt and I was able to view growing a baby as my job for 9 months.  That was the best perspective shift I made all year!

Since getting to MN, I’ve taken my current ‘job’ very seriously, engaging in a variety of wellness practices that help keep me centered.  On any given day, I both take a 30 minute walk and do one of the following: Prenatal Yoga, Prenatal Massage or Network Spinal Analyis.  The combination of these 4 things has kept me in an amazing state of being these last 5 weeks.  I have none of the anxiety that existed early in the pregnancy and I’ve developed a strong connection with both my body and the baby.  I am proud of the work I’ve done and am curious about the impact it will have on both my labor and the baby’s demeanor.

Since this post is getting a bit longer than I prefer, I’ll give you a teaser that my next post will talk about a very cool experience I had that was a direct result of my increased body awareness.  Stay tuned for that!

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Emily and Andrew’s Wedding Extravaganza

by Sarah Novak on June 28, 2011

Miller Sisters at the Groom's Dinner. L to R: Beth (3rd), Emily (2nd), Jenna (4th), Sarah (1st)

It was a big weekend in the Miller Household.  Emily Miller (second oldest) married her superstar guy Andrew Sullivan.  Since these events only come around once in a lifetime (hopefully), it needed to be an extravaganza that lived up to the Miller standard.  With Emily’s unique vision and creativity, there was little doubt that it would fit the bill.  The only question was whether the free help (us) would survive the MONTHS of crafting it took to put this celebration on.  More on that later…

I should note that these are not my photos and give credit to Pam Huntley, Emily’s wedding coordinator.  We haven’t seen any photographer proofs yet, so this is the extent of what we have!

Now, on to the details.  The wedding was held on Friday, June 24th at 5 PM at the Stillwater Courthouse in Stillwater, Minnesota.  As any Minnesotan would know, it had been a CRAPPY weather week and we literally had winter coats on for the outdoor rehearsal Thursday night.  Magically, the temp went up 20+ degrees and the sun came out for Friday, making it one of those ideal MN summer days!  The Lutheran ceremony was held on the steps of the Courthouse, as seen above.  The cocktail hour took place on the right side of the building, followed by dinner and a dance in the upstairs level (the old Court Room).

Ms. Emily, with her Barbie-like silhouette, looked particularly stunning in her princess dress.  Andrew didn’t look so bad either, especially in those Converse tennies!

The colors for the wedding were yellow, blue and pink.  Even the Personal Attendant (shown at far left) knew that the palette was to be strictly adhered to!  I was thankful for the maternity-friendly dress (I’m the third bridesmaid from the top).  We’ll get a closer shot of my dress once the professional proofs come back.  Note the adorable kissing balls which were made entirely of carnations and weighed close to a billion pounds (okay, more like 10).  After 30 straight minutes of holding it my bicep had gotten quite the workout!

As I eluded to before, everything about this wedding was hand-made.  Me, I’m more of an outsourcing kind of girl.  Emily had different ideas though (and with our large family, a sizeable workforce).  I must say I was thankful that I only joined in with 3 weeks to go.  The rest of the family had been going strong since January!  I must say though, the final product was stunning.  Take these cupcakes (above), for example.  They were made by a stay-at-home Mom and adorned with pom poms that we made out of thread, tulle, and a stir stick.  Yes, they did take forever, just in case you were wondering.

Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of the other things that were handmade: The programs, the invitations, the table runners, the table numbers, the kissing wheel, the floral arrangements, etc.  If you could make it, we did!

Being a Preschool Teacher, Emily had dreamed up a very whimsical, child-like theme.  I called it the “Willy Wonka Look”.  I must say I was skeptical at first, but wow did it come together beautifully.  Here’s an example of the place cards (each with a Lollipop attached).  The Teacher influence came out in other cute ways as well.  Each table had a letter with a story on it.  For example: “A is for apples.  Apples are Andrew’s favorite fruit.”  You get the idea…

They also served up miniature Ketchup and Mustard bottles as their favor because Andrew works for a condiment distribution company.

One of the craziest things that happened was that we had legitimate wedding crashers ( a couple in their early 20′s). Normally I think that they would have gotten away with it, but Emily has hawk-like vision and was determined to remember every moment of their wedding.  So she took notice of them later in the evening (as they were drinking some wine and enjoying a cupcake) and started asking around to see who they were.  No one seemed to know and she made no attempt to hide her vigorous pointing at them (which made them start looking nervous).  She finally sent my Mom, Ms. Janet, over to greet them.  Just as Janet was striding purposefully over, the wedding crashers jumped up and bolted down the stairs!  Quite possibly the most exciting thing that’s ever happened at one of our events!!

Finally, I leave you with a picture of me from the Groom’s Dinner.  I’m 23 weeks now and starting to sport a legitimate belly.  Even though I had my Bridesmaid Dress fit only 2 weeks ago, we could barely get it zipped up!  Yikes!  Baby Nia did enjoy all the dancing and eating though…

More pics to come when we get them!

 

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Baby Novak Approves of Yoga + The First Kick

by Sarah Novak on June 21, 2011

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 just oozed baby.  I loved everything about it.

I arrived a bit early to get signed up for the 1 month trial package.  They had a fantastic unlimited class rate of $64 for the first month and $99 for each month after that.  I’ll only be able to do it for one month anyways, so it ends up being a steal of a deal for me!  There are 5 or 6 prenatal yoga classes a week at this studio, so there are plenty of ways for me to get in 3-4 classes a week.  They also have studios in Edina and Shakopee as well for those in the South and West metro.

There were 3 other women in the class and we began with introductions, which I liked.  I was pleased to see that my belly was not the smallest!  It made me feel like a real (translation: ‘veteran’) pregnant woman.  I’m not sure what that’s all about, but I’m eager for my belly to look legitimately pregnant…

I went into the class expecting to breeze through it, since I’m in reasonable shape and have done some yoga in the past (albeit 5 years ago).  A breeze it was not.  It totally and completely kicked my butt (and we were even encouraged to modify and take as many breaks as we needed).  By the end my legs were so shaky that I kept losing my balance and eventually stumbled into the 8 month pregnant woman, almost knocking her over.  At that point the instructor graciously came over behind me and propped me up until I got stabilized again.  SHEESH.  You’d think I could have a little more coordination!

My favorite part was the end, where we were lying in the dead man’s pose (flat on back, just focused on breathing).  I was so thrilled for the opportunity to lay down for 5 minutes!   :)  While I was enjoying my rest time, the instructor came around and did energy work on us, which was a really neat way to end the session.  So there I was breathing with my hands on my belly when all of a sudden I feel this whomping kick in my gut!  AAAAHHHHH!!!!  FINALLY, the first time I felt the baby kick!  And this was no flutter people, it was like a bubble popping in my belly.  As soon as it happened I blurted it out to the room and all the other mommy-to-be’s appropriately oohed and aahed.  It was bliss, I tell you.  Guess Baby Novak likes yoga!  Good thing we’re going back for more tomorrow.  Let’s hope that my coordination improves a bit overnight!

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A Photobook: Our Second Year in Manila!

by Sarah Novak on May 31, 2011

 

Hard to believe, but here is our Photobook for our second and final year in Manila.  We’re going to miss you, Manila!  You’ve been very good to us…

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My First-ever Garment Factory Tour!

by Sarah Novak on May 19, 2011

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 get to tour different food processing plants for my buying job in the Deli.  I couldn’t say I had ever been to a Garment Factory though, so when my friend offered, I was quick to take him up on it!  One of the things I noticed right away was that there were an equal amount of male and female sewers.  When I asked about this, my friend said that some of his best sewers were actually the males.  Who’d have thought??

My friend Kristen accompanied me on the tour, so as you might imagine, the two of us stood out quite a bit in a factory full of Filipinos.  I hope my friend doesn’t pull his numbers for that day and see a dramatic drop… we definitely created a commotion!  This picture above was one of my favorites.  While we were touring around, the floor manager asked if we wanted to meet the winner of the Holiday Singing Competition.  Of course we said yes, as this person would have celebrity status in the factory.  The best part was that he came up and immediately started posing for pictures to a chorus of hoots and cheering!  Only in the Philippines…  :)

The factory produces for a large US retailer.  In the picture above they are heat-sealing logos on the product.

The factory was very well-organized.  Cut pieces sat at the back of the factory and worked their way up the line.  If I was the first sewer in line, I may be putting on the tag.  Then it gets passed up to the next person who does a sleeve seam, etc.  Really makes you appreciate how much goes into creating our clothes!

I must say, the working conditions seemed fantastic.  Everyone I talked to was so thankful to be working here, as jobs in the area are scarce.  They also get a 1 hour lunch break and have an on-site canteen where Filipino food is cooked up for them.  The other thing I appreciated about the operation was that they promote internally, so when there’s an opening in the front office, they survey the sewers to see who has a College degree that may be interested in applying for the job (sadly, this is a common occurrence that an individual would be doing a job far below their skill level).

Yet another cool life experience that I can add to the list!  Thanks to my expat friend for making it possible!

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Saying Goodbye to Marisa

by Sarah Novak on May 17, 2011

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, she came to be one of my biggest advocates over time.

When my coaching at Carewell ended in April of 2010, I realized that I desperately missed seeing Marisa on a regular basis.  We remedied this by setting up a monthly tea date for us to remain connected.  At first I wasn’t sure how to define our interactions – roughly half our time was spent with me coaching her and the remaining half was full of me getting sage wisdom and advice from this brilliant woman.  We both just rolled with it and enjoyed what was unfolding between us…

Our ‘tea dates’ became cherished time that we both looked forward to each month.  Unfortunately, the closer we got to Christmas, the greater toll Marisa’s cancer seemed to take on her.  As she weakened, I had a growing urge to spend more and more time with her, wanting to deepen this relationship as much as possible in the remaining months that she had left.  Our ‘tea dates’ went from monthly to weekly and changed location based on her condition.  When she could no longer make the 2 block journey to the coffee shop, we simply relocated our ‘tea dates’ to her living room.  And as the winter turned to spring and she could no longer get out of bed, she humbly allowed me to visit her there.

It’s hard to say who took more away from this friendship, as we both seemed to receive exactly what we needed from the strange pairing.  Right before she died, we both had a chance to articulate the impact we’d had on each other’s life.  Here’s what she said about me:

  • I helped her determine what she wanted to leave as her legacy through the coaching work we did together. She came up with the idea of using her Interior Design Background (she had studied at Parsons School of Design) to decorate the hospice rooms for cancer patients at a low-income hospital in town.
  • I introduced her to the website www.mywonderfullife.com, which enabled her to plan her funeral in detail. Not only did this relieve her family of the pressure of putting this together last minute, but it also served as a tool through which she could reflect on her life and how she wanted to be remembered.
  • I gave her permission to openly talk about death and dying whenever she needed to. I found myself surprisingly comfortable talking about this topic and since she didn’t have many people who were open to talking about this for long periods of time, it became a frequent part of our conversations.  I know she appreciated having that safe space in which she could process all that was happening to her.

On my end, I gained strength and wisdom from her:

  • Profound relationship with God
  • Reverence for Motherhood
  • Unwavering belief in what I was capable of
  • Courage in the face of death

A week and a half before she died, I had the chance to visit her in the hospital.  Intuitively, I knew this was the last time I would see her alive and I planned to make the most of it and say everything I needed to in order to feel closure.  In coordinating the visit with her husband the day before, he warned me that she was not very coherent but would *probably* recognize me if I got up really close to her face and told her who I was.  I could then expect a short flicker of recognition and then she would go back to a sedated state.

I was 100% okay with this and fully expected that scenario to play out.  Little did I know that Marisa had a miracle in store for us that day.  When I arrived at her room at 1 PM on a Friday and pushed open the door, I was shocked to see her fully present.  And not only was she fully awake, but fully there in spirit as well.  This could have been a ‘tea date’ we had 6-9 months ago, never mind a week before her death!

Not one to miss out on an opportunity, I told her that I was there to talk her ear off and entertain her, but that if she started to feel tired, she should just say the word and I would be on my way.  And talk we did!  Although her words were a bit slurred and whispered by this point, I found that I adjusted after a few minutes and could get most of what she was saying.  I skipped all the pretense and went straight to the real stuff since I knew our time was precious.  We talked about the pain, if she was afraid to die, and what she was most worried about for after her passing.  There was also plenty of time for the happy stuff too – memories about her family, what she learned from Cancer, the impact of our friendship.  It was honest, beautiful and 100% infused with God’s presence.  I know that the memory of that visit will remain emblazoned in my mind for years to come – it was just that profound and sacred of an experience.

Those 90 minutes felt like a blissful eternity (yes, she was so alive and present that I eventually kicked MYSELF out after 90 minutes because I could see her fading but knew she didn’t want me to go).  As I sat next to the bed stroking her hair, I couldn’t help but smile as she doled out last minute mothering advice to me (Do breast feed!  Give your child a name with MEANING!  And so on and so forth.)  And when I walked out of that room, I felt 100% closed relationship-wise.  I knew that if she died tomorrow, I wouldn’t have a single regret.  I only had a year with her, but I loved her with my whole heart and allowed this odd relationship to change me.  Can’t ask for much more than that, huh?  May it be the beginning of many odd relationships to come!

The wake and funeral took place last Wednesday and Thursday and I was honored to celebrate her life with the family.  I had come to know them well after all my visits to the house and was able to connect with each of them that day.  Her funeral was exactly as she planned it, short and sweet!  At age 54, it broke my heart to see her leaving behind a husband and 4 kids age 10-25.  Thankfully, they are a close-knit unit and I know they will find ways to fill in the gaps of her absence (and collectively keep her memory alive).

In closing, I leave you with one of my favorite memories of Marisa, the one that I chose to share during the Circle of Memories at the Internment.  It happened in early March, shortly after I found out I was pregnant.  I had gone over to visit her in the afternoon (she was confined to her bed at this point).  We had a lively conversation for an hour before I started to crash.  She could tell I was fading, so she encouraged me to just lay down on the other side the bed and rest my eyes for a bit.  Fast forward to 3 hours later when I awake with a jolt and realize I’ve been sleeping FOREVER.  When I asked her why she didn’t wake me, she gave and knowing smile and said, “The baby needed sleep and I was enjoying watching you rest.”  It was in that moment that I knew our friendship had morphed from acquaintances to dear friends.

~Rest in peace Marisa and enjoy all that heaven has to offer!  Know that you’ll always occupy a place in my heart.  Baby Novak has no idea how fortunate she is that you agreed to be her Guardian Angel!  XOXO, Sarah

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