Don’t get me wrong, Christmas to me will forever be synonymous with snow, fires, hot chocolate, sweaters and the like. There is, however, something delightful about ‘testing out’...
Foreign Service Life
Nick and I have been searching (unsuccessfully) for a joint hobby for the better part of seven years. Our differences definitely make us work well as a couple, but they make it very hard to find...
Hard to believe, but today marks the 5th anniversary of our civil wedding ceremony. I thought it’d be fun to look back at some of our early dating pictures to celebrate this milestone. March...
Can you believe it’s been 5 years already? I know, shut up, right?!? I feel like it was just yesterday that I was purchasing those piles and piles of ravioli and diet coke. In case you...
One of the things I remember most vividly from my childhood was all the amazing parties my parents threw. Dinner parties, theme parties, card club– you name it, they did it. My favorite party...
Nia has recently become obsessed with The Kitty Park (also known as Parque Kennedy). This beautiful urban park, for some bizarre reason, is home to a collection of wild, homeless cats. No lie, on any...
One of the things I will miss most when I leave Peru is a group called Miramoms. This group grew organically from a desire to connect the Peruvian and Expat Moms of Miraflores. While originally an...
Ahhh, the memories. This beauty showed up in my Facebook feed last week thanks to that “Throwback Thursday” trend that’s been going around lately. In case you couldn’t find...
Remember this shot from May of 2012? Nia was only seven months old and Nick and I were still pining for the Philippines. Fast forward two years later and we’re closing up our time here in Peru...
Click the image below to get a look at the Photo Book from our 1st year in Lima!
Hard to believe, but it’s pack-out time again! The Novaks welcomed a seven-person moving team yesterday for our 5th pack-out in five years. These guys must have eaten their Wheaties because...
Oh Minnesota, how I missed thee. I did NOT, however, miss your below freezing temps! Either you’ve gotten worse or I’ve gotten wimpier. I do appreciate the snow though, purely for my...
It’s hard to top the awesomeness of snow, but I think we may just have done it. Yes, today was Nia’s first day of preschool. As many of you know, my Mom started Lake Area Discovery...
Great news! I became an auntie over the weekend and Nia acquired her very first cousin (we’ve been practicing that word a lot). Armin Allan was born to Emily and Andrew on Saturday April 5th at...
Hard to believe, but our 2nd tour is already over. Good-bye Lima, we’ll miss you (especially your food and ocean view). Here’s the highlight reel from our 2nd year there. Just click the...
We’re 12 days into our DC tour and slowly but surely finding our footing. We spent the bulk of the first week touring preschools and apartments (with mixed results, I might add). I am pleased...
We’ve noticed over the last few months that Nia has a very unique style of play that’s different from most other two year olds. Her play centers around ordering her various collections...
If you’ve lived in DC in the summer, you know that it’s a muggy, sweaty mess. There are only two sure-fire options to beat the heat. 1.) Run from air-conditioned place to air-conditioned...
After a couple of frustrating weeks filled with ups and downs, I am pleased to report that we’re finally starting to gain some traction here in DC. Of particular note: We signed a lease in...
Hey all–Perhaps you’ve noticed I haven’t been writing much. Well, it hasn’t been for lack of interest, it’s just that I prefer to jump into the deep end quickly when...
Okay, I have to share a delightful little thing I’ve stumbled upon. It’s called FreeCycle and it’s basically a place where you can give or get things for FREE. You simply go to the...
An Overview of Foreign Service Institute Courses The Foreign Service Institute is a sprawling complex located in Arlington, VA where Diplomats go to school. It is here that they may enroll in over...
It was about this time last month that I found myself in a bit of a conundrum. We were in the process of setting our new apartment up and it was very obvious that there was no room for my beloved...
Once upon a time there was a coffee table (originally owned by a beautiful, blonde-haired lady). In its day this table was the center of girl chats, group board games and many a memorable dinner...
We decided to spice up Labor Day 2014 with a little trip to the countryside. We had intended for it to be a family trip, but Nick had to bow out at the last minute because the hot water heater was...
Nia and I just got back from a one week trip to Minnesota to attend Beth & Jim’s wedding (the 3rd of the 4 Miller gals). The festivities began on Friday night with the rehearsal and 50...
I sit here in bed writing this, not quite sure what to do with myself after coming off a jam-packed weekend with my parents in town. The “not sure what to do with myself” part comes from...
It was a lovely, quiet holiday weekend for the Novaks. Nick made us a Thanksgiving feast complete with homemade pumpkin pie, turkey, mashed taters and gravy. I was totally spoiled! It was our first...
Hi everyone–If you’ve been following Facebook you know that I’ve been solo parenting for 8 days while Nick took a work trip to Russia and Ukraine. He did plenty of working, but in...
As you’ve probably read here or on Facebook, it’s been me and the Nia-meister for the last eight days while Nick was away in Russia and Ukraine. I was definitely nervous about how the...
Today I had an interview for a volunteer Chaplain position. I wasn’t really sure what I was signing up for, nor did I know if I was qualified, but my intuition told me that I needed to pursue...
I’m sure you thought I was going to post about Christmas and I will soon, I promise. In the meantime, here’s a little look at Nia’s room make-over, which was six months in the...
We decided to stick around DC for Christmas this year, largely due to Nick’s lack of days off and the fact that we’ll be seeing our families in Feb & March. We’ve gotten used to...
Warning: This post references poop. A lot. Skip it if you’re not into reading about that sort of thing… Potty-training hasn’t gone well for us. Our Peruvian Nanny started training...
The excitement is building folks. I’m just three days away from my 8-hour Chaplain volunteer training at the hospital! Today I met up with a chaplain (paid, not volunteer) and CTI-trained Coach...
Saturday was my long-awaited chaplaincy training at the hospital. It was an 8-hour affair and required some serious focus due to the massive amount of information that we received in that short time...
DC got somewhere around five inches of snow last night and because it’s DC and they don’t deal with snow well, they closed the government and the schools for the day. We decided to take...
Last night we had the amazing good fortune of seeing MN-based singer/songwriter Peter Mayer perform in concert. My first introduction to Peter was back around 2000 when I saw him in a coffeehouse...
Ahoy mateys! We had the pleasure of venturing out on a pirate ship on the mighty seas (of the Potomac) this weekend. This kid-oriented 1-hour cruise was ridiculously fun, for adults and kids alike...
Being on the farm. Getting to pick with your very own “Nia-sized” container. Finding the “perfect” berry. Strawberry juice running down your chin. Eating a few strawberries...
As many of you know, Thursday was my birthday. The big 3-5. WHOA. To celebrate this momentous day, I crammed in a whole bunch of my favorite things – Caribou mocha-drinking, garage-saling...
Hey folks – Long time, not talk, I know. I’m just not feeling it when it comes to blogging lately. Hopefully you’ve been getting along fine without my regular updates. :) So...
This morning I had the great honor of seeing Pope Francis after his address to Congress. This opportunity meant so much to me and I will always be grateful to MN Senator Amy Klobuchar for donating...
So this happened last Sunday! Every year the White House opens the South lawn to the public for a Spring or Fall Garden Tour. Having never been beyond the fence of the White House, I must say, it was...
So, as I mentioned in my last post, my parents, sister and nephew were here for the weekend to celebrate Nia’s Birthday. And what weekend in DC would be complete without a little sight-seeing...
It has been a week of non-stop birthday festivities in celebration of Nia’s 4th Birthday! I didn’t want to leave you out on the fun, so here’s a recap of all the action! Nana and...
It seemed fitting that our adventure-filled birthday extravaganza week should wrap up with a bang. And what better way than a tour of the White House, right? So that’s exactly what we did...
October is definitely Nia’s month. She comes off a week of Birthday celebrations and heads straight into Halloween fun. The festivities began on Thursday with a Halloween parade and concert at...
Remember when we moved to Peru in May of 2012? Seems like forever ago (look how small Nia is!) Happily, it’s that time again. I’m pleased to announce that our next adventure will be . . ...
I started back up again at the hospital as a chaplain after taking the summer off to travel to MN. As I mentioned in an earlier post, back in May I wanted to quit because it felt too frustrating to...