Nick is away for several weeks on a TDY (temporary duty assignment) in Abu Dhabi. In order to break up what would be a very long stretch of solo parenting, I decided that Nia and I would need to go on some sort of adventure as well. However, we had some constraints to consider when...
I have long been fascinated by generational differences, especially in terms of how they show up in the workplace. I was born in 1980, which means I straddle two generations (Gen X and Millennials). There is no authority of note on this topic, so ranges for each generation can vary a bit...
Hey folks – Been feeling very reminiscent lately. I recently came across one of those “Children of the 80’s” posts on Facebook that showed all the popular items from our youth. One of the featured items was a Walkman, which got me thinking about my relationship...
I thought parenting would make me a better play-er. When I give my daughter the option to choose an activity for Mommy/Daughter time, she inevitably chooses imaginative play with some combination of her Hatchimals/Littlest Pet Shop/Playmobil/Ponies. I can’t tell you how much I...
Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash It’s that dreaded time of year folks . . . bidding is upon us. Instead of just complaining about how stressful it is, I thought it’d be fun to give you a little refresher on our bidding history. Can you believe we’re bidding for our 6th...
For those of you getting your Novakistan posts via email, I wanted to let you know that I recently changed email subscription providers because Feedburner was no longer offering the service. I switched to follow.it, which is a robust Feedburner alternative, offering even more choices for...
Since my last post was all dramatic and depressing, my goal for this one is to keep it a bit lighter. No promises though because my general mood lately has been very “angsty teenager-esqueâ€. On Monday, August 16th Nia went back to school in-person for the first time in a year and a...
Hope and I have had a rocky last year and a half. You see, I placed all my trust in her, counting on the fact that she’d come through for me like she had in the past. In August 2020 I was sure she’d have us back to in-person school. In January 2021 I was absolutely certain that...
Image by Nick Fewings on Unsplash Hello dear ones – It’s 2:33 AM in Mumbai and while I’d love to be sleeping, my body has other plans for me. So I thought, “Why not write to my readers and give them a quick update?” So here we are. Let’s do this! As you...
Things that Make Iceland a Great Travel Destination The sheer amount of things to do and see (it was very hard to narrow and we had 2 weeks!)The natural beauty (Iceland is GORGEOUS, right up there with Hawaii and New Zealand)All of the natural sights (waterfalls, glaciers, lagoons...
In the second week of our trip we made a last-minute decision to extend our trip by one day (leaving Sunday July 11th instead of Saturday July 10th) so that we could try and see the active volcano that is erupting just outside Reykjavik. Unfortunately, as the day grew closer, it appeared...
Yes, Minnesota may be the land of 10,000 lakes but I think Iceland should get it’s own distinction: “Land of 10,000 Waterfalls”. I kid you not, there are waterfalls EVERYWHERE here. So much so, in fact, that they start to feel passé. “Another beautiful gushing...
Remember when I said in my last post that Nia and I were most excited about seeing Puffins and Icelandic horses on this trip? Well, not so for Nick. Ever the adventurer, he decided his “must do†was hiking a glacier. And he really wanted us to all do it together (cue me panicking)...
I bet you didn’t know that Iceland has it’s own set of islands just off the Southern Coast! They’re called the Westman Islands (also referred to as Vestmannaeyjar). The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4200 people and is home to the world’s largest...
HELLO READERS! I’m back. Yeah, I know. I’ve been gone awhile. I swear, I wanted to write, I really did. I knew I SHOULD write, that you’d be wondering what I was up to. But I just wasn’t feeling it. Like many things right now, it just felt like too much work. So, what finally got...
Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash As my fellow parents can attest to, this last year has given us the “opportunity” to revisit prior grades alongside our children. I have had the pleasure of going back to three months of 2nd grade and now all of 3rd grade! What has struck me...
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash Have you noticed how during the pandemic there don’t seem to be any “good” options anymore? I definitely have. So much so, in fact, that I even coined a phrase for it last summer – “What’s my least worst option?”...
Howdy blog readers! Happy Tuesday to you all. Please note that I am writing my third blog post in two weeks (woot woot). Really trying hard to write consistently and get back in the habit of blogging! Keep the encouragement coming! Our life continues to be pretty mundane. January was a...
I was so delighted with how many of you took the time to read my post yesterday and comment. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside….which makes me want to do it again! I guess that’s behavioral reinforcement theory in action. :) The focus of today’s post is THE HOLIDAYS...
Ughhh. I’m embarrassed to write because it’s been sooooo long. Was my last post really in October?!!? All I can say is that COVID fatigue has hit hard and writing feels like way too much work. Today I was feeling inspired though, so here I am trying to get back into a blogging...
We transferred from Bend, Oregon to Minnesota on October 3rd. I knew it was risky coming back to MN in the fall but I was hoping for mild weather since we have no winter clothes along (who knew we’d stay out of India for so long!?!). Of course, I should have known that MN would...
I’ve been a bad, bad blogger. Forgive me. It’s just that I don’t feel much like writing lately. Mostly I blame COVID-induced malaise. And the fact that I’m rarely without my mini sidekick who is always asking for things from me which leaves little time or headspace...
A lot has happened this I last wrote from Bend. In late May we decided to make a cross-country trip from Bend, Oregon to St. Paul, Minnesota. We broke it up into 6 days and took a day of rest in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Our two big stops were in the Grand Tetons near Jackson Hole and...
One of the things that made me a great Life Coach was that I was deeply empathic, meaning that I could feel others’ emotions (especially pain) quite intensely. This served me well in coaching but also has a downside too. You see, when there is a lot of pain in the world, I feel it. The...
I typically have a very positive outlook on life and can discover beauty in even the most challenging situations. This COVID-19 pandemic is really pushing my limits though. I’m having a hard time finding ANYTHING good about it (will write a longer post about that later). But if I...
As promised, here are the details of our repatriation flight from Mumbai back to the U.S. If you haven’t read my last post then you should probably start there. That way you’ll have some additional background. Rewind back to Wednesday, March 25th when the Government of India...
Uff da. It’s been a hard 4 weeks hasn’t it? I, for one, am EXHAUSTED. Trying to work, oversee school and cook/clean left me feeling hopelessly ineffective at all 3. There’s a reason why each of those is a full time job! When I last wrote March 13th, we were on the cusp...
I was feeling so good about things. Virus reports everywhere, yet nothing in Mumbai. Mind-blowing, given how many people are in India and what close proximity they live in. Now, it may just have been reporting naivety, but I was willing to go with it, especially since I tend to be a...
My 40th birthday is just around the corner (July 9th) and as a result, I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of aging. I had a sobering moment the other day when I heard an old favorite song on Spotify, looked up the release date and realized that it was 20 years old, not 5-7 years...
Hello dear readers – Goodness gracious, can you believe it’s mid-February already?? Everything feels like a blur lately, which is largely because work has been so intense. Happily though, something has changed in the last 6 months that has shifted the intensity from...
I haven’t written about Nia in awhile and I know she’s one of your favorite subjects so today I’m devoting an entire post to her! Nia is 8 now and continues to evolve as a little person. The top words I’d use to describe her at this stage in life are: curious...
Hello everyone!! What happened to January?! I could have sworn I’d blogged last month but I guess that wasn’t so. Sorry ’bout that. Will try to compensate for that in February! When I think back on January and what consumed my mind, a good chunk of it was fretting about...
As I’m sure you can tell from the pictures and blog posts I’ve shared thus far, Bhutan as a whole was pretty darn special. However, there are 3 experiences we had that stood out from the rest. Oddly enough, they all involve monasteries. Today I’ll share a little about...
Happy Holidays all. I hope things are grand in your world. We just wrapped up a one week trip to Bhutan, also known as the Kingdom of Happiness. Since most people haven’t been to the Kingdom, I thought I’d give a short primer filled with a mix of fun facts and an overview of...
Hi – This is Nia. This is my second blog post. We got to go to Bhutan last week and see this really cool Dzong (or fortress) in Punakha. I’m going to tell you about it in this post. And just in case you were wondering, I took all these pictures! Let’s get touring! This is the...
We were delighted to welcome our first visitors to India last week — my parents! Since all of us are working full-time, we had to jam a month’s worth of fun into a 10 day trip. Thankfully my parents have the energy of 20-somethings – it was me sneaking in daily naps! :)...
What do you think of when I say the words “Hare Krishnas”? Most likely, you think of orange-clad devotees singing and proselytizing in airports in the 1970’s. And yes, you’d be right. That is part of their history. But it’s just one part and honestly, I think...
October has been such a stellar month. We’ve had three 4-day-workweeks in a row. And here’s the best part – Nia had school on 2 of the 3 days we had off of work! You know what that means . . . date day for Mom and Dad! We literally put her on the bus at 7:30 and...
October has started out in spectacular fashion. The 9 day festival of Navratri just came to an end on Monday. During this festival Mumbaikers honor the divine feminine by worshiping a different Hindu Goddess each day. There is a “color of the day” that everyone wears and large...
If you have been reading for awhile, you know that I like to keep it real. Mostly because keeping up a perfect facade is EXHAUSTING and I thankfully learned that lesson early in life (hello, depression at 25!). I’ve found that by sharing all the facets of me – both the good...
Oye. How did another month pass without me blogging?! This full-time working thing is getting in the way of me keeping you updated! I’d apologize, but it’s really work’s fault, not mine. :) Speaking of work, when we last spoke I was managing the Motorpool section (15...
It’s my favorite time of year in Mumbai – Festival Season! For the next 3 months it’s non-stop festivals. This week is Janmashtami (Lord Krishna’s Birthday) & Dahi Handi (human pyramid day), September has Ganesh Chaturthi (the Ganesh idol immersion in the...
We just wrapped up our 4th and final week of our 2019 R&R trip in a place that was about as opposite as you could get from Minnesota and Florida – Innsbruck, Austria! We found a lovely apartment with mountain views via AirBnB and reveled in the cool weather and stunning vistas...
Like many children, I have strong memories (and emotions) tied to Disney World. My 1st visit to Disney World in Orlando, Florida took place in the Fall of 1991. I was 11 years old and not only was there the excitement of experiencing Disney for the 1st time, but it was my 1st airplane...
Twas the night before Disney and wouldn’t you know it, a frickin’ tornado hit the cabin, took down 10 trees and forced my parents to have to back out of the trip. There were lots of tears but the Novaks had to press on because nothing was refundable and as you probably know...
Greetings all – The Novaks are a little over halfway into our month-long R&R trip. We kicked things off by parting ways in Mumbai with Nick heading to South Africa for two weeks of diving and Nia and I heading to Minnesota for 2 weeks of Miller family fun time. We are currently...
Wasn’t expecting to write again this soon but jetlag has kicked in full force and I am wide awake as of 3 AM today. Speaking of early mornings, I wanted to introduce you to a new 2019 practice of mine that’s rocking my world. Before I tell you all about it, let me give you a...
After 35 days away, I am finally reunited with my family and back in my own bed again! And boy oh boy does it feel good. As you might imagine, being away was quite novel at first… no demands from anyone, loads of free time, reunions with old friends and all the U.S. restaurants and...
I feel someone tapping me and catch sight of the clock – it’s 5:58. “Mom, wake up!” Was it Christmas? Oh heck no. Even better. It was self-led conference day. What are self-led conferences, you ask? Good question and one I had asked myself several weeks earlier...
As I mentioned yesterday, I’m a wee bit behind on my blogging due to my computer dying. But I didn’t want you to miss all the excitement from April and May, so I’m just going back and filling in the gaps now. The event in this post took place a month ago, on Friday, May...