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’ other Christmas traditions. Here are some of the things we’ve come to expect from Christmas...
Sarah Novak
“Mom, we’ve talked about this before. I’m too busy to have my picture taken. Please leave me alone.†“No, I’m really serious this time. Go away. This is your final warning. I mean business.†“You asked for it. I didn’t want to go all paparazzi on you, but now...
Hey folks, long time no talk. Â Sorry bout that. Â I wasn’t feeling it. Â But I’m back now, so that’s the good news. So when we last talked we had just received our long-awaited assignment to Washington, DC. Â While that was a huge relief, the celebration was immediately...
Photo by Mike Mozart on Creative Commons The good ole US of A! Â That’s right, we’ll be setting up our home in Washington, DC for a 2 year assignment. Nick will be working as a Press Officer in the EUR (Europe) bureau covering Central and Eastern Europe. Â His job will entail...
All I have to say is that mid-level bidding SUCKS. Â We’ve been on pins and needles all week hoping and praying that we’d get an email telling us that we had received an assignment. On Monday we refreshed the email every 10 minutes to no avail and watched the Facebook...
I’m not sure where the time went, but I recently did the math and realized that this month is the 7 year anniversary of my Life Coaching Business. Â Whoa, huh? It’s been a wild ride – entrepreneurship is definitely on par with parenting in terms of difficulty. Â In fact...
Wanna know something? I’ve never been too fond of Halloween. Sure, I enjoyed it as a kid, but by the time I got to my early teens I was pretty over it. It all seemed kinda silly. But then I had a kid and EVERYTHING changed. No seriously, I think I was more excited than her this...
One of the things my parents insisted on during their visit to Peru was a visit to the Sacred Valley and most importantly, Machu Picchu (MP). Having visited MP back in January with Rachel, I whole-heartedly concurred knowing that, no matter how high one’s expectations, MP NEVER...
Each year, the best designers in Peru pool their talent to restore a historic mansion in Lima with the help of CasaCor, an organization that rehabilitates neglected historic spaces. This year’s selection was Palacette Sousa, a palatial home constructed in the seaside district of...
The end is in sight folks. Post assignments officially start going out on November 4th and we’re expecting to hear something between the 4th and the 12th. It’s been a surprisingly stressful process, far more than our first two times bidding. The difference is that we’re bidding...
When winter starts to get long and we haven’t seen the sun in months, we hop in the car and drive to Cieneguilla. This city, while only one hour from our house, is technically considered the country and is home to one of our favorite places in Lima, the restaurant Mesa de Piedra. Mesa...
It’s hard to believe, but we’ll have a 2 year old in our family as of the 22nd. In order to celebrate this momentous occasion, we decided to throw the most Elmolicious Party we could dream up because if there’s one thing our little girl loves, it’s ELMO (Mommy & Daddy...
If you’ve spent any time with Nia, you know that there are 3 people/things she talks about incessantly. The first is Elle, her BFF who is only 1 month older than Nia. These two run the Malecon all day long fighting over toys and shrieking with joy over their latest discoveries. Next...
Hey folks, I’m really late with this one, but couldn’t resist at least sharing a few photos of this stunning city. In hindsight, we should have spent more than 1 night here. We underestimated how enchanting it was going to be! The city was originally a walled fortress and there...
Here’s a great little ditty that you’ll recognize the melody of – the only difference – it’s being sung in Gaelic! Hope it brightens your day. Today we’re in route back to Lima after 3 wonderful weeks in the US and Canada. Happy Monday!
Sarah
If I could only remember one thing about Montreal, it would definitely be the food. Amazingly memorable, mind-blowing cuisine. MEAL. AFTER. MEAL. AFTER. MEAL. Not planning to step on the scale for quite some time… The city though – not quite what I expected. Pretty much a big...
This is sheer genius, straight out of the land down under. Â I dare you not to laugh!
Happy Monday, Sarah
Sorry for the lack of posts folks, we’ve been too busy having fun with my in-laws, Robert & Joyce who live in bea-uuuu-tiful Bend, OR (home of every athletic person who ever walked the earth. No lie, dress code = your best athletic wear & of course, your bike!) These Bend...
You might not know them by name, but I bet you’ve seen their cover of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” ( which has clocked an unbelievable 153 MILLION youtube hits). Â Here they are, back with another fresh, innovative take on a song we know and love. Â We...
The update is that there is NO UPDATE. Â I’m freakin’ going insane here people. Â Everyday I get up expecting that we’ll start seeing changes to the list and every day it’s the exact same list. Â And as with many bureaucracies, information can be hard to come...
It’s that fabulous time in our tour when the USG ‘requires’ that we leave our 3rd world home and spend time in a 1st world nation. Â The official name is R&R (Rest and Relaxation), although we’ll see how much of that actually happens. Â Here’s how it...
A guaranteed laugh on this one, folks. Â This woman is the bomb! Â Her name is Christina Bianco and she’s a popular comedian who does Diva singing impressions. Â In this clip she sings the 80’s power ballad “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in the style of 18 different...
 Friends, can I tell you how fortunate I feel that my advanced little girl has decided that being 2 is not a prerequisite to displaying Terrible Twos behavior!?  Every day I am blessed to practice extreme patience as I experience meltdowns, shrieking, kicking and the occasional bite...
Sheer brilliance – tell me that you didn’t laugh?! Â Happy Monday, Sarah
So, as I mentioned in my last post, I was a bit rattled after my sketchy cab incident and decided to *FINALLY* pick up this book, The Gift of Fear, after 5 years of it sitting on my shelf. Â Surprisingly, it was not only insightful, but also read like a thriller. Â Not kidding, I...
It was a normal weekday in Lima and I was standing in front of a high-end hotel waiting to hail a cab. Â A guy calls out to me asking if I need a ride. Â I decline and walk away. Totally innocuous right? Â Seemingly, but see if you feel the same way after I gave you these additional...
Image Attribution: Conscious Design on Unsplash I discovered Yoga during my pregnancy with Nia (fyi, it was a Godsend for dealing with back and hip pain). I maintained the practice after her birth, primarily doing Hatha yoga, a very gentle type of yoga that is easy on my arthritic...
Patience has never been my strong suit. Â I love information and I’d prefer to have it NOW. Â It’s almost laughable that I ended up in a lifestyle that is basically one perpetual waiting period. Wait to know where you’re going. Wait to know where you’re living...
Good news! We learned this weekend that all it takes to keep our toddler still for 2 hours is a Parade! Now if only we could have a parade every day then we’d be in great shape… Ok, kidding aside. Late July is when Peru celebrates their Independence. Last year at this time I...
Nick decided to take up the guitar while we were gone for 5 weeks in Minnesota. Â Since arriving home, Nia’s been positively fascinated with it, constantly wanting to go in our room to touch it. Â We’ve had to have many discussions about not pounding on it, so now she’ll...
As many of you know, the College of St. Benedict (St. Ben’s aka CSB) is near and dear to my heart. This one-of-a-kind institution shepherded me from girl to woman and left an indelible print on my heart. It was here that I found my voice, expanded my worldview and claimed my...
Hey y’all – I haven’t shown any Sam Tsui stuff in awhile and this cover really touched me – had to share! Â Enjoy & have a great day! Â Sarah
Well, we made it nearly 19 months before having to trim those beautiful blonde locks…. I delayed as long as I could, but her bangs were starting to cover her eyes and the stubborn kiddo refuses to wear clips for me (but she’s just fine doing it for the nanny). Â So off we went...
This is rockin’! Â Happy Monday y’all…
We had two great food-based experiences this weekend and they couldn’t have been more polar opposites. Â The first was on our Friday night date. Â We visited a new restaurant in town called Amaz (located next to the Hilton Miraflores). Â This restaurant is the 2nd in a series...
Last week I had the good fortune of visiting the non-profit CIMA with the Canadian International Society, an expat group here that has supported this organization since it’s inception 25 years ago. Â CIMA provides assistance to 8-18 year old boys who live on the streets or find...
We’ve been out enjoying the final days of summer while we’ve still got sun. Â For those who don’t know, Lima loses it’s sunshine for roughly 7 months a year thanks to the Humboldt Current, a jet stream that pushes the clouds eastward. Â Those clouds run smack into...
Today we took a family field trip into downtown Lima to see Parque de Las Reserva (or the “Fountain Park†as it’s called when you can’t remember the Spanish name). We’ve been meaning to get here forever but something’s always gotten in the way. Today, we finally made it...
I’m usually so on top of things, but this project got put on the back-burner when our guests started arriving in January and February. Â However, Nick shot some amazing video and it would be a shame not to share it. The underwater interaction with the animals was the trip highlight...
We’ve had helper drama lately. Â I haven’t written about it because I wasn’t sure how it was going to be resolved, but I’m ready to give you the full lowdown now. In early February I fired Lupe, our helper of 9 months. Â The tension had been building between us for...
As I’ve mentioned before, Embassy Lima does a great job of putting on festive holiday celebrations. Â Holidays tend to bring up additional feelings of homesickness and events like this really do a lot to counter-act the pain of being so far from home on these special days. Â This...
Nia and I decided to take advantage of our relatively-close South American location and join the family for the annual trip to Puerto Vallarta. My parents have owned a time share there for 3 years and visit each year over spring break. This is the first time I’ve been to the...
 On President’s Day Weekend we ventured 3 hours south on the Pan-America Highway to Lunahuana, a country-esque area know for its adventure sports.  It’s located in the middle of a mountain valley with the Cañete river cutting through the center.  White-water rafting and...
It’s summer here and we’ve been capitalizing on the good weather by doing lots of fun outdoorsy stuff. Â One of our adventures this week was a trip to Granja Arriero (Arriero Farm), a small farm/petting zoo an hour outside of Lima, near Pachacamac. Â Nia’s obsessed with...
I get a lot of comments about how much Nia looks like me because of the blue eyes/blond hair thing. Â What you can’t tell however, is how much Nia looks like Nick when he was a child. Â Check out this side-by-side comparison (Nick is 2 1/2 here)… there’s no doubt where...
Just got back from a 4 day trip with Rachel to the Sacred Valley of Peru, home of the infamous Machu Picchu. Can I just start by saying that it’s a b*tch to get there! Yup, we’re talking plane, train, and bus to get to this jungle-top paradise. The good news: IT’S SO WORTH IT...
January has been plum full of visitors! My sister Jenna was here from January 2nd to the 12th and then my dear college friend Rachel arrived on the 12th and stayed until the 21st. Talk about non-stop hostessing! Oh, and did I mention that my in-laws arrive in 4 days for a month-long stay...
One of the activities Jenna was most excited to try during her stay in Lima was a Chocolate-making Workshop at the Choco Museum in Lima. This was my first time going as well, so we made for quite an excited pair! We opted to do the Bean to Bar Workshop, where you complete the steps that...
There’s never a dull day on the Malecon (our ocean-side park near our house) and since we go out there several times each day, we inevitably run into lots of fun adventures. Like yesterday, for example. Meet Renata. She’s about 6 or 7 years old and has great fashion taste (check...
What would Jenna’s visit to Peru be without a road trip? Especially a trip with a shrieking 1-year-old! Yes, that’s right. Bet you didn’t know Nia’s lungs have the capacity to sustain shrieks for 3 hours straight!?! We made the best of it though, stopping for 1 night in...