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...
Best of Novakistan
This is a compilation of the posts I feel deserve the “Best of Novakistan” title. They cover the entire 15-year span that I’ve been writing.
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...
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...
 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
“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...
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’...
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 2007...
Can you believe it’s been 5 years already? Â I know, shut up, right?!? Â I feel like it was just yesterday that I was purchasing those piles and piles of ravioli and diet coke. Â In case you...
Nick and I have been hanging kid-free in Portland since Tuesday. One of our favorite things we’ve done thus far was the Epicurean Excursion Walking Tour with Portland Walking Tours. In the...
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...
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 arriving in a new...
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...
Once upon a time there was a coffee table (originally owned by a beautiful, blonde-haired lady). Â In its day this table was the center of girl chats, group board games and many a memorable dinner...
Nia and I just got back from a 1 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...
Last weekend we took a family road trip to Philly. Â This was a very kid-centric trip and we had 2 specific destinations on our agenda. Â The first was Sesame Street Place, a Sesame Street theme park...
Hard to believe, but we are already halfway through our child-free getaway to the Mexican Riviera. Â We’re staying at a beach house in Akumal, which is located between Tulum and Playa del...
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...
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...
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...
We’re about 90 days out until “wheels up” for Malawi, which means it’s crunch time. It sounds like a lot of days, but I know from experience that it will evaporate in no...
Hard to believe but the movers come one week from today (Deep breath, everyone). As you might expect, the beginning of June was a whirlwind of graduations, good-byes, shopping and coughing (great...
This is part 2 in a series about my experience giving up sugar 6 months ago. If you haven’t read part 1, you should really start there for some background info. This post is going to focus on...
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but in the back of my mind I was totally picturing that Lilongwe (our new city) would look like a scene out of the Lion King. In case you had that misconception too...
Our first full day in Africa (Tuesday) started with a doorbell. We have several rotating guards that patrol the property 24 hours a day. We had forgotten to tell the one on duty that the gardener was...
Day 2 started with (you guessed it) the doorbell ringing at 9 AM. Once again I was still in bed and groggily stumbled to the door in my pj’s. This time it was my neighbor (the one who had popped...
Hey blog readers – Thanks for all the interest in our adventures. I’m really enjoying sharing our experiences with you. Thanks especially to those who’ve left comments on Facebook...
Hey All – I’m beat after a long day but didn’t want you to think I forgot about you… as a compromise, I’m just going to share a few funny stories today and then I’ll get you a longer post...
Apologies for the delayed post, the internet has been a bit wonky the last few nights when I’ve been trying to write. That’s Africa, I guess. Speaking of Africa, we’re coming to...
As many of you know, I like to jump right in when I get to post. If you remember, I was at Photography class on Day 5 in Manila and Spanish Lessons on Day 7 of Lima. In Malawi, my goal was to get out...
Today was Nia’s first day of preschool in Lilongwe. School starts early here, around 7:15 AM, and gets out around noon. I am the family chauffeur now, needing to get Nia to preschool and Nick...
I know I’m not going to get much sympathy on this one, but I’ve been super stressed the last two weeks trying to find the right staffing fits for our household. If you remember back, I...
So last week my neighbor Alison decided it was time for me to visit the fabric market. The fabric sold here is very unique – it’s all brightly colored and has wax in it. They call it...
I’ve been driving all of 10 days by now, so I thought I’d share what I’ve learned about the rules of the road here in Malawi: 1. Avoid hitting livestock that’s crossing the...
This past weekend was pretty much nonstop social engagements. We started the weekend with an Embassy-wide party at a mission member’s home. The party started around sundown (around 5:30) and...
It’s a big week here at Casa de Novak. Not only does our new nanny Esther start tomorrow, but Scholasticah and her 2 daughters moved into the quarters on our property, where they’ll be...
African posts, while often characterized by the hardships encountered there, come with a surprising ton of perks. These perks (along with the natural warmth of the people) are so enticing that they...
Nesting has officially begun at the Novak household. I got the itch this week, probably because we received confirmation that our stuff is arriving Tuesday. And by stuff I mean, all 10,000 lbs of...
Today we ventured out to Kumbali Cultural Center for breakfast. It’s a hot spot with the expat crowd, as they have a market, decent food and live music. This was yet another one of those...
It was a big week at the Novak house. Last Tuesday the truck pulled up containing all our Household Effects and Consumables that were shipped by boat. All in all, somewhere around 10,000 lbs. As...