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...
Washington, DC
This is a collection of posts from our tour in Washington, D.C. from July 2014 to June 2016. There are also posts from various other times we were posted temporarily to D.C. for language or job training.
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 arriving in a new...
Okay, I have to share a delightful little thing I’ve stumbled upon. Â It’s called FreeCycle and it’s basically a place where you can give or get things for FREE. Â You simply go to...
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). Â 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...
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. Â The “not sure what to do with myself” part comes...
It was a lovely, quiet holiday weekend for the Novaks. Â Nick made us a Thanksgiving feast complete with homemade pumpkin pie, turkey, mashed taters and gravy. Â I was totally spoiled! Â It was our...
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 his spare...
As you’ve probably read here or on Facebook, it’s been me and the Nia-meister for the last 8 days while Nick was away in Russia and Ukraine. I was definitely nervous about how the week would...
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 6 months in the making...
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. Â We’ve gotten used...
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 3 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 who...
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 5 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...
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...
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...
Happy Holidays blog readers! Soooo, I was ridiculously lucky to kick off my holiday season in style with tickets to the National Christmas Tree Lighting (courtesy of cousin Kyle who works at the...
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...
Let’s start with the good news. WE WENT CAMPING! Yay us! Now for the bad news. We bailed after 24 hours. Here’s how it all went down: We left Friday around lunch, right after picking Nia...
I can’t place my finger on exactly when it happened, but sometime in the last week we kicked into full on prep mode. I was hoping to have 10 more days or so until the insanity hit, but ready or...
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...
The Novaks are back in DC for the first time in 2 years. Although I’m not a big DC fan, it’s nice to come back to somewhere that’s familiar. For the first time ever we’re...
I’m sure you’re wondering why I haven’t been writing these last few months. Well, it was a combination of things – lots of end-of-year activities, still finding work/life...
Well, look at that. I’m back already. How’s that for keeping my word?! In Tuesday’s post I filled you in about how we spent our summer, so today I’ll tell you what brought us...
Nick was originally scheduled to start language classes on Tuesday, September 6th–the day after labor day. That would have been fine and dandy if we didn’t have the kid with us, but we...
Good day all – Several of you noticed that my recent blogs have primarily been about Nick & Nia and asked that I give an update on what’s been happening with me. I’m touched to...
Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash I was incredibly touched by how many of you read (and commented on) yesterday’s post. I did feel your love and support, so first and foremost, thank you...
It’s fall, my absolute favorite time of the year. You may assume it’s my favorite season because of the beautiful colors or the cooling temps or the delicious crispness of the air (cross...
Some of you will be pleased to know that today’s update has no heavy emotional stuff in it (or at least I’m not planning on it but I guess one never knows where writing will take...
October is Nia’s birthday month, so to celebrate her 11th bday, we invited her cousin Armin and grandparents to come stay with us for five days. It was such a fun couple days. We had the most...
Hello Everyone – Happy Holidays! I realize I have a lot to catch you up on since I haven’t written in so long. I guess I just haven’t felt like I have much to report lately. Our big...
Photo by Miguel Alcântara on Unsplash Last November my mental health was suffering greatly after being trapped inside for the entire month with a nasty cough and sinus infection. I was feeling very...
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash Continuing our story… If you didn’t catch Part 1, read that first. I didn’t have much time to mentally process the news because Nia and I were headed to...
My name spelled in Russian Cyrillic cursive I am back, as promised, to fill you in on my first month of Russian Language class at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI). For starters, the language is...
Hey Readers- How goes it? We’ve been having the most glorious non-wintery weather here in DC (recent high of 78!) and I am absolutely L-O-V-I-N-G it. Turns out that the winter weather I was...
Happy Easter All! Today I wanted to share a bit about a unique experience Nia and I got to take part in last weekend. As I’ve mentioned before, Nia’s public school is the equivalent of a...