Needless to say, work has been pretty intense, but the man and I did manage to snag a few hours off last night to out with friends. We had a lovely, low key evening, filled with enough libations to feel like we were truly celebrating, but not so much that I feel icky today.

Here we are with the whole group:

and with the wonderful Kris who put the whole thing together:

Kris was also the mastermind/chef behind our wonderful Thanksgiving. I’m pretty sure she is the official fairy godmother of expat holidays.

Michael, darling man that he is, has also agreed to indulge me in an annual NYE “kissy picture.”  Last year’s holiday was sometime during our endless second date, so we disgusted everyone by kissing and recording it. (I had had lots of gin, what can I say.)  This year, I think, we were much more discreet. I just love the idea that over the course of our life together, we’ll have this sweet record of how we began each year, and how we’ve changed year to year.  I will spare you all, though, and keep those for myself.

Wishing you a 2010 filled with “love and light” to borrow a phrase from an inspiring friend, and so much happiness, you even feel jealous of yourself.

Cheers!

I’m focusing on my health as a way to enjoy the holidays because, quite frankly, it’s tough to be excited about much of anything when you feel lousy. Better physical health is conducive to better mental health, and vice versa.

The winter blues hit me hard this year, complete with days of not getting out of bed until the afternoon and huge crying jags. Fortunately, I could recognize what was happening and have a great support system. In addition to MB’s magic hugs and amazing patience and love, I humbled myself and reached out to one of my dearest friends, whom I affectionately call Bug. She peppered me with uplifting emails and little reminders of things that can help pull one out of the doldrums.

I also went hunting for naturopathic remedies. Sunlight and fresh air are amazing cure-alls, but I knew there had to be more. Kris Carr came to the rescue again with this post by Barbara Mendez on her CrazySexyLife blog. It was nice to see I was already doing a lot of the right things, but it gave me some new pointers, too. So I’ve started adding a big drizzle of flax seed oil to my smoothies, am currently working to give up sugar, and have been more protective of my sleep.

The great news is that so far, things seem to be helping. Days seem easier, and I’ve been laughing more. I’ve also been more accepting of myself. I had been pushing myself to do thing that I “should” want to do (like going out late partying on Tuesday. Ugh.) and instead honoring the homebody bit of my soul. I got some craft supplies and wrapped Christmas presents while watching mysteries. I’m spending less time in front of screens and more time with books. Giving up sugar (read: wine) is the real challenge right now, but I’m working on it. Of course, I will be indulging in glogg soon (which you can read all about in part iii), but it’ll be worth it.

If you’re curious about what goes into my daily green smoothie, check back soon. I’ll be writing a guest post for my brilliant friend/fellow health junkie, Jen, on her funny and informative blog, Holistic Health Junkie. I have all the pictures taken for my VitaMix love post, but have to bang out the text to go with it. I’ll be sure to post a link when it goes up.

Oh! And yoga! I joined a gym to go to their yoga classes, but that’s not happening. I am starting to do just a bit of yoga on my own at home though, which feels great.

By way of example, Michael likes to say I come from Shiny Happy Land.  When he called me last Christmas, shortly after our first date, he asked what I was doing. “Oh, you know, we’re all just cleaning up after dinner.  Dad put on a Blues Christmas CD, India and I are doing silly dances while we clear the table, Anders is wiping down the placemats…” There was laughter and music and general merriment in the background. It’s pretty tough to beat.

Which makes being 8,000 miles away at Christmastime (aka, the best time of the year to be Swedish) extra tough. So I’ve developed a three-prong plan of attack:

Part I: Focus on all the good parts about living in Korea

Part II: Do everything I can to keep my health (mental and physical) in order.

Part III: Bring as many elements of a Swedish Christmas as possible to Seoul.

It’s not the same as having my amazing rugrat niece crawling all over me while we open presents in front of the fire, but it should help make it all a bit easier. I’ll try to post details soon. And until then –
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!