Accountabily Post 2014 - Part 2.

Hi there! Keeping in check with my goals! I can't believe it's been two months since I wrote that last post but here we go:
 

1. Lose Weight: I have started making some changes in the past two weeks and it's starting to work, so I'm glad about that :)

2. Embrace my husband's new duty station. Leave Seoul with a positive attitude, no matter where we have to go: We have verbal orders to what seems like a wonderful, beautiful place. I still can't believe it and even though, as every place, it has bad things, I can't wait to be there and enjoy all the beauty it has to offer.

 

3. Read 20 books:Yeah no. Spring has been insanely good for my business, but extremely busy so haven't had much time to catch up on books. I am ditching Aztec until new notice because that book is just too damn long and I feel stuck in it.

4. Start a 365 Photography Project and keep up with it until December 31st: Still going strong! I can't believe I am keeping up with this. My last 365 was over in March so to know that I am still going in May, is very encouraging.

5. Keep a clean and organized house: I've been getting somewhat better at it. The PCS decluttering will start soon and it will all be better.

6. Eat better and do more meal planning: Meal planning definitely hasn't happened. I am however, eating somewhat better and ditching some stuff that I know is not good for me.

7. Back up my computer files... (One more time): Found the third location, but haven't started the process yet.

8. Take advantage of the prices in Korea and print and frame some of my photos to take to our new home: Haven't. And I even have a coupon for $25 OFF any framing service and haven't used it.

9. Be more active. Go back to the gym and Crossfit and workout regularly: Going kinda regularly. I have decided not to go back to Crossfit until my body weight is considerably lower.

10. Pay off some debt: Hahahahahaha NO.

11. Travel to somewhere new. The new duty station doesn't count: Haven't done it yet, but we are taking a trip to the coast on Memorial Day Weekend and I am super excited about it!

12. Have a more organized business model: Made the switch from CD to Digital Download and it has been the best thing I could have ever done! So much time and effort is saved (for both me, and the client!)

13. Revamp the blog: Nope.

 

So 5 out of 13? That's only because I am counting the half-assed ones as halves. It still counts! I will come back in two months and let you know how it's going :)

 

Love,

Zayda 

Accountabilty: Goals 2014

So I've decided that I'm going to keep myself in check by posting how I am doing on my goals every two months. So here we go:

1. Lose Weight: Nope. Not happening yet. I'm not trying hard enough.

2. Embrace my husband's new duty station. Leave Seoul with a positive attitude, no matter where we have to go: We haven't found out for sure where we are going next, but I'm still keeping this attitude in mind.

 

3. Read 20 books: I have three down and I'm on 30% of another one. Might have some catching up to do. 800-page novels are NOT good for this project.

4. Start a 365 Photography Project and keep up with it until December 31st: This one is going GREAT. I haven't missed a single photo yet, even if one day I had to post a phone one. I'm still very excited about this project.

5. Keep a clean and organized house: Yeah, let's not talk about that. This apartment drives me NUTS.

6. Eat better and do more meal planning: Eating better? somewhat. Meal planning definitely hasn't happened.

7. Back up my computer files... (One more time): They're in two locations now, still need to find a third, just in case.

8. Take advantage of the prices in Korea and print and frame some of my photos to take to our new home: Hasn't happened yet.

9. Be more active. Go back to the gym and Crossfit and workout regularly: I started going to the gym again, however, Crossfit is a whole 'nother story. I am still not sure if it is what I want or if it is what my body needs.

10. Pay off some debt: Hahahahahaha NO. My credit card is actually maxed out right now (totally worth it, though) aaaand we bought a car. Not an expensive car, but still a car. I know we need one but yeah, this goal might not really happen this year.

11. Travel to somewhere new. The new duty station doesn't count: Still haven't left Seoul. 

12. Have a more organized business model: Same business model here. Looking into Zenfolio to make it easier on me and my clients.

13. Revamp the blog: As you can see, no. Not yet.

 

So 2 out of 13? Yeah, that sucks. I'll see you in two months and let you know how it's going. Thanks for stopping by and checking out my utter failure! You guys are the best

 

Love,

Zayda 

City Hall Umbrellas

One of the things I love the most about Seoul is its random displays of art. Back in March (Shut up), I went with Tracie, Lindsay and Diane (Holy crap, they all have left Seoul by now) to check out and obviously photograph these umbrellas at City Hall.

Photo by Tracie Brown

Photo by Tracie Brown

 I really miss these random photography outings. It was just so much fun. Hopefully I will cross paths with these girls in the future and we can go for more adventures.

 I was so grateful for the beautiful blue sky that we had that day!

I'm not sure if the umbrellas are still there, but if you are in the area, they were at City Hall Station, Exit 4. I might go and check it out soon. Who knows? Maybe they have something new and cool.

Thank you for reading!

Love,

Zayda

Goals for 2014

Uh-oh. It's that time of year again. Time to hold myself accountable for the things I said I would do and didn't. Or did. who knows. Truth is, 2013 has been AMAZING. This year has been so, so good to me. Living in South Korea has been an incredible experience and I am thankful for it every single day. I have met some of the most wonderful people here and I feel very blessed to be a part of such a caring community. 2013 was also the year in which one of my dreams came true. I am now working as a photographer. I hate calling myself that for several reasons, but.. yeah. I'm taking photos of people and getting paid to do what I love the most. We had visits from one of my best friends and from my mother, we've been out and about exploring and we just have really enjoyed this year. 

Like everything, it has its ups and downs. We miss our Chelsea dearly and even though we LOVE Korea, we can't wait to move so we can get her back and have our family complete again. We have also missed out on a lot of family moments but we are ready to go visit and make up for the time we have been away. 2014 will bring its own challenges, and I will be here waiting with arms wide open!

So let's see how I did on my goals for 2013, shall we? This is my favorite part. This is where I get to kick myself for being me.

1. Lose weight: Nope. Got fatter. A lot fatter. Even though I tried, and I tried really hard but I just have no clue what's happening. A visit to the Doctor might be in order.

2. Learn at least the basics of Korean (Hangul): Aaaaand NOPE. I can say yes, no, tell a taxi driver to take me somewhere and order food. I can ask for prices on things but I can only give back a blank stare if the price is not one of the numbers I know. I think I just got lazy. So many people speak English here that I wasn't really forced to learn it in order to make it through the day so meh. I suck.

3. Read at least a book a month: Yes!!! I am so excited about this one. I am proud that I have now found some sort of balance and can have some time to read! If you want to see which books I read this year, please click here.

4. Start school or some kind of classes: No. Shut up.

5. Keep working on Photography skills: I have! With encouragement from some amazing people, I have now started my own photography business and I absolutely love what I do. I also use my camera SO much and have learned a lot of new things this past year. It's been wonderful and I am absolutely excited and looking to learn more and more every day.

6. Pay off some debt and not get into more: Yeah, no. We're definitely financially better, that's for sure. One of the big Credit Cards got paid off but I have been spending here and there on the other one. Not good. Need to get better but Seoul is so awesome and I just want to buy ALL. THE. THINGS.

7. Visit somewhere new, outside of Seoul: Unfortunately, due to number 6 and lack of time management skills, we have not been able to do this. Hopefully next year?

 

So yeah, that was it. 2 out of 7. That is HORRIBLE, dude. What in the world are you thinking? <--- That's me, talking to myself. I completely realize that none of these goals were unrealistic... things just didn't go as planned. Now for 2014, let's do something similar, realistic, attainable goals and hopefully this year I will go through with them.

 

1. Lose Weight.

2. Embrace my husband's new duty station. Leave Seoul with a positive attitude, no matter where we have to go.

3. Read 20 books.

4. Start a 365 Photography Project and keep up with it until December 31st.

5. Keep a clean and organized house.

6. Eat better and do more meal planning.

7. Back up my computer files... (One more time)

8. Take advantage of the prices in Korea and print and frame some of my photos to take to our new home.

9. Be more active. Go back to the gym and Crossfit and workout regularly.

10. Pay off some debt.

11. Travel to somewhere new. The new duty station doesn't count. 

12. Have a more organized business model.

13. Revamp the blog.

 

There. That should do it. I feel like all of these are possible and I'm going to work hard to make each of them happen. 

 

That's all for this year, friends! Thank you so so much for reading and for understanding when I abandon this blog for long periods of time. Life gets busy sometimes but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

 

I hope you all have an amazing new year and that all your wishes come true, that you are able to fulfill every goal you set for yourself and that life brings you nothing but great things!!!

 

Lots of love!

 Zayda

 

Seoul Zombie Walk 2013

Can I just start by saying that this was awesome? Ok. It was. Happy Halloween everyone!

 Even though the walk wasn't on Halloween (Actually it was like, more than a month before Halloween) I thought it was appropriate to post it today.

 I found out about the Zombie Walk randomly, like two days before the event, with somebody's post on Facebook asking questions about it. Decided to do my own research and found the event. I asked my friend Kathie if she would want to join us and I knew she (and her family) would be on board! Hubs and I went over to Kathie's and all of us got zombified there. Even her two little girls!

 We headed to the subway station to meet with our friend Marisa and her family. Some of the organizers of the event were handing out these cool stickers! Also, check out my nails.

 I have to say Kathie is one of the most creative people I have ever met and she brought it up this time by making "brains" for us zombies to eat. Don't they look disgustingly delicious? Thanks Kathie!

 The hubby and I were having a lot of fun. I kept joking about the movie "Warm Bodies" with him. I am so lucky to have someone to geek out with and who is on board with all the fun things I want to do.

 I have to say, I was feeling pretty confident with my zombie outfit and make-up... and then we got to the park. These people really stepped it up. There were AMAZING costumes and some serious make-up skills going on. If I'm ever in a Zombie Walk again, I'm bringing my A-Game.

 It was raining but that didn't stop people from showing up, it just made it more fun and the gloomy day went perfect with the mood of the zombie walk.

 We started the walk through Hongdae. It was really fun looking at people make "WTF?" faces or get spooked by some of the more elaborated zombies.

 This shot is a little blurry but I couldn't help but share it, because I thought this little boy was the bomb. Seriously, that's how I want my kids to be and hopefully we will be the kind of parents to make it happen.

 There was an after-party for the zombie walk, but we decided to find some food instead. Zombies gotta eat and with so many of them around, brains weren't going to do the trick. We headed to a small Italian restaurant in Kathie's neighborhood and I can only imagine how six people in complete Zombie gear, in the middle of September, must have looked like for that poor Korean waitress who was all alone in there.

And well, Zombies gotta go home too so here's me in the subway. We got some pretty good stares through the subway system.

This was a fantastic day and unfortunately, I know that I wont be here for next year's walk but if by some off chance I am (or if we move to a city where they do them too), I will definitely do it again.

If you want to see some awesome photos and be in the loop for when the next walk will be, please go like the Facebook page for the event. It is pretty cool: https://www.facebook.com/zombiewalkseoul

Thank you for reading!

Love,

Zayda

Goals for 2013

As the year ends, I'm usually disappointed with my goals. I don't think I have ever had a year in which I was able to achieve all of them. So I decided to set more realistic goals this year, and before I let you in on them, let's do a recap on the ones for 2012 and see how I did this year.

1. Get a driver's license: I did! This made me very happy. I felt free. Now I live in Korea where I don't need to drive, and I'm terrified to drive here too, but hopefully I'll get around to it at least just to go on base, but driving here is not a goal for me.

2. Lose weight: Man, am I glad I didn't say how much. I lost some but not as much as I wanted to, but still counts. I think this one will always be at the top of my list not only for new year's goals, but for all-the-time goals. Jeesh.

3. Keep in touch with friends and family: I have kind of doing alright with that thanks to Social Networks, but there is some family that I need to work on. I am just so lazy to pick up the phone, I'd rather just text or send a Facebook message and it's nothing against them, but I know they would appreciate a phone call every once in a while. Not setting a goal for that either, I will just try my best. I get... half a point for this one.

4. Blog at least once a week: Nope. That did not happen. AT ALL.

5. Work on my photography skills: I have been working on them and that makes me really happy, but I haven't been working as hard as I should. Half a point maybe?

 6. Read at least a book a month: That didn't happen either, but I managed to read 8 books throughout the year, all of them in the last 5 months since I had absolutely no time or energy to do anything while I was working at the daycare. And yes. The Oatmeal books count. I still don't get a point for this one.

7. Start drawing again: Ummm... No. but I have been getting inspired here in Korea so I might give it another shot. Not making it a goal though, it'll just happen if I feel like it.

8. Pay off my Credit Card: I'm actually laughing out loud at this one. Man, I suck. All I did was max the damn thing out. And then they extended my credit line. Gotta love credit card companies.

9. Get (and stay) organized: ...ish. I did in Georgia and then they moved us to Korea and I'm still trying to get my stuff together in this apartment which is way smaller than what we had. I'll figure it out.

10. Think before I speak: I have been getting really good at that! Proud of myself. Still lots of room for improvement.

So that's what, 4 out of 10? That's bad. So yeah. realistic goals this time. Here we go:

1. Lose weight.

2. Learn at least the basics of Korean (Hangul).

3. Read at least a book a month.

4. Start school or some kind of classes.

5. Keep working on Photography skills.

6. Pay off some debt and not get into more.

7. Visit somewhere new, outside of Seoul. 

There, that should do it. Somewhere in my head there was one about beating some videogames but I'll just leave that one alone and play them when I feel like it. Next year we'll do a recap on these goals and hopefully it will be 7 out of 7.

I wish every single one of you a Happy New Year, filled with good things and the accomplishment of all the goals you decide to set for yourselves. Thank you very much to the ones that still read the piece of me that is my blog, you have no idea how much that means to me.

Love, Zayda

 

Goals for 2012

It is normal for me to set goals for myself every new year, it is also normal for me to never achieve them. For some reason I always end up not finishing what I started, thinking it's too hard for me to do or simply getting bored. I found out I was setting myself up for failure, setting goals that were too difficult for me to reach. I'm hoping this year it will be different, and that's why I've set up some not easy, but achievable goals. Last year, I only had 3 goals and they were to get a job, to get a driver's license and to lose weight. I only got the job... here I am, weighing the same I did last year and still license-less, so hopefully this time around I'll achieve more than a third of my resolutions.

Here they are: