Halloween was out of control (in an amazing sort of way) at my school on Wednesday. Since Halloween isn't typically celebrated in South Korea, staff at the school just go all out. We had a costume parade, a pumpkin carving contest, a legitimately scary haunted house, and a school-wide trick or treat event (kids went down the halls and collected candy from every staff member!).

A bunch of staff members dressed up as scrabble tiles that spelled the word "schoolteachers" (apparently it's a compound word?). One of my grade three darlings figured it out - a proud moment for this teacher! ;)

*We also rocked the scrabble tiles at a halloween bash in Hongdae on the weekend!
*Thanks Mike for the photos! :)

Mike was recently hired by my school as their official photographer and videographer.  I sure love having him hang around school snapping photos and tagging along to all school events (who doesn't enjoy seeing their man during the workday??). Last Friday, the whole school headed out to Seoul Zoo. It was beautifully warm autumn day, the leaves were just starting to change colour, Mike took killer photos...and one of my students ran into the rhinoceros enclosure. True story.

(Obvious credit goes to Mike for all these photos. There are indeed some real gems of the students from my school, but I feel a bit leery about posting those all over the internet. So you'll just have to imagine the fresh-faced Korean cuties!:)

My oh my this has been a long week. I know it's not technically finished yet, but I have today off so it's as good as done in my books!

Let's move on. Look at this little lady. Is she not the most beautiful girl you've ever seen? This little niece of mine is so so dear to me. Her brothers are pretty swell too.

Her family is in town this weekend for Easter. Looking forward to lots of family time & decompressing (because let's face it - breaking down crying at supper on a Thursday night is not endearing).

the project that never ends...

i have a combined final creative project for two of my classes that is dragging out into eternity.

but today, i finally finished part of it...the felt board!

i am seriously indebted to mike who helped cut out little animals

+ didn't mind when i came over with a huge bag bursting of felt + hot glue guns.

however, i still have so much to do...

i realized today that this little calvin + hobbes snippet basically sums up my attitude towards school work:

Calvin: I work better under pressure.

Hobbes: Actually, you work only under pressure.

Calvin: That way, the work time is more miserable, but there's less of it.

well, best get back to work! ciao! 

ps. thank you for the birthday wishes yesterday - it was a lovely day! i will post pictures of mike's romantic little birthday surprise for me soon...

one week.

1. take photos in the photobooth at the airport

he's been home one week! oh, it's been simply lovely...

forgive me for not posting - between spending as MUCH time together as possible + working + trying to work on my final project (sort of) + gorgeous weather - not much time left for blogging (or sleeping if that makes you bloggers feel less resentful of my absence! :) ) . 

SO pumped for this weekend - while it should mean: lots of project time, i have a feeling it's going to mean: lots of hang out time + family time + easter dinners (x 2). yes yes yes!

love, janis

scrambled eggs + new friends

tjjjjjhis this morning, i had a lovely little breakfast date with two new friends rosie & linda. they have a cute monday morning breakfast tradition which they graciously invited me to this week. lots of laughs + stories + trouble with the ketchup bottle + spilled water. and they let me take pictures of them eating - always a bonus!

hope you all had a good start to your week. i have a HUGE portfolio project due on wednesday (SO STRESSFUL!) but then mike comes home on thursday (SO EXCITED!). can't wait!

sparkly holga.

as promised, here are the latest holgas! dear holga did better than we could have ever imagined...

what an experience this was! it was so cold + snowy the night we took these. i thought that matches would be just fine for lighting the sparklers. i was terribly wrong. it was so windy + they kept on going out...we were ecstatic each time we managed to get a sparkler lit! and then i realized i was actually not very good at spelling words backwards...next time i think i shall stick to circular designs + symmetrical shapes and mike can handle the spelling. deal?

we were highly skeptical that these would work out...considering our previous attempts to cajole holga into  some good photos. sigh. but not ONLY did these ones turn out fabulously, but holga also produced some stunning black & white outdoor shots (future post! ahhh the suspense!!). mike + i screamed when we saw them. literally. we get rather excited about things like that...

thank you kindly dear holga for (finally) cooperating.

on another note, i'm sorry about the delay between posts. i had a massive project due on wednesday - one of those beastly monstrous ones that take over your whole entire life + swallow you whole. EUGH. but i managed to make it out alive- unfortunately this dear little blog was a bit neglected as a result! i don't know how all you full time student bloggers manage to be so diligent at posting...kudos. apparently i suck at time managment. but i'm back! and this week coming up is reading week so NO CLASSES. so expect to see more of me!

bon weekend!! joyeuse saint valentin! 

XOXO

it's a silly time to learn to swim when you start to drown.

man. this past week was insanely busy. getting a handle on my courses + balancing my two jobs + trying to have a social life really wiped me out. this weekend has been busy busy as well, but at least full of fun things...such as seeing canadian darlings, tegan & sara.

it was so rad to finally see them perform because i have loved those quin twins since i was seventeen years old. kimberly + i would often find ourselves wailing out to the so jealous album in her white impala in grade twelve.
and now, finally, five years later, i was able to wail along with them in real life. magic! 

well, i will have to cherish the memory in my heart as i plough through boring textbooks + papers + and a disgusting amount of 'reflections' this week....

XOXO

ps. i smuggled ms. holga into the show, but only had one picture left! the pressure almost killed me...
if the picture isn't too much of a let-down, i will post it!

the crazy little reader.

when i was little, we often would drive out to BC for a month during the summer.

we camped, swam, explored, spent time with family...

and read and read and read.

i would go to the library before the trip,

check out 20 books,

and try my best to stuff them all in one backpack.

i read voraciously during the year too.

at about thirteen years old, i realized, with great sadness,

that i had read almost the complete young adult section at my local library.

i began to venture off to the next closest library to quench my insatiable thirst.

{i was a flexible little reader!}

all throughout junior high and high school, i read like crazy.

but as i started university,

all the required readings (novels, articles, textbooks) started to weigh me down.

i realized that i started wanting to read for pleasure less + less.

all that required reading made picking up a book look a lot less attractive.

it's a little scary when something you have always done,

something you've always considered core to your personality,

just isn't there anymore. 

this is not to say that i don't read at all anymore,

but i often have to force myself to pick up a book,

and it sometimes takes me a looooong time to get through it.

(case in point, outliers. i finally finished it yesterday after starting it THIS SUMMER!)

every once in awhile, i read something that re-ignites that spark

and i feel like that crazy little reader inside of me is not gone,

just a little tired.

(jonathan strange + mr. norrell did it for me this summer -

read it! a little slow in the middle, but the last third was amazing!)

so new year's resolution:

revive that crazy little reader inside.

i miss him a lot.

and i need to start spending more time in bookstores again.

what wonderful wonderful places.

any fabulous book suggestions??

i am so close.

i got a letter in the mail a few days ago
that made me very very happy.

it was from my university
and it looks like everything is a go for me
to start my certification years of teaching next fall!
i'm so excited to be finished with all my
math, science, and french lit requirements.

as of next fall, i'll be taking only education classes,
and five week block practicums each semester.
yay!

i love when i actually feel like i'm making progress with school,
because often it feels like these six years are draggggging on.

old typewriter distraction.

this past week, i spent a great deal of time hunched over at the desk in the office studying..eating..cursing exams..procrastinating..studying..eating..

during one of my studying lulls,
i started poking around the office,
looking for interesting things to distract myself with.

an old antique typewriter,
usually featured in the hallway,
has been cast off into the office to make room for christmas decor.
i started tapping away at it, and much to my delight,
i realized that it still works!

yes, it punches holes in the paper instead of typing the letter 'o'...
yes, the 'e' is merely nothing but a big old smudge...
yes, the space bar doesn't really work...
but it sure is a beauty.

----

exams are done, so i will be back here in full force.
{they went pretty well i think! so relieved to have them finished!}

i think i could sleep a million years...
but i'm not sure when i will even get in a full 8 hours.
things are pretty crazy straight up until i leave for van city sunday morning!
but be assured, i will be be making time for the glee fall finale!

happy friday everyone!

love, janis

la chaleur des lumières

{the warmth of lights}instead of studying for exams,
i decided to string some lanterns and hang some lights.
the lanterns + twinkle lights have instantly
made my bedroom feel more cozy + festive.
i'm telling myself that such a cozy atmosphere will surely
encourage diligent studying.
it's working already, look:
{my last required read of the semester. fini!}

speaking of exams,
i'm afraid that it is really crunch time!
consequently,
i will not be spending much time around here these next few days.

as of thursday, december tenth, at nine o'clock pm,
{yes, an exam at night time. what a horrible idea}
i will be free to:
blog + pleasure read + have a sleepover with the niece and nephew
+ decorate christmas cookies + go to vancouver + send off christmas cards
+ go for a massage + christmas shop + cook + organize my photo albums
at my leisure for {almost} a whole glorious month.

see you then!!

xo

hello again + a lovely affair

well my friends, sorry for being absent these last few days.

between final tests + papers + sleep deprivation
+ family visiting + working + feeling brain dead,
i haven't had time for much else.

but now i have only a few classes left + two measly little exams!
so.close.
la fin est proche!

this week was made insurmountably better
by finally getting to see my cousin kayla's wedding pictures.
i was a bridesmaid in this lovely little affair this past august,
and have been waiting with
bated.breath.
for the photos!

my other cousin's boyfriend was the photographer du jour,
so we acted pretty crazy
{no need to impress the photograher!}
and we had so.much.fun.

sorry for the poor quality of the pictures
i shamelessly ripped them off my cousin kayla's facebook!

nathan + kayla, you two are so crazy. i love you both.

hope you all had a swell week.
XO

a lovely realization.

don't you love it when you're reading a book for school
and you realize:
"hey, i'm actually enjoying this..."
{and then it makes you cry on the bus...}

table talk.

fresh veggies + bruschetta

sweet potato fries + tzatzki with french bread

chicken wings + caesar salad

this past weekend, my family and i enjoyed a yummy lunch
filled with some of my favourite appetizers.
{coincidence? i think not.

i was the chef du jour!}

i don't think there's anything i love better than
eating + laughing + talking + laughing + eating
around a big round table.
it's basically what i hope to do all of christmas holidays
{i'm so close...last test down! one paper + two exams to go!}

bon courage to all those who are likewise
finishing up the semester!

xo

habit.

i can't even remember now how i came across the blog habit,

but i sure do remember how i fell in love with it right away.

"welcome to habit.
a place to capture
and celebrate
the bits of our daily lives."

the blog has monthly guests who come in and share little bits about their daily lives.
the blog is so simple, so cozy, so intimate.

here are some of my favourite posts:

and so, in the spirit of habit,
here is a little bit from my day:

xxxxxxxx17 november
xxxxxxxxjanis

xxxxxxxxstudy night in. popcorn and warm lighting make it much more bearable.

one of those days...

this is how i felt at approximately
four a.m. last night,
slaving away on this project.

after 1½ hours of sleep,
i eagerly stepped into the shower...
only to find out that
the shower head was broken,
and my usual blast of warm water was reduced to nothing but a trickle.

went to work with the kiddies at the elementary school.
came home to make myself some lunch,
and almost fell asleep while eating it.

seriously considered skipping my 2.30 pm french lit class...
but my motivated student self wouldn't let me.
so i dragged my tired little hiney to class,
only to find out that it was
cancelled.
you have got to be kidding me.

at that point i felt like dropping to the ground
and sleeping on the university's cold unsanitary linoleum.
and never waking up.

but....
if i had opted for for the linoleum floor,

i would have never popped over to my brother & sister-in-law's for a
quick snooze
on the couch before my next class.

and i would have never thought about
how much i appreciate those places where you can drop by
unexpected, unannounced, and just pull up on their couch,
no questions asked.

and i would have never experienced the pleasure ofmy dear little niece coming over and giving me a
warm gooey banana chocolate chip muffin
{straight out of the oven}
and a
lovely little kiss.

and i would have never had the chance
to enjoy the stunning combination of
louis armstrong belting out cool yule
and the shining sun streaming in
on my drive back to school.

i guess all's well that ends well right? {photo taken by me this summer during my blissful road trip in washington state}

xo