beginning the year

oh the dreaded first monday of the year, the day when we are forcefully shook from our holiday stupor and before you know it, you’re standing in front of eight students on a monday morning thinking, “welp, this is weird.” fortunately getting back to normal wasn’t quite as brutal as it was last year. so far so good.
but, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind. besides travel tuesday, i’ve been pretty absent from online things. i’ve been busting my back with teaching and other daily activities that by the end of the day (we’ll say around 9pm) i am ready to hit the mattress. (which is good, because our new year’s day bed crisis has been resolved- no more breaking bed jokes from me) last night i actually slept just short of ten hours– hallelujah.

during the day and any free time in the mornings, i’ve really gotten back into yoga. see, i’d been visiting a studio right down the street for the better part of the last year, but the monday evening english yoga times were really inconvienent. however! another blogger recommended me to try yoga glo, which is an amazing monthly subscription that is incredibly affordable and particularly convenient for the expat yogi. in just the past week, i’ve practiced three times. (that’s up from zero times at all between september and december) and you know what? i really feel better, stronger, and healthier. when you make time for yoga and do it two or more times a week, it can be so transformative for so many aspects of life– something i’ve long forgotten. so this will definitely be a habit i’m going to stick with in 2015!

i mean, i feel pretty good about what i’ve accomplished in 2014. i’ve become a better teacher. i backpacked around poland. i successfully completed ‘no pork’ all year and intend to continue. i buckled down with my german studies. i visited with both of my parents. i changed my hair color. i learned how to do a fishtail braid, you know, the important stuff. but i’m feeling pretty excited to start living more intentionally and adopting a more active lifestyle. (i mean hey, five months til’ the wedding day! you know how it goes)

something i’ve been noticing over the past couple of weeks is what seems like an expat milestone. i’ve gone through love, acceptance, annoyance, and any other phase that is possible with living in the czech republic. but lately, i have been feeling really at home here. as in, i don’t even notice any scowls. friendly faces seem to abound. all i can think of are the good things and none of the bad. and not only that, but living in my town of české budějovice versus a larger metropolis. never before have i felt so content here! kind of nice to realize as i’m quickly nearing my two year mark with living in čb. it only seems to get better, for both alex and i.

eating: i made a killer chili last week that i am still day-dreaming about. this is going to have to go into heavy winter rotation. and fondly recalling  new years eve when i made a huge batch of pierogies and we drank port and danced before heading out to a party. pierogies!

drinking: loose-leaf tea. alex got me a sweet little teapot for christmas and i’ve been loving to load it up with some lapsong souchong or similar and have “tea time”. haven’t touched coffee in weeks strangely, besides a couple cappuccinos here in there at cafes. but i did try a homemade perníkový (gingerbread) latte at fér cafe last weekend which, in my opinion, is much better than the starbucks version.

planning: to take a bus to globus this weekend to stock up on more loose-leaf tea and other goods that you can’t find at normal supermarkets. yep, this requires a special bus trip to do. also, a couple i teach has asked me to plan a trip for them around washington state! i’m so excited for them to visit all of the places i love and see all of the incredible beauty of the area, and of course, my lil’ island hometown.

wishing: i could go see wild this weekend, but it’s nowhere around me to be found in cinemas– a bit odd as we usually get most of the newest american movies here.

reading: about halfway through dubliners, which is alright, but i’m really craving reading more augusten burroughs next since i adored running with scissors. and as usual, all of your #traveltuesday posts which have been exceptionally wonderful this week. by the way, i only just barely failed my reading challenge goal for 2014, which i totally blame on that one history of salt book that took three months to read and i just can’t quit a book; never been a quitter. (did you complete your challenge?)

listening: i finally finished the serial podcast the other night and i have to say, i was a bit disappointed at what seemed like an inconclusive ending. i really enjoyed the series, but the ending was just meh. also, this kexp list of the top ten icelandic albums of 2014. my love affair with iceland never ceases. and lastly, here’s dancing in the moonlight (1973) that i was groovin’ to on new years before i went down a weird nineties alt rock spiral…

watching: the downton abbey christmas special (finally) this weekend. i’ve desperately been looking for a copy of the bachelor premiere floating around on the internet but have been unable to find it. am counting that as “the internet saving me from myself”. alex doesn’t condone my want to watch this show, but also doesn’t discriminate. smart guy

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i hope you all have had a wonderful start to the new year and that you also live with intention this year! it’s going to be a good one. stay tuned, and don’t forget to follow my journey on bloglovin’.