Sweets and Chinese

This week we went out for a great Italian lunch (which of course I forgot to take a picture of). I had shrimp and asparagus pasta. It was delicious!! I am usually not a huge fan of Italian food because I am never blown away by it but I love this pasta. I want to go back like every week for the next 4 weeks! In conclusion of this delicious meal we shared three delicious desserts!

Of course I remembered to take a picture of these!

Friday night after a fun afternoon of handing out Halloween bags at school we went to dinner with some coworkers. We had a great time and shared some great food. We went to a Chinese place that reminded me a lot of PF Chang's but I think it was better. We each chose three small dishes for a set price and had unlimited dim sum and dessert. What's not to love about that?

Dan and Soo Kyeung

Crystal and I enjoying our 1 plus 1 drink specials

Another wonderful week of food in Seoul!

What I've been Eating this week

I was on an western food (aka unhealthy) overload this week. We had Bennigan's, Subway, Indian (I know not American--but not Korean either), Lotteria (Korean McDonalds) and best of all On the Border!!. It was all delicious but not so good for me or my wallet. I was super excited that we found pancake mix earlier in the week and got to have that for lunch today, it was wonderful! Its probably good I did not have my camera with me everywhere I ate this week or I would be feeling really bad right now, but here are some things I did get, including my one healthy meal of the week.

Rice Noodle Soup--delicious and spicy

Just like Home :)

There are no words needed

Veggie Burrito!! Yay!

Cookin' in Korea

Thank God I found Salsa! Yummy!

Stir Fry with Soy Sauce

Finished Product

Sometimes you just need some homecookin' so Crystal and I whipped up some veggie stir-fry for dinner. It was pretty basic but we got to have soy sauce one of my favorite condiments at home but not usually used in Korean food. It was fun to cook again and the product was very good.  I was happy to have some serious amounts of vegetables, especially since I have been splurging on a regular basis here. I'm gonna have to decide at some point to get seriously back on the Weight Watcher bandwagon, I'm just not sure when that day will come. It will have to be before I jet to Thailand for a few days on the beach in a bathing suit.

Lunch at Seoul Global High School

Just a taste of what I've been having for lunch at the high school I work at in Seoul. 

Homesick for Fall

Don't get me wrong--living in South Korea is an amazing, once in a lifetime, awesome experience. I am loving in everyday. But sometimes as I read blogs, Facebook, and watch what little U.S. TV I can I get homesick and miss America.

Things I miss right now are mostly the Fall season and all that comes with it. Fall has always been my favorite season. I have great memories of growing up in New England in the Fall, going to the Fair, apple picking, starting the fireplace, wearing turtlenecks, eating pumpkin things!

From my more recent life as a married lady I miss Arkansas Razorback Football, hikes with Tom and Yankee, baking pumpkin things, decorating for fall.

Things I miss:

My wonderful husband who sent me an amazing care package today!
My Yankee too!

Family Fun Time

Pumpkin treats!

Arkansas Razorback Football!

From an Arkansas Watch Party many moons ago -- my attempt at a Razorback failed

The Woodstock Fair! (from my former Yankee life)

Watching the leaves change color.

Insadong Street Food

Today I went shopping for souvenirs in a popular area that has lots of shops with traditional Korean crafts, pottery, and gifts. There were a lot of interesting food items for sale. Below are a few of the most unique. 

Celebrating Chuseok!

Pictures of our lunch at our Professor's home for the traditional Korean Thanksgiving - Chuseok. 

Falling off the Band-Wagon

Well this weekend was a minor slip up time regarding healthy food choices, but today was a total nose dive into made food decisions. I also did not work out for the past 4 days! Saturday and Sunday we walked around Seoul a lot so I give myself a break for those day, but today and yesterday are no excuse other than laziness (and the fact that the gym is only open from 7-9 in the morning and I slept in and was on Skype through those hours).

Today there were wicked storms in Seoul, down pouring, wind, lots and lots of wetness. Because of this we did not want to hike down the hill of horror to find some food so we were stuck inside all day trying to stay occupied. I watched some TV, all we can get for American channels are CBS and MTV and Comedy Central. I watched some news and some Laguna Beach. I never watched that when it was on TV, not saying I like it that much now but I was desperate for some entertainment.

I started with my typical PB&J and banana (not so bad), then I had noodles (ramen type) and an apple, then I had some more noodles (spaghetti type) and about 10 Hershey nuggets. After some more doing nothing other than sitting n my butt watching trashy TV the rain started to let up and we went down the hill of horror to find some dinner. We found Mr. Pizza and Paris Baguette. We did get to have some salad at Mr. Pizza.
Everyone shares food here-- like all food, a pizza, the same bowl of salad, a glass of soda with 2 straws. It takes a little getting used to but it fits well with their culture. I can see the relation to that and their history and religious beliefs. Its interesting to see these things in action--even if it is at a pizza place. Then we headed to Paris Baguette and had a brownie and some milk (I accidentally bought banana milk).

Here are some food pictures from this weekend:

Yummy Seafood Salad

Hameul pajeon-Seafood Pancake and Kimchi Pancake

Veggie and Rice Bowl

Noodles and Seafood Broth

Ice Cream

Italian Style Seafood Alfredo Pasta

Unique and Strange Food Find

This a recent unique food find, thanks to my model Crystal for holding this up for this once in a lifetime photo opportunity :)

Seoul Day 5

Gym: 25 minutes bike, abs

Breakfast: PB&J and banana

Lunch: Ramen

Snack: Baskin Robbins (there is no way I'm going to lose weight eating all this food!)

Dinner: Sandwich, Chips, Apple, Cider

Seoul Day 4

Gym: jogging 20 minutes, walking 10 minutes, 2 arms machines

Breakfast: PB&J, banana

Lunch: Domino's Cheese Pizza (very good in Seoul, just like in the U.S.)

Dinner: Best Dinner in Seoul so far

Seoul Day 3

 No Gym Today :(
We walked around a lot today seeing the sights in Seoul.

Breakfast: in room PB&J and a Banana

Lunch: Noodles and Rice and Chocolate Almonds

Dinner: KimBop and Walker's Shortbread Chocolate Chip Cookies

Seoul Day 2

Today started out earlier that I would have liked at 5:30am Seoul time. I think I am still adjusting to the time difference here.
I stayed in until about 7 when I headed to the gym. I was really happy that I figured out how to use the TV on the treadmill! We spent most of the day going to the immigration office, but while there we had some very interesting food items and some pretty normal ones.

Gym: 35 minutes on treadmill, 2 arms machines 3 reps of 12, about 30 crunches

Breakfast: Salad, Apples, Kiwi, Toast with Butter and Jelly

Snack: Subway Waffles--SUPER YUMMY!

Lunch: Veggie Sandwich on very good bread-sold to me by an American in Korea :)

Dinner: BiBimBop

Dessert: Almond Bon Bon

Unique and Strange Food Sights: These items are taking food on a stick to a whole new level.