My personal blog has went to the wayside of...

this blog!!

https://sites.google.com/a/une.edu/hkg-s-msw-portfolio/home/ssw-503-learning-log

Yes, there you have it gals (and guys, ha!)! I now have a weekly learning log to keep up with, and a gabazillion other things related to school, moving and the Army...that I just once again (I know!!) have forsaken my REAL blog!

Please feel free to follow along with the above link! It may be ultra boring to you who have no idea about social workers, or on the other hand very interesting! Either way...I hope you understand that this blog is for a grade, and well that's a HUGE incentive to blog! ha! :)

I promise to be back soon, just can't promise when!

Till then,

XOXO Always from Korea (for only 48 days!!)
-Mrs. GC

We're Dancin'

Courtesy of  http://theclassywoman.blogspot.com/

So, fellow blog followers; I mentioned in a previous post that our life has been much like a storm recently and we've just been dancin' in the rain to move through it all...I'm sure you're wondering just what has been going on...I'll give you a quick re-cap.

In no particular order, heres the skinny:

1) To date we are under 100 days out from PCSing back to the states from Korea. Talk about a "To Do" list that is a mile (or two) long...it's growing and doesn't seem to stop. I just keep thinking to myself, I will NEVER get everything done. But then, my fellow Army spouses who have PCS'd before me and are what you would call PCSing veterans, continue to remind me that it will, and CAN get all done. In the meantime, I've got to crank out the actual "To-Do" list, and then cross off "crank out to-do list" off the actual list...and why am I writing this blog, it looks as though I should be writing a to-do list!! ha!

2) I'm in search of a job back stateside. Oh, what a headache! Currently, there is nothing available in my field of expertise: social worker, family advocacy. Heck, I'd even take an admin. job just to keep my government status! It doesn't help that there has been a hiring freeze within the federal government, or that our fearless leaders in Washington STILL can't come to a budget agreement! (That's another thought, for another time!) I'm really praying that it will be the Lord's will, that this hiring freeze is lifted soon, and the hopefully the flood gates of jobs will open and I can start applying again.

3) We are still slotted to PCS to Ft. Huachua, AZ. We are pretty excited, but sad that our friends who are currently in San Diego are now moving back to the east coast...we we're so hoping to have them on the same coast as us. But, luckily for them they will have a gig with stability and no deployments for a few years. We're looking forward to making new friends when we get to Huachuca, and I'm super excited to live out west...this will yet again be another adventure for us!

4) We recently found out that B's packet he put in (months, and MONTHS) ago for a gig in DC is continuing to be worked on, secretly I think we both forgot he put the packet in! ha!  So once again, we're not sure what is going to happen with this gig...which puts a slight wrench in our plans for moving to AZ. Yet, as with the Army nothing is definate and we're just simply in limbo. For now, we're still moving to AZ...but that plan could change at a moments notice... Did I mention that we are 98 days out from PCSing...ha! I love living life by the seat of my britches! ha!  

5) My dearest sister is getting married July 23rd. So I am in the process of planning her bridal shower from Korea! ha! Now, let me tell you how much fun that is! ha! Luckily, she's been a great help with getting our hometown church's fellowship hall booked. And, thank goodness for online shopping! I've got some great ideas for her shower, but I won't share till it's over because I want this to be a surprise for her!

6) In my freetime, ha! I've been trying to make it to the gym. Recently, I've been working on the "Couch to 5K" program, and a Kendra Wilkinson video! It's been a great way for me to relieve stress (from the above stated items), and work on my figure. To date, I've lost about 8 lbs. It's coming off slowly, but thats okay...hopefully that means this time it will stay off! 

Well, like I said before! We're dancin'! And, we'll keep dancin' till the Army life settles down a bit! For now, I'm thankful to have our faith, our health, our home, each other and the stability of the Army life (financially speaking). After that, the rest is just another day in the life of an Army family! 

Till Next Time,

XOXO from Korea! 

Mrs. GC  

The GREAT Dress Debacle!!

Spring has sprung, and if you're living in or around an Army community (Signal Corps to be exact), than you know that it's just about that time of year again... for formal balls!!

There are many perks to living in Korea, one of which is that there are custom tailors everywhere, to make just about anything your little heart desires. So of course, I have been researching for weeks on end and found 2 dresses that I would like to have custom made for me for the 2 balls we have coming up in May. May 5th is the 304th Signal BN Ball- "Ready Always Ready" Hooah! While, May 20th is the 1st Signal Brigade Ball- "1st To Communicate" Hooah! (Okay, so enough of that!) Ha!

The two dresses that I choose are:

Option #1:

Photo Courtesy of Nordstroms

Now with dress option #1 (mind you, I need 2 dresses for 2 different balls, where I'm going to see the SAME people within the course of about 3 weeks!), the plan is was to get this dress made in a solid black, probably satin material; and I would accent with silver shoes, black and silver clutch and silver and diamond statement jewlery, most of which I already have in my closet, with the exception of a bracelet I would borrow from a friend. 

Option #2 

Photo Courtesy of Nordstroms

For this dress, I plan planned to get made in an emerald green satin material (much like shown in the picture), and accent this dress with gold jewlery and clutch, both of which I would be adding to my closet after purchase. So of course, after bringing budget into the picture and finding some awesome deals on accessories, I opted to still continue my plan.

Now on to the tailor search... I recieved a price quote from the tailor who made some awesome looking suits for B, and he quoted me a reasonable price for each dress, I would say comparable to what I would pay in a department store. The only issue was, in his shop I never saw any dresses that he made...only suits. Now ladies, we all know that there is a HUGE difference between the fitting of a suit on a man and a formal gown on a lady. This was my first red flag.

Then I decided to consult some of my friends who have had dresses made for events. After speaking to 3 different friends, who both stated that they were middle-of-the-road satisfied with their end product (from 3 different tailors in addition to the one mentioned above), and later found out they paid an outrageous price for a cocktail dress (knowing that my dresses would require double the material of a cocktail dress). I started thinking about whether this whole tailored dress idea was going to be a complete bust, and if so would I be pleased with my end product. Finally after all of my research and talking with friends, I basically determined that I will most likely end up with a dress looks like I should be attending my first high school prom, or one that I should be wearing down the aisle at a wedding, neither of which is the look I am going for.

Therefore knowing myself (yeah, I know I'm being a little picky...but I'm okay with that), the look I am going for and wanting a dress that I can re-wear again at another duty station...I opted to scratch the entire above plan, for fear of ending up with a product I've dumped money into and am completely disastified with.

So, onto plan B. 

I scoured good ole' Nordstroms from page to page and came across these two beauties...

Photo Courtesy of Nordstroms

Photo Courtesy of Nordstroms



The teal one shoulder has been ordered and will hopefully arrive within the next week or so. This gown will be worn to the May 5th ball, and I still plan to accent it with gold jewlery and clutch. While the black gown will be worn to the May 20th ball, and of course will be accented with silver tones of jewlery and accessories.

So there you have it... the GREAT dress debacle: extensive research, a little frustration, 4 dresses narrowed down to 2, and hopefully 2 that can be worn, re-worn and even maybe loaned to fellow Army spouses a few times throughout the next couple of ball seasons!

Till Next Time,

XOXO from Korea!

Mrs. GC

Continuing Education...The Next Chapter!

Hello Again Fellow Bloggers!!

I know you all think that once again, I've fallen off the Korean peninsula, but never fear...I'm still here! We've been swamped with life, and I think we are finally starting to catch up with the whirlwind! *Shew, thank goodness!*

So, with that being said...TODAY I have a HUGE announcement to make!!

During some of my blogger break (please know this was once again unintentional!), it was a priority of mine to complete and submit my graduate school application. It's been about 3 weeks since I submitted it and I recieved an email this morning with an update....

I am proud exstatic to announce that I am one of the newest members of the UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND's CLASS of 2013 Masters of Social Work program!!!

This program is one that will be completely online, which is perfect for our ever changing life with the Army. It will take me 2 years to complete, with each course session lasting 8 weeks. So in other words, I will take one 3 credit hour course every 8 weeks! I know that I'm going to have to crank the work out, and stick to a very tight schedule...but the upside is that after 8 weeks, that course is under my belt!

Returning to school for graduate work has always been a goal of mine. Well, really more than a goal. It's something that I have known for quite sometime that I would HAVE to do before moving on with life... ie: starting a family! But let me be the first to say, that I am SO very glad that I took a few years off from school, got some "life" experience under my belt, and I NOW more than EVER feel completely prepared to return to school. I actually even feel as though I will contribute more to my class sessions and hundreds of papers I'll be composing now that I have this "life" experience, and after living overseas, I certainly see the world through different eyes! For this experience, I am ever so grateful!

So here's too...stratigically planning my schedules, late nights researching, reading and writing papers and furthering my career and my family's future by continuing my education!

Till Next Time,

XOXO from Korea!

Mrs. GC

Valentine's Day 2011-Part II

As promised in this post ... here is part II of our Valentine's Day extravaganza!!

We'll make this as short and sweet as possible (with pictures of course), but I just couldn't let this wonderful evening with my B go undocumented. So here's the skinny...



B came to me a week or so before Valentine's Day and explained that he had tried to make reservations at this fabulous hotel, The Walkerhill Seoul. He explained that he was having some issues because the site kept coming up in Hangul, instead of English and would need my assistance with making the reservations! He tried really hard to surprise me and have everything all planned out (which of course rarely ever happens when living overseas), so I know that having to of course tell me the surprise ahead of time kinda made him feel bad, but no worries as I promised him...it would be a great night for us to get a much needed get away! So we booked our room for the weekend after Valentine's Day! After a busy Saturday of running errunds and getting our pooch situated at the kennel for the evening, we were off! 

When we checked in, I asked the desk attendant if it was possible for us to be placed in a non smoking room (because when booked online all that was available was smoking), thankfully the receptionist met and exceeded our needs by upgrading us from the "Wonderful Room" to the "Spa Room." It was explained to us that once we saw the spa room, if we were not satisified we could have our originally booked Wonderful Room. Yet, as you can see in this picture below...after one look at this fabulous room we were sold! 

The Room

(Unfortunately, this picture does not do this room justice!)

The Spa

(This jetted spa was so large and deep that I could have swam laps in it...B was thrilled to actually be able to fit in a tub for once since leaving the states! ha! Once again, this picture does not do the spa justice (and pardon the water marks), there was lots of "mood" lighting in this room! ha!

The Lovely Couple!

So, once we were all checked into our room, we scoped out the restaurant options at the hotel and came across a superb Japanesse restaurant! Luckily, we did not need reservations for this quite swanky place and were able to score a table overlooking the Han River while we dined. After dinner, we took on a few hours of entertainment at the Walkerhill Casino! I of course tried my hand at my trusty game of roulette and B at his good ole' faithful game of Blackjack! After a lovely dinner, some fine entertainment and a few adult beverages...we retreated to our room where we indulged in the various selections of cable TV (ha!). It was not Korean cable and had several selections of English programming which within itself was worth the room. After 20 months of watching primarily Korean cable, I'm pretty sure that once we return stateside B and I will spend a large majority of time glued infront of a TV! ha! (sad, I know!)

We wrapped up our getaway the next morning with a yummy breakfast at the signature restaurant "The Kitchen", also located in the hotel! 

So, there you have it... a lovely night to remember for the two of us in Seoul!  

XOXO from Korea!

Mrs. GC

 

T Minus 139 Days!

Until we are back in the good ole' US of A! Now, don't get me wrong. Korea has been a fabulous experience, better than fabulous, in all honesty I'd say life changing sums it up quite well. B and I have experienced so much growth both professionally and personally throughout this experience, and to say that we see the world through different eyes now is an understatement. Anyone who would ever ask me about moving with the military to Korea, or just in general visiting Korea, you would be certain to not get the scrunched face/nose look with the reply of "thats a 3rd world country...your out of your mind!"

 But today, Korea is not the topic of this post, this post is intended to for me to list a few things I am missing about the states and can.not.wait to get back too. So without futher ado here goes...

1) Houses, with yards. Grass and freshly planted flowers to be exact. B and I were talking this weekend about what he misses about the states and how we are SO not apartment people. My poor hubby will be so excited to get back behind a lawnmower, complete with bag mulcher of course, to trim the edges of the grass, and even to place the perfectly measured diagonal lines. (We won't tell him that our next duty station in AZ is in the desert!!)

2) Farmer's Markets. Nuff' Said. If you know anything about the produce selection in the commissary's (bless their hearts) here in Korea, you know what I'm talking about. 

3) In Store Shopping. Can I get a fitting room please?? Don't get me wrong, online is okay. But being here you have to calculate the shipping time and it is much more than the typical 2 to 4 days. Oh, and not every company ships to APO...

4) Worship. Sunday School. Small Groups. The chapel we attend here on post has a fabulous little service, and it has really pulled us through some tough weeks, and some great weeks. But, we are both really looking foward to getting back into a church with typical programming, and I am SO hoping to find a group of women for a women's weekly Bible study.

5) Friends and Family. With a 14 hr time difference (EST), and 17 hour plane ride. Long distance relationships are tough.

Just some thoughts on this bea-uti-ful Wednesday! I pray that the weather stays this nice for the next 3 weeks, our BN needs it! :) T-17 days until field exercise #4 and it's the, final 4 is complete in Korea!

XOXO from Korea!
Mrs. GC

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

Hello Ya'll! From the Land of the Morning (Cold) Calm!! aka- Korea!!!

I have recently stumbled across a super cool blog, thanks to my real life and bloggy friend Megan over at peacock evolution; she is a super cool fellow MilSpouse friend of mine, with many talents including amature photography!! Go check her out, you won't be disappointed!! 

Okay, so back on topic! THANKS to Megan, I ran across another fellow MilSpouse over at Wife of a Sailor, who has this wonderful Friday fill in for us spouses! So of course, I had to join! This is my first week and I hope you will continue checking back each week for answers to these fun questions! So here goes... Enjoy!!

1)  What is your favorite MilSpouse blog (not including Wife of a Sailor who we all love, or your own)? Honestly, I really LoVe all of the blogs that I am following, but if you're making me choose just one I'd have to say I really enjoy Shay's blog over at The Nelson Diaries. She is a really energetic, fun loving gal who always has some great posts about life in general!   

2) What are your favorite perks about your s/o being deployed (we all know there are perks)? I must be honest and say that I've never experienced a deployment...YET, that is! I'm sure our turn is coming soon! Although, I have experienced my fair share of field exercises for weeks on end while being here in Korea. So the perks to those would be the following: I get extra time to myself (and let's face it we all need a little bit more of that), I can deep clean the house without any interruptions, hit the gym as much as I want, watch what I want on TV, there's no obligation to cook dinner nightly, and the old trusty saying of "distance makes the heart grow fonder", well it really does in our case. During the time he is gone, I think we both get the opportunity to reflect on our marriage and how important we are too each other, because the reunions are just exciting and it's like our love for each other sparkes even more than before he left!!! 

3) How long did you date your s/o before getting engaged? Married? We met during the summer between my sophmore and junior years of college. We dated and were engaged for a total of 2 1/2 years before we married, and as of this past December we have been married for 3 years!! WOW! Time is flying by!!

4)  What do you think your s/o would do if s/he wasn’t in the military? I think B would be doing 1 of 3 things: still working at the sales job he had before returning to active duty from the Army reserves, in school full time working on his bachelor's degree or working in law enforcement. 

5) If you could talk to the Secretary of (fill in your appropriate branch) what is one suggestion you would like to bring to their attention in order to improve the lives of military families? I would definately choose to speak with the Sect. of the Army, and I would want to bring awareness to the fact that I believe there should be mandatory trainings for MilSpouse's to take. These trainings should include some of the current courses offered by the Army including AFTB and Resiliency courses. I personally think that if spouses would equip themselves with the proper knowledge of how the military (Army) operates, it would make their day to day lives so much more fluid!

Till Next Time-

XOXO from Korea!!

-Mrs. GC

**You're Welcome, to those of you who I "shouted out" on my blog!!**



Valentine's Day 2011- Part I

Hey Ya'll!! I just wanted to stop in real quick and write a few lines about our "Valentine's 2011" thus far...I say thus far because B and I actually have plans to celebrate our Valentine's Day this coming weekend on the 19th of Feb, with the Army sometimes holidays just have to be shifted around here and there, but we make it work in the end!! We've got hotel reservations at a fabulous place in Seoul, reservations for little Chloe to go to the kennel for the evening, and I just can't simply wait! I'll be sure to post pictures and give all the details, well maybe not ALL the details, but how about the "skinny" of it next week! 

I hope that you and your Valentine had a fabulous evening, day, night out, night in or simply just nothing, none the less hopefully it was wonderfull!! 

Till next time! 

XOXO from Korea! 

-Mrs. GC 

Because Any Deserving Blog Needs...

PHOTOS!!!



**I've come to realize that the last couple, okay ALOT, let's be honest...I don't know when I've posted pictures last...so here's a few to hold you over until I can get some edited on Picasa! :) 



And...we can't leave our little buddy Clubber out! Soon (4 months to be exact) well for sure be able to have a brother/sister photoshoot stateside...stay tuned!! 

Till next time-

XOXO! The Whole "GC" Gang from Korea! 

What A Word: "Work"...

...thankfully, most days my work days are just plain fun! I've only shared bits and pieces about the work I do here in Korea, so I thought I would take a moment to share a little bit more information, okay ALOT more!!  (also, so that I have a journaled entry when I get back to the states and leave this unique job!!)

So, you ask, what is it exactly that I do on a daily basis? Well it goes something a little like this... I am the program manager of a Family Outreach center, fondly know as the Pear Blossom Family Outreach Center (PBFOC). This program falls under the umbrella of an official Army program by the name of ACS (Army Community Services), within ACS there are several components of other programs, the branch upon which we sit is "Outreach." **You can read more about our department/program HERE.

 We have 3 of these centers in the area inwhich we live here in Korea (Area I), and each center has it's own manager- hints 2 co-workers for me! This program is specific to both the Army, and Korea to be exact. The program was started back in the late 1980's (I know, I was like 3 and 4 years old!!) by a General's spouse (Ms. Woodall) who lived here in our area and observed families who also lived in the area, yet the living conditions were not half as pleasant as what they are now. Ms. Woodall observed these families cooking in the single soldier's barracks area, bathing at the on post gymnasium areas and generally just using the public Army facilites as routes of survival. Needless to say, 30 years out from the Korean War, the housing ammenities in this country still had much to be desired. **Note, this was before the Army program of Command Sponsorship, these ever so brave families were so very committed to their soldiers that they made the sacrifice of giving up such things as desired living conditions, inorder to follow their soldier to Korea in support of their soldiers career- Thank goodness we now have Command Sponsorship (more on that during a latter post!)**

At the time the PBFOC program was established there were 6 bases in this region of Korea- 3 of them have since closed. The first center was opened in 1989 at Camp Casey (now USAG Casey), and was build by the families, the garrison, the Korean Service Corp and a local group of college students. The amenities within the cottage (as it was formerly called), were donated by the Army. Amenites that were provided included a fully furnished living room, with TV; kitchen with stoves and cookware, indoor and outdoor children's playareas, nursery area, laundry room with several machines, arts and crafts room and eventually computer/technology labs. The first cottage was originally named Ehwa, after the university in which local Korean students volunteered their time. Later, 5 additional cottages/outreach centers were built and opened, with the most current center opening in 2000. Currently, there are 3 centers open (USAG Red Cloud, USAG Casey and Camp Stanley). I am the proud program manager at the Camp Stanley center!

Currently, I have about 65 families registered at my center (I manage the smallest of the centers). I produce a monthly calendar each month with all sorts of networking and educational activities for both the families and children to participate in. For an example of some of the activities planned, I'll give you the run down of February's calendar:
- we attended a Zumba class at Camp Casey
- several spouses chipped in and we spent a day learning how to make Tamales, we then took the leftovers home to store in the freezer for later (YUM!)
-we had a family Superbowl Breakfast on Superbowl MONDAY (yes, you read that right: Breakfast, Football, Monday = what we do in Korea when the game is playing 13 hours after your current time!!)
-for 3 Friday's this month we are hosting Military Spouse Resiliency training (this is the first 3 of 6 modules, which we will wrap up in March). This training is an optional training for spouses, but in my opinion is a vitally important resource for equipping spouses with tools that will help them to succeed and overcome, successfully work through the stressors of military life!)
-I have a self-created (which most of my programs are), program named "Married to the Military Monday", and for this coming Monday Feb. 14th, we will be kickin' it back "old school" and gathering together to have an old fashioned Valentine's Day Party! I've encouraged both the spouses and their children to create (or purchase) Valentine's Cards and we will share them with each other after we decorate our Valentine's Day bags. We'll wrap up the afternoon with some special cookies that I'm going to bake, the movie "Valentine's Day" and sharing ideas as to how we "keep the romance in our relationship!"
-this month (as with all month's), we will take our regular cultural exploration trip, and this time we're going somewhere that I think most spouses haven't been- the Seoul Folk Flea Market! I know we are all hoping to find some unique Korean keepsakes!
-later this month, we will have a "Budgeting Class" hosted by our favorite financial guru, Ms. Doris from the ACS (Army Community Services) Financial Program
-to round down the month, we have an FRG who plans to use the kitchen facilities for an entire day to bake cookies for their companies soldiers and an FRG (Family Readiness Group) bake sale!

**Whew, if you're still with me!!** What a month! :) This is a typical glimsp of a month around the center, and yes, stragegically planned by yours truly!

In addition to planning, hosting and coordinating all kinds of events; I also use (on a daily basis) my ever so trusty "social work skills" to help the spouses problem solve, trouble shoot (I like the phrasing better), issues they may be having. Some examples could be: "How do I get signed up for the WIC (Women, Infants and Children- just like in the states) overseas program?", "Where can I take a stress management class?", "When will be a good day for me to do my laundry, I have ALOT?", "I'm really missing my husband because of _______________ (fill in with whatever the Army has him doing), what can I do to keep myself busy?", "HELP! I'm pregnant!" (My response, Yes Honey! It's in the water...let's talk!!), "Do you know how to get intouch with CYSS services (Child and Youth Services), I want to sign my child up for __________.", "My husband and I are not getting along lately..." (again, my response...let's talk!!) These are just a few of the examples of some of the topics I help these spouses work through! I can truly say that I am honored to be able to help them work through simply somedays just the everyday grind, and other days they may feel like their world is crashing down...but together we work through it! Luckily, I remind them that I too am an Army spouse and I too feel the same exact way they do on a time to time bases, it's natural and it is going to happen...it's "the Army!" Fortunatly, we also have a great group of spouses who frequent the center often, these ladies I hope are able to provide and recieve as much strength, laughs and support as we all lend each other from time to time.

**I'm getting a little off topic now, so to go back to my "job"... To touch on other items I am responsible for they include the administrative side of the house. I have recently been asked to be the Team Leader for all of the Outreach Center managers! Which I really appreciate the opportunity, and on the positive side if I'm totally awful at it, they only have to put up with me for 4 months! ha! :) Within this role, I will be working with the other managers to make sure that each center has proper coverage as managers need time off, we will be looking into standardizing several procedures inorder to make sure that each center is fluid in operations, we will also be working on our marketing tools and reviewing lots of paperwork that goes into the admin side of the house, as well as working with several senior spouses to host a "Wellness Seminar" in our area for spouses and children coming up in March, and later in April we will help with a Children's Parade!!

Well, I hope you stayed with me till the end! If you didn't I'm sorry for the rambling yet, I hope you did find it informing!! I hope you enjoyed this little bit of what I do Monday through Friday, workin' from nine till 5 (ha! who am I kidding some nights my phone rings at 10 oclock!) That's okay, I'm a spouse too and I get it! :)


Till Next time-

XOXO from Korea!
Mrs. GC

Bulletpoints...

Well bloggie world...Yes, it's been quite sometime,  okay an eternity!! But, I'm here, and I'm back in action!! Whoo hoo! In this post, I intend to update you on the past few months through a few bullet points, hopefully you'll follow along. Yet, before we get started lets cover some ground. We are still stationed here in Korea (about 5 months more to go till we return to the states), I am still working at the Outreach Center on post and B (my husband patient, fantastic man in my life) is still working away with the Army...and best of all- We are LOVIN' life! :) Isn't it just great to love life, love your mate and just to love the simple things! So here goes the update...

September-
*B and I experienced our first Typhoon ever, and of course it was here in Korea.
*My co workers and I hosted a military VIP visit from Washington DC
*We celebrated the Korean holiday of Chusok (basically, the equivalent to American's Thanksgiving)

October-
*B and I booked our trip home for the holidays to NC
*B re-enlisted to the Army for another 6 year contract
*I assisted my co workers with hosting a Domestic Violence Awareness month 5K
*The community association I am a board member on (Kka Chi Community Association), and I hosted a Golf Tournament at Camp Casey Golf Course
*I assisted with my first AFAP (Army Family Action Plan) conference, basically a conference that reviews what is working, what isn't and how the Army can go about fixing issues.
*The spouses from the Outreach Center and I took 2 trips to Seoul, one on a Seoul City Bus Tour, and the second to a fabulous market by the name of Insadong; more about these wonderful places in a later post.

November-
*B and I had a night out on the town to celebrate a good friend of ours 40th Birthday. His wife hosted a group of us at a local italian (yes, I said italian) restaurant (Erus) here in Korea. It was FaNtAbUlOuS I tell you!
*B and I participated in a college fair hosted by the sisters of Delta Sigma Theta, Alumnae chapter here in Korea. I was the representative for my alma mater Barton College. B came along with me to assist with the fair, and he met another fellow college rep/alum who is also stationed here in Korea and is a Naval Criminal Investigator. So yes, my friends NCIS DOES exist! Of course B asked if this fella knew Gibbs! ha!
*B and I did some Christmas shopping for friends and family at a market in Osan
*Our friends Alicia and Rob hosted a delicious Thanksgiving dinner and invited us over. After stuffing our bellys we drank,  indulged in some fabulous Korean wine and played a nice competitive game of Wii!

December-
*B and I celebrated our 3rd Anniversary in the great city of Tokyo! 4 days and 3 nights, it was beautiful!
*We then flew for 16 hours home to Atlanta and then on to RDU for a couple of weeks home for the holidays with our super fantastic friends and family. While home, we attended a thoughtfully hosted holiday party with some of my sorority sisters and their significant others. I also spent a weekend shopping trip with two of my besties Megan and Caroline. My sister and I did some wedding planning in anticipation of her big day, coming up in July!!
*We also met up for lunch with B's besties wife (Simonie), who her husband is currently deployed, but we are praying for a safe return in just a few short weeks!

January-
*B and I spent New Year's 2011 eve at home, and jet lagged! ha! (romantic, I know!) ha!
*I co-hosted a Baby Shower for 6 new mama's at the Outreach Center, and can you believe that they are all having boys!!?!?
*I also co-hosted an FRG meeting for the new year...anyone looking to pick up a new committment in July?? I'm hoping to be able to start training someone for my current FRG (Family Readiness Group) position soon!

Well, there you have it! Our update! Thank goodness for my agenda book, I would have never been able to remember all of this information with out it!

**Be on the lookout for some new posts, and some pictures! I've got a few plans up my sleeve that will hopefully keep me blogging all year long!!**

XOXO! from Korea!

Mrs. GC

**Check out these guys, they are from my hometown and I went to high school with the male lead singer and the drummer- I wrote this post while listening to them!!** http://chrislaneband.com/shows.html