To be or not to be....a Vegan...Again

That is the question.

And while I try my hand at a Shakespearean level dictation, and fail miserably, my question is no less lacking.

Am I ready to be a Vegan again?

Or...should I really be asking myself, am I ready to move on from what I've become.

When it comes to food, I've had an on-again, off-again relationship. It doesn't hurt that the Tinder for dining is so accessible. Grubhub, UberEats...

Don't tell me you don't get tempted by other options as you swipe through your options of what or where to eat. It's not like you'll feel any shame when the food comes to you or while you gorge out on delicious potatoes and scrumptious naan. And when it's all said and done, not only did you eat well, you didn't have to go out into the world to get it.

It's so nice!

It's so tempting!

It's killed my self control.

What little remaining self-control I had disappeared in the last week.

Since coming back to America, I have gained 20lbs (10kgs). I worked hard on losing the weight to begin with, I finally felt all the guilt from earlier knock me right off the scale.

"Oh nooo," I told myself when those guilt-fed numbers flashed laughingly at me. "Something has got to change."

So, I began thinking back to what helped me best in losing weight in America. "In America" is the most important part. Because what I can do in other countries, I can't pull off as easily in America. Everywhere else, it's so easy to include walking in your every day life. In America...you have to go out of your way to walk.

That being said, while I was a vegan, I also was going to the gym 2x per week, and was doing 5k conditioning. While COVID19 has me 'nope'-ing  in all social interactions/going where other people go. I'm basically more of a homebody than I've ever been.

But...I can take charge of my eating habits.

It's crazy that I have no problem telling other people 'no', but lack the strength to do the same for myself.

But I did do it once...

I can do it again.

Which is why I subscribed to HelloFresh. They have a $80 off deal right now, and if anyone wants to try it out for themselves, here's an additional $40 off if you click on this link.

With HelloFresh, I'm getting 3 meals per week that has 2 servings in it. Thankfully, I live alone, so I technically have 6 meals. And I can customize my meal options per week. It's not all in their hands, but also in mine. And while this isn't veganism, it is eating healthier.

I cannot tell you how often I've had pizza in the last week alone.

And cookies?

Let's...let's just let it go and move forward.

Okay...here's the deal.

From 7/19 to 7/31, I'm going to do right. Eat proper meals, no ordering delivery, and go on a walk at least three times a week. Maybe I'll try getting my sleep worked on as well. Just the other day I only had an hour and a half. That was a rough, rough day.

On 8/1, I'll post the before and after results. As well as talk about what worked and didn't work.

It's time for me to stop giving up.

#SaveOurToya

Good Days DO Exist

Because not all days are shit days or 'wtf' situations, this post is proof that I also have good days.

And today...is a really good day.

It's finally hitting me that I've lost over 50lbs since my heaviest weight.

That's right!

FIFTY.

This hasn't been the easiest of accomplishments, but it is the most disbelieving ones I've made. It even outranks that I got a Fulbright to Korea. My weight-loss journey has been a cacophony of ups and downs and corkscrew turns. It comes as no surprise that it's taken me a week to believe the numbers I see on my scale.

I still hope to see more pounds shed as time goes by as I strive to reach my goal weight. I have another 42lbs to go, and they will go.

I've made that promise to myself.

No matter where life takes me this year, I will finally be at my goal weight come summer time. I have and will continue to overcome my bad eating habits and lazy decision making.  I will get myself out of my apartment for my morning walks. I won't let myself down.

Because 50lbs lighter has me feeling good.

Real good.

#SaveOurToya

Feb 2019 Thoughts (See how far I've come in a year)
1) Starring Toya
2) 영어선생님이에요
3) To My Precious Sixth Graders
4) Saturdays

Facebook Official

Did you know I was dating someone?

I sure as hell didn't.

Today at lunch I was asked if I had a boyfriend.

"No...why?"

"Really? Not even in America?"

"...no...?"

At this point, I was starting to second guess myself a little. Just a smidgen.

Like, did this person know something about my relationship status that I was not aware of? Am I about to discover that I have a creepy stalker person or something? Am I dating someone?

"Why do you ask?" I prodded for more information, putting my spoon down.

"Oh well...you've been wearing more makeup and dressing really nicely these days. I thought you had a boyfriend."

Pause.

What?

I have to have a boyfriend significant other to put more effort into my looks?

That...That's trash.

If I'm putting more effort into my looks it's because I'm doing it for myself and no one else. And surprise, surprise...I have more time in the mornings to get ready. In fact, I have about an actual hour of additional time for me to get ready instead of the rushed 10 minutes I used to have.

So, yeah. There's gonna be some eye-shadow and less dark circles (cuz I'm getting more sleep) when you look at my face. Glossy lips and a sweet smile. All because I'm taking care of myself!

Moral of the story here: I'm single and looking damn fine.

#SaveOurToya

Extra, Ambitious, Wild

These are the three words that a Buzzfeed wordsearch informed me were the vibes I'd be bringing into 2020. We're on day 3 of 2020 and all I can say is that the only vibe I'm feeling, is ambitious.

Sure, it's the new year, everyone has their resolutions. Me too.

But there's something about this year that makes me believe I'm actually bringing all the good things forward in a can't stop/won't stop mentality.

I feel more hopeful and positive toward my goals then any year before now. I'm not sure why I feel different than before, but I do.

I'm sure you must be wondering what I've been getting up to these last three days, right? Well, to be honest with you, I actually started everything back in 2019. I didn't want to delay my resolutions until the new year. I wanted to be on top of everything already by the time the new year hit.

That's why my resolutions started in December already. Here's what my average work day looks like:

5:30am - Get up and get dressed
5:50am - Start my morning walk
6:40am - Finish morning walk and get ready for day/work
7:00am - Make breakfast and prepare lunch
7:40am - Head to bus stop (Jusang)
8:10am - Get to school and prepare for the school day ahead
9:10am - Classes or School day start
4:15pm - Head to bus stop (Geochang)
4:45pm - Drop things off at home and go on evening walk
6:00pm - Dinner
7:00pm - Korean Tutor (1hr)
9:00pm - Bed time

This schedule lets me do so much.

- Sleep goals met (8+ hours)
- Step goals met (10,000 steps)
- Clean eating (So many veggies. So many fruits.)
- Korean Studying (Tutor, if not tutor, self-study)
- Know my free time (aka, when to cook for the next day, if I can hang out, watch Netflix, clean, etc.)

In two weeks, I'm going on vacation for 2 weeks. So, we'll see how my schedule will be effected. Hopefully, I will still play it smart!

Not sure when 'wild' and 'extra' will pop in, but I look forward to seeing how they may play out!

Here's a picture from this morning's walk!

It's cold AF.

How's your 2020 been so far? What goals are you hoping to meet? How will you maintain your goals? Let's talk about it~

#SaveOurToya

One Small Thing

If we've ever fallen into a discussion about bikes, you would know that I've always wanted to ride my bike into work.

And I've finally done it.

I don't care that it takes me 40 mins, one way.

Or that there's an incline the whole way in to work that you don't really notice except for in your legs.

I also don't care that it cuts into my lesson planning time I have in the morning because now I show up about 15 mins later than I do with the bus.

The time I have on my bike (a whole 40 minutes) before and after work are some of the quietest moments in my day. During that time, my mind only focuses on the road, my bike, and what nature has to offer during my rides.

I mean, look at the first two pictures! As the fog disappears and reveal the country-side! It's actually a really nice balance to my busy workload I have at work. It gets me to pause and just...relax.

It's the self-care I hadn't realized I needed.

Plus...while riding a bike, I get to work those legs muscles of mine. My bike has this goal, and I'm not mad with it.

Time to get these legs in shape!

At my current bike schedule, I do it three times a week. I didn't want to full on commit my whole week to my bike, as I feel that it may demotivated me. So, one of the two days is a rest day. The other one, also a rest day, but also...its the day I have to scoot my way to the big city for my Korean classes.

If I take in the time that I'm allowed to leave from work, can reach the bus terminal, lock my bike up, buy my ticket, early evening snack, and catch my bus...I'll be late for class.

And that's not gonna happen.

I am dedicated to learning Korean and I paid for these 12 classes. No way am I going to miss a single moment of it.

So, yeah. I enjoy riding my bike (when the weather permits) and it's helped in stabilizing my mood in unexpected ways.

#SaveOurToya

The Blue Screen

...of death.

Wasn't even the first thing I saw on my barely a year old laptop.

This is what I actually saw.

This traitor of a laptop decided to tell me, 'ooo gurl. We ain't got no hard disk.'

Now, as the smart and very capable person that I am, I answered, 'haha, you got jokes,'

My laptop did not have jokes. This was very real, and my hard drive was not working. I went to system diagnostics, I did the system test thing. Nada. Nothing.

We ain't got no hard disk.

Which meant a few things:

1) I'm about to spend money I had no plans on spending.
2) I needed to find a computer store (preferably one that spoke English)
3) I can't lesson plan.
4) I CAN'T LESSON PLAN. 

Some things needed to be repeated, and number three echoed in my head. At first, I thought it would be okay. I'm teaching at the same school for the second year. I'll be fine. Everything is mostly done anyways.

But then I got my final-final-final class schedule (it took a few tries to get it finalized for realsies) when my brain pointed out, 'ooo gurl. We got some new classes to prep for.'

It was not the same schedule as my first semester, unfortunately. I got 12 different classes. That's over half of my workload. And we ain't got no hard disk.

There was a small panic, not gonna lie. I flipped a bit.

Then Mom, awesome brilliant Mom reminded me I know people who could help me out. At least, on getting my laptop fixed. And while it was getting fixed, I realized, I could probably get my lesson planning done at work between my classes.

It's not the easiest. Lord have mercy on my exhausted brain, because it is a challenge to put lessons together in a busy office and dealing with potential racism. Trying to stay focused and work out what was happening around me and staying at 110% at all times was a juggling act I hadn't signed up for.

So, why not add Korean Language classes?

#SaveOurToya

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!?!

See, there's an interesting answer to that.

And it's: nowhere...everywhere.

Wait, what?

Exactly. This last month has flown by (despite a few stagnant days) and during that time I have kept myself extremely busy, but I've also just been doing my thing in my little town.

I do have a few things I want to talk about, and I'll post those next; but to explain why I've been radio silent it all has to do with the fact that I've been surviving without a laptop for a whole month. 

That's right. 

No laptop.

I've also started up Korean classes again.

I have a language exchange partner, now.

I'm doing TikTok videos, or at least starting to...

Oh! And most recently...I've agreed to give a small talk at the next Fulbright Conference later this month.

It's been a hell of a month, and I expect nothing less during my birthday month. Between going to the Geochang Festival, riding my bike into work, typhoons, and potential racism at work, I've kept myself busy.

Keep an eye out as I update my blog on my latest truths!

#SaveOurToya

Ps. all the blue (or red!) words are links to other posts~!

Year 2

A beautiful summer view of a Namsan trail

Clearly, it's been over a year since this blog's conception. During that time, I've had some wild and...not so wild adventures; many unforgettable memories to say the least.

Now, as some of you know, I've been a bit unsure of the SaveOurToya blog. My original vision just didn't seem like it would be a good fit anymore for year 2.

However, fret not!

My hot ride around Geochang

(That's right. I said, 'fret'.)

Year 2 won't be any less boring! In fact, it's going to be active.

So...so...active.

If you follow me on instagram (@SaveOurToya), you're well aware that I've started up running again.

A new fondness for archery
>__<!!!

And not just any ol'running. I'm training to run a 5k again. It's been over a year since my last 5k in June 2018, which hadn't focused on beating my PR. The run in June wasn't for breaking my record. It had been for a more personal matter. My best time had been earlier that year, where I'd almost run a complete 5k.

I remember feeling so proud of myself. Sure, I played soccer for roughly 8 years, but...I don't know. Being able to consistently run for that long of a distance without dying of suffocation was pretty fucking awesome for me. I was a lazy sports person back in my day.

I'm not even kidding. I could play a 90mins soccer game straight through, but tell me to go run a mile in gym and I hated everything.

I also remembered that on that day of my almost 100%-5k-run, I felt almost unstoppable in my journey to get fit.

And I want that feeling back.

So, here's to my new health goals!

Otter pond at 5:30am with mountains slowly peaking out
from the fog. 

1) Run a 5k in Korea. (If I can buy the damn ticket: Seoul Marvel Run 2019 this October.)
2) Lose 27kg/60lbs. (Already lost about 3kg/6lbs, but the first few are always the easiest to lose!)
3) Get 8 to 9 consistent hours of sleep. (I've struggled with this since high school, but I will win!)
4) Become part of the Geochang early af community. (I'm already greeted by some ahjummas with '굿모닝' and its the cutest thing.)

And my last goal...

Geochang at dusk

5) Officially drop 10 pants sizes from my biggest size in October 2017 (I've already dropped 6 since then, soooooo 4 more to go~!)

Just thinking about the journey I've started sometimes leaves me overwhelmed. I can best sum it up as: Toya = GAH!

Wish me luck, yall.

I'll need it.

#SaveOurToya

56km later...

I have made the "wild" decision of walking from my school to my apartment.

Doesn't sound like a big deal, does it?

Well, my school is three towns over from the town where my apartment stands tall. It's about a ten minute car ride, but by foot...it's a little under two hours.

It's a wee bit of a walk.

And by wee bit, I mean a little over 8km (~5 miles).

But! Despite my legs and feet being angry with me by the time I get home, I don't really regret the walk. It's nice to just walk in nature, which is almost what I'm doing. Just on a paved road...with cars passing by...rather closely...God, I wished there were more sidewalks in rural Korea.

I digress.

Nature! So, I get to walk along the foot of many mountains as I make my way back to Geochang, seeing the Korean countryside for realsies. All those glimpses I get when on a bus or carpooling with my host mom has prevented me from really getting a real look of the Korean rural life.

Apparently, that also means my student's parents see me walking on the side of the road. I wonder how long it'll take until all my students know and they start questioning me on my sanity? I mean, more than usual.

A lot of the staff are so quick to stop and offer me a ride when they see me on the side of the road. The thought that I willingly walk back to Geochang is mindblowing.

Therefore, I even took the time to take pictures on my walk. I hope you enjoy the views as much as I did!

#SaveOurToya

How does this KEEP happening?!

PC: Ashley

November is here, the leaves are changing, the heat mats are coming out, and I have climbed yet another mountain.

I'm not...mad...or anything.

But how do I keep finding myself on a mountain?

It's as if Korea has evoked the hiking enthusiast out of me. And today's hike was an adventure. 

Where do I even begin?

Let's start with how I'm feeling now, shall we?

PC: Ashley

My feet hurt, but my ankle is mostly fine. As you know, I had to go to the hospital a couple months ago to have it checked out. I had been a bit too active for my Achilles' taste and discovered I had tendinitis. The doctor told me to rest it for a month.

Well that month was up as of November 3rd. 

But...it did hurt for a while on the hike. I'm going to take that as a 'not completely healed yet' sign.

My head is killing me, as it usually does when I'm out in nature for a long time. I have nothing against nature, in fact, I love it. It's really peaceful and wholesome! 

PC: Ashley

However, my head still hurts.

Moving right along...despite the few aches and pains, I feel...GREAT! I climbed a mountain. I finally made it to the top of a mountain, despite my trash-talking. 

PC: Ashley

Oh yes. I trash-talked on the mountain. In my defense (not sure if it's a good one...), my foot hurt and my muscles burned and I had been promised we'd reach the top 'soon'. Well, 'soon' meant in an hour. 

And no. We hadn't just started walking. (Don't be rude.)

That being said, I couldn't have climbed that mountain with a better group. We were...I don't think I actually have a word that describes us. Except, CHAMPIONS. (Since you know, we climbed a mountain...and listened to Queen while doing it.)

Look at this view. You're welcome.

PC: Ashley

The four of us are all English teachers, but unlike myself, they're not from the US. And let me just say, that it's wonderful how you can meet people from all around the world no matter where you go! And while others were invited on this outing, they were unable to join us this go-around. But that's okay! I'll be seeing them Wednesday for our weekly soccer match anyways!

Here are some more pictures from today's hike!

To the top!	The Champions~!	The water...so clear...much wow
Break time	Loving nature	Found some wings again~!

If you wanna keep up with my latest shenanigans, hit the 'FOLLOW' button on the right!

#SaveOurToya