Delayed updates...

Hello Family and Friends!
   I'm so sorry I haven't sent out any blogs lately.  Things have been a bit crazy the last couple of months.

 As mentioned with my last update, I have successfully launched my small business as a Jamberry Nail Independent Consultant.  So far I've had some pretty successful online parties and a lot of family and friend support.  I feel very pleased with the success that has come my way so far.  Feel free to check out my website at:  http://AutumnNessler.JamberryNails.net or on FaceBook at: Autumn's Jamberries.

 Aside from that, August was pretty busy for T.G. with work and practice exercises with the military.  I laid pretty low throughout that month due to my hip pain getting worse.  T.G. was in the field for his birthday so we celebrated once he got back to Seoul...yay for Birthday weeks, right!

 September included a fun visit from my Mom.  She came to visit for 10 days and we all had a blast.  Luckily, she, like me, are in low-key mode, so we played a lot of games, did a puzzle, cooked at home and really enjoyed each others company, without as much as of the sight seeing as her previous trips.  Although, we did manage to travel to Busan for a few days.  The three of us had a great time!

  The day after my Mom returned to the States, T.G. and I ventured to the Philippines!  We stayed just outside of Cebu City on Mactan Island at a resort called The White Sands Resort.  It was a wonderful, relaxing trip we planned to celebrate our birthdays together!!

  Two days after we returned to Seoul, from the Philippines, I left to come to Texas!  The main goals for my trip to Texas, aside from visiting family and friends, has been to manage the renovations being done on our house we bought in April and to see an orthopedic surgeon for my hip issue.

  Luckily, both objectives are under-way, but going a bit more slowly than expected.  The best way I can put it is that is has been like a roller-coaster ride since I've been here.  Mostly fun with a few hills that make you think you may toss your cookies.

  The house renovations are all started, but none are complete.  Here are a few pictures thus far...

Our lovely burnt orange front door and new light fixture!

Our shower update...it's a beautiful shower now!

Doors, doors and more doors...that's a lot of painting!

Of course, this view does not need much remodeling!

  As any of you who have hired contractors to handle household jobs will know, it has been a very frustrating endeavor.   It's been difficult to not feel like they are trying to take advantage of us in every situation. I'll save you from the painful details, though.  However, it will be lovely when it's all complete.

  As for my hip, I've seen two orthopedic surgeons and both agree that surgery is the best next step to heal the torn cartilage in my hip, so I am scheduled for surgery on November 10th.  They've also recommended I use crutches for pain relief until surgery, since it is a mechanical problem, the best way to decrease the discomfort is to not use the joint as much as possible.  

  Long-term, this means I will be in Texas for several months...which also means T.G. and I will have to be apart for a while.  BOO!

  He did get to come for a visit last week and spend some time out at the house working in the yard and seeing all the things that are being worked on!  We had a great week together with family and friends and even made it to a Texas Football game!  I can't wait until he can come visit again in December!

  

  As for now...I'll continue to get things ready at our house, keep us from being ripped-off and rest my hip as much as possible.  I'll count down the days to my surgery, so I can hurry and get better and also count the days until my sweetie comes home for good!

  Y'all remember you have an open invitation to visit Korea or Texas...we'd love to have visitors!

Autumn's New Business Venture!!!!

Hello Friends and Family!!
   I have some exciting news!  I've decided to join an amazing company that is going to make it possible for me to earn some money and keep busy doing something really fun while here in Korea!  I've decided to join a company called Jamberry Nails!  The obvious first question is "What is Jamberry Nails?"...well let me show you in a visual form:

So, as you can see, it's an amazingly easy and inexpensive way to keep you nails looking great for weeks at a time!  

It all started while I was hosting a party for my sister's friend, Jennifer, who is also a Jamberry Consultant.  I started talking to T.G. about running a home business while I'm unable to work as a nurse and all the goods and bads that could come with the idea.  After a lot of discussion with T.G. and a couple people at Jamberry, I decided to give it a whirl!  

Not only is this an opportunity for me to bring in a bit of extra money while away from home, it is an awesome way to keep busy, learn how to run a home business and host parties, both in homes and online.   Most of my marketing will be word of mouth and on Facebook...that means I'm going to need all of y'all to spread the word to people you may find it interesting!  Not only that, but they make wonderful gifts, such as teacher gifts, stocking stuffers and get well soon gifts (so if nail products are not your thing, they may be for your friend, neighbor, niece or daughter)!  

Find more information at: AutumnNessler.Jamberrynails.net

My Facebook page

Or call me!

Summer Leave to the East Coast!

Hello Family and Friends!
   As most of you know, we've just returned from our annual trip to 'The Shore' at Wildwood, NJ!  While the travel there and back was filled with delays, cancelations and hours of time, we truly enjoyed our time there!  We started our trip in Wildwood with T.G.'s parents, then had a quick trip to Clover, SC to visit MaryBeth, Blake, Blake Jr., and Lillian, all followed by several more days at the shore with T.G.'s parents.  What a great vacation!  We were fortunate enough to see a lot of family during this time and sincerely missed those who were not able to join in the fun!

Of course, I was thrilled when I found a variety of my favorite Shiner Beers at Joe Canal's at the shore!!

T.G. and Blake Jr. waiting before dinner one night in Charlotte.

Blake being his cute and silly self before bedtime!

Sweet family (minus Blake, who was at work)

The Nessler's from Clemson came all the way to Clover to visit us!  (Thanks for the pictures Aunt Daphne!)

The Wildwood Crest Sand Sculpture Festival was really cool!  We also made it to the third round of the Wildwood Cornhole Tournament...not too bad for our first tournament!

On our last full day at the Shore, T.G., Ginnie and I went to visit The Cape May Brewing Company.  Great tasting area and fun atmosphere!  Ginnie and I recommend "The Bog"!

Our last night, we had to get our fill of Mack's Pizza on the boardwalk!  (even in a down-pour!)

What's a six hour delay anyway...at least we could change our flight getting to Detroit so we didn't have to sit there quite as long as originally planned!

Needless to say, we fully enjoyed our trip, even with it's ups and downs.  Can't wait to go again next year!  Love y'all!!

Hong Kong-ery!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

     Autumn and I just returned from a 5-day trip to Hong Kong.  I must admit, it was far more enjoyable than either of us anticipated.  Don't get me wrong, we had high expectations, but it managed to exceed them all.

     We arrived on a Friday afternoon, greeted by the best sign ever.  For those who have experienced the non-stop, go-go-go, "I must catch the next train or my hair will catch fire" nature of Asian culture, you can appreciate the simplicity of the sign. 

    On our busride from the airport to our hotel, we immediately noticed the dichotomy throughout the city.  As you leave the airport, you are surrounded by greenery as far as you can see.  Wait 10 minutes and 80-story high-rises with more densely packed living quarters than should be allowed will come into view.  A train south will take you to the richest of the rich, but you must first travel past people haggling for every nickel.  It was wonderful to take in.  We headed downtown on our arrival and walked along the Avenue of Stars.  

This is the equivalent of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  We saw the stars of Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, and, of course, Bruce Lee.  

    In the evening, we went to the Ladies Market. Yes, there is an area called Ladies Market.  Yes, I went.  Autumn was in heaven.  Did you know that you can buy a real Coach purse for $7.  At least, they told me it was real.  I can only assume they wouldn't lie to me.  Our evening was pretty quiet as we prepared for the tour the next day.

     Breakfast was included in our package.  As it turns out, terrible-smelling food is served at all hours of the day.  Thankfully, it was a buffet and there was plenty that we did enjoy.  Then it was off to our half-day tour, led by Patrick - who didn't look anything like a Patrick.  He was super nice and the tour was very educational.  He took us to Victoria Peak, the best view of Hong Kong and told us about the geography.  

     Then we headed to a fishing village.  Later, wouldn't you know, there was another market.  At this one, the Stanley Market, we found a rather nice painting of Hong Kong.  It was a 30" x 18" oil painting and cost $20, already put on the frame.  That's pretty hard to beat.  As with any tour, it would not be complete without a stop in a factory trying to sell you stuff.  This particular store was a jewelry store - how nice of them. Imagine that, we happened to be there on the day of their big sale.  I swear, the luck we have!  Anyway, we decided to purchase some magnet bracelets, cause it's supposed to help our circulation (or something).  I was hoping to put one on each limb and turn into Magneto, but the idea was promptly squashed - I won't say by whom.  In the evening, we rested and played games. 

     On Sunday, we had booked a full day tour to Macau, "the Las Vegas of Asia".  

    To be fair, though, it actually does more gambling business than Las Vegas, and does so with 44 casinos in an area only 60% the size of Belton, TX.  We were given the opportunity to gamble a little bit at a casino owned by Jackie Chan.  I managed to win $7, though we left peacefully and Jackie was not required to escort us off the premises. 

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, those are REAL gold bars used in the flooring!

    Our tour guide for that day was quite full of himself and it was a bit obnoxious.  The info was good, though, and we still enjoyed ourselves.  We capped off the day with a local Hong Kong dish called dim sum.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dim_sum)  Basically, it is their version of tapas, except much cheaper.  The three of us (we had a friend with us) ate to our belly's content for $23.

     Our last full day saw us head out to Lantau Island.  After a few days of the hustle and bustle of the big city, it was time to explore the countryside.  Our main goal was to see "the Big Buddha", a 30ft bronze Buddha outdoors.  It was fascinating, and surrounded by absolutely gorgeous scenery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tian_Tan_Buddha

  Once the moments of zen and relaxation had passed, it was back to downtown.  There was a TrollBeads store that Autumn wanted to visit.  They had some Hong Kong-specific beads that look amazing with the rest of her other beads and bracelets.  

     After a simple dinner, the last shopping opportunity came at the Temple Night Market. Man, did we buy some dumb stuff, but it sure was fun. As gifts, we ended up with four Frozen nightgowns for $12...total.  Please note that the nightgowns featured Anna and Elsa, they did not come out of a freezer.

     On Tuesday, I woke up at 0500 to watch the USA play Ghana in the World Cup.  Turns out, the game started at 0600, and I wasn't awake anymore at that time.  Stupid timezone changes!  A delayed flight put us back to our apartment at 2310, just enough time to shower and get ready for work the following morning.  Overall, it was an excellent trip, and Autumn and I both agree that we would highly consider going back.  The English influence was everywhere and it made the area incredibly easy to navigate.  That's all we've got for now.  Our next adventure will include a trip to southern New Jersey from 3-16 July in case anyone is close and wants to visit!  Hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as we enjoyed writing it.

Love, 

T.G. & Autumn