The Bolivia Experiment

Since Last Post

2010-01-25T09:41:00.002-04:00

I've been on a very difficult journey since October. We arrived back in La Paz on October 19th, I went back to work on the 20th but that was the last time I could work until this past Tuesday.

What started as a sore back in late September sharply worsened by the 20th and then by early November was unbearable. Initially I thought it was a displaced rib, something I had had in the past. When the local physical therapist was able to relocate the two ribs, the pain only got worse but higher in my shoulder and down my arm.

In the first week of November I was sleeping a few hours each night and counting the minutes before I could take more pain pills. On November 8th, I flew to Miami as a medevac (medical evacuation) patient. Luckily I was able to be seen at the Cleveland Clinic in Weston, FL, just north of Miami. My mom drove down from Orlando to help plus John's parents were there to offer a home and some TLC.

An MRI showed three herniated discs in the cervical area of my neck. One or two of the discs were irritating a nerve root which was causing all of my pain. As a nurse, I've always known that back pain can be really bad, let me tell you, it can be horrific. On a pain scale of 0-10, I was regularly at an 8.

John flew up for the first of three epidural steroid shots, the first one took away about a third of the pain. We flew the kids up for Thanksgiving, which we spent in Georgia with Lisette and much of John's family. Thanks to Vicodin, it was a great holiday. The week after Thanksgiving, I had my second shot which took away another quarter to a third of the pain but it also gave me an epidural headache. Nothing like compounding one's misery.

I flew back to La Paz for Christmas which was wonderful but still pretty uncomfortable. We managed to throw two parties in the space of the three weeks I was home. Quickly found out that I was best to do absolutely nothing of the prep work for the parties if I wanted to have any enjoyment of the actual party as well as the day after. In January 5th, John and I flew back for my third shot. On January 6th, I slept in a bed for the first time in a month (I'd been sleeping in a recliner beside our bed in La Paz or in John's parents' living room). On the 7th of January, we celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary with a trip to the clinic for my third shot. I figured it was a lucky day!

The third shot helped immediately as opposed to the first two. While I'm not yet painfree, I was able to return to work on over-the-counter anti-inflammatories. I can have another epidural shot in July so I'm hoping this pain goes away or atleast doesn't worsen between now and then. If the pain does continue or worsens or the shot in July doesn't take it away completely, surgery is the only other option. And it's a nasty surgery. For now, I'm so grateful that I'm as comfortable as I am.

Our Week Stateside

2009-10-13T22:35:00.002-04:00

It's always so nice coming back to the States. John and I arrived Sunday night, the 4th. We spent the night at a hotel by the airport then drove to Georgia on Monday morning. It was hard to turn off of I-10 and head north instead of carrying on until we hit Tallahassee! Lisette (and we) had to wait another 24 hours.

Our house is adorable and I spent the first day nesting myself into a frenzy. I found it hard to keep focused that this is likely going to be a second home and therefore doesn't need to be settled into as quickly. Still, we already had a couch and an entertainment center so we obviously needed a TV! So we hit Best Buy and found one on clearance.

Parents Weekend was great! Seeing Lisette was even better!! She's blossoming. I keep saying that because it's incredible how true it is. I knew she was ready but it still is a little shocking how grown up she's become in just two months. She's making some really good choices and other than needing to give her car a bath, she's got it pretty much together. It's fun and heartbreaking to watch her independence. :-)

We're back in our house, ordered a bedroom set, a dining set and an extra bed/couch for the den. I've got the kitchen off to a decent start, our old pots and pans will go a long way to getting it functional though. Perhaps I'll send them up from La Paz sometime soon.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to talk Lisette into coming back with us! :-(

Odds and Ends

2009-09-14T13:08:00.002-04:00

Last night I bought my ticket to go see my baby girl for Parents Weekend!

Strange sight - saw a pizza delivery guy get a ride from a police officer on his motorcycle.

John's on his way to Dayton, Ohio to run the 13th Air Force Marathon. It happens to land on the 13th anniversary of the accident that took his leg!

John opened a "cause" site on Facebook for his run. Just asking for thoughts and prayers, not money. It's already hit 239 members, many of whom we don't even know!

I'm homesick for both the States and Canada!

Eight Years Later

2009-09-11T21:09:00.003-04:00

We had a moment of silence in the Embassy this morning. Hard to believe it's been eight years but then again, so much has changed since then...good and bad.

On a much lighter note - dropped John off at a function this evening (a guy thing) and the house number was 7. We found the street, it was a short one and noticed the first number was 70 which concerned us...the next one was 100...beside it was number 7. Go figure. Weird place we live in.

Have a fabulous weekend!! Love to you all!!

Well, All WAS Quiet...

2009-09-05T18:19:00.002-04:00

This has been a quiet Saturday but our friend took Buddy for a walk with her Golden Retriever only to find her SUV vandalized when she returned to our house. John and Joanne are outside dealing with it - I had just opened up my blog to write when Joanne rang our doorbell. Living in a big city... :-(

Thankfully it looks like the buttheads got nothing. Probably they were interrupted. We live on the crossroads of two pretty busy streets. They ended up cutting her battery cable, most likely so they might be able to come back later and finish the job but good ole duct tape repaired the cable enough so that she could start the car and drive it home. I followed her, just in case and found out she lives in the prettiest house I have seen!!! It looks like a doll house or a playhouse that's been blown up to adult size!

So now the four of us (John, Nicole, Jake and I - missing Lisette!) are chilling out, watching TV and enjoying our long weekend. Hope yours is as eventful/uneventful as you'd like it to be!!

Time Flies

2009-09-02T14:55:00.002-04:00

Before much too much time goes by, it behooves me to update my blog!

The return trip from Italy included a quick stop in Hamilton. The main reason being that I had become the great aunt to a perfect little baby boy! Nolan is the most precious and beloved son of my darling Nicholas and his beautiful wife Natasha. Am I gushing? Heck ya!

The remainder of July and into August was back to work and prepping for the kids to return to school. On August 15th, John and I flew back to Miami with Lisette. Spending the next week setting Lisette up at Florida State University was one of the most depressing time of my life. As with any other dark period, one just plugs on through and tries to look at the bright side. I was happy to at least have the chance to build her her "nest" in her dorm room. It was thrilling to see her bond with her new car - a 2003 VW Beetle (adorable!) although she tried to kill us in it a few times. I'm thinking that was about it as far as a silver lining. Thank goodness for Vonage and Facebook. We're keeping in touch daily. :-)

The other thing we did while back in the States in August was settle things on a house in Georgia. On August 31st, via Power of Attorney, we closed on a lovely lakehouse in Lake Park. The property is right beside John's brother so it makes a perfect getaway place or even a permanent address depending on what happens in our future!

The kids left here in La Paz are both home sick with the flu. John of course thinks it's swine flu but that's John. LOL It doesn't really matter because we don't have access to the blood test to identify it anyway. Supposedly Evo Morales is suffering from the flu and his doc put him on Tamiflu (what we have available for our H1N1 flu patients). Interestingly, Tamiflu can cause some psychotic reactions...no, I won't go anywhere with that. Ha!

So now I'm working full-time and still loving it. Technically, I'm supposed to be working four days a week but until we have the new nurse onboard, I'm filling in the days. School started for me again this past Monday. I'm taking 9 credit hours again but they're split 3/6 over the semester...three credit hours the first half makes life much more reasonable!

John will be running the Air Force Marathon in a few weeks. It falls on the anniversary of his accident which makes it impossible to pass up. I'm excited for him but he has recently relieved my mind by promising that this is his last full marathon. He's not getting any younger and his knee gives him problems to begin with. Still, make sure you're cheering him on this September 19th! Oh, that's "Talk Like a Pirate" day too!

Back Home

2009-07-19T17:54:00.002-04:00

Well, the original idea was to keep a running diary of our trip to Italy. The largest obstacle to that goal was lack of Internet access at many of the places we stayed.

Our trip was fabulous. Definitely what we all needed. John grew a beard (sort of) which I loved, surprising because I'm not a big fan of facial hair. He looked so relaxed in it though! I got a really good tan for the first time in probably 20 years! The kids got along great considering they were squished in the back seat of a medium sized station wagon for too many hours at a time. Thankfully, they often had the opportunity to get away from each when it was absolutely necessary.

Our favourite stay was outside of Assisi. It was incredibly beautiful, peaceful and we went and saw so much!

Here's the Italy vacation in a nutshell ~

June 16th - arrive in Rome, drive to Naples
June 17th - visited the Cuma ruins
June 18th - Pompei!
June 19th - chill day, saw "Up" at Naval base
June 20th - moved down to Amalfi coast house
June 21st - chilled at Amalfi house
June 22nd - drove down the Amalfi coast, sightseeing day
June 23rd - chilled and sunbathed
June 24th - harrowing scooter ride to Vietri!
June 25th - kidnapped Lisette and John to Sorrento
June 26th - crazy day on the Meditteranean in a rented motorboat
June 27th - drove all the way up to Umbria house
June 28th - medieval fair in medieval village
June 29th - Assisi
June 30th - Lisette and I hit Deruta for ceramics
July 1st - Sienna and the "Il Palio" time trial
July 2nd - Pisa and Florence (warning - don't try to do both in one day!)
July 3rd - chilling, sunbathing, laundry and repacking
July 4th - return to Naples, fireworks at Carney Park, John loses work cell (Yeah!)
July 5th - chill, chill, chill
July 6th - drive to Taormina, Sicily
July 7th - Greek ruins, Taormina
July 8th - return to Rome, dealt with gas strike and our pseudo 21st anniversary!
July 9th - Rome, beautiful Rome
July 10th - flight from Rome to Buffalo

It was awesome.

The Amalfi Coast

2009-06-24T14:15:00.003-04:00

Today was a blast! The girls and I went on a scooter ride down the Amalfi Coast to Vietri. Nicole clung to me like the little monkey she can be and Lisette followed beautifully on her pink scooter like the goddess she can be. It was a long ride, over an hour, but we arrived unscathed...John's heart could rest awhile while we shopped. Besides, the view was worth his angina. :-)

The bad news from Vietri - the shop where I bought all my dishes seven years ago was closed while the owners on vacation! AHHHH! Bad timing! Oh, well, I found some other things I wanted. Just have to come back I suppose!

The ride back was a little more interesting. Lisette got bitten by something but kept the scooter under control. She's got about six bites on her back and she was near tears, poor baby! We arrived in the town of Amalfi just in time. The threatening clouds simply burst for about an hour. We had a snack and then did a tiny bit of shopping (honest, John!) and stayed dry. Nicole bought a towel for our scooter seats and we got back on the road.

We pulled in with about five minutes to spare, the scooters were due back at six. Whew! It was a beautiful and fun day!

One other close call, I had talked to Nicole about leaning into a curve with me...we were approaching a turn and I had my eye on a van that was approaching from the other direction. Unfortunately, I wasn't watching the turn close enough and almost hit the wall. While I was saying, "#%$#&^!!!" in my head, Nicole told me later she was just screaming "LEAN!" in hers. LOL

Pompei is Simply Incredible

2009-06-19T16:23:00.003-04:00

I finally went. After living in Naples for two years, I kept missing the opportunity to go or just put it off too many times. Now I can't wait to go back again. My family is tired of me saying "that was so awesome!" It was though. We spent about three hours there and I could have stayed for three days. I know people had said how big it was but I just never imagined it was THAT big. Wow.

That was yesterday. We moved into a new hotel, just slightly more expensive but tons nicer. Then we had lunch at the new hotel. It was delicious but brutally expensive. Off to Pompei after lunch at Lisette's urging. We're all still fighting the time change so not much energy. I'm so glad we went!

Dinner last night was at an old haunt. It was closed on Wednesday and we were worried it wasn't still running. It was and the same waiter was there too! The food was incredible - just like we remembered. The name of the place was Cerberos - it's on a hill overlooking the bay of Naples...we watched the sunset. Sigh.

Today we were up a little earlier. We had a day planned around the Navy base. John was the only one who hadn't seen "Up" so we went to see that. Then we bought some groceries before heading to Carney Park (the US sports complex) where John, Nicole and Jake went to the pool (Lisette had stayed at the hotel when we dropped off groceries) and I went to the Laundromat. Not too exotic but necessary! :-)

We grabbed some pizza at Carney Park for dinner then when all the clothes were dry, we came back here to the hotel. I submitted my final essay for my English Composition II class. Not sure if I'll make an A on this class - too much going on this last month.

Tomorrow's going to be a busy day. Maybe we'll finally be up in time for breakfast here. We should - it's free and food has gotten expensive here!!! It's still worth it though! Ha!

Bella Napoli

2009-06-17T17:26:00.003-04:00

Wow! It's been forever since I blogged - I had a hard time remembering my login info!

We're in ITALY! Staying in a less than ideal hotel but moving to a beautiful place tomorrow. We arrived on Tuesday morning (yesterday) and fought to stay awake all day. We drove by a few places from times past then visited the Navy base to pick up some "essentials"...funny how we actually spent time on an American base while here in Naples but we miss that kind of stuff too!

Jake was especially miserable yesterday but woke up all smiles this morning. A good night sleep does wonders. Meanwhile I froze last night and woke up with a nasty sore throat. Much better by mid-day.

We went to the Cuma ruins today. It's my favourite place in the Naples area. We took some pictures of the kids posed the same way/same place as in 2002. My camera battery is dead so I'll post pics when I can. The Cuma ruins is a former Greek altar to Apollo. There's also Sybil's cave there...I need to look that lady up, Lisette knew all about her. Smart girl.

We tried to go to three different restaurants that were our faves when we lived here. None of them were still there. Sad, this place is a ghost-town in some areas. I guess the recession has been hitting here pretty hard. We ended up having dinner near our old house, in a restaurant that was there but we only used to pick up pizza there. It was a delicious dinner! I just hope we all don't weigh a thousand pounds before we leave!!

I'll try to keep up the blog while I'm here. Ciao!

Funnish Weekend

2009-05-17T19:38:00.002-04:00

It's been another busy few weeks and my work hours are about to increase as the wonderful nurse who normally works the full-time position is leaving! AHHHHH! So I'll fill in the gaps a bit until we hire another RN.

Friday I worked in the morning then taught a CPR class in the afternoon at USAID, their building is a little closer to home than the Embassy. It was a long day though and our finale was Lisette's final chorus concert in high school. :-(

Yesterday morning was the Book Club meeting here at our house. It was fun, though I read the book years ago and never got around to skimming over it before the meeting. I wasn't much help during the discussion! The ladies did manage to talk John and I into attending a ball last night. We'd deftly avoided buying tickets but we were invited to sit at the "fun" table so we bought some excess tickets and went.

Diana and Holly took me with them to the beauty salon for a pedicure and hair styling...that was fun! Then I had to get home and figure out what to wear. John helped me decide. The dinner was yummy, we rubbed elbows with lots of Ambassadors and even ran into a few fellow Attaches and their spouses. The dancing was good, funny how the whole world knows the dance for "YMCA"! I bid on a painting at their short but mostly ugly auction but was outbid. Whew! ?-)

We got home around 12:30 and had some drinks with our table buddies before they headed home and we crashed. Altogether a nice evening!

Ah, The Joys of Motherhood

2009-05-05T11:00:00.002-04:00

Lisette was up barfing all night. She went running before dinner, watched part of the third Lord of the Rings movie with us for a bit then complained her stomach hurt and she was going to bed. Shortly thereafter the vomiting began. I curled up beside her for awhile last night, worried about who will look after her when she's sick next year at university. John said she just isn't allowed to get sick there. As she has a fever now, it's doubtful that it was simply something she ate. Bummer, viruses are contagious. Wonder how long it will be until one of us is puking too.

She's still in bed with a big bowl and a glass of ginger ale beside her. Poor baby.

On another front, I am utterly shocked that John hasn't spilled the beans on our trip this summer. He keeps saying these leading questions in front of the kids, I'm ready to pop him one. Then he just looks at me all, "oops" and I just have to shake my head in wonder. Just over a month to go - cannot wait to get out of here!!!

Former President Jimmy Carter came to visit last week. He hung out with Morales and promised to go picking coca leaves with him next time he's here. Seriously. Then, the day after Mr. Carter leaves, Morales is calling for "muerte yanqui" in front of a crowd of cocaleros (coca growers). For non-Spanish speakers, "muerte yanqui" means "death to the yankee". Nice, huh? This is his usual comment so no reason for alarm, just interesting how he speaks out of both sides of his mouth constantly!

Okay, enough venting. It is another gorgeous day here. I opened Lisette's window to let her get some fresh air. The sun is shining and it perfectly warm in the sunshine and nicely cool in the shade. The gardener is here keeping our yard simply stunning. This is the nicest house we've ever lived in. We're all enjoying our home and our friends, the kids are happy (even barfy girl other than at this moment! Ha!) and I'm so getting used to be pampered by our maid and cook. Yup, those are the things that will be hard to give up.

2009-05-01T16:46:00.001-04:00

April

2009-05-01T16:20:00.002-04:00

April was a highly stressful month around here. The first half was rather mellow, I got to travel to Santa Cruz and teach CPR in Spanish, there was Lisette's Senior Trip and Spring Break where we just relaxed. Preparing for the Hippie Party on the 18th was mostly fun but a little stressful.

From about 2:30AM after the party, the entire month took a turn for the worst. The party was so great, it probably made what happened after that seem that much worse.

It's a long story, but John's driver Felix got jumped by a bunch of teenage boys that night. They never did catch him (fast guy!) but they chased him both on foot and by car. It was very scary. It comes down to these kids being rich, Bolivian brats who have basically been buying themselves out of trouble but now they've taken on a U.S. Embassy employee who has the backing of our government. Two of the boys go to our kids' school. It's been an interesting and mostly disgusting process to watch as it's progressed. John's been dragged into it but his stance has been simply to support Felix in whatever he chooses to do.

Then there's the killings in Santa Cruz of the supposed "terrorists". Watching this Bolivian government's response to what they've done has been amusing at best and horrifying as well. The Embassy has increased its alertness to potential civil unrest but again, the Bolivians are generally such a peaceful people we certainly hope that the situation remains isolated. Unfortunately, with this happening right after what happened to Felix, I had an antiBolivia week or two.

On the brighter side of life, the High School had its Talent Show last week and their Theatre production last night. Lisette shone in both, winning third place for her singing routine in the Talent Show and having us roaring with laughter during her skits last evening. I'll post a picture of her Talent Show performance. The man in the picture will be her principal, Mr. Kirby. It was awesome!

Here's to a peaceful and happy May!

2009-04-24T20:34:00.000-04:00

Being a Hippie is So Groovy!

2009-04-24T20:28:00.002-04:00

The party was last Saturday. It was awesome! Thanks to Cuqui who planted the idea with her own Christmas/Groovy party. Everything went off without a hitch and I had a blast. The food was great, the drinks were great, the costumes were fabulous, the band was amazing. And on and on. It seems that everyone had a super time, most comments touched on it being the best party anyone had been to since arriving here. Wahoo. I was so busy having a good time, it was hard to notice anyone not having a blast. Even the teenagers seemed to have enjoyed themselves. One of the personal highlights for me, was having the crowd sing "Happy Birthday" to me in English, then Spanish, and then in Portuguese. Great, great people!

The party started at 8 and went until about 2:30ish. The food outlasted the guests and at the end, I had my feet up sitting cross ways on a plush chair right beside the bar. That's the life!

Don't miss the pictures on my Facebook page!

Social Week

2009-04-16T18:12:00.002-04:00

It's been a busy week and it's only getting busier. I can't believe Easter was just this past Sunday!

Tuesday, John and I hosted the General Membership Tea for ABIA (American British International Association). Luckily, we only provided the location, dishes and wine glasses to the affair, the wine and cheese came from the association. It was quite successful by all accounts, we had around 50 people show.

Yesterday was Chem Exam day. Finished and handed in! Then I edited my final English essay and handed that in too. John was home most of the day, he has a cellulitis infection on his nose! It was yucky but after a few days of antibiotics, he's much better. Let me tell you, you get some strange infections up here!

I worked today but have a dinner to go to this evening. Tomorrow is work around the house day, I need to get caught up on a bunch of errands. More social events to attend this weekend, maybe I can sleep in on Sunday though!!

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-12T20:55:00.002-04:00

Lisette is home, we had a houseful of people for Easter lunch and I was able to drink Diet Coke for the first time in 40 days! Yeah!

No pictures, I'm not sure where my camera is. Last time I saw it, it was going into Nicole's purse. Hmmmm.

Everyone slept in this morning. Well, the Easter Bunny was up early but then she went back to bed for an hour or so. I did suffer from some "Evo's Revenge" this morning but a few Pepto-Bismol's helped. Nothing was getting between me and my Diet Coke anyway!

I finished my English essay rough draft tonight so now I just have to wait for some critiquing from my fellow students, hand in the final draft by the end of the week and I'm done English I!! I have a Chemistry exam to complete by Thursday but I got a 96 on my prep test so hopefully the exam will go smoothly. After that, I'm done Chem!! If all goes well, I'll have an A in all my classes this term. Yeah me! :-)

Spring Break

2009-04-09T17:35:00.002-04:00

I've heard from Lisette twice. Once was for money. Hmmm. A sign of things to come, perhaps? :-) Sounds like she's having a blast in Cordoba.

Jake has been spending way too many hours playing the Wii. John and I just tried out Guitar Hero (my first shot at it) and we suck...like, really bad. It is fun though, except for the part when Jake is trying to help. He's not helping.

Nicole and I went out for lunch today. I drove us down by the Embassy to the one and only Subway. Other than Burger King, it's the only North American restaurant in town, actually, in the country. Not even McDonalds though rumour has it there will be a McD's in Santa Cruz by summer. Subway was yummy, nice fresh bread but somehow it just didn't taste the same. Oh well.

I'm almost done this semester of classes and still contemplating if I'm going to squish in my last English class before our summer trip. Probably should. Chem has been brutal this last month but I managed to get in the last paper 15 minutes before it was due today. I actually completed it yesterday but had to put it into a document to send it to my professors. That took forever! One more exam and I'm done Chem, one more essay and I'm done Eng I. The countdown begins!

Tomorrow I'm hoping to drag my lazy family out for a Good Friday hike in the tradition of my side of the family! Since both the kids were finally up at 1 today (I was too busy with Chem to kick them out of bed earlier) - it could be quite a feat to get them moving tomorrow.

Hope your Good Friday is...well, good!!

Two Posts in Two Days!

2009-04-06T19:35:00.002-04:00

Wow! That hasn't happened in a long time! :-)

I had a busy day though I didn't really expect to! I woke up at around 8:30, considered sleeping for another 30 minutes then decided to get up and shower. While I was in the shower, I remembered I had an Attache Spouses' Tea to go to at 9:30! Yikes! I made it just in time, thankfully it was close by. Lots of fun and I came home with a birthday gift and a raffle win. Cool!

At home, there were two guys from the Embassy doing the inventory of all our furniture, etc. Jake was here with his two friends still. Their maid ended up spraining her ankle so the boys stayed here for the day - it was a good thing, Jake had a blast.

I studied some Chemistry then headed to the Embassy to go and choose the last of our furniture from the warehouse. That took a couple of hours in total then I dragged John home just before 5. I've been studying Chem since getting home. Jake went home with Christine for a sleepover...same boys! Nicole's waiting for a phone call to go out for dinner with a girlfriend. Lisette emailed me - short but sweet, sounds like she's having fun!

Now, time for Chem class! Talk to you soon!!

Birthday Dinner at La Suisse

2009-04-05T19:09:00.001-04:00

When Does the Train Slow Down?

2009-04-05T18:56:00.002-04:00

I keep saying that and I keep expecting a quieter week but it just doesn't happen! This last week I worked full-time including an overnight trip to Santa Cruz to teach CPR...IN SPANISH! Thankfully one of the Security Officers came with me and worked as my interpreter. It went well and everyone passed the test.

The nice part of the trip to Santa Cruz was that John came along too. We visited the NAS (Narcotic Affairs Section) and were briefed on what they do in Bolivia. Very interesting, especially because I barely had a clue what they do!

Friday was a great day too - my birthday! John had an Attache function at lunchtime but I was working and the doc closed up the clinic so all of us could go out for lunch! Have I mentioned how much I love my coworkers? They really are awesome.

The kids and John went out for dinner with me. I'll post a picture. I ate a less than delicious fondue with Nicole but my company was perfect. Usually this is one of my favourite restaurants but we ordered something different and it was yucky. Oh well! We still managed to stuff ourselves (easier to do at 12,000 feet!) so we couldn't manage the dessert Nicole and her friend Eva had baked me earlier in the afternoon. Chocolate cake! It had to wait until Saturday.

Yesterday morning Lisette headed out with her Senior class to Cordoba, Argentina for their senior trip. Haven't heard from her since she boarded the bus in Tarija but we didn't expect her cell phone would work in Argentina. I figure no news is probably good news until she can find a way to contact us. Makes me uneasy to be out of touch with my baby though!!

Jake has two friends sleeping over tonight. My day has been so quiet that hearing them in the next room is just funny!

This is the kids' Spring Break, I won't be working much and I'm trying to get ahead in my classes so I can just relax with them. I'll let you know how that works out!!

Busier Than Usual Week

2009-03-28T17:19:00.002-04:00

It's been nuts. Not ugly but there's been no time to notice the roses much less smell them.

I worked all day Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday plus Friday morning. I had Chem class Monday night (which ended up being canceled after an hour of trying to fix a computer glitch) then English Tuesday night. We had twenty people over for drinks and light hors d'ouevres Wednesday night. Thursday night was an Attache reception at the German Ambassador's residence (incredible house!!) and then last night was a reception at the Colombian Ambassador's residence.

The reception last night was at 7:30PM. At 7:05 I was throwing things out of my closet and simply couldn't find anything to wear. It wasn't ugly but my frustration level was rising. Finally I told John I was going to sit this one out. Turned out most of the Attache spouses did the same. Whew! The Attache functions are mostly voluntary for the wives/husbands so it wasn't a big deal. John was home just after 10 and I had a chance to catch my breath.

This afternoon was the first meeting of our Book Club. There were only five of us here but it was a lot of fun. I kept the menu very simple and the guests provided the dessert. Perfecto!

Now we have two events to go to this evening. Tomorrow is going to be a VERY quiet day!!!

Writing Maniac

2009-03-18T21:35:00.002-04:00

My English professor gives us a great deal of writing assignments. This week involves seven different ones. Today I completed five of them, one was a thousand word essay! Whew!

I'm actually in class right now - but it's kind of boring since I've already done most of the work. Thankfully it's over in fifteen minutes. Part of the problem is it's done as a chat session but the chat posting is slooowwww.

John is busy shopping for me in the States. The list is fairly short at this point because there's been so many trips back. He is buying me what I want for my birthday though! Yeah! I won't tell you what it is so one of us will be surprised! Ha!

Well, class is wrapping up and I have a little guy to cuddle so Goodnight!

All Alone

2009-03-16T22:24:00.002-04:00

If you don't count my three children and my 80 lb Labrador...but my Johnny has flown the coup yet again. He's in Florida for the week speaking at a military school. Lucky him. Sunshine and shopping. Well, we've had lots of sunshine here but it's not FLORIDA sunshine. Obvious difference, right?

This week I have 5 different writings due for English. It's giving me a bit of a rash. Nicole thinks I should write about how she's maintained for years that her "real mother" is black and living back in Africa. It would make for an interesting essay! LOL

Today was a quiet one, the kids all went to school finally...we've had a bit of a run on sick kids. I worked on getting my school stuff back in order and spent a great deal of time working on our summer vacation. I'm feeling guilty about spending so much money on our trip but Lisette deserves it. She's saved us more money than we're spending by getting her scholarships. She still doesn't know where or what we're doing. There's no way Nicole could deal with her graduation trip being a surprise but Lisette hasn't asked once.

Well, I'm going to crash into bed. When I'm done all my English writing I'll be back here!

Squeeze Play

2009-03-14T23:14:00.003-04:00

Trying to squeeze in another blog entry before another whole week goes by!

So last weekend was party weekend and then unpacking weekend. Monday was more of the same (the unpacking part) then work, schoolwork, bank headache, more work then more parties starting Thursday night. We had 12 people over for dinner and it was a blast. Friday night was Happy Hour at my wonderful friend Kim's. That was a blast too and DELICIOUS food! Tonight we had a Bolivian couple over for dinner, an older couple and super nice. Thankfully they spoke some English but I did get in a lot of Spanish practice too. I've had more wine over the last three days than I've had in a while but I didn't overindulge - I couldn't or I'd be dead!

Another Embassy person was sent home PNG'd (Persona Non Grata) again this week, accused of something the guy had nothing to do with. Okay, I just erased a whole rant against Evo but he's simply not worth the space on this page. Besides, I'm SUPPOSED to be a diplomat! Ha!

The kids now all have orthodontia. Lisette and Nicole have braces on their top teeth, the bottom are coming. Jake has a palette spreader which is driving him nuts but I think his speech impediment is adorable!!

No other news, life is busy as usual. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE having two full-time maids?? OMG, it is so awesome. If only they were Kathys, that would be too painfully perfect. :-)

Back "Home"

2009-03-08T21:03:00.002-04:00

My week in Miami was great - lots done and time with family. I spent too much money but I figure I don't buy much here so it all evens out, right? :-)

I got home to La Paz Friday morning at about 6:30. John was sweet enough to come with the driver to meet me - the flight was early and he was bummed not to be there on time but I was thrilled to see him. I slept pretty well on the plane but overnight flights are always tough to recover from. There was no time to recover on Friday!

The kids hadn't left for school by the time we got home so I got to give some hugs and kisses plus a few of the gifts I got them before they hopped on the school bus. John and I followed shortly thereafter because it was "International Day" at the elementary school. There was a parade and we got to see Jake square dance - it looked like sooooo much fun!! Then there was the Tour of Nations in the gym to walk around. I finally made it into my bed by 10:30 and slept until 1:30...about 6 hours short of a good sleep for me!

The Attache Spouses had a tea at 3:30 - Carlene and I had quite a time finding the place but we eventually did with the help of John on the phone. How DID we manage before cell phones?? The tea was very nice and I drank two cups of strong coffee to get through it without falling asleep sitting up.

Back home for a mad dash to be ready for the formal Marine Dining Out affair. I couldn't find the dress I wanted to wear so settled for option number 2. Then my hair wouldn't behave, my new bra perplexed me (sorry if that's TMI!) and my shoes were driving me nuts. Somehow Nicole, Lisette and I got there in time. John had to leave for the hotel early - he was the Guest of Honour!

It was awesome! Great food, great music, great fun. I even came away with a beautiful bouquet of flowers as a "Thank You" for my service as a military spouse. John did a super job in his speech plus he did a beautiful toast to the fallen Marines.

Nicole is supposed to be sending me the pictures she took - I'll post them when I get them!

Meanwhile, I've spent the last two days unpacking. Same old, same old. :-)

My Baby's Going to University

2009-03-01T23:05:00.003-04:00

First she turns 18 then she asks us to pay her deposit on university. Sigh. Lisette's decided to attend FSU - Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL. We still haven't heard if she's been accepted into the Musical Theatre program but she's come to the decision that she wants to go there no matter what her major will be. They have everything she wants even if she takes her second choice in a major.

When I spoke to her on the phone, I asked how sure she was - she said, 100%. Can't beat that! So John paid the deposit. Wow. My baby's going to be a Seminole!!! I couldn't be more proud of my beautiful, brilliant, sweet sweet baby girl!

Hello Again!

2009-03-01T00:00:00.003-04:00

Wow! I've been remiss with my blog but with good reason! My baby turned 18 on the 22nd of February! That happened to be during Carnivale in Bolivia - something they take very seriously across the entire country. It involves parties, music, dancing, water balloons, firecrackers and decorating your car with a ton of streamers.

Lisette's birthday was filled with parties, especially for her and Nicole. They attended a two-day party event and were allowed to celebrate until 2AM each evening. That about killed John and I!

Since Lisette's birthday we've been incredibly busy moving into our new home. The 17th home of our family since our wedding just over 20 years ago. Yes, we're getting pretty good at it and yes, we're getting pretty tired of it too.

Friday morning I flew to Miami for a nursing convention and to complete a CPR instructor course. Friday night was the family's first night to sleep in the new house. That is very weird for me. My family has a new residence and I haven't lived there with them. I was feeling guilty for leaving John there to unpack but then he reminded me of how many times I've unpacked without him. Hmmmm. Good point.

So I'm in Miami, staying at Cuqui and Rich's (John's sister and her husband.) I've had dinner with John's mom and dad and I'll see them again tomorrow. It's good to be "home"!

I'm Going Nuclear!

2009-02-16T19:14:00.002-04:00

I had a chemistry test yesterday and today my professor emailed us students with the news that they were changing which chapter we were going to study this week. Instead of Acids and Bases, we were going to study Nuclear Chemistry...to give us a break because we were all brain dead. This didn't sound like a break to me!

Yesterday I also took a history test. I was in a rush to take it before we had guests over, completely forgot to take the pretest and got my worst score yet - an 86. I've been depressed about it all day. About the history test and the chem test which wasn't nearly as easy as the first one. My only saving Grace today was the 98 that I got on my short essays. The girls were rolling their eyes at me this afternoon as I groaned about my 86. No pity!

John and I went to see the DATT house again today and made a list of the things that still need to be done, a few things that have to be changed and a screw up or two. Considering the length of the list, it might mean John will be moving us while I'm in Miami...how cool would that be??? Payback could be awesome, or disastrous! LOL

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

2009-02-14T10:23:00.003-04:00

My plan was to blog every other day but yesterday I was busy - work then this party. Ladies Night at the Marine House...with the Marines in drag. Who would possibly miss the chance to see that???

When Will My Life Be Serene?

2009-02-11T09:19:00.002-04:00

A lot of it is my fault. I started back to work, though part time. At the same time, I started back to school, though part time.

This week, I'll work 2.5 days. I have three essays and a Chemistry test due by Sunday. Lisette has decided her 18th Birthday party should be this Saturday instead of next because of Carnival down here - too much interference. Which is a good choice...however. Now I'm scrambling to get the tent/tables/chairs plus the BBQ guy and a server (yeah, I know, rough life). Mind you, Saturday is Valentine's Day too. I'm hitting up John's secretary for some help as my Spanish speaking husband is away, again. Then there's the cake and the champagne (just a wee bit for her to celebrate with) to buy, and we'll be decorating all day Saturday while my essays lay unwritten. And what's today? Wednesday already!!!

I'm praying all will fall into place and I'll just keep a bottle of that champagne for myself to soothe the pain of my baby girl becoming an adult!

Back From the Brink of Death

2009-02-09T08:08:00.003-04:00

John left yesterday morning for DC. He got up at 3:20ish, I was up at 3:30 and spent the majority of time between 3:30 and 5:30 in the bathroom. Once was to puke up my toenails, or at least that's what it felt like. By the time I barfed, John was on his way and was no help whatsoever. Poor me.

We call it "Evo's Revenge" since he doesn't like us much it makes sense. Well, Evo was extremely pissed at me yesterday. Don't really know why. I barely survived on a bottle of water, a can of Gingerale and some Imodium. By dinnertime I chanced some chicken soup (no chicken, a little bit of noodle) and then by bedtime I was still so shaky I had a wee bit of cereal.

My babies took good care of me. My history professor gave me an extra day to take my weekly test. My husband was nowhere to be found...he didn't have a great day either so I can't squawk too much about him. My bed was comfy and cozy.

This morning I feel 100% better. Amazing what a difference 24 hours makes!! Now for history...

Payback

2009-02-07T22:14:00.002-04:00

Actually, I felt pretty good this morning although I woke up in the middle of the night with a "too much wine" headache but I fell back asleep and woke up refreshed!

The problem started with drinking a glass and a half of wine at Kim's house before going out for dinner. More wine at dinner - both the wine and the food were so good! Then off the Marine House for another glass of wine (not so good this time) but by then I was...super happy.

We had a great time! I've mentioned before what great people we work with at the Embassy and their families. Lucky, lucky us.

Today was a bit busy too. The girls had different things/times to be at school for, cheerleading (Nicole) and theatre (Nicole and Lisette). Jake spent some time with John today clearing out a bunch of toys. We went to see the house - it's still coming along beautifully.

We're looking for a second maid, this new house is humongo! So I made a phone call about one but it doesn't look like it's the right fit. Monday I'll try to track down another one that might work well.

Tonight, Nicole is at a movie with friends and Lisette is at a "Senior Girls Night Out" which sounds like a great time! I'm ready to fall into bed!

Funky Friday

2009-02-06T15:04:00.002-04:00

It's been a good week! I got my husband and baby girl back, I finished my homework early and work has been busy but not too busy.

The weather has been a bit schizophrenic but overall quite stunning. We found out our move date was being moved back a bit, I had a small hissy fit about it and we came to a compromise.

Jake's been home sick with a sore throat and yesterday had a fever but seems to be making good progress today. Just in time to organize his toys with John this weekend! Yeah! Little does he know that that's my evil plan for him!

Last night I met John at the Embassy, we grabbed a quick soup/sandwich dinner and then went to the airport to greet a new Argentine attache and his family. We didn't stay long because John's still recovering his altitude "legs".

Tonight we're having dinner with friends and then heading to an Embassy party. Woo Hoo, will the fun never end?

One More Beautiful Day

2009-02-02T08:21:00.002-04:00

Can't complain about our weather lately! Although it's not warm enough to go swimming, it's been sunny and perfect out day after day!

I finally got around to writing my essay yesterday...I sent it to Nicole for feedback and she gave me an A+++++ or something like that - we shall see. Then I started studying for my history test, the brutal chapters. Unfortunately I only got an 86 on the test, the class average was only 72. Again, brutal chapters.

Nicole had a bunch of friends over for the Super Bowl. Poor Jake was banned from the family room so he couldn't watch it. I offered to take him over to the Marine House where a few of his friends were attending a Super Bowl party but he wasn't interested. So he played with his toys while I studied and we listened to the cheering and the groans from upstairs which signified what team was ahead...most of the kids were routing for Pittsburgh!

Lisette had her UCF and FSU auditions this weekend. She felt good about both auditions. Sounds like there was a monstrous amount of kids auditioning for FSU which has her rather concerned. John wasn't impressed with UCF and we both think Lisette should stick to a BA (Bachelor of Arts) program rather than a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) which is much more restricted in what classes she can take. But that's all up to Lisette - she'll be making her decision in the next month. Meanwhile, I'll stick to my denial that my baby's flying from the nest. :-(

Gorgeous Saturday!!

2009-01-31T20:19:00.002-04:00

Another picture perfect day. Jake had Boy Scouts this morning. While he did that I scooted over to buy a birthday gift for a little girl in his class. I thought to call a friend to see if she'd like to meet me at our "almost there" house...she did but not until 11:30. Okay!

Diana brought some other of the Embassy ladies (all terrific!) with her as she was out and about with them when I called. We toured the house and then decided that it was time for lunch! It worked out that Jake went home with his friend Manny so I joined the gals for lunch.

I also got a phone call from Manny's mom who reminded me that I had wanted to go with her next time she went to get her haircut...was I available at 2? Sure! So after lunch Nicole and I went with Christine to get our haircut. It took FOREVER so we finally picked up Jake at 4:30...his birthday party was at 5. So we zipped home, changed and finally found the birthday party house at around 5:20.

Nicole begged for Burger King for dinner (yuck!) and I talked her into Cafe Beirut...great burgers! It was a total teen hangout so I felt ancient but the food was good.

Home from there at around 6:30...I finally had a chance to sit down and check my email. Now it's almost 8:30, I just got home from picking Jake up and dropping Nicole off at her birthday party! Whew!

Guess what? Not a word written yet on my essay!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

TGIF or maybe not

2009-01-30T13:47:00.002-04:00

I have an essay to write this weekend (that's what the "maybe not" is about) which isn't so bad because I enjoy writing but I'm terrified it's not going to be in the correct format or whatever. The directions are less than clear. The other thing I'm not looking forward to this weekend is taking a history test. The two chapters this week were sooooooo boring to read. Now I have to go over them again before the test, I usually take about 6 hours (I'm not kidding) to write notes about each page, which isn't too bad when they're interesting!

This week has been super busy. Again, between school and work I have little time for chilling out. With John away, that obviously makes it a little worse. Jake started After School Activities - he's taking Chess, Rock Cimbing and Boy Scouts. They have a Climbing Wall at the school and his first class was very cool! He loved Chess in Argentina but wasn't thrilled with his first class here. Boy Scouts starts tomorrow and that's something "Daddy's" going to be taking over so I can study...or chill.

I screwed up this week but it may pay off later. On Wednesday night I was cursing my Chemistry class while trying to complete the homework package. A bunch of the questions were from chapters we hadn't even covered yet but they had switched around some chapter orders so I just plugged away, teaching myself out of the textbook when necessary. Finally submitted it all Thursday morning only to find out it isn't due until FEB 12TH!!!! Sheesh. Atleast my Chem homework is done for awhile!

Today was mostly a day off though I went in for a few hours. The sun is shining, it's a gorgeous day out. Tonight I'm going to a dinner and show with a bunch of friends - tomorrow, back to school!

Mellow Sunday

2009-01-25T22:56:00.002-04:00

I've probably used that title for another Sunday but that's what it was today!

The vote for the constitution was today so there's was to be no driving for us. BTW, looks like the new constitution got the votes it needed. I'm just grateful this isn't my country. Though there definitely needed to be someone in power to bring the indigenous people up, unfortunately this isn't a president who will work for all the people.

Nicole, Jake and I just hung out. I finished my Chemistry exam...here's hoping, I think I did well!

I cooked a beef stew for dinner. With Dominga doing 90% of the cooking around here, it was nice to get back into the kitchen. It turned out really good, not fabulous but definitely yummy. We had bought fresh rolls yesterday which I tossed in a freezer bag to keep soft. The air is so dry here, things get stale fast. They went perfectly with the stew.

John called a bunch of times, just for this and that but it's always good to hear his voice. I got a quick note from Haley (12 yr old niece) on Facebook saying, "We have your family" - she's such a hoot!

So now it's all quiet in the house and I'm ready for bed! Ciao!

Interesting Weekend Ahead

2009-01-24T09:56:00.002-04:00

Federal voting in Bolivia is on Sundays. I think that's a great idea - no excuse not to cast your vote on a weekend. Here's how La Paz looks on this voting weekend. No alcohol will be sold after midnight tonight. Mind you, a friend told me he was told by the liquor store owner that, "no, can't sell liquor after midnight Saturday but, yes, I'll sell you liquor after midnight Saturday." The Embassy note read that there should be no consumption of liquor in Bolivia after midnight so it's a bit confusing to begin with.

Secondly, you can't drive anywhere...vehicles are not permitted on the roads. There are some passes permitted upon request (the Embassy has a few vehicles with these passes if we need to go somewhere) but basically the roads are off limits to cars. No taxis, no buses, nada. Interesting, huh? Welcome to Bolivia...a different world.

So tomorrow is the big day. They're voting on the new constitution which Evo has vowed he'll implement via presidential decree if it doesn't pass. Be thankful for where you live, it's got it's own issues but it ain't here. :-)

On a more positive note, Lisette had her first audition yesterday. She was at the University of Miami and it sounds like she did great! On the low end of great was her vocal audition, but her monologues and the dance portion went awesome! UM's program is very small, I think John said there were only about 6 spots. She won't find out anything for another month. Next week - University of Central Florida and Florida State University! Go get 'em Lisette!!

Happy MLK Jr Day!

2009-01-19T19:15:00.002-04:00

Hmmm. Monday...holiday, but not for the kids! Perfect! ;-)

John and I slept in but then I got up, showered and headed right to work on my Chemistry studies. Again, it's a good thing I like Chemistry because the work is hard to focus on.

Then John interrupted me because he was hungry so off we went to have lunch at a popular diner five minutes away. We ran into some other folks from the Embassy but dined alone. After lunch we checked on the progress of the house, I was delighted with the closet system they put in the girls' rooms. I think I'm finally accepting that it won't be ready until March though they're still saying mid-February.

A quick stop at the grocery store and we were home in time for the kids to get back from school. Nicole brought home friends to work on a science project and I got back to work on my Chemistry.

Now, I'm ready for the class tonight plus I've been getting my reading done for World Civilizations tomorrow night. Oh, and I got a 90 on my test last night - not bad but not great!

Trying to Get Organized

2009-01-18T21:16:00.002-04:00

I really wanted to get ahead in my schoolwork this week but I've failed miserably. The required papers were written, the test was taken but the other work that needed to be done before my school week starts anew remains undone. This will be my New Years Resolution! To get more organized with school and with Spanish class.

Friday was a fun day for me. I slept in a little then showered and went shopping a bit before meeting a girlfriend for lunch. Lunch lasted almost 3 hours! It was a lot of fun. Then I zipped home, checked on the kids and went to meet John and his office crew at a restaurant - they were having an "office meeting" with beers on the side. After about an hour or so with them, it was Happy Hour with a bunch of ladies from the Embassy - luckily it was taking place at the same restaurant! I had to leave a little early as John and I had a dinner date with Lisette to celebrate her scholarships.

Dinner was at a Sushi restaurant (Lisette's favourite!) and it was great to spend time with just the three of us.

Saturday began with Lisette going to voice lessons and me dragging the rest of the family out to see a horseback riding club. We ended up having a blast. The place is very family oriented, both Nicole and Jake got to ride a couple of the horses. The girls haven't ridden since 2003 so it was neat to see Nicole remembering her lessons! Jake has never really ridden and he absolutely loved it!

Back home for lunch and to pick up Lisette for a quick visit to our future house. Jake didn't want to go - he wants it to be a surprise when we move in. Alrighty then!
The house is really coming along but I'm not convinced it'll be ready in the next few weeks like they're saying. However, the more carpet they tear up, the happier I am - so far, 2 out of 3 stories have gorgeous hardwood floors!

Back home to finally take down all our Christmas decorations and put them away. The kids were a great help with very little fussing. John was relatively absent from the process - I'll give him the excuse of his sore back though!

Last night we went out for dinner with friends to a very cool Spanish tapas joint. In typical Spanish style, it was a four hour meal! So much laughter, I'm sure we annoyed our neighbouring tables.

Today was very mellow. We slept waaaay in after our fun night. Then I finally got down to business with schoolwork - in between loads of laundry. So test taken and now I'm going to cuddle with my World Civilization book in bed!

I Remembered!

2009-01-15T20:54:00.002-04:00

I was just about to close up the computer when I remembered that I have a blog! These work hours on top of school hours are messing with my fun! Although work hours tend to be more fun than work for the most part...today was more work than fun.

We arrived home on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were work days, then I had to go in for a few hours Wednesday afternoon and then worked again today. Plus most of my homework is due tonight - all that writing for World Civilizations. Somehow I signed myself up to organize a book club at the Embassy too.

Busy, busy but I prefer it that way, atleast for now. It also helps that I got my first paycheck! :-)

Huge news from last night - Lisette has been offered a $9,600 scholarship from Florida State University! That brings her scholarship total to over $25,000!!! As you can imagine, we're so proud of her we could bust! Thankfully, FSU is her first choice but she knows that her options are still open to choose a different school.

So my homework for tonight is done, John just left to pick up Lisette after her workout, Jake is tucked in and I'm going to call it an early evening. And no work for me tomorrow!!

Back From Tarija!

2009-01-11T21:53:00.002-04:00

It was a wonderful yet short vacation! Tarija is a beautiful city, nestled in the mountains with delicious wineries and stunning landscapes. It has the Bolivian hospitality, a gorgeous hotel (where we stayed) and the weather cooperated!! We expected rain daily but we ended up with mostly clear days and some wet nights...as we spent every evening at the hotel, that was fine!

Tomorrow is going to be a crazy, full day so I'm going to go cuddle with my husband and watch a few minutes of the Golden Globes and then I'm hitting the sack!

Life's Way Busy

2009-01-08T22:30:00.002-04:00

Work takes up a lot of my time. Plus I just started two online classes. Then there's the whole three kids, a husband and a dog gig. Sorry I've been away for so long!

Jorge is home and doing okay. John spoke to him today and said he still sounds pretty confused. His short term memory sucks and he had to learn his way around his house again.

Yesterday was John and my 20th wedding anniversary! We're celebrating with the kids in Tarija, a small city in southern Bolivia. We just arrived yesterday and enjoyed the hotel grounds we're staying at today. The heated pool was great but we all spent a little too much time in the sun. The worst hit is Jake - his back is badly burnt. He sat in a cool tub for quite awhile this evening and John lathered his back with lotion tonight. I've been pushing fluids into him all day. We'll be avoiding the sun tomorrow...we were expecting clouds and rain for our whole trip - ooops!

ICU Psychosis

2009-01-03T10:25:00.003-04:00

Jorge is having bouts of delusion. This isn't uncommon, we call it "ICU Psychosis" - considering an ICU patient like Jorge is medicated, sedated, traumatized and stimulated 24 hrs a day, it's not unlikely to cause psychological reactions. These reactions are not permanent although he could end up suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. For now, he's freaking the family out and pretty much amusing me with the stories of his delusions. I'm convinced this is temporary because he has periods when he's perfectly oriented to time, place and person. Brain damage isn't fleeting, you don't go in and out of it. Thursday, Jorge thought he was the president of the U.S., demanding to speak to Dick Cheney. Pretty cool, if you're going to be delusional, you might as well have delusions of grandeur!

So he's now out of ICU, into a "Step Down" unit next door. This should help with the psychosis, less stimuli and more time with family to keep him oriented. I suggested they bring in family photos to help keep him in the here and now. Less TV, more sleep. John's other brother Mike and sister Cuqui arrived back yesterday, great additional support for everone.

Around here it's been pretty quiet. Yesterday afternoon I took Jake with me to a Marine promotion ceremony. That was very cool. Then I went out for dinner with friends. One friend was a patient of mine last week, that's something to get used to. The Embassy community is small so I'll have plenty of friend/patients that I'll be socializing with as well as treating. Patient confidentiality is at a whole new level! As everyone tends to know everyone else's business, the harmless question of "Is so-and-so okay?" brings me to a screeching mental stop. If the questioner knows too much it can really become a tap dance. I'm learning to subtly change the subject.

I'm trying to think of something to do today other than hang out in my pajamas but I'm failing miserably. But the sun is shining and the day is beckoning. Next step, get the kids out of bed!

Farewell to 2008!

2009-01-01T11:18:00.002-04:00

Our 2008 looked something like this ~

January found us living in Lorton, Virginia. John and I were attending Attache training, the girls were at South County High School and Jake was at Silverbrook Elementary School. This was the farthest north we'd ever lived as a family.

February was great! Our first real snowstorm and the kids' first snow day from school. I relearned about driving in the snow. Kim and Cindy came to visit with Cindy's new puppy Sadie. Sadie was adorable though insistent on proving how un-housetrained she was!

March was crazy busy. We finally got our household goods shipment from Argentina - real beds!!! After three months on an airmattress, you can imagine! Nicole's friend Matt came to visit from Buenos Aires and we took him with us to Navarre for Spring Break. John couldn't come so I was stuck "babysitting" two pairs of teenagers as Dylan and Lisette were inseparable.

April kept us busy too. Jake was playing lacrosse, Nicole was starting goalie for the SCHS JV soccer team and Lisette was either rehearsing or attending SAT prep class. My mom and my aunt Mary came to visit us on their way back from snowbirding in Florida. But my favourite part of this month was a week spent in Pennsylvania with our Attache class, learning high-speed, defensivee driving maneuvers, self-defense techniques and getting qualified in three different firearms. Crazy!!

May started off with Lisette taking her SAT exam right in the middle of her play performances. Then accepting an acting camp scholarship for Lisette. Getting our clearances for the move to Bolivia. Catching our collective breaths before the big summer move.

June meant a trip to Hamilton to get my Lasik done! It went so smoothly. Unfortunately, while I was there we were informed that Jake wasn't accepted into the American school in La Paz. That headache started fast and furious and lasted almost two months. The kids finished up their school. Then John and I took a quick trip to Florida to be there for his old squadron's change of command. Jake had his psycho-educational evaluation along with a long list of other demands by the school here.

July brought us back to Florida for a triple university tour. We all fell in love with FSU and were disappointed with Flagler. UCF remained middle of the road. Just before we left to FL, Lisette attended her acting camp and the final performance was awesome! When we got back to Virginia, we found out that Jake had passed his evaluation with ease. Picture my tongue stuck out at the school here. Then the moving began. John was in Bolivia the first half of the month. He got back just in time to be there for the movers but not for the prep. Hmmmm. Kim and my mom were here for that! The flew out to Miami on Nicole's birthday.

August meant we arrived in Bolivia! 08-08-08 was our arrival date, cool huh? Initially we were housed in a beautiful apartment with a gorgeous view of the mountains. We're surrounded by mountains but the apartment sat up on a rise so the view was tremendous. The altitude hit Lisette the hardest but I was the first to catch Evo's revenge. Unfortunately, it hit on moving day. We were moved to our present "Soprano House" a week after arrival. It a big, beautiful three bedroom home with another breathtaking view. So here we settled and the kids started school and I began lifestyle I should be accustomed to. Ha!

September was interesting. As Evo's detractors raged a siege on some outlying provinces, he turned his attention to the US Embassy. He kicked out our Ambassador, claiming he had proof of wrong-doing (he says things like that ALL the time but never does show the "proof") and then blamed the US for all of the strife in his country. Some semi-organized demonstrators showed up at the Embassy, more threats were made and actions seemed worrisome so the State Department gave an Authorized Departure order. The kids and I were headed to Florida. We settled in a beach house, the kids were enrolled in their old schools, Nicole got a tan and we spent lots of time with some dear friends.

October brought the bad news that the evacuation order hadn't been lifted. Evo was still being a butthead (is that not a diplomatic thing to say?) so we were best kept at a distance. John came to us for a visit, we celebrated his birthday, we attended the closing ceremonies of his first AF squadron, I spent too much time shopping (back-in-the-states-itis), we saw a ton of movies. Then, we were allowed back home!

November meant celebrating Jake's birthday at the opening night of "Madagascar 2", saying farewell to our Florida friends AGAIN and then chillin' for a week in Miami before suffering altitude sickness all over again. But it was worth it! We were home! Settling back to home, school and work was great. I applied for the Nursing position at the Health Unit and applied for admittance to an online university to complete my BSN degree. I was accepted time two. Thanksgiving was here with our Defense Attache office friends and families. Sadly, John's 93 yr.old grandmother passed away on Thanksgiving. John and I flew to Miami for her funeral and to celebrate the life of one of the strongest woman I've known.

Finally, December. I started work and fell in love with it! It's great to work so close to John. Early in the month we found out there were problems with the Express Shipment we had coming from Florida. Remember all that shopping I had done? Most of it was Christmas gifts and the expected delivery date was Dec. 1st. Well, it's now 2009 and we don't have it yet. The rest of December flew by, with work and Christmas preparations. Christmas day dawned and the gift pickings were modest compared to most years but we had a great day. December 27th brought devastating news. John's brother Jorge had suffered a near fatal heart attack. John flew out on the 28th and was there yesterday when Jorge finally woke up after being taken off the ventilator.

January 1, 2009 brings us dreams for the future, expectations of happiness and a vision of joys to come. May it do the same for you and may all of our hopes come alive!

Jorge's Progress

2008-12-31T19:45:00.002-04:00

He's extubated! He's also speaking a little, eating a little but still very groggy. Neurologically speaking, he's a work in progress but he is in progress. We're still hoping and praying for the very best.

John called me this afternoon with the good news. I was just about to go to lunch and I had to do a little dance as I left my office. The secretaries are already getting used to laughing at me I think! LOL

Work was busy, again. No rest for the medical personnel at this Embassy! It all ended up being not too serious but we had a couple of people give us cause to pause. Robyn swears it's because I used to work ICU that we're getting these pseudo-serious cases so soon after I started work. I think she's joking, I hope she's joking! :-)

I'm staying put for tonight, looks like I'll have three hot dates - ages 10, 10 and 8 (Jake's buddy Manny and his little brother). The girls are going to a somewhat-school sponsored event, it's being thrown by a cell phone company here who "sponsors" the senior class, giving them a portion of the proceeds. I've already given them the "don't drink from open cups, keep tabs on each other all night, don't stress your parents out!" talk. I'll let you know if it stuck but it seems to have been absorbed.

Here's to 2009 being a year of joy, peace and miracles for all of us. Happy New Year!!! God Bless!

Jorge is One Tough Dude

2008-12-30T11:43:00.002-04:00

He's still on a vent...his blood cultures came back positive for bacteria (explaining his fever) so they're keeping him on it for atleast another day.

John arrived to the hospital early yesterday afternoon. He was pleasantly surprised at how good Jorge looked. His colour was good and he was breathing at 18-22 with the vent only providing 10 of those breaths. He was moving around in his bed, and he had opened his eyes upon demand from the nurse. John was impressed with the character of Jorge's nurse, Laurie, who I had spoken with on the phone. He said she reminded him of me. :-)

I went to work, hoping to keep myself busy and I was rewarded with such a crazy day! We took one patient to the Emergency Room and then the dreaded white powder envelope was delivered to the Embassy. Other South American U.S. Embassies have already received one so we were well prepared. So far they've only contained baby powder or flour but it's necessary to treat it like it's Anthrax. So the contaminated people from our mail room area were hosed down and sent to us for a check-up and antibiotic treatment. Did I mention that our Health Unit schedule had shown absolutely nothing for the entire day? It sure turned out busy! An answer to my prayers but my fellow workers told me to never ask for another busy day again! I promised I wouldn't!

Jake slept over at Manny's, the girls are hanging out in their "suite" on the top floor and I'm getting ready to go to work. Here's to a quiet day!!!

No Change

2008-12-28T14:41:00.003-04:00

The docs decided to keep Jorge sedated another day, keeping him on the ventilator to allow his heart more time to recuperate. The results of the echocardiogram aren't in yet. That will tell us a lot more about what damage there might be.

His blood pressure has been difficult to maintain, it's running low now. That could be from the heart damage but it could also be from the meds he's on. They have him on sedatives, Plavix (to stop blood clots from forming) and Digoxin (his heart rate is fast). He's also on good ole aspirin.

He continues to fight the vent (go Jorge!), moving all extremities. He is running a fever of 102 - that could be caused by a whole list of things. I'll let you know if they determine its cause.

All of the information I have today is third person, I haven't spoken to the ICU nurse but I have left some questions for Mike to ask. I'm anxiously awaiting the echo results and Jorge's neuro response when they try to wake him up tomorrow.

Meanwhile, we're doing fine here. John flew out this morning. We're puppy-sitting a beautiful American Straffordshire Terrier. He's a cousin to the pitbull but he's an angel. Not housebroken but with his face, I can forgive him that! His owner picks him up tomorrow, we'll miss him but I'm not sure Buddy will. Buddy just gives up whatever it is he is chewing as soon as the puppy approaches him. Such a good host-dog!

John's Brother

2008-12-27T21:09:00.004-04:00

It's a bad news/good news report. John's brother Jorge suffered a heart attack this morning. His brother-in-law administered CPR but he required two cardioversions (shocks) to get a heart beat again. For you medical people, he was in V-fib and was down for about 11 minutes...not sure how effective/when the bystander CPR was started.

He was taken in for a cardiac catheterization, they found two clots (in the LAD, proximal and mid) which they removed and placed two stents, both sites were 70% blocked. His Ejection Fraction was 45% before the stent placement...haven't had an update on it yet, they were expecting to do an echocardiogram after I spoke to the ICU nurse.

He's heavily sedated due to extreme agitation on the ventilator, he was breathing on his own a bit before sedation. They have him on a Morphine drip, he's being given Ativan and another sedative I didn't recognize. His blood pressure upon admission (not sure if she meant to the ER or the ICU post cath) was 200/110. Supposedly he hasn't been taking his hypertension meds.

John will be there Monday morning. Juan, Carmen, Cuqui (and Rich) and Mike arrived from Miami this afternoon.

Jorge is in critical but stable condition. The initial report I received from the ER nurse was critically flawed, she told me Jorge was asystolic when the EMS got there. I specifically asked her if it might have been VFib or fine VFib, she said no, it was asystole. Because of that info, for hours, I was telling John that this was really, really bad but still trying to keep his hope alive while feeling little to none myself. When I found out the correct version of events, I was almost giddy with relief. Even though he's certainly not out of the woods yet, he's in such a better situation.

Time will tell. I'll keep you updated. Please keep Jorge and the family in your prayers!

John as Santa at the Hospital Del Ninos, Christmas Eve

2008-12-25T22:16:00.003-04:00

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T22:07:00.002-04:00

A beautiful day! The kids woke us up at 7AM as was previously determined to be the earliest possible waking hour. Considering the relatively small amount of gifts exchanged, we were all very happy. John and I wrapped a box with a note for the kids inside. It contained a puzzle, "What do you say when you're riding down a roller coaster?" and "What did this little piggie say all the way home?" - they guessed it, we got them a Wii. Jake literally bounded up and down with joy. Unfortunately, the Wii is in the shipment that we won't get until next week. Something to look forward to!

The rest of the day was filled with phone calls to Canada, the U.S. and England and then taking a nap. Cooking a turkey and taking another nap. Watching videos and visiting friends for dinner. Playing their Wii and laughing until I snorted when little Danny fell off the couch playing Wii Tennis.

It was a lovely Christmas but we miss our families so far away. We love you so very much and wish you all could have been here with us!

Christmas Wait

2008-12-23T20:08:00.002-04:00

The kids are anxious for Christmas day even though there won't be many gifts under the tree. Our shipment from our evacuation won't be arriving until next week. I'm pretty sure I've already ranted about it so I won't bother again, hopefully we'll have our Christmas Take Dos by the end of the year.

I'm sitting at the computer with the really awesome Christmas hat Nicole gave me for Christmas three years ago. Perhaps I'll get a picture of it tomorrow when I have to embarass my husband by taking pictures of him with a Santa suit on. We're going with the Attache Spouses to a local hospital to deliver gifts. How much will those pictures be worth to him, ya think?

The girls helped deliver presents with the Marines, part of their "Toys for Tots" program worldwide. They had a great time, received lots of hugs from some truly poverty-stricken kids. One little boy started to cry, holding his present. They thought it was because he wanted something different but he told them, "I didn't think Santa was going to remember me this year" - yeah, it was a great reminder of the importance of giving.

Work has been great. We give a lot of immunizations so it's only a matter of time before the Embassy kids start running away when they see me. :-) Hopefully the cool bandaids we use actually does soften the blow.

Family "Stand-Ins"

2008-12-21T16:31:00.003-04:00

I've been "married to the military" for almost 20 years. I've kept track, this is our 17th address. Some of those addresses lasted only a few months, some moves were within the same town/city but in a few months, we'll be taking an 18th home. Out of all of those moves, we've remained relatively sane and have produced three pretty secure kids. One of the reasons, I'm convinced, is because we've been blessed with wonderful friends who became part of our family.

When I hear of people who can't imagine leaving their babies in the care of anyone outside of their own flesh and blood, I shrug and smile at the memories of Anne and Lorne caring for Lisette when she was just a few months old. They were our fabulous Coast Guard friends back in California and we still keep in close touch. They may not be flesh and blood to us but they're still family!

When I hear of people traveling to another state to visit family, I smile and think of all the open doors we have to walk through from coast to coast and to some extent, around the world...flesh and blood family and our friend-families. Deb - don't get tired of us yet, I'm sure we'll be back!

On my AOL account, I can save the names/email addresses under different categories - labeled family, friends, co-workers, etc. Under my "Family" category you'd find people who are not related to me via blood or marriage...and I love it when I put another friend-family member in it!

So as Christmas approaches, my heart is with my family and my friend-family...I wish you all, every one, the very Merriest Christmas!

Christmas Season

2008-12-20T19:22:00.004-04:00

'Tis a beautiful season but such a busy one!

Yesterday morning, Jake's Elementary School had their Christmas concert. And yes, it was Christmas, not "Winter Holiday" Season. The concert was loosely based on the book/movie, "The Polar Express". Our favourite group was the KG3 class...nothing like a little group of 3 yr. olds up on a stage. We laughed until we nearly cried.

From the school, we stopped by our future house with the intention of showing the kids their freshly painted rooms but no one was at work so we couldn't get in. So John and I dropped the kids off at our present home, picked up my work bag and took off to a Christmas lunch.

The lunch was at the beautiful La Paz Golf Course, the highest golf course in the world. The club and its surroundings are breathtaking! John picked up a membership application - looking forward to spending more time there, plus the office picks up the tab for the dues! I hurried through lunch because I had to leave early to make it to work on time. The food was only slightly better than edible, unfortunately!

Work was quiet, lots of people from the Embassy have or were about to head back to the States for the holidays so I expect work will be less active over the next few weeks. I did get some paperwork done and had some time to get to know my co-workers a little better. They are great!

John came back to work after lunch too so we drove home together, I threw some baked beans on the stove and then headed to bed for a quick nap. Fifteen minutes helped but a few hours would have been better!

The five of us headed to our great friends, Diana and Rod's house for a big Christmas bash. They had three pigs aroasting...plus ribs on the BBQ. There ended up about a hundred people there and I really wish I had felt better rested so we could have stayed longer. As it was, we headed home at around 10:30...Jake had gone straight home from the party with his friend Jack for a sleepover and the girls were the ones pushing us out the door. Not many kids their age there.

Bedtime was about an hour later and I slept until noon. As we tend to blame everything on the altitude here, it very well might be the reason for my exhaustion but I think it's the abundance of activities on my schedule lately too. Either way, I feel better but still not energetic. An early bedtime tonight just might do the trick...hopefully, because it's looking like another busy week ahead!

Official

2008-12-18T20:59:00.002-04:00

I'm a university student. Paid for the first semester of my BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) a few hours ago. It's all online and this Spring I'm taking a Chemistry class, an English Composition and a World Civilization course.

Good thing the kids like Dominga's cooking! Momma's gonna be busy!

Catching My Breath

2008-12-18T18:39:00.002-04:00

I worked a little longer than usual today - went in early so that I can go in late tomorrow as John's office is having its Christmas lunch. It ended up being a busy afternoon but I did manage to get a bunch done before it got that way.

The girls are finished with their exams, Jake's all done after tomorrow. Nicole was already feeling bored, which means she better come up with some things to do over the next four weeks! I'm hoping to get them signed up for some horseback riding, tennis and golf lessons...we need to go by the "club" this weekend and see what they have to keep them busy!

The latest on our shipment/Christmas baggage is that it might be here December 26th. Close but no cigar. Our fabulous shipping/customs guy here at the Embassy is on top of it, if there's a way to get it here before Christmas, he's the guy to get it done! Say a Christmas prayer for us!

Work, Party, Work

2008-12-17T22:52:00.002-04:00

I haven't seen much of my kids lately. Between work (which I'm loving) and Christmas type get togethers, we've been spending too much time apart. Plus the girls have finals this week so they've been stuck up in their rooms studying.

Tonight the Embassy had a farewell party for the people from the DEA. Good ole Evo's kicking them out. Great people, sad to see them go.

Now it's near 11PM and I can't keep my eyes open or my yawning at bay. I'll try to write a longer blog in the morning!

Spirituality

2008-12-14T20:41:00.002-04:00

Lisette sang at church today, she had a solo and did a wonderful job. Lisette does not consider herself Christian but does love spirituality and embraces the good in any religion. She and I have had some heated discussions over religion but the bottom line is that she has to find her own path. I'm not thrilled with some of her choices sometimes but overall, I don't worry about her too much. She's so brilliant and loving and giving, I'm confident she'll find the best path for herself and hopefully it will be something I'm comfortable with but I recognize that it isn't about me.

It was a long church service which included an adorable Christmas story played out by the children. There were quite a bit of mistakes but that just made it more beautiful...I couldn't tell you my favourite but when "Mary" came to tell "Joseph" that she was with child, he interrupted her with, "Ha ha. I know everything." We weren't quite sure that was the line he was supposed to say but the whole church cracked up. Quite a few gifted actors/actresses on stage!

Right near the end of the service, a young Bolivian lady from a neighbourhood church came to give a very heartfelt thank you to the American community for its involvement in her country. She was accompanied by a young man who played the piano for us and sang "Amazing Grace" - he had the voice of an angel. It was a good thing I had kleenex handy. Just remembering it brings tears to my eyes again.

So I left church feeling a spiritual fullness, that's all I ever ask of it. I want the same for whatever is at the end of Lisette's path for her.

Sucker For My Husband

2008-12-13T18:09:00.002-04:00

Nearly twenty years of marriage and I'm still googly-eyed. I pulled myself out of bed this morning at 5:30 AM (redundant but can hardly believe it myself) so that I'd be ready to be picked up by his driver at six to go to the airport to meet John's flight. In the middle of the week, I had emailed John's sergeant to see if Felix (John's driver) was going straight to the airport from his home or if he had to go to the Embassy to pick up a vehicle first, thinking that I'd drive to the Embassy and hitch a ride with him but I didn't want him to come way out of his way to pick me up in Zona Sur (the suburbs). Randy informed me that Felix was going to be picking up his family in Zona Sur to take them to the airport for their flight so he could pick me up too. Perfect! At what time? Six? Choke, great!! So that's how it went.

John was standing at the baggage carousel, his flight being early for the first time EVER! I was able to sneak up behind him, to the amusement of Felix, and was rewarded with a shocked look, a grin and a big kiss. The bad news was that John's bags never made it...Santa is truly taunting our attempts to get gifts to our kids for Christmas! Hopefully they'll arrive tomorrow!

Jake had gone to a sleepover last night which turned into a "stay up all night" party so I tucked him into our bed and he had a five hour nap. He's a happy camper now, hopefully he'll be able to get to sleep at a decent hour tonight.

The girls went out for a quick lunch with John and I. We were caught in a mild hail storm when we left though. It was a great lunch, I adore my baby girls too.

So now I'll stop being all mushy. It's inevitable that one or all of them will drive me insane sometime this weekend in all probability. But for now they're just my precious family and we're all together. :-)

Haiku Poet

2008-12-12T10:14:00.003-04:00

My son received an award today. He was designate the fourth grade "Haiku Poet" and given the award at an assembly at school this morning. The girls and I attended (John's still away) where we hooted and hollered for our little man. I had thought I had a copy of his poem on my desk but alas, I do not but will definitely publish it here when I can get my hands on it! First, Lisette was our Shakespearean poet in Argentina last year, now Jake. What creative folks we are!

Work flew by yesterday. I've taken on a small project and spent most of the afternoon working on it. Hopefully it'll stay small! Another bigger project is scaring me a little but I'll move slower on that one and I have a great support system to help guide me.

We had friends over for delivery pizza dinner last night, then it was early to bed again. John's going to wonder about his work-worn wife when he gets back!

Bamako, Mali

2008-12-11T09:58:00.003-04:00

Ever heard of it? Neither had I until last Friday when I received an email from a friend who had gone through Attache School with us. Her and her husband had gone to see a Diafarabe cattle crossing and her email described it beautifully, pictures and all. They're stationed in Mali (I knew that) whose capital is Bamako (didn't know that). Then today I received another email (a mass email thing for military families) and it describes how the V-22 Osprey had its first operational deployment exercise to Bamako, Mali. I don't even normally open these kinds of articles but today I did and there was Bamako - twice in less than a week. Freaky. Now you should do what I did and Google-map it!

Work has been great. Not much activity but I've managed to climb through the mountain of paperwork that is required for obtaining and getting paid for a government job. Now I'm ready to tackle some paperwork they need help with in the Health Unit. I already started this morning on the Internet. Yesterday was very exciting because I got my state.gov email address, it looks so official!

Yesterday morning I found out my angel son has been losing it at school a little again. I had a meeting with his teacher and the guidance counselor, they're somewhat concerned that the upheaval of the last few months has thrown him a little too much. I adore his teacher and the counselor is very sweet so I think between them and here at home, we can reign in his little issues and straighten him back on the road he's supposed to be on. I took Jake out to dinner just the two of us and we talked about it some. He's so bloody smart, I really think it's just a matter of maturing and learning to not take himself quite so seriously. He did get into two physical confrontations with a boy who's a year older...I was led to believe that no one was hurt but Jake was the one who got physical. Not allowed. He's off video games until we can arrange a get together with this boy and Jake. The funny thing is that I know this other boy and I think he and Jake would be great friends, they're very much alike! I'll keep you posted!

First Day Back to Work

2008-12-09T10:19:00.005-04:00

I thoroughly enjoy my job. It's strange not to be so very busy at work...I'm used to the pace of an Intensive Care Unit. A Health Clinic in an Embassy is not a busy place ordinarily. It wasn't a busy place yesterday afternoon. We had two patients in the four hours I was there. I'm actually hoping that there will be lots of additional duties that I just haven't heard about yet. Either that or I'll be posting my blog entries from work.

For now my start time is 1 PM, I arrived at around 12:45 and everyone but one of the secretaries was at lunch still. I snooped around and set up my desk a bit until the other nurse got back and started my orientation. They'd warned me that the orientation would only take about an hour (I'm used to 7-14 day orientations) and they were not far off. Our doc is out of town but he's a great guy. We've got our Nurse Practitioner Patty, a full-time nurse Robyn and two secretaries Silvia and Paula. They're all extremely nice.

As "easy" as this job is compared to ICU nursing, the job is very different so I have lots to learn. No respiratory technician, no ECG technician, no lab technician for blood draws and we run our own pharmacy. Nothing terrifying but definitely different.

Robin had left for the day, Patty was at her Spanish class and Sylvia came to let me know that someone had come to be seen if possible, was I willing to see them? I said "Sure!" - trying to convince myself simultaneously that I could jump into this. It ended up being a simple diagnosis and it didn't require much medical knowledge to pull it off...more of a mom knowledge thing. Whew! I told Patty about it when she returned and she was very happy with my first patient interaction too.

Jake called me as soon as he got home. He was a little concerned about not having Mom-access but when I got home, he admitted that it wasn't bad at all. Another whew! It also didn't hurt that I came home to Dominga making dinner and a beautifully clean house. This we can all live with!

Busy Street

2008-12-07T19:43:00.002-04:00

This morning I slept in then showered, changed and got ready for the day. Shortly after starting up the computer, my friend Christine called to see if I was going to the artisan fair at the school again today (not sure if I mentioned it but I went yesterday) - I was but first I needed a coffee.

We actually didn't head to the fair until around noon. Spent some money and saved some money, had a snack and then went to the grocery store. Just an average weekend outing around here.

When we returned, we found Lisette sprawled out on the couch downstairs suffering with the Bolivian crud. I gave her Imodium and Pepto Bismal but it hasn't improved her situation too much as of yet. She's still on the couch. Poor baby!

So - to the "Busy Street" - the Attache kids were to meet at Burger King to celebrate birthdays and Christmas...a good excuse as ever to get together. Since Lisette was down and out, I talked Nicole into going with me to make an appearance and we'd just get takeout. When I opened our driveway gate, there were a dozen sheep walking down our street! I could barely get more than, "Whaaa...loook...wow!" out of my mouth! Nicole grabbed her phone to take pictures while I grabbed my phone to get Jake outside to see. Just as the sheep passed by, Nicole yelled "Cows!" - yup, three cows to go with the small herd of sheep. The shepherd meandered past with a few dogs shortly thereafter. We live in a pretty crowded, residential area so I have no clue where these animals were coming from or headed to but how cool was that?

By the way...Burger King sucks here but the Attache families are great!

Wild Blue Yonder

2008-12-06T10:36:00.002-04:00

24 hours after John got home he's off again. This time to an exercise in Arizona. I'm hoping he had a good sleep last night, all this traveling isn't healthy especially back to back trips like this.

Yesterday was very busy. I headed to the Embassy at around 11...my employment contract was ready and I planned to finally see my husband for lunch! I picked up my employment package, very exciting but the wage was relatively disappointing. They explained that the position paid the highest of all the EFM (Eligible Family Member) jobs. It's the same salary as I was making over 10 years ago in Pensacola. Oh, well, the job will be fun!

John and I had lunch then looked over the paint colours I'd chosen for the house. I grabbed a taxi home and fiddled on the computer before driving over to meet John at the house to drop off our colour choices. Unfortunately, the project manager wasn't there so I'll have to get them to him on Monday.

From the house, we drove over and picked up a bed for Dominga. It's not much of a bed, more like a futon but much better than the rug she keeps offering to sleep on!

We then picked up Carlene and John's driver took Carlene and I to the birthday party we were going to. It was at an Argentine Attache spouse's home and we had a really good time. Everyone is exceptionally patient with my Spanish and when I'm completely at a loss Carlene acts as my interpreter. We sat with a bunch of Brazilian Attache spouses and the Ecuadorian Attache spouse. They're awesome!

Directly from the birthday party I met my family at the school for Lisette's Music Concert. It was the High School and Middle School band and chorus concert. Most acts were good to very good and the few that weren't so hot were either blissfully short or overtly funny.

Nicole went to a sleepover from the concert, Jake had Manny come home with us and Lisette went straight upstairs to begin studying for her exams in a few weeks. We had some of the dinner Dominga had prepared and left warm for us.

The "boys" and I decorated our Christmas tree but the lights were a bust. Looks like I'll be buying some treelights here in the next few days.

At around 9, John and I crossed the street to the Marine House to participate in the farewell party of one of the Marines. We didn't stay long, partly because John still needed to repack for his trip and partly because I was wiped. When we move, I'm going to miss the ease of which we get to the Marine House festivities they so often have!

Home Again, Home Again

2008-12-05T08:59:00.003-04:00

John's home...for now!

I haven't seen him yet, he had to go straight to work from the airport...poor baby!

Hmmmm. Yesterday. It was somewhat frustrating. I had to wait until 3:30 to have access to my car, an Embassy vehicle was blocking me in and John gave his driver the keys to it when we left for Florida. Not the end of the world, truly but I had places to go...that sort of thing. Our paint colour choices for the house we're moving into next month (?) are still sitting in my car, waiting to be delivered. I found out our shipment from the evacuation which has basically ALL of our Christmas gifts in it has fallen off the face of the earth. They're trying to track it from both ends now...prayers, please.

The kids and I went out to have sushi to celebrate the university acceptances. It was a yummy meal though expensive by Bolivian standards. Well worth it for my baby girl!!

I'm expecting an official job offer today. They thought they might get it to me yesterday but I haven't seen anything yet.

Hopefully today will be less frustrating and bring welcome, good news! I wish the same to you all!!!

Universities...Take Two

2008-12-04T07:38:00.003-04:00

Yesterday afternoon, Lisette found out that University of Central Florida has accepted her too! Whew! What a day!

While talking about it all on the couch last night, we both got a bit emotional because these acceptances have made the reality that this is really going to happen...that she's leaving the nest, hit us a little harder. Then I quickly slipped back to denial while she slipped back to the celebration mode.

Nicole had a soccer game last night, I chose to stay home to celebrate with Lisette and missed out on her hat trick! Three goals!! The Bolivian boys from the other side (they played a local girls club team) were hollering "Numero Uno" - Nicole was wearing her goalies shirt with the number 1 on it. She couldn't understand all that they were yelling but her teammate told her they wanted her to blow them kisses. She refused. Ha!

The house is partly decorated for Christmas - hopefully I can finish the rest today. If I'm really good, I'll post pictures!

Hot Off the Press!!

2008-12-03T08:00:00.004-04:00

Lisette's been accepted to Florida State University!!!!!!!!!

Her first choice and her first trial at application...I'm so proud and happy for her I could barf! Ha!

The wake (Sunday night) and funeral (Monday morning) for Abuela Luisa was very nice, the internment was painful but they always are. We all went to John's sister Cuqui's house afterward and had a fun time chatting and playing with babies. John's family is simply wonderful, I know how tough it can be when there's any underlying bitterness or feuding...and it never makes sense, especially at a time like that. But with this family, we all enjoyed each other's company and there were a million heartfelt hugs and kisses exchanged. John and I were the first to break up the party as we had to head to the airport. More hugs and kisses right up to the ones through the car window. Yes, we are blessed.

John's flight was at six-thirty but I had a long wait at the airport, more than five hours to be exact. They were spent at the American Airlines lounge, I was lucky. I read, I ate and I read some more. Finished one book and started another. The flight was delayed but we finally got out at around midnight. Didn't sleep great but then I never expect to, we landed around 7. As soon as I got home, I headed straight to bed to sleep for another two and a half hours.

Yesterday I had a Christmas tea to attend which ended up being a blast. Unfortunately, the time spent up to the tea was a minor nightmare. My taxi didn't arrive, my daughter ended up blocking my cell phone so I couldn't use it and nobody was answering their phones! Ahhhh! I lost it to a minor degree (well, mostly minor), Carlene convinced me to come anyway, bottom line...I called another cab company and enjoyed the tea immensely.

Today is FSU celebration and Christmas decorating!!!!

In Miami

2008-11-29T21:21:00.002-04:00

John and I arrived yesterday afternoon. The wake is tomorrow and the funeral mass/burial is Monday. The kids are with our wonderful friends in La Paz, but it's strange to be on a different continent than your babies!

John's dad is doing well, considering. His mom fell apart a bit at the airport but she's doing pretty darn well too. They're the best in-laws a woman could ask for.

We're heading to John's sister's place tonight. His brother is coming into town any minute and we refuse to take up so much space at John's parents...they (John's parents) were trying to tell us they'd sleep on an air mattress so we'd all fit here. Puhleeze!! Cuqui has plenty of space and we'll all get some decent sleep over a stressful weekend. We're just waiting to see Jorge and Rosie when they get here with their babes - John has yet to meet little Manuel who turns one in a few months.

I'll not likely blog for a few days but I'll be back when I'm back in Bolivia!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T22:18:00.002-04:00

Today was a day for giving thanks but it was a day for grieving for us as well. John got a phone call from his dad today with the news that his grandmother, Abuela Luisa, had passed away. She was 93 and had been in ill health for a while but that never lessens the sadness. She was a ferociously strong woman who had raised her five sons all alone after losing her husband at a young age in Cuba. John and I head to Florida tomorrow to attend her funeral.

We did give thanks for the years we had with Abuela Luisa. We spent a little time with her just a few weeks ago, and we give thanks for that opportunity too.

On a much brighter side of life, it's my beautiful, passionate, ferociously protective sister Cindy's birthday today!! She earned the nickname "Bulldog" because she's always there when we need the support. Nobody messes with Cindy's family!! I miss her terribly and wish her the greatest birthday ever!

Our turkey dinner went very well. With the sad news of the day coming in just as we were carving the turkey, it did make for a cool meal but it was delicious none the less. We had 22 people here, welcoming the nearest and dearest Bolivians to join us for our feast. John's driver, his children and grandmother along with our maid and the two maids of John's office mates sat at our table and gave thanks. It was a bit of a job to get the maids to sit with us but they finally relented. The three of them are simply wonderful.

A little later on, we went to another friend's house for (more) dessert. We didn't stay long as we had so much to do at home to prep for our trip. Good friends are going to care for the kids until Dominga can stay here with them. I won't be gone from here for long, John continues on from Miami to a speaking engagement later next week.

Again, hope your Turkey Day was full of thanks! I'm certainly thankful for you! :-)

Turkey Stress

2008-11-26T08:36:00.002-04:00

I have two turkeys to cook and only one oven. Our future house (looks like it will be ready in early February now) has two ovens...I was savouring that thought at 5:30 this morning. So now I sit at the computer trying to figure out how the heck I'm going to cook these turkeys without one getting dried out and cold. Hmmmmm.

Yesterday was another busy one. John informed me yesterday morning that the doc and the nurse practitioner at the Embassy clinic wanted me to come by and talk. I quickly jumped into the shower, got dressed and drove in with him.

It was a good chat, we talked about hours and a start date for me, along with what I might expect for an orientation. I am so looking forward to working there, if all goes extremely well, there's a chance I'll change to more hours next year.

After the pseudo interview, I completed the finance paperwork for final reimbursement for our evacuation. Hopefully the finance people will take less than forever (which is their norm lately) to fill our coffers. Which in turn will greatly lessen our credit card debt!!

Yesterday afternoon, I had a two hour facial. For under $30!! It included a scalp, neck and foot massage. I could do this on a regular basis.

Then I walked across the street and picked up a receipt book (on my "to do" list) for all those party purchases from places that don't normally give you a receipt, like the market place.

Last evening we had dinner with the visiting German attache and his American wife - yeah, we could talk in English! We went to the same restaurant we've been to for the last three meals out...great food but I'm liking the idea of a little variety now!

Today is prep day for Thanksgiving, hence the turkey dilemma. Back to problem solving that!

Some Missions Accomplished

2008-11-24T16:44:00.003-04:00

Because of my two hour nap yesterday, I didn't get to bed until midnight. Slept poorly until 7:15 then tickled Jake awake.

The kids made it onto the school bus eventually, it is Monday after all. Then John decided he'd get up and shower. He is totally hooked on this goofy Nintendo DS game of Jake's - he was up after I went to sleep, still playing it!

I received a call from Jake just as I was going to grab my own shower...he has swimming today, could I please bring him his bathing suit and towel (goggles if I can find them, though that was highly doubtful!) Thankfully, John had a decent idea of where the goggles were so I threw all three things in a bag before getting back to my shower. Swim class wasn't until after lunch.

After dropping off his swim stuff at around 10, I returned home and started digging into the office. I sorted, I organized and I got through to the wood top of my desk. It's so pretty!

As the girls are having massages this afternoon, I left some boxes to be stored upstairs at the bottom of the stairs for them to take up. They grumbled when they got home but acquiesced. Smart move 'cause I'm paying for the massages.

So my office looks fabulous (not looking at the stack of boxes against the far wall), my desk looks even better and Lisette's having the first of the two massages. Yes, she came here and it's under $30/hour.

Oh, our backyard is back to normal...the Embassy folks came and took away the huge tent/tables/chairs, etc.

I love a day when a bunch of things get done!

Lessons Learned

2008-11-23T08:58:00.003-04:00

We had our shindig last night. A bit of an international affair, with Bolivians, Brazilians and Argentines. It was supposed to start at 3, most people showed up around 4:15, 4:30. Our hired BBQ guy began to get nervous that the meat was getting cold by 5, so we finally corralled everyone to eat around then. Lesson #1 - don't have the hot food be ready too soon after the expected start time!

Booze was plentiful, I didn't indulge a lot for multiple reasons but there was much enjoyment of a large assortment of beverages. The food was excellent, the company was delightful and the conversation was mostly lighthearted. We had a bit of a philosophical discussion near the end of the evening about love and relationships but then never quite got around to completing it - very fun!

Dominga was here and working her tush off. I had earlier suggested to John that we hire help for Dominga, serving and cleaning up but he felt she could handle it. 20 people later, she worked like a dog! I pointed out the error of John's way, rather delicately and we agreed that next time, we'd hire an extra person (Lesson #2). We paid Dominga her extra wage and then some.

So, overall a success. The weather complicated things a tiny bit - first it rained but we were all already under our big Embassy tent. Then by the end of the meal, the sun had gone down and it became pretty chilly. We retired up to the dining room for dessert and coffee. The other American ladies helped me quickly make the table and they did a smash up job considering most of my linen is still in boxes. That was lesson #3, have the inside entertaining area prepared, just in case.

We played a small game with some "door prizes" and I tried to steal Christine's but she wouldn't budge. Grrrr. ;-) I'm in dire need of a crystal ice bucket. I ended up with a lovely (truly) huge thermos. Carlene went home with some "Amor" incense - lucky Aaron!

After John drove the last couple home, he, Lisette and I cuddled into our bed and watched "V for Vendetta" while we waited for Nicole to get home from her fiesta. It was nice to snuggle with my baby girl after a long day - never far from my mind is that she'll be flying the nest in a matter of months.

Busy Weekend

2008-11-21T20:45:00.003-04:00

We're hosting a party, the kids have three parties in total to go to, one sleepover plus a Christmas Bazaar. I'm tired and it's barely begun.

Health-wise I'm feeling pretty good - knock on wood! Been very busy unpacking/hiding boxes. I have a list a mile long for tomorrow to do so hopefully I'll stay healthy.

We've got lots of Thanksgiving plans to figure out too. We're going to have a dinner here but we're also going to our dear friend's for a turkey. Not sure how it's all going to work out but we'll see!

Yesterday I went to the Bolivian Air Force Spouses' Tea - very interesting. My fellow DAO (Defense Attache Office)spouse, Carlene, went with me. That's a very good thing for a few reasons, her Spanish is soooo much better than mine plus she's a hoot! Considering the rather strong email John sent out last week that's making the rounds of the Bolivian government, I also wanted all the support I could find!

Her and I joked about me trying to get through the receiving line without giving my name then we sat with a small group of foreign (I think they were almost all Argentine) attache spouses. We were pretty much ignored from there on out by the Bolivians. It was fun though. The one Peruvian lady had a pretty X-rated wind-up toy that kept us amused for some time. These are some awesome women! :-)

John and Aaron picked us up from the Air Force Club and took us out for dinner. I stuck strictly to the soup, my stomach was thankful.

Bedtime came shortly after we got home. My stomach issues may have calmed a bit but I'm still getting tired easily!

Chili Cook-Off

2008-11-19T22:03:00.002-04:00

John emailed me with the news that the Marines are having a Chili Cook-off in a few weeks, he might represent his office as one of the judges. I, in turn, emailed the Marine Sergeant with the following question ~

Am I eligible to be in the cook off if I'm sleeping with one of the judges? :-)

His very quick Marine reply ~

Ma’am (Very Marinish)

Alls’ fair in love and war.
I don’t see a reason why not….

I may be married to an Air Force stud but ya gotta love Marines!

More Boxes

2008-11-19T15:20:00.002-04:00

Our household goods were delivered today. A good thing 'cause I felt like dog doo doo yesterday. I went back on Diamox (for altitude adjustment) and that seemed to do the trick. Still easily tired but feeling a heck of a lot more healthy.

As we are planning to throw a shindig in a few days, it helps motivate us to unpack faster. I did notice that there were a whole lot of boxes going into the attic for Christmas...they are going to be joined by the whole lot of stuff I bought in Florida for Christmas too. Good thing this is such a big house, lots of places to decorate!

John came home early to help start unpacking, the girls should be home shortly. Jake gets a bye for a few hours due to his after school activities. Again, God bless Dominga...we unpacked half a dozen kitchen boxes before I bailed with exhaustion. Oxygen, please?

Politically, things are very quiet. John stirred the pot with an email last week but the sky hasn't fallen yet. He has a habit of pointing out truths that some people would rather not hear. Direct, yes, diplomatic, maybe not so much! :-)

Settling Back In

2008-11-17T09:36:00.005-04:00

We're getting there, but the nasty cold John shared with us is getting in the way! I spent pretty much the whole day in bed yesterday, congested, feverish and quite miserable. This morning I woke up feeling much better, showered and unpacked my first suitcase. Unfortunately, Jake is missing school today due to a fever and a sore throat. :-( Last night he was quite pathetic, asking "Can I have some chicken soup tomorrow?" as he went to bed, a little teary-eyed. Could I have refused him anything?

The girls got unpacked yesterday and headed out to school with John this morning. I got up a few minutes after they left but I got the impression they were excited to get back but apprehensive as to how much work they were going to have to do to catch up. They'll manage just fine, they're smart little cookies.

Oh, and settling in is so much easier with a full-time maid! Grin :-)!

HOME!!

2008-11-15T16:16:00.002-04:00

We're back! Our flight last night was quiet...after an Ambien, I slept fairly well. The kids seemed to sleep well too. We all handled the change in altitude a little better than the first time, although Lisette had a bit of stronger reaction than the rest of us but she wasn't near as bad as in August.

Found out our water had been turned off yesterday, seems the Embassy was too busy promoting democracy to pay our bill. Bummer. But it was working today thanks to a water pump hooked up to a cistern. Thank goodness we've had our Hep A shots.

I think we got back to the house at around 8, I immediately hit the bed and slept for another 5 hours. A warm shower helped revive me and off to a social event - we waste no time!

This afternoon was a BBQ at the Marine House, the girls only stayed a little while because all of their friends are in Cochabamba at a sports tournament. Seems we did come back a little too late. :-( We were welcomed home with open arms and lots of hugs. Even a family who had visa problems managed to get back before us!

Buddy was thrilled to see us, Dominga was happy too! Our household goods shipment will be delivered next week and my future job will be posted on Monday. No rest for the wicked!

Sleepy Time

2008-11-10T11:52:00.004-04:00

The only ones up are Lisette and I. We're staying in Miami until John arrives a little later this week. Seems we are catching up on sleep lost while in Navarre! I've been sleeping like a baby these last two nights, maybe it has something to do with the calmness of Juan and Carmen's house!

The plan had been to fly out last night to La Paz but then John was going to have to leave us in Bolivia to come here for a conference on Thursday and Friday so yesterday morning I suggested to him that we stay put and wait for him here. He had meetings he couldn't miss this morning so we only would have had a few days to spend with him before he left, some filled with meetings and potential altitude sickness. He was too sad at the idea of not seeing us this morning at first so the idea was shelved. Then he called later and said, sure, stay put. So we are.

We went to see "Madagascar 2" yet again yesterday with Cuqui (John's sister), her kiddos and Carmen...laughed just as much the second time around! Then hung out here with the cousins and after they left, Nicole took a nap while Lisette and I zipped over to a Chinese restaurant for take out. Yum!

Happy Birthday Jake!!!!!

2008-11-08T00:03:00.002-04:00

My baby is double digits. I have no more single digit children. That's not fair. The great thing is he's wonderful and intelligent and loving and sensitive and beautiful. The best thing is he's a momma's boy. I'm planning on keeping him that way.

This morning, John called before Jake was awake and didn't want to disturb him. Shortly thereafter, Jake woke up and wondered over to my bed with a nose bleed. Once we got that under control, I called John at work so he could wish our baby a happy birthday. John is more than a little upset that he couldn't be with him on his birthday. Funny, it's always been John who was away for birthdays, holidays, vacations and unfortunately it was our turn this year.

Jake got lots of calls from family, got to skip school and hang out with his friend who was allowed to skip too. Hope that teacher isn't reading this! :-) We celebrated with going to see "Madagascar 2" - hilarious! - pizza at home, with a home baked chocolate cake for dessert. Great day all round. But the best part was a surprise visit from John's brother Jorge and his wife, Rosie, daughter, Miranda and two sons, Jonathan and Manuel!! Manuel's only 10 months old and it was our first time meeting him! What a fabulous gift!!

Tonight, Jake's sleeping over at his friend's, Lisette hanging out at Dylan's and Nicole has a houseful of friends over to watch scary movies - though they all went on a beach walk right now...peace and quiet!

Time Running Out

2008-11-07T00:53:00.002-04:00

I am sooooo excited about getting back to Bolivia but now I'm facing having to leave my wonderful friends here in Florida. Ya just can't win, ya know?

Today I got a bunch of stuff done. I delivered cookies to the high school for the girls' Spanish class, returned the small rental car for a minivan so our luggage will fit, got my hair cut, took Jake to hang out with his friend and went to see "The Duchess" with Nicola. Tonight, Lisette went to see Dylan's band play in the "Battle of the Bands" while Nicole went to the boys' Varsity Soccer game.

So busy day, busy evening and now I'm tired. 'Night! :-)

The Continuation of Our Species

2008-11-05T22:47:00.002-04:00

Rather impossible to think of it in those terms when you find out you're going to be a Great Aunt Shelley!!! My sister is definitely not thinking, just feeling - and that's positively the best way to approach grandparenthood...what a rush!

I couldn't be happier for Nick and Natasha, and I'm beyond thrilled for Kim. I have a feeling 2010 is going to be a very, very good year!

It's time for me to stop using exclamation points...but it is a rather exclamatory (is that a word) day.

After my wake up call (thank you Nick - great way to wake up) I spent the morning preparing for and then watching our express shipment get packed. It's supposed to arrive by December 1st. We'll see.

This afternoon was an early release for Jake, I picked him up along with my friend's daughter Katrina. I then picked up Katrina's sister Elena at their house, took Elena to her orthodontic appointment and then took the bunch of them out for lunch.

Tonight was Jake's last Hapkido class before our return to La Paz. It was a good class. His classmates did 10 push-ups in his honour. Fortunately (unfortunately, according to Jake) he had to do 21 push-ups for two other birthday hapkido troopers.

The girls spent the evening out with friends. Nicole's home now but Lisette isn't expected quite yet. Jake's tucked into bed. We're halfway packed, at least. I'm going to a Great Aunt. :-)

Election Tuesday

2008-11-04T23:59:00.002-04:00

Barack Obama just won the presidency of the United States. Stunning! What an amazing day in the history of this country...it says a lot of how far this young country has come in just my lifetime. I'm very proud of my adopted home, we are an amazing nation. Perhaps this election will take us farther than we can even imagine today, inside and outside of our borders.

It's been exciting to watch Lisette's involvement and attention to the political machine especially over the last 10 months or so. Next time around, she'll be one of our young voters and she'll take the responsibility with intelligence and compassion.

John called a few minutes ago. He had spent the evening at the Ambassador's residence which the Embassy had turned into an Election Central, full of TVs and political analysts...a wonderful show of our democratic process. He was excited with how well it was put together for the international community that showed up.

So now our "new age" will begin. Keeping the faith. God Bless the USA.

Sunday, Sun Day

2008-11-02T21:33:00.002-04:00

It was a gorgeous day today! Sunny and mid-70s so Jake and I had a perfect walk on the beach.

First of all, I took a sleeping pill last night and had the best sleep I've had in ages. It was much needed but I still feel unsettled and it's truly making me unhappy.

This morning, we skipped church (shame) and enjoyed the extra hour the time change allowed for. Nicole and Xandra were dropped off at around 10:30 by Amanda with my "granddaughter" Nicanda (thank you Dr. Build-a-Bear!)

Lunch was out at the beach. Delicious burgers for the kids and fish sticks for me. All the better reason for a healthy walk down the beach afterward. My stomach was very unhappy with me. Skipping church doesn't go well with gluttony. Double jeopardy.

This afternoon I got a call from John's parents. Good news in the form of his mom...she'll be home when we fly through Miami so we'll get the chance to spend time with her. Juan will be out of town and we thought she'd be with him. That cheered me! :-)

Bringing Up the Rear

2008-11-02T00:11:00.003-04:00

We'll be some of the last people to return to La Paz from the Embassy...bummer. I believe most families have already gotten back.

John won the costume contest at the Halloween party at the Marine House last night. No surprise there, he does make the very best pirate! Looking forward to seeing the t-shirt he won, help him drink his beer and party like it's 2008 at the Marine BBQ after we get home.

I didn't sleep well last night, was up way too early for my taste this morning but otherwise it was a very good day. Grabbed some groceries, had the car washed during lunch, got Lisette her hairspray so she'd be gorgeous for the Homecoming Dance (was there ever a doubt, really?) and delivered Nicole and Xandra to their sleepovers. Jake and I just hung out this evening, watching TV and having a nap (me).

Lisette should be home shortly and I'll cuddle up with some Ambien to ensure a better snooze.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T23:50:00.002-04:00

We're back from Trick or Treating...Jake was a most awesome Indiana Jones! Lisette is still out at some haunted houses, hopefully she'll return and be nightmare-free tonight. Nicole went to the Homecoming football tonight, they lost but it wasn't the washout they were prepared for.

Xandra's staying the weekend, Nicola's heading to Georgia for her Dad's birthday. So we're still a full house but a content house.

We're set up for a mini-move to get all of our shopping sent back to La Paz. Thank goodness! So I definitely need to finish my Christmas shopping this weekend.

Mostly I was frustrated today. Spinning my wheels, hitting more than a few walls. Lisette did get an application for a scholarship out today - got it out at the last minute, which was an annoyance in its self though a relief to be done with.

Occupied Week

2008-10-30T09:47:00.002-04:00

My mom arrived on Monday - thankfully I'd spent the early part of the day cleaning up the results of a fun weekend! So the house was in decent condition when she arrived just after lunch. We spent the last few days running the roads, shopping and getting some things arranged for our move back to La Paz. Sadly, we had to say "au revoir" this morning. She's on her way to her Snowbird site for the next six months in central Florida.

Yesterday I went to the doc's for some pretty bad heal pain I've been having for the last month or so. An x-ray revealed a big, nasty, pointy heal spur. Since I can't have surgery right now, we're hoping some anti-inflammatory treatment will relieve the pain. I've also had some spikes in my blood pressure over the last few years (stress, my life? Nah!) but it was perfectly normal yesterday so I'll just keep checking it and make sure it stays that way!

Today is more prep work for our return. I'll probably do a little search for better shoes for my heals too. If I have to... :-)

Looking Forward

2008-10-26T22:25:00.002-04:00

I can't wait to get back to Bolivia. Today I received an email about the Attache Spouse Tea for November...in Spanish but still. :-)

The countdown has started. This includes a great deal of money spending. I'm working on finishing my Christmas shopping before we leave and I've already made good headway. It's amazing how much stuff is out there when you start this early!

Last night Nicola and the kids slept over. With all the beds in this house, we were still at capacity. We watched "Casino Royale" which was sooooo good. I'm not a big fan of 007 movies but I really enjoyed it. Jake (my roomie) turned the ceiling fan on over the bed in his room and I almost froze to death. Like father, like son.

This morning, we all headed to church and then came back to dump of some kids. At 10:50, Nicola sent Elena and Jake out to play on the beach for half an hour...I told them they had to stay outside until noon and they threw a fit. I explained that I was much more mean than Nicola - too bad for them. They requested some breaks and/or to come in for a drink of water from time to time. I agreed only to water breaks. Then they proceeded to go play without any "breaks" - really, what kids wouldn't have a blast out on the dunes?

Right around noon, Nicola, Nicole, Xandra and I went shopping in Destin. Didn't spend too much money but managed to find some Christmas gifts. Okay, I said that for John's sake but it really wasn't too much money!

Happy Happy

2008-10-25T14:03:00.002-04:00

We're officially going home! The State Department has lifted the evacuation order - memo is published but not in effect until Monday.

John had a party at the house last night...thankfully for him, the Bolivian's party differently than the Argentines...they were only there until 1:30. Dominga stayed over night to help with the clean up and John had to "order" her to sleep in the girls' room, she wanted to sleep on the rug in the maid's room. I'm horrified! We'll be buying her a bed the second I get back if John doesn't get the chance to first. I'm so freaked!

Last night we piled all the kids into Nicola's van and headed into Destin for a movie. The youngest five went to see "High School Musical"...they loved it! Us older folks went to "The Secret Life of Bees" which was absolutely awesome. I read the book years back but that may have helped me lose myself in this movie.

Prior to movie madness, the Alvari went to buy hiking boots. We're officially ready to return to Bolivia.

The Waiting Game

2008-10-23T10:30:00.002-04:00

So now the word is that the State Department will lift the evacuation order by tomorrow and the Department of Defense Memo (basically our green light) will be issued Monday or Tuesday. I'm already in contact with the base here with the request to make reservations now. Waiting for a return phone call.

Yesterday I went to a friend's house to order some lovely Christmas Hostess Gifts, dropped off some lab work at the clinic for John, returned a Halloween costume at Target and while there bought our Christmas pajamas (a holiday tradition), did a small grocery run and then picked Jake.

Jake had Hapkido, Lisette auditioned for the school play just for the experience and after I picked her up, we drove by our old house, chatted with our old neighbours and then picked up a book that Jake had left at a friend's house before picking him up after his class. Good thing my car came with unlimited miles!

Last night was another pow wow with the kids regarding our return trip. We've delayed our departure until after Jake's birthday. John's parents will be traveling themselves so we're having his celebration here. Good news is - we'll be here for my mom to stop by on her way to her snowbird location!!

Waiting for Official News

2008-10-21T20:10:00.002-04:00

Word has it that we're going home! Yeah! Totally unofficial but the word has it that the Embassy will be requesting that the State Department lift the evacuation order within the next couple of days. We stand by, with bated breath!

Lisette stayed home with a belly ache today. I hit her with Pepto-Bismol and Imodium...with good results but she'll likely be stopped up for days now. :-)

No other excitement today, that's certainly not a complaint. The kids and I gathered just before dinner and laid out a travel plan. It helps to make as many of us happy as possible. I pretty much let Jake have the final say. Now we just have to have the State Department come around!

Politics...Good and Good

2008-10-20T20:47:00.003-04:00

I voted! Yeehaw!! I almost wept...I'm such a sap!

Evo Morales has conceded to his opponents and agreed to only seek a second term. This is huge! It also sounds like the demonstration was peaceful today. Breathing a big sigh of relief.

We had to send John off today, Jake was the most emotional of all of us but then we have a better idea of when we'll all be together again. Poor Jake is really being pulled apart - wanting to stay here but wanting to be in Bolivia too. That can only end in tears.

Jake and I hit ToysRUs while the girls spent a little time in the mall after leaving the airport. Then it was the grocery store before finally settling onto our couch to watch "Ironman" (Lisette's boyfriend has somehow managed to NOT see it yet!) - we're holding Dylan hostage to ensure he see it now.

Backing up a bit, we had lunch with John's old squadron's Obi-Wan Kenobi. He's retired and living with his wife of a million years in Pensacola. They are a great couple! Even the kids sat quietly while we chatted. His stories are enthralling. The final reunion and one of the best!

Slowing Down Just a Beat

2008-10-19T23:01:00.002-04:00

Whew! What a weekend! We haven't stopped the reunions, finishing it off today by having lunch with friends from church and spending a few hours this afternoon with friends from John's old squadron.

Tonight, Lisette went to celebrate Dylan's mom's birthday at his house, Nicole went to "scary movie night" at Xandra's and Jake had a friend over to hang out. John and I finally had time to watch "When In Vegas" - good movie! Why???? You know why! Ha!

Now John just left to pick up the girls, Jake's in the shower and I'm watching "House" - my fave. Tomorrow, part of my personal history will happen, my first presidential vote.

John's Birthday

2008-10-17T18:25:00.003-04:00

Yesterday my sweetheart turned 46. It was crazy busy (what's new?) but I hope he still enjoyed his day.

John had to run to the base for some blood work related to his flight physical. Then we went and met Jake for lunch at his school. That's always fun!

After lunch we headed into Pensacola to extend my rental car agreement and rent John a car - being his taxi driver has been driving me a little crazy. We found out that Ron (the new amputee) has flown out to Texas for the remainder of his surgeries and his rehab - our prayers travel with him!

John and I did some clothing shopping, making a huge dent in our checking account! Then we scooted home for the big dinner at the base. John's original Air Force squadron has closed. The big get together/dinner was last night. It was fabulous to see so many old friends...it was non-stop reunions! Today was the Deactivation Ceremony, tears were shed. A piece of history has ended.

We finally got home around midnight. I finally had a chance to give John his birthday cards and gifts (which I hadn't wrapped - I'm such a bad wife!!). Tonight there's more eating and drinking to be had, after the ceremony was a lunch so we are being inundated with reunion stuff. Got the shirt to prove it too! Oh, and I bought a birthday cake for John today - we'll just have it 24 hours late!

Can't Stand the Media

2008-10-15T23:31:00.002-04:00

The last month and half of my life has been a downhill ride for any faith I had in the media. It's bottoming out now. I'm amazed at how difficult it is, no how impossible it is to find a non-biased, honest and complete report...of anything! International news and politics being the main focus in this house. Right now, John is flipping through the news channels after the presidential debate and there's none that isn't completely one-sided. It drives me nuts! How difficult would it be to have a panel of individuals from both sides or is there anyone who can look at these things without bias? Isn't that exactly what they're paid to do? I watched most of the debate and could really see positive things about both candidates and what they had to say. Why then can't I hear some kind of fair report speaking from a place of professional journalism?

Ahhhh!

Anyway, we've finally completed the task of putting Lisette's application to FSU together. John had his flight physical yesterday and passed easily. Last night we went to see Lisette perform with her chorus class - they were awesome! Today we had lunch with good friends and then stole away for a dinner out after John went with Jake to his Hapkido class.

So now I'm ready for bed. My mind is still not quite decided on who I'm voting for on Monday but it is quite decided on the bitter realization that our media is completely out of control. If we continue to accept that, we are accepting that we are being fed partial/politically driven truths (or untruths) as our basis of knowledge. How scary is that??

Family Exchange

2008-10-13T13:22:00.002-04:00

It was great to pick up John from the airport Saturday night! He's here for his flight physical and the closing ceremonies of his old squadron. The kids were almost as happy as I was to see him.

This morning we had to take Kim to the airport...my alarm clock didn't go off - I think it was because it didn't want her to leave either. We still managed to get to the airport in plenty of time, Jake just didn't get to go to school. Yes, the kids still had school today for some unknown reason. It was a tear free goodbye for Kimmy though my heart hurts every time I have to say farewell to her. It was so awesome to have her here to share some of our beach time together!

We've got Kathy and her daughter Lindsay (who used to babysit our kids!) over with Lindsay's two baby girls. We walked the beach and Karrissa splashed in the water some with Jake. The baby, Madison, gave me some cuddles but I soon lose her to her mommy. I'll take what I can get from her though - she's an angel!

John went on a run, came back sweaty and stinky. Madison wasn't impressed. One of the few women he hasn't been able to charm. Probably only temporary though!

Busy and With No Internet

2008-10-10T23:06:00.002-04:00

Okay, we finally have Internet. It's been a long and whiny road. Mostly by me...don't ask. We're in a new house, it's absolutely gorgeous.

Kimmy's still here and John will be soon! Yeah! Kim, Lisette and I went to the Arts Festival tonight and danced to Latina music. It felt like home for a little while.

I spent some time with the family of Ron at the hospital. They're doing better as he's now awake and assuming a good sense of humour and keeping the pain under control.

Right now we're watching Mel Brooks The History of the World. Too funny.

Packing But Not In a Good Way

2008-10-06T22:20:00.003-04:00

We're moving. Our rental agency was informed by the house owner this morning that he had sold the house and needed it empty...tomorrow. Holy crap! The good news is they're upgrading us to a bigger, nicer house...the other bad news is that it's a lot farther down the beach. Sigh.

John reported that we're "on" for another 30 days but that the Embassy is going to review the situation on October 20th. So I've heard the good news/bad news thing all day.

Kimmy and I went and had pedicures today. We needed the TLC after the news of the impending move. We had lunch out then came home to work on the move situation. She went with me to pick up Jake who we kept blissfully unaware of the news.

We told the kids all together - their reaction was more of annoyance than anything else...but Jake was more upset than the girls. Poor little dude! So many upheavals, so little time!

Kimmy's Here!!

2008-10-04T22:14:00.005-04:00

She arrived early this afternoon - and we're all so happy to see her!

We brought her home, let her change her clothes and then immediately kidnapped her to the mall. Well, Nicole and Jake took her to the mall while I skipped over to the hospital to visit Ron's family. I was able to spend some one-on-one time with his fiance, something I'd wanted to do since I met them. It was a great talk.

Nicole went out to a movie tonight, she just got home. Jake and I forced Kim to watch "Ironman" with us but she's now bailed to bed...wimp! :-) It's wonderful to have her!