25 Things

A favorite blog of mine Momastery, wrote a post this morning in which she revisited the '25 Random Things About Me' Facebook craze that many of us participated in a few years ago.
She inspired me to go back and visit the 25 Random Things about me that I shared 4 years ago.

1) I have lived in Alaska. 

Still true. Alaska is not on my current list of hopeful states to live in.

2) I have a severe phobia of hearses. Seriously. 

Seriously. I don't know where it comes from, but they freak me out. I can't look at them, which can be dangerous while driving.

One good thing about Colombia, I haven't seen one hearse. I don't even want to know how they handle that situation here. 

3) My favorite place on earth is Disney World. I literally turn into a 6 year old little girl. It truly is a place where dreams come true. 

Obvi.

4) My favorite time of year is Christmas. I literally turn in to a 6 year old little girl. And yes, Santa still comes every year. 

Yep. I am especially looking forward to the 2013 Christmas season. It's going to be magical.

5) I have the most amazing friends...ever. They have been there through everything. And I proudly declare that we have been friends since high school. 

Well this random fact has only continued to amaze me. We live on different continents and our friendships continue to grow. That makes me a lucky lucky girl. Not to mention they are all gorgeous.

6) My first kiss with my husband was in Angie Beaman's front yard. 

Mmmmmhmmmm.

7) I am extremely particular about the "h" at the end of my name. Please don't forget it. 

Still. Although being called "Sada" in Colombia has toned it down a bit here. But my first question to another Sarah is if she spells it with an h. If she says yes, I tend to like her a little bit more. 

8) I am a proud Britney fan...always have been. I knew the choreography to Slave For You in college...dont judge me. 

Still love me some Britney, not quite as much as I did, but she will always have a place in my pop culture heart.

9) I am totally a planner/Type A person. However, the wonderful man I married has a job that has provided us with 4 moves in 3 years and I literally can't tell you where we will end up next. 

Well, well, well. Little did I know the 5th move would be here, in a land where plans don't exist. I think this whole experience has 'chilled me out a bit'. I think.

10) I absolutely love my first home. The only negative is that it's so far away from friends and family. 

We both loved that house. From time to time we discuss some of our favorite memories at 885.

11) I am so in love with my baby boxer bella (dog)...I can't imagine what the love for my future children will be like. 

I do love that dog so. A lot of my excitement about traveling to the US is to be reunited with the baby boxer bella. It makes me feel so good to know that she is living the good life in the US, spoiled rotten.

12) I don't think I really knew how blessed my life was until I began working on my masters in counseling. 

Living in another country has also opened my eyes to my many blessings. I've also never felt prouder to be an American.

13) I enjoy reading and love passing books onto others...anything to get people reading. 

Still love sharing wonderful books, especially now that I have so much time to read.

14) I also have this thing about owning books...I have a hard time going to the library...I like them to be mine. 

I still love owning books. I dream of a library in my home. However now I rely pretty heavily on the iPad. But when I travel to the States, I get my fix of good old hardback books. 

15) I love to entertain...from start to finish, the planning, the preparing, & enjoying the beautiful people. 
I still love entertaining and celebrating with people. My ideas of entertaining have changed a bit while living in Colombia, but it is possible without every ingredient, pretty serving platters, and themed napkins. 

16) I have an amazing, supportive, hilarious, kind, & loving family! 
You can say that again. Matt and I are so lucky to have such wonderful families that support us, wherever we are. 

17) I am addicted to Diet Coke. I can't survive without it...(this is hereditary in my family)
The amount of Diet Coke I drink here is minimal compared to what I drink when I am Stateside, where cans of Diet Coke exist. I guess you could say I am still addicted to Diet Coke, because Colombia has Coca Cola Light. It is NOT the same.  

18) I became exactly what I did not want to be when I moved south...a person who can't deal with cold. When it gets below 40...I am cold. And it only took a year. 
Moving farther south has only exacerbated this problem. It's 86 degrees here today and is forecasted to be 86 for the rest of the week.
Below 40?
Pfffff.

19) I love that I have friends that make time for one another...VEGAS! 
We may not have been to Vegas in a while, but that is probably a good thing. Living farther away, I don't have the opportunity to make it to every get together or girls weekend, but I still manage to see these amazing woman at least once a year. That's pretty special.

20) My dog has her own toy box...and it is full 
True. Except the toy box isn't in my house. It's in my parents. For Christmas the girls got a new toy box, because the former was overflowing. I don't know a dog who loves toys more than Bella. 

21) I love pasta, bread, sushi, & cheese! 
Word. 

22) I love to drink wine with good friends & my amazing husband! Cakebread is my all time favorite! 
No access to Cakebread has me itching for a trip to Napa. I've also consulted with my husband on more than one occasion, about the possibility of becoming Cakebread Wine Club Members. I'll keep you posted. 

23) I love to call Misty Lynch @ work. The ratio of times I call her office to her cell phone is inappropriate. 
This still happens. Not as often, after all, we are adults now. But I still have her work number on speed dial. 

24) I am thankful for my Beaumont Best Friends (BBF) who have made this transition to SE Texas life so wonderful! 
I've been very lucky to meet so many wonderful people along this journey. 

25) I enjoy doing laundry...
especially with a laundry basket. 

effen beautiful

Last night while walking from the gym to the grocery store, Matt and I spotted a horse drawn carriage.

Matt slyly spoke up, revealing a bit of a grin...
"Take a horse drawn carriage to the grocery store... where else can you do that but Cartagena.
It's effen beautiful."

There's a story.

On my return from my first solo trip to the US, I met an interesting character. Waiting to board a flight from Houston to Panama a ginger man donning a redneck cap began speaking to me.

Sidenote: Randoms talk to me pretty often.  I have been amazed by the life stories and tales that have been told by total strangers.   It may be the reason I pursued a counseling degree. I also think it is very likely hereditary, because it happens even more to my mother.

Back to the story.

After the small talk, Mr. Talkative Ginger begins telling me about his brand new baby.

{I can't promise that the following is verbatim, but it's close.}

Mr: "I was working on a job outside of Boston. That's where my wife is. We just had a baby. Effen beautiful. Baby boy. Looks exactly like me. Effen gorgeous. Red hair. Blue eyes. He's effen amazing.

Obviously I've made this post soothing on the ears.
Mr. Talkative Ginger did not do the same for me.

He proceeded to ask me why I was flying to Panama. I explained that I was on my way to Cartagena.

Mr: "Cartagena. I worked out there. Effen beautiful, that place. I tell you what, I don't know if it gets much better. It's effen gorgeous."

He continued to ask me about the location I live in and then if I like to take the horse drawn carriages. I don't know if I have ever mentioned my disdain for the horse drawn carriages, but it's strong. My heart breaks for the poor ponies. They are so skinny, like exposed ribs. Their conditions can't be good and they just don't look like they get a lot of love. It makes me sad, so I want nothing to do with adding to their sadness. I obviously don't share this with Mr. Talkative Ginger. Instead I respond with a simple 'no'.

Mr: "Oh it's effen amazing. Where else in the world can you take a horse and carriage to the grocery store... have it wait for you... and ride it home? That's effin beautiful. It's effin great. That city is effin gorgeous. Effin amazing."

I silently sent a message to the universe, hoping that Mr. Talkative Ginger would not be my seat mate during the four hour flight that was in front of me.

He was not.
He was two rows up.
Talking. The. Entire. Time....
sharing his colorful language and adjectives with another unassuming soul.

Bless his heart.

|five things|

{one}
Cartagena has been crazy since New Years.
Monday was a holiday {Dia de los Reyes Magos or Epiphany}.  Apparently these back to back holiday weekends makes it quite 'posh' to be seen in Cartagena, so the city fills with tourists, the beaches are packed, the traffic is sick, and it's very difficult to get around.
Word is the crowds are supposed to dissipate.
However, the beach is still pretty full.

Matt and I braved the traffic and went out to the Old City on Friday night for sushi, where two other tables sitting near us spoke English.
This never happens, unless the city is packed with tourists.
Instead of fighting crowds over the weekend, I decided to relax with a puzzle.
Of London.
Which was a lovely way to spend the day.


{two}
On Sunday, Matt went golfing and I went to PriceSmart with some friends. It was a good trip with lots of loot, including cheese, turkey, animal crackers, almond milk and pine nuts.
I am ridiculously happy about these.
After asking several people in Cartagena, I decided that pine nuts don't exist here.
Once again, PriceSmart came through. I embarrassed to say how much I paid, so I wont.
But I am very excited to add them to pastas and salads,
but mostly to make my own pesto.


{three}
I've obviously shared my love for the barre3 workout before. They started off the new year with a 28 to great challenge.  Basically it involves a month of scheduled barre3 workouts and a nutrition plan, which is mailed to your house with a shopping list, recipes, and additional information. This was a problem for two reasons. 1} We've now come to the conclusion that mail is not reliable here. 2} A grocery list that includes almond butter and flax seed isn't going to get you very far in Cartagena.
So I Colombified the plan to suite me and scheduled a little 28 to great challenge of my own.


{four}
While I compose this post I'm snacking on this.

Beet, Carrot, Apple, & Ginger in a juice.
The juicer is a hit in our house and has been used nearly everyday.

{five}
I'm the Champion.

Team Bella Boxer won the PetSafe Fantasy Football League Championship.
I don't have a trophy, but I don't mind the bragging rights.
Plus I have the cutest mascot ever.

257/366

Reasons why I decided to have a glass of wine...

* 39 days without a computer. guh.

* Matt has another new work schedule. I've literally lost count of how many times there has been variations to the schedule of 'you work a lot'. This one involves leaving work each day a half hour earlier and an hour earlier on Fridays. All weekends are considered overtime. Sounds great, right? Well, I'm not usually a glass half empty kind of girl, but honestly, all these early afternoons and free weekends never apply to him.  All I really see is less work getting done. Which translates to 2015 on my calendar.

* We booked a Chianti Wine Tour in Italy. Thrilled. And we have tickets ready to pick up at will call to  Les Miserables in London. Okay. I am officially excited.

{fun fact: my siblings and I grew up to the sound track of Les Mis. When my mom would clean on Saturday mornings, that was her soundtrack. Each of us, Sarah, Tyler, and Alysa have the soundtrack on our iPods. It makes for a pretty eclectic playlist.}

* I am craving** a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. So much so, that this is embarrassing to admit, I looked to see if there were any Starbucks located in any of the airports we will be in on our upcoming vacay.
well, what do you know... there is. I am not saying that we have to spend our time in Europe searching for Starbucks, but if I happen to see that green and white text you can bet your *** I will be standing in line.

**please emphasize this word. especially if you know how I tend to emphasize words. imagine me saying the word craving... long and drawn out with an emphasis on 'cray'
Shelley... that was for you:)

* In a strange turn of events, the universe has taken care of me in a way I didn't see coming. BIG fan of Ellen. Both the woman and the daily talk show. Watched it on the daily while I was stateside... me and my Bella, laughing on the couch while I pinned her down so she couldn't run, jump, or play.  I spoke about how if I could somehow get Ellen in Cartagena, my life would be a little bit more complete.
Guess what?
She's here. Not in the same way that you have her. I found her on a DirectTV channel and so far I've watched a few Christmas episodes, her and Michelle Obama's push up competition, Sophia Grace & Rosie, and my fave the Kristen Bell Sloth episode. While it's not the same as watching a current episode with my favorite boxer, I have to give props to the universe. Thank you.

Reasons why my glass{es} of wine on a school night may not have been a great idea:

I have a special pilates class tomorrow

at 6:45 am.

254/366

|five things|

{1}
I recently discovered a way to watch the Today Show.
The Today Show has a video podcast, which is accessible through AppleTV
{which has made me one happy expat, more on that another day}.
I'm always a day behind,
as in tomorrow I will watch Monday's episode,
but I relish starting my day with coffee and American morning programming.
However, I have to say, The Today Show is definitely not my preferred morning show.
I am a Good Morning America girl all the way.
But once again, I live in Colombia, therefore I can't be picky.

{2}
This morning I took a walk along the bay with my camera for some 'shooting practice':






{3}
A recent conversation between Matt and I lead to this startling fact:
In our six years of marriage, we have lived with four of his colleagues.
Yes.
When living in Louisiana, post hurricane, there wasn't a lot of housing choices, so they paired people in two bedroom apartments.
Our first roommate, Shareesh, a young man from India, who liked to eat cake for breakfast, watched 'thrilling'/terrifying horror films, and loved himself a fast food center.
Our second roommate, Ben, a nice guy from Australia, who was respectful of space and did not eat cake for breakfast.
In Beaumont, shortly after buying our first home, we had another guy our age live with us while he tried to find a place for him and his fiancé to live in the area. We shared our first Thanksgiving with them and in the end they had an opportunity to return to the midwest on another job.
Lastly we moved in with Jared into his big old house in Beaumont, shortly after ours sold. Bella got her first dose of living with another dog and we enjoyed our final days in Beaumont, with a friend, who joined us in such random events like a 'Beaumont Dive Bar Pub Crawl' to give our Texas Lifestyle a proper goodbye.
Lots of memories.
But I'm done with random male colleague roommates.

{4}
I could really use a good solid boxer fix

but I am starting to get excited for our trip, which helps to distract me
... two and a half weeks:)

{5}
Today I made strawberry salsa to go with our dinner... Caramelized Pineapple Quesadillas

248/366

Look what I saw today while walking home...

Apparently this woman is a BIG fan of Hillary...
and it was her lucky day when she got the chance to get a picture with her during the Summit in Cartagena.
Which is why she made this picture a floor to ceiling advertisement in the window of her real estate business.
Bless her heart.

206/366

random.
ready, set, go.

still on the colorful water kick. i think blueberry and lemon is my favorite color combination


we discovered the a disadvantage to having a trash chute in your apartment...
blockage created by someone below which causes a buildup of trash until all you see when you open the chute is someone else's trash.
gross.
i did not include a picture.
you are welcome.

my daily helicopter flew by this afternoon looking a little different.

yes, those appear to be people. i have no other details.


The President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, stopped by Matt's job site today.

ciao.

176/366

{quite possibly the most difficult coffee cup to drink out of}

{ever}

172/366

...Today was my first day back at pilates. After class a few of the women began asking me questions about my trip and my recent return. Unfortunately I didn't understand a thing. I dug deep into my self and was able to appropriately, in Spanish, tell them that I had sadly forgotten all my Spanish. Then proceeded to have a conversation with broken Spanish and big, but necessary hand gestures.

...Today I received this in an email

Pretty girl is ready for Independence Day!

Notice her patriotic manicure
{it's only a mani, her back paws/pedi was not included}
Apparently the groomer is testing out a new nail product for a company. Bella was painted and then posed for some shots to send to the company. Rumor is, they may end up in a magazine.
I miss that little model.

...At the tender age of twenty-nine, little purchases like this

can make my day.
I hope that never changes.

...Today I had my first Colombian popsicle.
Surprise! It comes on a plastic stick.

...Matt and I recently joined a gym.
This is how I roll to said gym

That's right...
Best part about it.
Matt purchased it.

Happy Hump Day.

that girl

eleven years ago, 
to the day,
I participated in the AHS Class of 2001 Senior Skip Day
I recall telling my parents my rebellious plan of action and requested their assistance in pulling it off...
in other words I needed someone to call in for me
my mother took herself out of the game immediately, 
stating that she 'would not lie' for me
after a conversation with my father I had a guardian on board
but in true TLS fashion I was expected to complete a 'to-do' list that morning to help prepare for my brothers upcoming Confirmation that weekend
when the day came I completed my to-do list early in the morn and headed out to join my fellow senior skippers...
but my story doesn't end here
on Monday, 
for the first time, 
I was called to Jennifer Lindeman, the AP's office. 
She informed me that I would be serving detention,
the first in my educational career,
because helping with household chores was not a valid excuse to miss a school day.
apparently, my father wouldn't lie for me either
but here I am
eleven years later
saying thank you
for your guidance, 
a lesson in a lie,
and for not making me
that girl
the one that never served a detention...

{even if my first occurred within a month of graduation}

56/366 & other random happenings

This morning I awoke at 6 am.
Bella and I crawled into bed with my mom and listened to a radio interview with my father regarding pet containment and Invisible Fence.

This week I started a new workout at Barre3. It's ballet, yoga, and pilates all fused together. It's the fastest hour I've ever experienced, mostly because you work your tail off the entire time. I've done pilates since I moved to Cartagena, my yoga experience is extremely limited (but now I am familiar with the 'happy baby' pose), and I took my one and only ballet class in college.
How's that for entertaining?

I think it's safe to say Matt is feeling the effects of his crazy work schedule. On Monday night, he woke up at 10:15pm under the impression it was 4:00 am and time to get ready for work. He proceeded to make coffee, shower, get dressed, and sit down to check email and drink his coffee before he realized he had nearly 6 hours left of rest.

On Wednesday night I head south to Florida for a magical week. It's pretty exciting to think that in one week I will transform into a 6 year old running around Magic Kingdom with my bestie at my side.

I'm a pretty lucky girl.

Day 10: Childhood

Okay, so it looks like I’m really stretching to make Day 10 work… 

but give me a moment to explain.

This Oprah book, was given to me as a Christmas gift 

(January 8^th is observed as Christmas by this group of McQuinns) 

by Charlie & Betty. Upon opening it, 

I screamed like a little girl. 

Childhood.

I feel like I grew up with Oprah. Even before I began paying attention to her show I remember her being on after school. 

Through the years I have very fond memories of watching episodes with my mom & many times being victims of the ugly cry. 

Childhood.

I love me some Oprah. I’ve always thought that if we were to meet over drinks 

(Moscow Mules) 

we would hit it off, 

have a million things to talk about, 

and be fast friends. 

Maybe not Gayle status. 

But close.

A girl can only dream…

(like a child)…..

en fuego

Last week Matt and I were enjoying a quiet night inside

when we noticed fireworks.

We moved outdoors to watch the display.

Matt made a comment about how low the fireworks appeared to be.

Next thing we know, we were watching this:

Thankfully we heard emergency vehicles make their way quickly

{since I am not sure if 911 is the correct digits to dial in a situation such as this}

We're not exactly sure what caught on fire, but there is several 

small bars by the beach that have straw tiki-like roofs.

It was not the show we were expecting to watch, 

but we re-entered our apartment with a sense of thanks

for our safety and health.

holiday happenings

It's been pretty quiet around these parts, so I thought I would fill you in on the random holiday happenings...


* Today is a holiday. It was explained to me as something regarding candles, in which each home lights a candle in the evening. After some research I discovered it is the day of 'Immaculate Conception'.  Matt is unable to take part in this special day with me as he is working.


*We've crossed a few items of our Christmas to-do list... Christmas cards are prepared and scheduled to go out next week {via the company I ordered them from, hope it works} and we just have a little bit more online shopping to do. I still need to pick up a few things for Matt, which involves some creativity. Let's just say Cartagena isn't known as Colombia's shopping capital.


*I try to do something Christmassy each day to get into the spirit. Our home is filled with music and Christmas movies. As I write this I am watching a Disney Christmas cartoon movie with nearly every character {it almost feels like Christmas 2010.... but not quite}. Last week I caught one of my favorite Christmas movies from the 90's. 

If you're not familiar, Netflix it. I also have, A Michael Buble Christmas, recorded and waiting for the right time and a glass of wine.


*Yesterday I made my first attempt at cookies. You wouldn't think this is something that would be blog worthy. But most small tasks in Colombia, become blog worthy.  First of all, I must explain to you that I have a very small oven, in comparison to my North American oven experience. See below.

The standard 9x13" rectangular Pyrex baking dish need not go on a rack in my oven. Because the edges literally fit into the oven just like a rack would. I have yet to find an appropriate cookie sheet. So this 'ama de casa' decided to make due and use the broiler pan.

{the pan to the left}
My handmade dough was ready to go and the peanut butter cookies were evenly spaced on the pan. Into the oven they went. After 8 - 10 minutes, I realized the cookies had not yet changed shape, nor were they close to any golden brown that signals your cookies have reached perfection. None of that.  I let them keep baking, that is, until I started to smell something burning. The bottoms of the cookies were blackened, yet the tops were not cooked. A broiler pan is deeper than a cookie sheet, so I thought if I turned the broiler pan over and had a flat surface for my cookies to bake on I would be a much more successful homemaker. Wrong again. Same situation. After a discussion with my live in engineer, we realized that with the gas heating element at the bottom of the oven and the size of the broiler pan, the heat was not able to circulate through the oven and therefore truly only baking the bottom of my cookies. I managed to save a few. I've always been a soft doughy cookie fan. This particular batch takes that idea to a whole new level.



*We are very excited to welcome Matt's parents for a Colombian Adventure in just 4 short weeks. They will be visiting us in early January, which is the perfect time for them to beat those winter blues and share in a little post holiday cheer. And maybe even a mud bath? 


*I've been using my down time lately to:
   
    - re-educate myself in the world of crochet... getting my stitching fingers back in action


    - read an incredible story, a book called Little Bee. Here's a brief description via Amazon:


We don't want to tell you too much about this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this: It is extremely funny, but the African beach scene is horrific. The story starts there, but the book doesn't. And it's what happens afterward that is most important. Once you have read it, you'll want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds.


    - perusing the Internet for another photo challenge to kick of 2012. Why not start the year with a little  education and creativity {and more blog posts!}


Happy Immaculate Conception.

One Bruised Ego

I guess you could say life in Cartagena is becoming a little more settled. With Matt's NFL Sunday Ticket to keep him busy, our weekend adventures have been less eventful. But hey, that's life, right? So I thought I would share the random updates/happenings around this Colombian household.

The most important being:

* Bella

She is currently not in recovery, because she didn't have surgery. I made sure Magic Jack and myself were up and waiting on Monday morning to get any updates regarding the Boxer and the ACL. I received a call that we needed to make a decision. The surgeon confirmed that there was a tear in the ACL, but that her knee had not slid forward {apparently this happens if the ligament is severed completely} and she did not require surgery at this time. We still had the option to go ahead if we so desired. Then the doc explained, in detailed fashion, the extent of the surgery and recovery process. Surgery: Intense. Recovery: First 2 weeks, drugged up, in a kennel or on a leash. That's it.  The following 6-8 weeks. No drugs. In a kennel or on a leash. No jumping, running, stairs, playing with other dogs, etc. That's rough. Not to mention that we are visiting the Easy Breezy Beautiful Bella Girl in about 3 weeks, Matt's first reunion with her since March. The idea that we couldn't take her for walks, run in the backyard, snuggle, and yes, even sleep with her made us sad. I even began wondering if she would still be her easy, breezy, beautiful self after a surgery like that. With that said, for now, we are waiting.

*Rainy Season

We've heard a lot about this rainy season that Cartagena sees in October-November. While we are not in the thick of it yet, it has rained more since I arrived back from my USAdventure than it did the entire time before. Can I tell you something? I kinda like it. I like a good rain storm and they are beautiful here. Additionally these rains provide somewhat of a weather change, which feels mighty nice. Did I mention I prefer this all while I am inside? Matt and I went out on Saturday afternoon and walked through standing water, used our umbrellas to shield us from the blowing rains, and changed our clothes when we returned home. 

I may have a slight fear of getting stalled in the water in a taxi. While in Texas I attempted to drive through some standing water on an underpass of the interstate and my car died. I cried. A lot. And didn't know what to do. Until some nice boys in rain gear that worked at the boat store near me came and pulled me out. Several people after me got stuck as well. They decided it was enough work to get me out that they were not doing it for anyone else. Did I mention this happened in the G6?

It goes from such a gloomy place, right back to this...

*Us

Here we are.

*Lights

Today I went to the HomeCenter to buy a light bulb, but I found a lot more than that. Not only were there Christmas trees, but a whole lot of Christmas decor. Ornaments, stockings, lights, Santa's, garland, platters. This made me very happy, but I exercised restraint. After all, it is September. 

*3 Chairs

Our dining room table currently has three chairs at it. That's odd? What happened to the 4th one? That's what your thinking right? Ready for it? I broke it. Yep, one night at dinner I was sitting in the chair telling Matt a story and the next thing I knew I was sitting on my fanny on the floor crying. Not because it hurt. Because my ego was bruised. Like Black & Blue. Severely. I was coming right off my American vacay and knew I consumed a few extra calories, but not chair breaking kinds of calories. 

Matt explained that he noticed one of the chairs was wobbly and was missing a main bolt. So in his infinite wisdom, he moved that chair to my spot {I've literally ate every meal in the same spot}. Although a bolt is to blame, my ego's not buying it.

Oh, the chair? Still broken. Like my ego.

According to Dad...

Question: What makes a photographer a professional?




{You're probably thinking someone who gets paid for their photos....}

According to my dad, it is when your photos are published.
It is a valid point.

Therefore, 'according to him', I am now a professional...



My dad used a picture I took of Lola {my parents very photogenic dog} in an advertisement/flier for their Invisible Fence business.

I will admit. I smiled when I saw it.

Now you will have to excuse me...

I'm off to go update my resume.

azar|random

Azar is random in Spanish {at least Google Translate says it is}....

Consider yourself warned... this is going to be one random post

{which was technically meant to go up yesterday, 

but due to storms we were internetless for the last 36+ hours,

 so in that time, it's safe to say the post became more random}

The downside of the rain is that it messed with my Internet.  This ama de casa doesn't like her internet messed with. However, the rain brought on one of the most pleasantly cool days I have had in Cartagena, as well as another day of pretty scenery. 

You may remember this post about my DIY living room artwork. Well, I've decided to move on to another project. After speaking with my design consultant {aka my mom}, I took some more inspiration from Young House Love and am moving towards this

I like the pop of color and in this white space some 'colorpops' are just what we need.  I hit up the art supply/electronic store this week and stocked up on all the 40cmx40cm canvas they had to offer.

At this point I have 6. I want 8. Hoping in a week they will have restocked with some new inventory... but who knows.

In the spirit of YHL(young house love), I created a 'mood board' to help me with my color inspiration for the canvas {based on the colors found in our ottoman provided by apartamento owner}

Drumroll please....

Ta-Da. My first mood board. Not gonna lie, it was fun searching images for just the right color. I came up with a coral,sage,eggplant,chocolate combo. I haven't began Project Colorpop yet. Matt has to work Sunday so I thought it may be a good weekend project.

An update to follow, unless it turns out horrendous, in which case I will pretend this post never happened. 

We all know Sarah likes her television. While many things have changed, my television watching habits {which you can read about here} are not one of them. On the English channels, they don't show near as many commercials as they do in the US. Take 'E' for example, you all know the ratio of Kardashians to commercials borders on ridiculous. In Colombia, I get a whole lotta Kardashian without as many lengthy interruptions. However, when the 21 minute 47 second reality show is over they still have nearly 9 minutes of time to fill up. 

Their solution: Music videos

This one is on a lot....

....which I find extremely annoying. I don't get it. And Javier Bardem's appearance makes it all the more random {kinda like this post.}

Not done with the television topic.

By definition, I guess I am a 'Gleek'. I DVR episodes of Glee and have been known to download a great mashup off i-tunes. So, when I found The Glee Project, a reality competition show whose winner gets to be a cast member on Glee I hit the 'Record Series' button. Last night, my choice competitor was up for elimination and had to perform a fav Elton John song to prove his worth....

Isn't he adorbs? Okay, so I may have a totally appropriate 'tvcrush' on him and would love to see him weekly on Glee...

Yep, I'm a Gleek.

Yesterday I stocked up on these at the grocery store...

Dasani flavored waters. Delish & the answer to my agua drinking habits.

After celebrating 10 years beyond high school many of our friends are beginning to move to the next phase... starting a family. Two of our very dear friends welcomed some precious bundles of joy into their families recently.

Trevyn Allen & Ellie Grace made their grand entrances into this big beautiful world this week. They are both the most darling babes and blessed to have such amazing parents. We are so excited to meet them! {in a few months} 

Five weeks from tomorrow, I embark on my American Adventure...

{excited}

and in six weeks I get to see these beautiful faces

These chickadees are meeting me in TN for a weekend of Southern Comfort. 

I am beyond excited. 

Ecstatic.

Or any other word that qualifies as beyond excited.

Well now, if you are still with me and somehow navigated through this randomness, I saved the most random for last. The other day when I was taking pictures of the clouds I took a shot of the beach. When I uploaded the pictures, I noticed that something was written in the sand.

Que viva pasto carajo

According to Google Translate...

Grass Living Hell

That's pretty random.