five things

{1}

We had a great weekend celebrating Matt's birthday that included a trip to a food truck festival {where we ran into a couple from Cartagena that has been relocated to Houston}, a few gifts including getting fitted and ordering new golf clubs, ice cream pie, and a nice dinner out to one of our old favorite sea food spots.
We missed the Gulf Coast.
Especially the oysters.

{2}
During our dinner out, Lauren sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time.
And felt pretty special doing it.
Matt and I loved it. She entertained herself with rice crackers and people watching while we enjoyed our meals...
and a celebratory glass of wine.
Both for Matt's birthday and Lauren's new milestone.


{3}
Every year I print our blog into a book. It works pretty well since I don't scrapbook anymore nor do I print pictures for albums. When I printed 2013, I noticed a few of my last posts didn't have pictures. A few months ago, I was made aware that the photos were showing up differently on the blog from Flickr. I thought it was a change they made. Apparently it was a change in my settings. So now on my to do list, is the task of replacing all those pictures with the correct setting, so I can print our 2014 book with pictures.
guh.

Oh and by the way, while I was strolling down memory lane....
remember when 'this' welcomed us to Cartagena

It looked the exact same when we left.

{4}
This girl had some dental work done yesterday, which is quite invasive when you are a canine.
Anesthesia, teeth cleaning and little extra gum work.
She's on the mend and getting some extra attention around here.


{5}
While Matt was getting fitted for clubs last weekend, Lauren and I did a little shopping.
I stumbled upon both of these on the clearance rack at Marshall's.

Seriously.
In the middle of Webster, Texas.

I guess we are meant to be here...

reflections on a Colombian adventure

I thought I would have months to prepare for our departure.
I thought there would be time to pack slowly, count the weeks, and process the end of this journey.
But that's not how it came to a close and I am okay with that.

I've spent the last few days reminiscing and taking it all in, the last trip to the grocery store, last cab ride to the Old City, last walk around the bay.

From time to time a voice will creep up and make me wonder if I took advantage of this experience:

Did I immerse myself enough in the culture?
Did I take advantage of this opportunity?
Did I enjoy the view enough?

My answer is
Yes.
I did.

When I think back to the person I was three years ago when this adventure began, I realize truly how much I've grown through this experience.
I'm more confident, patient, cultured, and understanding.
Okay, patient might be stretching it.

But this experience has opened up my world.

I've had the opportunity to travel to places I've never dreamed of, push myself out of my comfort zone, and meet people from all over the world.

I've learned to communicate through body language and gestures, stood on top of the Andes Mountains, found geckos in my bedroom, and bathed in mud.

It truly has been an adventure.
but that adventure must come to an end.

While I am ready for our next chapter,
I am so thankful for the experiences and opportunities we have had.
After all, thats what brought us where we are today.

Our Colombian adventure will always have a special place in our hearts as it brought us to our greatest adventure yet...
parenthood.

So thank you Cartagena,
for the culture,
for the experience,
for the memories.



It is good to have an end to journey toward;
but it is the journey that matters, 
in the end.
{Ernest Hemingway}

I just saw this on Facebook. Check out number 65...

Leidys & Lauren

One of the hardest people to tell that we were leaving was our maid, Leidys.
She has been wonderful to our family, taking such good care of Matt, while I was gone, and helping me get rid of my anxiety about these ridiculous white floors.
She is the kindest woman and is in love with Lauren.
Her first reaction to our news was, "Oh Lauren. Oh my God."
In English.

She plays with Lauren each morning, speaking Spanish to her so sweetly, and Lauren watches her with a big gummy smile.

When I returned to Cartagena I was unsure of what I would do with Lauren when I went to pilates. After speaking with the receptionist about the available days, she agreed to watch Lauren in the waiting room while I was in class on Wednesdays & Thursdays. Fridays I could bring Lauren with me or I could leave her at home with Leidy. I stressed over whether to take her to pilates with me, where she generally falls asleep and sits in her stroller, or leave her at home with Leidy, where she can play with all her toys and can sleep in her swing.
I decided to leave her with Leidy.
And I am so glad I did.
They are so cute together. I leave them playing together on the floor or looking at the ocean and speaking Spanish. By the time I come back, Lauren is napping and Leidy is gushing over what a good baby she is.
She loves her time with Lauren and I don't worry about listening for Lauren's cry in the middle of class.
Leidy is the first person non-family member I've ever left Lauren with.
And she doesn't even speak English.
I think that's pretty baby book worthy.

We will all miss her.

Big Changes Ahead

The McQuinn family is packing up and moving to...

AMERICA!
{why yes, Lauren is wearing a pacifier holder that says God Bless America}

We are moving to Houston, Texas, USA!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks that have left our heads spinning as we prepare for a lot of changes. Matt received a call two weeks ago, at his desk in Colombia, from a small Engineering Procurement Construction contractor, that was interested in him for a Director of Construction position.  After communicating with them a few times, Matt found himself seriously contemplating if he was ready to leave CBI and try something new. We made a list of pros and cons and had some major discussions and in the end felt like it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Here's the thing...
Matt really enjoys working on the construction side of things. Often times with the construction, comes the travel. While we had discussed finishing our time in Colombia and doing one more job that required travel, providing Lauren and our growing family with stability was also important. This opportunity allows Matt to stay on the construction side of things, without the travel. All the work they do is in the Houston area. We felt like that in itself was a great opportunity, for both Matt professionally and for our family. Plus, he is taking a position that was in his 15 year plan, has weekends off, and we get to live in a large city that has a lot to offer
{as opposed to some of the smaller areas these jobs usually take us to}.

It was a difficult decision to make, but we are so excited about our next adventure.

We've still got a lot of details to sort out {yes, the house in TN is one of them}, but we're ready to settle in and enjoy this American life.

Did I mention we leave Cartagena on February 15?

That's basically one week...

America, here we come!

Hola Cartagena

Here's a peek at what's Cartagena looks like with Lauren Elizabeth McQuinn...

Our adventure officially begins...

We're here.
The adventure of living in South America has officially collided with the adventure of being first time parents.
So far, so good.
We have had to roll with a few things.
Like this.

We returned to the apartment, opened some blinds and turned on the air conditioner to discover a rather large crack in the balcony door and a nice sized piece missing. We soon discovered that whole piece {in one piece} sitting on the balcony. Administration is working on getting it fixed and are currently under the assumption that the break was caused by head, wind, or both {my spanish is rusty}. Until we are thankful for economy sized boxes of Pampers.


I've learned taking the route by the bay is a safer and easier way to the grocery store than San Martin Ave.

I have also learned that one must be careful about the quantity of groceries they are purchasing when planning to walk home from the grocery store with the stroller. We have one bent hook stroller accessory and a little lesson.

Lauren's doing fabulously. We have lots of time for play and we've discovered a few new favorite toys. On our jaunt to the store, I shielded Lauren from the sun under the stroller canopy. While there was no direct sun contact, the lack of air flow left her a little warm and she came down with what looked like heat rash. Just like her mama. She has shown some signs of having sensitive skin, so we will take precautions and work on adjusting to the 88 degree weather and humidity.




My mom is here to help us settle in and soak up some Lauren time. We've worked on a few things for Lauren's Colombian nursery and she has been a huge help in aiding me as I recall what it is like to prepare dinner and walk home from the grocery store with excessive baggage. My father arrives on Friday and we will spend a nice long weekend together. Then after our 'vacation' ends, I've got a serious blog to-do list, including some overdue posts, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and our first family vacation to Hawaii, among other adventures to share about Lauren and life in Cartagena.
So consider us back.
Back to Cartagena.
Back to a family of three.
Back to the blog.

Our Very Colombian Babymoon

babymoon -  vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights that usually accompany a newborn baby

Our babymoon began on Saturday. Our bags were packed and Matt had a half day of work, so a driver picked me up and I met him at the job site. From there we headed off to the Decameron Baru, an all inclusive resort that is located on an island right off the coast of Cartagena. We've twice visited the Decameron {here and here} and Matt received a weekend gift certificate as a birthday gift from a contractor he works with. We decided this was the perfect opportunity to fit a little getaway into our very complex schedule.  Matt's assistant called and made the reservation for us, which was fabulous, since it's been quite the process to make reservations in the past.  {booking over the internet doesn't exist, it involves phone calls and then paying the bill in person at a Decameron office to confirm your reservation}
A representative from Decameron called twice to confirm the reservation with Matt's assistant and let us know that the gift card was a three night stay. Our reservation also included Friday night. Since Matt had to work Saturday morning, his assistant explained that we would only be staying Saturday and Sunday.  We were confirmed and invited to come on Friday if our plans changed.

When we checked in Saturday afternoon, we had a slight issue explaining that although our reservation began on Friday, we were checking in Saturday and checking out on Monday. Our reservation was found and our babymoon began.


We spent a late afternoon at the pool, discussing things parents to-be discuss, including what the next 5-10 years may look like for us, while enjoying the opportunity to relax together.



We had a quiet Colombian dinner and ended our evening with a movie.

The next morning we woke for breakfast and made our way to the pool. We relaxed, read, ventured out from under our umbrella for some sun, just for 45 minutes, enjoyed some ice cream, a mocktail for myself and a few cocktails for Matt.


We even managed to pull out the baby name book.  We are fairly certain that we have a name for George, should he be a boy, although there are two other names that remain on the list just in case. Our girl names, which is the one we've struggled with from the beginning, has come down to two possibilities. While we bought the baby name book to specifically help us with the girl name, the two that remain are those that have been on the top of our list from the beginning.


We had a great day together, just the two of us, complete with lots of kicks from our little Georgie.

We packed up from the pool with plans that included a nap before dinner and a walk on the beach to take some pictures.

This is where the babymoon gets very Colombian.

After settling into our room, there was a knock on the door. It was the man from the Decameron who checked us in the previous day. He explained that our reservation was for Friday and Saturday and the hotel was currently sold out, meaning that someone checking in needed our room and we needed to vacate.
Yeah.
Matt explained, quite calmly, that there must be some confusion. Our reservation was through Monday and as he had explained to the man before, it began on Friday but we did not in fact check in until Saturday.
The Decameron man said he was going to call reservations and gather some more information and would return shortly.
My heart sank as I knew this situation probably wasn't going to end in our favor.

Matt and I have a saying about things in Colombia...
50/50
At any time, things have a 50% chance of working out as you expect them to.

You found strawberries at the grocery store last week?
50% chance they are there again.

You paid your cell phone bill at the cell store down the street last month?
50% chance you can pay your cell bill as you did the previous month, or that the store is even there.

You feel pretty comfortable with the process at the airport?
50% chance you will get asked to go to a random line and pay a tax that you've never paid before.

You make reservations at a hotel for a long weekend?
50% chance the reservations works out.

The Decameron man {who spoke limited English} returned with what appeared to be an young American man, who spoke English. He explained that our reservation was through Sunday and since the hotel was sold out we would need to leave. There was some back and forth about the sheer ridiculousness of this situation and how it was confirmed to us twice with the wrong dates. We were instructed to take that up with the company we booked through, which happened to be the Decameron.

Our babymoon had taken an unexpected turn. It was over.

While I was disappointed in how it ended, I can't stay I was devastated. If you have American standards, the Decameron doesn't rank in the 5 star category. But I was frustrated. Frustrated by the Colombian 50/50-ness of it all, frustrated about the story of our babymoon, and frustrated by the lack of customer service in the way the situation was handled. I don't know if I have ever mentioned it, but customer service literally doesn't exist in Colombia.

We were told if we needed help securing transportation, they would be available in the lobby to assist us. Usually when the Decameron provides transportation, it involves a charter bus. Matt stated that he would attempt to secure his own transportation {a driver was scheduled to pick us up at 10 am the following morning} which was a bit of an issue since it was a Sunday evening and there is no night shift on Sundays, meaning there aren't drivers available.  Thankfully we were able to secure a driver and by 5:30, we were vacating the premises with promises to never return.

The story is not in fact over.

We explained our situation to the driver and thanked him profusely for picking us up.  He informed us that it had taken him longer than expected to pick us up because the line for the ferry had been long. He told us that the line on this side of the island was very long as well.  As we drove to the ferry we were shocked when we stopped, no where near the ferry, due to the length of the line.

Two hours later we had made minimal progress. Still in line. In the rain.
Frustrated, but thrilled we weren't on a Decameron charter bus.

Finally we came to a point where the road split and there were many people gathered outside their cars. Our driver went to speak to them and discovered for 15,000 COP we could get on a ferry that was faster.  This was an obvious choice, especially when he told us that if we stayed in the original ferry line, our expected arrival time to the ferry was 11:00 pm.

We made our way to the faster ferry, which we quickly discovered was a private ferry.


The Colombian 50/50 was in my mind. There were about five or six vehicles ahead of us and a few that were behind us. A security guard approached our van and asked our driver if he was transporting tourists and we showed him our Decameron check-out receipt {or kick-out reciept as Matt and I called it}.  Then the driver explained that I was expecting. The security guard peered into the back to confirm my pregnancy.  He walked away and soon another security guard with a flash light came over to the car and shined the light directly on my pregnant belly.  After the flashlight fiasco, the security guards made their way to the front of the line without confirming whether we would be boarding the private ferry.  A few minutes later our driver made his way out of the van to further campaign for our spot.

Around this time I began thinking about how this babymoon had really turned into a representation of what parenting may be like. There are times, like during the beginning of our babymoon, where things seem ideal. You are happy, relaxed, and content. But things don't always go as planned, frustration takes over and your patience is tested.  Flexibility is required, help is often needed, and the unknowns of it all can be downright scary.
It's an adventure, much like this Colombian adventure.
Parts of this adventure are thrilling and others are just hard.
But I also had a feeling of thanks, as I realized how blessed I am to have such an amazing partner to share this incredible adventure with, even when things are hard.
We're in this together.
And let's face it, I need someone to make me laugh when situations get stressful.

While I pondered the lessons learned, our driver returned with news that we were one of the four vehicles allowed to board the last private ferry out.

The reason.

Our Georgie.
Georgie saved the day.

Due to my belly bump, our driver was able to convince the private security to allow us to board the ferry. We paid our 15,000 COP and made our way to Cartagena. We made our way home, praising our driver and awarding him with a handsome tip for his troubles and at 9:00 pm, four and a half hours later, we walked in our apartment and slipped into our pajamas.

We spent our Sunday in babymoon mode, with lots of relaxation and togetherness, and a few laughs about the day before.

The moral of this story:
If you don't want a built-in lesson on your babymoon, don't babymoon in Colombia.

A Colombian Cuna

We did it.
The one major Colombian baby prep item on the list... we found ourselves a crib.
{Confession... after this weekend I began to wonder if lil Georgie was going to be dreaming away in a Pack N Play each evening}

One day after work, Matt stopped at a few furniture stores in Centro, the downtown area of Cartagena to check out the local crib options. After looking at two different stores, gathering options, price points and additional information, he came home and shared his findings. We discussed and the following day made another trip to the furniture store. We found one that we were happy with that was also at an appropriate price point. Sold.

Now is where the Colombian part of the story begins.

As one man gathered our crib materials, I attempted to pay a woman. She told me they did not accept cards and neither Matt nor I had the amount of cash necessary. We asked where the nearest ATM was and the man said that he would ride with us to the ATM.  We looked at the amount of cash we had, about half, and stated we would be right back with the additional cash.
A little risky, but so was having a stranger ride to the ATM with us*.
We found an ATM that was close and returned to the store. When we arrived the sales people had our cuna all packed up and ready to go. The crib was wrapped up in plastic wrap and the mattress was sealed in a bag.  The crib parts were in the sales lady's hand and she gave Matt a brief Spanish tutorial on how to put the crib together. No written directions.
Thankfully my husband's Spanish is really quite impressive at this point and his engineering background also helps in these situations. He had no problem putting it together and by the end of the day we had a little cuna set up, complete with a waterproof mattress pad and crib sheet from the good ole US of A.


Our Colombian Nursery/Guest Room:




We've got a few plans to make this space a little sweeter, but due to the small space, the concrete walls, and the location {Colombia} this space is going to be simple.

Simple & Sweet...
and each time I walk by a take a peek, I can't help but smile.



*For those of you who know my DirecTV/Beaumont story, I've learned my lesson.

Bienvenidos a Colombia

Since our R&R, I spent a a little over a week in Tennessee, finishing up some American baby to-do's, seeing the doctor for my glucose screening, and soaking up my last little bit of Bella, America, and English.  My Aunt Betty was in town for the week and was kind enough to accompany myself and my parents to Atlanta before I flew out. We had a great little road trip and enjoyed the view from the hotel rooftop bar, which was rated as 'the best view of Atlanta' by a lifetime local we spoke to.
Matt and I have already discussed returning to enjoy the view and one of those specialty cocktails they serve.




My travels began early Friday morning and I made it to Cartagena by the afternoon {I flew Spirit, which cuts my travel day in half and that makes this pregnant woman very happy}.  My sweet husband surprised me by leaving work early to meet me at the airport and we spent a leisurely afternoon together.  Originally we thought I would spend 4-6 weeks in Colombia, but after we consulted the Dr., she recommended we cut the trip shorter since I am fast approaching the third trimester.  I'm here for just over two weeks, which will go much too fast so we're doing our best to make the most of our time.
On Sunday, we made a road trip to Baranquilla for a PriceSmart run and to begin our crib hunt. Cribs are not easy to come by in Cartagena. There are Pack N Plays a plenty, but a traditional crib made of wood is not the norm here. While I know people who use the Pack N Play as a crib, but in my head I equate them with an air mattress and since I don't want to sleep on an air mattress in Colombia, I don't think my baby should either.  Matt and I came to the conclusion that the price is likely the issue.  Furniture is very expensive in Cartagena and we're fairly sure cribs are up there as well. Since Baranquilla is a larger market we were hoping to stumble upon one there and several months ago, I even saw one at PriceSmart. While we found plenty of snacks, string cheese and almond milk, we didn't find a crib. From PriceSmart we checked out Baranquilla's mall and went to a baby store. We asked about cribs and were immediately directed to the Pack N Plays. We explained that we were looking for a traditional crib, made of wood, and were quickly greeted with a 'Good Luck'.  After some brainstorming among employees, they gave us the name of a furniture store in Central Baranquilla to check out. After looking at the website, we saw that they did in fact have cribs. However, once we made our way over to the store, we realized that it wasn't open on Sunday.
Our hunt continues. We plan to do some looking in Cartagena and then look at some additional options as well.

While we weren't successful on the crib hunt, I did find an unexpected find at PriceSmart. A body pillow...

In Tennessee I sleep in an amazing bed.  Matt and I discuss it before our visits... it's that good. So, I haven't had any sleep issues during pregnancy. I also have an abnormally large pregnancy pillow in case any issues do arise.

My situation in Colombia is the exact opposite. Our bed leaves a whole lot to be desired. After two nights in bed, tossing and turning, trying to correctly position sub-par pillows, I missed the comforts of my bed and the massive pregnancy pillow that I debated bringing with me for this exact reason, but quickly realized that was nearly impossible. When I saw a a body pillow at PriceSmart, I hesitated for a moment, thought about how much tossing and turning had gone on, listened to Matt tell me he would be happy to take over the pillow after I left, and the pillow made its way to our cart.

While it's no American pregnancy pillow, I did sleep a little better last night, after positioning a pillow or two.

While I miss that bed waiting for me in the US, one thing it doesn't have is my husband.

So, for the next two weeks, I will sleep happily in that hard bed, with sub-par pillows, and my husband.

five things

{1}
Last night I attended a Big Reds & Bourbons dinner at Ruth's Chris with my parents and uncle.  It was a five course meal paired with selected red wines and bourbon.  My role was to fully appreciate the culinary experience and drive my family home safely. Although the reds would have perfectly complemented each course, the food was enough to keep me happy.

Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Orange-Ginger Beurre Blanc

Festival of couscous, roasted red pepper coulis

Bulleit Mint Julep

Spring Mix, Roasted Pear & Bleu Cheese Salad

Spiced pecans, balsamic vinaigrette

Sterling Vineyards Pinot Noir, Corneros

Pan Roasted Salmon

Horseradish whole grain mustard sauce, bacon onion jam

Bulleit Rye
Southern BBQ Mixed Grill

Filet Mignon with bacon BBQ butter,

New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp,

Peach Glazed Stuffed Chicken Breast

Southwestern Mac N Cheese

BV BeauRouge Red Blend, Napa Valley

S'mores Cheesecake

Toasted marshmallow, chocolate graham cracker crisps

Bulleit 10 year, small batch bourbon

** I forgot to take a pictures of dessert before I dug in...

{2}
My mother finished upholstering the rocking chair for the nursery. Of course I don't have a before picture, but it was an older chair, purchased from an estate sale on Craigslist. {I believe the owner had Alzheimer's and was being moved out of her home. As my father walked out with the chair she stopped him to tell him how lovely the chair was and that he would enjoy it as she had one just like it. Bless her heart.}  The wood was stained ebony and recovered with grey fabric and navy blue trim.  The other night I took a moment to rock a bit and think about excited I am to welcome this little darling.



{3}
I received the following in an email from Matt. The gentleman in the red hat also happens to be our doorman.



Adore.

{4}
I had another doctors appointment this morning. Everything is going well and I got to hear out little active bundle's heart race again. I was able to schedule the next appointment around Matt's arrival, which includes an ultrasound. We can't wait to see how much our little darling has grown!
When the doctor entered the room she said, "They told me you are from Colombia, South America, but it must be South Carolina. That can't be right."
Yeah.
We get that a lot.

{5}
During our visit, the doctor discussed birthing classes and suggested that I begin looking into them as they prefer for classes to be completed by 8 months. When I returned from the appointment I looked at the class schedule and realized with Matt's visit and our upcoming travel dates, it was going to be difficult to fit the classes in. There just happened to be a Saturday class that begins tomorrow. I assumed it would be booked by now, but no.  My mother and I are spending our Saturday at a birthing class.
When I spoke to the woman about class details she told me to bring pillows.
That stresses me out.

FAQs

Given our unique living situation, there is a lot of questions regarding the plans for our expanding family. Here are a few of the details of our great adventure...

Baby McQuinn will be born in the United States, Knoxville to be exact. While we felt comfortable seeing a Colombian doctor at the beginning of the pregnancy, neither of us {especially me!} was particularly comfortable with having the labor & delivery part go down at Centro Medico Bocagrande.  Despite my brothers argument about giving our unborn child dual citizenship to increase their odds of obtaining an Olympic medal {can't compete for America, there is always Colombia}, we both feel comfortable with our decision.

One of the drawbacks to this decision is timing the birth with Matt's intense work schedule. Matt will leave Colombia for Tennessee a few days before our due date and stay for 2 - 3 weeks. While fathoming the idea of Matt having to leave our little family to return to work in South America is enough to make me reach for a box of Kleenex, it's just another part of our story.  Thankfully he has some time off in November that will allow him to head back to the US for a short visit and we will all reunite in December for Christmas.  After the holidays, our little darling will have his or her passport stamped and head to South America to begin a new chapter of our Colombian adventure.
While we don't have an end date to Matt's current project on the calendar, we are both comfortable with tentatively saying Fall 2014. My goal is to celebrate an adorable one year olds birthday in the US with family and friends.  We don't know whats next for the McQuinn family and depending on the day I have two different answers, to continue one more adventure or settle down {usually it's settle down}.  We've discussed it a bit and have decided to cross the bridge when we get there. We know this baby is going to change our lives and understand that we can't fathom just quite how much yet.  With that and no official destinations to discuss, there is no need to worry ourselves, yet. We've got enough going on right now.

Matt and I don't have plans to learn the gender of our little one.  Matt has always wanted it to be a surprise and I have learned to let go of my Type A personality a bit in the past few years and can handle not having every detail planned. We both love the idea of looking forward to the best surprise ever.
Since our baby will have two homes within the first few months of their precious life, they will also have two nurseries.  My parents were kind enough to offer up a guest room in their home for our little one to settle into.  This was fabulous news to me as decorating a nursery was one of the things I thought I may miss out on, given our unique situation.  The guest room in our Colombian apartment will double as the nursery.  As we expect visitors {hello grandparents!} during the rest of our stay in Colombia, we thought it was important to keep the guest bed, but also give the baby his/her own space.  It will be a pretty simple nursery, no paint on the walls, but a room filled with color, homemade art, and lots of love.  Therefore the serious nursery work will go down here in Tennessee.  While my grandmother was here, she painted the nursery. I love, love, love that three generations of love will make this nursery a special place for our little darling to call home {for a few months anyway}.

We went with vintage gray on the walls and plan use navy in the room as well. Based on if we have a little lady or a little gent, we will accent with coral or green.  It's been so much fun to look at nurseries and discuss ideas.  Currently we have a few projects lined up including stenciling one wall in the room, painting a dresser, and recovering a rocking chair. So excited to share our projects as they come along.

That's just a few of the details we've worked out so far.  There is many more decisions to be made, both big and small, difficult and easy. But so far, I have to say, this is my favorite adventure yet.

officially a Latin American woman

At one of the very first 'ladies luncheons' I attended in Colombia, I met a kind and beautiful woman from another country in South America. We got to chatting and at some point she told me that she would like to teach me to be, "a Latin American woman." The first step to this process was securing a maid.
Unfortunately I didn't learn any other steps.
The first/only step is now complete.
Yesterday our new maid, Ladys, started. She is actually the former maid of my Spanish teacher, Alice so she comes with a glowing review and it helped that I have met her several times. With my upcoming travels we wanted to secure a maid to help Matt out while I was gone. It worked out even better that she was starting before I changed my ticket to she could familiarize herself with our casa and routine while I was still here.
Yesterday was one of my busier days {babysitting, pilates, gym, errands}.  When I left the house at about 8:45 am, Ladys was dusting my shoes and cleaning the closet floor. Then she organized our shoes. A girl after my own heart.

It's going to take some getting used to, someone spending the day in my house, cleaning around me,
but she is so sweet and I am totally reaping the benefits of a spotless home.
There is even an educational bonus...
she helps me work on my Spanish.

break-breakdown

Last week I shared our very consistent Cartagena routine. While I firmly believe in the routine and understand the importance in it, as it helps me from not going completely insane, somedays all I want to do is hop into a car with my husband, run random errands, and make a stop for lunch. In America.
Yesterday Matt understood my need for a little spontaneity.
{my mini morning break-breakdown was probably a good clue}
He suggested we go to an afternoon movie, Silver Linings Playbook.
It felt good to get out for an unplanned activity and going to a movie allows you to forget about language barriers and crazy taxi drivers for awhile.
Unfortunately, as we've learned before, you can never be quite sure what an afternoon in Colombia will be like.
While watching the film, the power went out three times.
Complete black out, movie stops, wait 5 minutes for power to come on and for theatre employees to get the movie back to the correct scene.
That happened three times.
Following the movie, we decided to stop at the Beer Station, a well known spot for a decent hamburger. After placing our drink order, the waitress came by to take our order for dinner. After we each ordered a hamburger, she informed us that there were no hamburgers. That's what this place does, beer & hamburgers. Then she proceeded to tell us that the did in fact have hamburgers, but they did not have buns. This restaurant is located in the mall. There is also a grocery store in the mall. I imagine that in a bun-less crisis it would be completely appropriate to go to the grocery store and buy a plethora of buns as needed.
But no.
Not in Colombia.
We finished our drinks and left.
Hamburgerless.

The silver lining...

We went ahead and did about the most American thing you can in Cartagena...


Happy Monday.

five things

{1}
Yesterday Misty told me she saw a man wearing this shirt:

I love it and it's a common mistake. People are often dropping the 'o' for a 'u', when discussing our South American country of residence. I was interested in where this brilliant shirt originated from and found this article.  It's a pretty interesting, discussing how often, even in professional instances, Colombia is misspelled. It also gives a few recommendations for must sees when visiting. Guess who's on the list?
Yes. Cartagena.

{2}
I know many of you are deep in the midst of snow, snow days, and more potential snow in March. Please forgive me in advance. I can't remember the last day we had a rainy or overcast day. The sun has been shining brightly everyday for a longtime. I love me some sunshine. But the closest thing I have to seasons here is overcast days. I need them every once in a while. Today I woke up to the beautiful sight of a darkened bedroom, with no light pouring in. An overcast day.

I love it.

{3}
One of my latest projects.

A chalkboard.
I thought it would be a fun, constantly changing little addition to the apartment.
The only problem is I couldn't find any sort of chalkboard here. They had white boards a plenty, but no old fashioned chalkboard.
So I made one. With a canvas and Martha Stewart's help making chalkboard paint, I whipped up my very own version. It doesn't have a permanent home yet, but we like trying it in different spots and are looking forward to displaying fun messages throughout the year.

{4}
I'm excited to see March on the calendar. Who doesn't love St. Patrick's Day {Colombians} and Easter brings us a nice little 4 day holiday, something we are desperately looking forward to. Bonus, we're that much closer to April, which will include Bella hugs and trips to Target for me and May, when Matt can finally relax American style after an entire year away.

{5}
This week we made fish tacos for dinner.

They were delish.
So much so that I kinda want them for dinner tonight.