five things

{1}
This week we sent our passports off to Bogota to get our visas renewed.
This is our third Colombian visa.
The '3' in this seems significant, since there was only supposed to be 2 visas for this 2 year project.
If I was a betting woman, I would bet this isn't my last Colombian visa either.

{2}
Yesterday I got in a cab that had a large pot of fish in the back. I rubbed hand sanitizer on my hands the entire ride, hoping to fend off any fish germs, but more so desiring to ward off the smell of fish from seeping into my pores.

{3}
Colombians can't quite wrap their accents around our last name. It doesn't work for them, so instead of McQuinn, it's McQueen.
I rather like being referred to as a Queen.

{4}
This week I traveled to Baranquilla with Alice and baby Archie for an outing at PriceSmart . It was nice to travel during the week and not fight the weekend Colombian crowd. Plus there was plenty of cheese available.


{5}
I scored a few surprise items.
Kashi Cereal... not my favorite type of Kashi cereal, but I am not complaining,
Fruit Roll Ups for Matt,
and
a variety box of animal crackers; regular, frosted, and iced.

A nice little reminder of life with after school snacks.

five things

{1} My five things is late this week. We're deep in the heart of Cartagena routine, no holidays or vacations on the horizon. Which makes us that more excited for our upcoming R&R dates.

{2} This week I finished one of my embroidery projects.
An apron...

how fitting for an ama de casa.

{3} When one has a new apron, one must bake.

I found a delish Banana Bread Recipe.
My mom sent some of the best cinnamon back with me, which was perfect for the yummy center cinnamon swirl.


{4} This morning I accidentally washed the DirecTV remote with the sheets. Some of the buttons are working, but I am really hoping the others come around as I don't foresee it being an easy task to replace a remote here.

{5} Last week I got a call from a random number on my cell. After answering, listening to some Spanish {it's really hard to communicate in Spanish over the phone} I explained that I didn't understand and the conversation was over. This number proceeded to call me for the rest of the week. I didn't answer as I didn't feel like replaying the "No entiendo" game over and over again. Finally, this random number sent me a text through WhatsApp {a messaging app} about contacting me about the roll of photos that were taken. The message ended with besos/kisses. Obviously, I knew nothing about a roll of film. I responded, in English, "You have the wrong number."
Haven't heard from random since.

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. 

59

Just when I begin to give up on Cartagena, 

she gives me a sign.

I found a laundry basket this weekend.

That was kinda my highlight.

That and the Grammys.

Some other highlights of the weekend...

getting pictures taken for our third Colombian Visa

{and to think we told people this was a two year commitment}

Mexican food for dinner

{if you think as Colombians, we eat Mexican all the time, you're incorrect}

watched a movie,

{Matt's pick. Taken 2. Instead of dialogue all I heard was violence}

and lots of talk about American food. 

We are both quite exited to see the USA.

59 days for me... 

I have an app on my phone that keeps track of trips and has a countdown. 

I didn't actually count the days. 

Although it's not as if that is something I wouldn't do.

It just makes it much easier to know exactly how many days until I speak English fluently, shop comfortably, eat deliciously, and snuggle Bella ferousiously.

How many days you ask?

59.

five things

{1}
Last weekend at the mall I discovered this.

Guess what we had for breakfast Sunday morning?

{2}
They sell strawberries at the grocery store. After several attempts, we have given up. They are continuously bad. However, there are men outside the grocery store that sell beautiful red ripe strawberries. We finally gave these strawberries a try.

Delish.
After a good scrubbing.

{3}
This is a Vietnamese Roll from our favorite organic cafe.

I could eat these everyday.
I don't.
But I could.

{4}
We are pretty serious about our air conditioner in this apartment. It is on most of the time and it runs so much that it can get a bit chilly, especially when we watch television or movies on the couch. The air conditioner is directly above our couch and blows straight down on us. I have a throw blanket for this situation. Matt didn't. He sent me on a mission to find him a soft throw.
Look what I found.

It's the exact same blanket, except for mine is an American brand {I bought it at HomeGoods and brought it back with me} and his is some Colombian brand.


{5}

Be still my Disney loving heart

deliriously happy

This weekend we finally saw Les Miserables*.

* Matt receives an email once a month at work with films for sale. That's all there is to say about that.

My entire family went on Christmas Day and since then I've been desperate to see the film, especially before the Oscars. Saturday evening, I sat with tears in my eyes and songs on my lips, trying not to blink for fear of missing something. I loved it. I'd still take the musical over the film any day, but I loved.


On Monday I received some Christmas cards.
Yep. Welcome to Colombia.
The one from my grandparents was postmarked December 10th and the one from my Aunt in Colorado was postmarked December 20th.

Regardless of their belated arrival, they made me deliriously happy.

I think mail, especially around Christmas time, will always make me deliriously happy.

five things

{1}
My calendar got a whole lot more cheerful this week. We looked at some dates for Matt's next R&R and I have a ticket home.
Matt's R&R is usually in April & October. This year we've got plans for a Schoenfelder trip to Hawaii in December and a traditional US Christmas, so we moved Octobers trip back to December. Matt wanted to push back his April dates as well, so he didn't agonize over 8 months with no break. He plans to head Stateside for Memorial Day weekend and I will make an early appearance in April.
Even though it's months away, I love having a trip to look forward to.

{2}
I received some new artwork for my birthday and Christmas and my honey finally fulfilled his honey-do. I consider it a bit of an anniversary gift.


{3}
On Tuesday's my morning babysitting gig requires a switch off at pilates. Mama Alice has class at 9 and I have class at 10, so I deliver Archie back to mama at the pilates studio.  Tuesday was our first switcharoo.  I got quite a few double takes by the regulars I see on my pilates walk.

{4}
I recently finished a book called, Friendkeeping. One chapter was titled, Absence Makes the Heart Work Harder.  It discussed the difficulties of maintaining long distance friendships.  My heart grew two sizes larger thinking about the wonderful long distance friendships I have {even though I don't think of them that way... that's a technical term}.  Regardless of being on two separate continents these friendships continue to grow.
I'm a very lucky girl, surrounded {in distance} by amazing, wonderful, kind, and beautiful women.
I wish that for everyone.

{5}
Sometimes when I babysit I feel like I'm 14 again...

especially when I bring a book and my Spanish homework.