Week 16

April 17
I went grocery shopping with Maggie again (one of our favorite activities). I had lots to buy to prepare for our guests - Bill's mom, sister, and nephew are coming to visit! During the shopping experience, we saw this...who's ever heard of "Grape Nut Ice Cream"? I wonder what it tastes like? We didn't buy any to find out, maybe next time.
April 18
This is a nightly ritual. Because we don't have a back yard, we let the dog pee in the front "yard". Except, it's really just a strip of grass. I guess it's enough grass for one dog - so we let him out every night before bed.
April 19
Leftover rice is delicious as rice cereal! A little milk, sugar, and cinnamon and you've got a wonderful late-night snack. Yum!
April 20
After all the grocery shopping this week, our fridge is full! We usually don't have a full fridge unless we have visitors coming or a big holiday/event. So, since we have guests arriving soon (and Easter is coming up), our fridge is stuffed!
April 21
I was super sick today! I felt yucky all day (and yesterday). When I remembered that I hadn't taken a picture, I didn't even get out of bed. Instead, Bill took one of me.
April 22
Our guests are here!! How fun to have Bill's family for a visit. We all sat around in the kitchen catching up. Even the animals were enjoying it.
April 23
The first trip with our vistors was a jungle experience day-trip. It's such a fun trip...you ride on a boat, visit the canal, feed the monkeys, eat wonderful food, kayak, swim, and relax. I think everyone had a great time. Here is Bill in the kayak with our friend Erica.

Week 12

March 20
We went to Taco Bell because we like it. They always ask for your name before they take your order. Bill and I get tired of spelling out our names for them in Spanish (because they are so difficult), so we use "easier" names. Bill uses "Aaron" because we thought it was easier for Spanish speakers - and it's his middle name. Apparently, it's not that easy either! They have NEVER spelled it right at Taco Bell...don't they watch Food Network and see Aaron Sanchez obsess about his name? I guess not. We have since decided Bill should use "Jose" or "Pablo" because it would be impossible for them to get those names wrong...right?

March 21
I made dinner and it was super scrumptious. We had fried rice with diced ham and stir-fried teriyaki vegetables. It was almost a healthy meal...and really, really tasty!March 22
We got a surprise day off of work because a former vice-president of Panama died and it was declared a national day of mourning. I spent the day sleeping in and playing games with my friends. It was so much fun! And - I actually one the game for once...that makes it even more fun! Yay! March 23
I got a cookbook for Christmas from my brother and sister-in-law: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2. It has all kinds of famous restaurant recipes and I finally used it to make Cheddar Bay Biscuits, like the ones from Red Lobster. I was happy because the recipe wasn't too difficult and the biscuits were really good. I think I made them too big, so next time I'll use a smaller scoop, but they were very tasty. I LOVE this cookbook and look forward to using it a LOT! March 24
BEFORE: I'm planning to get my hair cut so I took a picture to show how long it was. Not the longest it's been, but long enough to be annoying. I was ready for something different.March 25
AFTER: here is my short haircut. This is the shortest my hair has been in over 10 years. I'm still getting used to it. It's kind of funny, but I think I like it. At least I don't hate it!March 26
Dry season is officially over...I think. It started pouring today...raining so hard you couldn't see across the street. It's hard to take a picture that captures just how hard it was raining, but I tried. After about an hour, the rain suddenly stopped.

Inca Kola and Lomo Saltado

This is just a random post to keep you entertained while I'm on vacation. I'm going to be in Egypt all week so I wrote a few blog posts and scheduled them to upload during the week. This is something I've wanted to post for a few weeks, but I kept getting distracted by my blog series. So, I thought now was a good time to share the pictures and story.

A couple weeks ago, Bill surprised me with a very awesome gift. He bought me Inca Kola. For those of you who don't know, Inca Kola is a Peruvian soft drink that I've been drinking for as long as I can remember. Its a very sweet cola and I think its delicious...mostly because of all the memories it brings back when I drink it (and even just smell it). Bill went down to a big market by the train station to find this nostalgic treat. He didn't even know where he was going and had to ask a friend of mine for directions. He bought 6 glass bottles of Inca Kola and surprised me with them (isn't he a great husband?). They were so good! I decided that a Peruvian drink deserved a Peruvian meal so I made Lomo Saltado, also my favorite. It is a stir-fry of meat, onions, tomatoes, and french fries served over rice. I've made it before and its always been kind of dry, but this time it was great. And, I had the perfect drink to wash it all down!

Thanks, Bill!

Cereal and Bread for Dinner

I wanted something sweet for dinner tonight - and I wanted something easy. I thought about having cereal for dinner - but since I don't have to actually make that, I had to think of something else. Obviously, I didn't look very far because I settled on Rice Cereal. A favorite childhood breakfast...yum! And, with a rice cooker, it was super easy. It was delicious and good...and sweet.

In addition to cereal for dinner tonight, I made bread. That's right - I used my new bread maker to make some dinner rolls. I'm supposed to make rolls for Thanksgiving and I wanted to practice. It was AMAZING! It was the first time I used my bread maker and I love it! I am going to make bread every day (well, maybe not every day - but often). The machine does all the work and I just rolled it and baked it. The smell of fresh baked bread is the smell of happiness! I can't wait to make more bread. I think our Thanksgiving bread will be great!

Half Way

I'm half way through my "30 Days of Food". So far, so good. My blog is a little late tonight because I was trying very hard to finish the Paris Trip post. It took a long time for all the video clips and photos to load so I am up late. I think I've got everything finished up now so I can show you what we had for dinner and go to bed. Tonight we had Red Beans & Rice with Mixed Vegetables on the side. It might not look that appetizing, but it tasted good!