Week 43

October 23
Maggie came over for dinner. It was fun to chat with her one last time before she leaves me for good! We ordered pizza and it was really tasty.

October 24
We didn't watch the Amazing Race on Sunday night, so Abby came over to watch it tonight. It was fun to get caught up since we missed last week. Such a fun show and I love that Abby comes over to watch it with us!

October 25
I love penguins...they are my new favorite animal. Bill got me a penguin pillow pet for my birthday - isn't it cute? I don't have a name for her yet.

October 26
Today, at work, the kids trick-or-treated in the building. In honor of that, I wore my Halloween socks. We had a bunch of kids and gave away a bunch of candy. I think they had fun.

October 27
Another one of my birthday presents...I love Reese's. And this really smells like chocolate and peanut butter (with just a hint of coffee too, which smells delicious). I love it!

October 28
We're planning a surprise party for Abby next week and everything will be PURPLE. Here are some of the silly gifts we got for her. So much purple...she will love it!

October 29
This is another late night picture - when I'm about to go to bed and I realize I haven't taken one yet. Bill and the animals are coming up the stairs for bed - isn't it thrilling?!?!

Week 42

October 16
On our way back to Panama, we had a 12-hour layover in Newark. Instead of sleep all day in the airport, we went in to New York City to see some sights. We were really tired from our overnight flight, but we were able to take a tour bus around and see the highlights. It was fun!

October 17
We bought a lot of goodies in the US. My favorite candy, Peanut Butter M&Ms, were available in snack sizes because of Halloween so I bought a bunch. The bag in this picture is from the pie we bought at Shari's. It was a delicious pie!

October 18
Happy Birthday to me! I celebrated my birthday before we left Oregon and again when my co-workers threw me a surprise party so I didn't really do anything on the evening of my birthday (other than eat from my favorite restaurant here). Instead, I went to Bible Study and helped prepare for the women's retreat. It was a good birthday.

October 19
Bill is sick. Too much vacationing and changing temperatures! He started his last two classes this week but he's been very sick.

October 20
Coming back from vacation is so much work. My desk is a mess and it bothers me that I don't have time to clean it up. The upcoming weeks look just as busy so I'm afraid my desk won't get cleaned off for a while! Uggh!

October 21
We had our Women's Retreat this weekend. It was fun to share a room with Abby, Amber and Jen. We had a really good time!

October 22
The hotel where we had our retreat was really nice...including a beautiful pool! What a fun time with great friends!

Week 41

October 9
While we were in the US, we spent a lot of time shopping. (There are many things you miss from America when you live in a foreign country.) We also had shopping lists from several of our friends for things to bring back. We were out all day and went to many fun stores - but I forgot to take pictures. The only time I took pictures was in Walmart - of the Christmas blow-up lawn decorations (for a friend in Panama). At least this picture represents the vast randomness of our shopping list...it was so fun!

October 10
Much of my focus during a vacation to the US is on food...and enjoying the restaurants I can't go to when I'm gone. So, we ate out everyday - sometimes twice a day. Here is our second visit to Shari's (a diner-type chain). I love Shari's!! And, what a beautiful Oregon fall day it was!!

October 11
Another day, another restaurant! Dinner at Red Lobster, if only for the CHEDDAR BAY BISCUITS!! I ate so many biscuits and they were delicious. The other food was good too - but those biscuits are amazing!!

October 12
Tonight we went downtown to the Old Spaghetti Factory on the river. It was dark so we couldn't really see the river, but it's such a fun restaurant. We had one of the back rooms almost to ourselves. And, delicious food!

October 13
This is my future kitchen...I hope. Except, we're going to completely remodel it. So, this is the "before" shot and someday I hope to show you the "after" shot. We spent three hours at the house and I forgot to take a picture of the outside. Oh well! This is inside the house we hope to buy!

October 14
Yes, another restaurant. This time we stayed home and made the food come to us!! Bellagio's Pizza is what we served at our wedding and it is still one of our favorites. The chicken pesto pizza is so good. Again, I was so excited to eat that I didn't take a picture until the end...these are the leftovers!

October 15
Watching the Oregon game...in the airport. We bought tickets to go to this game (it was supposed to be in the afternoon of the day we were scheduled to leave Oregon) but then the kick-off time changed and we couldn't go (because it conflicted with our flight). Sadly, we were only able to watch part of it in the airport...and we were wishing we could have been in the stands!

Week 40

October 2
The road construction near our house includes a new traffic circle. Apparently people don't know how to use it because they've recently put up instructions on how to enter the circle - incoming traffic has to yield. Hopefully this will help the traffic, but we aren't holding our breath.

October 3
Bacon doesn't like it when Ubi goes outside. She whines at the front door while he's gone. And when he starts to come back, she hides next to the door to jump out and scare him.

October 4
I went to the airport with Bill again today while he did his mail run. It's fun to sit on the tarmac and see everything that goes on. You really feel like you're part of the action!

October 5
I was able to take a special tour of the locks on the Panama Canal. We even crossed over the locks and visited the control booth. It was really cool! We watched as large container ships passed by - we were so close to the action! The picture below shows we were between the two lanes of locks on the canal - not many people get to do that!

October 6
Here is another monthly picture of me. I'm taking it early this month because we leave for vacation tomorrow!! I can't wait!

October 7
We traveled all day! It was an exhausting trip, but we finally made it. In Houston, we changed terminals and got to ride on the little train - that was fun. In our new terminal, there was a Chili's restaurant and I was beyond excited to get a chance to eat at Chili's. However, when we got there it was closed...at 7:00 PM!! I was very, very sad. No Chili's for me on this trip!

October 8
Our first day in America. It was a beautiful day! We must have brought the sunshine with us. It was so nice that we put the top down on Bill's car and drove around. What a lovely day!!

Week 39

September 25
Laundry day! Since we didn't have water last weekend, I didn't get much done...so I had a LOT to do this weekend. Got it all washed, folded, and put away in one day...yay me!

September 26
A quick trip to the grocery store for cat food. Sometimes it's hard to resist the candy they tempt you with at the check-out. We didn't buy anything, but it all looks so pretty!

September 27
Big day for Bill! He wasn't exactly thrilled about having his picture taken...but I did ask and he did say yes. He doesn't remember any of that, but I do.

September 28
Ubi is so good at "sad, puppy dog eyes". He can make you feel guilty by just looking at you. He is such a cute dog!!

September 29
I had to go to a reception for work and I wore a skirt. People from my office were shocked and claimed I've never worn a skirt (which is not true, they just don't remember). So, here's proof that I did (for the next time they forget)!

September 30
Another block party! Our neighbor had another wonderful BBQ. There was so much delicious food and I ate way too much of it. It was a good day of eating and meeting the new neighbors.

October 1
We went to a local pizzeria for lunch. It was reminiscent of our time in Italy...but the pizza wasn't as good. I think it's the cheese - I just don't like the local cheese. It was a nice lunch...especially the Pepsi in bottles!