Sand

Today was another day at the beach...although we're home now. This morning we enjoyed the sun and sand again.

Ubi was a very sandy dog!

Last night, there was a party on the beach. Our cabin was closest to the beach so we heard the party ALL NIGHT LONG. They had large speakers and annoying music...not fun! The owners of the cabins even called the tourism police who came and told the party animals to turn the music down. About 20 minutes after the police left, the music went back up. That happened severals times. Anyway, as a form of beach justice, this morning one of the trucks that participated in the party was stuck in the sand! It was our morning entertainment watching them attempt to get the truck out. The silver truck was pulling the white truck out...although we weren't sure what their plan was. As we watched, the silver truck just pulled the white truck further and further down the beach. Finally, the white truck was unstuck but he backed himself right back into his own ruts. It was comical!

The silver truck was powerful,
but the white truck was dumb!

Here the geniuses are pushing the truck back into his ruts!

Beach

We spent most of the day Saturday at the beach. We were gone for the weekend so I couldn't post these photos on time, but I took them. It was a wonderful relaxing weekend and even Ubi enjoyed himself!

Ubi can't wai to get in the water!

Ubi has a lifejacket in case he gets
tired while swimming with us.
(see me out there in the water!)

October

Welcome to October, my favorite month! The best month of them all, in my opinion. I decided to start a bit of a series for this month. Some people started doing Project 365 at the beginning of the year where they take a picture each day and blog about it or just post it. I wasn't sure I could commit to a whole year so I didn't start. It's a good thing I didn't because I would have failed miserably...as you can tell by how often I update my blog and how well I'm doing on my Birthday Goals. Anyway, I thought maybe I could handle one month, and it might actually be fun. So, I'm starting Project 31 - October. I'm going to take one (maybe more) picture each day and blog about it or at least post it! Starting today!

Today we are leaving to go to the beach for the weekend. We packed up the car and we're leaving right now. That means my picture for today is a packed car. It also means that I won't have internet for the next two days so the pictures will be posted when I get back. But, I promise to take a picture and share some of our adventure with you. Here is the first in my Project series.

packed car with Ubi watching

Ubi waits in the back while we pack...
he always sits in the car when we're loading it!

Bacon & Gekko

Another video! Bacon found a gekko on our patio the other night. She thought it was a fun interactive toy. She didn't have to "hunt" very much to find it and the gekko was staying very still to try and survive, so she didn't get as excited as she might have. But, she managed to play with it for quite a while before getting bored. If you think the video is long, you should be happy that I didn't use all the footage we had (over 10 minutes). And, if you really think it's too long...stop watching!

Dinner

Last night I made dinner. I don't always cook, especially when we eat a big lunch at the cafeteria, but I did last night. I had chicken that was begging to be cooked, but I didn't feel like working very hard on anything...so, I made Bruschetta Chicken Bake. I got the recipe off a box of stuffing a long time ago and I kept it because it really is tasty and easy. (It involves stuffing so it can't be bad, right?) I thought I'd share a recipe tonight since I haven't done that for a while. If you want something easy, this is it!

Bruschetta Chicken Bake
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. (6 oz.) chicken flavored Stove Top stuffing mix
1/2 cup hot water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place tomatoes with their liquid in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix, hot water, and the garlic; stir just until stuffing mix is moistened. Set aside. Place chicken in 9x13-inch baking dish (I was too lazy to cut the chicken into bite-size pieces so I just put in the chicken breasts whole); sprinkle with the basil and cheese (I also added salt and pepper). Top with the stuffing mixture. Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

There you have it...last night's dinner. And we'll probably eat the leftovers tonight. Sorry I don't have a picture, we ate it too quickly last night and I forgot about photographic evidence. Let me know if you try it and if you like it!

Dentists are a Pain

Remember this list? I barely remember it...it was so long ago. Almost a whole year, in fact. Which should mean that I'm nearing the end of the list - but that is not the case at all. Nope, I'm nearing the end of my year, but not the end of the list. Unfortunately, I kind of gave up on it about 3 months ago (maybe even earlier). Yes, it was just too much imaginary pressure for me. I hate failing, so I just quit instead. Not much better, I know. There are a few things that I've completed. There are a few other things that I've started but won't finish (or I haven't followed through on). And then there are some things that I haven't even thought about starting. It's all so overwhelming. But, I'm going to finish the year and chronicle any last tasks I manage to complete.

On that note, I can now cross off #6 - Go to the Dentist. That's a BIG one! I won't even tell you how many YEARS it's been since I've seen the inside of a dentist's office. I have bad teeth and I'm afraid of dentists and they yell at me for not flossing and they inflict pain...much pain. But, I am an adult and I know that it will only get progressively worse. So, today I bit the bullet (figuratively, of course...that would not be good for my teeth) and I went to see the Dentist. Really, it was more of the dental hygienist that I saw today. My teeth have to be cleaned before the dentist can even determine how bad the damage is. So, I spent what seemed like an eternity clutching the arms of a dentist's chair while she cleaned...and cleaned...and cleaned. And that wasn't even enough. I have to go back for more cleaning in 15 days. My teeth were so bad they couldn't even be cleaned in one session. Oh, and my gums are too sensitive and bleed too much to do it all at once. So, now I have prescription toothpaste and mouthwash to help my inflamed, bloody gums.


But, the point here is that I started. I took the first step towards better teeth. And, it will be a long, long (LONG) journey ahead. I foresee many more appointments. The dentist even suggested I talk to an orthodontist...we'll see about that. And, even though I have a long way to go, I can say I have successfully completed #6 on my list of Things to Do. Oh, and my teeth hurt!


On a separate note, I'm thinking of trying a few video ideas for this blog. I thought I might make some "how to" videos. I just don't know what topics or ideas to do. Does anyone out there (my few...very few...loyal readers) have any ideas? Or, maybe I should start another series like this or this. I need to get this blog going again. No more excuses. So, since there are a few of you out there that read this, let me know what you're interested in.

Lake Gatun

I'm back! I don't know why it's been so long this time...it didn't feel like that long really, until I realized that the last time I updated my blog was JUNE!! Oops, sorry! So, I'm back with another video. Last weekend, we took a trip to Lake Gatun here in Panama. It is the lake that was formed during the building of the Panama Canal in between the locks on the Atlantic and Pacific sides. It's a big lake with lots of islands and lots of wildlife. We went out and about on the lake and saw some of the wildlife and enjoyed swimming, kayaking, and eating. Here's a small video of our day in the jungle! Enjoy...