9.28.2008

New Rings

We recently had our wedding rings permanently borrowed from us...(not here in Guatemala ironically enough) so we had been planning on finding new ones. James went to Lake Atitlan (where we went for our anniversary) with our friend Noah to do the zip line tour again. While he was there he found us some replacements...from Jade! Kinda hard to miss the bold statement that we're both spoken for! and a nice reminder we lived here.

9.25.2008

Syke....

I'm heartbroken. Well not really heartbroken, but sad. We learned the hard way how buying a house goes, and then it didn't work out. We got out of the contract. We haven't been through this before, so we didn't understand that if you want to buy a fixer upper, you have to fix it up before you can actually buy it. (some of the things anyways) What great sense! I mean, who's going to fix a house they haven't bought yet. I know it's not that clear cut, but our impressions were wrong and I guess it was good to learn before we got in over our heads. *Advice* Don't try buying a house from another country.

9.17.2008

Mullet no more

Lucas was starting to get a little bit of a mullet, his hair came in longer in the back than in the front....so we had to trim it. Here he is on the day of his first hair cut, before pic (notice the new top teeth):And let me explain the snail. Ever find stuff in your produce? We once found a spider in the grapes, but this was the biggest surprise. I put the broccoli in the fridge on saturday and pulled it out on sunday to use...but as I was cutting it up, I found this snail! Freaked me out a little...

I have a friend here that just had a baby and I wanted to paint this for her nursery. Classic Winnie the Pooh was the theme, and here's a pillow from it. Her son's name is Paolo, the spanish version of Paul. My favorite letters are the A and the L...isnt' it cute? I thought so.


I am still working on the roses, I am painting them from the top and they are looking good so far. Roses are HARD to paint though...so little by little I'll get it done.

9.09.2008

~100~ well no, just ~50~

A few friends have on their blog 100 things about them. I think I'll have fun writing this, so here's mine:

1. I went to the senior prom with James when I was 15.
2. I fell off my bike and broke my front tooth when I was little.
3. My favorite scent is mandarin vanilla lotion from sears.
4. I can't swim well with my face in the water unless I'm holding my nose.
5. I hate to be cold.
6. I have two brothers.
7. I've always wanted a sister.
8. I started singing in the Texas Girls Choir when I was in elementary school.
9. My favorite drink is hot chocolate.
10. I like to eat breakfast for dinner.
11. I really, really like the Harry Potter books.
12. I can sew pretty good.
13. I was co-captain of my high school soccer team with my now sister-in-law.
14. She and I sewed our own spandex superhero halloween costumes with capes......and wore them to school.
15. I love horses.
16. I bought a guitar to learn, but my fingers hurt on the steel strings so I took up the flute instead.
17. I was born in Creve Coure, MO.
18. I found Cobin's name on a liscense plate.
19. I don't really like to cook, just bake.
20. I lived with my grandmother, Gama, my first year of college.
21. I like to run.
22. I think boxing is the epitome of stupidity.
23. Little adobe houses fascinate me.
24. I think I'm claustrophobic.
25. I think african americans have the most adorable babies.
26. I have only been given one speeding ticket to my husbands 12 or so.
27. I missed one of my best friend's weddings to come to Guatemala. ) :
28. If I watch a suspenseful/scary movie, I cover my eyes during the scary music that tells you something's coming.
29. I really like family traditions.
30. I think I only have one memory before 1st grade.
31. My parents let me paint my bedroom neptune: a bright aqua color, which it still is.
32. I like power yoga.
33. I miss Forest Park in St. Louis.
34. My second toe on my left foot is a tad longer than my big toe, on my right they're even.
35. In high school during one summer I watched All My Children everyday.
36. The only person I've ever cussed out was my high school sweetheart, now my husband.
37. My brother and I used to take Taekwando classes together.
38. I've never liked playing hide and seek.
39. I got engaged to James while I was dating someone else.
40. I'll tell you anything I think if you ask me to, I'm usually too honest.
41. I think a cubic zirconia looks better than a diamond and costs way less. (james bought me diamonds for my engagement ring anyway)
42. I like action movies.
43. My first cell phone had a translucent neon green cover.
44. I think fleas could've been one of the seven plagues.
45. I'm planning on homeschooling.
46. I want to name a girl we have Zoey, but James refuses.
45. My teddy bear's name is Ted. (yes, I still have him somewhere)
46. I'm a tshirt and jeans girl all the way.
47. I've never really liked to shop.
48. I love all holiday decorations.
49. I can't wait to decorate my own home!
50. I love my husband more than anyone on this earth.

Ok, I give up. Fifty was hard enough to do, props to those who can or have done the hundred. Interesting thinking back on some of these that made me laugh and some that made me cry. Some are just how I am. I regret a few things, but none of these!

Choco-Bananas

We splurge on treats once a week. Our treat night is on monday nights after FHE. One thing all the ice cream vendors with their little push freezers have that I LOVE is a chocolate covered banana. I found a chocolate dip specifically for it, but I think any form of chocolate will work. All you do is put peeled bananas with a fork stuck in them into the freezer 12-24 hours beforehand. We only put them in about 12 hours beforehand so they weren't too hard to eat, but still cold enough to chill the chocolate for a coating. Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler. Dip the banana (or half banana) in the chocolate, let it cool and dip it twice if you like....we did. I didn't think about taking pictures, we were all too busy eating them, but they were great!

9.07.2008

In the market...

We've been looking at houses online and we think we've found one....We're so excited to have our own house. Maryland Heights Ward: we're coming home! So if anyone wants to help us move all of our stuff from my grandmother's house, we'll need it around mid november... ( :

9.01.2008

Housewife Progress

I've learned alot about cooking. While we had a maid, she loved to cook, and she didn't have to pay for it... so I learned from her how to cook some things using fresh produce from the market. I've never before seen the death of a chicken turn into a chicken soup, but I have now! I can also make juices of all kinds, spaghetti sauces, salsas for chips or to go over meats, and TORTILLAS. Down here people eat tortillas with EVERY meal, not kidding. Corn tortillas, which we've never been a fan of. So, Monnie taught me how to make a flour tortilla which we do on occasion, not every meal. Anyone who wants to learn how, I can teach you! I'm also a fan of the newly aquired skill of making chow-main. Now that I like the foods here, I have more motivation to have a bigger, better garden than I did last year so I can continue with the fresh stuff and can for future use.

As far as teaching my children, I've been teaching Cobin the alphabet, colors, and shapes with a homemade flashcard like notebook. Hes doing so good, we're also working on various songs in english and spanish. The teacher in me made out a two step lesson plan for every day this week so I don't forget.

Lastly, I'm glad that we've lived here for the knowledge of how to live without things like electricity and washing machines and Target. Some people don't have a refrigerator...I'm glad for the knowledge, but also grateful that I don't have to live without my conveniences. I now know how to wash clothes by hand and hang dry them. I might sound less intelligent saying that, but to really get them clean and dry in a timely manner (ie, before the afternoon rains come) there are guidelines I've learned. Even now that I have a dryer, I still mostly hang dry everything and plan on continuing to do so when I return to the states because its absolutely free and just requires a little bit of planning. I feel bad for all the times I've been too lazy to fold clothes right after they were done and just popped them back in the dryer so I didn't have to iron them....