A few pictures as the baby bump progresses. I'm actually 28 weeks now but I am really slacking on the weekly photos - not to mention that the ones I take myself just aren't as nice as these professional ones. Image 1st did a great job - it was fun to play supermodel for a day:)

Once upon a time there was a mango-colored house with overgrown bushes.

With a little bit of paint and a lot of plant control...

...a trip to Home Deopt...

...and some hard work...

...the house was magically transformed into a home with a lovely little flower garden where the Obando family lived happily ever after:)

After 8 months of renovations, our kitchen is finally finished! I am really excited to share these dramatic before and after photos because I think everything turned out even better than I had imagined. All of the work was done by my wonderful father and husband. I really love watching the two of them work together and am so thankful for their patience with me because I can be a little picky when it comes to home decorating.

This is what the kitchen/dining room/family room looked like when we bought the house 8 months ago.

I think it was the same week that we looked at the house that I woke up in the middle of the night with this “vision” of what it could become.

We really had to fight for this house and plow through a bunch of roadblocks to finally close the deal. Roger told me later that he didn’t understand why we didn’t just find another one...but now it looks like this and we LOVE it!

We pretty much kept the same layout of the kitchen but took everything out and started from scratch. We added a dishwasher and a farm sink which required some professional plumbing.

We also added these cabinets to the kitchen and flipped the bar area to the outside. I think it makes a lot more sense this way - not only do we have extra cabinet and counter space but the new bar is the perfect place to set out food during parties...and serve breakfast to little ones down the road:)

I’ll post some more before and after pictures of the outside of the house later this week. Thanks again to Dad and Roger for all their hard work!

This year we got to do something new for Christmas - we spent the 1st half of the day in Colorado and the 2nd half in Nebraska. We got to spend some quality time with my family and Roger got to experience Nebraska - the 15th state he has visited in the 2.5 years he has lived in the US. I think all 50 by age 50 is a good goal for him:)

Baby's stocking:)

After Christmas we spent a few days in Greeley and got to visit some of my closest friends from my high school days. The guys even taught Roger to play their favorite game from back in the day, Russian Ping Pong...some things never change:)

And if that wasn’t enough fun, family, and friends...I got to spend New Years with 3 of my roommates from college who flew out to CO from TX, CA, and OR...what a reunion! My sister and nephews also joined us in the mountains and kept us all entertained.

The boys sledding......and breakdancing

Love and prayers for a wonderful 2012! Check out the baby bump at 23 weeks:)

In my humble opinion, you haven’t fully experienced New York City until you’ve been at Christmas. I was in New York for my 21st birthday and I loved it, but now that I have been at Christmas I can say that the city really comes alive for the holidays...despite the chilly weather. We met my parents, my aunt and uncle from Texas, and our dear friend Nicole in New York for a weekend of fun, fun, fun! We had many “must dos” on our list and got through almost all of them.

(1) The Tree at Rockefeller Center (30,000 lights on that beauty)

(2) The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall...nothing short of spectacular!

(3) Top of the Rock

(4) Holiday Window Shopping (We all agreed that Bergdorf Goodman had the best windows - these pictures don’t do them justice)

Lord and Taylor (cute idea - all based on children’s drawings of Christmas)

Macy’s - baby wanted to visit Santa at Santaland...or at least that’s what I told Roger:)

Henri Bendel (her dress is made out of jelly beans!)

Barney’s New York (I’m not a crazy Lady Gaga fan, but it’s pretty impressive that she has an entire floor of merchandise at Barney’s and a window display made enitrely of HAIR...kind of gross but definitely unique!)

(5) Today Show

(6) Last but not least, Central Park

Until next time...

My parents came to visit us for Thanksgiving and we are so very thankful that they did! They helped finish up some renovation projects we started this summer while they were here...and started planning for the projects they are going to help us with when they come back in January:) We had a lovely turkey dinner on Thursday and were very proud of our ability to multitask in the kitchen (Dad was putting up the backsplash tile while mom and I were cooking). We took a few breaks from projects to visit Fairchild Tropical Gardens and enjoy a beautiful sunset and stone crab in the Keys. Mom and I also did LOTS of shopping. On Black Friday alone we went to 10 stores (Home Depot, Babies R Us, Target, American Signature Furniture, Marshalls, Kohls, Loehmann’s, 9 West, Nordstrom Rack, and Michael’s). Mom and Dad also helped us decorate the house for Christmas...Dad was especially excited about putting lights on palm trees:)

Thanks for all your help Mom and Dad, we love you!

We put up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving because we knew we were going to be busy on Friday...busy shopping that is. Mom and I were on a shopping mission to find a new dining room table so we can move this patio table outside where it belongs. Mission accomplished! It will be here next week so you won't see pictures of this one again until we have a BBQ:) Roger's post turkey napMom and Dad at Fiarchild Tropical Gardens Rainbow Eucalyptus - my favorite thing at FairchildDrinks and Stone Crab in the Keys

We’re were very excited to find out today that baby Obando is a BOY...a little Obandito:) Right now he’s about the size of a sweet potato.

Here are a few pictures of my little baby bump.

2 weeks (I was on my way to the 80’s prom...thus the awesome hair and excess of sequins)

16 weeks

19 weeks (Today)

Watching the sunset in the Keys last weekend. You can’t really see the baby bump because Roger was giving the baby a hi-5 for the picture:)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with my parents yesterday and hope all of you did too. We’re busy decorating and shopping for Christmas today so we’re going to have and easy dinner of leftovers. This dish is probably one of Roger’s top 5, he absolutely loves it. When I first read the recipe I thought it sounded like a strange mix of flavors but let me tell you, it is scrumptious!

Ingredients:

1 can (4.5 oz) sliced mushrooms, drain but reserve liquid

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 1/4 cup ranch dressing

2/3 cup water

3 cups stuffing mix

1/3 cup Crasins

3 cups shredded turkey (best to mix dark and white meat)

1-2-3 Easy:

1.) Melt butter over medium heat. Add celery and onion and saute for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of ranch dressing, water, reserved mushroom liquid, stuffing mix and cranberries.

2.) In a separate bowl, combine turkey, mushrooms and remaining 3/4 cup dressing.

3.) Spread turkey mixture in greased 8-inch backing dish and top with stuffing mix. Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes. Enjoy!

I’ve never been a fan of pumpkin pie, but I love all things pumpkin. Finding this recipe was the answer to my Thanksgiving dessert dilemma because it’s traditional pumpkin (which makes everyone else happy) but the cheesecake give it a different taste/texture (which makes me happy).

Ingredients:

Nabisco Ginger Snap cookies

1/4 cup butter, melted

4 pkg. (8 oz each) cream cheese, room temp

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin

1 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

1-2-3 Easy:

1.) Heat oven to 325 F. Put a ginger snap cookie in each muffin tin and brush with butter.

2.) Beat cream cheese with sugar. Add pumpkin, spices & vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time just until blended. Pour mixture into muffin tins about 3/4 full.

3.) Bake 40 minutes or until center is set. Cool before removing from pan. Refrigerate 4 hours and top with whipped cream before serving.

That’s right, Baby Obando is due on April 28th, 2012:) We are thrilled and looking forward to the many joys of parenthood. I am very thankful that I didn’t experience many of the typical pregnancy symptoms during the first trimester so I have really been able to enjoy the miracle of pregnancy. I had my first ultrasound last week at 12 weeks and got a little emotional when I saw Baby moving around and waving hello. We’re looking forward to finding out if Baby will be an Obandito or Obandita (little boy or little girl) so we can start working on our next home renovation project...the nursery!

There are only 2 seasons in Miami, the hot one and the not-so-hot one. We do have a few weeks the locals refer to as “winter” when you might actually need a coat or scarf but colorful leafs and snowflakes just don’t happen here. Therefore, I find it absolutely necessary to indulge in seasonal cooking! The beginning of the season is always the most exciting because I dig out recipes that I haven’t made for 8 months and it’s like having them for the first time but w/out the worry that I might mess it up:) So...soup season is back and I LOVE soup! I have 5 awesome soup recipes and I would be in heaven if Roger let me name a day for each one and we could eat soup every day for 4 months...but the boy likes his meat and potatoes so we compromise and eat soup once or twice a week during the "not-so-hot" season.

Grandma’s Cheese Soup is probably our favorite soup and could be a year-round meal in places where the humidity is less than 100%.

Ingredients:

2 medium potatoes - peeled and shredded

2 medium carrots - peeled and shredded

2 stalks of celery - finely chopped

1 medium onion - peeled and finely chopped

(I use a mini chopper for all these veggies and it is very fast and sufficient for shredding/chopping)

2 cups of water

1 can of chicken broth

1 cup of milk

1 lb of American cheese cut into 1” cubes (I use Velveeta)

1-2-3 Easy:

(1) Bring water to boil. Add chopped up veggies and cook for about 10 minutes or until largest pieces are soft.

(2) Add milk and chicken broth and bring to a low boil.

(3) Add cheese while stirring. Stir until all the cheese is melted.

(4) Serve and enjoy!!!

Little by little our house is becoming a home. I have so many ideas for projects and decorating but not enough time (or $) to do all of them right now. A few weeks ago I was trying to figure out what to do with these candlesticks that I bought at Pier-1 about 6 years ago. I really like them but I couldn’t figure out where to put them because I only had 2 and they were the same size. I thought about painting them and trying to look for more wooden candlesticks to create a collection but then something else came to mind...lamps. I had one of them sitting on the bedside table in the almost finished guest room and I thought that it was the perfect size, shape, and color for a lamp base. So...off to Home Depot to buy lamp kits.

Roger didn’t really understand my vision but he is such a good sport that when I asked him to drill a hole down the center of the candle stick he went with it. The lamp kits that we bought were a bit confusing but thankfully Roger is a trained electrician so he was able to figure it out. So here is the finished guest room...it ended up having a bit of a ‘Southern California Surfer’ theme to remind me of the years I spent in beautiful San Deigo:)

Today’s blog is dedicated to the time we were away from our new home this summer. I spent a good deal of my summer in Nicaragua, 23 days in “the land of lakes and volcanoes”. Roger could only join me for 6 days since he was working and remodeling the kitchen here in Miami. His niece, Sophia, was born the day before I came home so I was able to visit her in the hospital and get some pictures of her as a sweet newborn.

I spent the the first week in Nicaragua doing the medical mission with my mom in Somoto again (Dad didn’t go this year because he was in charge of the kitchen remodel in Miami). We saw about 850 patients during the 4 days of clinics this year and were able to offer optical, dental, and women’s health like we did last year. The construction team worked on 4 houses this year, one of which was right across from the houses that Roger and Dad built 2 years ago.

In 2009 Roger and Dad built the 2 houses w/out roofs. This is what they look like now:) Afterward, Mom and I went down to San Juan del Sur and spent a night at the beautiful Pelican Eyes Resort (if you remember, they were booked full last year because the crew filming Survivor was there). Even though it was rainy, we had a wonderful time sitting on our balcony, drinking pina coladas, and reading our books. The clouds went away for a few hours and we got to sit by the infinity-edge pool that looks out over the Pacific Ocean. After Mom went home, I met up with some of my friends from work to travel a bit before my next mission experience. My former principal gave me the opportunity to lead a faculty mission trip to Nicaragua with the hopes that next year we will open it up to students. Since the school I work at is run by the Salesian Sisters, we partnered up with the Salesian Sisters in Esteli, Nicaragua at Casa de Menores Sor Maria Romero. We taught English and Arts & Crafts classes, built a sidewalk, repainted the cafeteria, and put on a carnival/field day to celebrate with the kids. I am very excited about the work we were able to accomplish this year and what the trip will become in future years. The school we are partnering with is not only an elementary school for kids who can’t go to public school, but it is also a soup kitchen that feeds 100 children breakfast and lunch every day, and a boarding school for about 10 girls who can’t live with their families. I already have a group of students who are starting to fundraise and plan for next summer’s trip. All I can say is that God is good! His plan for us here in Miami is definitely exceedingly abundantly more than we could have ever imagined (Ephesian 3:20).

Cafeteria Before Cafeteria After

Just a few days after I returned from Nicaragua, we went to Ft. Worth Texas to celebrate a family wedding. It was HOT! but we spent some time at the Stock Yards and had a wonderful time visiting our friends and family.I just love this picture of my grandparents at the wedding! They are so sweet!

My summer vacation has been so full of visitors, trips, projects and other such wonderfulness that I’m going to have to designate at least one blog entry to each of these categories. I guess we’ll start with the house/renovation blog today because we’ve had tons of requests for more pictures. Here goes.

Laura requested a picture of the front of the house. I wanted to wait until we finished repainting and post a dramatic “Before” and “After” but that project has moved down on our list due to priorities and weather. We probably won’t get to paint until November so I’ll give you a little sneak peek now.Since we haven’t been able to paint the house yet, my mom and I decided we needed an instant face-lift for the front of the house...FLOWERS! We thought it would be an easy afternoon project but our quick trip to Home Depot took a little longer when I accidently sliced my wrist with a metal rod in the cart while shopping.

Before During After Apparently my home improvement skills aren’t what I thought they were:( So it was probably better that I went Nicaragua for 3 weeks and left my dad and Roger in charge of the kitchen remodel. We decided to go with Ikea cabinets and we’re very happy with that decision even though it required us to purchases 110 individual boxes and assemble the cabinets at home. Mom and I assembled all the cabinets before we left for Nicaragua and I came home to this transformation...like magic!

Before During After You can’t tell from the pictures, but all the doors and drawers have the ‘slow close’ function which I absolutely love. My dad is coming back soon to install the backsplash which will look something like this. I can’t wait:)

As many of you know, homeownership is something like a treasure hunt and our home has had its fair share of surprising treasures. We discovered that the pipes to our master bathroom were crossed and we had a ‘hot toilet’ (i.e. it filled/flushed with hot water). We also discovered that our laundry closet didn’t have a drain for the washing machine??? Needless to say, we’ve made quick friends with a good plumber:) But one discovery that I was secretly excited about was that the closet in the master bedroom didn’t have any rods to hang clothing on. So...I got to design my own closet. (I didn't take a before picture, but you can imagine nothing but a shelf)

I have to go back to school next week so our renovations are going to slow down quite a bit, but we will continue to post pictures of our house as it evolves because we now know that the projects will NEVER end.

We completed three significant projects this week:)

1) Holes 1 and 2 are filled in. There used to be wall A/C units in both places but the house has had central A/C for 15 years so the units served no purpose. I wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible because they were seriously ugly...and it only makes sense to patch up the wall before you paint it.

2) The house was tented for termites (3 day process). Termites are just a fact of life here here so homes have to be tented every 10 years. I'm pretty sure this house was way past due because we were finding termite wings everywhere.

3) The guest room is just a few accessories short of being ready for guests...I wanted to finish the guest room first so we'd have a place for all of our helpers to stay. We're ready now:)

We're officially homeowners! Actually, it happened a few weeks ago but everything since has been a whirlwind...trying to finish up the school year, starting our renovation projects, and getting ready for our first house guests. Thankfully, our guests bought their first home last year so they were more than understanding of the construction zone. We'll be posting before and after pictures as projects are completed but for now..."Caution...Men at work!"

Yay! Let the renovation begin. We bought a foreclosed fixer-upper in a great neighborhood. Now I fully understand the saying "it's going to get worse before it gets better".Hole #1 Hole #2

Despite the fact that I had to go back to work this week after an 11-day Easter vacation, I had a very fun-filled week. On Thursday night, I ran the Corporate 5K through downtown Miami with about 20 of my colleges from work...and 60,000 other people. The ILS faculty finished 3rd in the education category - go us! I took the picture below when we were lined up at the starting line...only in Miami! Take a close look at my tennis shoes, they will never be that clean again...keep reading!

On Friday/Saturday, I made a 20-hour trip to Disneyworld to chaperone 150 seniors at Grad Nite. Disney invites graduating seniors from the state of Florida to an all-night party at Magic Kingdom - I think there were about 40,000 seniors in the park from 8:00 pm until 4:00 am. It is a pretty sweat deal for the chaperones because you get to fast past every ride and finish the “night” with an all-you-can-eat breakfast at the Crystal Palace.

Today I competed in another 5K, the Merrell Down and Dirty Mud Run. This race was epic! We had to complete 9 military style obstacles along the way and crawl through 2 mud pits. Here we are at the finish line - one before we stopped by the “emergency eye-wash station” and one after. I know what you’re probably asking as you read this and the answer is yes, I am crazy!

And just incase that wasn’t enough fun and adventure for one week, Roger and I have been busy trying to buy a house. We put an offer on a house about a week ago and accepted the bank’s counteroffer last Wednesday. Now we're just trying to finalize everything so we can close within 30 days. The whole process of house hunting/house buying has been pretty stressful so far - please pray that the next 30 days are less stressful and that everything works out with this house.

I’ve been driving past the sign for Fairchild Tropical Gardens at least twice a week for 2 years now but I’ve never made the turn. I’ve even passed it by during special events like the Mango Festival, the Orchid Festival and the Chocolate Festival. But yesterday, I finally made the turn...because they were advertising FREE admission for Earth Day.

As you can see, the gardens are absolutely stunning. I will definitely be going back for all of the festivals next year. And when I do, I will take many more pictures to try to capture all of the natural beauty. Yesterday, I started out taking pictures of things that caught my eye with their bright colors or unique textures, but then something else caught my eye...

Food Trucks! Gourmet food trucks are the biggest craze in Miami right now, and from what I hear, they are all the rage in many other big cities. Yesterday was my first Food Truck experience and I have to say that I am totally sold! It really is amazing the quality (and quantity) of food they can produce from inside that small truck with only 3 people. Yesterday, we sampled some scrumptious shrimp tacos, followed by delectable vietnamese pulled-pork bao, and topped it off with some lip-smacking cookies and cream gelato. Yuuuu-uum!

My parents came to visit us in Miami last week and we had a fabulous time pretending to be tourists with them. Mom got a book a few years ago called “1,000 Things to do Before You Die” (I know, it sounds kind of morbid) so now that she is almost retired she is starting to check things off left and right. I think we were able to check at least 2 new things off of the list this time.

(1) Everglades National Park - Mom didn’t think Shark Valley sounded like much fun (refer to my last blog) so we opted for the airboats at Gator Park. Good times!

Big Gator

Baby Gator

(2) Joe’s Stone Crab - there are only a few restaurants in the book so if one is listed you know it HAS to be good. Joe’s was AMAZING! We learned that the stone crabs are trapped down off the Florida Keys but they only remove one claw and then release the crabs back into the wild. The crab will eventually regenerate a new claw so it is one of the only meats you can eat without killing the animal:) If...or maybe I should say WHEN you go to Joe’s, make sure you go hungry so you have room for plenty of claws, claws, and more claws and the best key lime pie EVER!

We also went to a HEAT game even though it wasn’t on Mom’s list. Roger has become a huge HEAT fan since we moved to Miami and I have to say that the Wade-James-Bosh trio makes for a pretty exciting game. I think I am becoming a fan too because I don’t even put up a fight when Roger makes me watch HEAT games over Dancing With the Stars.

Thanks for showing us around Miami Mom & Dad! We can’t wait for you guys to move here so we can be tourists all the time:) We love you!!!

I’m not sure where the name came from...it’s not a valley...didn’t see any sharks...but maybe Alligator Swamp was just too obvious? After almost 2 years in Florida, I finally made it out to Everglades National Park last weekend to enjoy some natural beauty. Shark Valley is a 15-mile bike loop where one can see gators up close and personal:) In this case, I think a picture is worth more than a thousand words.

(Yep, I took this picture!)

There may or may not have been a rule about 15 feet, but this guy looked friendly.

How many gators can you spot?

So I was feeling pretty hard core after this adventure until I showed up to work on Wednesday and found that one of my colleagues was MIA. Turns out she and her dad went hiking in the Everglades on a trail that ran out. They ended up getting lost out in the swamp and spending the night out there...now THAT is hard core! And believe me, she has the battle wounds to prove it.

Valentine's Day tends to be a pretty quiet affair at our place... especially this year since it fell on a Monday and we both had to work. We usually exchange small gifts and homemade cards (or notes written on post-its) but this year I happened to see this card in a bookstore and realized it was made just for us. I am a high school chemistry teacher...yes, the nightmare of most high school students. The inside of the card says something about great chemistry and experimenting but I'll let you use your imagination there:)

Things have been pretty calm and somewhat uneventful for the past month so I’ve decided to post another recipe blog. One of the most meaningful gifts I was given at my wedding shower was a recipe box filled with recipes from all of the wonderful women in my life. This is one of the recipes that came in the box - thank you Beth! I love to make this with chicken or steak because it’s both salad and grain in one easy dish...which is why it is one of the only recipes I make that breaks my “10 ingredients or less” rule.

The Ingredients

1 pkg (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

1 Tbsp grated onion (I usually cheat here and use onion flakes)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp paprika

1 pkg (6 oz) fresh baby spinach

2 cups sliced cucumbers

1 can mandarin oranges (11 oz)

1/4 cup honey

The Process...easy as 1, 2, 3

1. Cook tortellini according to directions.

2. Meanwhile, for dressing, combine sugar, vinegar & oil in small saucepan. Cook & stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in sesame seeds, onion, salt, paprika, & honey. Set aside.

3. Drain tortellini & rinse w/ cold water. In large bowl, combine tortellini, spinach, cucumbers, and oranges. Pour dressing over salad and serve immediately.

*This recipe serves 4-6 so I usually put 1/2 of the salad mix and 1/2 of the dressing aside for another day before I mix the two of them together...I’m all about getting 2-for-1:)

Roger and I celebrated another wonderful Christmas in Colorado this year and were blessed to be able to visit many of you, our frequent readers:) I think I can say that this was Roger’s favorite CO Christmas yet - the weather was perfect! Just enough snow in the mountains to make for great skiing, sledding, and snowshoeing but the sun was out and the temperatures were in the 20s and 30s. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get Roger on the mountain to try skiing or snowboarding this year but he did try snowshoeing and decided that it was pretty fun. We also had a lot of indoor fun with my nephews baking cookies and building a gingerbread train - Nathaniel wanted it to look just like the box so I tried my best with my amateur skills and equipment...I think it turned pretty well. I also got to spend an afternoon with some of my best girlfriends from high school - these are definitely some of the most beautiful women you will ever meet...inside and out!

One of my favorite parts of our CO vacations is listening to Roger as he tries to describe our adventures to his family in Nicaragua, it definitely makes you realize how strange these activities really are. He described sledding as “sitting on a really big plastic plate and flying down a hill of ice”:) Snowshoeing had something to do with “strapping little boards on your feet” and “wearing 30 shirts and 10 pairs of pants”...hahaha, I can’t even imagine what kind of torture his family thinks I am putting him through!

Snowshoeing

Building our gingerbread train

Sledding

Baking Christmas Cookies

Since getting back to Miami, I have started working on our new project for 2011...buying a house! We really love the neighborhood where we have been living for the past 2 years so we would love to find a great bargain close by. We’re hoping to find something that has plenty of room for guests and family so start planning your Miami vacations for next year and we’ll start working on the family:) All our love and prayers in 2011!!!

It has taken me about a week and a half to recuperate from Thanksgiving vacation...obviously that’s a sign of a great vacation! I spent the weekend before Thanksgiving in San Diego for a 5 year reunion with my best friends/roommates from my days at PLNU. We are now living in 4 different states (basically 4 corners of the country...if you see the USA as a pentagon like I do) so it took a lot of effort and planning to get us all there at the same time. Our time together was a HUGE blessing - these girls mean the world to me!

I was back in Miami for 2 days before Roger and I left for Orlando to spend Thanksgiving with my family. (I think I taught class for those 2 days, but I really don’t remember any of it). We met up with my parents, my brother, my sister’s entire family, and Nicole (pretty much an honorary Fisher by now) for some fun-filled days at Disney. We spent Thursday at Animal Kingdom and Friday at Hollywood Studios. It was such a treat to have the whole family together in our neck of the woods...even if it meant skipping out on turkey dinner:)

Rainforest Cafe

It's tough to be a bug

Toy Story Mania...3 times in one day!

My personal favorite! (Roger’s face is 100% authentic, the rest of us were posing)

Roger and I didn’t have anything planned to celebrate Halloween this year so when some friends invited us to go see the original “Rocky Horror Picture Show” we said sure...not knowing what to expect. I had fun dressing up with the girls and I really enjoyed the “Time Warp” dance-along part of the show. As for the rest of the movie...all I can say is that it was an experience...one we are not likely to repeat. We actually left before the show was over so I didn’t figure out what all of the “goodies” in my bag were for but I really liked the party hats...especially on Roger:)

The props that came in our goodie bags

I love my hubby...such a good sport!

Confession: This is NOT my original recipe! In fact, I don’t think I have any original recipes...so I wouldn’t consider myself to be a “real” cook...but I am really good at following step-by-step directions...probably due to years of labs in college:)

This is one of our FAVORITE dinners and it just happens to be one of those “throw together at the last minute because I have all of the ingredients in the refrigerator” recipes. It is also a great "freezer" recipe - I usually make a double recipe and put half of it in a disposable tin and freeze it for Roger to make when I'm not home.

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I always use leftovers)

1/2 cups sour cream

1 cup salsa

1 can cream of chicken soup (trying to find a “healthier" alternative for this...any ideas?)

2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 cup cheese (I use cheddar, Monterey Jack, or the Mexican blend)

6 flour tortillas, warmed

Procedure (yes, the science word!)

1.) Combine soup, sour cream, salsa, and chili powder in a medium bowl - mix together (I love how this creates delicious orange-spice color...yummm!)

2.) Stir 1 cup of the above mixture into a separate bowl with chicken and cheese. Divide chicken mixture evenly among tortillas

3.) Roll up tortillas and place in a 2-qt baking dish. Top with the remaining sauce mixture (I always add extra cheese on top).

4.) Bake at 350 F for 40 mins.

I love food! But really, who doesn’t? I also truly enjoy cooking...and sharing a meal with the people I love. Our road trip up north this summer took us to the kitchens of 2 incredible cooks and really got me INSPIRED to try some new things in the kitchen. While we were in Washington DC, we visited Julia Child’s kitchen at the Smithsonian. My two take home lessons from Julia (1) Organization!!! (2) Don't forget the drink...it's part of the meal.

On the way home, we spent a lovely day in Savannah and had dinner at Paula Deen’s Lady and Sons Restaurant...hey y’all! My take home lessons from Paula (1) Flavor...which usually involves butter...or something else that isn’t “healthy” (2) Eat dessert...yummmmm!

Fried Green Tomatoes...a first

The best Key Lime Pie...EVER!!!

That said, I have decided to start sharing some of my favorite recipes here on the blog. Now I must confess that some of my own kitchen philosophies don’t necessarily jive with those of Julia and Paula. Not to mention, I don’t exactly have the time, money, or room in my kitchen (or clothing) to cook like them on a daily basis. So I have come up with a list of 5 kitchen compromises...isn’t that what life is all about?

1) Recipes call for 10 ingredients or less...and can all be found in a normal grocery store.

2) Maximum of 3 bowls/pots/pans can be used in the preparation of the dish.

3) Use healthy, fresh ingredients...but allow yourself to indulge every now and then.

4) If it is possible to kill 2 birds with one stone, do it! (i.e. bake extra chicken tonight and use the leftovers in tomorrow’s casserole)

5) Put on some music, pour yourself a drink and have fun!

It was back to work for me this week...but I have to say that I was actually looking forward to it. This will be the first time in my “adult” life that I am going to have the same job for 2 years in a row! Sure does make me feel like a grown-up.

The last few weeks of my summer vacation were jam-packed with activities...so much fun! We went to a Marlins game to celebrate our 2nd Anniversary (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!). We celebrated my birthday with a delicious dinner at The Melting Pot. We took Roger’s nephews to Rapids water park in Palm Beach. And we squeezed in a weekend trip to Texas for my cousin Lauren’s wedding. After all the activity, it feels good to be back in a routine...but I'm already looking forward to next summer, that’s one of the things I LOVE about teaching:)

The adorable newlyweds:)

Our summer travels are coming to a close because I have to go back to work in 4 days...but our summer wouldn’t be compete without a trip to Nicaragua!!! I joined my parents for the 3rd year on a mission trip with their church. Mom and I worked with the medical team again and dad headed up the construction team. One of my favorite memories of this trip was watching Raquel play the piano at church. Two years ago, the team built a house for a beautiful woman named Suyapa - Raquel is her youngest daughter who is now 10 years old. Last year, my dad bought a keyboard for the church (don’t tell him I told you, he likes to be anonymous when it comes to good deeds) and now one of the older kids in the church is teaching some of the younger ones to play piano. Watching Raquel play the piano was just an awesome snapshot of how some of the small things we have been able to do have made a big difference for this little girl and her family.

After the mission trip, Mom, Dad, and I met up with Roger and his family to celebrate his dad’s 69th Birthday! It was a great party...no pinata but we did have a marimba band and plenty of dancing!

We also took a few days to simply enjoy the beauty and culture of Nicaragua. First, we visited the gorgeous Selva Negra, a self-sustaining coffee plantation and resort in the heart of the Nicaraguan rainforest. Everything for the resort is produced on the grounds...even the methane used for cooking is produced naturally!

From there, we traveled via ferry to the beautiful Ometepe Island. Our favorite spot here was Ojo de Agua, basically a pool filled with natural spring water that has healing powers and can make you look and feel 10 years younger. What do you think...did it work?

Finally, we visited the stunning beaches of San Juan del Sur. We tried to make reservations at the Pelican Eyes Resort but they were booked full because the entire Survivor crew is staying there:( (For those of you who don’t know, they are currently filming the next 2 seasons of Survivor in Nicaragua...get ready!) We didn’t get to enjoy the beach much because it was raining, but we did get to enjoy some delicious food and amazing sunsets.

A few more pictures of the kiddos because they’re just so darn cute:)

While we were road tripping up to D.C. and back, we got the chance to stop in Savannah, GA. What a beautiful city!!! So much history and such classic architecture. Not to mention, some of the best food...ever!!! The food was actually so inspirational that it deserves its own blog, but here are some yummy pictures of Savannah for you to savor for now.

Savannah was the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, the woman who founded the Girl Scouts in 1912 - isn’t this troop just the cutest!

Of course we had to stop for ice cream so where better than the famous Leopold’s. Roger ordered the Tutti-Frutti which we found out was so popular in the 1930s and 40s that it used to be shipped all over the US and it may have even inspired the oldies song...sorry, you’ll probably be singing it all day now:)

Somehow the past 2 months have flown by without a single blog post...yikes! I finished my first year of teaching at my "new" job and can definitely say that I love my school and I will be back there for sure next year:) Actually, this is the first time in my adult life that I will be staying at the same job doing the same thing for 2 years in a row..go me!

So...now I am just living up the summer life and enjoying time to read, relax, and travel! Last week Roger and I took a road trip up to Washington DC and back. The main purpose of our trip was to go to Kim and Andy's wedding (Kim and I have been friends since 8th grade and were on the dance team together in high school). My parents met us in DC and we played tourists for a few days before all the wedding activities started. Roger and I had so much fun spending time with family and friends...and each other! We now have pictures in 12 of the 50 states...we're well on our way to our goal of all 50 by our 50th anniversary:)

South Carolina

Virginia

North Carolina

Georgia

With Mrs. Slater

Last weekend I got the chance to try a new sport...Paddle Boarding!!! I had never seen/heard of paddle boarding before moving to Florida but I'm not sure if that means they don't do it in other places or I was just living under a rock? There is a serious lack of surfable waves here (my surf board has become our most expensive piece of artwork), so maybe it is the great South Florida compromise - you still stand up on a board but you have to move yourself? Either way, it was a blast! I am totally addicted - great workout and beautiful scenery up and down the intercoastal. Who's in for next month?

Believe it or not I wasn't posing - I guess this picture shows how much I like to be in control...or just look like it:)

This month we have been celebrating the gift of life! My sister gave birth to baby Asher on March 31st. It worked out perfectly with my spring break at school so I got to spend a week in CO/WY visiting. Just about a week later, Roger's brother welcomed baby Henry to the world, on April 8th (check out that hair!). Since the new babies spent most of our visits sleeping, we got to play with the big brothers: Caleb, Nathaniel, and Christopher. With the 2 new additions our total nephew count is now up to 5 and our niece count stays at 1. I think we're getting a little pressure to even out the score???

Those of you who have been following our blog for a few years may remember a special picture I posted in March of 2008 of something I called “magic water”. I joked about it being a 5-gallon bucket of green beer since I took it on St. Patrick’s day, but sadly, it was a homemade anti-inflammatory for a scabies infection. It was that concoction that initiated the first conversation Roger and I ever had about the tradition of St. Patrick’s day and green beer - mostly focusing on the beer. That said, every year when St. Patty’s day rolls around we have talked about green beer... until this year, when Roger finally got to take part in the tradition!!!

I had to take this picture because it really does look a lot like the picture of the magic water from 2008:) I confess that I really failed at the opportunity to get into the true history of why we celebrate this Irish holiday in the USA and simply said that American’s will enthusiastically adopt any holiday that involves beer and other nonsense like green wigs and leprechauns...honestly, I think that is a more accurate explanation of what the holiday has become. Needless to say, we enjoyed our green beer and the opportunity to go out on the town, but we decided that next year we’ll just put the green food coloring in our own beer at home.

Our other fun activity this week was having our friend Nicole over to celebrate her birthday! Loyal readers will also recognize Nicole from many Nicaragua pictures. Nicole and I had the divine pleasure of meeting each other in the Peace Corps and sharing many once-in-a-lifetime experiences together in Nicaragua. Now that we are both living in South Florida, we continue to get together for what we call Club Social Miami meetings. It might just be one of the most exclusive clubs in South Florida - Nicole, Roger and I are the only members! Our monthly meetings usually involve some sort of culinary adventure paired with a cultural activity...and lots of reminiscing about Peace Corps days. This month, our activity was to run in the Celebrity 5K - Nicole and I had fun taking pictures after we finished the race in front of the Miami skyline.

I am so thankful to have such a handy (and handsome) husband! This week I managed to break the light in our closet TWICE by pulling on the string too hard:( Not only does Roger win the award for being Mr. Fix-it, but I think he also gets the award for being Mr. Patient. I’m not sure if it took more patience to take apart all those teeny tiny parts and put them back together again or to listen to his wife every 15 minutes telling him that they probably sell them at Home Depot for $10 so it would just be easier to go buy a new one. Probably the second.....what a great husband!

We only have one closet in our apartment so it is super-duper full!

This week we celebrated Roger's birthday with a delicious dinner at Benihana. I hadn't been to Benihana since high school and forgot how much fun it is to watch your food being prepared right there in front of you. Roger thought it was very impressive - he thinks that American's are pretty creative because we can make a show out of anything. By the end of the day Roger had heard the birthday song in 3 different languages (Spanish, English, and Japanese) which must be a sign of a good celebration:)

I noticed its been over a month since our last post...really!?! You know what they say, time flies when you're working hard... your husband is on vacation in Nicaragua...you decided to paint the apartment to surprise him...and your camera bites the dust. Okay, maybe thats not what they say but that's what I say to explain our absence.

So here we are, a glorious 4 day weekend (yes, the perks of working at a Catholic school) and I don't even know where to start. We got a new camera for Valentine's day so I will post some pictures of our newly painted apartment (I should probably mention that we have to have a "white" apartment at the end of our lease - do you think the land lord will accept Antique White???). Also, this weekend was the Coconut Grove Arts Festival here in Miami. I remember watching the Miami news last year and thinking to myself, "Next year, I'm there!" and here we are living in next year and the festival is just 2 blocks away from our apartment! So I indulged in this tradition with a few good friends and thought it was a great opportunity to test out the camera...but most artists don't want you to take pictures of their stuff so I don't actually have much to share. I guess thats it for now folks - hope you're all doing well.

As you can see, we're all about the Olympics...finally something worth while to watch on T.V.

Yes, that is what you think it is...frost!!! This is what my car looked like at 7:00 this morning as I was going to work. Now, I know that most of you are suffering temperatures below zero in CO, WY, and NE but let me remind you of something... you have HEAT! We do not have heat in our apartment so we have been making lots of soup and layering on the blankets at night in order to keep warm. Thankfully, we are on the interior of the building so it stays relatively warm, but I never thought it could get this cold in Miami. Did you???

And just so this entry doesn't seem like a complete pity party, I'm going to post a few photos I took on my walk the other day. This is the boat yard about 4 blocks away from our apartment where I like to jog and the view of downtown Miami from there. Despite all the cold, it is hard to have a bad day with so much to remind me of God's amazing beauty!

Roger and I just got home from a wonderful week in Colorado where we celebrated our second White Christmas together! We had lots of holiday fun with my family which included making a gingerbread house with my nephews and a day of sledding. I told Roger that sledding is the first step to skiing so hopefully next year he will give it a try - I only got in one good day of skiing because it was just too cold. I am going to try to get in a few more days later in the season, spring skiing is my favorite, snow AND sunshine! I also got to spend a night with some of my best girl friends from junior high and high school - it was so fun to catch up and enjoy the blessings of their friendships. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you a very happy 2010!!!

Our new pajama pants

Construction (and consumption) of the Gingerbread House

The finished product

Sledding - those saucers were seriously fast!

Friends Forever

It’s official, we are moving to Miami in just 15 days! We feel very blessed because God has already provided me with a job teaching chemistry at an excellent private Catholic high school starting August 10th (what a great birthday present!!!). The entire moving process is actually going to take us about 1 ½ months since it involves many “stops” along the way to collect all of our belongings and get them in 1 location. We are excited about the move and ask for your payers as we have many more decisions and details to come.

Since these are our final days in Nicaragua, we are trying to squeeze in every last bit of fun, family, and friends that we can. Here’s a little video I put together of a few of our fun activities (I just discovered iMovie – so great!!!).

P.S. For those of you wondering about the song, it is one of our favorite salsa songs that I decided was a good fit for a video of our adventures since the words say “Give me your hand, give me an opportunity, you won’t regret it, and we’ll walk together into eternity”. I plan most of our adventures and Roger goes along with them, usually apprehensive at first but in the end he enjoys himself. I often find myself saying things like this song and reminding Roger that he vowed to be with me and my crazy ideas forever:)

This past weekend Roger and I visited Ometepe Island – one of Nicaragua’s most beautiful natural treasures (it was actually in the running for one of the New 7 Wonders of the World – but was outvoted by Machu Pichu, The Great Wall, The Taj Mahal, etc.). Ometepe is an island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua (the lake that is nearly the size of Puerto Rico and accounts for almost 10% of Nicaraguan landmass) and is home to TWO volcanoes. The island is often called “Fire and Water” since one of the volcanoes, Maderas, is an extinct volcano whose crater is now filled by a small lagoon, while the other volcano, Concepcion, is active and could potentially erupt any day now. We stayed at a quaint little hotel on the water and had a great view of the volcano and the sunset. I couldn’t possibly visit the island without hiking one of the volcanoes so I convinced Roger to do it with me (it only took a few days, but unfortunately I don’t think he’s a fan). The hike up Volcan Concepcion was probably one of the most intense hikes I have ever done – basically 3 hours straight uphill (about 5 kilometers walking distance but 1000 meters in altitude) and an hour and a half fighting gravity on the way back down – my quads are still killing me and it’s been 4 days!!! The view and the experience were amazing – avid hikers, Nicaragua awaits you:)

Concepcion "welcoming" us before our hike

Roger's first (and probably only) hike

We made it!!!

We are having a hard time adjusting back into “work-mode” this week after an incredibly fun and relaxing Spring Break in Florida with my parents. I think we had the perfect balance of fun “tourist” activities, relaxing “beach bum” time, and delicious food! We spent most of our time in and around South Beach where we stayed in a classic Art Deco hotel, went on a Duck tour, visited the famous Vizcaya mansion, and partied at the legendary Mango’s Café nightclub. We also spent a few days in Key West where we ate Cheeseburgers in Paradise at Jimmy Buffet’s Original Margaritaville and watched the beautiful sunset. We even squeezed in a little time to check out some areas where we would like to live next year and visit Roger’s 2 brothers who also live in that area. Thanks Dad and Mom – what a great trip!!!

Miami Skyline

Art Deco Hotel

Margaritaville

Key West Sunset

Mom and Dad at Mango's

Vizcaya Mansion

Roger with his brothers and nephew

We took both of these picture today – as extreme as they might seem, it was just an average day in Nicaragua:)

The line for the bank (We also made a trip to the bank today - we were in line at 8:10, 20 minutes before it opened, and we were the 9th customer)

Hazard? (Roger took this picture while I was driving – I couldn’t even get annoyed at how slow the man was driving because I was laughing so hard)

Bottom line: In order to survive in Nicaragua, one should know that everything is going to take longer than planned and you MUST have a sense of humor.

Roger and I each made one New Year’s Resolution this year and I am proud to say that 3 months into 2009, we are both sticking to them. Actually, I have already completed mine and Roger is well on his way.

Roger’s Resolution: Learn English

He is studying at home whenever he has time and has just started the 2nd of 3 levels with the Rosetta Stone program. I’d say that he is right on track to be speaking when we move to FL in June/July.

Audra’s Resolution: Run a ½ Marathon

I have to admit that I have never been a runner, I don’t have a runner’s body, and I never thought I could run more than a 10K. However, as we say in Spanish, this year “se me pego las ganas” (the desire hit me). I have been training since January and have logged a total of 160 miles, running 4 days a week (probably not that impressive for “real” runners, but my shoes are totally shot so I think that’s pretty hard core).

Today, I finished the ½ marathon! I ran from Jinotega to San Rafael del Norte (see pictures below). There were about 100 runners total, half Nicaraguan and half foreigners. It is a great accomplishment and something I never imagined doing, especially in Nicaragua. I feel super strong for having done it and totally relied on my Stef Strong bracelet the extra oomph to get me up the hills. I can’t say if I will do it again – I definitely need to let my body rest for a while because everything hurts.

Around Mile 5 (I am actually running backwards because I "flew" past Roger as he was trying to take the picture)

Jinotega

Scenery along the way

Almost there

The finish line

San Rafael del Norte

We're Stef Strong (they say "Kickin Cancer...Cancer:0 Stef:1...Bring it on!"

We had two birthday celebrations at our house this past week - Roger’s on Wednesday and Kenneth’s on Saturday. We celebrated Roger’s birthday with a mini-shopping spree (we each bought 1 new shirt) and dinner at our favorite restaurant. Kenneth’s celebration, however, was a full-blown Power Rangers piñata (Piñata is the word used here for a kid’s birthday party – obviously you MUST have an actual piñata).

In Nicaraguan culture, extreme chaos and loud noise are signs of a really great party. By those standards, Kenneth had an AWESOME party! We invited all the cousins and neighborhood friends, which turned out to be about 25 kids, and per Nicaraguan custom they each came accompanied by at least one adult. We had a full house!

We played some traditional games like Hot Potato and Musical Chairs as well as my personal favorite, the boys vs. girls dance-off. Since there were so many kiddos, we had 2 piñatas so that everybody got a chance to “dance the piñata” – all this as a live Marimba band played in the background (live music = VERY loud). It was a BLAST!

And just to clear my conscience, after loading all the kids up on soda, cake, ice cream and the 5+ pounds of candy we put into the piñatas, I sent each kid home with a new toothbrush in their goodie bag – what can I say, I have to take advantage of every teachable moment☺

Kenneth and Nicole stuffing the piñatas

Musical Chairs

Boys Dance-off

Girls Dance-off

“Dancing” the piñata

The Marimba Band

The friends singing “Las Mananitas”

Make a wish

The Men (they had a completely different party)

In our new shirts☺

I had the chance to be a part of something truly beautiful today; I chaperoned a group of 20 students from my school on an Operation Smile mission. You may remember that a few months back I wrote a blog about Roger and I participating in a walk/run fundraiser for Operation Smile (if not, go back to our September 2008 blogs or visit their website at www.operationsmile.com to find out more about this wonderful non-profit organization that helps children with cleft lip and/or cleft palate).

It is hard to find the words to express just how moving this experience was. In fact, I am not even going to try because I feel like the pictures will tell a better story…and quite possible move you too.

Esteban: 5 months old (Before)

Esteban (After - the stitches will dissolve with time leaving behind only a thin scar)

Xiomara: 2 years old (Before)

Sara Maria: 5 months old (Before)

* I didn’t get “after” pictures of Xiomara and Sara because we had to leave before they came out of surgery, but I can assure you that it was a beautiful transformation.

Roger and I finally got a chance to get away this weekend, so we celebrated our first 6 months of marriage:) Friday, we went out to dinner at a restaurant called “Cueva del Buzo” or “The Scuba Diver’s Cave”. Apparently, the owner goes diving daily and brings back the day’s catch for dinner – it was absolutely delicious!

On Sunday, we invited our neighbors to join us for a truly authentic Nicaraguan experience, “La Jugada del Toro” or “The Bull Game”. I would say this pastime is closely related to traditional bull riding at an all-American rodeo –i.e. men riding bucking bulls. However, the Nicaraguan concept is slightly different because there are an additional 20-40 men inside the ring trying to dodge the bull and rider (if he’s still on). These additional men taunt the bull and then try to escape if the bull starts charging…and if the bull doesn’t have enough spunk, he is shocked with an electric probe to really get him going. One might wonder, “Who in their right mind would get inside a bull ring to take on a wild bull?”…did I forget to mention that these men are usually quite inebriated? As you can imagine, despite the potential danger, the whole ordeal is very entertaining and makes for a pretty good show…especially when the entrance fee is only $1.00.

The Box Office: $1 Tickets

Part 1: Riding the bull

Part 2: Taunting the bull

Is this guy for real?

Don't spill your beer!

Taking a break between bulls

Vacation was wonderful while it lasted, but now we’re back to work and getting back into our “married life” routine. Some of you may be wondering if we are still in Nicaragua as our blog has become much less…shall we say extreme?...over the past few months. The tales of unpredictable bus travels and midnight snake killings have become a thing of the past…and I am very much okay with that. The truth is that we are, in fact, still in Nicaragua, but we are both working about 50 hours a week – I am substitute teaching daily, giving conversational English classes on Saturdays, and doing private chemistry tutoring in the “down” time while Roger is working four 12-hour shifts a week as a mechanic for a local plastic manufacturer – so I guess we just haven’t had much time for adventure lately. So while we work on our next extreme story, here are a few of my favorite pictures from the past 19 months in Nicaragua…the simple beauty in daily life.

Paisaje

Chavalas

Water

Abuelita

Laundry

Relax

Transportation

Day's End

We hope you all enjoyed the holidays and are off to a great start in 2009! We had a wonderful time in Colorado and were blessed to be able to spend lots of quality time with family and friends. Roger truly enjoyed his first "gringa" Christmas - he was thrilled with the tradition of stockings and fascinated by the sixty pound turkey (it was really only 24 pounds, but when he was talking to his family on the phone he told them it must be at least 60).

In addition to all our get-togethers, I was able to get in 4 days of skiing at Winter Park and play some Wii with my sister and nephews (Dancing With The Starts was my favorite). Roger wasn't quite ready to tackle skiing - a seriously foreign sport that involves LOTS of gear and way too many hours outside in the cold - so he stayed at the cabin playing with his new Christmas present, the Rosetta Stone for English He also enjoyed playing Wii with Caleb and Nathaniel and pool with my dad.

We are en route to Nicaragua now and are stopping in Miami for the night to visit Roger's brothers. All our love and prayers for an outstanding New Year.

I am in the USA! And Roger is coming next Wednesday, just in time for us to celebrate a White Christmas in Colorado with my family. I came early to make a stop in Texas for my good friend, Jessi Carrico's, wedding. Jessi and I grew up dancing together and were known as "Pinky and The Brain" on our high school dance team. Jessi married Phil Dieke, a truly wonderful man who may be the only person who can draw a bigger crowd on the dance floor than Jessi. We wish Jessi and Phil a lifetime of love, happiness, and dancing. I am going to be in Texas with my parents for a few more days visiting family in Dallas and Austin, a real blessing at this time of year. Roger and I wish you all a Merry Christmas full of the love and joy that God showed us through his son. Blessings!