POD "Here Comes the Sun"

Here comes the sun creeping over our neighbor's house. It gets out of bed a bit late here in Spain; 8:25am and still no daylight. I cannot believe today is the day we leave for our London/Copenhagen trip! Six days of uninterrupted time with the hubster. Well, I guess the Broncos/49ers game on Sunday night COULD count as interrupted time because I know how he gets when he's watching one of his "teams." :) Our vaca weather is predicted to be cold and rainy... but we will be enjoying it regardless! Atleast for today... there will be SUN!

After we get back I will, of course, have LOTS of photos to share. OOOOH! And then my mum will be arriving shortly after. WOW! LIFE IS GREAT!

POD "An Eye for Cacti"

Today's POD is just a simple shot of a simple plant. But, Oh Cacti, how do love thee? Let me count thy ways...

POD "Spotty Skies"

The POD for this morning is the strange, but beautiful sky. Some mornings when I walk the pups I sleeply push through it, just to get the job done. Other mornings, when I've had time for a cup or two of coffee PRIOR to the walk, I can greater appreciate the peace, quiet, and fresh air. This morning I noticed the crazy sky! I had to run in and get my camera when I got back home so that I could share.

What a great start to the day! If only that black cat hadn't arched its back in front of us on the sidewalk and refused to move. Probably not a good sign? Good thing I'm not too superstitious!

POD "That's Not a Taco"

When you can't find it but you gotta have it... make it yourself!

MMMMMMM Mexican Taco Pizza!!! :)

The Perfect Fall Morning

What's your idea of the perfect fall morning? Growing up in New England, mine would have to include a crisp hike surrounded by the brilliant reds, oranges and yellows of autumn. It would be a sunny day, but you'd still have to dress warm to ward off the chill. The hike would most CERTAINLY have to be followed by either a steaming hazelnut Dunkin Donuts coffee or a pumpkin latte (if I felt like splurging on Starbucks). AHHHH the smell of fall in New England: that unbeatable combination of brown leaves and a burning woodstove. It just might be what has always made fall my favorite season.

For this reason, I was a bit worried I'd DEARLY miss fall this year. Of course, living in Spain we don't get the colors, the smells OR the Dunkins (for shame!). What would I do without fall as I know it? Well, I didn't know until this morning. :) Recently, my spanish partner brought me to a small, local bar that serves eggs for breakfast (a rare treat in Southern Spain.) I couldn't wait to introduce Matty to the delicious egg, ham and cheese guatanga (sandwich)! We were even able to enjoy our breakfast at an outside table; an interesting start to our fall morning considering it's LATE October! (Where's the chill?! I should be cold!) After breakfast we took the pups to a newly found section of pine forest along the ocean for some exploring. They were MORE than excited. :) The temperature was perfect, and the forest was quiet, but the BEST part of our morning was yet to come. I hoped the beach would be quiet so the dogs could get some desperately needed off-leash time, but what we found... went miles beyond this.

After seeing the bustling beaches all summer, I FORGOT how quiet and peaceful the beaches can be. You see, fall may bring cider and pumpkins and colors in New England, but fall here brings mild weather and miles of uncombed, untouched beaches just waiting to be enjoyed. QUE FANTASTICO! The tide was SO low and this particular section of the beach had rocks that seemed to go on forever! Matt reverted back to childhood, hopping from tidepool to tidepool seeing what critters he could "catch," and the dogs (who've waited all summer to be once again leash-free) were in heaven. And so, the four of us, together, spent the morning slipping on green rocks and searching for sea life. And THAT is a fall morning I will never forget. :)

I must always remember to appreciate where I live for what it IS instead of wishing for something else. Sadly, I find far too many Americans living on the base here that are always able to talk about what Spain doesn't have and never able to see what it does.
"If we were home in the states we could..."
"If only we were back in the US where we could..."
"I miss America, because there you can..."

The next time you find yourself saying something like the above, getting all poo-poo on where you're living and feeling sorry for yourself: STOP! Rather than bumming about the differences, try appreciating them!

This soapbox moment was brought to you by... ;)

Matt and I just had one of the most amazing mornings we've had in SUCH a long time and we were 15 minutes from our home. We didn't have to go on some special vacation. We didn't have to spend any money. We just took the dogs, got in the car, and went. :) I took lots of photos, so I could share it all with you! Enjoy...

Where the H E Double Hockey Sticks Have I Been?!

I know, I know. It's been MUCH, MUCH too long since I've posted. MUCH. If it helps to ease your frustrations, atleast know that I have been extremely busy! How busy? Well, perhaps I'll use this post as a crazily simplified explanation!

I last left off with you all when our friends were visiting from the United States. Their visit was lots of fun and we did SO many things in such a short amount of time! (You can find ALL of the photos posted in my facebook albums, but I'll share a few here!) We hung out on the beautiful Southern Spain beaches and explored the Iberian peninsula's (all of Portugal and Spain) most complete Roman Ruins.
We shopped at the Jerez gypsy market, had lunch at a gorgeous Moroccan restaurant in a quaint pueblo blanco.
We spent a whole day exploring amazing Sevilla!
We flew to Barcelona, watched an FC Barcelona soccer game and enjoyed what is now one my FAVORITE cities.

And lastly, we took the train to Madrid and spent one evening there before our friends had to catch a flight back home. Matt and I even managed to squeeze in the first floor of the famous Prado art museum before our flight back home.
AND that was all in just one week! When we got back, I was lucky enough to get my first call to substitute teach! And my second, and my third! With tutoring and subbing it was a busy week! Then, on Friday, Matt and I adopted some children for the 4 day weekend! Our neighbor friends headed to Oktoberfest, Munich and we got kiddo time with their 1 and 3 year old. It was an amazing time with amazing kids, but BOY was I pooped by Monday evening! Shoot! Being a mom is exhausting! :)
I was ready to start tutoring again Tuesday, and wouldn't you know... I got called in THREE more days to sub that week! Next thing you know it was Friday and a group of us were leaving for our much anticipated ladies weekend getaway. (Originally planned for Paris, for various reasons we changed last minute and headed for Lagos, Portugal). Portugal was low-key, relaxing, and lots of fun.
SO that brings me to this past week! I got a break on the sub requests last week, but used that time to catch up on my slowly falling apart home! AND Friday, was the annual Navy Ball. This was my FIRST Navy Ball, and it was fun (as always) to dress up and go out, but it was also neat to participate in the Navy ball here in Spain since some of the Spanish Navy is represented as well!
SOOOOOO. Do you FEEL it? Can you better understand my craziness? Do you forgive me for my lack of bloggage? No? Okay. Well I will do my VERY best to not let it happen again. :) BUT, just a warning: I sub EVERY day this week; I'll be helping out with a haunted house next weekend; the following week we leave for our 6 day trip to the "motherlands;" and then on Friday, November 5th... my MUM arrives in ESPANA!!! The good news, is that with our upcoming trip and my momma visit... there will be more photos than I'll know what to do with!!!

Oh blogger friends, how I've missed you. :)