POD "The Life of a Dog Owner"

Yep, that's about right. Takoda sleeping lazily on the couch while I slave away at picking up his mess. JUST look at that pile. No joke, that's probably 3 days worth of hair. JUST THREE DAYS! *Sigh* Such is the life of a dog owner...

POD "Good Morning World"

Good Morning and Happy Friday! Just a picture of the sunrise I'm lucky enough to enjoy every morning when I walk the pups. I was about 10 minutes late getting started, so I missed my favorite part of the rise, the warm pink glow. However, the second stage of the sun creeping up over the palms (the orange glow) isn't too shabby either. :)

Beach Reviews: Zahara de los Atunes

Well, it's official. I think I've finally found my favorite beach. Zahara de los Atunes is a small little fishing village about an hour away from us, headed toward Gibraltar. The beach was highly recommended to me by our friend and jardinero (gardener) Antonio. So, on Sunday, Matt and I checked it out.

We left early, as we like to do on beach days. Leaving early guarantees no traffic and easy parking. If you're late to this tiny beach town, you might not find parking ANYWHERE! (Parking right in front of the beach was only 4 bucks for the whole day!) Anyway, the drive to Zahara was easy and scenic. Closer to our destination, we were able to get off the highway and curve on some smaller roads through hills, by the pueblo blanco of Vejer, and even along the wetlands near the ocean. I spotted an AMAZING photo of the day: a field of bulls, each one accompanied by their own white stork-like bird, some of the birds at their sides, some sitting on their backs. HOWEVER, like it is with most of these roads, there was absolutely NO pull off for the car so I couldn't get the shot! :( Next time maybe!


Anyway, the beach. OHHHHH the beach. The sand is soft, and the water is the most beautiful clear turqoise! It's also relatively quiet with PLENTY of space for a good game of paddle ball on the shoreline. This isn't your typical tourist beach, lined with shops or restaurants. In fact, the only place to grab a bite to eat right there on the beach seemed to be the cafeteria across the street. (Their Spanish tortillas were flavorful and cafe con leches were extra creamy, by the way!) It was a refreshing get away with the local spaniards. We will be trying other beaches, but I look forward to another trip back to Zahara de los Atunes!!! 4.5!

POD "I Wuv ooo Broder"

Matt is VERY proud that I have finally selected one of his shots as my Spain photo of the day. He snagged this shot last night of the two boys loving each other. "I wuv oooo broder. You are da best broder in da wold." :)

POD "Happy Flowers"

Well, the teeny, tiny girasoles (Sunflowers) I started from seeds earlier this year are looking A LOT different these days. With a little bit of love and a little bit of water, we've got ourselves some pretty happy flowers. If they keep growing strong, we'll have some happy birds come fall! :)

POD "The New Toy: SNAKIE"

It really had been much too long since Takoda and Sultan received a new toy from their stash. Last night, since AFN (Armed Forces Network) was on the fritz, we shut off the TV and instead, entertained ourselves with some puppy time!!! Introducing: SNAKIE! As you can see, some of us were pretty excited about the decision.
I had to occasionally take Snakie away from Takoda to allow Sultan some time with the new toy. (Takoda has a tendency to hoard new toys until he has laid the squeakers to rest.) This is a shot of Takoda JUST after a few mid-air squeaks and JUST before I handed it back to him. I love this picture. Note how I was able to capture the "OMG, OMG, OMG" enlarged pupils. :)Anyway, I'd show you a photo of the toy today, post playtime, but there's not much left to it other than the white fluff that currently resides on our living room floor. Poor Snakie. I have some sweeping to do.

POD "Almuerzo (AKA Lunch) to Die For!"

What does one do, when Mexican is a favorite food and it can't be found???

Make it yourself, of course! I was CRAVING some mean nachos today, so I took my time and put some love into their creation. I even made some fresh salsa from scratch! Mmmmmm combine all that with 2 icy coronas and you have an almuerzo to die for! Hence why, it's today's photo of the day! :)

Life is JUST Beachy! :)

Last night, Matty and I headed for the beaches of Rota for a military friend's "Wetting Down." A wetting down, put very simply, is a party to celebrate someone's new promotion (and raise!). It's tradition for the sailor being celebrated to TREAT! No one ever complains about that part, unless of course it's YOUR turn to put forth your first paycheck. ;) Matt! No silly faces!

For Stan's wetting down, he chose a cerveza, sangria, and tapas party at a chiringuito on the beach. The drinks were great, the company was excellent, and the views were spectacular! The men made the wetting down official by carrying Stan to the water and throwing him in. :) Someone here is a bit wetter than the others...
On a side note, I realized last night how GREAT Spain is for people with kids. While the parents sat and enjoyed tapas, drinks and adult conversation, the older kids were MORE than happy to run around on the beach and in and out of the water. Occasionally they would re-join us at the table with soggy shorts and sandy feet for a quick mouthful of food, but there were no complaints from the management. It's a chiringuito! Sandy floors and wet clothes are what it's all about! I just couldn't believe it; even after 8 pm the beach was still poppin!

As the sun started to set, many of us decided to keep the night alive and walk about a 1/4 mile down the beach to a different (very famous) chiringuito. The beach was stillllll full, and on the way we encountered these sweet airplane kites!
Upon arriving at the second chiringuito, we decided that the location, specialty drinks and outdoor lounge area more than validated why this chiringuito is one of the best!
I'll take whatever you're making!
Yum, yum, yum!!! This is not a mojito, but who cares?! It's tasty and beautiful! Just DON'T eat the cherries! They're candied, and they taste like popcorn.
Watching the sunset made me want to box the WHOLE chiringuito experience up and share it with everyone I know!
Lastly, a mile long walk back on the boardwalk brought us to our final stop of the night: Fiesta de la Urta. The Spanish know how to party, and they will find any excuse they can to do so! Including, a festival to celebrate a fish, the Urta, found only in these parts! At about 11:00 the party was just getting started. The band began and the streets were full of families eating, drinking, and dancing. Unfortunately, Matt and I didn't last too long and made the decision it was time to trek the mile back to the base and catch a cab home. Snapped one last pic of the moon over the carnival rides on our way back.
WHAT A NIGHT!!!! :)

POD "You Can Run, but You Can't Hide"

Found this little guy while watering my flowers. He quickly scampered away, but I tracked him down and finally was able to catch a few photos when he cornered himself. I've been trying to get a pic of one of these lil lizards since we arrived! HURRAH! Now, if I could only capture those wild parakeets! You can run, but you can't hide Mr. Lizard.

POD "The Run is Fun When It's Done"

I've discovered that I really like jogging along the ocean. :) Well, the ocean part... not the jogging part. I'm not quite to the point where I like jogging, I just do it. Anyway, on Saturday morning. Matt joined me for a run on my new favorite route. The beach is nice and quiet in the morning. My favorite part of the run might have to be when I leave the beach walkway to wind through this small pine forest.
I lied. My favorite part of the run, is when I'm DONE. Stretching on the beach, and looking at the beautiful quiet beach that I get to splash around on while I slowly make my way back. :)