Portugal!!!

Edgar and I are headed to Portugal this weekend! We will be meeting Lilly and Aron in Faro, which is in the Algarve region. On Sunday, we head to Lisbon to pick up two more friends, Mac and Clarice, to join the fun. While Lilly, Aron, Mac and Clarice will continue their trip on to Spain and Africa, Edgar and I will head home on Sunday. Unfortunately, Edgar's vacation days seem to have just disappeared this year! I guess somewhere between Colombia, France, Ireland and Spain, we have managed to just about run the bank dry.

Since we will be staying on the coast, I'm sure I will have some beautiful photos to share. Have a great weekend and I'll check in again next week!

A Little Shopping Trip

Before Edgar and I moved, my sister and I went on shopping sprees in Houston. I stocked up on clothes and everyday personal items. When we pulled up to the check out in WalMart, the guy asked if we had a tax-exempt card, because the only explanation for the massive quantities of toilet paper, paper towels and other things is that we must have been a non profit providing goods for those less fortunate. Does a crappy exchange rate make us less fortunate? Just kidding...I just laughed and explained to him I was moving to another country and stocking up on things from home. He asked, "They don't have toilet paper in London?" HA! I loved that one.

Everything lasted for a good amount of time. The toilet paper alone lasted for about 8 months! I was really happy that Sainsbury's (my grocery store) had Charmin when I ran out. But I had a small panic attack when I went back for a second round and they no longer sold it....WHY??? So, now I am using some other brand that you've never heard of. It's not too bad, but it's not Charmin.

I am on my last bit of deodorant (yes, I bought a year and half supply of deodorant), so I stopped in the aisle today. Apparently they are really into spray deodorants around here. They were about 75% of the selection. The remainder was the roll on kind. I can't stand that because it feels so sticky. They had a measely 3 kinds of solid sticks. Of course, that's what I prefer. They had 2 choices from Sure, and one from Dove. So I grabbed one of the Sure's and will hope for the best. Maybe it will last me until Christmas and I can stock up again in Texas.

Scuba Lesson #2

I tried it again. I read all of my chapters and scored 100% on the little quiz we took. Then came time to get in the water. I really need to just calm down and have fun with it, but I just get so nervous! Andrew, our instructor, is so patient with me and will literally hold my hand until I get used to everything. Last night, we were supposed to practice 2 techniques. The first is the right arm sweep to recover your regulator if it comes out of your mouth. This of course means you have to take your regulator out of your mouth in order to practice the technique. Take my regulator out of my mouth? I wasn't just like NO, but HELL NO! When it came time for me to do it, I just shook my head at him and passed. Then, we had to practice taking our mask completely off and putting it back on again. I can't even jump into a pool without physically pinching my nose closed with my fingers. And now I am supposed to take my mask off, which keeps the water out of my nose, and somehow coordinate my breathing so that I only use my mouth and not my nose. It is harder than it sounds. Once again, not just NO, but HELL NO! By this point, we have been under for about 20 minutes and I am freezing. I seem to be the only one in class who gets cold under there. But then again, I do not handle cold water very well. I don't consider it a good shower unless my skin is pink when I finish. The pool we use is indoors and heated, but not heated quite enough for me.

Andrew says he knows a pool that is 34C...that about 93F. That would take care of my freezing problem for sure. But I'm still not certain it would be enough to alleviate this fear I have when I am down there. I don't know if skill and drill will make me more comfortable or if I am just more of a snorkel girl. I like being one head tilt from the surface. I am going to really think about it the next few days and decide if it's really for me. Edgar is doing great...but then again, his childhood hero was Aquaman (when he was little, he would come home from school and beg his mom to let him change into his Aquaman costume...isn't that so cute?). I hate that my motivation to succeed is not enough to get me past this anxiety that I have. There are places in the world where you can see beautiful underwater life with just a snorkel, right?

Is it Just Me?

Or is Wolf Blitzer on CNN one of the most annoying newscasters on TV? We get a different CNN over here, but it does contain some of the same shows as the US CNN, like Anderson Cooper, Larry King Live, and my good friend Wolf. He just always sounds like he is yelling at someone or being sarcastic or something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just don't like the tone of his voice. Oh my gosh...I just sounded like my mother! The most unfortunate thing is that he is the lead news anchor for this year's political coverage, so I am forced to watch him alot of the time. The only other US channel we have is MSNBC (thank god they don't subject us to Fox News...sorry Dad). It's not so bad watching the crazy political coverage on the BBC, either. It's good to see it from a broader perspective and they tend to filter out some of the garbage that gets thrown around during a campaign and focus more on the actual candidates.

And speaking of the election, I am a little worried about my voting status. I mailed our absentee voting forms a month ago and still haven't received our ballots. The forms are sent to Houston, since that was our last residence in the US, and we all know the state that Houston is in right now. I don't even know if the office that processes these forms even has power right now. I may try to give them a call today, but I doubt we will be high on their priority list. Hopefully I can get it sorted soon because time is ticking!

A Note to Le Couvent...

Hello Lizzie and Ali,

In response to my own post below regarding Lance Armstrong rejoining the Tour de France, if le Tour passes anywhere near Roujan, consider Edgar and I booked! Lance AND le Couvent...this could be the best trip we take! (do you think they will ban us from Roujan forever if we wave a Texas and US flag?) ~Vonda

Scuba

Edgar and I decided to take scuba diving lessons. We have no current plans of visiting any place tropical any time soon, but we wanted to do it...just in case we get one of those great last minute deals. After doing all the course work with the book and in the pool, we have one year to complete the certification with an open water dive. So hopefully, we can jet off someplace cool and exotic in the next year.

The classes are held at my local gym, so we don't have far to go to get there. The only students are Edgar and I and another couple, Emma and Matt, who are going to Malaysia in 3 weeks! So, this means lots of personal attention...which came in handy for me, since I had a bit of trouble adjusting to life underwater. I am motivated to scuba dive. It's something I've always wanted to do. On the other hand, I have this innate fear of drowning (as I'm sure most people do), and I can't keep the "what ifs" out of my head. I know some successful scuba divers who had the same problems when they started out, so I am hopeful I can one day conquer the sea.

I'll keep you updated on our progress. Feel free to leave me any encouraging words!

Our New Rides

Edgar and I treated ourselves to some sweet new bikes for our anniversary. We each have road bikes, but those are more for speed, and not for everyday use on streets, curbs, and in the parks. We've been looking around for some sturdy bikes for a while, and when we meandered into our local bike shop the weekend of our anniversary, we found these beauties with great price tags attached. We are having so much fun with them. We can take them around the dirt/gravel paths in Richmond Park, and all along the Thames River towpath-all the way into London if we wanted! I have halved my commute time to the gym (I usually just walk there), and I can get to Charlie's house in no time. I want to put a basket on the front of mine, but I'm having a hard time decided which one to get. I'm going back and forth between the classic wicker basket, and this really cool multicolor one in the shop's catalog. Guess I'll have to decide soon...gotta have some place to put the baguette and flowers!

He's Back!!!!

Lance Armstrong has announced that he is returning to the Tour de France in 2009!!! WOOO HOOO!!!! Edgar and I always said we got over here a few years too late to see Lance in France (I just now realized that rhymes), but looks like now we will get our wish of seeing him cycle in person!!! We are booking tickets as soon as we find out the schedule!! Looks like the Texas flag will be hanging in Paris once again.

You Want a What...???

I don't have kiddos of my own yet, but that doesn't mean I can't laugh at the antics of other people's kids. They really do say the funniest things and it is true that their minds are like little sponges. My 3 year old nephew likes to tell stories, true or usually not true, you just never know what's going to come out of his mouth. I had to call my sister immediately today when I heard this at the grocery store:

I was walking down the aisle with all the pasta and pasta sauce and a mom with her 2 kids were next to me. The youngest was a boy probably around 4 years old. He very innocently and nonchalantly says, " Mummy, can we get some gin and tonic?" I busted out laughing and the mom almost fell over. She said, "Honey, you're giving away all my secrets!" Now, you have to imagine all of this with a little boy British accent. It sounds very proper as it is, and then you throw in the request for a gin and tonic and it is just too funny. He said it as if he were just asking for some ice cream or chocolate. I laughed the entire rest of the shopping trip.

Anyways, that's my comic relief for the day. Hope it made you smile a little bit, too!