Testing, testing...

banana - pinapple - carrot - orange juice. This one is yummy too! I am really liking my magic bullet and the recipes out of Real Simple magazine.

That is hilarious Sarah. Hope the kids weren't too rough. Made it home from the Lafayette fundue safe.

Yea Steelers!

So, Edgardo found cheap jerseys for the kids at TJ Maxx. The when Daniela wore hers on Friday, she found out that they guy who's jersey it was has been traded to the Jets. How embarrased she was. OOoooops!

Oh that reminds me, next week's challenge is most fondue pots in a photo.

also it said spinach but I used rum.

Recipe said use ice too but I just froze the grapes

I may want to try that one

Grapes + spinach + coconut milk = yummy good smoothie.

we've been letting the warm weather melt the snow off the driveway.

My roommmates have done it the past two times. I LOOOOVVE my roommates.

I was going to skip doing the driveway, but when I opened the garage door I decided I didn't really have a choice.

Done and done.

note to self, shovel the driveway then get ready for work.

Reassigned again. That's four times, and I haven't even completed a year here yet. Ugh! Talk about organization... what's that?

nice catch, that's funny. one more reason to cycle in more albums.

Tracy can say that with all the crap that has happened this week, all I can do at this point is smile and laugh.

What can I say? Tracy loves home improvement projects.

Why is she smiling? I think at 4AM I would have a more pissed-off look on my face.

some pics from the vacation weekend to FL

Winter FL Trip

Good for Merel. We had to use some of those "squat" toilets in China. Interesting. Hope the move goes well.

AO, I heard that movie was good. Something about obsession about being perfect... anyway, guess I should see it.

Edgardo found out he may be traveling to Houston in February for an MBMA meeting.

And on another note, the kids are enjoying having a "big brother". Igor is 17 and is visiting from Chile. Edgardo is trying to find some conversational english classes for him, but for now he will have to settle for talk about Bay Blades, Club Penguin, Hannah Montanna, and silly Nico talk.

Sacajaweah Middle School Choir sings some familiar tunes:

I'm glad you moved into a new place. I'll be looking into tickets to visit soon. =)

In other news, I thought my siblings in the energy industry might enjoy this article.

Also, I really really liked Black Swan.

that is funny Frank -- thanks for the laugh.

to bring this up to date... the place Merel moved into in december was part of a mosque in the turkish neighborhood, so turkish flatmates, and not all turks are used to the western style toilets - instead using a squat toilet. We suspect one of the flatmates was such a person. So there was that...

Plus the kitchen, bathroom and hallway were unheated... and the flatmates smoked heavily. Anyhow, the student housing lottery finally came through, Merel's already got the new place (cheaper, cleaner, and all hers) and we're starting the moving process tomorrow in the morn... just moving enough to get through the work week, then saturday's fun day. new place is just outside of Amsterdam

Oh, and they never managed to get the internet working at the mosque place (when checking the only outlet in the place, we discovered the wires weren't even attached).... so I've been staying with the family since we got back from the Czech republic whilst Merel commutes via the great dutch rail system.

Merel, are you sure those were Turkish women?
I'm thinking the hijab could make Bosom Buddies-type hijinx all the easier to pull off. Do any of the ladies in your building resemble Tom Hanks in any way?

Where will you guys be moving to?

Glad NTO is there to help you!

Up to move for the 16th time... It's a good thing I didn't get rid of the banana boxes from the last move, they are quite handy.
This time I get my own bathroom, so no Turkish women who pee on the toilet seat, hip hip hurray!

I say no to the banana cashew smoothie. It would have been easier and tastier just to make a banana smoothie.

I don't know. I don't plan that far ahead, but I still need those curtains from IKEA. Oh, and to visit you, etc, etc. I might have a meeting on the 27th & 28th but I don't know for sure yet.