…Africans does it take to kill a snake?
According to one source, 300. Sounds to me like he may have taken a few liberties with the details, but whether it was 3 or 300, I’m just glad I wasn’t the one who stumbled upon this python (found just across the driveway from work)!!
According to some random FB comment I saw on my feed, today is world hello day, which is used as an opportunity to demonstrate the importance of encouraging communication for preserving peace. I thought it sounded like a good excuse to find out where people are reading this blog. Would you consider de-lurking for just one day to say hello?
*One of Mister’s Army buddies came to visit us this weekend, and it was fun to hear stories about their service. Mister’s pretty tightlipped about his time in the military (although the stories he does share are awesome/scary), so it was a treat to hear some things I hadn’t heard before.
*We drove 7 hours round trip to a town called Kamsar to visit a grocery store owned by a Lebanese guy who imports goods from the states. I almost cried tears of joy when I saw not one, but three different flavors of Sweet Baby Ray’s barbeque sauce, dill pickles, dark brown sugar, Jif peanut butter and three coolers full of ice cream. Totally worth the drive! We will definitely be back!
*The owner fed us lunch while we were there and made us this amazing Lebanese dessert. They’re these little sweet pancakes filled with mozzarella cheese, deep fried, sprinkled with sugar and then topped with a simple syrup. I was a little skeptical, but oh it was good. I stopped myself after three, but could have eaten lots more! I must figure out the recipe!
*I am a total over-packer when it comes to Adele. I packed five outfits, 8 bibs and 5 burp cloths for a day trip. I mean, it’s better to have more stuff than less, but still, it was a little much. I can’t imagine how crazy I’ll get when we’re packing for our R&R next month.
*Speaking of, I am so excited to go back to the states. We’ll be in Houston for a little under a week, and then Salt Lake for Christmas. We may even take a little road trip to Denver. Should be super fun. I wish we were going to be there for more than two weeks though.
*As you have probably deduced, we still don’t know where we’re headed next year, although it’s not any of the 7 overseas positions we initially bid on. Man alive this process is frustrating. I really hate that we have to do this every few years. There should be another panel next week, so hopefully we’ll have some news soon.
*It’s our own fault for missing the sign-up for the dinner at the Ambassador’s house, but we have no plans for Thanksgiving this year. I’m pretty bummed about it, but oh well. On the bright side, this means I can stay in my pj’s all day. Maybe I’ll take the opportunity to blast Christmas music and put up our Christmas tree.
update: Apparently it’s NOT too late to RSVP for Thanksgiving. We have plans after all!! Thanks Meredith!
Mister spent 13 years in the Army Reserves, during which time he deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Ecuador. I didn’t know him during this time, but I have heard many stories of his service. Heart wrenching, white knuckle, nail biting stories. He is a hero, along with all of his military brothers and sisters. There are no words to express how grateful I am to them, for their selfless service to defend all of the freedoms that we, as American’s, enjoy. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
*Rumor has it that fall is practically over, although you’d never guess it here in Guinea. It’s as green and lush as ever, which is lovely, but I miss watching the leaves change. In an effort to channel a bit of autumn, I made pumpkin soup (an old favorite) and will make chili (If I can track down chili powder) this week. I have also made my favorite pumpkin cookies, which consist of a box of spice cake mix, a can of pumpkin and white chocolate chips. I heard about these when I was on weight watchers, but there’s nothing weight watchers about eating a dozen in one day, which is what I did last week. They are so so so good.
*While at the grocery store last week I found some herb and garlic cream cheese like spread, so I decided to try my hand at bagels. Today was the day and I must say, they were delicious (even though the power went out while they were baking and reset the oven), and super easy. I will definitely make them again!
*This was the first week normal bidders will be considered for assignments, and we were told that a panel would be held on Thursday. It’s now Friday and the FB traffic from fellow bidders indicates that no one received any word. I hope that just means that they spent all afternoon planning our futures and had to wait until today to update the bid-list/send emails to the lucky folks who were placed. I know there are still some folks from AIP waiting on assignments, and they obviously have priority, but there is a small chance that today we’ll know where we’re headed next year. At the very least we should have a better idea of where we’re not going.
*On a related note, this is the one time I wish my husband had a blackberry. Fridays are short days here, so by the time Mister packs up, the DC folks are just getting to work. I wish we could just give them our personal email account. That way, he wouldn’t have to go into work on a Saturday to see if handshakes were given out, or worse, wait until he’s back in the office on Tuesday.
*Last Saturday I went with friends to the Miss Conakry pageant in preparation for the Miss Guinea pageant being held in a few weeks. We were seated front and center and my friend even got to pin the sash on the first runner up. It was quite the experience. I would write more, but since Meredith did such an excellent job recapping the night, I’ll just send you over to her blog for the details.
*I didn’t get home from the pageant until 2:30 am or so, which is like 5 1/2 hours past my bedtime. I was so trashed for a few days after that, and it’s the most sleep deprived I’ve been since I had Adele, which is to say that Adele is basically the best, most considerate sleeper ever!
*The marine ball is this weekend. Mister is working it, and frankly, parties make me a tad uncomfortable, so I’m going to stay at home with the little babe. Perhaps we’ll put on some fancy dresses and have a dance party of our own. Most likely though, I’ll eat a bowl of cereal and fall asleep before 10.
*We’ve booked our flights from Houston – SLC over the holidays. First class tickets were the exact same price as economy, so we will be flying in style. I think the rest of the first class passengers will LOVE to share their fancy first class cabin with a 6 month old.
*Adele tried rice cereal last week. I don’t think she quite understands the appeal…
