A guaranteed laugh on this one, folks. This woman is the bomb! Her name is Christina Bianco and she’s a popular comedian who does Diva singing impressions. In this clip she sings the 80’s power ballad “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in the style of 18 different divas...
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Friends, can I tell you how fortunate I feel that my advanced little girl has decided that being two is not a prerequisite to displaying Terrible Twos behavior!? Every day I am blessed to practice extreme patience as I experience meltdowns, shrieking, kicking and the occasional bite. On...
Sheer brilliance – tell me that you didn’t laugh?! Happy Monday, Sarah
So, as I mentioned in my last post, I was a bit rattled after my sketchy cab incident and decided to *FINALLY* pick up this book, The Gift of Fear, after five years of it sitting on my shelf. Surprisingly, it was not only insightful, but also read like a thriller. Not kidding, I...
It was a normal weekday in Lima and I was standing in front of a high-end hotel waiting to hail a cab. A guy calls out to me asking if I need a ride. I decline and walk away. Totally innocuous right? Seemingly, but see if you feel the same way after I gave you these additional details...
I discovered Yoga during my pregnancy with Nia (fyi, it was a Godsend for dealing with back and hip pain). I maintained the practice after her birth, primarily doing Hatha yoga, a very gentle type of yoga that is easy on my arthritic joints. In February I started searching for a studio in...
Patience has never been my strong suit. I love information and I’d prefer to have it NOW. It’s almost laughable that I ended up in a lifestyle that is basically one perpetual waiting period. Wait to know where you’re going. Wait to know where you’re living. Wait to...
Good news! We learned this weekend that all it takes to keep our toddler still for two hours is a Parade! Now if only we could have a parade every day then we’d be in great shape! Ok, kidding aside. Late July is when Peru celebrates their Independence. Last year at this time I was...
Nick decided to take up the guitar while we were gone for five weeks in Minnesota. Since arriving home, Nia’s been positively fascinated with it, constantly wanting to go in our room to touch it. We’ve had to have many discussions about not pounding on it, so now she’ll...
As many of you know, the College of St. Benedict (St. Ben’s aka CSB) is near and dear to my heart. This one-of-a-kind institution shepherded me from girl to woman and left an indelible print on my heart. It was here that I found my voice, expanded my worldview and claimed my...
Hey y’all – I haven’t shown any Sam Tsui stuff in awhile and this cover really touched me – had to share! Enjoy & have a great day! Sarah
Well, we made it nearly 19 months before having to trim those beautiful blonde locks…. I delayed as long as I could, but her bangs were starting to cover her eyes and the stubborn kiddo refuses to wear clips for me (but she’s just fine doing it for the nanny). So off we went...
This is rockin’! Happy Monday y’all…
We had two great food-based experiences this weekend and they couldn’t have been more polar opposites. The first was on our Friday night date. We visited a new restaurant in town called Amaz (located next to the Hilton Miraflores). This restaurant is the 2nd in a series from Pedro...
Last week I had the good fortune of visiting the non-profit CIMA with the Canadian International Society, an expat group here that has supported this organization since it’s inception 25 years ago. CIMA provides assistance to 8-18 year old boys who live on the streets or find...
We’ve been out enjoying the final days of summer while we’ve still got sun. For those who don’t know, Lima loses it’s sunshine for roughly seven months a year thanks to the Humboldt Current, a jet stream that pushes the clouds eastward. Those clouds run smack into...
Today we took a family field trip into downtown Lima to see Parque de Las Reserva (or the “Fountain Park” as it’s called when you can’t remember the Spanish name). We’ve been meaning to get here forever but something’s always gotten in the way. Today...
I’m usually so on top of things, but this project got put on the back-burner when our guests started arriving in January and February. However, Nick shot some amazing video and it would be a shame not to share it. The underwater interaction with the animals was the trip highlight...
We’ve had helper drama lately. I haven’t written about it because I wasn’t sure how it was going to be resolved, but I’m ready to give you the full lowdown now. In early February I fired Lupe, our helper of nine months. The tension had been building between us for...
As I’ve mentioned before, Embassy Lima does a great job of putting on festive holiday celebrations. Holidays tend to bring up additional feelings of homesickness and events like this really do a lot to counter-act the pain of being so far from home on these special days. This...
Nia and I decided to take advantage of our relatively-close South American location and join the family for the annual trip to Puerto Vallarta. My parents have owned a time share there for three years and visit each year over spring break. This is the first time I’ve been to the...
On President’s Day Weekend we ventured three hours south on the Pan-America Highway to Lunahuana, a country-esque area know for its adventure sports. It’s located in the middle of a mountain valley with a river cutting through the center. White-water rafting and kayaking are...
It’s summer here and we’ve been capitalizing on the good weather by doing lots of fun outdoorsy stuff. One of our adventures this week was a trip to Granja Arriero (Arriero Farm), a small farm/petting zoo an hour outside of Lima, near Pachacamac. Nia’s obsessed with...
I get a lot of comments about how much Nia looks like me because of the blue eyes/blond hair thing. What you can’t tell however, is how much Nia looks like Nick when he was a child. Check out this side-by-side comparison (Nick is 2 1/2 here)… there’s no doubt where the...
Just got back from a four-day trip with Rachel to the Sacred Valley of Peru, home of the infamous Machu Picchu. Can I just start by saying that it’s a b*tch to get there! Yup, we’re talking plane, train, and bus to get to this jungle-top paradise. The good news: IT’S SO...
January has been plum full of visitors! My sister Jenna was here from January 2nd to the 12th and then my dear college friend Rachel arrived on the 12th and stayed until the 21st. Talk about non-stop hostessing! Oh, and did I mention that my in-laws arrive in four days for a month-long...
One of the activities Jenna was most excited to try during her stay in Lima was a Chocolate-making Workshop at the Choco Museum in Lima. This was my first time going as well, so we made for quite an excited pair! We opted to do the Bean to Bar Workshop, where you complete the steps that...
There’s never a dull day on the Malecon (our ocean-side park near our house) and since we go out there several times each day, we inevitably run into lots of fun adventures. Like yesterday, for example. Meet Renata. She’s about 6 or 7 years old and has great fashion taste...
What would Jenna’s visit to Peru be without a road trip? Especially a trip with a shrieking one-year-old! Yes, that’s right. Bet you didn’t know Nia’s lungs have the capacity to sustain shrieks for three hours straight!?! We made the best of it though, stopping for...
I have a confession to make. I’m addicted to social media. It started innocently enough. I mean, I didn’t even get my first Facebook account until 2008 and even then, I was incredibly reluctant about joining what I viewed as the “Online Party for the Millenial...
We’re a little behind on our photo books, but here’s the most recent one we finished! Highlights include my pregnancy photos, Nia’s birth and our time in DC. Just click the photo to see the book.
Here’s a look at the different animal species we met this week:
Fur Sea Lion
Galapagos Sea Lion
Christmas Iguana
Sea Turtle
Land Tortoise
Sally Lightfoot Crab
Nazca Booby
Blue-footed Booby
Sting Ray
Penguin
Lava Lizard
Flamingos
Flightless Cormorant
Jellyfish
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Today we eagerly jumped off the boat, excited by the possibility of seeing land tortoises (different than the sea turtles we saw in the water). As usual, we saw an abundance of them. We have a running joke that the boat keeps a few of all the animals in stock and runs over to the island...
One of the best surprises on this trip has been how many babies we’ve seen (and up really close too)! The Mom and baby above are Blue-footed Boobies. This baby is estimated to be one week old. Here’s what that chick will look like in a few weeks time, all covered in a downy...
At last, our long-awaited trip to Galapagos is here. The expectations were sky-high and damn if they didn’t blow us away on the very first trip to shore. No, honestly, if they sent me home after our first two hour excursion I would have felt like I got my money’s worth. It was...
Tis the season for holiday parties! Saturday was one of our first Embassy ones, a “Morning with Santa” for the kiddos. It was beautifully done – bouncy castles, face painting, Santa, food, crafts, music… just lovely! And for not only the Americans, but the Peruvian...
I am a BIG fan of Christmas music, having amassed somewhere around 300 songs over the last 20 years. It all started when my family used to purchase the “Sounds of the Season” album at Target each year (question: Do they make that anymore?) I loved seeing which mix of artists...
Yesterday I had the amazing good fortune of joining the Canadian International Society (Not just for Canadians!) for a morning of volunteering at Casa Hogar, a home for single mothers under the age of 18. Knowing from personal experience just how challenging parenting is, it was mind...
I biffed it BIG TIME today. Here’s what happened: I was lying in the bedroom, attempting to grab a quick one-hour nap to make up for my 4:45 AM wake up (thanks Nia). All of a sudden our intercom rings and when I answer they say something unintelligible in Spanish plus...
It’s been non-stop Halloween around here the last few days. Although not my favorite holiday, I have to admit that it’s a ton more fun with a kid. Cuteness just becomes magnified in silly outfits! We took full advantage of the costume that Grandma and Grandpa Miller sent us...
Ummm, please watch this. Your Monday needs a good laugh to start it off on the right foot. PS – I am totally going to take advantage of my baby and eat all the good candy she gets, leaving her only with the apples and raisins. I get to do that cuz I’M THE MOM. PPS –...
Here are the best of Nia’s 1 Year Photo Shoot! We had them done by Vanessa of Luz + Letra here in Lima. It was a fantastic experience that yielded over 100 beautiful shots of Nia! If you’re in the mood to view the entire gallery, head on over to SMUGMUG.
It’s hard to believe, but our little girl just crossed the one year mark. I’m not going to lie and say that the entire year flew by because there were days in those first three months especially that felt ENDLESS. However, time seemed to gather speed as we found our parenting...
Last Saturday was our long-awaited visit to Mistura, the Peruvian Food Festival. This is a relatively new festival (one cabbie told me it’s three years old), but it’s already made a major splash in Peru and Internationally. It’s best described as a State Fair minus...
So last Wednesday I went to the doctor because my nose piercing was infected (I’ve had it four months and it’s been infected on and off throughout). During the appointment he removed the jewelry and said I needed to start on Antibiotics and return on Monday (today, 5 days...
One of our traditions is to collect a piece of art from each country we are posted to. We always purchase it at the beginning of our stay, prior to the Embassy coming over to hang up all our wall art (I know, what can I say, we’re spoiled)! Nick and I continue to gravitate toward...
Nia and I recently started going to a weekly music class in our Miraflores neighborhood. It’s a steal of a deal at $4 a session for an hour of music. Carlos, the musician, is quite versatile too. Each class he plays the Cajon (the Peruvian drum box), his guitar AND his trumpet. The...
