December 2011

Brace yourselves for a loooong post!

Many things have happened this lovely month of December. Some great things and one I could have done without. To start out the month, Pedro got a job with a consulting firm. He will deal with healthcare companies which is great because it gives him job experience for grad school. We do not know all of the details yet, but he will be working from home which is a major plus. I am so proud of him for being such a likeable person. He never applied for this job. They just called up one day and asked if he wanted to interview. It turns out that a friend from Pedro's mission referred him. LUCKY us! Pedro will definitely be keeping busy this next semester with work, school, being a team lead for an internship, and volunteering at the hospital.

Now for the event that I could have done without. Some cRaZy lady decided it would be fun to run into my little Bonneville with her huge suburban. I will say that it was the best outcome I could have had for a wreck. I was not injured and it happened at the perfect time that I didn't run into the pedestrians on  the sidewalk and I didn't get shoved into a pole. I am so glad it was a merge hit rather than a rear end. Anywho, this lady jumps out of her car and says she will give me the money for the repairs and that she was going through the divorce and did not need the police there. So I called the police :). Sorry lady, I didn't trust your sob story. After I called the popo's, she dropped the charade. We crashed right in front of a gas station so she asked if she could go and get gas while we waited for the cops. I asked her fro her name and phone number first. She didn't want to give them to me and told me I could trust she wouldn't drive off. I didn't trust that. So I got her driver's license to hold onto. We got everything situated with the cops and went on our way. I did not get many answers before I left for Aruba but I got some fabulous news on my voice mail when I got home. "The other lady's insurance will not cover the damages. We do not know why due to privacy laws." Surprise surprise. We can get the car fixed by paying a $250 deductible, but that lady is at fault and I am going to fight her on it. It is going to be a fun process.

And now for the fun part!

Aruba was FABULOUS! Lots of sunshine and relaxing. The first couple of days we enjoyed the pool, beach and sunshine. Later int he week we went on a jeep tour and did some snorkeling, and played in the waves. Monday the 19th was my 22nd birthday and our 2nd anniversary. I love you Pedro! Thank you for a great first two years. We spent the evening eating some delicious food and watching the native dances of Aruba. There was a lovely man among the dancers who was very flamboyant. He could sure move his hips, I was pretty jealous. On the last dance, the performers came out in very sparkly carnival attire and brought up audience member. "Mr. Sparkle Hips" as I like to call him, came and got Elisabeth and I from the crowd and started dancing with us. He decided to form a conga line and made sure Elisabeth kept her hands on his shaking hips. We about died laughing. here is a short clip of his sprkliness. This is mostly for Elisabeth since it is hard to understand what is going on in the video, but since she was there, I know she will laugh until she cries.

The resort we stayed at was gorgeous and in a great location. The beach was right out the doors and the pool had a lazy river. I'm pretty sure we had poolside smoothies everyday and ate delicious food. I even got to finish my book as we lazed in the lounge chairs soaking up some rays. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a must read. I was engulfed into the historical fiction of Nazi Germany and the life of a miraculous little girl, Liesel Meminger. The way Zusak writes paints the mind with vivid images and endangers the soul to breaking as you engage along a thin line of story and reality. This truly was one of the greatest books I have ever read.

Our jeep tour was amazingly fun and we got to see pretty much all of Aruba. I didn't realize that I was going for a natural roller coaster ride when I entered the jeep. I loved every minute of the trip and we got some fabulous photos. On our snorkeling trip we got to dive around a ship wreck and various coral reefs. At one point it started poring rain which felt really cool with your backside up snorkeling. The weather in Aruba was very unpredictable. The only predictable aspects were warmth and wind. One second it is pure sunshine without a cloud in the sky and the next everyone is scurrying to take cover from the downpour. Two minutes later the sunshine would return. I loved the warm rain and am missing that sunshine. I am proud of my tan!

And now for a barrage of photos...

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All in all it was a great trip!