We had a great group of friends and kids (about 15-17 total) over a couple of weeks ago for pizza. We made 14 pizzas - yes I know this sounds almost ridiculous and it almost was, but the pizza was sooo good. We made several types of dough, but Deep dish was by far the most popular. At one point during the party a group of people started singing old Puerto Rican children's schoolyard songs.  It was really fun and funny to watch -similar to Red Rover in that there is a line of people on one side and one person across from them asking them what they want to be when they grow up and either the line accepts what the one person says or says no and asks them to pick again. I am sure I am not explaining this well, but trust me it was fun.   

Marcus and I recently purchased a pizza oven (outdoor grill with a pizza stone and large propane burner) that cooks 10" pizza in about 3 minutes because it reaches about 800 degrees. It's pretty cool. We have been experimenting with different dough like Neapolitan, New York style, etc. My favorite is Roman style or Neapolitan cooked slowly to get a really crispy crust. We have been cooking pizza for years and thought we had perfected it, but once we got this new oven (really it's a fun outdoor toy) we have been experimenting quite a bit. Marcus was making dough everyday to the point we couldn't even really eat pizza anymore - we would have a slice or two to taste test the dough and give the rest away.  So, that has been a fun activity we have taken on recently.    

We also just co-hosted a baby shower with our good friends Ivelisse and Gaby. They are expecting their second child, a boy (Enrique) in the next week and we are very excited. Gaby designed the most beautiful cake with the baby noah's ark theme. Too cute. As party favors we had customized M&M's with Enrique Grabiel and also had 'It's a Boy' Hershey kisses wrapped in tulle with ribbon - very sweet. So, we had a lot of fun at the party this past weekend. 

We have been trying to spend more time at the beach - we had been on a beach holiday for about a month so we were due to get in some beach time. The waves have been pretty good lately so it has been nice for the surfer's, but not so nice for snorkeling. We really like Steps beach, but also go to Sandy beach (Puntas) and Sea beach (Stella).

Earth Day was yesterday in Rincon - the only town in Puerto Rico to celebrate. ARF had a booth with resource information, adoption information and yard sale items - to make a little money. Other booths were Natural High - organic and vegetarian/vegan deli and smoothie shop next to the Post Office, plants/herb nursery's, surfrider.org, etc. Pretty cool. And this week Rincon is hosting the first ever Film Festival. There are many short films and feature length films from all over the world hosted at different guest house/hotels each night. Not sure if we will go to any - but seems like it could be fun.

Last, but certainly not least we shipped Willow (the dog at El Faro) to Colorado this past week. She made it safely and was greeted with snow! She is being well taken care of at the Boulder Valley Humane Society (no kill shelter) and was even apart of their big fundraiser they had this past weekend. I know she will find a wonderful home in Colorado! I found some great contacts through our dogsitter/trainer we used while living there.  A volunteer from the BVHS contacted me to help get Willow to CO. It all went very smoothly and we couldn't be happier for her! I will keep you posted on her progress. There were many people involved in this process in Rincon and Boulder so it was a community effort on both ends. 

Next on the ARF schedule is another Bingo Fundraiser in late May and an Animal Clinic in June to offer discounted immunizations and spay/neuters to Rincon residents. This will be our first ever clinic, but putting our funds to good use for the community.  

Only 11 days until we leave for Italy!!!

I am always so surprised and thrilled when people come to visit and decide they want to take a "sato" with them. ARF helps organize the paperwork, medical visit and flight to make sure the dog or cat are ready to go! We are in the process of sending one of the sweet dogs (Willow) to Boulder, CO. I had emailed our old dogsitter/trainer in Lyons to see if she could help get the word out and low and behold two people from the Humane Society in Boulder contacted me to let me know they would take Willow - how amazing! They are a no kill shelter and have a high adoption rate. So, we are in the process of planning her flight to Colorado. I am hoping Marcus can coordinate with his next trip, but she may have to go without an escort. Continental Airlines does a great job with transporting animals, but the cost is rather high. It all depends on weight - Hopkins cost around $280 to send down - one way. So, not cheap. I believe there are some other airlines that are less expensive but we haven't used any other airlines. I know if you can fit you animal under the seat there is only a minimal charge for that ticket.

So, I have really enjoyed spending a few hours a week volunteering and in the process have met some really great people most of whom have been coming to Rincon during the winter for years and years. However, most are now going back to the States for the Spring/Summer so our volunteer pool will go way down. Marcus and I decided to have a Thank You ARF party as well as a farewell to our group of volunteers last night. I was really nice - about 25 people came. It was the first time we have had a party here and we realized what a great house we live in and that it is a great house for entertaining. My mother in-law was so happy when we told her because this house was empty for so long because she couldn't get down her very often. So, she is really happy that the house is being used and that it has come to life again.

I am excited for her to see the changes we have made - finally got a new couch and chair last weekend!!!! I found it in the Sears in Ponce and they delivered for $65 - cheap! I have been working on getting the house to feel more like our home so we have made some nice improvements - mostly decorative and cosmetic nothing structural. The office looks really nice and the living room is very cozy now with the new couch and chair.  We still haven't figured out our plan. We are still working on some ideas, but we have a tendency to always look toward the 'next thing' and we are trying not to do that as much. Simply enjoy here and now and each day as opposed to what is coming. So, we are taking our time with the business plans, but will have a ideas on paper in the next couple of months to see if it really makes sense.

In the meantime we are getting very excited for our trip to Italy next month! We spoke to Marcus's relative (Maria) in Gradoli the other day just to give her our itinerary and Marcus asked her how many Andronici's there were in Gradoli. Maria laughed and said she didn't know the number off the top of her head, but said there are quite a few. I am guessing about 30 people in a town of 100. So, we are really interested and excited to meet his relatives and get to experience the really local culture there. 

THIS COASTAL FLOODING IS THE GREATEST NON-TROPICAL CYCLONE RELATED
SWELL EVENT EXPERIENCED IN THE LOCAL AREA SINCE THE PERFECT STORM OF
1991. RESIDENTS AND LOCAL INTERESTS SHOULD CONTINUE TO EXPECT MAJOR
BEACH EROSION...AS WELL AS STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO PIERS... BOARDWALKS
AND STRUCTURES DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO THE COASTLINE. THE GREATEST RISK
FOR COASTAL FLOODING AND MAJOR BEACH EROSION WILL OCCUR NEAR TIMES
OF HIGHS TIDES.

The town is alive as to be expected!  It has been a slow season so far however this weeks event is doing its best to make up for the dry spell.  Emily went down and took a few shots over the last couple days. We will post more in the pictures section.  This one is from today (Swell actually peaked yesterday evening).  Maybe some day soon I will try to learn how to surf ;) 

Tres Palmas This AM (March 21st)

There are two types of health insurance for self-employed/individuals. The Direct or Direct Plus Plans. Direct is a HMO plan that costs around $109 per individual includes Vision, but Dental is extra about $8. The out of pocket expense is slightly higher for some of the services such as ER visit, mental health, In-patient and with various percentages covered for x-rays 25%, MRI 50%, etc. and minimal co-pays for General office visit around $10 and Specialist $15. Maternity is also covered under the plan. We opted for the Direct Plus Plan which is a PPO plan at $135 per individual around $8 for Dental. We got two separate Individual plans. The Family plan covers children. Both plans cover ER visits in the U.S., but not any preventative care. Also, neither plan covers prescription. We don't have any presciptions so this really wasn't a big deal for us. We were finished in less than an hour - Yippee!

Off to the Motor Vehicle place to get two passport photo's taken ( a little wooden booth and el medico is also there for the driver's license). We are going to Italy in May and need to get an International Driver's Permit hence the photo's. This took less than 10 minutes.  I attempted in Spanish, but the nice photographer spoke perfect English.

Then we headed to AutoLand where we purchased our car to pick-up the title. Simply walked in gave them our driver's license and our title quickly appeared - perfecto!

So, three big errands in no time at all - I think we were home in less than two hours with driving taking a little over 30 minutes each way.  This was a great way to start the day!

I hadn't mentioned that we are going to Italy in May previously, but we are very excited. This is the first time either of us has been to Italy. Marcus has extended family in Gradoli (West of Orvieto in central Italy). There are something like 27 Andronici's in this town. I think this will be a really special experience. We got terrific flights out of Aguadilla direct to Newark and Newark to Rome.

Our itinerary is as follows: we are taking the train to Venice for a couple of nights, off to Cinque Terre for a couple of nights then a train to Siena where we are renting a car. We are staying over in Siena and then driving around Tuscany/Umbria for a few days. We are staying in Gradoli for three nights, but taking day trips in the Hill towns. Then dropping the car off in Orvieto to head to Rome by train for three nights. We have only done a touring vacation once before to New Zealand and we had a blast so we both anticipate this will be equally if not more fantastic!

In the meantime, I have also been volunteering for ARF (Animal Rescue Foundation) of Rincon www.arfofrincon.org since early January to help find homes for stray dogs and participate on the fundraising committee.   We already had a Bingo fundraiser in February on President's Day which was a great success. This was the first Bingo fundraiser ARF has done so it was a new experience for everyone. There were about 140 people that came with a nice mixture of Expats and Locals.

We sold Beer, Wine, Soda/Water and some light food. We also had a resource table with educational materials and photo's of dogs needing homes. I have to admit I have only played Bingo a couple of times before so this was quite an experience. Most of the people were dead serious about their Bingo - I had no idea! They came with their own cards (or we sold them at the door $5/6 cards). We used corn kernels and beans to cover the numbers. We actually ran out of corn kernels and someone had to make a run to get more. We had solicited several local businesses for gifts/prizes for the winners and ended up with about 30 gifts. A nice man named Pino (who is also running for Mayor of Rincon) called out the numbers and was in charge of the Bingo since he is Bi-lingual and has done this numerous times in the past.

We had gift certificates to local restaurants, gift baskets from local gift shops and cash prizes. The Bingo started around 4:00 and went until 8:00 pm - that is a lot of Bingo. I started setting-up around 12:00 and left around 7:30 so I was exhausted. Lots of work setting up all the tables, chairs, the bar, etc. The Bingo took place at a Tack and Saddle Shop that used to be a bar with an upstairs that was empty and the perfect space. So, everything had to be carried up two flights of steps. The best thing about the event is all the dogs were adopted!!!! Everyone was thrilled!

Next Monday, St. Patrick's Day we are having the annual St. Patty's Day Event at Villa Cofresi - ARF has held this event for numerous years and it is our biggest fundraiser of the year. We are going to have a silent auction (local businesses donated one night stays at hotels or guest houses, dinners, and art from local artists). About 200 people attend this with $30/per person including dinner. We will also sell wine, beer and soda/water. We are also going to have a live auction for some premium items such as a signed Bunger Surf Board. And we are going to have a parade of some of the dogs we have up for adoption hoping to find homes for these great dogs! This is how we got Hopkins a few years ago - at this same event so of course I am a strong supporter!

We are excited for the weekend - we may go to Bahia Sucia Beach (one of our favorites on the Southwest side of Puerto Rico). We went to La Parguera last week (Marcus took a day off) which was wonderful. Very relaxing. We usually rent from Cancel Boat Rental, but this time we rented from Johnny's Boat Rental. Someone greets people in the parking lot and guides you to the rental place. They alternate the days so it changes which one is open each day. We rented for 3 hours which went by so quickly. We headed to our favorite spot - Reef Pop. They have the best Aranitas (shredded plantains deep fried)! They are hard to find in Rincon and most of the hot spots don't have them on the menu - not sure why. You can also buy them frozen in the local supermercado and these are also quite good.

I am trying to learn Spanish - we bought the Rosetta Stone DVD before we left Colorado and I just started about two weeks ago. But this is something I need to do on a daily basis if I am really going to get anywhere so I am now trying to do a lesson 5 days a week Mon-Fri. I have done about 4 lessons - they are about 45 minutes each, but getting longer and harder as I go. I am determined to learn Spanish, but I have to force myself to speak Spanish when I am out in town because most people speak English. However, today I went to the School Supply store to buy some things and spoke Spanish, but the nice man worked with me and corrected me which was so helpful and encouraging! I will let you know how this progresses! For some reason I have never really been one to catch on to a new language easily - you know how some people just seem to absorb it and they speak like 3-5 languages, well I am not one of those fortunate people. I have to really work at it so that is what I am doing.

I am still on the hunt for a new couch (mentioned this previously), but have really been everywhere (Sears, Rooms to Go, Berrios, Sam's, etc.). I even called Pottery Barn who will ship to a Shipping Company who would then ship to me - sounds like mucho dinero to me. So, I am planning a San Juan trip in April to check stores in San Juan - I am confident I will find one! I am very particular about my living space and design so once I get my mind set on something I won't quit until I find it therefore the couch hunt continues. The word for couch in Espanol is Sofa and couch means something else, not sure what.......Just looked up couch which means expression in Espanol like I am going to couch that subject. No wonder the sales people looked at me funny:)

When we lived here before for 19 months I think we only left the island twice which looking back on probably wasn't good. However, in our defense I worked 6 days a week for a high end luxury resort so holidays and weekends were busy and I didn't have a lot of time off. Things that are familiar, expected, comforting are important for me to experience in order to keep a good perspective, but to also adjust to the differences here more easily.

I spent some time in Target which sounds ridiculous, but they don't have Target in Puerto Rico (I looked on the Target website to see if there was any indication of a store opening here, but didn't find anything). They do have Sam's, Wal-mart and Kmart, but anyone who is a die-hard Target fan like me knows that these simply don't compare to Target. So, again just an indication of needing things that are familiar. Also went shopping to pick up some things at Willams-Sonoma to bring back - one of the items was a pizza stone. We used to have one in Colorado, but didn't think it made sense to ship it so I hauled it back on three planes (luckily it didn't break). I know...we are nuts. I did look for one at the aforementioned places, but no luck.

So, got back late on Tuesday night (landed around 1:45 am) and the amazing thing was there was a Jet Blue flight leaving after this time - crazy, but it is an inexpensive flight from Aguadilla to NY. It felt good to be back which was a nice feeling. It was great to have Marcus pick me up and drive away and know that we aren't tourists, we actually live here!

I went shopping on Thursday - out to the Mayaguez mall looking for a Kitchen Aid Mixer. We had one in Colorado, but again it didn't make sense to ship due to the weight. I had luck with this one - found it at Wal-mart. So, that was a pleasant surprise. Also headed to Marshall's just because this is such a great place to browse as well as Sears, JCPenney and Pier 1 for furniture. We decided we should buy a couch. We have one here in the house, but it is a rattan couch more suitable for short-term rentals than everyday use. So, on the hunt for a decent couch. I did find out that Pottery Barn is opening a store in Plaza Las Americas (huge mall in San Juan) in April so I may make the trip to check it out. Actually, San Juan pretty much has everything you need, but the 2.5 hour drive makes it a full day outing. Haven't made the trip yet, but thinking I might soon.

I also stopped at a grocery store in Mayaguez named Grande and larget (Spanish to English translation) it was. Probably the best grocery store I have been to besides the Amigo in Aguadilla. Pretty much had everything I needed - lots of gourmet cheeses, some organic items and anchovies! Econo in Rincon rarely has anchovies. This seems inconsequential but we cook a lot - actually pretty much every night and we aren't the macaroni and cheese kind of cooks. We make homemade pizza, pasta, bread, etc. So, a good grocery is muy importante. Which reminds me I have only done one Spanish lesson from my Rosetta Stone, but plan on doing this on a daily basis during the week. I will let you know how it goes. I am determined to learn Spanish!

We spent some time at the beach today - Sandy Beach in front of the Tamboo. A bit windy with some sea and sand spray, but wonderful. We took some pics of a Kite Surfer. We are trying to use our new camera to get more comfortable with it. We are going to Italy (can't wait, we have been wanting to go for about 5 years, but got detoured to Puerto Rico!) in May and wanted to upgrade our digital camera we have had for 6 years to something with more bells and whistles. Maybe you will be able to tell with our exceptional photos...or not.;)  

We are off to Triple S insurance on Monday to change our existing previous employment insurance to self-employed/personal insurance (Marcus is now a contractor for his company instead of an employee - the expense to be a certified company in Puerto Rico is expensive so this was the best alternative).  I found where it was located on the way home from the mall so at least we know we won't be driving around trying to find it!

Marcus and I put our house on the market last May in the hopes of being able to move back to Puerto Rico (we lived here from July 2002 - May 2004). At the time, Marcus received authorization to work remotely, whereas my job was a little less flexible. But of course everything was dependent on us selling our house so it was a waiting game.  The summer passed by quickly with wonderful Colorado weather. Then the fall was upon us and we were discouraged and frustrated that we hadn't sold our house. We realized that with the worst housing market in history and 15 foreclosures in our surrounding area the odds were against us, but we stayed optimistic with good reason. Our house was a bit unique - A-frame 750 sq. ft completely renovated with 1.5 acres of land with only one neighbor to speak of with beautiful panoramic mountain views at 7,000 feet. However, along with this beautiful surrounding came cold, harsh winters, lots of shoveling and many layers of clothing. With cold weather looming we were postponing buying 3 cords of hardwood for the winter ahead.

We had discussed when we would pull the house off the market because neither of us wanted to spend the winter wondering if we would have to move in the middle of the winter. So by mid-September we decided Oct 1 would be the day we would pull the house off the market. Well, apparently the stars were aligned or destiny would not be detered because on September 28th we got an offer on our house. We accepted. The owners couldn't have been more perfect - paid cash (no appraisal, no mortgage approval), used as a summer house (wanted the house furnished) and anticipated keeping the house in the family for generations so some of the standard and worrisome inspections were avoided. Happy, happy! We signed and accpeted the offer September 30th, closing date October 30th and move date November 15th (these wonderful homebuyers let us stay two weeks past closing at no cost - it doesn't get any better really). We were on our way back to living in Puerto Rico - we were going to rent Marcus's parents house - beautiful house, gorgeous property with a spectacular panoramic view. Not so different from our house in Coloraoo. It was all starting to seem like this was meant to be, but it dawned on us - holy cow we are moving to Puerto Rico in 6 weeks!

Now, the real work began. Packing, packing, more packing and shipping. Since we sold our housed furnished we simply needed to ship the things we wanted to keep and then leave other items with family to store. We shipped 36 boxes to Puerto Rico - some on the 'slow boat' and some priority mail. We went to our local post office in Lyons, CO every week with about 8-10 boxes. They were extremely patient as well as interested in our plans. Usually there were a few people in line behind us with many eyeballs staring right through the back of my head, but as they learned of our plans curiousity got the best of them and they waited patiently for us to finish with our many boxes. We got delivery confirmation and insured every box. However, we usually did $100 to make things easier. So, some boxes were way under this and some were way over this amount. This would come back to bite us later.

We said our good-byes to family and friends the weeks leading up to our departure. Luckily my work came around and gave me the thumbs up to work remotely. So, we were on our way back to a place we loved with friends and warm sunny weather waiting for us and on top of that we had both our jobs - couldn't be more ideal. We were sad to be leaving Colorado because we had really grown to love it and had a nice life there, but we were counting down the days until the move date. We were excited to just not have to think or talk about moving anymore and just wanted to acutally do it! Some things had to wait until the last minute (some boxes we wanted when we arrived, the dogs Rabies vaccinations and selling our cars). 

We rented a mini-van for our drive across the country to hold the dogs and lots of stuff we were dropping off along the way. The drive was uneventful (the best kind), but looking back we were also very quiet. I think we were both in shock about how quickly everything happened. Don't get me wrong, we love change, we love moving to new environments and love taking ourselves out of our comfort zone, but still it was a shock to both our systems.  

We drove the 17 hours to Louisville, KY with the dogs in the back and everything piled up behind them. We stayed overnight and had a nice family get together. Then we were off to State College, PA where Marcus' family lives to spend the week of Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, we didn't take anytime off work for this grand trek which was a big mistake we realized afterwards. We left Colorado at 12:00 pm on Friday, November 15th arrived in Lousiville around 3:00 pm, left Sunday November 16th to arrive in PA around 6:00 pm. Then we got to go to work (remotely) the very next day. Not smart. On Tuesday we realized that the rabies shot the dogs received the week didn't follow the policy for the Continental flight. Hmmm, not good. This created a lot of stress and tension and worry that week. Just to try to cover ourselves we took the dogs to the vet in State College to get another vaccination just incase we would have to leave the dogs behind for 30 days with my in-laws.  We also received the top of one our boxes (yes, the top) in the mail this week. Of course, murphy's law it was one of the most expensive boxes we shipped. It apparently was somewhere in Florida. So, a box we insured for $100, but was actually worth about $600 was now lost. Fantastic.

We had a stressful Thanksgiving week with both of us under deadlines for work. Not fun. We left State College on Monday November 26th (with conference calls on the way) to drive to Newark for our flight to Aguadilla and worried the whole way whether or not the dogs would be on our flight with us. Luckily, all the paperwork was fine, no questions asked. We were on our way!!!

We finally arrived into Aguadilla around 1:00 am on November 27th with dogs in tow. The dogs were nervous and uneasy, but healthy and alive, Hopkins is 5 yrs. old and Myles is 12 yrs old. We rented another mini-van to fit the dogs, their crates and our 3 carry on bags. The next day we were back to work - ridiculous I know. I have no idea what we were thinking. We gathered our boxes that we had shipped that week with unpacking at night and working during the day (we actually received every single box (except the one lost in Florida) with only one ceramic bowl breaking. Pretty amazing).

We were exhausted. We also had the rental car we needed to turn in which meant we needed to buy a car. Thankfully, our good friend Gaby went with us as our interpetor. I had done a lot of research on small cross-over cars to easily maneuver on the small roads, but have room for the dogs. We settled on a Suzuki SX4 - great consumer report reviews and high ratings. Cars in Puerto Rico are about 2-3k more because of the importation. We would have liked to have bought a used car, but we simply didn't have the time necessary to look around. We needed to buy a car that weekend, so we did. We love it and couldn't be happier. We went to get our drivers license, necessary in order to get the private car insurance coverage. All cars have government coverage, but you have to buy additional collison coverage. Unfortunately our previous PR licenses had expired so we had to get all the various stamps and passport photos taken, but it took less than 2 hours - a breeze.  

We got the dogs acclamated and Marcus quickly got the electric fence working for our active and fast dog Hopkins. There were many new noises, voices, smells, weather and terrain the dogs and we had to get used to. The week after Thanksgiving to the week before Christmas were a blur. Work, work, work. Both of us were working 60-70 hour work weeks. We didn't go to the beach, we didn't even look at the view. It was not fun.

My family (Mom, sister, brother in-law, his mother and my 2 nephews came for the week of Christmas). Luckily, I had the whole week off and Marcus simply took his crackberry (a.k.a. blackberry) with us wherever we went. We had a nice time with everyone going to the beach, making dinners at night and just hanging out. Unfortunately, for me the exhaustion and transition since we had arrived had not gone smoothly and I was still a bit wired this week. I couldn't shake off the work mode into the relaxation mode. Marcus was also having a difficult time separating work from life. Work seemed to seep into everthing. So, needless to say we were both a bit of a mess and not doing a whole lot of communicating. I think we were still in shock and disbelief over how quickly everything happened and how difficult it was for us to get into a routine. The three hour difference between Colorado time and Puerto Rico time didn't help either.

Marcus was also traveling during this time - he went back to Colorado in mid-December, again for 10 days in January and then a couple of 2-3 day trips in February. This was all taking it's toll on both us. Neither of us were happy, neither of us were satisified with the way things were going. We couldn't find the rythmn and hum of everyday life. We finally had a long conversation to work through everything that we were feeling, thinking, fearing, disliking, etc. It is amazing how quickly things can spin out of control. We weren't communicating and both of us had a lot of anxiety we were keeping inside. Things got a lot better after this - we finally started to relax, find our rythmn, enjoy our surroundings and really appreciate what we had done (again).  During this time we decided that it would be best for me to stop working and start focusing on the whole reason we moved back to Puerto Rico - to start our own business.