Debbie's blog

Spoke too soon, I guess.....

2012-02-13T17:22:00.000-06:00

I guess I praised ustvnow.com too quickly.....just tried to log on to watch some news, and there is "an internal error" which won't let me sign on. My happiness at a haircut overshadowed by technological problems and the fact that I don't know if we'll be able to move to a place with air conditioning soon or not. I'm pretty much FED UP at my builder's promises but no result and my husband's

Thank God for ustvnow.com!!

2012-02-13T15:45:00.001-06:00

So yesterday was good because I got to watch 60 Minutes (for the Adele interview) and the Grammy Awards on CBS, courtesy of www.ustvnow.com. I can watch ABC, NBC, CBS and CW streaming over the internet and it's free for the basic membership, as long as you are a US citizen outside of the US. Of course you can pay for additional channels, but since we do not have a fast internet connection (more

Prime example of "manana".....

2012-02-12T10:59:00.000-06:00

We had been having the woman who lives downstairs do our wash for us, for which we would pay her about $5-6.00. They have a washing machine and hang the clothes to dry. The first time we asked her to wash the clothes, we provided the laundry detergent, clorox 2 and regular clorox. She's washed the clothes about 3-4 times so far. When we brought the sheets & towels down a few days ago, she

I don't know if I can stand it here.....

2012-02-10T21:01:00.002-06:00

One of my friends back home in the States asked me how I was doing...this was my response to her: "I guess I'm okay...don't have Dengue Fever or Malaria yet, though I am eaten alive with mosquito bites. Having a hard time here.....definitely is a 3rd world country. Now you can say "I told you so". Don't know when the house will be ready....all we get are promises. I'm thinking about

Hello, my name is Debbie and I'm a TV addict....

2012-02-04T22:35:00.000-06:00

So we've been here in Ecuador since 16 Jan and we haven't been able to watch any TV other than Cartoon Network en espanol. I thought I'd be happy once we got window screens and internet access, but no.....my addiction has taken over. After sitting through ENDLESS BUFFERING on a weak internet signal, I was able to watch 1 episode each of New Girl, Parenthood, and Modern Family tonight. My

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary to my Parents!!

2012-02-03T11:08:00.000-06:00

So many congratulations are in order for my parents today as it is their 50th wedding anniversary!! Marriage is hard and I salute them for staying together in good times and bad. Yay Mom & Daddy!!! Yesterday we took a bus trip to Portoviejo guided by Barbara, the owner of The Blue Parrot, the restaurant where we get breakfast every day (except Weds. & Thurs.). We'd been told by several

New pix of the house!

2012-01-31T20:49:00.001-06:00

So this evening, our builder Xavier took us out to our homesite so he could show us some things. Here is a link on the pictures Robert posted to his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.358203447523900.94495.100000027424577&type=1. We also got window screens installed in the place we're staying at, so right now, everything is very good, except for the mosquito bites!!

Finally got to meet Patricia & Ron Farmer!

2012-01-31T12:51:00.001-06:00

So we've been here in Bahia now about 2 weeks and I hadn't met Patricia Farmer, whose blog I had been following religiously since she lives in Bahia. Well, finally, on our walk to the Tennis Club, we finally get to meet Patricia & Ron....what a great experience! And Ron commented that today is the 1 yr. anniversary of their coming to Bahia.....congrats to them!!! As with other American expats

Got to skype with my parents & brother!!

2012-01-28T11:33:00.001-06:00

I was finally able to skype with my parents and brother today!!!! Woo Hoo!!! So today will definitely be considered a good day, for that reason alone. My Mom gets her new glasses this week (post cataract surgery) and my Dad looks good (as always), and of course it was fabulous to see my psychic twin, my brother. Hooray for technology!! And they were able to see that the Princess is alive and

Went to "Gringo Night" last night.....

2012-01-28T10:37:00.000-06:00

So an ex-pat we met at The Blue Parrot (the breakfast placed owned by Barbara from AZ), Alan, a Canadian, told us about "Gringo Night" every Friday night where ex-pats gather for dinner and conversation. We went last night, manly hoping to meet the couple that has a daughter Sarah's age, but they didn't show up. Most of the couples were....how do I say this without sounding rude....MUCH OLDER

Robert got food poisoning last night!

2012-01-26T11:20:00.001-06:00

So yesterday afternoon, our architect (the builder's mom) picked us up and took us to the house site so she could show is some things. Also to implore me to "Please be patient...it takes a while and it will be worth it". I told her I was trying hard to be patient. It turns out the stairs up to the terraza (rooftop deck) will be on the front of the house instead of the side or back of the house

Pictures taken yesterday and today

2012-01-25T13:47:00.001-06:00

These are pictures that we took yesterday and today. We took a panga (boat that carries many people) over to San Vincente, across the Chone River, then took a motorcycle taxi to our home site to see our house. Also, there are pictures of the temp house that we are staying at. No water yesterday morning or this morning, but once

Well, we have been here 8 days now.....

2012-01-24T10:24:00.000-06:00

This is the story of my life. The mosquitoes/bugs here are hellacious, so I'm trying to stay in a cloud of "Off!", however, they still bite me. They LOVE me, for some reason Yesterday, I realized that the room Sarah & I were sleeping in has a whole pane missing from one of the windows, and that's how the bumble bee that stung me got in. We've since moved the luggage into that room and keep

Rain, rain, rain.....

2012-01-23T09:27:00.000-06:00

It's been raining like a sumbitch here the past 2.5 days, but at least if it's raining, it's a little cooler. Yesterday (after midnight) the power went out and didn't come back on until around 7:30a-8a. No work is being done on the house when it's raining, of course, which completely sucks. I feel like we'll never get into the house at this rate. I've been extremely homesick and miss my boys

Friday, 20 Jan 2012

2012-01-21T10:52:00.000-06:00

Friday, Jan. 20, 2012 Yesterday was a pretty good day. We got up and walked to the BTC so that we’d have internet. I went in the pool for a bit, then just checked my email. We found out they have refrigerated bottled water for .40/bottle. After that, we walked around and finally found the spot that Maria had taken us to lunch on Tuesday, so we stopped there for lunch. I was having

Access to Internet and Magic Jack!!!

2012-01-18T13:42:00.003-06:00

It is the 2nd full day of us being in Bahia. We have Internet at the Bahia Tennis Club, as friends of Xavier Gutierrez, our builder. I was able to speak on the phone to Mom, Daddy & Peter via Magic Jack, which totally paid for itself already. This morning I had a crying spell, thinking I'd never be able to speak to Mom or my sons. Since it is Summer here, it is in the 80s I think, but feels

My LAST snow event!!!

2012-01-13T20:50:00.000-06:00

So yesterday we got around 6 inches of snow.....thankfully, it is my LAST snow event here in Chicagoland......WOO HOO!!!!! The good news is it looks like the temperature should cooperate with us being able to fly with the pets Monday morning when we leave at 3AM-ish. Sarah has had what I call "kennel cough" for almost the past week....on Wed. night she spiked a fever of 102F, so yesterday

Six days left.......actually, really, 5 days.....

2012-01-10T20:58:00.002-06:00

So it's been a real bunch of hectic days. Michael has been in his apartment over a week now and seems to be doing okay. He "cooked" by himself for the first time and didn't burn the place down or anything....I knew he could do it! Peter & Sarah Ryan got home from their Disney College Program late Friday night. It's so great to have them back home, but bittersweet because we only have until

Latest pics of Ecaudor rec'd this morning!!!

2012-01-03T09:53:00.001-06:00

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150634578427627.488886.583802626&type=1&l=b335bab7fe So I woke this morning to the news of pictures received from Xavier!! It looks like a scratch coat of concrete was put on the cement blocks...it's looking more and more like a house. I'll be most interested to see the interiors being done, of course, but I guess that may be a girl thing. The

¡ Feliz y Prosperous Año Nuevo!

2012-01-01T08:08:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year! This is the beginning of some of our "lasts" before we leave for Ecuador. Friday was the last day I'd have to drive into downtown Chicago for work...won't miss driving on the Dan Ryan Expwy. one bit! Thankfully, we were paid the last check for 2011 at NOI, since effective 1/01/12 it becomes part of North Shore University Health System and it was my last day at NOI. It was

Christmas shopping and new glasses.....

2011-12-17T19:50:00.001-06:00

For some unknown reason, I woke up just before 8am this AM....WTF????!!!! I awoke to snowfall here in Evergreen Park...bleh!!! Today was eventful; we went and picked up my new glasses (including magnetic sunglasses), Robert's new glasses and Michael's new glasses. The only things not ready were Sarah's prescription aviator sunglasses and Michael's contact lenses. Hopefully they'll be ready

2011-12-17T09:52:00.001-06:00

I've condensed a lot of the pictures of our house being built in Ecuador into a Facebook album...if you have FB, then you can look at them in my photos, but if you aren't on FB, then you can click on this link to see them: Facebook pix of Ecuador House It is 29 days until we leave for Ecuador. Because it is snowing right now in Evergreen Park, IL, I REALLY cannot wait to get to Ecuador!!!

Happy 50th Birthday, Robert!!

2011-12-05T06:26:00.001-06:00

Today is my husband's 50th birthday! Hard to believe we've been together over 31 years! So a few things have transpired since I blogged last....went to my parents' house in NC for Thanksgiving, which was great. I got to see my sister and my niece Krystie and my nephew Jonathan. Didn't get a chance to see my uncle Albie. I did see 3 movies AT THE THEATER, which for me is a big treat. Usually

Guilt, guilt, guilt.....

2011-11-19T18:57:00.003-06:00

So we just got off the phone talking to Peter, which is always nice, but once again I end up feeling guilty that we are moving to Ecuador. I wish I could make them come with us, but they won't, so why am I feeling guilty?? I guess it's because we're doing something "unusual"....leaving the country for another life. My family, Robert's family, and our boys are all against us moving, or think

Posting some pictures on Facebook of our home in Ecuador!!

2011-11-14T18:06:00.001-06:00

Hope you all can see some pictures of our lot, the Architect, and the final plan of the house. Robert bought our tickets today to leave....we leave Jan. 16, 2012. I'll post more pictures as we get them!!!! p.s....you have to click on the title or you can click here.