Day Four in Sofia

Ah, maybe we are in the honeymoon period (probably), but so far I gotta say we are really liking it here. Our home is in an area surrounded by green lucious foothills and it is just breathtaking. It is so wonderful to have such a refuge and to have that refuge be our home.

On our second night in town, our social sponsor (a very nice couple, without kids), took us to out for dinner. The food was awesome. We started off with an appetizer of chopska salad, which included the most yummy tomatoes topped with a soft white cheese, cucumbers, goat cheese, etc. . .. Then, we had yogurt cucumber soup and chicken shish kebab for dinner. There was live traditional music. It felt very much like eating at a traditional Greek Taverna. Our only problem that night was that dinner (as will likely be the case here often) didn't start until 7:30 PM. The kids were loving it, but by about 9 PM, they were done. Oh boy did the melt down begin. So, finally at 10 PM, we left. But, we left in the car we bought from a departing employee, so we had our own wheels on Day 2 in town. And, I got the GPS working, so woohoo!!!

I've now programmed the Embassy, our house, schools, a grocery store and a co-worker's house into the GPS. So I am mobile and it is a great thing. Everyone seems amazed that we are getting around on our own already and got our internet and cable tv set-up so quickly. All I can say is THANK YOU to one Seiji's co-workers who has been a G-dsend in so many ways!!!!!

So, yes, we have a GPS and we are using it. We heard there were three ways to get to the school from our house. So, we drove via the easiest route (until we could get the school programmed into our GPS) to the school. It is a beautiful school. Then, we put in "home" to see what route it would take us. It suggested a different route, but for some reason we thought we needed to get back onto a main road first. Big mistake not listening to "Richard," our GPS navigator. Richard said "go right," followed by the baby repeating "go right, daddy." But, no, we went left back out onto the main road. It re-routed us and boy did it re-route us!!! We took that third route, which was referred to by our neighbor as the "off-road" route. Boy, was it ever. It was more off-road than we ever expereienced in Timor. We did see a section of the mountain we live on that we would never have seen before and, G-d willing, will never see again (talk about getting car sick - yikes). We saw a portion of the Roma community and how they live (quite different from what we've seen in Sofia so far). From what we saw, it is a much more peasant-like experience with more shack-like structures than houses for the Roma (or what we think were Roma). Roma, by the way, are what we always grew up calling "Gypsies."

After FINALLY making it back to a main road, we stopped in the little village that is just a mile or two away from our home. We started off by going to a central part of the village to park, but immediately a drunken man came up demanding money (lev) for parking. There is no charge for parking and we didn't want Seiji taking his wallet out in public. We didn't pay and got back in the car. The guy stuck his body in the door so Seiji couldn't close his door. Eventually we got rid of him and got out of there. He was just a drunken villager, who probably thought, "ooh Americans, an easy mark." Next time we will either keep a few bits of change in our pocket to give or just learn how to deal with this type of thing without the change (we will definitley have to ask our neighbors what they do.) So, we head back toward our house and see a traditional restaurant where we stop. We ordered ice cream sundaes that were quite yummy and this made the adventure all worthwhile to the boys who were getting a little bit tired of "exploring."

Later in the day we drove to the Embassy, so I could get that programmed in before I have to drive there myself this week. All along the way, Richard would give directions and the baby would copy him. It was like we were on repeat. It was quite funny.

And, so, those are our latest adventures for now.

First Impressions

We made it, yay!!!!!

It was a long journey to get here, but we all made it. When we arrived in Sofia, we expected long delays at the airport clearning the dogs. But, it was very quick and easy. The Sofia airport was nothing like we expected. It was rather new looking, clean and not overcrowded at all. We went to baggage claim to pick-up the dogs, expecting to have to see an Ag. Department vet to clear them. Nope, none needed. We just showed their papers to the custom's guy, who said "ok, looks fine." And we were done and out the door.

We were then driven to our new home. And, when I say new, I mean new. It was just completed right before we moved in. It's bright and pretty. We are in a compound that can accomodate about 20 families. We are gated and guarded. Each "house" contains four units. Our place here is every so slightly bigger than our place in VA. But, it has less rooms, so the rooms here are bigger. Not having a room I can use as a play room/bonus room is definitely the biggest disadvantage we've seen of this house. We thought we wouldn't have a private yard, but in fact we do. It's not fenced, but it is ours and it is a much bigger space than what we had in VA. And, we have a two car garage, which we did not have in VA. So, all in all we are happy. The area of Sofia we live in is actually a suburb of Sofia. It is on the mountain and it is a beautiful area. So, we are very happy to not be directly in the city. However, the thing that makes us happiest is that Tak is very happy with it. There are kids everywhere in our compound. In fact, he is playing right now at a friend's house. At our place in VA, I didn't feel safe letting him out to play without my constant supervision. Here, I feel so much safer about it and he is enjoying his new found freedom and SO AM I!!!!

Lastly, the cable guy came today and hooked us up. The hardest thing for me was when I would ask a question and he would nod, "no" while saying, "yes." In Bulgaria, the head nod is exactly the opposite of back home. It will definitely take some getting used to!!!

And that's the update for now.

Big Time Rush or Not

Obviously, my boys like a certain Nick show about hockey players who have a band. But, this has nothing to do with that show. No this is about our big time rush and wait, rush and wait, rush and wait. . . .

So, last week I was rushing around trying to put together a birthday/farwell party for the boys. They love LEGO Star Wars, but you cannot find Lego Star Wars decorations, cakes, etc. . .I tried to make some Lego Star Wars plates and we hired a friend, Susannah, to make an absolutely fantastic Star Wars Lego Cake that was the hit of the party. And, of course, because I was in no mood to figure out games for a party, we had it at a swim center. Gotta love built-in entertainment! Of course, I forgot a cake server and matches. My mind is in too many different places I guess. Luckily, our friend Emily had a matchbook from a restaurant and SAVED THE DAY! And, Susannah, who also came to our party, was kind enough to serve the beautiful cake she made using the plastic cutlery we had available. She is amazing!!! But, my biggest reward was when my now seven year old son said, "Mom, that was the best party EVER." Cue a BIG smile on my face hearing that. Now, on to the next thing.

The movers came this week. On Monday, they took our air frieght, so that was done in the morning. We shipped 700 lbs of mostly toys, but included some clothes, linens, and kitchen items (because as much as my boys insist, we cannot actually live off of legos). On Tuesday, the real work began and the guys worked a full day. On Wednesday, they didn't have a driver, so weren't able to come until 1:30 PM, but sent a double crew to get as much done as they could. And, Thursday was a full day and our final day of packing. How in the world did we accumulate so much CRAP. And, every move, we get rid of STUFF, but still. . .Of course, buying a sandbox and BBQ at the last minute probably didn't help. So, anyway, just a tip, if you ever have movers. . .More than anything else, the movers kept telling us how much they appreciated that we kept our house supplied with Coca-Cola and water and NEVER bought them PIZZA for lunch.

We provided lunch on the two full days the movers worked. On their last day, I went to Wegmans (only the greatest grocery store that has ever existed) and ordered a sub-sandwich tray. The tray came with four 14" sub sandwiches, cut-up into quarters. Wegman's, being such a great place, provided a bunch of condiments/extras for free (pickles, peppers, olives, mustard, tomato, lettuce, cheese, etc. . .) and chips. The tray cost $33, but fed 5 moving men, Seiji (who eats like 5 moving men), Kai and me. The movers couldn't stop thanking us for the food. They said they had never been treated so well, all because of a sub-sandwich tray. So, there is your tip. Now, we wait to see how many pounds over we are on our HHE (stuff being shipped by boat from here to Sofia). I shutter to think about the rushing around we will have to do if (more likely when) we find out we are over our 7200 lb. limit.

Today, the contractors came to the house at 8 AM. They have a lot of work to do. They need to patch and paint, replace carpeting on two of the three levels, regrout the bathroom tiles, fix some lights with broken sockets, and a multitude of other odd jobs to get the place fixed up and all this needs to be done by Monday night. The cleaning lady comes on Tuesday to do a final clean and then that afternoon we are supposed to go through the place with the new tenants and our property manager to write a condition report and hand over keys.

Now on to other things. I went to Verizon this morning to cancel phones, but they wouldn't let me as hubby is the "primary." How stupid is that?! I'm on the account, but because he is the primary, I cannot cancel the account. I'm thinking I should be the primary from now on. But, I fear if everything was in my name, they would not allow me to use his government travel orders to cancel without termination fees. Oh well, what can you do. . .

And, so, down time is over.

Time to get moving

Here we are less than a month away from our next move. Summer just started and it feels like it is flying by. Our day starts off at 6 AM with the baby yelling from his crib "get out, Get Out, GET OUT!!!" And, so, I go get him and bring him to my bed. He watches PBS Sprout while I get another hour of rest before my oldest comes sauntering in. Without pressuring, I try to encourage him to get his little bit of daily studying and piano practice done so its not hanging over his head the whole day. For the last few days, he's done that to my amazement. Hope, Hope, Hope that continues!!!! Then it's breakfast time, followed by swim lessons, followed by lunch and our day is 1/2 done - YIKES!!!!

The afternoons have just filled up so quickly too. There are last dentist and doctor appointments. There's shopping for all the things we THINK we won't be able to find in Sofia and, of course, know we cannot live without (especially with birthday money burning a hole in the boys' pockets). Then, lest we not forget, I need to cancel accounts, organize files and our belongings and get rid of STUFF (random stuff that just magically accumulates between each move). There is nothing like a move to rid ourselves of JUNK.

At least I've already found tenants and signed the lease, arranged for a property manager, sold hubby's car and bought us a car at post so we have something right when we arrive. So much left to do, and here I am on the computer. Shame, shame, shame. Time to get moving.

The Mystery of the Midnight Honking

For quite a while now, this has been happening and I still cannot figure out what the heck is going on. Usually, my deepest sleep doesn't happen until very early morning (3 AM and beyond). So, if a little noise occurs in the midnight hour, there is a good chance it will wake me up. For several months now, I've noticed that someone honks their car horn sometime between midnight and 2 AM. Usually, it is at 12:15 AM, but not always. It's not a car alarm, and frankly it sounds more like Morse Code or something. Short beeps, long beeps, pauses between various beeps, etc. . .It goes on for about two minutes and then it stops. Very occassionally, I think I hear a car honking back. I've tried to look out the window, but I don't see anything or anyone. It's very weird. Hmmm????

G-d works in mysterious ways or has one ironic sense of humor

The other night we went to our favorite little Mexican/Tex-Mex fast food joint in town--Guapos. Mmmm, we just love their rotisserie chicken!!!!

As we entered the establishment, hubby and I were discussing/debating a topic. For those of you who know us well, I am the eternal optimist and hubby the pessimist. He accuses me of wearing rose colored glasses and describes himself by saying, "not only is the glass half empty, but broken and leaking too." In fact, I think I'm more of a realist, but it's all relative. So, anyway, we were discussing our housing situation at our new post. It is not ideal with our dogs, but it is what it is. As hubby was going through the list of all the things for which we must prepare ourselves, I said, "you know what, maybe I'd actually rather be blindsided by something potentially bad, than constantly worrying about the possibilities [or as he says, "preparing for"] what might be troublesome."

It's our turn to order. Drinks come with the meal. While he is waiting for our food, the boys and I walk over to the fountain soda machine (otherwise known as the pop machine, from where I come from anyway). I'm listing off those drinks I will allow my six year old to drink. As I am doing this, suddenly the cover of the pop machine just falls off and hits me on the forehead. The bump swells to the size of a golf ball and starts to encompass my eye. Luckily, ice brought the bump down quite a bit. And, even more importantly, luckily the boys didn't get hit!!!! Hmm, just after I said I'd rather be blindsided, what happens, I'm blindsided by something. Maybe I don't prefer to be blindsided after all.

After all of this, you might think Guapo's would refund the price of our meals. But, no, they didn't even offer. The manager kept saying, "if there is anything I can do for you. . ." I just asked for a bag of ice, I was just in shock that this random thing had even happened. He did call today to see how I was doing and says he will call again in a few days.

The Piano Debacle

Oldest son has been taking lessons for a year and it is time to move on from my 20-year old keyboard. After much research we decided upon the Yamaha Clavinova 340. And, since I've been told that money does grow on trees, why not. "Come from" or "grow on" what's the big difference anyway.;) Ok, so if you know me well, you know I don't really think that way. Afterall, I've had that old keyboard for 20 years and wanted to update for the last 10. So, anyway, we decided to go to a dealer and see what we could do.

The salesman immediately offered a price for less than the "real price" in my official "Digital Piano Guide." Hmm, something isn't right. How could this be, isn't my "guide" supposed to know everything afterall. We negotiate a little and he says he will throw in free delivery and set-up (a $145 value), so we say "OK." Only, I'm not feeling quite right about it all and as the day progresses I feel worse and worse about it. Poor hubby, trying hard to make my Mother's Day so nice and here I spend the whole day stressing about how I think we got screwed. And, that feeling just kept growing and growing. Guide be damned!

Because I had such success with my on-line guide, I go home and get back on-line to do more "research." Finally, I find a blog with a thread called, "Digital Pianos, Prices Paid." This thread listed the model, the price paid, the area it was bought, and (in some cases) the name of the store at which it was bought. Dare I look. Of course, I looked! My worst fears were realized. If we had paid $500 less we would've had a great deal, $300 less a fair deal, so we way overpaid.

We called the dealer tonight. After a lot of going back and forth, we told them we would cancel the order if they couldn't do something better for us. The dealer said he would need to talk with his boss and call us back. During this time, I called one of the stores listed on the "Digital Piano, Prices Paid" thread (on the other side of the country from us). The salesperson at that store tells me about some Yamaha rule that doesn't allow them to quote prices on the phone. Hmmm. . . I tell him our story and he asks, "how much did you pay?" Thank goodness he took pity on me. He immediately tells me that was way too much money. He tells me what a "fair price" would be and instructs me how to proceed with our salesman. So, that's what we did. We reduced our cost by $375. I feel much better. Of course, this was all done over the phone with a guarantee that the new invoice would arrive tomorrow with the piano and the $375 would be refunded to our card. Preparing for the worst, hoping for the best. . . .We will see what tomorrow brings!

Update: The invoice arrived a little off (by about $145 too much), but one phone call and a few days later the right amount was given back to us. Whew!!!!

My poor baby

Oh, my poor 1st grader. He is suffering with allergies something terrible this year. I took him to the allergist today and he had a bunch of tests on his back and some on his arm. His poor little welted back and arm!!! And, then, he went to school. But, on the way, we stopped at McD's for a milkshake. Such a brave guy, I thought he deserved it.

So, he's allergic to ragweed, grasses, oak trees, dust mites (how do you convince a 6 year old he can longer sleep with his beloved stuffed animals?), some type of mold that floats around the air everywhere, and cats. Dogs were non-reactive on the first test (phew) and every so slightly on the second test. The doctor said to not let the dogs in his room, but its such a minor reaction that it's really not the problem here. Though we miss our Akachan, its probably best we didn't get a new kitty.

UPDATE: $40 eye drops, nasal spray and a HEPA air purifier for his room and, still, today his eyes are so swollen he can barely see out of them. I guess we better start the shots, cause treating the symptoms doesn't seem to do much good. Just looking into seeing how difficult it will be to continue them when we move.

A GREAT DAY

Today, my dearest hubby actually surprised me for my birthday. He planned ahead, he didn't tell or hint a bit to me or the kids, and low and behold he totally pulled it off!!!! We had a lovely afternoon at Tim's Rivershore with friends in the area--friends from old schools, friends from old jobs, family from Oregon, and friends we've made here in town. Such a lovely mix and so cool to have them converge in one place. And congratulations to D&M and W&R on your pregnancies!!!! So exciting and so wonderful to share in your news!!!!

Then this evening was also very fun. Our 1st grader's friend is having a camp out birthday party. They have a beautiful big woodsy backyard perfect for camping. The baby and I stayed only for the first part of the party, which was very lovely. They cooked hot dogs on a fire pit and served dirt and worms for dessert. The kids learned how to start the camp fire and played lots of fun camping games and activities. Now, the big boys are setting up camp. I think they will have such a fun time. Hopefully, its not too cold and windy tonight!!!

Chicken Butts

On Sunday afternoon, we skipped hockey and went to our local library because my 1st grader was a semi-finalist for the library's "Create-a-Bookmark" contest. The theme of the contest was "No Butts About Reading." In addition to handing out awards to winners, the author of the children's classic, "Chicken Butt" read the book to the whole group. Of course, now my two year old is going around saying, "chicken butt, chicken butt. . ."

I find this extra funny because in college my RA used to go around saying, "what's up chicken butt?" and reply, "not a thing chicken wing." Really, this whole book is not more complicated than her "chicken butt, chicken wing" routine.

You can see a photo of the bookmark on our facebook page. Instead of drawing a chicken butt or the butt of some other animal, he drew a leprechaun and a pot of gold. Not sure how it's related, but hey he did include the phrase "no butts about reading" on it.