Improvise

What do you do when your husband's co-worker gives you what feels like 500 beautiful yellow roses and you don't own a single vase, let alone one large enough to hold all of them? Why you improvise of course!

Yes- that is a stock pot. Fancy schmancy eh?

Home Sweet Home

After waiting for two months, our sea shipment of household goods finally arrived last Monday. This is what our living room looked like 15 minutes after the movers unpacked everything and hightailed it out of our apartment.

There is a couch and a table under here somewhere

I forgot how much stuff we brought

So, needless to say, I've been spending the last week trying to clean and organize everything, and after a brief battle with a stuffed octopus, I have completed the two most important areas: my fiber wall and our bookshelf. Our apartment is finally starting to feel like home.

Action shot of the epic octopus battle.

Nom Nom Nom... Fibery goodness...

Looking at this wall makes me happy!

Koh Samet

After spending the last month preparing for my GRE, spending 48 hours in a cramped plane seat in the last 7 days and then coming home and spending 24 hours with a strange sickness that left me alternating between worshiping the porcelain throne and writhing in pain on the couch, I was totally ready to sit on a beach for a couple of days.

Luckilly Eric had Monday off because of the Thai holiday- King Chulalongkorn Day and we had already booked a beach vacation on Koh Samet- an island located two hours southeast of Bangkok.

The hotel we stayed at, Samet Ville Resort, was on Ao Wai- a private beach located on the southern tip of Koh Samet. When we booked the vacation, we selected  this resort because it was supposed to be secluded and romantic. Well, it was a lot more private than the other beaches on the island we passed as we rode the ferry to Ao Wai, it didn't have a ton of umbrellas covering the beach. However, a tip for those looking to have a romantic beach holiday- do not book it on a Thai holiday when hordes of Thai families are looking to escape the city for the weekend.

Ao Wai at Sunset

The beach at Ao Wai was very beautiful, the sand was like sugar and the staff at the resort worked very hard to keep the beach clean. We would see them out there every morning, sweeping the sand.

Much of our time on the beach was spent sitting in beach chairs and reading, taking a quick swim when we got too hot. Occasionally we would halfheartedly mention going for a walk, but we always came to the conclusion that the beach was much better. In other words, we were in full on lazy mode and it was excellent. We did spend hours watching crabs scurry around the beach, digging holes and fighting each other. As you can tell, we even named some of them. 

Big Mamajamma- one of our crabby friends

The winged insect actually escaped the clutches of the crab and lived to fly away.

View of the ocean from our cabin's porch.

All in all, it was a very relaxing vacation. There was only one thing that marred the otherwise awesome weekend. Some time during the weekend I was attacked by mysterious bugs that decided my legs looked like dinner. I never actually saw them, but they left quite an impression.

Why is Melanie making a sad panda face???

Because her legs look like this!

Frequent Flyer

Last week I hopped on an airplane in Bangkok and 24 hours later I landed in Portland, Oregon. The flight was pretty uneventful, considering this was the first time I've traveled alone internationally. I only had one small issue, I was tagged for an extra baggage search when I landed in Seattle because I have been back and forth to Thailand three times in the last six months and that seemed suspicious to the customs people.

I traveled back to the states to visit my mom, to attend my cousin's wedding, and to take my GRE test for graduate school. One week is definitely not enough time to do all of those things, but I made the best of it.

My cousin Karl's wedding was a great time. Family flew in from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Colorado for the occasion. Hanging out with my family was so much fun. I enjoyed telling them all about my adventures in Thailand and catching up on family happenings while eating good food and drinking excellent beer. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get to go site seeing with the family after the wedding because I had to study for my GRE.  I did better than I thought I would but not as good as I hoped (is that vauge enough for you?), but I did get a wonderful note of encouragement and some beautiful roses from my mom the morning of the test.

I have the best Mom!

Being back in the states made me realize that not only did I miss hanging out with my family, but how much I missed orderly traffic that followed laws I understand, going into a store and knowing what everything is and where to find what I need, and being able to go outside without immediately breaking out in sweat.

While back in the US I stocked up on items that I can't find in Thailand (clothing and shoes that fit me, three seasons of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and items that are really expensive in Thailand (towels, pancake syrup, and yarn). I also picked up some pistachio pudding for my friend Elizabeth and some Command picture hanging strips for my friend Mary. Luckily I brought one completely empty suitcase and had a 70 pound weight limit for each bag, otherwise I would have had to leave some of this behind.

Shopping Spree!!