Current Mood: happy

A combination of Twitter, Facebook, and my incredibly insane work schedule are killing my blog. One of the biggest and most fabulous events of my life is happening all around me right now and I’ve not even taken the time to write about it. After over a year of paperwork and waiting, Sally is finally home and I am here to tell you that every day seems like a fabulous new adventure.

While communication is a challenge at times, it’s not as difficult and you might think. While she was still in China, she attended English classes and seems to have a good foundation but has since lost some of what she learned. She desperately wants to improve her English though. Dad bought her the Rosetta stone software and she uses it some but I kinda get the idea that she doesn’t care for it too much. She has an electronic translator that she uses when she can’t get her point across. That comes in very handy. She’s been using it to translate books. She says that helps her learn.

She brought home one of the hymnals from church and started translating the song words. She loves the music at church but didn’t understand what she was singing. This really did my heart good. I’m so thankful to my friend Stephen who was kind enough to send her a Bible in Chinese. She was really excited and grateful to receive it.

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Current Mood: happy

1. Nashville, TN – It’s no secret that Nashville is my favorite city, despite the fact that there’s no beach. I absolutely love the downtown music scene. One day, I will live there.

2. Austin, TX – Austin is like a second Nashville to me. This would probably be my second choice for a permanent residence.

3. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Have I mentioned how much I love Puerto Vallarta? I think I might’ve once. The place where hardly any rain falls, the weather is absolutely gorgeous, the people, culture, and hospitality are amazing, and tequila flows in abundance…it is sheer paradise. If/when I win the lottery, I’ll own a beach house there. Or at least a swanky condo.

4. Chattanooga, TN – Home is where the heart is. Warm summers and very mild winters make the weather perfect. I really do love it here. Chattanooga is not so big that you really have to worry about a lot of violence, but still big enough to find things to do. Right between Atlanta and Nashville, bigger cities and more nightlife, concerts, and good times are never too far away.

5. Panama City Beach, FL – My family used to vacation here regularly when I was growing up and it was my little heaven. Yes, I know its very touristy but I love it there anyway. The sand on the beach is like sugar. Absolutely gorgeous!

6. St. Petersburg, FL – St. Petersburg also has those sugar white sand beaches but isn’t so touristy. Ocean front bars line the beach and it makes for a relaxing or party-filled time, whichever you choose to make it.

7. San Antonio, TX – Rich with history, San Antonio reminds me a lot of Chattanooga, but with a Texan flair. I’d say don’t miss the Alamo and river walk while you’re there, but really it would be difficult to do so.

8. Washington, DC – With so many things to see and do, you could really spend a couple of weeks here and never see it all. On top of that, so many things there are free or really cheap to do. Don’t miss the Cherry Blossom festival in the Spring!

9. Orlando, FL – Who wouldn’t love the city that is home to Disney World, the happiest place on Earth?!

10. Las Vegas, NV – Ah, the city that never sleeps. Literally. Gambling, clubbing, drinking, shopping, dining, shows… pick your poison!

Current Mood: rejuvenated

All my life I’ve lived in the South and while people here tend to be more friendly than people who live in the North, I am here to tell you that southern hospitality ain’t got nothin’ on Mexican hospitality.

The second we stepped out of our cab at the hotel, there was a nice young man who ran up to take our bags from us while we checked in. That process took only a couple of minutes and while we were waiting, another guy ran up and handed us mixed drinks. Then the one holding our bags promptly took us to our room. When we got there, we found our room to be clean and spacious and we had a beautiful view from our balcony. He showed us where the alcohol cabinet and refrigerator were and told us that if we were to run out of anything to simply let them know and they would replenish it. In addition to sodas and bottled water, we had a stock of tequila, vodka, gin, and some other liquor I don’t recall in our room! I’m telling you, all-inclusive is definitely the way to go!

After setting our stuff down, we decided to go explore the hotel. When we got down to the ground level, we discovered they had an open bar set up outside in front of the lawn. A friendly guy named Daniel stopped us, asked us our names, and offered to make us a drink. We accepted, chatted with him a few minutes and continued on our exploration. We had seen beautiful pictures of the resort online before we booked the trip, but never expected the real thing to be quite as nice. It absolutely was though! The grounds were very well kept. Everything was gorgeous!

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