Making progress...

I know, two posts in one week? Crazy.  

Have you all seen this great new book produced by AAFSW and authored by many of my friends and fellow bloggers? I just ordered it on kindle last night and stayed up too late reading the great packout tips and funny travel stories. 

Last weekend, we spent three days organizing. Sometimes I just need to start and then I get motivated from the progress and can keep up the momentum. I think that's what happened, but this book will help, too! Our guest room is full of labeled plastic boxes and piles (I'm one of those FS people who likes to organize in plastic bins. It makes packout/organizing my stuff easier and the movers don't seem to mind - they can, of course, go through the bins if they want to). 

The kids have become pros at donating toys, and that makes me really proud. In fact, sometimes they want to donate a toy they just received! We have to negotiate about that. Last weekend, we organized my 6yo's toys and weighed everything- he has about 30 pounds of toys. I expect my 5yo will have about the same. Their books will be a different story.

Well, just a quick post for today. It's a holiday and I have to get started on my Saturday morning routine: working on my DR photo book. I'm up to 103 pages and found out the limit is 111. At first, I panicked, but then I realized Shutterfly is doing me a favor and requiring me to create better pages.

Hasta luego!

2 months left

Well, it's transfer season, that time of year when thousands of Foreign Service families pick up and move from one country to another. I will probably start blogging more since I used to love to read organizing, packout, and travel stories (and maybe I like writing them, too...).

I have been crazy busy in ACS and have not had the time/energy to do many tasks related to our transfer. But this week, one of my bosses shared her strategies for ensuring a successful transfer, and I became really anxious at the thought that I have not been on top of things. I hate doing things at the last minute that could have been done before or missing out on something I wanted just because I submitted my request too late. Since that meeting, I've taken care of a few tasks and feel MUCH better.

So here's what it looks like from my end, 2 months out:

- submitted my itinerary a few months ago, just waiting for orders
- submitted my request for packout dates and other necessary forms to get the ball rolling in GSO
- started the registration process for school for the kids in VA
- investigated some extracurriculur activities for the kids in VA
- planned a beach weekend for another photo shoot with the wonderful photographer we used before (I blogged about it in March, but the photos were taken in Oct. Seems a little soon to do it again, but I can't leave without a beach photo shoot!)
- continuing to work on my DR Shutterfly photo book- I hope to have it finished by the time we leave, so I can order it right away
-  started purging our belongings (I do this all year around, but I think there will still be plenty to give away!)


One thing that is challenging is that we basically have to take all of the kids' toys and books to VA, since they will likely grow out of everything in a year. I am being rather ruthless about toys that we don't need to keep, which we are donating to our nanny and driver.

So, in summary, it's getting busy around here! Hopefully, I can keep up my motivation and 'stay on target.'

Our last visitors? Another great family visit

We welcomed what I think was our last set of visitors in late April- my pop, aunt, and little brother. Since my pop is a serious scuba diver, we had to spend the weekend near Bayahibe, where the best diving on the island is apparently found. We decided to check out Casa de Campo, which is known as the DR's leading golf resort and possibly the Caribbean's leading resort. It's a year-round community and not just a hotel.

I thought Casa would be out of our price range, but we rented a lovely golf villa on a quiet cul-de-sac for a very reasonable price. It was luxurious and comfortable. We had such an amazing weekend- snorkeling, diving for some, eating delicious food, spending quality time with each other, swimming from sun-up to sundown. I want to go back someday- maybe even before we leave. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera.

On their last night here, we spent a few hours in my favorite place in Santo Domingo- the Colonial Zone. I love showing it to my family and learning a bit more each time I visit.

This trolley is a great way to learn the history and see the CZ.

This is my favorite restaurant to share with visitors. It's called Falafel and has the most beautiful setting, not to mention good Mediterranean food.

No trip to the DR is complete without some Yogen Fruz! I highly recommend it.

Another great visit- J and the boys

My girlfriend came to visit over Easter weekend with her two sons who are the same ages as my kids. We rented a home in a gorgeous hill top place called Monte Placido. Our 2 br house had an amazing view of the valley and ocean beyond, and the grounds were spectacular. One note- the driveway is pretty steep! If you like yoga, you have to spend a few days here- the owner built an incredible yoga cave into the mountains.

 Sadly, the weather was gloomy and cloudy, but it didn't rain much. We played on the beach and did a lot of walking back and forth to get gelato! The traffic was terrible since it was Easter weekend, so we left the car in one place once we arrived in town. The kids had a great time playing on the beach and creating Lego masterpieces at home.

We stopped at Playa Coson on our last day for lunch. It was windy but beautiful. Here's the place that provided our delicious grilled fish and chicken lunch!

I'm so glad my friend J could come see our life here and spend a few days with us. We had such a nice time!

Counting down

Only three months left. I was right in that time is racing by. I am both sad about leaving and excited about our next adventure. We are taking three weeks of vacation in Oregon and Maryland before starting Chinese training, and we're all really looking forward to that (we'll do home leave before leaving for China). And then we hunker down for 9 mos of language- right now I am nervous and excited at the same time about that.

I haven't found the motivation to get serious about packout. I think it's time, but for some reason, my heart isn't in organizing right now. Maybe because it's such a big task? We have stuff everywhere and I have cleaned out drawers before, only to have them fill up with junk again, so I guess I'm trying to wait until the last minute. Not the brightest strategy.

It is also totally overwhelming to think about what to bring in suitcases, UAB (unaccompanied air baggage, arrives more quickly) to VA, and HHE (household effects, takes longer to arrive). We have to keep in mind that anything we want UAB to China has to go in UAB to VA. So even though I don't need linens or much kitchen stuff in VA, I have to send them so that they can go in the quicker shipment to China. I've heard rumors that our slower shipment might take 6 mos to be delivered once we arrive in country, so I'm trying to think of everything we'd like to have early on.

I used to thrive on this kind of organizing. Right now, I'm just tired. I wonder why? Work is pretty grueling; I usually work 7am to 6pm every day and I'm pretty exhausted when I get home. We've had some awesome visitors lately (more posts to follow!) so we haven't been home much. Anyway, it needs to get done and I really don't want to do it at the very last minute!

Everyone is asking me about a bucket list. I really think we've hit everywhere I wanted to go. I have only two goals right now: spend more time in the Colonial Zone and visit the Mercado Modelo. D never liked the Colonial Zone, so we didn't spend a lot of time there, but I just love it and want to explore it some more. I'm thinking about taking myself on a walking tour there.

So, yea. Three months. Flying by.