Grocery Costs - Rethought

So instead of posting all of that nonsense about how much everything costs at the grocery (talk about seriously time consuming) I've decided to just post, as a reference for us in the future, what we've been making and how much each meal has cost. I'm still keeping track of all the numbers and such but I'll just give you the abridged version.

Working Backwards -
19-1-11 : BBQ Chicken and Chips -  $1.13
18-1-11 : Tuna Salad - $3.12
16-1-11 : Chuki's Birthday Grill Out - $4.69
14-1-11 : Pasta with Tomatoes, Beans and Roasted Veggies - $4.51
13-1-11 : Stir Fry - $1.52
10-1-11 : Middle Eastern Pizzas - $3.06
8-1-11 : Tarragon Braised Chicken and Rice - $4.10

There you have it - 7 meals for $22.13!

Chuki Updates

Just a few things we're working on with the Chuki bear... Thought you all might want to know.

1st and foremost, we've started NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free). You can google it if you're really curious but basically the premise is that dogs recieve nothing unless they do something for it. So before we pet Chuki, he has to sit. Long gone are the days of toys all over the house, now we keep them all in the closet and we control when and for how long we plays with them. The reason we started it is because he needs to understand that we're the boss, the pack leaders if you will. Anyways, we've already seen improvements! Wa Hoo!

2nd, we're crate training and he hates it. Absolutely hates it. But we're being persistent. Any advice would be helpful!

3rd, we're really working on the jumping. It's no fun for us and its especially no fun for guests. We're seeing big improvements with us, but we need some willing volunteers who don't mind being jumped on to have him practice with guests... any takers?

Lastly, we've joined Boxerworld. It's a forum type place where boxer owners post questions and such. We've already had some great answers to some of the questions that have been plaguing us.

Thats about all with Chuki. Actually, it's quite a lot! We're trying to get him ready for the big move!

MULUB,
Taylor

PS. Also Chuki is learning the 'off' command and the 'touch' command. The fruits of our labor - he no longer sleeps in the bed with us!!! WAAA HOOO!! And we're hoping that the 'touch' command will make it easier to train him to ring a bell on the door when he has to go out at my parents' house!

Home

I realized that I haven't blogged yet about being home. Let me just say that it was a whirlwind! We were super busy seeing people, shopping and unpacking/repacking!

Let me just say this - Thank You to everyone who made time for us! We love you all dearly. Leaving our friends and family is the hardest thing about living abroad. Thanks for showing us so much love while we were home! We can't wait to be able to spend time with you and celebrate with you this summer!

MULUB,
Taylor

1 Year

We have been living in Quito for 1 year, today! I can't believe it. At times it feels like we just got here, we haven't seen anything and we're complete strangers to the city. But then at times it feels like 'it's only been a year?!?!'. The one thing I can say with certainty is that Quito feels like home, especially our apartment. Which just goes to prove that home really is where the heart is! Here's this year in a nutshell

• Ryan left the USA for the first time. 
• We moved in together. 
• We changed our professions completely, from retail and fundraising to teaching English. 
• We lived in a hostel for 2 weeks and it cost the same amount as 1 months rent. 
• We moved into a furnished apartment, got kicked out, searched for a new apartment, moved into an unfurnished apartment. 
• Got a dog!
• Bought furniture and appliances the Ecua way... haggle, haggle, haggle and get a guy with a truck. 
• We've learned Spanish (and are continuing to learn). 
• We've made some great friends that have showed us their love by leaving us =(
• We've hosted a lot of people and realized we really enjoy hosting. 
• We've come back to the States for a visit. Ryan attended his first Bogdan Christmas in its entirety and went on his first Bogdan Cruise. 
• We've started running. I ran my first two races and am completely hooked.
• We've bought our tickets home to IL, signifying the end to this fabulous 16 months. 

Most of all, we've learned a ton about ourselves, about each other, about living abroad, about being puppy parents, about Ecuador. It's been a really great year and we've got big plans for the next four months so that we don't miss one thing. But all in all, we're excited about coming home too. It will be a new adventure and the best part is that we'll be close to the people that we love, our friends and families. And then... on to Korea! 

MULUB, 

Taylor

Happy Birthday Chuki Bear!

Chuki is 1 years old today! We've got lots of fun things planned for him and, of course, lots of fun meals! We've already had pancakes and eggs for breakfast and now we're heading to the dog park. His birthday cake is in the oven and we're going to grill out this afternoon, so that he can play in the yard at our apartment building.

MULUB,

Coming home from the breeder!

Curled up on a pillow

Enjoying the parc

Waiting patiently for someone to play with him

Celebrating his first Christmas

Finally home from Sebas's

Chicago, oh how I love you!

I spent 2 full days in Chicago visiting friends and they were amazing! Here's a run down...

Day 1 - 
Dear friend Brad (Good luck on the move Brad!) drove me from Rockford to Elgin, so I could hop the train.
Met Hannah at Union, had coffee in a red cup at Starbucks and did some shopping on State St.
Surpirse visit from Jess at Forever 21 and went back to Hannah and Sarah's new apartment.

Made lunch and spent time watching Top Chef (God, I miss Bravo) and catching up on a years worth of news, drama and love!
Went to Doug's for drinks and a very lovely cheese tray.

Went to Quartino's with some of the most amazing girls women and man I've ever met and am so happy to call my friends.

Spent the evening talking, laughing, drinking wine and eating delicious food!

Day 2 - 
Ryan came into the city and we went back down to State St to do some more shopping.

Went to Lincoln Square for lunch at Garcias (mmm Tecate!).

Walked around Andersonville and popped into all of our/my favorite stores!
Bought Chuki a lot of presents.
Went out to dinner with Brian and Hannah for yummy BYOB Thai at Kitchenette!

Came back to Hannah's apartment and stayed up chatting in Hannah's room until I fell asleep sitting up.

Day 3 -
Friday morning Ryan and I got up early and said good bye to Hannah.

Then we had breakfast at M Henry (no breakfast pudding though, only on the weekends). Drove to Arlington Heights for a quick trip to Trader Joe's, PetSmart and the American Cancer Society office to say hello to my lovelies. Then back to Rockford to leave for Florida.

The best part of Chicago: seeing my amazing fun, caring and incredibly talented and successful friends. Those two days with them really sealed the deal about coming back in May. I can't wait to have more time to actually spend time together, instead of just catching up! Love you all, whether we talk every day, once a week or only when we see each other. Thanks for being fabulous!

MULUB,
Taylor

Cruisero

While home, before Universal and Disney, we went on a cruise. It was amazingly uneventful and very, very relaxing. Which is exactly what we needed after 10 days of pure madness in IL! This is what we did everyday

1. Wake Up
2. Breakfast
3. Lay Out
4. Lunch
5. Lay Out
6. Shower
7. Dinner
8. Sing
9. Bed
10. Repeat

There were two highlights for me...
1. Having Ryan be able to be apart of this very Bogdan Family Tradition. Being on a cruise is what I know for Christmas. We've done it so long that it feels unnatural to be in IL for Christmas. It was great to have Ryan be able to experience that and all of the excitement that my family attaches to it. To put it in perspective of just how big of a deal this family cruise is to my family... we've already booked and started talking about next years!

2. It was really nice to have 5 people on the cruise instead of just 4. That's really for the whole vacation part of the trip, but I especially noticed it on the cruise. When it's just the 4 of us my mom and I spend all of the time together, Elliott spends time with his new friends and Dad spends time relaxing. But when there were 5 of us, sometimes Ryan and I would hang out, sometimes Ryan and Elliott would hang out, sometimes mom and dad would sit together, sometimes mom and I would sit together... there are just a lot more options of mixing things up with 5 than with 4. Plus I really enjoyed seeing Elliott and Ryan get a long so well...

Dad giving Ryan and Elliott a poker tutorial!

The three kids at dinner!

Elliott's serious about his food

Oh the food... look at that lobster!

On our way to the Piano Bar... notice the kit kat pocket square!

Winning our Ship on a Stick in the Piano Bar!

The 5 of us at the beach... notice mom's flamingo stance!

The three men again

Ryan eating 14 oz of beef! Probably more than he's eaten the whole year in Ecuador!

So... that's about it. Not much to report on the cruise front. We don't do excursions, we just find a beach, play in the water, eat deliciously amazingly fresh seafood and drink fruity drinks! Which for me, is the closest thing to heaven as you can get! Can't wait till next year on the Allure of the Seas with so many fun people (my family, Ginny and Paul and the Pianos)... holy cow!