Hello! Today was another great day. I started it by going for my first run in ages, certainly my first outdoor run in weeks. I stopped running outdoors when my cold allergy (yes, it's a bona fide allergy, as opposed to my kids' "brussels sprouts allergy") rendered me basically useless as the sinus congestion made my vertigo flare up. Sorry, but it's just not worth it. I rather feel like an expanding sausage in my jeans than have to grope walls just to walk (you vertigo sufferers understand). So, I was really looking forward to today's run. I got out around 7:45am, while Bill showered and minded the kids. I ran out of the W complex and turned onto the road, but only ran on it a few minutes since I figured I'd do a few laps of a pasture with a nice view of the ocean, where I often see people jogging. There were a few wild horses but that's pretty much it, no other runners. It was pretty hot out. Which explains why there were no other runners. I jogged across the grassy field, doing laps, minding the occasional pile of horse dung, thinking, "I can't believe I did a marathon in this heat, just a few months ago. After a bit of swimming and biking. How the hell did I do that??" I ran home and when I reached the front door I was definitely not feeling too good. Needless to say, I am going back out again tomorrow. Need to get back in shape! Anyway Bill left for work (turns out he must walk 50 steps, not 34) and I did some crunches & push ups, then put on a swimsuit and jumped into our pool. It's freezing. Here no one heats their pools. (Mental note: ask Bill if W pool will be heated?). But it felt incredible after my ass-whipping run which left my face red as a tomato and my heart about to jump out of my chest.

Jorge, Bill's colleague, brought Juana the puppy over and we agreed to take her to the beach with us. Jackie slipped on a collar he'd been given by a well-meaning but clueless colleague (it's meant for a Chihuahua - skinny & full of bling) and we set out. I texted my local friend John to tell him where we were headed (Blue Beach) and he told me that dogs are fine on the beach but they must be on leash, or it's a $250 fine. So I turned around and got a tether line Jorge uses. We drove the 20 or so minutes to Blue Beach, turned into one of the little parking spots, and found a spot by a tiny palm tree where we could attach Juana's tether. We had a blast again at the beach. After frolicking with the kids a bit in the water, I took Juana for a quick jog up & down the beach (in front of the kids), and unlike Penny, she ran alongside me and I didn't trip over her. Eventually we went and sat at the water's edge. I had the latest NY Times magazine, planning to read about how the nice boy next door can turn into a Jihad terrorist. Juana sat behind me. For about 2 seconds. Then I felt sand falling on me and realized our perfect foster puppy was digging. Aha! You are like Penny! Well it turns out she was digging away at the surface sand in order to make herself a nice cool bed, in my shadow. It was actually really funny. Each time I sat down she'd start digging away. She wouldn't leave my side since I'd bought some doggy treats and trained her to "sit" as soon as I was done playing with the kids. So once I was onto her, I would sit down, she would start her digging, I would stand up until she was done, and then I'd sit down and she would fall asleep behind me.

After awhile I figured we'd had enough sun so we piled into our Jeep and came back to the house to rinse off the sand and chill for a little before heading out for ice cream. A few minutes from the house we stopped at the fruit & vegetable stand that sets up shop at the side of the road every Tues. & Wed. At home, after a quick stop in the outdoor shower, the kids did some short lessons, Jorge came and got Juana, and then we headed out. You'd think that a tropical island would have an ice cream shop. Negative. There used to be one but now it's a sushi place. So we ended up going to a little grocery store and getting some ice cream out of the freezer. We walked around town a bit, checking out a few shops. There are 2 towns here: Isabel II (North side) and Esperanza (south side). Our place is on the north side, which is where the airport, the ferry port, the grocery stores, the ATM's, the schools, municipal buildings, and most shops are.

When we got home, there were 2 horses in our back yard. The kids scurried over, Willo with camera in hand, to check them out. Naturally, they didn't stay long, scared by the kids' enthusiasm, but Willo managed to get some fine pictures of horses' retreating asses. The kids then decided it was time to swim in the pool. I warned them it was freezing and they said they didn't care. But when they went out there, Willo realized he didn't have a swimsuit on. So he took off all his clothes and jumped in. Which is totally fine, except that Bill's office is, as I've stated before, 50 steps away from us. So when Willo spotted Bill outside, meeting with 4-5 guys, he quickly climbed out of the pool (remember, naked) and jumped up and down, waving his arms, yelling, "Papi! Papi!" I was on the lounge chair correcting Jackie's work, so I did quickly quiet him down, but the impression had been made. At dinner I asked Bill how it was to have his family so close, pointing out he didn't have his 45 minute cave (car) in which to transition from work to family, and he said, it's great, but the kids do need to tone certain things down. The kids promised no more streaking or screaming for him.

OK, off to catch the end of American Idol. We are one hour ahead of EST here. Tomorrow we won't go to the beach, we've had enough for now (gotta get our CT complexions used to all this sun!). I'll probably bring the kids to the Historical Trust and start to tell them about the short-sightedness of humans, as in the way that military exercises can have such a profound impact on the environment and on our health. Speaking of which, Willo's cough & cold are completely cured after 2 days in PR.

Buenas noches!

(p.s. for those of you following the kids' blog - they won't be able to post anything until my computer arrives in a couple of days, and we figure out the internet situation).