I have a confession to make. I’m addicted to social media. Â It started innocently enough. Â I mean, I didn’t even get my first Facebook account until 2008 and even then, I was incredibly reluctant about joining what I viewed as the “Online Party for the Millenial...
Sarah Novak
We’re a little behind on our photo books, but here’s the most recent one we finished! Â Highlights include my pregnancy photos, Nia’s birth and our time in DC. Just click the photo to see the book.
Here’s a look at the different animal species we met this week:
Fur Sea Lion
Galapagos Sea Lion
Christmas Iguana
Sea Turtle
Land Tortoise
Sally Lightfoot Crab
Nazca Booby
Blue-footed Booby
Sting Ray
Penguin
Lava Lizard
Flamingos
Flightless Cormorant
Jellyfish
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Today we eagerly jumped off the boat, excited by the possibility of seeing land tortoises (different than the sea turtles we saw in the water). As usual, we saw an abundance of them. We have a running joke that the boat keeps a few of all the animals in stock and runs over to the...
One of the best surprises on this trip has been how many babies we’ve seen (and up really close too)! The Mom and baby above are Blue-footed Boobies. This baby is estimated to be 1 week old. Here’s what that chick will look like in a few weeks time, all covered in a downy white...
At last, our long-awaited trip to Galapagos is here. The expectations were sky-high and damn if they didn’t blow us away on the very first trip to shore. No honestly, if they sent me home after our first two hour excursion I would have felt like I got my money’s worth. It was...
Tis the season for holiday parties! Â Saturday was one of our first Embassy ones, a “Morning with Santa” for the kiddos. Â Â It was beautifully done – bouncie castles, face painting, santa, food, crafts, music… just lovely and for not only the Americans, but the...
I am a BIG fan of Christmas music, having amassed somewhere around 300 songs over the last 20 years. It all started when my family used to purchase the “Sounds of the Season†Album at Target each year (question: Do they make that anymore?) I loved seeing which mix of artists would...
Yesterday I had the amazing good fortune of joining the Canadian International Society (Not just for Canadians!) for a morning of volunteering at Casa Hogar, a home for single mothers under the age of 18. Â Knowing from personal experience just how challenging parenting is, it was mind...
I biffed it BIG TIME today.  Here’s what happened: I was lying in the bedroom, attempting to grab a quick 1 hour nap to make up for my 4:45 AM wake up (thanks Nia).  All of a sudden our intercom rings and when I answer they say something unintelligible in Spanish plus...
It’s been non-stop Halloween around here the last few days. Â Although not my favorite holiday, I have to admit that it’s a ton more fun with a kid. Â Cuteness just becomes magnified in silly outfits! We took full advantage of the costume that Grandma and Grandpa Miller sent...
Ummm, please watch this. Â Your Monday needs a good laugh to start it off on the right foot. Â PS – I am totally going to take advantage of my baby and eat all the good candy she gets, leaving her only with the apples and raisins. Â I get to do that cuz I’M THE MOM. PPS...
Here are the best of Nia’s 1 Year Photo Shoot! We had them done by Vanessa of Luz + Letra here in Lima. It was a fantastic experience that yielded over 100 beautiful shots of Nia! If you’re in the mood to view the entire gallery, head on over to SMUGMUG.
It’s hard to believe, but our little girl just crossed the one year mark. I’m not going to lie and say that the entire year flew by because there were days in those first 3 months that felt ENDLESS. However, time seemed to gather speed as we found our parenting groove. I’m enjoying...
Last Saturday was our long-awaited visit to Mistura, the Peruvian Food Festival. This is a relatively new festival (one cabbie told me it’s 3 years old), but it’s already made a major splash in Peru and Internationally. It’s best described as a State Fair minus everything but...
So last Wednesday I went to the doctor because my nose piercing was infected (I’ve had it 4 months and it’s been infected on and off throughout). Â During the appointment he removed the jewelry and said I needed to start on Antibiotics and return on Monday (today, 5 days...
One of our traditions is to collect a piece of art from each country we are posted to. We always purchase it at the beginning of our stay, prior to the Embassy coming over to hang up all our wall art (I know, what can I say, we’re spoiled)! Nick and I continue to gravitate toward...
Nia and I recently started going to a weekly music class in our Miraflores neighborhood. It’s a steal of a deal at $4 a session for an hour of music. Carlos, the musician, is quite versatile too. Each class he plays the Cajón (the peruvian drum box), his guitar AND his trumpet. ...
Sorry for the lack of blogging lately, I’ve been doing a ton of writing during the day for my upcoming business launch of CanceRevolution and I just don’t have the energy to do more writing at night. As a compromise, I’ll indulge you with pictures of the babe instead! Last Sunday...
“Hollywood has its film stars. Â We have our cooks and Mistura is like the Oscars.” Guess who has tickets to this food festival in September??? Â It will surely be the highlight of my year… PS – You can experience the joy from far away by viewing the documentary...
Saturday was our last full day on the Island and Paul of Tekarera Tours had a real treat in store for us. He took us to Rano Raraku, which is the name of the volcanic mountain that the rock was quarried from to make the statues. The crater was this incredible mix of sacred and...
Seriously, who flies 6 hours to see big stone heads?! We do, as well as the other 50,000 people per year that get to Easter Island, the world’s most remote inhabited island in the world. I can say without hesitation that all the travel effort is worth it – this place is a...
No, we’re not leaving the country, but we are moving to a new place in Lima. We were very lucky to have a great condo in the heart of Manila for our first tour and were totally digging our house in Lima. However, we were given the opportunity to move to an apartment down by the...
Peru’s Independence Day is coming up on July 28th. People have been showing their pride all month long, with many wearing pins, some adorning their car with a flag and EVERY house putting up a flag (it’s required or you can get fined). We got to celebrate the...
My daughter is a drama queen. Â Drama queen with a CAPITAL D. Â Her intensity is unparalleled. Â She can go from dawn to dusk and has recently decided that she isn’t interested in sleeping (LUCKY US). Last night she didn’t feel like going to bed. Â We insisted and let her cry...
I woke up on my birthday in a foul mood.  I had decided in advance that it was going to be a crap b-day because: a.)  My bday fell on a Monday this year b.)  I have no friends here yet (please note the drama) c.)  I had ZERO plans for the day d.)  I had to go to class for 2 hours e...
I meant to do a real write-up of our trip to Huaraz but this last week got away from me. Â Sorry for the delay! Â Here goes… We left Lima on Wednesday night at 11 PM on an overnight bus (Movil Tours) and got in around 6:30 AM. Â As I mentioned in the other post, it was surprisingly...
This video is dedicated to Auntie Emily, who has been begging and begging to see footage of Nia on the move!
These are about 10 days late – oops! Â She’s definitely starting to explore her world, as reflected in these photos.
Hi All – Miss me? Â We just got back from a SENSATIONAL 4 day trip to the Peruvian Andes. Â We went to Hauraz, location of the Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Negra Mountain ranges. Â I wouldn’t call myself a mountain person, but I may just be a convert after this trip. Â The...
My first month of Spanish came to an end today. Â The sad part is that most of these amazing people won’t be in my next class (they’re staying in the morning, I’m going to try afternoon). Â The good news is that I PASSED!!! Â No repeating Basic Spanish 3 for me! Â I tell...
A little something new from Ms. Nia that we have termed “Lizard Tongue”…
As a viral internet sensation with over 40 million views, I’m sure most of you are familiar with Matt Harding, dancing star of the Where the Hell is Matt? videos. Well, he’s back at it again, this time with new countries (North Korea!) and scenarios (underwater dancing)...
We’ve been in Lima for over a month now and decided it was high time we did some ‘touristy’ stuff and saw the rest of the city! Â We picked the oh-so-popular Turibus Tour (complete with flag-waving tour guide and everything) and for $30 a person got a 4 hour tour of the...
At every post with a hardship designation, there is inevitably something that the Security Team  scares the bejeezus out of us about (with the intent of keeping us safer, of course).  They go over-the-top at the beginning in the hopes of instilling good habits and a sense of cautious...
I was more than a little nervous to start up Spanish classes again. Â I mean 2 hours a day, 5 days a week is a LOT of Spanish. Â That 2 hours could really go by slowly, especially if I’m buried in overwhelm. Â To my delight, it has been a absolute blast! Most of the credit goes to...
This week’s Saturday date coincided with an Embassy-planned outing to La Mar CevicherÃa. Â Instead of going solo, we met up with 10 other ceviche-lovers at what could arguably be called the most famous CevicherÃa in the world. Â Why is this one so famous, you ask? Â Well, first...
I am trying so, so hard NOT to compare everything here to the Philippines. Â And the harder I try not to, the more I miss the Phils. Â The funny thing is, I really like Lima. Â It’s just not Manila (Um…DUH Sarah). Let me try and explain, okay? Â Metaphorically, Manila is the...
First time I’ve seen this group (the Capital Children’s Choir) and WOWZERS did they give me goosebumps – must be the combination of the children’s voices, those british accents and Florence’s haunting melody. Â Makes me miss my choir days! Â It’s been...
This week might as well have been called the “Week of Gluttony”. Â I swear, all we did was eat amazing food. Â It started back on Monday with our lunch date at Pescados Capitales. Â As you’ll recall, it was our first day with Lupe (our new household helper, called an...
So, so proud of Mr. Nicholas. Â Yesterday he found out that he got tenured, which essentially means he can’t get canned (unless he does something so bad he loses his security clearance). Â When you first join, you’re appointed for a five year term. Â With tenure, the time...
Today I’d like to tell you a little story. Once upon a time there was a girl named Sarita. Â Sarita began taking Spanish as a freshman in High School. Â She initially loved the subject, dreaming about all the amazing things (travel, new friends, unique experiences, etc) that would...
Hola Blog Readers – Hope you had a wonderful, relaxing Memorial Day Weekend (for those who celebrate it). We were initially going to go away this weekend for our first official getaway but weren’t feeling settled enough to actually go through with it. Instead we had an...
Last night we had our first taste of Peruvian Chicken. Â I’d heard lots and lots about how great it was, but I was skeptical as to whether or not it’d live up to the hype. Â Amazingly, it did. Â It was moist, flavorful and had this fantastic spicy dipping sauce. Â And my...