Second Time Around

Stephen had a checkup on his left eye today and we're praising God for the amazing change in his vision.  The doctor said it's healing nicely and his vision tested at 20-40 today.  Before the surgery, notwithstanding the cataracts his vision without glasses or contacts was 20-400.  

The surgery on his right eye is tomorrow morning so please pray that it is successful, without complications and his recovery is normal.  We are scheduled to fly back to El Salvador on March 16, so his final appointment with Dr. Lee is on Wednesday, March 15.    

New recipes this week

I'm sure it's not the first time that I've mentioned that I like change--quite the opposite of most people.  It's true in almost all facets of my life--what I read, what I study, what I do; but no where is it more true than with regard to food.  

I'm completely bored if I eat the same thing and prepare the same thing over and over.  Because I cook everyday (can't change that) I compensate by changing up the things I cook.  As a result, I'm always on the lookout for new recipes, most of which I've been finding by following several "healthy eating" bloggers.

I usually sit down once a week or maybe a little more and plan out our main meal.  Because we have some many evening activities (this week we had evening events Monday through Thursday), we normally have our main meal at lunch time.  The menu never includes breakfast and rarely include our dinners, unless we're going out or hosting people in our home.  There's usually at least one family favorite recipe during the week, like tacos, spaghetti, meatloaf, etc.  After I've planned the menu, the next step is the grocery list.  For some reason, going anywhere here in El Salvador is more of an ordeal than in the states.  Everything takes longer and there's no just "running to the store" to pick up a few things without dealing with traffic, parking and lines.  So, the fewer trips I have to make, the better for me.  (Because we're leaving next week and I'm trying to clean out the freezer, this weeks menu had fewer new recipes than normal.)

Menu (salads/sides aren't listed unless it's something new)

• Monday--tacos
• Tuesday--Garlic Mustard-Glazed Chicken Skewers*
• Wednesday--Homemade chicken noodle soup/BLT's
• Thursday--Turkey zucchini burgers, strawberry cucumber salad*
• Friday--Sweet/Spicy Tilapia*, baked parmesan pesto tomatoes*
• Saturday--out for dinner with friends
• Sunday--spaghetti
• Monday--meatloaf, light mac and cheese*
• Tuesday--fiesta of leftovers
• Wednesday--fly to US

*New recipes we enjoyed this week:

Main dish:

http://preventionrd.com/2015/06/garlic-mustard-glazed-chicken-skewers-weekly-menu/

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-spicy-citrus-tilapia

Side/salad:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2015/07/strawberry-cucumber-salad.html

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2015/08/pesto-parmesan-baked-tomatoes.html#more

I follow the recipes when possible, but, for example, we don't have a grill.  

I Love Change

Actually, I do like change, but Stephen not so much!  We are in the middle of moving from the townhome where we've lived since we got to El Salvador to an apartment much closer to the church.  Even though we don't have very much stuff, moving is still a hassle, right?

The issue in moving right now is that we have a very limited amount of time.  We made the decision to move last Friday (11/7), gave written notice to our landlord and on Saturday dropped off the deposit with our new landlord.  The movers are coming on Tuesday, November 25, which doesn't sound too bad until you realize we are leaving for Guatemala on Thursday, November 13, and won't return until Sunday, November 23.  Yes, you heard right--we are going to be gone 11 days between now and moving day!

So that's what the front end looks like.  The after-we-move time frame isn't any better.  Everything should be in the new apartment by Tuesday, November 25, and after three nights in the new place we're heading to Nicaragua.  I'm pretty sure we won't be unpacking very much!

We get back from Nicaragua on Saturday, December 6, and fly to the states on Monday, December 8.  There will be plenty of boxes awaiting our return on January 2.  

Here's a few pictures of our progress so far.  I'll post more about the actual decision and how faithful God has been throughout this stressful process.  We are confident that this is the right time and right place for us.  

Rearrangement Fail

As you know I was so excited about rearranging the living room that I took pictures and blogged about it.  Well, today we moved it back like it was before--rats!

I assumed that the cable that came out of the wall that went to the TV and the cable that came out of the wall and went to the modem were exactly the same; and, as such, were interchangeable.  Maybe not! The day after I moved the TV we started noticing that the picture would break up on some of the channels and sometimes the sound would fade out for a few seconds.  We unconnected and then reconnected the cable to be sure it was screwed in tightly, but it didn't seem to help.  Then, there was last night's disastrous recording of Person of Interest (our favorite Tuesday night show.)  We always record it and watch it when we get home from IDEM.  Last night we cued it up and the sound was so bad we couldn't even follow the show.  Going to be looking for a place to watch it on line before the season finale next week.

Today we slid the TV/cable box close enough to plug it in to the original cable and "presto" no sound or picture problems!  So,  unfortunately, the room has been returned to its original configuration, minus a few changes with end tables and lamps.

We're going to be watching our Internet reliability going forward.  It's possible that the cable itself is going bad and that's why the TV wouldn't work in the location.  If that's the case, I'm already not looking forward to calling Tigo service and trying to explain the problem!  

Changing and Rearranging

I like change! In my old house, it was pretty common for me to rearrange the furniture (where possible and within reason) all by myself.  Due to space limitations, lack of access to power and other practical reasons, for the most part, I've had to hold my desire to change in check here in El Salvador.  However, I made a break through in the living room last night when I realized I could switch the cable connection running to the TV with the cable connection running to the modem and all would be well.  

So, presenting the new look in our living room!  

While I was at it, I changed the direction of the dining room table, too.  

Couldn't resist posting the pictures of the roses and other flowers blooming in my back yard (garden) right now.  The first two pictures make the roses look big, but actually they're no more than an inch across.  

Phone Number Change

Since we got to El Salvador we've been using Vonage for our Internet phone service.  With an Internet phone, we get a local (816) number and are able to make and receive calls from the US at no charge.  While we have been very happy with our Vonage account, our missionary friends, the Blackstocks, told us about the service they use which is called Ooma.  The difference between Vonage and Ooma is that there is NO monthly charge to use Ooma.  The only cost is to buy the Ooma device which is about $100.  (Vonage also requires the purchase of their proprietary equipment.)

Our Vonage bill was close to $40 per month or about $500 per year.  So, with Ooma, taking into account the cost of the device, we will save close to $400 this year.  For 2014, we will save the full $500 yearly cost.    Although there was an option to port our old number over (cost $40 and took 2-3 weeks,) we decided, in the interest of total cost savings, that changing our number was the best way to go.

Now, for the sales pitch--obviously, if you've already disconnected your home phone, this will not be of help.  But, if you still have a home phone number and would like to keep it, you might check out Ooma.com.  You can find out if your number can be ported over.  If it can, you can be on your way to nearly $0 cost per month for home phone service.  In the interest of full disclosure, we still have to pay the monthly taxes (ours will be less than $3.)

Anyway, if you are reading this blog and would like to have our new phone number, please let me know.  I don't plan to publish it on the blog, but would be happy to email it to you.