It's MONDAY morning again! HA!

Well, it's Monday morning and so far no tarantulas (dead-or-alive), and I am NOT sick. YEAH!
I am fully recovered from last week's illness and conjunctivitis.

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Bob and I got our apartment decorated for Christmas on Friday, went to another wedding on Saturday. For any of you who have been here and remember Elias, it was his wedding. Wedding was scheduled for 4pm, and four of us had 'bets' on the actual starting time. Manny won ~ he guessed 4:45 and it was right on the dot! Dominicans are NOT known for punctuality.

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Yesterday was another great time in church. Bob is teaching the English SS and going thru I Corinthians. We had a great discussion on the foolishness of man vs the wisdom of God. So, often we want to complicate the gospel when talking to people. We will NOT convince them with our 'enticing' words, or by arguing science or philosophy. It's the Word of God thru the working of the Holy Spirit that will draw them in.
Good discussion....great study.

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After church we stayed while Hugo put on the TV all the pics he had taken of Manny and Olga's wedding just three weeks ago. Manny and Olga loved it! Esp when Hugo told him he was making them a CD, too.

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Once we got home, we decided it was a pleasant day for the beach. NOT too hot with low humidity. So, we packed a simple lunch of apples, hard boiled eggs, cheese and crackers; packed books, beverages and towels in our totes/backpacks and walked to the beach at the end of our lane. We were able to stay for two hours, and read, relax, swim and walk the shore. Very relaxing~

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A week ago while shopping at La Sirena in Santo Domingo, I finally found molasses. The entire time we've lived here, I have never seen it in the stores. Linda Fourman brings it in her suiticase when I ask. Molasses is a by-product of the sugar cane process, and it goes into the making of rum. So, I was elated to finally find molasses! Yesterday afternoon I made a batch of Ginger Molasses cookies. Moist, chewy and delicious!

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Today is our 5th anniversary of moving here. We flew into Santiago on MFI (Missionary Flights International) in the afternoon, were met by Kiko (SCORE bus driver) and a rented bus with driver, broke into tears when the custom officials told us we would have to come back the next day for them to approve the removal of our 2500 pounds of belongings, (Tears worked, as making a woman cry, esp an American woman, embarasses their macho-ego) and we arrived at SCORE at 9:30 that night!

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In official celebration of this momentous anniversary occasion....our power went out at 9:45 this morning. Since, it's been a little over 2 weeks since we've had a full day power outtage...My guess is that it's going to be off for the entire day. Guess I won't be fixing our chicken in the crockpot after all.

ah...welll...welcome to life in the Dominican Republic!

We won't need electricity to go snorkling off the beach this afternoon though..he-he! (No groups till the day after Christmas, so it's time to relax!)

love you all,
~anna~

another not-so-fun way to start my week....

I had planned to come up with a much longer post today with pics from last week. But my day has not gone well.

Had a cold of sorts over the weekend, but thought I was doing better.

Went out on the balcony to trim some plants (BIG) and within 5 minutes was very nauseated.

Came inside and it eased up, so I went downstairs to take the trimmings outside of our apartment complex and just across the dirt road (more like a wide path that cars drive on).

By the time I got across the path, I seriously began to wonder how I was going to get back. Everything was going black, and swimming before my eyes. All I could think is "Oh LORD, please don't let me pass out right here on this road." Made it back inside the gate and had to sit on a ledge with my head down. Papo started cleaning up my plant trimmings, when he realized I wasn't feeling well.

It started to clear some, so I was able to make it upstairs. Once in our apartment the room started going black again. So, I took a shower fully clothed while kneeling in the tub. Unfortunatley, Bob wasn't home. I thought maybe I was overheating, but I have never felt this week and shaky after I cooled off.

I don't know if it's a weird reaction to some sort of bug (virus), or if I way overheated (eventhough I didn't think I had even gotten hot), or if I am just worn down and didn't realize it.

Please pray that this passes soon...I hate feeling like this. So, much for the plans I had of things to accomplish today....

love,
~anna~

NOT the way I want to start my day!

Went into my laundry room, ((right next to our kitchen by the way)) looking for a new roll of trash bags. What to my wondering eyes should appear??? But a tarantula!!!!
Urgent call has been made to Bob to put vehicle in reverse and get home NOW!!!

I HATE TARANTULAS!!!!

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Update: My knight in shining armour arrived home and dispatched with the wicked critter!

The box with the rolls of trashbags is stored in a corner that is hard to get at, since once I get a roll of bags out I don't need the box for a long time! What I needed was on the bottom, of course.

As I reached for the box, I saw the tarantula less than 6" from my hand! Fortunately, when I jumped I did NOT hit my head on the wooden cupboard right over me!

Then the frantic hunt for my cell phone, only to discover that it was without power, since I hadn't plugged it in to the charger for a few days! Plugged it in, (Why does the signal always seem to take forever when you're in a hurry?) called Bob...while imagining this black furry thing crawling out of it's previously hidden location.

Praise the LORD! Bob wasn't too far away, and arrived home *muy pronto*.

He could not believe how far into the corner the thing was...it is a very small area which made the whole procedure quite awkward. Due to the design of the laundry water hookup and drain, he only had a 12" wide area to work in. But with flashlight and a HUGE can of Raid, he commenced with his duties. I stood nearby with a 2nd can of Raid, just to be sure it did not escape....only to discover it was a DEAD tarantula.

I guess if I have to have a tarantula, that is the best kind to have.

I wonder if this is the mother to the baby one that was in my cupboard last Christmas Day?!

I HATE tarantulas...but I love my knight in shining armour!